Some 150+ kms away from Chennai, in a north westerly direction, the Lord of the Seven hills basks in the fervour of his devotees! That includes me.

Just back after my nth visit. Very impressed by what the TTD is doing for devotees/pilgrims/visitors etc.

For a first hand report and a 1 page guide on how to manage a visit within the shortest possible time, drop in later!

Right now, I have to catch up on some shut-eye!

:)

I'm inclined to believe that some of life's adages can dawn on one when least expected.

 

Picture this:

 

Evening time, peak traffic. Me on my Kinetic. Can't wait to reach home and refuge. Doraiswamy bridge, near West Mambalam, a most polluted stretch, with vehicles straining in both directions. Ahead of me, a rickshaw-wallah - his vehicle overloaded with goods - struggles to pull his vehicle to overcome the steepest point. A little behind him, me and the other blocked vehicles, all impatient, honking horns, glaring, road-raged, ready to yell any moment & give the guy a piece of our tension filled minds!

 

Along comes a cyclist, gets down, gives a hand & helps the rickshaw-wallah overcome the hurdle.

 

What's the big lesson here? Actions speak louder than words!! Better to light a lamp than curse the darkness!! Et al.

 

And so, time for me to do something on the tiger conservation issue where I've roared (in pain), raved and ranted at inept, impotent government inaction!

 

I propose to adopt one of the striped fellas. Yes, I do. I swear!! This should help me prove that other adage.

Two is company, right?

 

J

When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes. - Desiderius Erasmus

Hmmm...how I wish, Senor Erasmus. But here goes:

Total Number of books I own:
It would be vain of me to say "I haven't counted" but that's the truth, people! I'm poor in Maths, you see. Perhaps 100 or 150 if you're not nitpicking. And if, by definition, comics also mean books, then you can toss in another century or two! ;)

Total number of books given to others and never came back:
Perhaps one or two, at the most. Particularly, a Batman Digest given to my cousin, Arvind. If I ever find it with him you of these days, I'm gonna kill you, buddy! But I'm wary of lending books ever since the gullible me got gypped me of a "magazine" a long time ago by a family friend. You might not want to know which "magazine" I mean but suffice to say, Madonna and her "vocal chords" on display! ;)

Total number of books flicked from others:
If this includes comics, plenty! Me and my buddy Ashok in Bangalore used to filch Archie & Betty comics from Satish Circulating Library waaayyyy before Danny showcased the art in Ocean's Eleven.

Last Book I bought:
Plenty at the recent sale at Chettiar Hall. I'm a compulsive buyer; read though, only on impulse. If I don't get the mood to read, forget it...even The Hulk wouldn't get me to!

Last Book I was gifted:
Lets see now...hmm, none so far! People in the know gift me socks, ties, memory pills, antacids, after-shaves, innerwear, CD's but books, none so far! Perhaps, they know I don't deserve any - being a walking encyclopedia? ;))

Last Book I read:
In full? Who are you kidding? Me being a Gemini, I have no time to completely read books. First page first, then last page...I'm done! ;))

Presently I am reading :
Certainly not "Solid - state chemistry" by N.B. Hannay :)))) Truth to tell its "Between Parent & Teenager by Dr. Haim Ginott." Published in 1972, "excellent" is not sufficient to describe this book and its relevance today! There's a tense period looming ahead in about 2 years time.....gotta prepare, gotta prepare.

Some Books that mean a lot to me:

1.0 Mahabharata by Dr. C Rajagopalachari. Its really true that many of us never forget our 'first time' for many a thing. This was the very first book, apart from comics & Hardy Boys, that I remember sitting on the thinai of my grandfathers home in Bangalore and reading it - cover to cover - in one stretch. What an insight it gave me!
2.0 Maharajas of India by Ann Morrow. A drop dead travel-back-in-time book. The original playboys of the world were all Indian, for your information.
3.0 One by Richard Bach. My first read at fantasy. Can give one a macro perspective to the past, present and future life, if thats your kinda thing.
4.0 Giving the Love that heals, a Guide book for parents by Harville Hendrix. This book teaches how to avoid conflicts that arise out of one's past while dealing with kids of today.
5.0 3 books by Bill Cosby - "Fatherhood", "Time Flies" and one more which I forget. An hilarious outtake on life & living.
6.0 Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Never been taught respecting money apart from 'bhashans' . This book therefore opened my eyes and the necessity to teach children the importance of valuing money right from day 1. Well, almost!!
7.0 A collection of Short Stories by Jeffrey Archer. 'Nuff said.
8.0 In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters. While in pre-university, I won this book in a competition announced by the Voice of America. Even today, I'm fascinated by companies and products that make a difference. When I start one someday, it will be my turn!
9.0 Hagar & Dracula - books that a former penfriend - Dipika - sent me!
10.0 A textbook on Mughal History, Part 2 & 3, by Prof. S C Sharma. Recently purchased at Bangalore, this is one book that no history lover can afford not to have! I'm still searching for Part 1.
11. Last but not the least - The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield and other books on the power of co-incidences. This is thanks to my ex-colleague and friend, Av. M.

Wow. End of show. Thanks, Princess..I hope I've done some justice to being tagged by you, on this subject.

:)

In parts of Africa, game parks are managed by private institutions and people. This was what, heart of heart, I was hoping that the government would allow what with its incompetence being on full show – globally - with the disappearance of all the tigers in Sariska tiger reserve.

