The node of all Orbits

So long...

2007-10-06T05:27:00.000-07:00

Blog canned...Hate to use it again, but life is elsewhere...
Thanks for reading all this while. Miss you all and see you sometime soon hopefully!

Dhananjay

Haazir Janaab

2007-02-27T19:55:00.000-08:00

My absence has been met with strong words, speculation that the blog has been canned, belated comments and for the most part, with measured indifference. My gentle readers, and the firm one from Afganistan, I only take an extended sabbatical to write in another language. Only to humour myself.
I should be back to the 'mother tongue' in no time. Which brings me to the point...remind me, when you see me, that I have to learn how to read and write my real mother tongue.

Intercultural Communication

2006-11-11T03:34:00.000-08:00

Few lessons learnt over the last few weeks...
1. Irish people can drink.
2. Do not refer to the Arabian Sea as, hmmm well, the Arabian Sea. That is, if you are talking to an Iranian person. During a presentation by a Pakistani classmate, an Iranian friend walked out of class, since the map seemed to call the alleged Persian sea the Arabian Sea. Shakespeare turned in his grave, and my mind turned in a direction it often turns to, as to why we are the most tolerant (that’s not the word, neither is dispassionate) people in the world. The map in question, after all, also showed the Pakistan occupied Kashmir as being a comfortably integrated part of Pakistan and the Indian side as the disputed region. Possessing an incontrollable sense of neutrality, I insisted in my mind, that it would be fair to call both sides of Kashmir as disputed. But then, Shakespeare (whom I have never read) spoke with equal measure of banality and authority.
3. There are real Chinese people who think that the Tienanmen Square was a figment of the Western media’s imagination. (Could it well be? Are there pictures of the lone man getting actually crushed by the tanks? I am not saying anything, just let me know what happened after he stood there, in case you know)
4. No, I mean Irish people can really drink.
5. No such thing as the Bulgarian Mafia. Period. (Although I do know the daughter of the big boss, if there is one…)
6. Germans, well I don’t know many yet.

Without Embarassment, my comrades

2006-10-30T14:56:00.000-08:00

With most people i know, i share an obsession for the loops that seem to come our way. As a kid, I could not get over seeing a TV inside a TV. I would make sure everyone in my way would hear of it. Similarly, the abbreviation GNU, which stands for GNU's not Unix, can be expanded infinitely. (I usually stop after 9,047 times) There are so many other loops/expandables, that I could enjoy, without embarrassment. I write this, after having contemplated about the German desire for Perfektionismus (Perfectionism) over a mountain of dishes. I was thinking of my 'un-desire' to be a perfectionist, and then I invented my own loopy statement. 'Nothing bothers me expect for that nothing bothers me'. I hope this hasnt been done before, but I am sure it has!

This Time

2006-08-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

Sleepy is her world,
while mine gently awakens,
as my verse gains momentum
(this being the third of the line)
lays she expectantly, her body curled

I was wondering, she almost bellows,
if you have just had the temerity
(and this is only the 3rd one)
to add a sexual connotation,
to our presently innocent flirtation

With an innuendo unintended
have I not disturbed
her nocturnal calm
and perhaps even the little work of my
formidable poetic charm?

it's debatable she says
but you are forgiven,
not entirely, consider it parole,
for this time ,I make an exception,
although certain of your next deception

Demands : Monsoon Session

2006-07-23T14:43:00.000-07:00

After careful deliberation, I demand the following from the Indian government:

1. Give north east India a separate time zone. They deserve it; it’s not a lot they are (not?) asking for. If the government fears logistic failure and complete collapse, buy calculators.

2. Start f@#$ing regulating car sales instead of glorifying the new middle class’ purchasing power. This way, you will poison us and worse still; defeat the point of a car.

3. Ban all blogs, online journals, orkut etc. They are terrible for potential revolution, as opposed to popular belief.

Finally, I also sanction the purchase of new fans in the parliament house, even though the ones there right now are really cool. If for a moment, I forget what Jaswant Singh’s drawl, I am looking forward to his new book. Weren’t you thinking of what to buy me?

Haaawlo

2006-05-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

The UnderTones

2006-03-05T04:11:00.000-08:00

The UnderTones
(Issue 004)

You may disagree...

2006-02-16T08:16:00.000-08:00

I don't mind Karan Thapar's interviews. A lot of people accuse him of not allowing his guests to talk and being too rigid for an interviewer. He has assumed the role of an Indian 'Tim Sebastian', and I don't think his interviews are unentertaining.

