Category: personal

Here are two wallpapers, which I made more for the purpose of polishing my rusty hands. If you need it for any other resolution kindly request.

Baloons, butterflies, balls, are the things in my mind these days. My project has started. It’s a multimedia learning/playing tool for 3-5 year olds. Very challenging, i have to read a lot. Found a lot of books in the central library. Also found out that HCI has a younger sibling, which is also around 3 years old. Called CCI, or children’s computer interaction.

Have to learn a lot in the next few days. And may have to attend some classes, kindergarten classes. I am horrified.

Though MIFF is still going on, since my work has started I could’nt go there today. But the last 3-4 days have been phenomenal. All the movies that I saw inspired me. A few were very good. And some were really really bad. And these i thanks these bad film makers in making me believe I could do it 5 times better.

Discovered a great finnish documentary maker Lasse Naukkarinen. He uses such a easy flowing, non rushed style, poetic at times, i did’nt know documentaries could be made like that. And the music he uses is so powerful, almost always finnish music, which was another of my discoveries.

These are the rest of the movies i could catch:

Selected fiction – a non linear short film, very funny, and shot like a documentary.

Ismail

Women, Bukkets, Guzzlers and condoms with tarun chick- a amateurish but interesting school project.

Good news

Alone in tehran- a iranian documentary with no subtitles, and lots of dialogue, took a small nap.

Once upon a time there was utopia- a classic documentary by Lasse Naukkrinen. Shows the turbulent times of 60-70s. Political as well as cultural.

Monkey business – NID student project. (music rocked, soundtrack had altaf raza songs)

ARK – NID student project again, i do not remember what it was abt though.

BIrthday boy – this was from the oscar winners package, short film.

The red jacket- Again an oscar winner, and one hell of a short film.

Ferry tales – oscar winner (forgot wiw abt)

Holy men and fools – A firang goes in search of esoteric ascetic knowledge. His guides are a naga sadhu, Vashisht Giri, fluent in english, and very sauve. And a swedish model (now old and wrinkled) who came here in the 70s and dint return. also had some very graphic scenes of giri tying a langot. Would be interesting for a firang to watch.

Health matters – A documentary deploring indias worsening health facilities …

Baba black beard – a god short film, with a kid as the lead character. what was so great was that, it used the kid’s natural responses. could be called a docu – fiction.

kinjal – NId student project abt a girl named kinjal. abt gender bias etc…

Bhugol – awefully bad movie. again a NID student project.

Train of zero o clock – iranian documentary of azerbaizani refugees who know live in scrao wailway bogies.

School in the corner – About a school run by a retired iranian teacher for afghani refugee children. These kids do not have any valid papers and are denied admission into regular schools.

Christine – this was really amazing. Documentary abt a iranian woman know 40 years old, who was adopted by a swedish couple when she was some months old. The couple dint let her know she was adopted. When she started learning biology and came to know that two people with blue eyes cannot have a brown eyed child, she confronted her parents who told her she was iranian. Finally when she was 40 years old and was financially stron she decided to find her real parents. Advertisements in local iranian papers got an amazing response. Not one but around 30 set of parents claimed her as their own. And who wouldnt want a wealthy american citizen(shes know an american) as their daughter. The whole narrative was very interesting.

Roses for you, & Somebody to dance with – short films by lasse nauk… and very good.

Artist’s life – documentary showing how the artistic talents of his 3 year old son evolved. His son is really interesting. Lasse’s wife is an animator which makes their house into a artists den.

Asylum – documntry abt people who for some reason or other come to US in need of asylum.

AFSPA stands for “Armed Forces Special Powers”. You may remember the media coverage over the murder of a woman named Manorama, in manipur. The documentary was about the events following her murder.

This rape and murder was like the last straw, which broke the Manipuri women’s endurance. Any group of people which has unlimited power and no one to answer to, becomes a monster. So has the “Indian army” stationed there with their AFSPA shield become a monster. Sadly what I saw made me think so.

What strikes is the absurdity…courage?…anger…brutality..when one sees a group of 20 kids with a few teenagers take on vans of police, rpf with tear gas, lathis and even guns with just catapults. David and goliath is what came to mind. Even the staunchest “patriot” / “army supporter” would get ashamed.

