What a bloggy day!! #blcm

I had set my alarm at 7:30 AM... Had made all the plans to get up early as I was about to go to the blog camp un-organized by @mokshjuneja @ideasmithy @netra @annkur So, this was supposed to be my first ever blogcamp. I was all set to make sure that I don't miss out on this opportunity. Was really excited to meet up fellow bloggers and talk to them casually about nothing.... Just like 'Jerry Seinfeld's' show, this #blcm was about nothing... Haha... well actually it turned out to be more than just that...And I was glad that I finally got to attend it.

So having said that, my alarm at 7:30 AM was overambitious... especially going by my standards of waking up on a Sunday morning, and that too after not having slept at all since Saturday night... Well, all said and done, I somehow managed to wake up by 9:00 and reach the venue at around 10 am... As soon as I stepped into IIT, my college memories were back. Just like @beeayeanoowhy had also tweeted out. So well, yea, it was really a good feeling to be attending this session. I reached on time, and we hadn't started till about 11:00 AM, hoping for some others to join us as well... but, I guess this time around it was a few handful of us say about 20-30 people who were going to talk about our blogging experiences.

One of the best things about this kind of a format is that it encourages you to really talk without any inhibitions about what you want to and as bloggers discuss things openly and not hesitate making an opinion, besides of course on their blogs. Some of them knew each other and had interacted with each other many times, some were new and new to blogcamp itself, myself included. So we didn't kind of know, what to expect.

But when it started flowing it was really what it was supposed to be. With sessions from each and every blogger about their experiences, some about movie reviews, some about poetry. Some about sketching experiences and others about what blogging meant to them. Some about how blogging should be done for passion and why we shouldn't blog if we don't really have something meaningful to say. Some of them talked about really interesting concepts like comics and how blogging helped them realize and reach out to many... Some really enchanted and touched us with their stories of how blogging really helped them woo their someone specials parents (a really nice cue to Channel V's Date My folks :P) and some really talked about how blogging helped them really make a difference to the society and the country's politics. A lot of them had very valid points and all of them really focused on one single point... the point that all of us really crossed tangents with.

That was one of the strong messages that came out and I really felt where a lot of us agreed to was the fact that blogging as a whole is and will be in the future taken as a serious community. Yes there was discussion about 'Are bloggers out there to sell themseves out to Brands/PR agencies? or are we free to write our own independent content and yet be appreciated by these same brands for voicing our honest opinions. Also, whether blogging can be seriously taken or is taken as mainstream media... How does user generated content become important in taking important decisions of buying products, vs just making a simple decision of watching a movie or not. For that matter, what is the definition of the true purpose of why a blog exists and what it achieves to really do

.

Essentially a blog was a 'Web Log' Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. (Wikipedia) but now, we all know that a blog is more than that and a blogger has evolved manifolds.

But what I also felt was a very important point was... 'What next??' and that is what Moksh also asked us... A really serious thought and I thought about it on my way back.. really good point to contemplate about and truly set goals for myself. Where do I head from here?

What do you think?? Where to now??

Read more from other bloggers here: Pradeep Mohandas: Parallel Spirals; BlogCamp Mumbai – MoodI 2010

Ideasmithy's Blog: Mood Indigo-BlogCamp Dec 2010: Visual Blogging, Quality versus Quantity, Travelogues & More Vishal Gadkari: Facebook Photos

Ramya Pandyan: The Idea-smithy Facebook Page Photos

TechGreek Stuff: Facebook Photos

Harish ‘Aham’ Iyer: The Pregnant Thought & BlogCamp @IIT Bombay

Manoj Kewalramani: Voter Files & Blog bang!!

Sampath Iyengar: Facebook Photos

DUB FX gig @ Blue Frog Mumbai

So before I go ahead and blog about this super amazing gig that happened at Blue Frog on Tuesday night at Blue Frog, I need to give you a taste of what DUB FX is all about? Check out this video of his Courtesey the Dewarists (Dewars) http://www.facebook.com/DewarsIndia

Well yea, you can go ahead and Wiki him up too. But truly what he's all about I got to know from this blog that I stumbled upon

http://sumofchange.blogspot.com/2010/01/music-monday-dub-fx.html

Before I went there, I hadn't heard DUB FX, and didn't know much about his music. Frankly, I just knew he's an Australian BeatBoxer. But when I went to Blue Frog, they were showing this video and I really struck a chord with his one statement.

"Don't do something, someone else thinks. Stick to your beliefs, never try something someone else thinks, it's fake and people will see through it." I totally agree with that, not just in music but whatever you do in life.

So there he was, with his gig, started off with a really racy number grooving to it...everyone really caught up with music at that instant. Next Up he got on to the stage, his fiance The Flower Fairy... She was really amazing too, especially the way she emoted her music and expressed herself with great emotions. That was like a really good couple doing great music out there. The entire house was shaking and dancing to their moves, raising their hands and really sticking to the rhythm and the beat.

Well, you thought that's what the gig is all about?? No wait... there was some great fusion... coming your way. Sabir Khan with his Sarangi turned his magic on and Rhys with the saxophone blew our minds! They even played, beatboxed and saxophoned the famous track I always loved from the movie 'The GhostBusters' We had everyone shouting, who you're gonna call "Ghostbusters' :)

All in all it was truly an experience to remember..

#IntelAppBuzz in Bangalore - 8th November 2010

[slideshow]

It was an exclusive tweetup. A tweetup that we had been waiting for, for quite a while now. Yes, Intel Software Network had organized for this TweetUp right after Diwali. I had been to Bangalore to celebrate Diwali with my relatives, my cousin and my friends. At the same time I got an opportunity to be part of this amazing Tweetup that was organized.

Scott Apeland, director developer network, Intel,  was going to come down to Bangalore for this tweetup. Especially to meet all the Bangalore bloggers and tech tweeps. So it was a session that we all were really excited about. This was a session that we didn't want to miss. I'm sure most of the bloggers out there agree with me on that one. What say folks? Well anyways, the whole #IntelAppBuzz was going to feature the Intel AppUp center and MeeGo.

Yes there certainly has been a lot of excitement about MeeGo in the past few months and of course the Intel AppUp center bloggers were certainly excited to know more, especially if it came from the horse's mouth.

What followed later that evening was certainly a great session, a casual tweetup as was expected and certainly a wonderful Q&A session with Scott and Narendra Bhandari, who was the Asia Pacific Head for Intel.

What we all bloggers learnt was... Intel AppUp center has about 1500 Apps already with over 25% of the apps being developed by Indian developers. Secondly, it has tied up with Croma and BestBuy to deliver their apps directly to consumers. Croma for Indian users and the latter for U.S.A consumers. Developers have a great opportunity to develop their apps on Windows as well as Mobilin SDKs. MeeGo SDK has just been recently released.

