make NEW mistakes

I am sure I have made many many mistakes, but these are the ones I remember clearly because they have changed me as a person.

1994, 8th standard, the oldest (so called) mistake I remember. We shifted to Kalyan, and my new school headmaster offered me entry to scholar's division, so that I could opt for Sanskrit increasing my chances to be in merit list!! But I had to mug up a lot... nooo wayyy. I went for C division, Hindi and the headmaster thought I am making a mistake. But I made some nice friends who made me realise there is much more to school than studying!!! That's the place where I started enjoying, understanding sketching and drawing ... :)

1997, 11th std. almost similar situation again, another so called mistake!

1999, This time my parents said I am making a mistake, I left my MBBS admission and went for mechanical engineering! But I enjoyed. :)

2003, finished B.E., One more mistake and decided to take a break at the very beginning of my career! I had to do something more to be part of research and development. Came to know about Product design, NID, IDC. Wanted to go to IISc. Failed, did quality control for 1 year at Godrej. Ohh! and I also tried being salesman in a Maruti Suzuki showroom for some time. Left it telling myself I will come back as a designer. But that was the last time I felt so!!! :)

2005, Got admission to IISc, almost free! Mr. krishnan tried his best to convince me not to go for NID, but I went!!! To some extent he was right, I spent more time studying, still not finished with loan.... but I enjoyed, learnt a lot about relationships, life, people and design too!

2007, Went to Reva for a project and realised that I love 2 wheels not 4!, Mosh (B) almost torn me apart for not attending any automobile (or otherwise) company interview in campus, but I wanted to go for electric 2 wheelers! What to do?

2008, Finally I got it, but some experienced people there still told me I made a mistake! I decided to make it a good mistake... to some extent I did! Learnt a lot about many new things, though not all the expected ones! Came to know so much about myself!!! Somehow I am actually happy for that mistake now!

2008, Ohh I made one more mistake... still suffering, still happy! :)

2010, Long time... so much has accumulated... time to make a new mistake! May be the biggest so far, may be not!
:)

Yamaha FZ16 for Rs. 100 only

Today I baught a Yamaha FZ 16 bike for Rs. 100 only.

Impossible? No, its quite possible here in Ahmedabad.

How I did it? here is the sequence:

1. Parked my bike (1 year old yamaha FZ 16) outside SBI bank alongwith few others already there.

2. went in and dropped the check in drop box, got a statement of account.

3. Came out with my helmet in hand and no bike out there!

4. The GUARD asked me to wait on the opposite side of road where the towing vehicle will come again.

5. I searched for the vehicle along that road.

6. Spotted it with my bike hanging for life on the edge.

7. Stopped those boys and told them that orange Yamaha is mine.

8. that was enough of a proof.

9. I paid Rs. 100 and they DROPPED the bike in middle of road and went (without giving any receipt or waiting to see if it was actually my bike!).

10. Luckily that was actually my bike and I had the key so I could easily ride it away.

11. This way anyone can buy any bike for Rs. 100 from these towing vehicle contract operators.

I am planning to buy a Yamaha R15 now. Some dents on body or silencer may just increase the cost to few more hundreds. Still so cheap!

beautiFiction

It's quite difficult to formulate some conclusion and understanding of this film, almost as difficult as the understanding of 'beauty' itself. It's a very well made and different film which keeps you indulged in its own flow. Even after already having a basic idea of the story, I felt it is much more than a story or even direction or cinematography or many other things, which makes it worth experiencing. May be it's the essence (perfume!) of the story, the urge to understand fundamentals of the concept called 'beauty'. We all have our own individual but basically similar ways of perceiving and reacting to beauty, very naturally. And this is where the movie tries to imply the more acceptable and human way of acknowledging beauty, by revolving around a character having almost supernatural powers, that of perceiving beauty (or lack of it) in the form (?) of smell. Yes true, that smell is part of beauty, but what if for someone beauty is only good smell? And in case of Jean Baptiste Grenouille, it seems quite possible, because he himself doesn't have any smell of his own. In the world of smells he just doesn't exist! His way of perceiving and reacting to beauty is only limited to smell! He is a person who cannot love someone or be loved... may be because he doesn't understand beauty in a natural way, like everyone else around him.
And then there are common people around him, who may not be able to analyse and formulate the essence of beauty in some tangible way, but they sure know how to acknowledge it in a more comprehensible manner. To some extent they can even identify and acknowledge it in the form of the magical perfume developed by Grenouille, the one he made using skin of beautiful women! In the scene of his day of execution he magically and literally rules the crowd using his magical perfume, but himself remains uaffected by its divine power. For you need to have some wholistic understanding of love, beauty to experience it. The word 'beautification' has some meaning only for those who have and understand beauty in its little more generic form. For other it's more of beautiFiction! So what happens when Grenouille almost empties his magical perfume bottle on himself is not very much a mystery. The perfume and the perfumer remain merely the transporters of beauty and love, and being a transporter of something implies there is a lack of that 'something' in the transporter.
I am sure all this sounds very complex and confusing, but if you think, thats how it is.... like the concept of beauty.

Survival

Irrespective of how much you earn, you are always worried about survival!

convo(cation) ka kurta

It's actually a book, or a diary not written,
NO... may be it's an old train ticket.
or is it just a moment in past?
or may be a list of 'to do's I made last year,
some ticked, some crossed and some looking like don'ts now.
Anyway, I have already given it for dry-cleaning.
May be that will change the way it looks in future.