Is he irritating? His Sunday column in HT convinces me of the how much rubbish you are allowed to write week after week, once you have aged moderately well in the media. I would have criticized Bachi Karkaria’s column, but I withhold for a few reasons. First, on a visit to the Oxford book store, I saw a compendium of ‘Erratica’ till now. Her earlier columns (80ies) were actually entertaining, without being in your face. Second, Alec Smart salvages a lot of pride for her. I have a familial weakness for one-liners, and twisting of words. To come up with them every week has to be brilliant. Third and to top it all, Bachi found a 14 year old me funny! In a two stage debate organized by the Times of India, the elimination round composed of an extempore. In the extempore, I sought refuge in petty humour, and sailed through. After qualifying for the main debate round, I spoke with a (boring) script from memory. After the event, she mildly scolded me for not continuing with humour in the debate too. I don’t remember how I replied. It must have been accompanied with a sheepish smile.

On Sundays, I am an Indian Express loyalist.

In one fluid motion...

2006-02-02T09:16:00.000-08:00

Yes...In one fluid motion, a man with only one good leg rested his walking stick on the yellow railing dividing one of the more famous roads of Delhi into two, and jumped across with finesse that would have impressed the George's. The moongphali waala and I watched with our jaws dropping.

This is my city, where breaking rules is not the exclusive bastion of adolescents. In that sense, we cannot be accused of being exclusive. Still, I love Delhi with all it's faults.

Music

2006-01-21T12:08:00.000-08:00

Music. It plays a smaller role in my life than in yours.
Yet, it visits me in unusual ways. Music, for me, is too much of a journey to partake (rather than a state to be in, ideally). I don't really have a problem with journeys, just that I am a chronic fare dodger. I can't seem to pause, without stopping altogether. And I do stop listening to music for long periods, often months together. Yet it returns, most recently in the form of Green Tinted sixties mind, a song I have liked since I dont know when.

Still, I prefer other journeys. I 'll put in black and white then. Music from another time makes me nostalgic.

Nostagia makes me awkward, not unlike turtle necks.

New Years'

2006-01-01T07:20:00.000-08:00

Wishing you a happy new year. Like all leap years, I will make my new years' resolutions public.
Here they are -
1. To be polite to Ms. Dhingra and other boring people. Okay, starting now!
2. To perfect and polish (if there is such a thing) my Punjabi.
3. To not offend people, even when it is fun.
4. To not enter the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium with a German flag, in an India v/s SriLanka match.

Dhananjay

Tom Dick and ....

2005-12-22T11:44:00.000-08:00

Peter Roebuck, a columninst for the Express on Sunday, while describing the opinionatedness of the average Indian, proves his deep rooted knowledge of India. He talks about cricket, of course. I quote from memory.

"....cricket experts in India are many, about a billion. Every Tom, Dick and Soumitra has an opinion on the exclusion of....."

Interesting that he chose Soumitra as a representative Indian name. I wonder why I personally don't know any Soumitra's. Do you?

Dhananjay

Bihar

2005-11-22T07:59:00.000-08:00

I do not know of many who don't follow the tumultuous politics of this state. For the sheer entertainment value, it is worth keeping an eye or two on. While Nitish Kumar is being showered with much of the credit, the news channels fail to mention Paswan's massive role. He is being projected as the loser (a distant 2nd). Rightly so, but without his resolute obstinacy (resolute being an intentional tautology) , these elections would not have been possible. Before obsessing with the additional idea of a Muslim chief minister, he has had just one goal. To make sure that Laloo does not return to power. Credit must be given that in a land of political opportunists, Paswan did not budge from his stand, whatever his motivations might have been.

So, the media in Delhi (which includes me) and the others who wanted Laloo to go owe this man's obstinacy a largish thank you. His self destruct mode may bring a sea of change in the state that borders with one I often obsess with. Apparently, Nitish Kumar is known as 'Vikas Purush'- Development man.

***

I am often transported to Berlin these day through the rather humourless but well written 'Two Lives'. Recognizing the names of the streets where I once was briefly, is the same kind of lowly thrill that you get when you see Indians in an Hollywood movie.(in the background, not NRI movies of course)

Dhananjay

Leeds!

2005-11-19T09:52:00.000-08:00

Down 0-3 against the Saints at half time, Leeds scored 4 (FOUR!!!) in a space of 16 minutes. I have to see the look on Niemi's face. And to think that Liam Miller (on loan from Manchester United) scored the winner! We are fourth in the table. If only we dont lose to loser teams from now on....

Dhananjay

This had to be documented.

Being James

2005-11-03T12:37:00.000-08:00

James Toni D'Souza, the only male Christan name that Bollywood has known and used. How many movies have we seen in which the Christian guy is called James D'souza?
James Toni D'Souza, the name that Bollywood swears by. Or sometimes, swears at. Almost never, swears in.The henchman, the middleman, and more often than not, the dead man.
He is the quintessential Goanese guy, Feni-drinking, beach-combing, and skirt chasing. At the release of his biography, "Being James", we caught up with him.

Q Congratulations on celebrating your 50th year in the industry! How does it feel?
A (drawing a cigar) Feels fantastic. For years, (lighting a cigar) I have enjoyed the success.