But one of the most exciting part for developers is the fact that they have great avenues to develop their apps. With .NET, C, C++ and Adobe AIR at their disposal. Also JAVA SDKs we were told would be available soon. Besides that for the developers they can fix their own price and they will be working with Intel at a 70:30 Profit sharing revenue model. Also they can not just sell apps but also components. What more could you ask for as  a developer? :)

As far as the consumers are concerned it's a good thing to go for the Intel Appup center as it offers you to download their apps for various form factors and really great apps not just for your netbooks , laptops but also for your handsets and other devices.

Here are some useful resources.

Developers:

http://appdeveloper.intel.com/en-us/

http://appdeveloper.intel.com/en-us/MeeGo

http://appdeveloper.intel.com/en-us/challenge

http://appdeveloper.intel.com/en-us/sdk

Consumers

http://www.appup.com

 

Love, Life, Philosophy, etc...

So one of the most interesting things that happen to you in life... You realize you are not the only one of your own kind. You start feeling that the world is something that is designed for a beautiful collection of spirits, souls who are enchanted by the beauty of it's own reach. Sometimes when you think about certain things, you keep wondering... Oh my god, "I was the one who thought about this thing..."

You think, "Oh man, how similar my thoughts are... to that person..." You keep wondering as the conversation keeps on progressing. You imagine why... why didn't I meet this person before. What was he/she doing all her life? Where was he/she? One of the most important things that we have never discovered, nor tried to analyze... It's a simple fact, a fact that if explained properly..will make you wonder... How did this not occur to me? How can this ever happen?

So many times, once an incident has happend, you keep telling yourself.. How lucky you have been to have achieved something, met someone, fallen in love with someone or got married to somebody. Some people believe in destiny, fate, GOD or for that matter simple occurrences called coincidence. Well, the truth to the matter is it's a simple fundamental of 'Six Degrees of Seperation' , " Korean Red Circle Philosophy"

You might be wondering what I'm talking about, you might be thinking to yourself, I'm either drunk or half mad... Well, maybe not.. You might even be relating to many aspects of this. Unlike, what happens in Bollywood, movies or for that matter in your romantic novels and college love stories.. these are facts.. Truth that you cannot ignore.

Some has to probably do with Murphy's law... and in this context, reverse Murphy's law. Basically in Murphy's law, "Everything that has to go wrong, will go wrong!" How many times, have you thought of carrying an umbrella because it will rain and left it, cause you think it won't be needed. And that is when it rains. How many times do you take a shorter queue realizing the longer queue will take longer to finish? And end up waiting in the shorter queue, while the other queue finishes first...

It's the same fundamental, only in this case, whatever has to go right, goes right and as said by Ralph Waldo Emerson,  "Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen."

That's what is this life all about... Ultimately no matter what, if you are destined to meet, you will end up meeting at those points as stated by the ' Korean Red Circle Philosophy" The most amazing part is that you end up looking at a reflection of yourself and realize that you were meant to be. You start connecting dots and realize... this was destined to happen. Has that happened to you? I'm sure it has... Right?

Imagine so many things falling in place especially after you have connected the dots and analyzed that this was all part of a conspiracy, a great huge conspiracy with various connections ingrained... a conspiracy by the universe!!! I believe in these concepts. I'm not sure why. Probably because of so much that has happened to me in life... But truth be told, more important is us, realizing small facts, to connect those dots and learn. Be it, love, life, death or anything... It's all a simple philosophy at the end of the day...

"Life is what you get in return for your belief...  A belief that you exist because you are meant to be..." What say?

How I fought Corruption & so can you...

Ok, before I go on and blog about an incident that happened to me let me clarify a few points. Also since this account is detailed, it may seem to be long, however the issue is certainly something you guys would have a view on. So please bear with me.

1. We all may or may not have faced corruption, given in to temptation or have taken that as an option to ease our tasks. Let me confess I have in the past, once or twice... So I have been guilty...

2. I chose not to complain or crib in this post, but to just tell you a few points that could help you if you are in a situation like this. What your choice is later is completely up to your convenience. But the truth to the matter is, if you try, it's not difficult to resist it.

3. Lastly, I have not chosen to fight individuals in this incident and hence not revealing location / place where it happened. You also have the option of fighting it out in the court of law. But I have not done that as I don't consider myself to be completely devoid of corruption in my life so far and yes, we all may have made mistakes, lied, cheated been corrupt for we all are human including the person who is involved in the situation. The idea here was to fight the issue not the person. I may or may not have impacted the person in a positive or a negative way, however the idea was to do it the right way because I want to start making a change, moving forward and hope to succeed every time. I'll try. What happens next.. only time will tell. Fight the issue, not the people...

Here goes the story:

Well, I had to go to the Police Station to register a complaint of a lost National Savings Certificate which I had bought from a post office six years ago. Since I had lost it, I needed to file an NC / Complaint and procure a Certificate / Document also known as a 'Praman Patra' to produce in the post office to then follow a lengthy procedure of 1 or 2 months to get my money back.

So all that was required from the Police Station, was that certificate.

Question: What does one need to do to get that document?

Answer: He/She needs to file an NC/Complaint. Sign there and get it.

What happened here:

Me: Sir, I need to file a complaint of a lost NSC. I need a certificate / receipt of the complaint from you to show it to the post office.

Cop: (Asks a lot of questions, shows me some documents, affidavits so to speak, tries to understand whether I know the law or not... I comply and pretend to be ignorant and let him lead the conversation.) He deduces I'm ignorant and gives me his pitch.

He says, "You'll need an affidavit from a lawyer which will state all these points and then we will give you a certificate!

Me: Are you sure? But the post office told me, I just need to file an NC and then you'll issue me the certificate.

Cop: Forget what they said, I'm telling you this.

Me: So do you know where I can find a lawyer?

Cop: You go and find. I don't know anyone here.

Then the conversation get's interrupted, someone else comes and another cop comes to him. He asks me to sit aside in a chair and that he'll deal with me in a bit. (Probably a ploy to make me anxious. His first attempt to negotiate a deal out of me)

Cop: Kulkarni, ithe ya (Come here)

As I walk up to him, he looks at all the documents I carry along with me. (NSC Photocopy, My ID Proof and a written application in Marathi)

Cop: Me ek bolu ka tumhala? (Shall I tell you something?)

Me: Yes please tell me. (By this time I anticipate what he is going to say)

Cop: You'll go to get an affidavit done from a lawyer. How much will the stamp paper cost?

Me: I don't know sir.

Cop: Rs. 100, And do you know how much would the lawyer's fees be?

Me: I don't know sir.

Cop: Rs. 200, Also Rs. 100 for typist to write the affidavit.

Me: Is that so? *Me thinks, he thinks, I'm from Alibag*

Cop: So, what I can tell you is... something for your convenience, we can get this sorted out. See you'll have to pay at least Rs. 500 to them anyways, now we all know how our duty is. Konhi pan ek paisa aso kivhan shambhar rupaye aso, kadhi tyaala nahi nai bolnar. (Whether it's 1 rupee or 100 rupees no one of us would say no to it.) His own way, convincing himself, or rather me of what he's doing is okay and acceptable. Which maybe right in his own point of view.

