Oru paatira koottakolayude katha..

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Appliedile കുറെ കോളേജ് കുമാരന്മാര്‍ എറണാകുളത്ത് ജോലിക്ക് വേണ്ടി അലഞ്ഞു തിരിഞ്ഞു നടക്കുന്ന കാലം. അലഞ്ഞു തിരിഞ്ഞു എന്ന് പറയുമ്പോള്‍, ജോലിക്ക് വേണ്ടി അല്ലേലും കുറെ അലഞ്ഞു തിരിഞ്ഞു എന്നുള്ളത് സത്യമാണ്. മറൈന്‍ ഡ്രൈവ്, ബോല്‍ഗാട്ടി പാലസ് തുടങ്ങിയ പേര് കേട്ട സ്ഥലങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് ഞങ്ങളുടെ പാദ-സ്പര്‍ശത്തിന് ഇരയാവേണ്ടി വന്നു. ഈ കഥ തുടങ്ങുന്നത് വളരെ ചെറിയ ഒരു ജീവിയില്‍ നിന്നാണ്. ചെറുതാണെങ്കിലും കൊച്ചിയില്‍ മോശമല്ലാത്തൊരു പേരെടുത്ത ജീവി ആണ്. ഇപ്പോള്‍ തന്നെ നിങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് മനസ്സിലായിക്കാണും, ആ ജീവി ഏതാണെന്ന്.

അങ്ങനെ കൊച്ചിയിലെ നമ്മുടെ "one night standinu" ആഥിത്യമരുളനുളള ഭാഗ്യം ലഭിച്ചത് അധ്യപകഭവനാണ്. ഈ കഥയിലെ നായകന്‍ നമ്മുടെ "സുരെയണ്ണന്‍" ആണ്. അദ്ദേഹവും നമ്മുടെ കൂടെ ജോലിക്കായി കൊച്ചിയില്‍ “അലഞ്ഞു തിരിയാന്‍” എത്തിയിരിന്നു. അദ്ദേഹത്തെ കണ്ടാല്‍ ഏതു പെണ്ണും ഒന്ന് നോക്കും, ദൂരെ എവിടെക്കെങ്ങിലും.!!! ആജനബാഹു, ആരോഗ്യ-ദ്രഡഗാത്രന്‍്, അങ്ങനെ നീളുന്നു അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്ന് വിശേഷണങ്ങള്‍. ഇതോക്കെയാണേലും ഒരു കുട്ടിയുടെ മനസ്സാണ് ആശാന്, പെരുമാറ്റവും അങ്ങിനെ തന്നെ.

ഞായറാഴ്ച്ച ആയിരിന്നു ഞങ്ങളുടെ ജോലികിട്ടാനുള്ള അഗ്നിപരീക്ഷ. ഞങ്ങളുടെ ജോലി കിട്ടാനുള്ള ആത്മാര്‍ത്ഥത കൊണ്ടും, കൊച്ചിയില്‍ അലഞ്ഞു തിരിയാനുള്ള അടങ്ങാത്ത അഭിനിവേശം കൊണ്ടും , ഞങ്ങള്‍ ശനിയാഴ്ച രാവിലെ തന്നെ എത്തി. നേരെ അദ്ധ്യാപക ഭവനിലേക്ക്. നല്ല ഡീസെന്ടായ(decent) സാധാരണക്കാര്‍ക്ക് വേണ്ടി ഉള്ള ഒരു lodge ആയിരിന്നു അത്. അത് കൊണ്ട് തന്നെ കൊതുകും ധാരാളം ഉണ്ടായിരിന്നു. അങ്ങിനെ ശനിയാഴ്ചത്തെ ജോലി തിരയലിനു ശേഷം രാത്രി 8.൦൦ മണിയോടെ ഞങ്ങള്‍ റൂമില്‍ തിരിച്ചെത്തി.