Q What do you think are the reasons for your success ?
A First and foremost, the secular nature of Bollywood. We are an industry which is very representative. Then, again the number of horror movies that are made every year. Since, you need a grave to instill fear, D'souza steps in to die. Also, as a henchman, I have killed my fair share of men.

Q They say you couldn't act to save your life...(I hold back my laughter)
A Well, all actors get their fair share of criticism...(gets the pun and laughs) Haha...

Q On a more serious note, did you ever feel the need for more versatile roles? It must get boring in the grave all the time.
A I would say that I have quite a versatile career. Did you know that each time I was shot with a different gun? Often, the media portrays you in a typical manner. That is, in fact, the main reason, I have written this autobiography.

Q There were always tiffs with your rival Fernandez. Can we expect a patch up soon? Where does it stand now?
A Haha, the media has always raised this issue. Fernandez and I were both in a very competitive industry. Obviously, there was no love lost. In terms of talent, he was no match to me. In fact he was so bad, that he often made me turn in my grave...

Q Favourite dialog?
A Interestingly, it isn't one spoken by me, since I am in the grave most of the time. My mother /wife in the movie says " Jab mera James zinda tha, tab hum bahut feni peeta tha ". I can tell you that is true, haha. Drank a lot of Feni in my time...

_____

Sub Zero

2005-10-31T02:13:00.000-08:00

We all have moments of indecision in our lives. Some people more than others.
On DD-Sports today, there was this retarded SMS poll.
Will Dhoni hit a century today? SMS answers to...Koon koo koon koo
Also flashing on the screen were the results until now..
Yes 92% ( Fair enough, the man is on 98 )
No 3% ( Hmmm, well this is a madman we are talking about)
Can't say 5%

What??? Why in Sourav Ganguly's 'God of the off side' name would you do that? Not only are they indecisive, they actually SMS to declare their indecision. I understand there are possible prizes to win in case you get your prediction right. Mr. Ajit Solanki from Jodhpur, a possible winner says " I predicted Yes, so now I have a one in a million chance to win some DD turds " His son Sanjay was heard saying " @#@#$$$@ , phir galt ho gaya "

So, these guys "couldn't say" (but sure did) aren't even giving themselves a winning chance. This enthusiasm for SMSing has gone too far. And there was a choice this time.In surveys where a 'Seema' sounding woman calls you up and asks about the pancreatic juices of the Himalayan goat, you are entitled to say ' can't say ' , disconnect the phone line and get the hell out of there.

Another thought, could DD have fudged the results to encourage viewer participation? Why would they do this to me?

The node of all Orbits

2005-10-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

The last post was an accidental one, meant to go into a private blog I keep of my embarrasing running times.
Since the comments got deleted with the post...
Mayank : Yea, all kinds of kids, men , animals are possible obstructions at the Japanese park....They just dont get the concept of running just for the sake of it, they assume something must be wrong.

Finally, this is the link
The UnderTones

It's been up for a while now....

Dhananjay

Discarded frame

2005-10-09T05:26:00.000-07:00

Keywords - Youth's pretense.American movies.CAT 2005.

I dont like I.I like she.

She, who?
She, the daughter of Muhammad.
Muhammad, who?
I know him.I don't like I.

She was seven when they moved.
Then, she was eight when they moved.
Then, she was thirteen when they moved.
She was eighteen when she moved.
Muhammad was sixty two.Soon, he will be dead.

I did not say goodbye.
I, who? I am the narrator.

Muhammad is Somalian.I am Indian.She is half Somalian and half Austrian.
Muhammad is Muslim.I am Hindu.She is dead.

She was seven when they moved to place X.Place X, of course , was beautiful.Place X was her favourote place ever.Place X was also the scene of the war.Yes, there was war.She first learn to speak in English here.Muhammad also learnt English in Place X.Her mother did not learn English.Ever.

Then, she was eight when they moved to place Y.She went to a new school.She met me there.I was at that new school.Later that day, she found that I was her neighbor too.She fell in love with me.In a kiddish sort of way.

When she went back home, she found that Muhammad lay unconcious on the floor.He soon woke up cursing in a language she vaguely knew.Let's call this language 'A'.She was thirteen.It was then when she knew for sure that Muhammad was dying.Muhammad tried to sound cheerful and took her to dinner which he paid for over the next two weeks.I was mentioned in that dinner.I know it cheered her up.

She was eighteen when she moved.They had fought over who would clean the truck. It was young blood.It was also old blood.She never saw him again.Not directly anyway.

Muhammad's last job was as a security guard at the University.
The night shift.Of course.
I often saw him there.It was quite a release.He spoke with a strange accent.He spoke in English.He spoke of places, and he spoke of her.He spoke of Vienna, and he spoke of the wife, who still lived in Place X.

She died yesterday.

I was her imaginary friend from Place X.I should have gone with her.When she died, I should have too.Why am I still around?