Me: *Now I've got him* So how much do I give you?

Cop: It's upto you.

Me: Sir, I'm telling you the truth, right now I've only 80 Rs. in my wallet. (Trying to find out how much he would quote, which he never did)

I again got interrupted by another issue he attended, in fact, this was another girl who had lost her blackberry and this cop had dismissed her and her mom, stating some technical reason. Probably she knew someone in the Police Station, a higher up and immediately there was another Inspector out there. He scolded this constable and told him to get the NC/FIR/Complaint done and give them the certificate. The same thing I needed too.

Now, the devil inside me started running wild. I realised, there is no affidavit required and he was just trying to CON me, in fact trying to make his case strong so that I cave in and give him the required amount of bribe, which he had not yet quoted.

So this is what I decided to do:

I thought of getting it on my mobile camera and then decide what to do with it. I also thought to myself.. "Shall I give him the money and then get my work done?" But then I thought, what's the point?? Ok, I'd probably have to wait and maybe pay more for the lawyers fees... but wait, it's just not required in the first place. So I decided to go with my plan.

I waited there, stealthily, my mobile camera on shooting some random clips, whatever was going inside the Police Station... Still.. waiting and the cop is yet to call me to continue our conversation... But no luck... he is still busy with the other issue... I'm trying as much as possible to avoid being caught. i.e Hoping no-one notices I'm recording on my mobile camera.

Then the cop calls me...

I get up and start walking up to him and suddenly, there is another cop who comes from behind.

Cop 2: Give me your camera.

Me: Here...

Cop 2: Stop the recording.

Me: It's stopped

Cop 2: What did you shoot?

Me: Nothing as of now, just random shots...of people talking (I handed over my mobile to him. I admitted immediately what my objective was.)

Suddenly another guy joins him, there is another cop who comes. They start convincing Cop 2, that I was shooting for a while now... as if I'm the criminal now... I don't think there is a prohibition/criminal law against taking pictures / shooting inside the police station, however I didn't think it would be an issue as I co-operated and gave them my mobile.

Cop 2: Why were you shooting?

Me: Ask this guy (Cop1), I said.

Then I explained the situation and told him, he was asking for a bribe... blah blah and blah. By this time there was panic on Cop 1's face and at the same time he pretended to be angry. He was also trying to emotionally blackmail me by saying, this is what you did hah, talked sweetly and tried to nail me.. blah blah n blah.

Anyways, I showed him all the videos, deleted them even though I had not really got any evidence. While watching the video with my mobile in his hands, Cop 1's hands were literally shivering. Anyways, I don't blame him. He is not really the issue. Cop 2 was smart and knew they are in a soup and politely requested me to delete the video, not that it would matter.

First thing is first, the Cop misguided me, told me I'd need an affidavit for something I did not. We all know this was his pitch/ploy to get me to pay him the bribe. Secondly, he also openly asked me for bribe, however without actually quoting the amount. What I want to say is, I've been to a police station earlier, for a similar incident in college, where I lost my ID Card. Back then, proper procedures were followed and I didn't have to bribe anyone. So you know...

If this incident would not have happened, maybe I'd have caved in, or maybe not... I may have been wrong in actually doing what I did. But then again, maybe not. You guys tell me. At that point in time, that is what I did, for my convenience. I'm guilty of that. It may seem as though I actually tried to corner them using my freedom of speech, right to expression or maybe not.

Maybe I'd have spent unnecessary 500 bucks on an affidavit that was not needed. But the real question is how can we avoid paying them a bribe?? Now this incident may be restricted to that individual. I'm sure I may not or should not generalize by saying, the entire dept. is corrupt. That is completely an individual opinion. What he's doing maybe right or wrong. I'm not even arguing that point. I was able to do what I did, could have been because of many reasons which others may not be in a position to do. That is not really the question... The real question is.. the system, a system which we all keep blaming and do nothing about. The question is, is it his fault that he asks bribe? Or is it the system that is faulty. Doesn't increase their pay, doesn't care for their safety. They have to fight such a battle.. In the wake of 26/11 we all asked these questions. Is it their fault that all of them are not well off and don't have the luxury or comfort, which many have? Or is it just the peer pressure that all cops have to give in to? Does everyone who approach them encounters the same or they treat every case differently? Because I had the money and because he felt that I will give him the money? or he just did that to all...

Also, these are questions always asked and we all ending up saying the same thing, I used to as well. 'It's the system, it's the people, its the cops or for that matter it's the government.  I realized today it's no one but 'US.' Not all, but the ones who succumb to convenience and end up encouraging them to take bribe. So in a nutshell, here are a few things you should know:

1. Be aware of the law. If you don't know anything.. use Section 4 of RTI (Right to Information Act) and find out what is really the case. It's a little longwinded sometimes, but it can work.

2. If you can, refer to websites of your local police you will find a lot of guidance. I did that as an after thought.

3. Show some patience if you have the time, else you will always cave in.. Like I've before and I admit to being guilty of that.

4. Lastly, don't be afraid of the Police. They are here to "Protect and Serve" If possible do your research and then go ahead as per procedure.

Do let me know what you guys feel?

#TedxPune - Truly Inspiring Better Citizenship - Great Event

As I sat there waiting for #TEDxPune to start, I was looking around and thought to myself. How many people out here have come to truly attend a session that will talk about inspiring better citizenships. TEDxPune is not just about inspiring citizenship, but it's about bringing the most important things around you to reality. There are so many things that I did not know before the event and certainly felt enlightened, truly. I mean the speakers that were lined up were simply inspiring. The thoughts that they had and the ideas they wanted to share with us were certainly awesome!

What can an Idea bring about? An Idea can spread like wildfire. How do we do it though? Well most importantly the question is of the willingness! Yes, there is an Idea that you think of! But what do you really do about it? Do you ever, think of  mapping the idea to achieve your goals? Well, you don't need a stir to be able to do that. This is what I realized after I attended #TedxPune!

The conference started by a welcome note by my friend and the curator Mr. Abhishek Suryawanshi. Then it was Mr. Lalit, who asked us if we were hungry? Well, hungry that we were, he was talking about satisfying our hunger with some food for thought. And that he did indeed... A certain food for thought that made me think... What am I doing to make sure that my ideas are being heard. What am I doing to stand out and make a change.

With the first speaker, M/s Meera Sanyal, talked us through her experience as a Banker and an independent candidate to South Mumbai constituency. She  went through a great process when she decided to take a sabbatical from her work life and stand as a candidate in her constituency. Were you aware that you can also stand for elections through your constituency. We have a right to make that change. She took upon herself to make that change! What's the first thing that she should do? You'll probably say, go around the city and ask for votes. Well you are mistaken. She did not decided to do that. Instead she went near a slum around her area to understand the process, lives and reality of the cause that she supported.  During this period, she told us about a couple of interesting stories.