സുരെയണ്ണന്‍ നാട്ടില്‍ നിന്ന് വന്നപ്പോഴേ രണ്ടു കേട്ട് ചീട്ടും കൊണ്ടുവന്നിരിന്നു. എവിടെ പോയാലും underwear മറന്നാലും അവന്‍ ചീട്ടു മറക്കില്ല. കുളിക്കാനും മേലുകഴുകാനും ഒന്നും സമയം കളയാതെ സുരെയണ്ണന്‍ ചീട്ടെടുട്ടു നിരത്തി. ഒരു വെല്ലുവിളിയും കൂടെ, “ഈ റൂമിലുള്ള ഓരോ ജീവിക്കും ഞാന്‍ കുണുക്കു കെട്ടിയിരിക്കും, ഇതു സത്യം സത്യം സത്യം!!”

ഇതു കേട്ട പാടെ "ഉലകന്‍" ആ വെല്ലു വിളി ഏറ്റെടുത്തു. അങ്ങനെ ഉലകനും സുരെയണ്ണനും, പിന്നെ ചില സഹവാസികളും കൂടെ രൂക്ഷമായ ചീട്ട് കളിയില്‍ മുഴുകി.

കളി തുടങ്ങി എതാണ്ട് അര മണിക്കൂര്‍ കഴിഞ്ഞിട്ടേ ഉള്ളു. ചീട്ട് കളിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ ആരും Disturb ചെയ്യുന്നത് സുരെയണ്ണന് അത്ര ഇഷ്ടമുള്ള കാര്യമല്ല. ഈ ചുരുങ്ങിയ സമയത്തിനുള്ളില്‍ സുരെയണ്ണന്‍ ചെവി, മൂക്ക്, കൈ-വിരല്‍, തുടങ്ങി ഒട്ടു മിക്കവാറും അവയവങ്ങളില്‍ കുണുക്കു കെട്ടി കഴിഞ്ഞിരുന്നു. പക്ഷെ അതിന്‍റെ അഹങ്കാരമൊന്നും മൂപ്പര്‍ക്കില്ല.

അടുത്തെവിടെ കുണുക്കു കെട്ടുമെന്ന ഗാഡമായ ആലോചനയില്‍ ഇരിക്കുമ്പോഴാണ് കുറെ ലോക്കല്‍ കൊതുകുകള്‍ സുരെയണ്ണന്‍റെ രണ്ടു ചെവിക്കു ചുറ്റും വട്ടമിട്ടു പറക്കാന്‍ തുടങ്ങിയിരിന്നു. കുണുക്കുന്‍റെ ഭാരം താങ്ങനാവാതിരുന്ന സുരെയണ്ണന് കൊതുകിന്‍റെ മൂളല്‍ അസഹനീയമായി തോന്നി. ഉടനെ ഒരു Comment, “ മൈ** കൊതു”.

ഉടനെ ഉലകന്‍ പറഞ്ഞു, “അളിയാ, കൊതുകിനെ കൊല്ലാന്‍ ഒരു എളുപ്പ വഴിയുണ്ട്, സോപ്പ് പതപ്പിച്ചു വെച്ചാല്‍ മതി കൊതുക് അതില്‍ വന്നിരുന്നു ചത്തോളും”. ഇതു കേട്ട പാതി, കേള്‍ക്കാത്ത പാതി, സുരെയണ്ണന്‍ നേരെ ബാത്രൂമിലേക്ക് ഓടി. സുരെയണ്ണന്‍റെ ടീമലുള്ളവര്‍ ആശ്വാസ നെടുവെര്‍പ്പെട്ടു, കുറച്ചു നേരത്തേക്ക് കുനുക്കുകളില്ലാത്ത ഒരു രാത്രി അവര്‍ സ്വപ്നം കണ്ടു.