Indian 'स्त्री'

Sharing something which made me feel good today morning while reading Times of India.
Read it here.
Loved the last line... smart!

one from UMRAO JAAN

Singer: Talat Aziz
zindagi jab bhi teri bazm mein laati hai hamen
ye zamin chand se behatar nazar aati hai hamen

surkh phulon se mahak uthati hain dil ki rahen
din dhale yun teri aawaz bulaati hai hamen

yaad teri kabhi dastak kabhi saragoshi se
raat ke pichhale prahar roz jagaati hai hamen

har mulaqat ka anjaam judai kyun hai
ab to har vaqt yahi baat satati hai hamen

26/11: what it really means

One year after the attack, Times of India asks us a question 'what it really means?' and gives the answer by putting this under 'entertainment' section!
But I guess that is right, as I find there is also a link to movie review of Kurbaan, another terror story with love in it!(from Times of India website, 26/11/2009)

hope

Don't have hope... it ends up wasting a lot of time in life.... do something else.

निर्वात

so, what else?

I know how this question sounds (literally)!, and I cannot imagine it in any other voice. I know how this question looks like. I wish I could answer this question forever, but I know thats the end (of conversation).

Absolut Mind

(based on Absolut vodka ad campaign)

Cigarette smoking is injurious to health

and so is walking on the parapet of my 7 storey building terrace,
or riding my bike standing on the seat,
or watching sun set, sitting on the edge of cliff,
or catching a running train,
or crossing the road in front of a speeding car,
and many other 'challenging' things we young ones do!
Yes, I am young, I am cool, I love thrills!
So what do you expect when you tell me,
"Cigarette smoking is injurious to health"?
(inspired by the 'truth' campaign run by arnold Worldwide of Boston and Crispin Porter &Bogusky of Miami against tobacco)

To fly or not to fly?

This is a part of conversation with my friend Sagar. Please comment with your opinions on this topic.

sagar: i was looking at some jet pack videos, as in a device which one carries on the back and you can fly with it. what do you think wil be the next thing in transporation
me: next as in?
sagar: it will be a matter of a little more time that we will start seeing people flying
me: hmmm, but as a designer i don't find that so real. think bout it and by real i dnt mean technlogy... i mean real people
sagar: ummm why not?
me: it takes a lot of courage, skill and mental acceptance for most of the common people to ride even bikes at speed of 60kmph with both wheels on ground!.... some prefer public transport... some who afford... go for personal cars... so flying... is much challenging for common people
sagar: hmm,thats true
me: what is required and will be preferable is public transport
sagar: its a personal choice..but it still exists
me: i agree, i wil certainly go for flying jet pack, but wrt to personal mobility, there are people who commute because they want to ride and then there are people who ride just because they need to commute.
I commute because I want to ride!
sagar: hmm interersting,but dont you feel after surface and water air could be next medium?
me: it already is
sagar: no for example travelling from my home to a nearby cinema
me: yes.. but I remember when we were doing systems project, we thought best thing is to avoid human transportation for as many tasks as possible..
but yes.. still air could be most preferred medium for some group of people, including me :)
what do u think?
sagar: hmm, yes.. as in its overcoming one of human limitations
why do u think nobody has tried to commercialise the jetpack?
its such an old invention!
me: may be not enough MARKET!!!!!
thats the reason so many vehicle concets go in R&D scrap!!!!
even the normal vehicles I mean.
sagar: why wouldnt anyone want something faster than a bike and somehting which doesnt need roads?
me: faster than bike? which bike? You know 100cc is the largest selling category in two wheelers! I mean people dont want faster bikes too! a large group of people!
so for mass commercialisation... jet pack may not be right thing...
for a small goup of people it may be... those who have enough money and also want to fly.. on their own..how many are they?
sagar: i think its same as the situation when the automobiles were first commercialised.
with more and more of automobiles on roads they felt the need to have signals and there were tarffic jams and we still are fighting with jams
bike is a better vehicle because it doesnt occupy unnecessary space on road anywhere... so if we say we eliminate 4 wheelers and have public tarnsport and bikes it may be good
me: do u know in most countries bike is proved to be the most dangerous mode of transport and they are planning to restrict use of them?
sagar: yes true, so we need an option which is for one person and occupies small space, need not be bike, sometihng which is stable
me: and SAFE
sagar: hmm, flying vehicle is dangerous than a bike
sagar: this is one way of looking at it,
public tarnsport and compact and safe personal vehicles is i think a fair option.. given the man needs to travel and explore .
now if this scenario comes into reality some time.. the next fair and logical extension would safe compact personal flying vehicle, because space on groud is limited
me: see you can sell anything!!!! u just need the right context :)
for commercialisation... u either need to fix a target group ( the profitable one) and design or make something for them.... or if you want to make something...then u see whom you can sell it to.... right?
sagar: hmm right
me: there are people who have designed and made bikes which they sell for more than a crore!!!! but one has just to be clear to himself if he wants to help people do something or to commercialise and sell something!!!
sagar: but we r not trying to sell something unnecessary.. its to satisfy the human spirit of exploration and learning and facilitate his movement because he cant run faster than his physical abilities
me: "its to satisfy the human spirit of exploration and learning "
very true and appropriate.

one more...

Loved this song... and it was quite a surprise in this movie... very well shot.. must watch (preferably in the movie)

Movie: Ajab Prem ki Ghazab kahani
Song: tu jaane na
Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty
Singer: Atif Aslam
Lyrics: Irshad Kamil

Kaise Batayein, Kyu Tujh ko Chahe, Yaara bata na Paaye
Baatein dilo ki, Dekho Jo Baaki, Aankhein tujhe Samjhaye
Tu Jaane Na, Tu Jaane Na, Tu Jaane Na, Tu Jaane Na

mil ke bhi, Hum na Mile, tumse na jaane Kyu,
Milo ke hai Fansle.Tumse Na jaane kyu
Anjaane Hai SilSile, Tum Se Na Jaane Kyu,
Sapno hai Palko Tale, Tum Se Na Jaane Kyu,

Kaise Batayein, Kyu Tujh ko Chahe, Yaara bata na Paaye
Baatein dilo ki, Dekho Jo Baaki, Aankhein tujhe Samjhaye
Tu Jaane Na, Tu Jaane Na, Tu Jaane Na, Tu Jaane Na

Nigahon mein dekho, meri jo hai bas gaya, woh hai milta tumse, hu ba hu..
Jaane teri Aankhein thi, ya baatein thi, Wajah..
hue tum jo, dil ki aarzoo
tum pass ho ke bhi, tum aas ho ke bhi, ehsaas ho ke bhi…
apne nahi.. aise hai hum ko gileh.. tumse najaane kyu..
meelo ke hai fansle, tum se na jaane kyu..
tu jaane na..tu jaane na..tu jaane na..
ohh jaane na. jaane na, jaane natu jaane na..