 

Ha! Have my hopes been dashed or what? Instead of take a bold, radical step, what we have is an announcement of a creation of a ‘third’ body which the other two claim is unnecessary! A typical bureaucratic bungle, this! Perhaps Sunita Narain's report will be the redemptive factor? Or, will it all disappear in between the files at some government office. Your guess is as good as mine.

 

Perhaps there is yet another way to save these magnificent creatures. Cross breed them so that both don’t become extinct! I know what you are thinking. Impossible, right?

 

Check out these Ligers. That’s right – crossbreeding results of a lion with a tiger. And Tigons are what would result if you had a male tiger with a female lion.

 

Another idea. What about cloning? If Baba Ganoush can be cloned from Tahini, surely our big cats can be cloned too?

 

What with Monday coming on, I think the ‘blues’ have hit me really hard. I’m seeing two of everything!

 

J

As is oft said, there is a first time for everything. I've read many posts of fellow bloggers ranting about poor delivery levels & delayed complaint redressal from service providers that I've wondered what it would be like to be in their shoes. I guess I had it coming.

On hindsight, perhaps greed was the primary motivator. Tasting 128 kbps speeds after dialup, I thought it would be fun - wheeeeee and all that - to change to a 'trusted' brand who promised 256kbps at half the price. The parsimonious soul that resides in me - bless him - couldn't resist. And so I bit. 

How it hurt!! I've had to complain daily, for more than a week, about poor connectivity, slow speeds, frequent disconnections and what have you. In the process, my emotions have run the whole gamut from patience, to frustration, to pleading, to threats, to helplessness, to boiling anger. Every time, I was told the complaint would be "escalated" - a fancy term - to the concerned "technical department"! What finally took the cake was the service technician who landed up after a week to see what the problem was and when shown all the complaint numbers, coolly said " I was informed about your complaint only y'day, Sir...if I'd known you've complained so many times, I'd have attended the problem earlier!" He's lucky I did not choose to throw him out physically.

Being once bitten, twice shy, I'm back - suitably chastened  - to my former service provider. Pure bliss! And after all the loss of time and energy with the upstart, I plan to write a full report on the entire episode to the HOD and ask for a refund of monies paid as "installation" charges. I won't be surprised if I'm told this:

Pretty portentous, eh?

:(

 

Not that I get bored easily, but when I do, I get manic !

Fun, eh? 

:)

What with my previous post becoming a total success - a high of 10 comments, no less!! - my animal instincts are coming to the fore. See pic below. Funnily enough, the 'Animal Song' by Savage Garden has also become my song of the week. 

Also, many of you must have also seen the Globe Trekker show of yesterday featuring Kenya and all those baby elephants gambolling about and around the buxom Ms. Bingham!

Its then I remembered I must share this pic with you. I'm too chicken to find out if this scenario can in any way become a reality but hey, a cloning job gone haywire, and you never know! Enjoy maadi, as we say over in Bangalore!



:)

Hi Ya'll.....

 

At one time in my life, I thought I had a handle on the meaning of the word "service."  As per the dictionary - "It's the act of doing things for other people."  Wholeheartedly and always with a smile.

 

Then I heard these terms which reference to the word SERVICE like our :

 

    Electricity & Water Services

    Postal Service

    Telephone Services

    Public Service - for the betterment of our citizens (i.e by Politicians)

    The I.A.S / I.P.S et al.

    Customer Service (!!)

    'Service' Stations

    Public Transport Services 
    Autos in Chennai 
    

Then I became confused about the word "service". This is not what I thought "service" meant.

 

So today, I overheard two farmers talking and one of them said he had hired a bull to "service" a  few of his cows.  BAM!  It all came into perspective.  Now I understand what all those "service" agencies are doing to us.

 

I hope you now are as enlightened as I am.

 

J

 

Disclaimer : Nope, thats not me in the pic. He’s a 'distant' relation er, all the way from Africa !!

PS : A Big Thanks to Av.M for sharing the above joke!!! 

 

 

By gosh, Tamil Cinema is really growing in leaps, bounds and imagination!
We had the tale of a split personality in Chandramukhi.

From initial reports, the story of Anniyan revolves around a guy with multiple personality disorder.

Wow...I wonder what will come up next? 

:)   

"If it is in our power to act nobly,
it is also in our power to do evil"
Aristotle

Why do people like Salman Khan, Pataudi etc take to shooting wildlife, get caught, then dodge the law - unlike the poor beast in the crosshairs - like slimy creatures? 

Elementary, my dear folks. Because the law here is an ass, thats why! It will bend over backwards to accomodate the guilty; the poor & the unfortunate will merely get screwed! The meek might inherit the earth, but law and justice will still be out of bounds.

And to aid them wriggle out of their situation, there are many cunning foxes here - lawyers - who will twist / interpret the law to line their pockets rather than ensure that precedents are not set to be taken advantage of by culprits in the future!

And who really is eagle-eyed in this scenario to ensure that the letter and spirit of the law is respected and that justice is served, irrespective of position? Nobody!

With deliberate aim, 'Tiger' did shoot
As for the law, he gave it a hoot
Now in its grip, he's prying open a gap,
Unable to find the guts to take the rap!

:(

PS: When such instances happen, I can't help but recall the awe in which my friend Jo in Singapore recounted this tale of Michael Fay, when caught for a misdemeanour over there. Not even a plea for clemency by President Clinton helped cancel the punishment !!