A woman once came to her and told her, "I won't vote for you. I'd vote for the criminals instead" Surprised that someone came to her upfront and told her about her views, she asked her why?

To which she got an answer, "Well, because if something happens to my daughter, if someone takes her away, then it is these criminals who would get her back within a day." True isn't it? With movies like Sarkar, depicting this very fact, and real life stories like these making a point that she made. Truly, she said, state is not that efficient in getting justice, but these criminals so to speak are able to. One such learning that she shared during her entire process. But the epitoma of her talk was a very simple question that we must ask ourselves... which she depicted via another conversation she had with her father, who was an admiral in the navy. His belief is, if we depend on state to provide us security, we will need 1.2 billion policemen for all of us. He inspired the thought of individuals becoming policemen. Yes, each and every individual can bring about a change. Do we really ever think about this one?

Then it was Mr. Surendra Shroff. He had a very interesting style of narration. Well, he showed us truly how easy and inexpensive it is to actually use Newspaper bags. He told us a story of how, he taught blind people in Lonavala, orphans in Pondicherry.  What a truly inspiring and an amazing Idea that he wants to spread. And in fact he gave us a great bunch of analogies and anecdotes of how he has managed to at least reach out to 10,000 people. He believes in the idea that these 10,000 could be billions if you and I supported those institutions who sell these newspaper bags. They are not inexpensive as well. In fact, they also support around 15KG, which he showed via a live demonstration. In fact, one of the most interesting things that he said was about how, Times of India donated over 10,000 tonnes of newspaper for this project of his. Kudos to them.

Then there was Ms. Vineeta Deshmukh who talked about her individual movement against DOW chemicals, yes the same company involved in Bhopal Gas Tragedy. How DOW Chemicals was forced out of Pune, where they came on pretext of research and were actually using their industry / plant to manufacture and in turn, polluting rivers nearby. How did she do it? Simple, something we all call RTI (Right To Information) act. Yes, she as an individual, made a difference.

All in all #TedxPune was certainly a collection of Ideas that were truly worth sharing, be it Mr. Shroff, Ms. Sanyal, Ms. Vineeta Deshmuk;s thoughts of Governance or for that matter the thoughts of Mr. Rajendra on Ganga river, Mr. Modak's talk about using a helmet and showcasing what is important than the beauty of the bandit queens as I call them! Besides that the beautiful videos that they chose on the day that matched the theme of TedxPune of inspiring better cities! Mr. Vinod Bodhankar, who helps change in the city by making a change in me. Yes his project was eco-restoration. Showed us how they made a change by physically going and making a change by going out in the city and cleaning up for better tomorrow.  Very good quote he mentioned, one by Mahatma Gandhi, "We must be the change that we want to see in others."  Very true. So were the ideas by Mr. Vijay Kumhar, a noted RTI activist. One who got the chief minister to resign.  But, last but not least, a really beautiful message that was sent through the classical dance, art of India by Neha Bhatnagar, the same Neha who performed at the opening of the Commonwealth Games. Well, certainly strong emotions by her to showcase a message that she had in mind. One of change, one of fighting through various odds through the power of dance. I've always felt that dance and martial arts for that matter, are truly a way of life. They have such power that very few really understand the true purpose of one learning these art forms. In fact, one can learn everything that you want to, about life... through this form of art. As rightly expressed during a balle where Neha narrated and enacted a story of Neelu Sahay, how this dancer fought all odds and made this country proud. Yes, that through the strong medium of art. What we watched here was something that we will remember for quite a while. Strong, yet very soft means of expressing a message that we all have heard umpteen times, yet the impact was much greater. Kudos to Neha and her way of life! What a certainly exciting ending to #TedxPune!

Every thing was relevant to the theme and truly opened my eyes on why inspiring better cities really is important! It was truly an evening that I cherished and I'm sure everyone else did too.

One core message. #TedxPune Inspiring better citizenship is not by bringing a  huge revolution, but as I had stated earlier, 'Making a Small Change' A small change that can impact small but meaningful differences. Every speaker reinstated that fact. One such important lesson that we all have learn't through many revolutions that were stirred by none other than us, the common men! What better location or venue to host such an event but Symbiosis Vishwabhavan. The place where you are greeted by a statue of R.K Laxman's common man. What do you think??? Is that a sign??  Well, yes, you can bring about a change!!

Chris Anderson - How YouTube is driving innovation

Chris Anderson says the rise of web video is driving a worldwide phenomenon he calls Crowd Accelerated Innovation -- a self-fueling cycle of learning that could be as significant as the invention of print. But to tap into its power, organizations will need to embrace radical openness. And for TED, it means the dawn of a whole new chapter ...

This is the welcome video shown at #TedxPune Watch it and be amazed!!! :)

Idea No. 10 - 10.10.10 - Make a small change

A very interesting video. On the onset of today's final day. My final Idea. What better and apt than relating the concept to this particular video. Amazing, thoughts.

So finally, the D-Day is here. I'm all set and excite to go to #TedxPune. As a matter of fact, I'm already on my way there. Well, yea, writing this blog in the Volvo to Pune. Thanks to my netbook. :) Well, anyways so far I've shared a whole bunch of ideas in the form of great videos from TED. True, these are the ideas that are astounding enough to stir a revolution. But the true question I always ask myself is how many people really take the effort and do something in our stride to make sure these ideas are brought to life. They are implemented. Well, many of us come together, come and be part of certain events, revolutions so to speak. But once the events are over, we just go back to our normal life. I think myself, sometimes what is really necessary for us to make sure that these ideas are implemented to the core. But then I don't really get a truthful answer. Yes, there are people who dedicate their lives to stir a revolution and their entire purpose in life is to bring that one Idea to life and dedicate their lifetime.

Well, the simple answer to this is 'Make a small change. A small change that you think could impact a certain element of your life. People around you.  Make that revolution, by making a series of changes. Every little bit that you think you can. One of the simplest ways you can make a revolution is by influencing every one who is around you. By your thoughts, by the positivity, by the simple dreams that you think can make a small change yet impact everyone around you in a fashion that you think  you can revolutionize the world around you. Think harder in a different direction, but make sure your impact is much more towards the goal that you have in that small change. That is what is needed in today's world. Slowly you'll realize that people will mould themselves, because they see the impact those small changes can bring.

Think about these things and keep on Ideating! Next blog will be about #TedxPune itself. So until then, happy reading.

Idea no. 9 - His Holiness the Karmapa: The technology of the heart

His Holiness the Karmapa talks about how he was discovered to be the reincarnation of a revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism. In telling his story, he urges us to work on not just technology and design, but the technology and design of the heart. He is translated onstage by Tyler Dewar

Idea No. 8: Stacey Kramer: The best gift I ever survived

3

Idea No. 7 - Shh! Sound health in 8 steps

Julian Treasure says our increasingly noisy world is gnawing away at our mental health -- even costing lives. He lays out an 8-step plan to soften this sonic assault (starting with those cheap earbuds) and restore our relationship with sound.