Why are these people so angry?
There has to be a very strong reason for ladies to stand naked in front of the assam rifles headquarters. With a banner which reads “Come rape us Indian Army”. With guards hiding themselves behind bushes, not having guts enough to disperse them.

When they hold up banners of, “Go back to India”, a question pops up “are they not in India?”. What have we done to alienate them…..or maybe what have’nt we done?

A group of college students decide to use Gandhi’s teaching of civil disobedience. WIth placards on their chest with a “arrest us” they march up to the police station. WHat they get is merciless lathi charge without any provocation.

They burnt “indian goods”, cartons of bisleri, maaza..etc. It was very nostalgic, the whole documentary …bringing to memory black and white images at 16 frames per second of our own independence struggle. Is there really any difference?

I want as many people to see this documentary. I have mailed the director to send me a cd. I am ready to buy it, solely that i can lend it to friends ..upload it on servers , make as many people to see them. If you want to contact the director his email id is haobampaban{at}gmail.com

The movies that i saw today:

AFSPA, 1958
Monalisa
Home delivery
Intruder
Ascetic Eye
Keep not silent
The little thing that u do
If u pause
Ten feet tall
Shirzad
Aamachi Kasauti
Lasting Breaths
Sougnameh Sarzamin Nimrouz

And i am going there tomorrow too in the morning, for more.

I am high.

2 pegs of whiskey, a beer and some grass.

And i am happy ….the new breed has some enthu.. lots of junta at least try …thats the spirit man..one freshie band actually performed “Hallowed be thy name”…..

FlashBack:-
when i was in class 4…I was in a school where class 1-4 where in the morning slotand 5-8 were in the afty schedule..

I remember a scene vivid in my mind….ii must have been class 4 …a class 1 freshie….HA HAAAAA…freshie was not a term i kneww back then ….i was playing in the school playground….when this cute class oneITE…came in frnt…he was very cute …and his zip was open …he reminded of my own brother then…..i wanted to button up his zip then …i dont know what prevented me then…maybe my introvert self…or whatever …i dint do anything…

I saw that guy again …after 15 or so years …he’s no kid know…has a bank of america job…

And being high and all i told him of my memory of his….
And what he told me ……Someone had stuffed grass inside his shorts that day,,,,some idiot….
and he thought that guy was me …

probability maan …..what are the chances…i dont know if he believes i did it ,,,,

But that was one of the very few times i saw innocence…….

p.s. This is a story within a story. All the characters are real and all the incidents are true in both the stories (within my knowledge).

I and Abhishek Bharatiya set out to trek on saturday (28th). When we were planning everyone else was busy with something or the other. We were browsing through TrekShitiz , when we saw a posting for a trek to Chanderi fort. It was a group called “Ajinkya HIkers”, a group based in Badlapur. We called them and it was fixed.

Set out at 6:30 am in a local to Badlapur. In our bogey was a group of 4-5 men, regular commuters who were singing. Singing devotional and film songs is a common way of passing time during the long train rides. But what set this group apart was their chice of songs. They would sing one bhajan then their would be a commercial break, a jingle for nerolac paints (jab ghar ki raunak badhhaani ho…). Then they would start a marathi nursery rhyme, with sounds of various animals (bhow bhow bhow ..meaow meaow meaow). Everyone in the bogey had such a nice time, the 1:30 hours to badlapur went unnoticed.

At Badlapur station we met Dinesh (9323731063), a member of ajinkya hikers, who had come to pick us up. We went to their office were we met Prakash and Ratnakar (9323642246) and Anand. Dinesh had some work, so couldnt come along.

At 9:30 am we started. Took a rickshaw to Chinchowli gaon. 10 bucks per seat. From Chinchowli gaon, the trail starts near the school. Ask any local for chanderi fort. The trail goes through hillocks. After walking some 40 mins up and down we reach the base of the mountain. Ratnakar was painting signs along the way. The previous monsoons had washed away sections of the mountain, and the trail had changed.

