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...