Idea No. 6 - Gary Wolf - The quantified self

At TED@Cannes, Gary Wolf gives a 5-min intro to an intriguing new pastime: using mobile apps and always-on gadgets to track and analyze your body, mood, diet, spending -- just about everything in daily life you can measure -- in gloriously geeky detail.

Idea No. 5 - Where do Good Ideas come from?

People often credit their ideas to individual "Eureka!" moments. But Steven Johnson shows how history tells a different story. His fascinating tour takes us from the "liquid networks" of London's coffee houses to Charles Darwin's long, slow hunch to today's high-velocity web.

Idea no. 4 - Are Mushrooms the new plastic?

Product designer Eben Bayer reveals his recipe for a new, fungus-based packaging material that protects fragile stuff like furniture, plasma screens -- and the environment. Watch this video, think and seriously make that change. Inspire for a change!

Idea no 3 - 10 Young Indian Artists to watch.

This time I decided to pick something to do with Entertainment and design. Indeed, this is certainly one of the best ten picks by Ravin Agarwal. By now, since you've watched these videos, you might find this certainly interesting where one of the most inspiring things about these is how simple things can form great ideas. Ideas certainly don't need to be great by themselves. It's persistence of the Ideator and certainly the passion and dedication. These are certainly small concepts but beauty of the art and the design is how well and meticoulosly taken out time to create these ideas in whatever form or shape that they would want to.

See it's not just about the art or the metaphor that goes along, but also about the interesting inspiration behind each of these ideas. Sometimes when you think, you ask yourself, why didn't I think of this? Don't you??

Idea no. 2 - How Mr. Condom made Thailand a better place

Continuing in the series of posting 10 Ideas worth sharing before #TedxPune on 10.10.10. Here is an interesting topic for starters eh? Indeed, especially if you live in a country with a population of 1.2 Billion. More importantly in a country full of beliefs of various cultures and different schools of thoughts! More importantly with the literacy rate being so low, can we stir up something that??

A certain thought and a question for all of us to ask ourselves.

From 1974 with this campaign the growth rate was reduced from 3.3% to 0.5 %

1991-2003 New HIV / AIDS Infection declined by 90%

This is certainly a brilliant Idea and inspiring better cities. Can we do something that will help us create better cities?

#TedxPune - 10.10.10 - Inspire Better Cities

Idea no 1 - Sixth Sense by Pranav Mistry

"Check out this great concept and idea that was a brilliant project way back in 2000 and now is a great achievement."

Today I got a call from the curator of #TedxPune. aka @Abhisurya  I'm glad that I've got an invite for #TedxPune to happen on 10th October 2010. 10.10.10 ! What a landmark date for an event of such great proportions. Well, there, I was certainly hoping to get in and make sure that I am part of inspiring better cities. So here I got my opportunity. Great isn't it? So what am I going to do about it? There are these simple theories where one random act of kindness make a lot of difference. ARK as popularly known in the movie Evan Almighty. A lot of people might know what TED stands for (Technology Entertainment & Design)but how many of us know the true meaning to what it really stands for? I ask this question myself. So yes you'll go ahead and Google it up, Wiki it for all you know... but no where will you find the answer that you are looking for. Many people ask me what do you keep tweeting about, what is #TedxPune?

I have only one simple answer for all of them. No I'm not going to give them a lecture and a brief on what Ted is cos they can google n wiki it up, but what #TedxPune is all about is bringing about a change, a change to inspire better citizenship. Be it in any vertical you think is important for you to drive it. Not just about Technology, Entertainment and Design, but also about the daily lives that we live. #TedxPune is about driving that opportunity where people share ideas, ideas worth sharing... Something that will bring this country together and develop and inspire great minds to think out of the box,

So here is what I'm going to do for the next ten days!!! I'm going to upload and share with you 10 different ideas from TED, they maybe in form of videos, articles, art form and something that will help you inspire better thinking and probably start contributing in your own way. So today's is one of my personal favorite. By now you might have seen the video, and it might have amazed you to the core. What do you think about this great acheivements? Do let me know your comments!

Wall Street - Money Never Sleeps - My review

Okay, so I don't usually do movie reviews on my blog, even though I'm an avid movie-geek or a buff with about 150 GB of movies on my HDD to prove it, it's jut not my cuppa generally to review movies as I enjoy most movies from a very script point of view rather than the whole package / direction, screenplay, casting blah blah and blah. Anyways so I decided to write a review on this movie for a few reasons, mainly to do with the simple fact that I've been highly impressed by Oliver Stone's original version and the  flamboyant character of Gordon Gekko. I mean come on who wouldn't be especially during the era when being a stock trader, smoking Cuban cigars, having a flashy Merc / Limo and wearing a suit to work was any young man's fancy. Ok, maybe I'm not as old as you guys think, but certainly Wall Street is part of my 150 GB collection and I loved it to the core.

So yes, I do enjoy trading on the Dalal Street and I'm always thrilled by stock markets and related news, movies, books etc. So while we wait for Madhur Bhandarkar probably to make our own version of the Wall Street where we see a completely different Gordon Gekko, after being sentenced to 8 years of prison for insider trading. The movie starts with Gordon Gekko getting out in 2001 after finishing his sentence. Flash forward to 2009 where Gordon has published a book Is Greed Good? and is tired of the corporate life, he has become a preacher so to speak.

Then the movie zooms to a young man's life, Jake Moore (played by Shia Lebouf) who is a hot shot trader working with one of the best investment firms in NYC. He is certainly the kind of a trader who thinks of Gordon Gekko as a  role model while having a father figure in Louis Zable the head of his firm, played by Frank Langella. So the story moves on when his firm goes under and Louis Zable the father figure commits suicide.  What Jake later realizes is that the firm went under because of rumors circulated by one of the rival firms headed by Bretton James (played by Josh Brolin).

Now comes the interesting part, Jake Moore is in a serious relationship with a news reporter / blogger Winnie, Winnie 'Gekko' (played by Carrie Mulligan) yes, she is Gordon Gekko's daughter who hasn't spoken to her father and shares an estranged relationship with him. Jake, forms a pact albeit a secret one with Gordon to get him back with his daughter, in the process trying to reconcile and take revenge from Bretton who of course shares the same kind of rivalry with Gordon, a thing from his past... Well, I won't say much for the details will certainly be interesting enough for you to watch the movie and I wouldn't want to spoil your fun. Will Gekko really get back to his daughter and regain her trust? Will Jake be able to take revenge of the death of his father figure is something you gotta watch out for yourself.

What I really enjoyed was how well the stock market terminology and jargons are properly used in the movie. The relationship between Jake and Winnie is very real and the scenes they share on the screen really hold strong. What I'm not really fascinated by and think made the difference for me between an okay / good movie and an excellent one was that it did not keep you on the edge of the seat. Especially with a few scenes for that matter from the Stock market. If you are a trader, you would want to have the excitement of the market portrayed on the screen to really bet on some money in the theatre for that matter. That was lacking. The ending could have been a little better for me although I'd say it was a good movie, it lacked the intensity and the depth of the original from 1987!