ബാത്‌റൂമില്‍ ആകെ കോലാഹലം, പെട്ടെന്ന് ഒരു കാട്ടാളനെ പോലെ അലറി വിളിച്ചു കൊണ്ട് സുരെയണ്ണന്‍ പുറത്തേക്ക്. സോപ്പ് പതയില്‍ കുളിച്ചായിരുന്നു സുരെയണ്ണന്‍റെ നില്‍പ്പ്. ഒരു കീറിയ ചുവന്ന underwear ഒഴിച്ചാല്‍ പറയത്തക്ക മറ്റു വസ്ത്രങ്ങളൊന്നും ശരീരത്തിലില്ല. അടിമുതല്‍ മുടി വേറെ ഒരു ഇഞ്ച് കനത്തില്‍ സോപ്പ് പത. ഇതെങ്ങനെയെന്നു ഞങ്ങള്‍ അദ്ഭുത പെട്ടു. സോപ്പ് തീര്‍ന്നോ എന്ന് ഉലകന്‍ ആശംഗ പെട്ടു. ചന്ദ്രിക സോപും വിയര്‍പ്പും കലര്‍ന്ന രൂക്ഷ ഗന്ധം മുറിയിലെങ്ങും പരന്നു, എല്ലാരും മൂക്ക് പൊത്തി.

സുരെയണ്ണന്‍ കൊതുക്കളെ വെല്ലുവിളിച്ചു ,”തന്തയ്ക്ക് പിറന്നവനനെങ്കില്‍ മുന്നോട്ടു വാടാ”. പിന്നെയും എന്തോക്കെയോ പുലഭ്യം പറഞ്ഞു കൊണ്ട് സുരെയണ്ണന്‍ രണ്ടു കൈയും വീശി മുറിയില്‍ അങ്ങുമിങ്ങും നടന്നു. ഉലകന്‍ ഒരു ആന പാപ്പാന്‍റെ വൈദഗ്ധ്യത്തോടെ കൂടുതല്‍ കൊതുകുകളുള്ള സ്ഥലത്തേക്ക് സുരെയണ്ണനെ മേച്ചു നടന്ന്നു. സോപ്പ് പത കേറി സുരെയണ്ണന്‍റെ കാഴ്ച നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ടു എന്ന് തോന്നുന്നു, ഉലകന്‍റെ തലയില്‍ ഇടതു കൈ കൊണ്ടോരടി. ഇതു മനപ്പൂര്‍വമാനെന്നു കരുതി സുരെയണ്ണന് പണി കൊടുക്കാന്‍ തന്നെ ഉലകന്‍ തീരുമാനിച്ചു.

ഉലകന്‍ സൂത്രത്തില്‍ കാഴ്ച ഇല്ലാത്ത സുരെയണ്ണനെ റൂമിന് പുറത്തേക്ക് നയിച്ചു. അധ്യാപക ഭവനിലെ എതാണ്ട് എല്ലാ കൊതുകുകളെയും സുരെയണ്ണന്‍ വലയില്‍ വിഴ്ത്തി. അധ്യാപക് ഭവനിലുള്ള സ്ത്രീകളും കുട്ടികളും അടങ്ങുന്ന മറ്റു അന്തേവാസികള്‍ സുരെയണ്ണനെ കൈ അടിച്ചു പ്രോത്സാഹിപ്പിച്ചു. അപ്പോഴേക്കും പത എല്ലാം നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട് ഒരു പച്ച മനുഷ്യനായി മാറിയിരുന്നു സുരെയണ്ണന്‍. പെട്ടെന്ന് കാഴ്ചയും അതോടൊപ്പം പരിസര ബോധംവും വീണ്ടു കിട്ടിയ സുരെയണ്ണന്‍ സ്വന്തം റൂമിലേക്ക്‌ അര്‍ദ്ധനഗ്നനായി തിരിച്ചോടി. അപ്പോഴും ഉലകന്‍ ഇടനാഴിയില്‍ നിന്നും ഉറക്കെ പൊട്ടി ചിരിക്കുന്നുന്ടാര്യിരുന്നു. ഉലകനോടൊപ്പം ഞങ്ങളും കൂടി.