I was standing on a big rock which had a black patch. It was only when the wise Prakash pointed out the pieces of bones, near my leg that I stepped aside. We where on the very spot where a boar had been cut. I did not recognize the dried blood which almost looked black. The locals hunt wild boars and small game like rabbits. For hunting rabbits and other small game they start fire on a dry patch along an arc. As the fire closes inside the arc, all the animals run towards the opening. Here are the nets in which the rabbits get caught. Since the fires are controlled it is not very dangerous, only the dry leaves get burnt the trees are not harmed. Also this prevents accidental forest fires which can wipeout whole forests.

We reached the fort at around 12:30 pm. The cave is huge horizontally. It can accomodate at least 40-50 people. Their is also a tank near the cave, which when looked through the naive urban glazed eyes seems not potable. But it was that water which kept us going for two days. Quiet clean too, only some algae, minerals and other organic matter.

These people Prakash etc,,are really experienced, not just at climbing, but all the other survival skills. Like starting a fire in no time. Cooking rice for 8 people in a small vessel, etc.etc.. So in no time POHA was made and after eating that we took a nap. at 4:30. We went to the other side which in itself is something. Their are parts where just a great fall to one side and plane rock to walk on. It’s a kind of elimination round. I am sure who cannot get through it could not and should not attempt to climb the pinnacle. We did’nt try the pinnacle that day as the rocks were quiet hot and the sun was goind down. Their is a tank some way down which has some really clean and cool water (no sarcasm here).

Came back and with Prakash as head cook and we as assistants cooked a fantastic dinner/lunch. After dinner i called a lot of my friends. Yeah this place has connectivity. Round 10:30 most of us settled inside our kambals.

I was just getting into REM when i woke up dur to some alien sounds. Female voices.
That’s where the second story starts.

“Oh its bleeding.”
“Who has the first aid kit?”
“Sameer, take some cotton and savlon ….”
mmmmmmm….ouchhhh….. (female sound)
“come on Saloni, i thought u were tough.”
.
.
.
.
“Dude find some cozy place inside the cave where we can sleep.”

A small fire has been started.

“What do we have first, ….let’s make soup.”
.
.
“….and the guitaring…Jeff Beck is the best yaa..”
.
“so u dint tell your mom you were going on a night trek?”
“oh i just said Shadab had called and ..everything else is taken care off.”
.
.
“Don’t u admire these two chicks?”
“Sure man…I know many guys who would have shat in their pants tonight.”
.
.
“This is the best paneer tikka I ever had.”
.
.
“U know Harish Chandra…danger man …once when the seniors came into our class, i stood up as i was supposed to do…they dint notice me….and then i thought one of them waved at me to sit. SO i sat. Then this Harish Chandra looks at me…”Bhen*&*^ stand up.” ..
He made me murga…”
“this harish chandra is the guy with the nice moustache??” (female voice)
“no no he’s just one of harish’s sidekick, XYZ”
.
.
“They have vintage bullets…their dadajee’s ….”
“THese guys are from mumbai only??” (female voice)
.
.
“what time is it?….quarter to 3??..we should sleep.”

All these are snippets of audio which i could comprehend with by sleepy groggy head. The only thought the kept me from giving them a, “Shut the F^%^ up, ppl are trying to sleep here” was, one of them liked Jeff Beck………and i myself had done such things while i was in college.
In the morning we woke up at 6 to climb the pinnacle. They were asleep inside their sleeping bags. But what was this I could make out many male voices in the night …how come their were 5 sleeping bags with long silky hair coming out?

The climb upto the pinnacle was the most challenging i had ever attempted. No safety ropes. And rock climbing for the first time. But seeing Prakash climb with such ease boosted my confidence. After some 30-40 mins of climbing we reached the top. There are remnants of a watch tower. Some broken pieces of a stone “aata chakki”..And a bronze statue of shivaji. We did aarati before the shivaji statue and many “Jai shivaji, Jai bhavani”.

Climbing down was technically tougher but mentally much easier. We got back to the cave at 12:30 pm. The sleeping beauties had woken up, packed and ready to go. They were FYJC and SYJC students from HR, Jai Hind and Xaviers. Common thread being trekking.