One for Childhood of India...

This one is dedicated to Childhood of India on Facebook!

Where have those days gone? When life was so simple. When Sundays were so exciting and we used to enjoy watching cartoons in the morning on DD1. Where have those days gone when we used to dump the school bag as soon as we come home and remove our ties and go out playing cricket in your school uniform? Where have those days gone when Friday evenings felt like a mini vacation about to come... Those days when we used to hang out on the terrace and play board games till it was dark... Where have those days gone when hide n seek, lagori, double spice, (dabbaispice), sonsakhli and slow cycling was what your weekend was all about.Where have those days gone when Ganesh chaturthi mean't staying up all night, hanging out with friends, playing cards while we stayed awake and practice for various performances we put together during the society's annual function during Ganesh Utsav. Where have those days gone when, DD2 was all about Funtime during the vacations. The Giant Robot, Shazam, Laurel & Hardy, Dennis the Menace and lots more...

Where have those days gone when we were happy and content watching Jungle Book, Duck Tales & Tales Pin on Sunday mornings and not to worry about what's on TV??? Those days when getting cable TV was a luxury for people. Where have those days gone when we used to rent video games in the vacation and play Super Mario for hours... fight amongst each other on how long each one of us gets to play the game. Where have those days gone when we used to buy Big Babool chewing gum for the comic strip that used to be free along with it... Where have those days gone when we used to borrow money from our uncle to eat pepsicola packed in plastic pouches that were worth 25 paise, 50 paise and 1 Rupee. Where are those days when we used to play chor police especially during Diwali, shooting using the guns to burst firecrackers. Where have those days gone when watching WWF was one of the best things and playing the Trump game with the cards of those wrestlers even better.

If I could talk about the things that I miss from my childhood, this post would just go on and on... I'm sure there are so many things I've missed out on. Where do you think these days have gone?? When we look at today's kids.. what do you think has replaced those days?? Think... Think....

What are the things that you guys miss??

C++, dbaseIII+, cigarettes & Cutting chai - Down the geek memory lane

I was extremely bored and I was just going through my Facebook posts, when I saw like so many comments on one of the posts that I had written about a recent movie, I had seen on HBO. "The Pirates of the Silicon Valley" yes, it's the Steve Jobs vs Bill Gates story. Many of you might have seen it. So anyways, coming back to why this blog has got anything to do with it... I posted one of the quotes from that movie

"Someone in HP said to Steve Jobs: What on earth would ordinary people want with computers?"

I mean who on earth would ever think of saying something like that? A terribly foolish person to us in this day and age or a completely sane person of that age... Well whatever the case maybe, this post attracted all my geek buddies way back from college and all of us started discussing about our college days and computer engineering professor, a certain Mr. Chaudhary! woah... was he a professor or what.

Besides knowing zilch about C, C++ at least not enough to teach us programming, he sucked so bad at speaking English, that we wondered how on earth did he even get a job in the college. All that apart, I wondered to myself, how on earth did I get into doing what I'm doing in life now. Where did all those extremely geeky days go?? Those programming lectures, the working on C++ on Windows 95,98 consoles, the  chatting on DOS network in computer labs, designing simple but really whacky programs... Man what days we used to have.

Those hackathon sessions at friends place. Wow! Hanging out at the guy who had a computer, under the pretext of learning programming and trying out new codes, while half the night being spent in playing Mech Warrior or Prince of Persia 2D or for that matter watching soft porn...

Those were the days when college projects were ripped off from the books in library, those were the days when engineering drawing sheets were glow traced, the days when bunking college and escaping from the back door while the professor is entering from the front. What a rush!!!

Those were the days when fighting over silly things as who would write the program first or who would get to use the computer in the laboratory more. Those days when keeping a tenner inside your underwear after being caught by the TC while travelling ticket-less to college and using the same money for cigarettes and cutting chai at Durgaprasad (local chai tapri) also known as DP (not the Twitter,FB DP), those were the days when going to the local cybercafe and surfing internet for Rs. 20 was one big deal!! Mostly, chatting with girls on ICQ, Yahoo and Rediff gave us a great high...

Those were the days when we enjoyed messing around with circuit boards and LED's in EDC practicals (Electronic Devices & Circuits) yet struggling with the AND OR & NOT circuit diagrams during exams! Those were the days when college was full of termwork and assignments and completing those sitting up all night and sleeping in the last bench while listening to music on the radio worth Rs. 30 (Scan button)

Those were the days when being pushed around by the heftiest and the biggest fellow in class, especially on the first day of college, and still having the guts to stand up stupidly and trying to fight back. Later on realize that he happened to be a friend of a friend and being thankful (sigh, thank GOD, else it would have been curtains for me)

Those were the days when giving presentations and seminars on dbaseIII+, that being my favorite subject only because of the lecturer who by the way was one of the most amazing and at least to our knowledge best lectureres in the college, migh I add (She) was very intelligent too...

Such was life back in college and in fact many more things that I might have missed out on, truly if this was one of those stories that really turned out to be what we really wanted it to be... then I'd not be blogging about it but writing a code somewhere in the 'Silicon Valley' probably... Nevertheless, a tribute to those geeky days of Computer engineering, which I'm proud to have relinquished, yet feel proud about for I am what I am today and I don't regret any part of it!

Here is a simple C++ program that I explored recently on my Turbo C++ installed by inspiration. Here's taking a trip to nostalgia! A tribute to  'Let us C' by Yashwant Kanetkar :)

/* Hello.C - - Hello, World */

#include<stdio.h>

inte main ()

{

printf<"Hello World\n");

return 0;

}

This certainly calls for a reunion! :-) To the Geeky college Memories of our lives!

TravelBuddy - My India App Story

Hi folks! A few days ago @Intel_Legends & Software Legends of India announced a contest for all tech bloggers. "My India App Story"  So with that in mind I thought of posting My India App story and what better time than to post it on our Independence Day. Truly a celebration of freedom for all of us, especially travel bloggers like me. Being a geek and a traveller that I am, I thought of writing a blog on one of the topics suggested on their blogs. I thought of giving an App. Idea to all the Code gurus and geeks who would certainly find it useful to create an app and sell it on Intel’s storefront – Intel AppUp Center especially for several travelers, foreign and national who go across the country every year.

I've traveled across 26 cities in India so far. And most of the times I have to rely on google maps, google, irctc app, tips from people on twitter, facebook etc. That means I have to check in / sign in or keep opening different websites at a time on my mobile or on my netbook. I always keep wondering what if? What if there was something which could help me anywhere I go on my mobile and I don't have to sign in to different websites, different accounts to remember or for that matter keep looking / hunting for information in different places on the web. What do you say? So my fellow travellers, bloggers and most importantly our 'Code Gurus' & Software Legends of India... I am proud to announce my App idea - "TravelBuddy" This one is especially for Smart phones although getting an integrated netbook version would be awesome too.