Muhammad will die tomorrow.I am guessing I will go with him.Hoping.

Wake up

2005-10-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

To all those people who wanted me to wake them up when september ended...
a little late but, wake up...

Observations and ...

2005-10-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

I think the Kabuliwallah is an excellent short story.Re-read it while giving tuitions to the kid.I once wrote a story, which on afterthought, read remarkably like Kabuliwallah.(only I was Mini, all of 20)

I will finally lay my hands on the Golden Gate.

The undertones is still not up.

I don't listen to too much music anymore.If that makes me sound depressed then I must clarify that I am not.I never am, mostly!

Classroom teaching deserves a fair hearing for what remains of the semester.It's been about six years now since I have paid attention in class.So it sounds like an experiment.This experiment can do only good.

I may actually struggle to finish the Hutch great Delhi run.The bloody knees feel weird after running on the streets.

Dhananjay.

Blah

2005-09-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

These things I write (with vague semblance of that despicable art called poetry) are becoming professional hazards. Like all good young men who wish to get an M.S. degree from the land of my political (and spiritual) hero, Bill Clinton, I was in the process of writing an SOP. (Statement of Purpose)

( Thanks, Mukund for the idea).'The Curse' from Mukund Prasad will appear in the first issue of the 'Undertones'.Coming back to the issue.

'An SOP in verse' oder 'The curse of verse '

An idea more wicked than a curse,
though what might be infinitely worse,
is that in trying to sound stern and terse,
I landed an SOP in pitiable verse.

And thus it went, do read me through,
A young man from Delhi,as he grew,
fell in love with things that worked,
'Engineering it is',to himself he smirked.

Ofcourse, some of my keen readers may have noticed a new dimension to my poetry.This poem, apart from lending a sense of direction to my life, is dedicated to my great friend from Iceland,
Atiia A'fe. She has a Macedonian mother, and yes, she bathes in milk.
If you havent noticed yet, then here's a fact.
The first letter of each line spells out my good friend's name.Brilliant, isn't it?
Original?No.I am sure Mr. Dan Brown(hush,now its uncool to mention him) must have used this trick.
Seth Sahib did,most certainly.This fact was brought to my attention by Mr. Bobby Venugopal.For a deeper understanding of SOP and other blues, Bobby's objective treatment of the subject must be read.
Meanwhile, 'The Undertones' is set for a September 15th launch.A birthday gift for the one with four blogs!

(Very) Brown Dan

P.S. Thank you, Sir Anirudh for the correction on 'The Node of all orbits' issue.The context of the name of the blog being...

" Farmers, merchants, dairymen, quacks, hawkers, appeared there from week to week, and disappeared as the afternoon wasted away. It was the node of all orbits."
Thomas Hardy in chapter 24 of "The Mayor of Castorbridge"

You have to give it to me for picking out such a non-descript line!

A shirt torn, and a poet reborn

2005-09-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

Robbie Keane, young and tame!
late he came,courting blame,
"Hey,you whelp, ripped my shirt?"
"Why, young master, you look hurt!

Summer day,there was no rain,
ever so hot, and all this fur!
all the reasons to cause a stir
that ugly green made me insane"

It's not my fault.I did not choose to re-enter the treacherous domain of poetry.I was forced into it by an esteemed fellow columnist for "The Undertones".

Dhananjay

The node of all orbits

2005-07-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

The node of all orbits.
The name of this blog isn't original.
I owe it to the writer of the deepest and most apologetic romance,Thomas Hardy.
I read the phrase in "The Woodlanders".I also got my screen name Winterborne from the same book.(and not because I was born in winter,if one more person says that I will disappear permanently and with immediate effect)

My time in Deutschland (okay, Germany if you like) is almost over.
Instead of writing my training report,I am looking out at the Spree river,and the sprawling skyline of the city I have grown to love in a short time.The view of sprawling skyline is somewhat stunted by a wicked tree that probably did not choose to grow here.

Dhananjay

U-bahn and the smell of rain

2005-07-21T11:06:00.000-07:00

In the underground ( U-Bahn) this saturday, this big German guy walked up to me puposefully.Being in the east side of Berlin(where most of the skinheads hang out),at 1:30 in the night,I thought it was a good idea to make my will.He took two steps forward and says"You want to sell your T-shirt?"(in German first and after a blank scared look, in English)
This was the "Beer makes you smarter,it made Budwiser" T-Shirt that I was wearing.
I laughed it off then,but now I regret it,considering the state of my finances.

*******************************************************************************

Now,if I were captured by the most uncouth,unkind and gory aliens on THEIR planet(I have a solid back here,DPS RkPuram style),and I could offer them just one thing (from earth) to melt their hearts and spare my life,I would have made them smell the scent of earth when it just starts raining.Till today morning that is!
I discovered that Germans find the smell disgusting and close all windows when it starts to rain.Miro,who works with me,made a disgusted face when i told him that I actually love the smell,and so do the rest of the Indians.Indians,was I right or am I in for more shocks?