Made maggi. Took a small nap. Packed our stuff. Cleaned the place. Started downlhill at 3. The sun was relentless. I and bharatiya were in the front, missed a turn. Had to take a long detour, which meant 45 mins extra in the hot sun. Thanks to Ratnakar, Prakash and Anand who had to wait in the village for us. Very sorry to keep you waiting.

So this was the story and the story. It was the perfect trek, with the bonus of getting ourselves lost in the end. It cost us 150 bucks each for everything, transport, food..etc. “Ajinkya hikers” as they call themselves post the scehdules and plans on the trekshitiz site. I have given their phone numbers in the beginning. If you want to trek in the regions near Badlapur, i am sure they will be helpful.

p.s. I have changed some names I had mentioned. It seems some body found out this post and was pissed of because I ‘talked down’ about some people. He thinks I should have shut them up, if I felt so. Indeed I could have, and spoilt their trek. Instead I decided to write an interesting (to me at least post about it).

The pups of “lakad baggha” (cousin of the african Hyena) run away from their mother as soon as they are born. As their diet consists of mainly rotting flesh and such they have a very rough tongue, which can peel the very skin off. And the pups do have very soft skin too. I had heard it from a uncle who was a forest ranger in the forests of chhatisgarh. So when i came across this article in nature, it brought back memories of my uncle, who was incidently eaten by a man eater. It seems some guys in japan have successfully bred a Lakad Baggha with a less rough tongue. Its saliva combined with its rough tongue does not affect the skin but removes hair very efficienly.

Hmmmm……

These japs…they will give beauty salons a run for their money. Guess babes will keep lakad bagghas as pets and make it lick their legs.

At least pet shop guys will make some money.

Can you guess what this is :
Aim: To prove that x does this when mixed with y.

Equipment needed:x, y and a jar.

Procedure: Mix x and y, wait for 20 minutes.

Observation: waiting and watching the jar, which would eventually change its color. ( while unoficially everyone would try mixing different chems and create rainbows spilling it on each other’s lab coat)

Result: It is proved that x does this when mixed with y.

Yeah sure, it is the science lab report. Everyone of us had to do it. I always wondered why the result was always “succeeded in reaching the aim”.
So did “experimenting” really meant that you have to know beforehand what you will get as the result?
Or were experiments only meant to “proove” something?

Also what if the mixture turned into something else if kept for a significantly longer time?

In the late 19th century a british doctor published a scientific study about newborn babies. The problem was their high mortality rate. The result of the study was, “As newborn babies are very susceptible to germs, infection etc. they should be touched as little as possible. Not even by their mothers.”
He gained quite some fame for having found a way to save thousands of babies. Doctors and hospitals applied this new funda. 50 years later it was proven that actually mother’s touch (or for that matter any caring touch) infact improves the babies immunity.
And then people looked back at the statistics.
They found that the funda used 50 years back had actually caused an increase in the mortality rate. Though with advances in medicine this was compensated in 10-20 years.

Now scientists are telling us that the ‘pill’ can actually cause sexual disfunction in women. The pill which was regarded as one of the great modern inventions has a darker side? Something which liberated women… hmmm……. how can the pill makers even face the millions of women, who may have lost their whole youth with less than whole sex?

Or the more frequent reports like:
Chocolates are good for health. No they are not.
If you drink one peg a day, it’s good for your health. Or is it?
We can dismiss these by the fact that chocolate and maybe liquor corporates are the one’s sponsoring these research.

But what about the sincere scientist who works for the benefit of mankind? Are their findings any more credible.

I do not fully comprehend where the fault lies, in the basic tenets of science? it’s wrong application? What I KNOW is “What science knows is an iota compared with what it does not.”

And now they have discovered something which completely stops the menstrual cycle. Wait till 2040 and you’ll see the reason why women started getting facial hair. Or maybe that will be the style statement of that era, of the ‘machosexual female’.

I went jogging today after a lot of days. It seems the less work I have, the more inertial I become.

I am in a phase where i have too many choices, of the heart and brains kind. And if it was all black and white I would not have taken a second in deciding. Choosing among the different grays is the most difficult. So what do I do to solve this, I sleep for more than 12 hours each day everything I can to delay that point where there is no turning back.

Now that I have kicked my lazy ass a little, maybe my life will get out of idling too.