Travel Buddy is an app which will allow integration of all that is required for a traveler in one specific application. So, okay now that I've traveled so much let me list down the things that a traveler usually would required especially if he's travelling across India.

1. Magnetic Compass: - Just incase you go on a hiking trip in some mountains and end up getting lost somewhere :P                                     

2. Google Maps / Ovi Maps: - A very important feature especially if you are travelling alone. Now ovi maps are great especially if you rent a car, drive on your own or have a bike ride as well as it comes with a voice support guidance and will auto re-route your maps especially if you take a wrong route. Just follow it down to the tee.                                                                                                                      

3. PhotoGuide: - Imagine if you have a photo guidebook at the touch of your finger especially with different locations just popping out and giving you tit-bits / trivia about the place. (Who would need audio guidebooks at various monuments?) You can plan out your locations accordingly, that too well in advance.

4. Travel Hub: - This one is especially for all the social media junkies. Very recently, a phone company has introduced something of this sort in one of their phones as well. But this one would be with an added feature which will just like foursquare give comments on a different place especially if anyone has been there. So this would have Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare on it. It would be integrated within this particular app itself. Whenever you check in on foursquare or you update a status on foursquare to go out on your facebook and twitter, immediately you'll get to see comments by other travellers who have been there. Not just on Foursquare but on facebook and twitter.

5. FoodBuddy:- Instead of going to Burrp.com everytime you want to check out a place to eat in a particular town / city, there should be an inbuilt feature within this app which will prompt you to check out restarurants, lodging and boarding places etc. All you need to do is click on the various venues available and there... you have information at the click of a button.

6. Ticketeer:- IRCTC already has it's a Java based app where you can do almost everything that you can do on the website, except maybe book a ticket directly. So this app should have inbuilt feature or tie up with IRCTC / Cleartrip etc to allow bookings to be done directly via the mobile phone.

7. BuddyLookUp:- This feature is super cool especially if you have all your friends across the country and friends of friends who you probably don't know. In case you need help on directions or anything for that matter this is the feature to use. As soon as you check in to a city, the app will give you suggestions of who are the friends and the second network i.e. friends of friends who live here. This way, incase you need any help, you can contact them through your friends.

8. FotoUP:- Twitpic, facebook upload through email is passe. If you are a hardcore traveller, just use this feature and upload a pic on all the platforms simultaneously with your tips for other travellers as well.

9. TravelCalculator:- A very handy tool to calculate your expenses. You can keep a track of your expenses on this, plan your budget. For foreign travellers, currency exchange rate can be available. Calculate the distance you have travelled so far. All calculations in one feature.

10. eNtertainer:- Last but not least, this is a must for all the travellers. After exhausting trips usually we leave the final day for chilling out or enjoying some places where we can have a relaxed time maybe a pub, movie hall, bowling alley or any place that will suit our entertainment needs. So this feature will have those different categories of entertainment listed and accordingly you can choose your activity and get location of the place to hang out.

So this was my entry to this contest. I hope you enjoyed reading the post. Either ways would really appreciate your comments and feedback. The more number of comments I have more will be my chances to win the contest!! :-) Either ways, would appreciate your views. Before I finish a few important things you guys should know, so here it goes especially if you are a 'Software Developer'

Check out the Intel® Atom™ Developer Program, if you are looking for an opportunity to build and monetize your applications. You can sell through Intel’s storefront – Intel AppUp Center. Intel has also set up a Million Dollar Development Fund to support developers who are looking at building innovative apps. For more details check out http://appdeveloper.intel.com/fund

Disclaimer: This blog post is an entry to Intel’s contest – My India App Story

© Copyright 2010 Srini. All rights reserved

Relaxed at the F-ROW

I'd been hearing so much about the F-ROW at INOX lately. It was tweeted out through @art_of_chilling and I even got clues & updates from their www.fostersblog.in & Facebook page . My curiosity got the better of me. I decided to go check it out with my friends. We all thought what better way there could be to have fun on Friday evening than to watch a movie and to check out what this F-ROW was all about!! So we arrived at Garuda mall, INOX, Bangalore in the evening. And know what, we got to relax ourselves in this fundoo lounge before the movie could begin!! We had gone for the first day show of “ I Hate Luv Storys.”

The lounge was only meant for people who had bought F-ROW tickets! We actually got to relax our feet there on foot massagers to boot!! We all chilled there for 10 minutes before the movie began. Once we went in, our F-Row seats had these cool cushions on them. Man, it was so comfy to watch the movie that way! It almost made me feel like I was relaxing and watching the movie at home! And that's not all...there were Foster's key chains and wet tissues for us to take!! Everything was so great - the best time I've ever had watching a movie!! You can even win these tickets on the Fosters Facebook page. All you gotta do is upload a cool and creative “F”pic that you spot and the most creative one wins 2 tickets!! Ain't that awesome? I'm definitely gonna return next weekend to experience the F-ROW again with my buddies!! You guys should too!

I'd been hearing so much about the F-ROW at INOX lately. It was tweeted out through @art_of_chilling and I even got clues & updates from their www.fostersblog.in & Facebook page . My curiosity got the better of me. I decided to go check it out with my friends. We all thought what better way there could be to have fun on Friday evening than to watch a movie and to check out what this F-ROW was all about!! So we arrived at Garuda mall, INOX, Bangalore in the evening. And know what, we got to relax ourselves in this fundoo lounge before the movie could begin!! We had gone for the first day show of “ I Hate Luv Storys.”The lounge was only meant for people who had bought F-ROW tickets! We actually got to relax our feet there on foot massagers to boot!! We all chilled there for 10 minutes before the movie began.Once we went in, our F-Row seats had these cool cushions on them. Man, it was so comfy to watch the movie that way! It almost made me feel like I was relaxing and watching the movie at home! And that's not all...there were Foster's key chains and wet tissues for us to take!! Everything was so great - the best time I've ever had watching a movie!! You can even win these tickets on the Fosters Facebook page. All you gotta do is upload a cool and creative “F”pic that you spot and the most creative one wins 2 tickets!! Ain't that awesome? I'm definitely gonna return next weekend to experience the F-ROW again with my buddies!! You guys should too!

Thanks to http://www.fostersblog.in :-)

Date: 26th June 2010

Venue: Taj Residency, Bangalore, India

Register for FREE:  Intel® Atom™ Developer Program - Application Lab

Awesome!! This is going to be an event I'd want to attend. Finally get the chance to attend one of the events Intel®  Software Network is hosting. The last I attended was FICCI Frames in Mumbai and now I finally will get to go to Bangalore & attend this event. What's more we can also WIN a chance to a Raffle for a Netbook!!!

Very useful event especially for all you 'Software Developers of India' especially if you're interested in developing or porting your C/C++ applications and components into our Intel® AppUp^SM Center for profit, you’ll definitely want to sign up for this free instructional session and hands-on lab. Network with other developers focused on this exciting new program from Intel.