Khayalon mein laakohn baatein, yu toh keh gaya,
bola kuch na tere sahmney..
hue na begaane bhi tum hoke, aur dekho tum mere hi na bane..
afsos hota hai, dil bhi yeh rota hai
Sapne sanjota hoa.. pagla hua, soche yeh..
hum the mile tume se na jaane kyu,
meelo ke hai fansle tum se na jaane kyu..

Kaise Batayein, Kyu Tujh ko Chahe, Yaara bata na Paaye
Baatein dilo ki, Dekho Jo Baaki, Aankhein tujhe Samjhaye
Tu Jaane Na,Tu Jaane Na.

Human, really?

'IIM-A grad launches subzi mandi on laptop. Your daily aloo, baigan and bhindi will soon be just a click away. No more finding your way through the filth at your neighbourhood subzi bazaar and haggling for prices with rude vegetable vendors. The website will create an online mandi where one can “see” the fresh vegetables, check prices and place orders. Apart from purchasing daily vegetables, one can "gift" fruits using the web service.' from Times Of India, 30 Oct 2009.
wowwww... so nice no???? we will be able to SEE vegetables on screen!!! even if thats means we won't be able to touch, smell, choose the best ones, bargain (verbally) with the (real) subzi wala bhaiya, accidentally meet our acquaintances in the (real) subzi mandi, may be subsequently fall in love with one of them, know that there is 50% sale in the silk emporium near the subzi mandi, get reminded that your distant relatives daughter is getting married next month, know that the (so called rude) old apple (fruit) wala at the entry of subzi mandi baught a Tata nano and so many other things which make and keep you social and/or human (if not tech savvy)... BUT you will be able to place orders looking at the pictures on your laptop screen!!! So great!!!....
The best thing is you can even GIFT fruits to your beloved ones using the web service! So what if you haven't even touched them with your hands? The receiver will be more interested in fruits and nutritions they will give... not in the feeling of receiving them from you... So nice!!! Yesterday someone bought me a handcrafted fabric elephant, and while giving she mentioned that she chose this particular because the mirrorwork, and overall pattern is placed more appropriately on it! This is what matters... right? that the one who is giving actually took time and care to see that you get the best possible! Whether it is an elephant or a cow comes second for me and probably for anybody.
The 'subzi-mandi on laptop' news today just triggered the thoughts and served as an example, but the basic issue can be seen in many such 'human (?) advances'. Good (read: effective) marketing can sell anything you have as the 'best new thing/way'... but is that what we have been educated for?
4-5 years down the line, kids will surf internet to learn that 'touch' means 'way of operating mobile and computing devices'. You can try searching 'touch' on google images even now.
Are we really working for the betterment of HUMANS?

It's in your hands!

Came across this nice logo of Fortis healthcare group of hospitals (or healthcare consultants) in India. A very simple but brilliant treatment of negative space to convey the right meaning to the viewer. For those who have not figured it out yet, the logo in the left with a red dot above, has the space between tow hands in the shape of a human (and the red dot is head)! I really liked the way it conveys the right message in such a simple form. Just one shape element with straight lines, one circle, two colours and so much meaning! I think if you want, you can really make things simple!
The 3 letters r, t and i in the logotype connected to each other seem to be saying something, which I didn't get.. but still look interesting, may be like some other script or symbol. If anybody knows please comment.

I never knew I like orange!

The list of my orange things,
1. my Yamaha :)
2. a wall in our house in kalyan
3. two bedsheets ( the jaipuri cotton one is missing :( )
4. towel (yes!)
5. racing stripes (hahaha) on my blue bathroom slippers (!!!)
6. two KTM stickers I put on my helmet
7. my deo
8. I found my pendrive also glows orange!
9. cuff -collar etc of the grey jacket I baught today (please don't imagine)
10. earpiece of my headphones
11. clothes hangers
12. one khadi shirt (more yellow than orange though)
13. desktop wallpapers on both my laptop and office comp these days!

And I used to think my favourite colour is blue!

We don't want to keep The Doctor away!...

The 'Gallina Vecchia' (old chicken) Valentino Rossi, The Doctor, the greatest motorcycle racer of our times, has laid one more egg! With yesterdays third place finish at Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang, he has won the 2009 MotoGP world championship, his seventh premier class world title and ninth world title! With 103 wins on record, and 7 premium class World championships at the age of 30, Rossi has proved (as he says) he is the old chicken who can still lay eggs! We can see a promise for next season too in his statements, so 2010 show is for sure. We don't know what he will go for after that, but we hope his passion for two wheels keeps him riding for many more years in all possible healthy and wealthy conditions,,,
Good going Rossi...
:) (for more amazing statistics about the hero, read here at faster and faster.)

Jiya re...

5 days of Diwali holiday... at home... without free flowing internet... phone on roaming.... lots to eat.. a sofa and a TV...
:) what am I supposed to do???
Watched all the movies like Maruti mera dost, Ta ra ram pum (I know u dont want to know more) and lot many ads, ohh also watched MotoGP.. but this time Valentino came second!!!! :(
But there is something good in everything... So I found this nice song in movie 'Maruti mera dost'. Do listen to it. Here is the lyrics.