റൂമില്‍ തിരിച്ചെത്തിയ സുരെയണ്ണന്‍ ഒന്ന് കുളിച്ചുവെന്നു വരുത്തി, വീണ്ടും കളിക്കാനായി കുനുക്കലെല്ലാം തിരിച്ചു വെക്കാന്‍ തുടങ്ങി, എല്ലാം തിരിച്ചു വെക്കാന്‍ എതാണ്ട് അഞ്ചു മിനുടോളം എടുത്തു. മറ്റു കളിക്കാര്‍ക്ക്‌ കളി തുടരാന്‍ താല്പര്യമില്ലായിരുന്നു, അവര്‍ ഉറക്കം നടിച്ചു. ഉലകന്‍ സുരെയന്നനെ ആശ്വസിപിച്ചു, “കുഴപ്പമില്ല നമുക്ക് നാളെ രാവിലെ കളി തുടരാം, കുനുക്കൊന്നും ഊരണ്ട”. സുരെയണ്ണന്‍ കുനുക്കുകളോട് കൂടി തന്നെ കട്ടിലിലേക്ക് ചാന്നു.

ആ രാത്രി ആരും കൊതുകുകടി എല്ക്കാതെ സുഖമായി ഉറങ്ങി. പിറ്റേന് രാവിലെ കാണുന്നവരെല്ലാം സുരെയന്നാണ് നന്ദി പറഞ്ഞു. ഞങ്ങള്‍ അന്ന് തന്നെ അവിടുന്ന് സ്ഥാലം വിറ്റെങ്കിലും അധ്യാപക ഭവനില്‍ പിന്നെ കൊതുകുകള്‍ കയരിയിടില്ല എന്നാണ് കേട്ട് കേള്‍വി. സുരെയണ്ണന്‍റെ ഒരു കാര്യം!!

നോട്ട്: അന്ന് ആ റൂമിലുണ്ടായിരുന്ന ആരും ടെസ്റ്റ്‌ പാസ്സായില്ല. കൊച്ചിയില്‍ വന്നാല്‍ ഒരു കൊതുക് കടിയെങ്കിലും കൊല്ലാതെ ടെസ്റ്റ്‌ പാസ്‌ ആകില്ല എന്നാണ് ശാസ്ത്രം.

- Aj, Inq

Formula 1 2010 Season Update

This is for those who have been too busy or stuck in your lab or with your job or in your classes and hence has been unable to keep in touch with the world of Formula 1. Don’t get me wrong, I was stuck in my lab as well, but while I was there pretty much all I have been doing is keeping in touch with F1. So here is a quick update on the points status as of now. After the Japanese Grand Prix, with just 3 races left to go in the season, Mark Webber leads the driver’s standings with 220 points from Fernando Alonso and Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel, both on 206. The McLaren duo of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are a little further back on 192 and 189 points respectively. Red Bull leads in the constructor’s standings with 426 points to McLaren’s 381 and Ferrari’s 334 points. Point allocation has been modified for 2010 with top 10 positions rewarded points. Race win grants 25 points, second 18, third 15 and so on.

Red Bull had the best car in the paddock in the second half of last season, yet failed to clinch either of the titles thanks to the early season domination by Button-Brawn combination, which won 7 of the first 8 races, thanks to their innovative double diffuser. Come 2010, they dominated the practice and qualifying sessions in the first 3-4 race weekends, yet frustratingly failed to convert it to points on Sunday. McLarens brought the innovative F-duct into F1, a device which allows drivers to alter the airflow over the rear wing so as to reduce drag and downforce helping them hit higher speeds on the straights and yet have grip in the corners. Ferrari won the season opener in Bahrain with Alonso leading the Ferrari 1-2. The Spaniard winning his first ever race with Ferrari much like his predecessor Kimi Raikkonen. Yet Ferrari was not good enough to challenge for victories throughout the first half of the season. So first half of the season, Red Bull dominated in tracks demanding high downforce and aerodynamic efficiency while McLaren took over in high speed low downforce circuits. Jenson Button played his cards well to pick up two victories in the rain.

Mid season, Ferrari introduced their own version of the F-duct making them much more competitive. From then on it’s been a fight between the three teams for the top places and race wins. The Season was nicely poised with all three of the leading cars exhibiting different characteristics. Red Bull – brilliant aerodynamic grip making them unassailable through fast flowing corners and in high downforce circuits, but their engine lacked some high end punch making them susceptible down long straights. McLaren - F-Ducts and a powerful engine gave them the advantage down the straights but lacked aero grip to match the Red Bulls. Ferrari – their F-ducts and engine power made them faster than the Red Bulls in their weak area and their aero grip advantage made them quicker than McLarens likewise. So it was all down to the tracks, with different mix of corners and straights favouring different cars every race weekend.

