I was a big fan of Raj Kapoor when I grew up. This is one of my
favorites. There were times when after listening to this song umpteen
times, I would solve multiple Maths practice papers for my tenth board
exams without a break! Listening to it after ages and it has uplifted
my mood :)

Pyaar hua, ikraar hua hai
Pyaar se phir kyoon darrta hai dil)

Kehta hai dil rasta mushkil
Maaloom nahin hai kahan manzil)

Kaho ki apni preet ka geet na badlega kabhi

Tum bhi kaho is raah ka meet na badlega kabhi
Pyaar jo toota, saath jo chhoota

Chaand na chamkega kabhi

Raatein dason dishaaon se kahengi apni kahaaniyaan

Geet hamaare pyaar ke dohraayegi jawaaniyaan

Main na rahoongi, tum na rahoge
Phir bhi rahengi nishaaniyaan

Pyaar hua, ikraar hua hai
Pyaar se phir kyoon darrta hai dil
Kehta hai dil rasta mushkil
Maaloom nahin hai kahan manzil

Sick. I'm having headaches again..this time so worse that I left work early and slept at 5:00 p.m. last evening and got up at 6:00 a.m. today!

20 Questions to a better personality

I took this test on personality.
My results were:

You are an SRDF--Sober Rational Destructive Follower. This makes you a font of knowledge. You are cool, analytical, intelligent and completely unfunny. Sometimes you slice through conversation with a cutting observation that causes silence and sidelong glances. You make a strong and lasting impression on everyone you meet, the quality of which depends more on their personality than yours.

You may feel persecuted, as you can become a target for fun. Still, you are focused enough on your work and secure enough in your abilities not to worry overly.

You are productive and invaluable to those you work for. You are loyal, steadfast, and conscientious. Your grooming is impeccable. You are in good shape.

You are kind of a tool, but you get things done. You are probably a week away from snapping.

"All animals are equal -- but some animals are more equal than others!"
I think of this line in unfair/smart-ass situations. George Orwell's "Animal Farm" is one of my all time favorites.

Blogging Addiction

A conversation this afternoon at a corner cubicle got me thinking. There was a talk about blogs and it surprises me how popular the blogging phenomenon is. Anyways, my coworker made this statement - "Why do all this people go on vacation?". She was expressing her disappointment when there are "no daily entries" on the blogs she follows closely, when the blogger takes a vacation. I'm sure this is not a alienated feeling. I start my day by reading a few blogs and am disappointed too when there are no new posts for a long span.
After this conversation, it got me thinking if blogging was an addiction or an obsession? What do you call this compelling feeling to read/write blogs everyday? Here is a post on the same topic - Is blogging the opium of the Internet Generation?

This story appeared on New York Times.

TO celebrate four years of marriage, Richard Wiggins and his wife, Judy Matthews, recently spent a week in Key West, Fla. Early on the morning of their anniversary, Ms. Matthews heard her husband get up and go into the bathroom. He stayed there for a long time.

"I didn't hear any water running, so I wondered what was going on," Ms. Matthews said. When she knocked on the door, she found him seated with his laptop balanced on his knees, typing into his Web log, a collection of observations about the technical world, over a wireless link.


I know I wouldn't go to such great lengths as to blog during a vacation or miss deadlines at work to make 5 posts a day. Comments on a blog and increased traffic can be compulsive reasons to blog regularly - because then you are not writing for yourself, you are writing for an audience and there probably is an obligation and yearning for acceptance of views. Well I don't know...........

Emergency Services

I walk a mile to work every morning. In the past 10 months not a day has passed without being intercepted by a speeding blinking red lights vehicle. Everything comes to a grinding halt paving way for the ambulances/fire engines. This just amazes me as I see them everyday, sometimes 2 or 3 of them in a row. Well, but come to think of it ,there is actually a dark and bright side to it. Dark side being that someone is in an emergency situation. The bright side being the respect for these vehicles on the road. The slightest negligence (which is very rare) to give way for a ambulance is often met with resentment. The whole process of dialing 911-what's the emergency-emergency vehicles coming to one' doorstep in a matter of minutes is probably not a big deal for any developed nation. But it is to someone who comes from a billion plus people nation. It wouldn't be an exaggeration if I say In India,ambulances have to race with other vehicles and make their own way on the roads. If they succeed, then it was the patient's good luck. No amount of honking will clear the way for them - it just adds to the already high noise level!

Bike Ride

Inspired by Harper, I rode 6 miles to the library on my bike on the road last evening. Distance wise, I have ridden more than this but only along the lake shore or on sidewalks. I was confident after reading the do's and dont's on bicyclesafe.com.

My headaches are back and it bothers me a lot. There is a persistent pain that just doesn't go away so I may have been in a lil irritant mood the past few days.