Singer : Javed Ali
Song : Jiya Re Jiya Re Bata Re
Lyricist : Subrat Sinha
Actors : Chandrachur Singh, Samiksha, Ritika Shrivastava
Music Director : Kartik Shah

kaliyaan baagon se chhooti
boonde bhi chhode badal
ambar se toote sitaare

dukh kis ko zyada hove
jisne chhoda us ko
ya jis ke chhoote sahaare
jiya re jiya re
bata re bata re

yaad hamein
aata hai kyun
jis ko kiya tha vida

bhoole se bhi bhoole kahan
jab keh diya tha alvida
khaali dil bhar jaaye
ye hota nahi re
khaali bhi dil poora
kyun hota nahi re
jiya re jiya re
bata re bata re

koi bulaaye
roke koi
jaaye na jaaye
soche koi
kya kya nibhaaye
tode koi

kuchh dhaage jo baandhe
khulte hi nahi hai
doori se kuchh naate
talte kyun nahi hai
jiya re jiya re
bata re bata re

ho kaliyaan baagon se chhooti
boonde bhi chhode badal
ambar se toote sitaare

dukh kis ko zyada hove
jisne chhoda us ko
ya jis ke chhoote sahaare
jiya re jiya re
bata re bata re

Return of Fido Dido

I really don't remember who gave me this name some 4 years ago, bu it must be either Divya or Abhishek in my product design class. I remember it was not just because of my structure (or whatever you call it), but my hair style at that time too! Or if it was given to me by Snehal, then it must be because of the way I used to look in the morning, standing in the passage of our NID hostel trying to wake up (or sleep there), with all my long and crazy hair trying to jump out of my head in all the possible directions, and I remember I had shorts similar to Fido Dido then. Snehal used to lol at me every morning while saying 'good morning bhaviiiinnnn...' :)
Ohh, and how can I forget the fido dido sketched by mosh on front cover of my first sketchbook in NID? It was a lot of fun then... teasing, fighting enjoying, forgetting we were there for post graduation and not for primary schooling!!!
I had actually forgotten all this. and may be even those who named me Fidi Dido too might have forgotten. But I was wrong. Today my brother Nikhil contributed to my collection of keychains, by gifting me this white Fido Dido keychain!!!
Small things matter... so much!
:)

Jo barase sapne boond boond...

O re manva tu to baawara hai,

tu hi jaane tu kya sochta hai.

Kyun dikhaaye, sapne tu

sote jaagate?

Jo barase sapne boond boond

Nayano ko moond moond,

kaise mai chaloon, dekh na sakoon

anjaan raasate....

(song from movie 'wake up sid', image from somewhere on the internet)

Making of a legend

When he was born on 16th Feb 1979, in the sky of Urbino thunder and lightning was unleashed.

The legend goes that, as a kid, he got a motorbike when others get a pushbike/trike.

Graziano, his father who was a motorcycle racer, put him in the saddle of something with two wheels when he was unbelievably small kid.

Following pictures when he was around 5 to 8 years old(?) , tell all that his father Graziano did to train him in racing.

Yes, The Doctor, the todays legend in motorcycle racing history at mere age of 30, Valentino Rossi! Ohh by the way the number 46 he wears is the same which his father Graziano used while racing.

Valentino launched his personal website few days ago. For more interesting images and larger than life autobiography, please visit the history link on his website,

http://www.valentinorossi.com/

Dang, it's so slow!!!

(note: dang - damn, interj. Used to express dissatisfaction or annoyance)

Today I am feeling so nice! :) Yes one reason being that it was a nice holiday yesterday, which started with watching a very entertaining movie and ended with very tasty food cooked at home by anup and mosh (ghosh)... I still can't believe she actually did!!! But thats a different topic... What made me feel so nice today morning is nothing else but my bike ride to office! Mannn I was actually riding at 70 inside city!!! I couldnt believe that I am still able to do it after riding at 35 kmph max for last few days! Dang, I did it! hahahah
Ok to make the whole picture lttle clear, I must tell you that like many girls, miss Nidhi Dang (the actual Dang and not damn) had always complained about the small and too tall pillion seat of my bike (FZ16). More than that she also had always complained that I ride too fast (read: 45kmph). So recently she declared no matter what, she is not going to be my pillion rider. And thats when dear god decided to put her in situations which demanded her being my pillion rider! :)
Now looking at miss Dang, who has a long list of secret (and some open) admirers, this should be a very good opportunity for any biker... like me... ;)
But Riding all the time at 30-35kmph!!!!!!! On a Yamaha!!!! Dang, it's so slow!!! I tried my best to be a good boy for this virgo and kept riding at 35.... with all splendors and victors overtaking from my left and right, activa girls and scooty babes running over my baby FZ, making way for all the faster entities... I kept riding at 35... unknowingly even when I was riding alone!!!
At the end of every ride (read:journey) i felt like I had been a really good boy and just to confirm (not impress) I tried asking if she was comfortable now? But dang!!!! I could see her happily nodding to sid's "bahoot bhagaayaa na?"
With memory of my morning rides, a KTM sticker on helmet, MV Agusta on tank, and a Ducati in mind, I may be seen riding my Yamaha at 35kmph again with someone like Nidhi...
Dang!!! thats life...

almost me (still riding like rossi)

Long time ago I started riding like rossi, expressing myself, exploring myself... through my blog 'ride like rossi'. There is more to me than rides and roses. I thought I will change the blog name to 'simply me'. But found so many 'simply me's on internet, so I thought 'almost me' says it better. Found a song named 'almost me'! Liked that too.. here it goes.