2010 has not been without its fair share of controversies. In the German Grand Prix, Ferrari resorted to team orders and made Massa, who was pretty much out of the running in the driver’s title race by then, move over and give Alonso the win, so that they could keep the championship hopes of Alonso alive. Team orders had been banned 4 or 5 years back so the team was immediately slapped with the highest possible monetary fine and referred to FIA for further action. No further action was taken. In the Turkish Grand Prix, the increasing tension in the Red Bull garage spilled onto the track when Vettel, who was running second at that time tried to pull an unnecessarily aggressive move on Webber, who was leading, resulting in both the cars going off the track. Webber recovered to finish the race in 3rd but Vettel’s race was over. Both drivers proceeded to blame the other for the accident after the race. With the prospect of going home empty handed even after having the best car in the paddock, for the second consecutive season looming large, Christian Horner called up a meeting in his house and assured both the drivers that both will be given equal treatment by the team but they had to act responsibly on the track. At Silverstone, Red Bull arrived with two new front wings. Vettel ended up damaging his during practice and Webber was asked to sacrifice his new wing as there were no spares available and Vettel was ahead in points at that time. Red Bull scored a 1-2 in qualifying with Vettel on pole. Webber got the jump on Vettel into the first corner and led from there to win the race while Vettel struggled home in 7th place, after going off the track. After the race, Webber gave vent to his feelings over the in-car radio when he said, “not bad for a no:2 driver”. After that it has been pretty much equal status at Red Bull.

Alonso rekindled his title hopes with back to back victories at Monza and Singapore followed by a podium at Japan, while Vettel was upto his early season habit of outpacing his teammate as he won convincingly in Japan. Hamilton has endured a wretched run of late. After winning in Spa, he did not finish in either Monza or Singapore followed by fifth place in Japan thanks to a gearbox which was not engaging third gear. McLaren just hasn’t had the pace to win in any of the three races as reflected by Button’s showing. With just 3 races left, everyone seems eager to write off the McLarens and think of it as a three pony race for the driver’s title. When I look forward, of the 3 remaining tracks, 2 are right up McLaren’s alley with Abu Dhabi and Korea both sporting 2 long straights where top end speed could prove critical. Kubica, in the F-ducted Renault, which performs surprisingly well (in his hands) in such venues could prove to be a fly in the ointment for the top 5 if he manages to steal valuable points. With the winner getting 7 points more than second placed man and 3 races left to go, Webber knows that if Red Bull does dominate with 1-2s at all the races, he has to beat his teammate if he is to win the title. Add to it the fact that Alonso has no fresh engines left, having used up his allocation of 8 units for the season. Using a new unit will set him back by 10 positions from his qualifying position or a blown engine in the race could prove fatal to his title chances, and he will be desperate for some support from Massa who seems to be stuck in switch off mode. So I reckon it’s far from over. Eagerly looking forward to the last 3 races as the season heads to a nail biting finish. Will Red Bull finally be able to get a deserved title with either the experience of Webber or raw pace of Vettel? Will McLaren pull off a phoenix act and rise from the dead in fiery splendour to capture the title through either reigning Champion Button or the champion he deposed, Hamilton? Or will Alonso do a Kimi, winning the title on his first year with The Prancing Horse?

World Cup through my ages

"Mone nokku Maradona", said an elder (Look son, Maradona)
"Hee he.. dona dona maradona.. dona dona maradona", I danced around in my er..
Yeah I guess that counts as being a 2 year old Argentine supporter at the 1990 World Cup. The earliest name I heard in the footballing world was that of Maradona, even before I knew it's rules. Argentina went on to make the final that year, losing to Germany (erstwhile West Germany). It was the beginning of the fall of Maradona too.