Ah,the smell of rain,if I start describing it.....
I would attribute my(an Indian's) love and a typical German's dislike for the smell to our associative memory.We love everything about the rain,because it comes after a brutal summer.Here,the rain robs them of the 3 months of the summer they get here.In the absolute,the smell of the rain is neutral,not meant to captivate or to disgust.I hate this didactic tone that I had in the previous sentence.You can blame it on Milan Kundera!

2005-07-05T12:08:00.000-07:00

Someone said(actually the guy in the pic) 'You haven't lived if you havent been to Riese.Interestingly,in Finnish,the Riese means pain in the backside.We got here through some to the point unsolicited advice!

2005-07-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

At the Reichstag.The Eurosaver a.k.a Ole Dutch Bike is now certified to be faster than Berlin public transport.

2005-07-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

Cheap A$$ Indians not buying maps(3 bloody Euros) and using pictures of maps in railway stations instead.Actually,we are pretty smart!

2005-07-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

Countdown clock to the World Cup 2006...All tickets sold out!

2005-07-05T11:55:00.000-07:00

The Live8 Concert.How could I miss Green Day?

2005-07-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

At the museum,we got some cool slip ons!Couldnt buy them though...

Weekend 1,part 2,Peruvian Eyes

2005-06-21T01:44:00.000-07:00

I write this now,for I may never write this afterwards.
Soon the details will become hazy,I wont stress my memory and improvise instead.

The second weekend was a touristy as you it can get.So,i would rather not write about it.I would get offended if anyone called me a tourist in Berlin.After all how many tourists could say?(scroll down for answer)

'Ich bin ein Berliner!'(I am a Berliner!)

So,I get into this bus with the professor.Flash my free ticket at the driver(who doubles up as the conductor,and no he does not scream out all the places the bus is heading towards,neither does he walk around the bus.Yes,he does sell tickets who choose to buy from him.Most ppl buy it from ticket machines on the bus stop)

The driver gives me a 'Hmmm,long night of science' look.

I give him a sheepish 'will exploit free ticket for other purposes' look.

He gives me a 'move on,there are others behind you' look.

I give him an 'okay okay' look.

All right this is stupid.So we are standing in the bus for a while and then this guy gets up from his seat.

I will switch to the past tense now,its more classy,less yuppy.

I went and plomped myself next to a chinki-ish looking but not chinki woman.I am really good at figuring at which countires which chinki women are from.You need a good eye to read those eyes.I must admit,i was completely baffled.All I knew was that she was well,super pretty.

Soon after,a barrage of Turkish women entered the bus.There is a sizable Turkish population in Germany.Nice people,remind me of Indians a bit.Not just in the way they look,but the loudness of manner.So this Turkish woman started screaming at a German guy,for he was not shifting to the window seat.The guy refused to budge,but some how all the screaming sounded like it wasnt a serious argument.So here was my chance to find out what was happening,and i asked the woman next to me.Also,i wanted to find out which country she was from.I asked her if she spoke any english.

She said "a litoool"She explained to me that it was all a joke.The German was pretending to be offended,because the Turkish woman did not say excuse me in German,and just rattled off in Turkish.

A quiet minute and then she asks "India?

"yes,and you?"

"South America",treating me like a retard who knew only names of continents.

"Oh,where in South america?"

"You know Peru?"

Now,do I know Peru or what?The land that was the setting for my abortive attempt at a novel.Did I know Peru?I once had a 62 page manuscript about a boy who did not like football.

So I told her as much.She started laughing and wanted to know the story.

Story.

Further laughter.

I am a touch offended.But what the hell,it was a stupid story.

" Where did you get those ideas from?Internet?"

Embarrasingly right.

"Maybe you can tell me a little about Peru then."

Please note i was speaking very slowly,slower than the usual slow me,enunciating every word.

"Where are you going now?"she asked.

"Well there is an exhibition about blah blah,....."

"Oh"

I could tell she was not interested i n the long night of science.

"I am going to a jazz concert in Friedrischstrasse right now.Perhaps,you can come after you are finished."

WOW!

I would have gone right then,but there a slight problem.If you have been reading attentively,there was Dr. Dasgupta somewhere in the bus.So i took the address,not hard for it was an open air concert.

I was about to get off.

"Oh,i did not ask your name."

Josemaria,she said.And i left.She did not ask mine.Good thing too,for i might have missed my stop in trying to tell her my name.

For two hours we saw some interesting exhibitions.Then my man here was tired and wanted to leave.I said that I ll continue visiting these fairs.

I took the first bus to the appointed place.

It took me some 10 minutes to find Josemaria.I could say "her" instead of Josemaria,but i think i wont get to use that name so often.

4 hours,great music!I did not enjoy the hardcore Jazz but the bluesey bands and the percussions were awesome.I learnt much about jazz from her.Not too much about Peru.
4 hours,great company!She studies in Munich and would have left sunday morning.

