Was glad to know that Rusty has a new book to his credit:
Tales of the Open Road; Ruskin Bond, Penguin, Rs. 200
Must be interesting I suppose. It reminds me (rightly or wrongly) of an anthology of travel writings which he had edited. Did this idea take its birth there?
My impression of his writings is that his stories are not of the wanderer, it is of a story teller who is at great ease searching for human drama in and around his place of residence, like some curious kid who spends his summer holidays, exploring the garden...peering into tree holes, lifting stones to see what lies beneath and climbing the wall to see further.
It would be interesting to see how Rusty fares as a wanderer. Won't his stories be sad without the Deodars ?
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Tag: Literature Prose
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Sunday, April 02, 2006
Saturday, April 01, 2006
The Final Four
EXCITING STUFF !!!!!
GMU plays their FIRST FINAL FOUR basketball match in a few hours from now !!!
GO MASON !!!
More:
GMU Patriots
GMU Basketball Digital Memory Bank
GO MASON !! GO !!!
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Tag: Miscellaneous
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Saturday, March 25, 2006
Table Tennis tourney
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Love
Monday, March 13, 2006
The bus stand...
It seemed to be just another bus stand. Hawkers selling their wares, a few buses parked from which people would get down to go to the little hotel inside the building, a few stray cows here and there and crows on the ground finishing off fallen or thrown eatables. Just a typical scene so one would think. But if you looked carefully, the bus there near the entrance, with a large sack on the top, if you looked carefully at the third window from the front, you would see an arm resting on the window edge. And what made this a special window is that, now and then you would see a face.
Not the typical face in a typical bus stand. It was different. Firstly, it had a touch of melancholy in it, the eyes seemed puffed and red, there was a tired acceptance perhaps on the face. But undoubtedly there was sadness associated with it.
She would generally look out of the window towards the wall which was not only the compound but also the back of some building. She would stare at that lost in some thought. And then suddenly she would tear her eyes away to some other distant scene for a second. At times the face would not be visible to me, from where I stood looking. I guess at such times, she would be busy with some thing inside. Perhaps a child I thought?
Her sadness was very evident by the way she said no to the hawkers who would try to sell her wares ranging from groundnuts to bangles. She would not nod her head emphatically nor utter any word. It would be a soft slow sway of the head which would not only say 'no' to the hawker but also discourage the hawker from trying again.
--- to be continued.....
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Tag: Literature Prose
, ,
Not the typical face in a typical bus stand. It was different. Firstly, it had a touch of melancholy in it, the eyes seemed puffed and red, there was a tired acceptance perhaps on the face. But undoubtedly there was sadness associated with it.
She would generally look out of the window towards the wall which was not only the compound but also the back of some building. She would stare at that lost in some thought. And then suddenly she would tear her eyes away to some other distant scene for a second. At times the face would not be visible to me, from where I stood looking. I guess at such times, she would be busy with some thing inside. Perhaps a child I thought?
Her sadness was very evident by the way she said no to the hawkers who would try to sell her wares ranging from groundnuts to bangles. She would not nod her head emphatically nor utter any word. It would be a soft slow sway of the head which would not only say 'no' to the hawker but also discourage the hawker from trying again.
--- to be continued.....
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Tag: Literature Prose
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Sunday, March 12, 2006
Small Photo Printers
Saw this ad for a compact printer, which the customer takes along on trips and as and when clicks photos can take print outs.
Seems that this market for such compact printers is driven by the need for people to print their photos. So what difference does it make to the user to have a photo printed?
-- maybe it is the need to have something tangible in hands that drives the need to take printouts. Also a photo printed can be easily shown to people. It does not require to boot a Pc and more importantly need a PC. So what about hand held portable devices which can display photos? Would that dent the market for portable small printers?
Or would humans always need to print photos?
, ,
Seems that this market for such compact printers is driven by the need for people to print their photos. So what difference does it make to the user to have a photo printed?