I was supporting Spain in 1994. Why Spain? No idea. I even didn't know a bit about how the Spanish played. But Spain was my favourite country then. I still don't have a clue why. One day I looked up on the globe and said Me encanta España! Those days I had even made a personal record sleeping just 3 hours to wake up and watch a match. I slept off 10-20 mins into the match though, leaving Dad to watch the rest. Spain did make it to the quarter-finals but ended up losing to Italy. The final was a tight one. I still have vague memories of that spectacular moment when Roberto Baggio missing the final penalty, thus losing the match and Cup to Brazil.

I've always had this love-hate relationship with Brazil. In 1998, they were the best team around. Ronaldo was at his peak and I couldn't resist the temptation supporting a team that I believed would go all the way. They did reach the final in a breeze and looked unbeatable. Then there was controversy before the match as Ronaldo was said to be unwell.  And that's when Zizu zoomed into the picture to spoil my party. Brazil ended up losing 3-0.

World cup was being hosted by Asian countries for the first time. EPL frenzy had caught up in school and the English superstars were a hot commodity. With Beckham as captain we all believed in our hearts that this could be the year for England. I joined the big fan club. I remember delivering a speech about the World Cup in our school assembly just before it began. The English team didn't looked as good as the hype, but got till the quarter-final when Ronaldinho exposed their weakness. A long shot left the goalkeeper wishing he was a real sea-man. Fast forwarding to the final, I was willing to support any team other than Brazil. Ze Germans couldn't do much about the mighty Brazilians who won the match 2-0, both scored by Ronaldo.

I was back to my first love this time. Argentina played great football through the group stage scoring lots of goals, most of them beautifully. Germany was the spoilsport this time in quarter-finals. It was heartbreaking to see them going out in penalties. Devastated, I looked around for any other team to support. Someone was playing the best football of his life in French shirt. Zizu, who missed out on 2002 WC was at his best for his country at the age of 34. He single-handedly dragged the French team into the final against Italy. He was spectacular in the final, until the sad headbutting incident. I was almost in tears. Often wondered whether France would've won it otherwise. Zidane in WC2006 is the best I've seen any player in a World Cup. Truly one of the greats.

Now to the present. This time it was a toss up between Argentina and Spain. One was being coached by my first football hero and the other perennial underachievers were finally finding their feet winning the Euro 2008. I went with Argentina and the group stages didn't disappoint me, full points. Again the quarter-final and again Germans. The Germans outplayed the Albicelestes, end of story. Spain on the other hand defeated the Germans (who are a very impressive team) in semi. So the final awaits. Some work of fate has it that the country I support in the final has never won. Fingers crossed.. Will my favourite country (still?!) bring home the Cup of Joy?

PS. Logos courtesy Wikipedia.

Update from Home

Thought I too would update on my happenings, the ICEMAN way..

Almost a week home now. These days I'm not getting anything to write about. Most of the days were spend doing nothing. After the first few days you find out how boring internet could be if you get to sit in front of it for more than 4-5 hours a day. The great world of television has never quite caught up with me. Don't find anything interesting there other than the occasional Star World. (Btw iceman, the tour de france has started. Contador's the best bet.)

Moved on to movies and TV-series. Reached 3rd season of "How I met your mother". Not as entertaining as "Friends" or "Scrubs". Still it's pretty entertaining and good time pass. In movies over the past few weeks,

Rebecca - 7.5/10. ya I'm watching the Hitchcock classic only now. Good movie. Very good buildup.

Remember Me - 8/10. A touching story, I felt the characters were potrayed in an intense way. RobPat shows he's much more than a romancing vampire.

The spy next door - 7/10. Entertaining and funny. For Jackie Chan fans.

Shutter Island - 8.5/10. Psycho.. real psycho. No more words.

Vinodayatra - 7/10. Feel good movie. Could've cut down on the preaching though.

Agnisakshi - 9/10. Watched it the second time after about 10 years. Timeless story, brilliantly taken.

Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya - 8/10. Lots of mixed reviews on this one but I personally liked it. The feel of this one stays with you for long. Very beautifully taken especially Trisha.