Someday soon I'll be ready to go
Mind, body, spirit, I'll be out on my own
80% of me is done, yeah yeah yeah yeah

I'm in the car but I'm missing the keys
See them on the top shelf, still outta reach
They say the only way is up, yeah yeah yeah yeah

So take these days
Feel the sun, soak in raise
It's all good, I've got a lot of time
Feels so free in this little world of mine
I figured out I'm gonna have to fall before I learn to fly
I'm almost me, I'm almost me

Wrong time, right time, ready to change
Find that clear path out of the maze
It's like I'm living in between, yeah yeah yeah yeah

If life's a ride
Guess that I'm waiting in line

It's all good, I've got a lot of time
Feels so free in this little world of mine
I figured out I'm gonna have to fall before I learn to fly
I'm almost me, I'm almost me

I'm almost me, I'm almost me yeah yeah yeah
I'm looking for the answer yeah yeah yeah
I'm living in between yeah yeah yeah

Going nowhere, heading somewhere all at the same time
Reaching up and looking forward, just about to fly

It's all good, I've got a lot of time
Feels so free in this little world of mine
I figured out I'm gonna have to fall before I learn to fly
I'm almost me, I'm almost me

I'm almost me

All the precious moments....

And I wished for so long, cannot stay...
All the precious moments, cannot stay...
It's not like wings have fallen, cannot stay...
But I feel something's missing, cannot say...

Holding hands are daughters and sons
And their faiths just falling down, down, down, down...
I have wished for so long
How I wish for you today

We all walk the long road. Cannot stay...
There's no need to say goodbye...
All the friends and family
All the memories going round, round, round, round
I have wished for so long
How I wish for you today

And the wind keeps roaring
And the sky keeps turning gray
And the sun is set
The sun will rise another day...

We all walk the long road. Cannot stay...
There's no need to say goodbye...
All the friends and family
All the memories going round, round, round, round
I have wished for so long
How I wish for you today
How I've wished for so long
How I wish for you today
- Eddie Vedder and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (dead man walking)

overGreen

'Green' is in! Literally...Globally... and in abundabce! Everyone is going green, whatever way possible, no matter to what extent, but they make sure they SHOW it!
Being in an eco-friendly transportation industry myself, and because of personal interest I keep searching for new information/updates in eco-friendly or so called green field wherever possible... but mostly internet. What I come across most of the time is webpages fullll of green colour, complete with graphics of leaves and all. I bet people have planted more trees on webpages and other promotional material than in their garden!
Time has come, people going green start availing services of qualified designers instead of those knowing some graphic softwares and executing their client's instructions (mistaken as brief).
Save trees, decorate your websites?
(P.S. there is (hopefully) no website overgreen.org as of now)

Complan mom...

Kim Clijsters celebrating her victory in US open 2009 with her 18 month daughter Jada. I don't follow tennis, but found this picture very very cute. She is only second mother to win grand slam in last 29 years! But considering that she is only 26 year old, this is a great achievement!
(by the way I found that she is exactly 1 year younger to me! Forget the cup, I don't even have a daughter)

Cut/Copy PAST

I don't know why I am posting this (now) old video today, may be because of lack of material to share on the blog!

The footage was shot in Jan-feb 2006 mostly in the product design studio in National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad and this video was compiled in Nov 2006 for my part of 'saturday activity' at Elephant Strategy + Design, pune. The founders of Elephant, Ashish, Ashwini Deshpande, Sudhir Sharma who are ex-NIDians, were very happy and overwhelmed to watch it then. Today (not literally), I know why. It goes beyond making me nostalgic, to make me think... don't know exactly about what, the past or the future? It's quite interesting to watch where life takes us with time... even without taking to places!

Enjoy this all smiles video named 'missing u all'. Interestingly I had named it so when I was still part of NID and had almost an year to spend with 'all'. And today?... hahahahah...

(It may take a little long to load this video.)

Love is brand.

No it's not a typo, love actually is like a brand.. a good brand which successfully evolves with time! Take any brand e.g. Apple. We know how it has changed/evolved with time. Starting with the rainbow colour logo to colourful i-macs to minimalistic white laptops and white logo to again colourful i-pod shuffles. Apple has changed with time not only visually but also with respect to products it is associated to. But Apple has always remained an Apple, rather THE apple. One may not be able to describe properly what it takes for a product to be Apple, but somehow we all know 'the apple'. Thats brand! What we like about apple is not what it was or what it is today, but the way it has changed, or it will change! The change for which you are ready to pay!

Love... isn't it very similar to a good brand like apple? You may like someone for the way they look, the way they behave, the way they respond, but with time you know it will all change. You somehow anticipate and love the change. You may not know what will change and how it will be, but you somehow know/trust/expect it wil be worth. That is love! And like brand, it's not restricted to that particular person. You appreciate most of the things or even people associated with that person. Love is much more than what you can describe or express or even expect to be. Like there are many intangibles which contribute to brand value, there are even more intangibles and feelings which make you keep loving that particular person in spite of all the expected and unexpected changes over time. You may not be able to visualize those intangibles and changes, but that doesn't mean love is blind! Love is brand.

Augmentin 625

If the title sounds like name of some medicine, it actually is! Augmentine 625 is a quite strong antibiotic tablet which helps healing very fast. I appreciated it so much when I had bike accident, that I am asked to take it again now!! NO NO, not because of any accident this time, but because of some severe swelling in right ear.

For last week or two I had been listening to my favourite Indian classical fusion music on youtube. (Even my last post is about it!) And yesterday, with the tuning fork stuck on my forehead, my E-N-T doctor made me accept that I won't be 'STEREO-audio' for next two weeks!!!

:( :( :(

It pained more in my heart than the ear. After that, throughout my ride back home, I realised it was true to some extent, I even felt I could hear my breathing only in left ear inside my helmet. Now I didn't do it intentionally but somehow I was speaking to many people in low volume making them (also?) feel like deaf! ;)

I realized how boring and frustrating it is, not being able to hear properly! Now when I come across people with some disability, I really appreciate their will-power to live, to overcome the frustration, to enjoy all the other things and abilities. I feel I have got everything (even Augmentin 625) and still I get frustrated over tiny curable problems in life!

Trance Sitar

Found this interesting type of playing sitar, the 'trance sitar'. I had earlier enjoyed Niladri Kumar's electric sitar performance, and this one is quite different extention of that experience. Not everyone is expected to like it though. Sounds much better if you minimize the video and use headphone.

watch (rather listen) it here.

