Name

What's in a name, so said Kalidas in Shankutalam. Ok, just kidding, it was by Shakespeare but again, what's in a name. Now that we are done with today's PJ here is the serious issue.
Grew up in Madras and then one fine day, one of the politicians decided to rename it as Chennai. This opened the floodgates for all others who decided that names kept by the British was not acceptable to Indian sensibilities (like women exercising their freedom in a pub is not acceptable to ram and shiv senas) and therefore all cities have to be renamed. Thus, Bombay became Mumbai, Bangalore became Bengaluru etc. However, this is old news and not what this post is all about. For some reason, Madras did become Chennai in my head and in all subsequent conversations but Mumbai and Bengaluru remain Bombay and Bangalore. In spite of living in these cities for considerable time. Does it mean that Chennai brings out the characteristics of the city but for other two it has to be the anglicized names only? Or is it that Madras was never the right name for Chennai? You decide. I have.

Technology

Why is that when you really require technology it fails. There are a lot of reasons which make murderers out of people. Add one more - technology failure.

Conspiracy theory

A terrorist attack is a great fodder for all closet conspiracy theorists to come out, rack their brains, get all philosophical about and come up with reasons, rationales and theories regarding the attack. In short, people with no work get swamped. The recent theory from yours truly is that the recent attack on Sri Lankan cricketers was the brainchild of the ISI to divert the attention of the world from the Nov 2008 Mumbai blasts. Their excuse can now be that they are under siege by terrorists in their own country, how will they control anything which happens outside. Another theory is an extension of the above. Now, they can look to US for help against terrorism by letting US deploy troops in Pakistan and for letting them do that get billions of dollars aid for economic development which generally translates to sponsoring more terrorism. Like manufacturing is the industry for China, IT and services for India, terrorism is for Pakistan. They promote terrorism and then look for aid from others to curb it. Great return on investments considering the damages is generally hundreds of millions of dollars but the aid run into billions. Now that is a lesson in capitalism. So many precious lives were snuffed out is accidental and in the larger scheme of things incidental. After all, the population of the world is approx 6+ billion.
I hope Obama will act a little wisely and not fall for this act. Instead, he will take a strong stand which might be painful in the short term but over a long term will help break the back of the terrorists considerably and lead to a safer, peaceful world.

Home

I moved to Mumbai in 2006. Until then, I wasn't a very big fan of Mumbai. I was a hardcore Chennaite. I have been living in Mumbai for over two years now. I visited Chennai in early 2008 and for some strange reason didn't feel that attached as I was before relocating. I assumed that Mumbai is my new home and maybe I don't feel the same way about Chennai anymore. So in my hierarchy the order of homes became:

1. Mumbai - current residence
2. Chennai - grew up here
3. Bangalore - studied here
4. Sikar - born here

However, I visited Chennai and Bangalore last week and the love for both the cities is totally indescribable. It was love at first sight again. The familiar prickly heat, sweat and grime in Chennai and the crispy morning chilly wind in Bangalore brought back memories of a life which grew and evolved in these cities. That's when I realised the true meaning of the phrase - home is where the heart is and the heart truly belongs to Chennai. So, the new hierarchy is (the true order and was distorted temporarily).

1. Chennai - grew up here
2. Bangalore - studied here
3. Mumbai - current residence
4. Sikar - born here

DevD - the movie

I had written about DevD earlier. How the songs were the find of the decade and how they have changed the music scene. Was eagerly awaiting release of the movie. I have received mixed reactions of the movie. Some people I know said the movie was truly 'emosional atyaachar' and was not bearable after 15 minutes. However, and more important surprisingly, Mayank Shekar and Nikhat Kazmi agreed for a change and gave the movie 4+ stars. The people who trashed it are the types who will like alternate genre of films so it is not a review from the 'un-intellectual' class. That makes me wonder, is the movie worth the astronomical multiplex ticket price or should I wait for the dvd to come out. Any thoughts?

PINK is the new BLACK

Necessity is the mother of all inventions. In this case necessity to stand up to bullies who go on a rampage in the name of 'culture, tradition and god' is mother of an extremely creative campaign, Pink Chaddi, to fight these so called 'moral' righteous pricks. The 'senas' of the India be it Ram or Shiv are up against a different kind of gandhigiri this time. No public litigation, no dharnas, no burning effigies but sending 'pink jhaddies' to protest against the Mangalore incident. Pink is the new black, to blacken their faces as a punishment for their outrageous behavior in Mangalore. I hope at least now these moralistic pricks will realise that drinking in a pub is as much a woman's right as a man's right to drink in a bar. Women are not destroying any culture by indulging in a hard earned drink at the end of the day to unwind, relax and hang out with friends/family.
My request to all women - please send only the really tattered, torn underwear as sending them something which is in a fine condition will be a) giving them too much attention, b) wasting a good set of lingerie.
However, what a way to leave them 'pink' in the face.

Boy scouts from Airtel

I "love" customer service call centres, esp the ones belonging to telecom companies. Interacting with them is a complete contrast to the 'no signal' reception one gets on their mobile phones. These guys/gals provide a lot of reception, mostly funny. Here is one of them:

Me: - Hi, I'd like to deactivate my airtel number.
CC Guy:- Sure Sir, I will deactivate it within 24 hours.
Me:- Gee, thanks. How will I know the number is disconnected?
CC Guy:- We will send you an sms on your airtel number confirming the deactivation.
Duh!!!!
Ta na na na nana nana na na nana nana nana nana nana na......Airtel tune.