-- maybe it is the need to have something tangible in hands that drives the need to take printouts. Also a photo printed can be easily shown to people. It does not require to boot a Pc and more importantly need a PC. So what about hand held portable devices which can display photos? Would that dent the market for portable small printers?
Or would humans always need to print photos?
, ,
Friday, March 10, 2006
True Joy of life...
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Sun and Birds
..both are back !
After a long time the sun warmed up the carpet area on which it fell, sliding through the window screens. After a long time the warmth was back.
The birds are back too. Since a week back, I have been hearing the Canadian Geese in the apartment block. Heard a Crow for the first time for this season yesterday. Not to mention that I think I heard Blue Jays yesterday in school.
Spring is here !!!
, ,
After a long time the sun warmed up the carpet area on which it fell, sliding through the window screens. After a long time the warmth was back.
The birds are back too. Since a week back, I have been hearing the Canadian Geese in the apartment block. Heard a Crow for the first time for this season yesterday. Not to mention that I think I heard Blue Jays yesterday in school.
Spring is here !!!
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Monday, February 20, 2006
The Room with the view
No, it isn't the title of some Ruskin Bond story nor some O'Henry story. This is my blog and so this is part of my story :)
This is the view from my room. A mountain in the distant background, trees in the garden and between them both deep blue ocean....where a boat lazily sails by. And I watch them all from my room. Lucky, right?
Another picture follows (none of the boats are mine though!).
Ahh....the nice warm weather.......:)
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Tag: Miscellaneous
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Friday, December 02, 2005
New Lens
The Sigma 70-300 mm F4-5.6 APO DG Macro lens looks cool. Nice black finish to it. After having got over its looks, one ususally mounts it on the camera and takes test photos.
Thats what I did too.
The pigeons on the ledge of a neighbouring apartment tower were still far away for the 300mm setting.
In the macro mode, the my "Ford Salon" looked pretty neat (if one discounts the dust that had accumulated on it though).
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Tag: Miscellaneous
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Thats what I did too.
The pigeons on the ledge of a neighbouring apartment tower were still far away for the 300mm setting.
In the macro mode, the my "Ford Salon" looked pretty neat (if one discounts the dust that had accumulated on it though).
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Tag: Miscellaneous
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Thursday, December 01, 2005
Weather - up and down
The weather acted strange last week !! On Monday it was so warm that a jacket would make one sweat while through the rest of the week the temperatures went below zero C !!
Crazy stuff !!
As a result now I check the weather web site very often.
It was strange initially though, to check the weather web site, having never done such a thing back home as I grew. Any day would be fine to go out back at home. Roughly there would be the expectations associated with the changing seasons and those would more or less hold good, like December is cold etc. Also being in a temperate climate zone, one really would not have to change the clothing style due to weather. So its different now and I have learnt something new and its good to learn, right?
, ,
Crazy stuff !!
As a result now I check the weather web site very often.
It was strange initially though, to check the weather web site, having never done such a thing back home as I grew. Any day would be fine to go out back at home. Roughly there would be the expectations associated with the changing seasons and those would more or less hold good, like December is cold etc. Also being in a temperate climate zone, one really would not have to change the clothing style due to weather. So its different now and I have learnt something new and its good to learn, right?
, ,
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Snow !!!
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Colddddddd.....days....
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Confusion - I
A recent visit to a wonderful Karst cave (limestone formation mostly) made me realize another instance of a confused population.
The guide told us in a strict tone, the "don't"s of the place. No touching the formations etc. Which was very good for I am not too sure how many people really would have kept away from touching the formations and taking their existence for granted.
So there I was happy that there was such importance given to see that the place remains as pristine as it can be, while on the other hand allow we humans to marvel at nature's glory without affecting it much so that this could be marveled by other coming generations too. It was praiseworthy that there was an emphasis on conservation.
But then comes the dichotomy in behaviour!!