For more information about the artist (Prosad) and trance sitar visit http://trancesitar.com/

(un)dressed to kill...

It takes a lot of talent to make a naked streetfighter bike look presentable! To make it look seductive requires even lot more efforts and understanding of proportions. And proportion does not necessarily mean golden proportion! Because as Francis Bacon Sr. says, "There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion". This is the Deus Ex machina SR542, based on Yamaha SR500.

Are you watching closely?

Yesterday, I gave up!

Yesterday, I decided to stop fooling myself.

One of the few things I did, was to change the morning alarm time from 5:40am to 6:30am.

I watched this movie 'The prestige', which just helped me to understands something in a little better way.

Life, as a trick, can be described in 3 stages. In the first satge, you see something, something you feel, can belong to you, to make your life better. In the second stage, you find 'that something' just doesn't exist, doesn't exist for you! But you are not fully surprised yet, rightly because in the third stage, you get that 'something' back! If you were watching closely, you would have found it's not the same thing you wanted in the first stage! It's illusion! But life, like magic, succeeds in surprising you, because you want to be surprised, you want to be fooled!

I have stopped fooling myself, if at all I am not doing so right now!

Are you watching closely?

Viramgaman

"Little more than 60km from Ahmedabad, there is this place Viramgam, an ancient town with fortification having five entrance gates. Munsar Tank, the finest example of civic architecture, is located on the western edge of the town. This is one of the largest man-made tanks in Gujarat, dating from the 11th (or 12th?) century. The tank epitomizes the fusion of hydraulic engineering and architectural aesthetic values of Minaldevi, who patronized the construction of this tank. The architectural style is similar to the Sahastralinga Talav of Patan. The shape of the tank is not a perfect rectangle, but like a Conch or Gomukh. Originaly there were 520 shrines on the bank of Munsar Tank, out of which 360 survive. Most of them are Shiva Shrines, along with a few Vaishnava Shrines. These shrines are typical of the early Chalukya architectural style. Each Shiva Shrine has 3 niches housing images of Mahakaal, Bhairava and Natesh. Two large twin temples, located in the middle of the south side, are also of great tourist interest. "
OK, what you all read above is taken from the great internet! So even I was quite eager to visit this munsar tank since a long time and finally managed to do so on 15th Aug 09. What me and sid got to experience can be best described as the pic below!

I mean, can you imagine the feeling of witnessing a dog peeing on the sexiest bike available and that too owned by you! But thats characteristic of this place! The carvings, sculptures, architecture is really good as described on the internet, especially the bigger twin temples with that layered wavy roof. We didn't count the number of small temples around the tank, not just because they were too many but because, to move around the place we had to be extremely cautious... some part of the place was functional as open-to-air public toilet of Viramgam! Sid and I was quite happy that the two girls, Pogo and Poorva refused to join us at last minute! But apart from the Munsar tank the trip was very nice, thanks to the extremely ride friendly weather and good road throught the ride! Even Sid was happy to ride whole 60km in one stretch which I never expected! :) ( may be because he was not riding his oldy goldy TVS victor but my Yamaha FZ... yes sadly the bike in the pic above!) The experience of riding on confusing narrow lanes of Viramgam was interesting, and so was the discovery of Sid's capability of conversing with buffaloes! We managed to enjoy. :)

For some good pictures visit my album on Orkut, and sid wil paste a link to facebook album in the comments, with some more interesting insights I guess.

(above pic is clicked by my 'dear friend' sid when I was on phone. Don't know whom to 'thank/blame', sid or the dog! both found the golden mean of their own passions)

When you love someone, you give them the right to hurt you.

Love makes you happy for no reason!

Ulfat ki Nayee Manzil ko chala...

After a long long time, a post which doesn't get a visual!!! :)
Lyrics by Qateel Shifai,
Singer: Iqbal Bano


Ulfat ki nai manzil ko chalaa, wo baanhein daal ke baanhon mein
Dil torrne waale dekh ke chal, hum bhi to parre hein raahon mein

Kya kya naa jafaaein dil pe saheen, par tum se koi shikwaa naa kiya
Iss jurm ko bhi shaamil kar lo, mere maasoom gunaahon mein

Jub chaandni raaton mein tu ne, khud hum se kiya iqraar e wafaa
Phir aaj hein kyoon hum begaane, teri berehem nigaahon mein

Hum bhi wohi tum bhi ho wohi, ye apni apni qismat he
Tum khell rahey ho khushion se, hum doob gaye hein aahon mein

Dil torrne waale dekhe ke chal, hum bhi to parre hein raahon mein

some dreams...

Some dreams, you don't want to remember,

the ones, you don't want to talk about.

There are some, better seen with your eyes tightly closed.

You don't want to open your eyes, and know, 'thats the truth'.

Some of them may be even pleasant, so much that you pretend to be sleeping.

but some, so horrible that they don't let you sleep.

In any case, it's better you keep your eyes closed,

if at all you get the choice!

My 10,000 km on Yamaha FZ 16 :)

4th Nov 2008 - 4th Aug 2009.
9 months 10,000 km Rs 10,000 of petrol!
everyday morning trips to office. :)
Dholka, Thol lake, Indroda nature park, Adalaj, Hathisinh temple, few aimless night rides. :)
photography (sadly I haven't clicked her enough properly, still searching for the dream model ;)
Top speed ride to Gandhinagar for Tabala concert.
one frightening oily skid recovery, :o
Please don't cut trees, they fall on bikes costing Rs. 3000 :(
my favourite slow turns, one crazy hairpin leaving NID parking challenging maximum lean angles. ;)
little tyre burnouts, hard front braking and clutchless gear-shifts (but still no stopies!) :(
everyday fast overtakes from Neharu circle to Shivaranjani bridge ;)
some of them causing my heart to beat as hard as enfield.
my pillion riders (almost everyone I wanted to be) ...... ;)
my dream pillion riders (menaka if not keira knightley) hehehehe ;)
Waiting for winter again, Modhera, Nal sarovar, Munsar tank still on plan only... :(
still planning for new paint scheme, performance kit, silencer etc
wish Vijay, Akash, sanjeev were around for unplanned trips... :(
Anyway now that I know her quite well, should take the experience few steps up ;)

Following is a video of my trip with Poorva on the never-ending thorny road (?) around Thol lake. The lack of road is quite visible, but it was a very amazing experience to ride to go nowhere....

keep dreaming... so that they come true!