The Million Dollar Development Fund Program

For people who don't already know about the Intel® Atom™ Developer Program  I'd love to take the opportunity to let you know about a superb program that will let all of you Software Developers Monetize the Apps that you are creating. It is a platform that will allow you to showcase your App. and let you make money from not only the sale of the app, but also by means of the Grand Prizes that are up for grabs.

Currently there are two sub-programs running within Intel® Atom™ Developer Program

1.  Intel Atom Developer Program Accelerator 2010 – Speed time to market.

2. Intel Atom Developer Challenge 2010: The quest for groundbreaking new netbook applications.

For More Details Click Here: Intel® Atom™ Developer Program

Learn how to use our Intel® AppUp^SM Center Windows & Moblin C/C++ SDKs, see how the validation and packaging process works, learn how to submit your application into our catalog, and much more. Bring your app code to our on-site lab staffed with Intel experts will be available to provide answers to any questions you may have.

P:S All the Apps. that you create and submit will be purchased / downloaded by users here: Intel® AppUp^SM Center

All you S/W Professionals from Bangalore. Hope to catch up with you out there!

You can also Checkout Intel Softwar Network on Social Media at

http:// www.facebook.com/SoftwareLegendsIndia

http://www.facebook.com/IndiaGameJam

http://www.twitter.com/IntelLegends

Now I truly know what Art of Chilling means...

[slideshow]

WoW!! What a truly chilled out Party it was... Indeed, I reached there at about 1:00 PM and could listen to the awesome music playing and the view was so #OMG. Amazing beach, seafacing hotel, poolside barbeque, lotsa people chilling out in style while mingling amongst each other. It was some party! As soon as we stepped in it was time for beer to flow!!! Indeed, beer barbeque and babes. That was truly the Foster's Art of Chilling. The DJ was playing some nice house music to chill us out. It was sunny and hot of course... but guess what, GODs wanted in on the Art of Chilling too. They sent down the rains at GODSPEED!!! Heavy and the pool was already overflowing... Abundance of chill and yet, it didn't dampen anyone's spirit. Some took shelter in the shade while others chilled out, playing pool volleyball. What I really enjoyed was of course the chill out ambience, the music and the beer of course... Truly made me relax and unwind after a long week that went by...

Art of Chilling Sunday!!! Here I Come....

Sunday afternoon! Sweltering Heat! Humid Atmosphere? NO Freakinnnn Way! With Art of Chilling on your side... you got nothing to worry about. I'm going to go to the Foster's Art of Chilling party! Yay! Juhu, Sea Princess here I come!!!. I've heard a lot about them and seen a lotta ADs on TV. It's time for me to check it out in person! I''m hoping it's as chilled out as it looks like on TV :-)  Sit back, relax and unwind listening to the soothing music, gorging on Yummy Barbeque, maybe a dip in the pool. This is certainly my way of relaxing on a Sunday especially after a long long week that went by.  Truly they know what the art of chilling is all about. I dug out a few snaps courtesy the  Foster's Blog to find out about AOC as they call it and boy would you not want to Chill out in style like this?

[slideshow]

At the end of the party... I'm sure I'm going to be as chilled out as these images suggest!!! Brrrr... Freezingg... Chilling out is the best thing to do eh???

What would your way of Art of Chilling be???

Sunaina - Chapter 1

September 1989

She was wondering what to do? The most difficult part for her was to realize what she had lost. Sunaina thought about the many times that she wanted to just give up everything and move on into the new direction that she had chosen for herself. Every time she has had the thought of giving up on her life and starting something new, she always thought of what her life would be without her daughter. Her daughter was the only thing that she cared for. Something that she cherished forever and someone who she could do almost anything for.

After years and many years of hard work and being a single parent in a city that was full of strangers, Sunaina had never felt so lonely especially because of all the pain that she had already gone through. Living alone in a country which was alien to her was easier than living at home being tortured by her past and the thoughts that haunted her life forever. She had left her country and her city with her daughter when she was 21 years old. After a life that had always felt so promising in that little town of hers, she chose to leave it all for one reason and one reason alone. She did not want her daughter to be haunted by the past that had always been a curse to her. She knew it would be difficult for both of them to live in the same town, the state or even in that country where she would have to answer endless number of questions which she did not want to answer.

She chose to take her kid and leave the past forever. A past that she did not ever want to think of. She had thought of a new life. A life that she thought would mean a lot of happiness and a lot of success for her and the only thing that she cared about the most. Little did she know that this journey would be short-lived...

May 1999

The May heat was deadly and it was a gloomy Friday that undid all her dreams till that day had dawned upon her. What was difficult was that her life earnings had been put in a home that was going to be built in a span of three years from this day. She had to survive her life with her daughter living on the edge. She had to account for every penny that she spent on little things that mattered the most especially now that she had given all her savings into a small house that she had got for her daughter and her. Life was difficult with her customers becoming scarce as her age began to become a factor for her. Certainly she did not want to think of any other options and made sure that she got the house far far away from where anyone knew.

Her daughter was getting older and she was now studying in a small school. Sunaina wanted to make sure that all the sacrifices she made had to yield some results. Some results that she thought would be fruitful enough for her daughter. her world. The times were getting tough. With her growing older, and her business going down she was left with very little options than just work at the bar. She had to make sure that she should save more or somehow make sure that she could make both ends meet. It was time enough that she stopped the atrocities that life dished out against her.

She had to make sure that life became easier for her and there was a way out to make sure that her and her daughter's life became more easy. But she did not know what to do. Not yet.. But soon she would come out with a way to make her life and her daughters easier and live life like she had never before...

© Copyright 2010 Srini. All rights reserved

Art of Chilling = #awesomeness

[caption id="attachment_450" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Foster's Art of Chilling @ Home with #IPL Finals"]
[/caption]

A couple of days ago, I was invited to one of the most amazing parties hosted by Foster's Art_of_Chilling. Yea, they had thrown a party for many people who won contests through Art of Chilling @ Home contest run throughout the month through various mediums. Lucky winners were given a splending time to chill out at home while watching the IPL finals @ Home while Foster's arranged for a nice time for them and their friends. Amazing food, barbeque, friends, and of course chilling out with Foster's. What more do you want now? Since everyone was in a mood of having a truly relaxing time, so did I!!!

With a lot of friends, watching the IPL matches has been always the deal. But this could be never better where Foster's went to their house and chilled out. I was thankful to be part of such an amazing party where I chilled out with so many friends who liked cricket and of course with #CSK  winning the Finals, it was truly an amazing experience watching the beautiful trophy being lifted by our super cool captain 'Dhoni'

Now I truly know what Art of Chilling means. :-)

Forever... and ever....

A special day for you again my love

I know you’ve been waiting for it

I have given you gifts before, I know

But the most important thing is yet to come

A promise that is only for you my love

A promise I make on this special day

To love you forever and ever as always

How much I love you I really can’t say

With these few words I hope to be

In your heart and soul as always…