***********************************************************

Answer 1. Two( me and JFK, he famously said those words in 1960 something.It apparently made him very popular in these parts,something i am striving to achieve)

Weekend 1,part 1

2005-06-15T02:36:00.000-07:00

It was an interesting weekend to say the least;although,it wasn't meant to be one.On saturday,I was supposed to attend the 'long night of science' organised by the 4 universities of Berlin.TheTechnical University,where i Work is one of them.The secretary of my department,was kind enough to give me a ticket which entitled free use of public tansport from 1700 hrs to 0300 hrs the next day.I felt that this God sent piece of paper was too good to waste on a lamescience fair.I was sitting and chalking out places to visit and to max out my ticket.Meanwhile,Dr. Dasgupta,the visiting professor from IIT Kanpur,was busy making plans of his own.Those plans involved me for some reason.

Saturday morning,I walked to Tiergarden.Dont let the garden part confuse you,it is absolutely huge.On my way,i came across a famous flea market.Later,I learnt it was one of the biggest and most famous in Berlin.About the size of the thursday vegetable market near my house,but infinitely more interesting.Obviously,I was apalled to see people not bargaining.I think Russell Peters is right on target when he says 'Indian people cant live without a bargain'.Okay,i wont try to bargain in a supermarket,but i thought the whole purpose of a flea market was to sharpen your bargaining skills.

I ran a bit in the tiergarden,and got lost.Not the scary kind of lost,but the exploring kind of lost.I ran bythe river Spree and it was an awesome feeling.The 'Grossen angel' or the golden angel helped me find my way back.I left home at 8 and returned at 11.The golden angel stands on an intersection where the 'Street of 17th june' meets 'Unter der Linden'.Workers from east Berlin held a massive protest on this street on 17th June 1953.It is the Berlin equivalent of Jallianwallah bagh.Okay,too much history.

After that I went to the university to do a little work and met Dr.Dasgupta there.He had figured out a great plan involving us watching the night of science.Not bad,except there goes my free ticket.So,we left together and at 1700 hrs we saw the inaugration.I immediatly realized that this wasnt a chotta sa fair,but absolutely huge.It must have been an organizational nightmare.Centres all across the city,special buses to run etc.But this is Germany,and everything was brilliantly done and bang on time.

(to be concluded)

Berlin

2005-06-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

Decent day's work.It could have been better,had i not gone out to check out the hostel.
Busy day tomorow.There's a Coldplay concert on the 19th,may go if i m not low on money.
I had indian food last night.The german waitress was flirting in the lil' hindi she knew.I tried to flirt back in German.But her hindi was much better than my german.sample this..
Pretty German waitress(i m having the daal): Achha hai ?
Me:seht gut,danke(very good,thank you)
PGW:Behlin me kab ayee(i quickly forgive her for giving me a shot of estrogen)
Me:Heute(Today...I lied,not knowing the word for day before yesterday)
PGW:achcha hai?(Berlin,i guess)
Me:Yes it is beautiful( unlike her,i did not want to use the same words again,so i swithced to english)
So,there...
Must learn German.Herr. Quelle,my landlord is keen that i learn too.
Dhananjay

Times like these

2005-05-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

In times like these, I go to other places.
If anybody has anything at all to lend me,
please do so.Don't ask me "what can i lend you?"
All contributors shall be knighted.

Dhananjay

In other news, a five on six on the GRE essay has me really pissed these days.
Stay out of my way.

Others

2005-05-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't been posting because i have been reading other peoples secrets.
http://postsecret.blogspot.com
Dhananjay

Gabo

2005-04-26T13:06:00.000-07:00

I am now a veteran of three Marquez's.Read just about enough to call him Gabo.My Spanish is scratchy at best and i think Fidel Castro is Naipual with a country to rule.But i can tell you that you know are readin marquez when...
...you know exactly what the ending would be(although cholera was a bit surprising), know exactly how it would transpire, but for some subliminal reason continue to read in awe...
...time and reason are being manipulated at will,and you are party to it...
And as aliG would put it...
Respect!
Dhananjay
Predictions-
1>Love in the time of cholera, the movie would be rubbish.
2>Chronicle would make an excellent short film.I am assembling a team of fine actors for this project.
3>Renunciation will not find a way back.

The greatest capitalist of them all

2005-04-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

I have to nominate Milo MinderBinder from catch 22.
Opened up a random page as i used to till a couple of years back.And I read...