"Motorcycle" by The Rumble Strips

If only this bike was a motorcycle
i wouldn't be moving so slow
if only this bike was a motorcycle
i'd be over half way home

as i move down the street i'd be looking so good
and i'd be gone in a blink of an eye...

if only this bike was a motorcycle..
if only this bike could..flyyyy...

sometimes when i'm riding along i forget where im going!
i start a dream that this little old bike is a big loud glistening speed machine
im getting chased everywhere i go
by hundreds of girls all fighting to show how much they love me
so i, pull over and give them a ride on my
fast moving, street cruising, geek losing motorbike!

but it's all just a dream..
im actually moving quite slowly..
air is nice and clean but my bicycle seat is so lonely...
it's so lonely this bike..

if only this bike....

oh if only this bike was a motorcycle
i wouldn't be sad anymore!
if only this bike was a motorcycle
i'd move down the street with a roar
we'll be wild, we'll be free!
just my motorcycle and me...
with a glint in my eye...
i'd show you that this little boy can really... flyyyyyyyyyyy!

Kal bhi, aaj bhi, Aaj bhi kal bhi...

kuchh rishte badalte nahi hai kabhi....

I got reminded of this 'VIP luggage' jingle while watching 'Love Aaj Kal'. Not just because it revolves around the two love stories in two different time frames, different cultures, different lifestyles but also, because while trying to narrate these diferences it manages to evoke very similar emotions for both! Feelings, going beyond time, places and cultures, have remained same. What is changing with time is our set of priorities, we are 'practical' people as Saif says. But what is beyond our control is our feelings, no matter how much we try to mask them with a 'practical' set of expressions, responses and decisions. The best part is, we do not realise all this so seriously while watching movie. What we do at that time is.. just enjoy the movie.

Yes, this is a very well made movie to enjoy. Certainly there are some thing you should ignore so as to enjoy. The locations and detailing in the scenes of the older love story are very nice and pleasant including body language of Saif. And so are the details, mostly cultural/verbal etc in the 'aaj' wala love story. By verbal I mean the openness of conversations between the 'aaj' couple shows a high contrast to that of 'kal' wala story. The seemingly random switching between two stories manages to simultaneously tease as well as entertain the audience. Songs are very nice. And most of us can relate to /enjoy some lines or dialogues etc. e.g saif saying after break-up, "mai jyada time dukhi nahi reh sakta yarr..."

Enjoy.

:)

one crazy intro...

Came across this introduction of flautist Milind Sheorey on the website of Dirt Track Productions ( of Riding Solo To The Top Of The World, which won many awards last year).

This is how his introduction goes on the website:
"Please welcome the most whimsical guy you will ever meet. If you don’t know about music then please don’t talk to Milind about it. There have been instances where directors and producers have told Milind to play the flute in a certain way and he has invited them into the recording room to play the flute themselves. He played the flute in a concert with his back to the audience because a well known singer introduced him as “his musician.” Milind’s actions are not unwarranted. Music is his religion. He has spent years learning flute from "Padmabhushan" Shrimati Annapurna Devi also guru to Hariprasad Chaurasia. Milind’s music comes from his heart. On the day of the recording Milind entered the music studio, saw Riding Solo and quietly went into the recording room, closed his eyes and we recorded whatever he played and have used all those compositions in the documentary. Milind has performed at various concerts in India, France, Netherlands, Norway and U.A.E. "
hoooshhhhhh...
Don't expect anything from art or the artist, they are those few enviable people who get to express truely what they feel without caring for the response.

Design Concerns

Cigarette packaging misleads smokers.

Not just some words like 'light', 'mild', 'silver' etc but some design elements like illustrations or light colours etc need to be eliminated legally from packaging of cigarettes. Some words have been outlawed in more than 50 countries already, but thats not enough.

Read here why.

What a rubbish??

Though I am glad that BMC commissioner took some prompt action, it still makes one think about our deeds in damaging the environment. Who is damaging whom at the end?

Read this.

problem

Mostly, there is a problem, when you discover it!

Solution is just a by-product of that discovery.

उजेड

आता सूर्य बुडेल थोड्या वेळात। लाटाही थकून शांत झाल्यायत। मी खिशात हात घालून सूर्याच्या दिशेने चालतोय। पायाखाली वाळू आणि वारयावर सळसळणारे कपडेच फ़क्त आवाज करतायत। आता सूर्य त्याच्या थरथरणारृया प्रतिबिंबाच्या अगदी जवळ येवून ठेपलाय। मी क्षणभर आहे त्या जागी स्तब्ध होतो। आणि एका क्षणाला सूर्य हळुच पाण्याला स्पर्श करतो। मला तो स्पर्श आत कुठेतरी ओळखीचा वाटतो।

मी उजवा हात खिशातून काढतो। बाजूला उभ्या तुझा हात माझ्या हातात घेतो। तो स्पर्श मला जाणवण्यापेक्षा आता समोर दिसत राहतो। सूर्य त्याच्या प्रतिबिंबामध्ये विरघळत राहतो, हळुहळू... "मला तुला काही सांगायचय", मी सूर्याकडे बघून म्हणतो। तू समोर येवून माझ्या मिठीत विरघळतेस। माझी नजर अजूनही त्या बुडणारृया सूर्यावर आहे। बस्स... आता फ़क्त काही क्षण, तांबड्या आकाशाखालचे! आता नजर सूर्याऐवजी प्रतिबिंबावर भिरभिरते। स्वताःपुराताच उजेड राखून ठेवून सूर्य आता जवळजवळ नाहीसा झालाय। आणि तशीच नाहीशी होतेय तुझी माझ्या मिठीतली जाणीव। वारयावर फ़डफ़डणारया कपड्यांच्या आवाजात मी ते प्रतिबिंब शोधायचा प्रयत्न करतोय।

दोन्ही हात खिशात घालून मी बराच वेळ तुझी वाट पाहतोय। सूर्य बुडाल्यानंतरच्या उजेडात तुझं नसणं खूप तीव्रतेने जाणवतं। वाट चुकलेला वारा माझ्या अवती भवती तुला शोधत राहतो। आता त्यालाही उजेडाची गरज उरली नाहीये... माझ्यासारखीच...