Raavanan - 7/10. Though I missed out on majority of the dialogues due to language problem, I felt the plot was ok to good. The camera work is one of the best I've seen in Indian movies. But disappointing as a Mani Ratnam movie. Could've been better.

Kites - 5.5/10. There wasn't much right about this. Didn't expect much. Ended up laughing through some of the supposedly serious scenes. :-D

Disaster Movie - 0/10. Truly disastrous. Horribly Boring. Left me wondering what happened to the Scary Movies era when movie spoofs were as good as original.

On to other stuff, I've started reading the classic "Little Women". I'm not finding it much entertaining. Am still ruing the fact that I forgot to take the book I was reading (The Chamber) from IISc. I was seriously drugged (taking medicine for fever) while packing. Other than those, the list of things not packed included my iPod, toothbrush, shaving set etc.

Firefox 4 beta is out. Cool look.

Main project work hasn't started in proper sense yet. We've been attending some presentations and so on, but Self-Driving Car still seems a distant dream. Bach is having better luck with his one I believe.

Till anything interesting happens.. Signing off..

Tales of the Mobile Inverted Pendulum and more...

Hi guys, its been a long time huh? Of late i ve thought more than once about about scribbling something and posting it here but everytime something comes up (more commonly known as laziness). Finally having found the mental strength (albeit temporarily) to overcome that slayer of creative and non creative output, i thought i d share with my friends my views on "World Peace and its current state". Ya rite, dream on... I thought i d write somethin about whatever i ve been doin lately, so the people who were looking forward to an unbiased discussion on international matters pls wait till my next post, which according to my usual pattern should be anytime in 2011-12. Well as some of u guys know and many of you don’t i was home for the whole month of May and have been back here in IIT M since June first week. Mr. Vishnu Suresh, FYI: yes i study in IITM and oh yes its in Chennai aka Madras.

First week it was all movies, FRIENDS and NUMBERS, movies and even more Friends but from the second week on iv e been workin on my project from morning 10 to evening 7 everyday except for weekends of course. Find that hard to believe? Even i do, but that doesn’t mean it aint true... For those of you whom i haven’t bored yet with details of my main proj, its got something to do with stabilization of an inverted pendulum. For the common folk, remember Segway? Else look it up in wiki. So that has been taking up a lot of my time lately but being the fighter that i am, i hit back watchin movies at night and during the weekends i’ll be on a spree but the work has effectively stopped me from takin up a new book since im not the sort of guy that enjoys reading a book 20 pages at a time. In the morning, at the crack of dawn (if that is around 6:30, pardon me guys for another aside Johnny, FYI: Yes the sun rises around that time and people do wake up at that unearthly hour...) i wake up and hit the gym. Oh how i wish i could see those raised eyebrows and smirks right now. Anyways anyone who has known me long enough would know that getting me started on something is the real difficult part. Once i get going i’m a tour de force, unstoppable.... (except of course by the slayer mentioned earlier and sleep). Yes i’m pumping iron and do i have the results to show for it? Guys its been just 2 weeks it takes longer than that to see results (fingers crossed).

Now lets run thorugh some of the movies i’ve seen recently,

· Iron man 2 - 7.5, definitely worth a watch but not up to the mark set by the first.

· Percy Jackson - 6.5, a mix of Harry Potter, Greek mythology and what not.

· Pappy Appachaa – 7, usual dileep fare worth a few laughs.

· Lives of others - 8.5, definitely recommended, strong movie.

· Deja Vu – 8, good.

· Collateral - 7.5, again good.

· GI Joe - 7.5, i actually enjoyed this one, some nice action and loads of eye candy esp in HD.

· Batman Begins – 9, gr8 movie. Love it everytime.

· Green Zone – 8, definitely worth a watch. Good one.

· Man from Earth – 9, Gemo, thanks for the recommend given 1 yr back. Gr8 movie definitely recommended. Two thumbs up.

· Echelon Conspiracy – 7, instead watch Eagle Eye.

· 500 days of Summer – 8, warning: this is not a love story but definitely a good movie.

· Shakespeare MA Malayalam – 7, overall good even though somewhat over the top at times.