"Milo’s planes were a familiar sight. They had freedom of passage everywhere, and one day Milo contracted with the American military authorities to bomb the German-held highway bridge at Orvieto and with the German military authorities to defend the highway bridge at Orvieto with antiaircraft fire against his own attack. His fee for attacking the bridge for America was the total cost of the operation plus six per cent, and his fee from Germany for defending the bridge was the same cost-plus-six agreement augmented by a merit bonus of a thousand dollars for every American plane he shot down. The consummation of these deals represented an important victory for private enterprise, he pointed out, since the armies of both countries were socialized institutions. Once the contracts were signed, there seemed to be no point in using the resources of the syndicate to bomb and defend the bridges, inasmuch as both governments had ample men and material right there to do so and were perfectly happy to contribute them, and in the end Milo realized a fantastic profit from both halves of his project for doing nothing more than signing his name twice."

I heard someone actually did his Phd. thesis on Milo's profit schemes.

Dhananjay

2005-04-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

hilarious!

2005-04-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

this is a really funny story involving Prince Charles.You see this kind of thing in bollywood movies.....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/monarchy/story/0,2763,1449922,00.html

Love in the time of GRE

2005-04-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

entirely unacceptable, but i won't stop cursing myself
dhananjay

note:- Dada must not be sacked,there's a century around the corner.
clarification-I am no Banglophile!

2005-03-25T03:17:00.000-08:00

lesson 1

2005-03-18T07:22:00.000-08:00

"When in doubt about what to do,remember to do nothing at all!"
A mother's advice to her pregnant daughter,but there's a lesson for all of us.I have been in the implementing the lesson for 20 years now.

Dhananjay

Poetry in motion,hehe!

2005-03-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

Far flew the flamingo,
trying to look all discreet
I knew he was uncomfortable
for he chose not to excrete

/*This was my last shot at poetry.
Notice the excellent alliteration in line 1,and the delightful 'abcb' rhyming pattern.*/

I hate poetry!And seriously , i m not just bitter cos' i am not good at it.
Poetry has no point,serves no purpose.Makes those who understand it unhappy,and those who dont annoyed.It is a bunch of rhyming/non rhyming pretense.It is a terrible,terrible was to 'express yourself'.It is not direct,most of it anyway.
There should be a legislation to ban poetry!
Bah!Now prose is quite another thing...

Seth writes(in his prose ,by the way)...

"He is so indecisive that he takes the cake,or doesnt even know whether to!"

Dhananjay

Whelp

2005-03-18T07:07:00.000-08:00

Evening fell and there was young Robbie Keane, ostensibly returning after spending an interesting day at the MCD's unfriendly Rohini headquarters.

I slept till noon, woke up and found out that those MCD guys came and took all dogs away from the apartments.I spent the day cursing my inability to do anthting at all.
Young Robbie,the dog who was barely around here for a month was taken away.If charged with genial mental retardation,this dog would possible plead guilty on all counts.But I would miss the happy and ever hungry bugger, I thought.

Contrary to popular belief(popular=3 people or more) Robbie wasn't named after the footballer(and definitely not after that singer),but after Rabindranath Tagore,who we(now, will you marry me?) Bengalis lovinging refer to as Roby dada.This dog's expresssions are as incomprenhensible as some of Roby dada's late works.

Last month,he appeared with the same retarded expression and expected me to give him food.Now I like people who are forthright and thus were laid the foundations of our friendship.

So anyway he did come back somehow,so i wouldnt go on and on about it.Good dog!

Third rate blues

2005-03-05T23:33:00.000-08:00

Every now and then, I keep promising myself that i would write something that is not in the first person.
Finally, I wrote something in the third person.
Frankly it is quite unreadable,which is why its not on the blog.
Meanwhile, a special mention to a great man called Ken Bates for rescuing my longest lasting true love,Leed United football club.

Dhananjayaaaa

Dabblerone

2005-02-13T08:18:00.000-08:00

so dabbling wasnt all that bad...
won 2/3 events i was dabbling in...and a finalist in the thrid...not bad,eh?

dhananjay

A short story i wrote sometime back

2005-01-30T13:01:00.000-08:00

here is a short story i wrote a year back i think.....

6000 miles - A good day's work in the life of a faithful husband

" 'twill do, i think ", she said stiffly.
It wasn't the beginning of a torrid love affair.
I think those lines were spoken sometime around the
turn of the century.A time when I had little to do
,and much to observe.

She was a year older to me,and you know how i dig of stuff.I think it was the English accent that killed me.I poured her a glass of cheap Indian wine.
"Yes, there is such a thing,it isn't too bad";
anticipating the question;"though somethings are
best left to the French!"
"Yeah?like what else?"she asked without interest.
"Err,speaking French,I guess",I blurted ou and felt dumb
instantly.The air of sophistication my opening line died a thousand deaths with the unpreparedness of the second.
To my surprise,she ejected a short laugh,though i promised
myself to anticipate better.In any case reflexes weren't my strength
,planning was.

I would have you believe that i have mastered the
art of willfully surrendering the initiative in a
conversation.Get a person interested and let her
take over from there.It's like saying "Hey!here i am,
now do/say whatever you like with me."
Most people take it from there,she did not.