I dream 1:1 (part 2)

This time, the post is more entertaining, with the following video showing my skills (hahah) in playing with toy cars and using little bit windows movie maker. Watch it and enjoy! :)
(to watch it in better resolution on youtube, click here)

Rossi's sexy new $1 million toy

Valentino Rossi recently baught a sexy new yatch Pershing 56 for around $1.15 millions. It can take 14 people, has 1,300 hp power and is one of the few very fast luxury yatches. An Italian beauty for the Italian hero! Valentino is 5th on the list of world's top earning athletes. This year he earned $35 millions for riding a Yamaha around few tracks, getting clicked for media and baught a sexy yatch like this! I ride my Yamaha everyday to office to sketch things which I may never be able to buy or even see coming to life! Sometimes I feel I am in wrong profession. ;)

This one is another sexy Yatch Pershing 72.

Interesting history of Brand Yamaha

The Yamaha brand trademark, YAMAHA, comes from the name of founder Torakusu Yamaha who pioneered the production of Western musical instruments in Japan. Born to a family of a Kishu Tokugawa clansman, Torakusu was captivated by Western science and technology from early on. Fascinated by the watches that were gaining popularity in Osaka at the time, he took up watchmaking, studying business along the way. Over time, Torakusu began repairing medical equipment and was invited to visit a hospital in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture.

On one occasion, the hospital asked him if he would try to repair a reed organ. He agreed and was able to repair it successfully, marking the first step toward the birth of the Yamaha brand. Recognizing its business potential, while repairing the organ, Torakusu created a blueprint for the inside of the organ, later creating his own prototype organ. To deliver it to the then Music Institute (today's Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music), Torakusu slung his creation over his shoulder on a carrying pole and crossed the mountains of Hakone. This historic trek was later immortalized as a bas-relief.

The organ, however, was criticized harshly for its poor tuning. Undaunted, and starting from zero, Torakusu began studying music theory and tuning. After four months of seemingly endless struggles from early morning to late at night, he was finally able to complete the organ. It is easy to see how he came up with the concept of the tuning forks logo (as seen in pic above), inspired by the difficult experience of studying tuning while holding a tuning fork in his hand.

"Today, Yamaha is a leader in businesses ranging from musical instruments and audio & video products to products related to information technology, new media services, home furnishings, auto components, specialty metals, music education and resort facilities. Yet, true to our musical origins, no matter what business we take on, or what country we do business in -- we seek to remain perfectly attuned to the set of shared values that define the World of Yamaha." As per information on Yamaha website.
P.S. by the way they also produce good motorcycles!!! ;)

I Dream 1:1

Honda CRF 450.... latest addition to my collection, (i would not like to mention actually, but just to be honest, my collection refers to scale models as of now!!! :( , except for my baby yamaha FZ).
Anyway, the point is, these scale models of bikes are actually scale models of my dreams!. One day, I dream, to own them 1:1 ! These are reminders, or may be the image board for the future plans. Most of these miniature bikes are actually gifted by me to myself. So there are something I really want to own, I know my collection of scaled dreams is not complete yet, and i will keep adding my dreams to this collection as and when I get the clearer images of them! I am really happy to get this Honda CRF 450 as gift from sid not because it's some bike, but more because it's something I was thinking of for quite some time, but couldn't find a good one!
Thank you sid.
I promise to give you a ride on one of my dream bikes, when it becomes 1:1.
:)
(P.S. I couldn't resisit myself from sticking doctor Rossi's number 46 on this bike! Sorry Honda!!!)

Khamakha bewaja

(after a long time some nice lyrics... from movie New York)

Tune jo na kaha, mein woh sunta raha
Khamaka bewaja khwaab buntha raha
Jaane kiski humein lag gayi hai nazar
Is shehar mein na apna tikana raha
Durr chahat se mein apni chalta raha
Khamaka bewaja khwaab buntha raha

Gar woh pehle se hai zyaada, khud se phir yeh kiya wada
Khamosh nazrein rahe bezuban
Apno phele si baatein hai, bolo tho lab thar tharatein hai
Raaz yeh dil ka, na ho bayaan
Ho gaya ke aasar koi hum pe nayi
Humsafar mein tho hai humsafar hai nayi
Durr jatha raha, paas aatha raha
Khamaka bewaja khwaab buntha raha

Aaya woh phir nazar aise, baat chidne lagi phir se
Aankho mein chubtha kal ka dhuwaa
Hal tera na hum sa hi, is khushi mein kyun gham sa hi
Basne laga kuyn phir woh jahan
Woh jahan dur jisse gaye te nikal
Phir se yaadon ne kar di hai jaise pehal
Lamha beeta huwa, dil dhukata raha
Khamaka bewaja khwaab buntha raha

Tune jo na kaha, mein woh sunta raha
Khamaka bewaja khwaab buntha raha
Jaane kiski humein lag gayi hai nazar
Is shehar mein na apna tikana raha
Durr chahat se mein apni chalta raha
Bhuj gayi aag thi, dhaag jalta raha

one picture = 1000 words and vice versa sometimes..

Some very interesting and effective 'text only' print ads.
click to enlarge as usual.