· Prince of Persia - 7.5, saw it in Sathyam theatre in Chennai. Defintely worth a watch. Entertainment value + Eye candy.

· The green mile - 8.5, Beatiful Movie... but 3 hrs long. else it wud have got a 9.

· Kill Bill – 9,VENGEANCE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD. And with style. How often do you hear the words beautiful and violence used in the same sentence and how often as beautiful violence? Those who have seen the movie will understand, those who have not, pls watch it ASAP. Tarantino is a genius. Direction is slick and stylish, the background score is brilliant and the action bloody good. WARNING: Not fot he weak hearted.

· Die Hard 2 – 8, get some popcorn, lay back and enjoy.

· Die Hard 3- 8.5, same here, but even better. Die hard = gr8 action.

· Kill Bill 2 – 9, Finally the bride gets a name and its time to kill bill. Its an eye for an eye world out there. BTW for those of you who could nt get enough of this, Kill Bill 3 slated for 2014. J

· I.G - 6.5, craving to see a Malayalam movie takes me to places i’d rather not be. Suresh Gopi starrer. Enough said.

· Law abiding citizen - 7.5, A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. Thats Gerard Butler. Good movie promises to be very good but felt it kinda lost direction a bit in the second half.

· Man on fire – 8, Pretty good. Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning, the chemistry between them is real good.

Now over to the food front. Apart from the continuing KFC addiction, occasional pizza and a return to Kumarakom in the esteemed presence of Mr. Ajithnath aka Ulakan, we found time to check out two new restaurants.

The Rock, velachery. Gr8 sizzlers and nice desserts.

Tasty Jones : I m goin to stick my neck out here. This place served the best burgers i ve ever had. Yes better than McD. Maybe i am biased cos i prefer beef burgers to chicken ones and McD doesn’t cater beef burgers in India, but anyway these burgers were real juicy and simply the best i ve had. Yet. And i ve my eyes set on their steak offerings. So those of you guys in Chennai for whatever reason have some time to spare, visit Elliot’s beach, Besant Nagar, the very place where Dasan and Vijayan arrive in gulf in an Uru headed for California, only to realise its just Madras. The landmark near which they carry out their “transaction” is still there and readily identifiable. Then drop in at Tasty Jones for the best burger in town.

And guys, missing you all... I really miss the hangings outs we used to have at panchaara kaadu, museum, our club house, anywhere we had enough space to sit together and chat away to say nothing of the night outs. Hope you’re all having a gr8 time. Stay in touch. (Some guys think sending tennis scores and commentary is stayin in touch. Dude, i don’t think so...).

A scribble.

June 21st, 1 am.

I could hear the rain outside, showering, making the earth wet with its gentle foreplay.

All I'm thinking of is tomorrow. The anticipation of future, regrets of the past, and a purposeless present, I already had my timeline full. How ridiculous?!

Passions run deep. And one of mine is keeping me awake this late into night. That sight of the ball, the feel of putting your feet through it,the adrenaline pumping up your spine,and finally the inexplicable ecstasy of seeing it cross the line.

Ex-girlfriends, back-stabbing colleagues, swearing bosses, cribbing parents, psycho roommates, nothing,nothing really matters once you put on those boots,the wind caress your torso and just let it fly. Feeling the satisfaction of doing something you really wanna do and Before you know it you are in a different world altogether.

Yes,smitten by world cup fever I'm. Waka-waka!! :P

Light in the Dark

No recent posts here.. Thought I'd bump up one frm ma blog :
Saw a firefly on the way to lab. I cant remember the last time I saw one. Memories of my native place in Malabar are flooding back into my mind.

The house is halfway up a mountain called Kappimala. All around, you can see the Western Ghats spreading away like ripples of green water. The nights are as beautiful as the day. This place might be one of the very few areas where there is no electricity connection in Kerala. So once it is night, it's pure darkness.. Nothing like the night lights filling up the sky in Bangalore. The only light sources are the Moon and fireflies. I remember the joy of sitting out on the couch after dinner during such nights. The calmness just engulfs you, feeling one with nature and the sounds of nature rings in beat with the soft music from my iPod. Ah..