Countdown: Exactly 2 more months to go before I leave. "Going back" gives rise to mixed feelings. There are times when frustrating situations at work make me feel excited about going back, the thought of not having to deal with all this carries me thr the present. But such circumstances are also considerably low now. Anyways I hate to leave Chicago. This past 1 year has been great but it will also be history soon. It is time to move on!

I'm going to see "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Spider-Man2" this weekend. Read this good review on "Spider-Man2" in NYTimes.
Anagram for "Micheal Moore" is "Come Home, Liar".

A Summer Wedding

Last Saturday evening, I attended my first American Wedding. The outdoor wedding was at the Garfield Park Conservatory. The conservatory is a magnificent place too decked out with stunning gardens. It is open after-hours only for special occassions. It was a beautiful small wedding with about 30 guests and had an air of intimacy. As I entered the conservatory at 6:00 p.m., my eyes fell on this beautiful lady clad in a gorgeous white bridal gown. She in no way resembled the woman I saw everyday.
The ceremony began at 6:30 p.m. when the bride and groom walked hand in hand and looked perfect for each other. The 15 min ceremony was conducted by a judge. It was nice to watch the bride and groom exchange vows and say "I will". This was followed by a photo session, drinks and dinner. The best toast was from the bride's sister who narrated a funny story about the bride's sleep-walking habit. In all, the wedding was very well planned, organized and executed. I felt as though I was seeing "A Wedding Story" in action. This was my favorite program last spring and these lines still play in my mind....


and when the spark of youth someday surrenders
I'll have your hand to see me through
tears may come and go
but there's one thing I know
love is all there is when I'm with you

AFI List of Top 100 Songs From U.S. Films

This list features the top 100 songs from U.S Films. Check out No.36 in the list. It is "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" - supposedly the longest word in English Language and is featured in the Oxford Dictionary. The word was popularized by th movie Mary Poppins.

The Formula 1 Experience

Is Indian fanaticism for Formula 1 an accident of history? Probably yes and yet another natural ramification of the colonial rule. The influence of European culture and sports such as Cricket, Football (yes Soccer ofcourse) on India need not be explained in length.

Anyways, so I've been following Formula 1 for the past 4 years. We were excited on finding out that 2004's 3rd race was going to be at Bahrain. We couldn't make it. So we decided to goto the 9th race of this season at Indianapolis on June 20th.

Our day began at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday. It was a 3 hour drive from Chicago. The excitement was evident right from the moment we landed at Indianapolis. The whole city of Indianapolis was geared up for the action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was also a day for making quick bucks for the local residents. Signs that read "Parking available" were visible all over the town. We entered the stadium around 11:00 a.m. The weather was kind - as the 120,000 fans basked in the 78 deg sunshine. "Red" was the order of the day - 75% of the crowd was clad in Ferrari caps, flags, T-shirts. Ofcourse one could also see a few lone Williams and Mercedes supporters.

The test drive started at 11:20 a.m. and I heard the Ferraris roaring for the first time. Rubens Barichello (Ferrari) was at pole position followed by Michael Schumacher. As the cars started, it was a deafening noise. We were seated at the paddock. Paddock is where the race starts. The final action began at 12:00. It was a drama packed race right from the start. Montoya's car not starting, he rushing across the track to get into his back up car, only to be disqualified at the 57th Lap for making it 2 seconds too late in the formation lap was all a part of it. The most shockening one was Ralf's accident in the 10th Lap. It was a black day for Williams-BMW. Atleast 7 laps were led by the Safety car. Despite all the drama, watching Schumacher in action was a dream come true. He is in a league of his own - unbeaten this season but one race. For a while it seemed as though Sato and Button would bag the 2nd and 3rd positions. But Barichello caught up as always and he did push Schumi hard. If only he had overtaken Schumacher after his pit stop, he would have made it and Schumacher would have had to settle for 8 points.
Well, Schumacher went on to win the 2004 United States Grand Prix. He covered about 300 Kms (73 laps of 4.192 Km each) in 100 mins. He was followed by Rubens at the second place and Sato at the 3rd place. This time we saw Schumacher opening the champagne bottle and splashing on the other winners for real. Similar sights from earlier races on television was etched firmly in my head- this time it was for real only a few hundred yards away. The rest is history. I realise any amount of description wouldn't do justification to the experience. You've got to see it live, listen to the roaring sounds, be a part of the red fanatic crowd - in short its all about speed and you've got to experience the adrenaline rush!

Over 50 attempts to shoot pictures of the speeding cars went in vain. You see the cars approaching and before you blink they are gone. The only thing that crossed my mind then was what do these guys see ahead of them that they can drive at that speed. It really takes something to get into this sport!


Schumacher - Winner of the United States Grand Prix 

Schumacher starting after 2nd pit stop