There was about 3 minutes of silence,the not so awkward
kinds,if there is such a thing.It wasn't working.She kept
sipping her wine graciously,in a way only the English
can.The French do not lack the grace,but they invariably have
this "We invented the wine slash it's only wine"
look i have grown to dislike.

Looking "a little constipated and charming" at the same time,
I asked her if i should pour any more.That is Nia's
description of my attempt to look disinterestedly charming.
According to her it looks as if I have been unsuccessfully
trying to locate the exact coordinates of a cistern for my
biannual unloading.I think she adds the "charming" part
because she loves me too much,and i suspect
she secretly loves that look too.

" 'twill do, i think ", she said stiffly.
"Do you travel much?"i asked,a relatively safe question
posed to someone 6000 miles away from her country.
"Oh no,not really,'cept that i keep going to France,
err the French speaking France.",she grinned.
Below the belt!!!
"Let it go.We Indians have a great sense of humour,
except it doesn't always come right in your language."
I said as I recovered."Of course,some things
aren't funny in any language",I added sheepishly.

"My language?I bet it's the language you think and
dream in!And by the way,it was quite funny,you know,
you so looked silly and eager
to impress",she giggled.

Now,really,that may have actually sounded nice if she were
solemnly reminiscing on the occasion of our 10th wedding
anniversary.

"Why it was barely five minutes back I said that and you
talk of it as if it were years ago",I said looking as if
i wasn't being taken advantage off.

"Isn't that a good thing?",she smiled flirtatiously
trying to match my fake vulnerability.
She was in the net.

"Maybe it is,but I must go now.",I said quickly and purposefully.

Then,I asked the waiter for the cheque ,paid promptly and left looking
for a real chase.
As i said, it wasn't the beginning of a torrid love affair.

2005-01-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

the Dabbler is in trouble.Three deadlines...in three days
in another 3 days you might hear me giving unsolicited advice
about not dabbling into too much.
dhananjay

A dabbler is born

2005-01-12T11:28:00.000-08:00

Too much going on these days....and i still sign up for every blasted proposition,
so,here's a resolution,
i will not sign up for any new project which sounds cool to the wannabe techie in me!
dhananjay

2005-01-03T12:04:00.000-08:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

bhopal

2004-12-20T13:53:00.000-08:00

Once in a while, i like to go to the nearby provisions store.

Often, it is to buy something.

On one such occasion last week, I stumbled upon an act of inspiring, maybe a little misplaced, integrity. An old man left the shop without the batteries he intended to purchase, because the only ones available were manufactured by a company called Eveready Ltd. "They make good batteries, you know ", I chipped in to help the good old shopkeeper, who has lost faith in micro-credit because of yours truly.

"They are the company responsible for the Bhopal gas tragedy, and I don’t intend to make killers any richer.” he retorted.

So, now I give him my not so often used 'Hey pal, it was Union Carbide' look.

He seemed to understand and told me Eveready batteries Ltd. was, in fact, Union Carbide India limited renamed.

Now, that I did not know.....

I did not know until then, that according to the official toll, there were 3,828 deaths, and 2,680 persons with permanent partial disability; 1,313 persons with temporary disability from permanent injury and 7,172 persons with temporary disability from temporary injury; 18,922 persons with permanent injury with no disability and 173,382 persons with temporary injury with no disability.

All I knew was that it was something terrible that happened in the month I was born. But now, I was seriously worried if I had funded the perpetrators in any way. Surely, a company, if in any way responsible for the tragedy, would not be allowed to function and actually make profits, just by renaming itself. I decided to check out if Eveready India Ltd was in any way responsible. Here's what I found out…

In November 1994, UCC completed the sale of its 50.9 percent interest in Union Carbide India Limited to McLeod Russel (India) Ltd. of Calcutta. Indian government financial institutions owned 26 percent of the shares and some 24,000 Indian private citizens owned the balance. UCIL is primarily a dry-cell battery manufacturer. UCIL was subsequently renamed, Eveready Industries India Ltd. (EIIL). As part of this transaction, EIIL became the leaser of the property and assumed full responsibility for the environmental clean up of the site.

I am not sure if the old man was right in brandishing EIIL as murderers. after all the company's owners did change, and they did take responsibility for cleaning the site.

What more could they have done? Maybe not buy the company at all. But, then, someone else would have. Well, whatever it is, public memory is cruelly short.

But, this gentleman remembered. He spoke exactly 2 lines to me and wiped out a fraction of my ignorance.

Here’s something else to think about...

If you have seen the brilliant movie "Erin Brockovich", you would know that the compensation given to the 600 Hinkley residents by Pacific Gas co. was $333 million. If I am allowed to be simplistic about it, this translates to roughly $0.5 million a person.

The total compensation to the 200165 (official) victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy was $470 million. Now, that translates to $2348 per victim.

$0.5 million v/s $2348.

We have a reason to feel shortchanged, right?