The managers of the caves allow the flourishing practice of a "wishing well"! People drop coins with wishes in their hearts hoping for their fulfillment. The damage to the caves is the price that this practice causes.
This is how a technical web site on caves describes this practice:
"...As wishing wells are harmful to the cave and its formations, destroying the cave by releasing metal oxides into the clear cave water, they are usually nothing but a compromise with cave owners (who earn money with it) and visitors (who demand it)...."
So at one hand there seems to be emphasis on conserving this environment, seeing to it that the minimum amount of damage is caused, while at the other hand is the bowing down to the pressure of a practice which can be dangerous to the caves.
Apart from the "main" wishing well, there were many other pools that I noticed wherein tourists had dropped coins. Their hopes at the price of hopelessness for the caves.
It perhaps should be seen that the tourists are asked not to drop coins at any other place than at the main wishing well.
What I am worried is largely about the shallowness of the behaviour of the tourists. They realize upfront that this environment is fragile and their are specific "don'ts" to be followed. They realize that their actions could be harmful to this place and that it has to be allowed to be as it is. And then suddenly all this breaks down at the sight of an established wishing well and worse at the sights of pools of water, where the tourist wants to leave a trace of their presence.
I also wonder, why would a tourist drop a coin here? When this place has never been known to be a "wish-provider" place, why think that wishes will be fulfilled at this place?
I would rather expect some spots, which had a local long tradition of being lucky to be the sites for such wishing wells and not any beautiful natural place !!
Or is it a way in which man pays his respect to the tremendous beauty of nature? Nah...!!
-----------------
Tag: My Thoughts
, ,
The guide told us in a strict tone, the "don't"s of the place. No touching the formations etc. Which was very good for I am not too sure how many people really would have kept away from touching the formations and taking their existence for granted.
So there I was happy that there was such importance given to see that the place remains as pristine as it can be, while on the other hand allow we humans to marvel at nature's glory without affecting it much so that this could be marveled by other coming generations too. It was praiseworthy that there was an emphasis on conservation.
But then comes the dichotomy in behaviour!!
The managers of the caves allow the flourishing practice of a "wishing well"! People drop coins with wishes in their hearts hoping for their fulfillment. The damage to the caves is the price that this practice causes.
This is how a technical web site on caves describes this practice:
"...As wishing wells are harmful to the cave and its formations, destroying the cave by releasing metal oxides into the clear cave water, they are usually nothing but a compromise with cave owners (who earn money with it) and visitors (who demand it)...."
So at one hand there seems to be emphasis on conserving this environment, seeing to it that the minimum amount of damage is caused, while at the other hand is the bowing down to the pressure of a practice which can be dangerous to the caves.
Apart from the "main" wishing well, there were many other pools that I noticed wherein tourists had dropped coins. Their hopes at the price of hopelessness for the caves.
It perhaps should be seen that the tourists are asked not to drop coins at any other place than at the main wishing well.
What I am worried is largely about the shallowness of the behaviour of the tourists. They realize upfront that this environment is fragile and their are specific "don'ts" to be followed. They realize that their actions could be harmful to this place and that it has to be allowed to be as it is. And then suddenly all this breaks down at the sight of an established wishing well and worse at the sights of pools of water, where the tourist wants to leave a trace of their presence.
I also wonder, why would a tourist drop a coin here? When this place has never been known to be a "wish-provider" place, why think that wishes will be fulfilled at this place?
I would rather expect some spots, which had a local long tradition of being lucky to be the sites for such wishing wells and not any beautiful natural place !!
Or is it a way in which man pays his respect to the tremendous beauty of nature? Nah...!!
-----------------
Tag: My Thoughts
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Friday, August 26, 2005
Marasim
As I hear to Gulzar's superb poetry in "Marasim", I wonder at the depth captured in the 2 lines:
"..din gujarata nahin hai, logon main,
raat hoti nahin basar tanha.."
(...can't spend the day amidst people,
can't spend the night in loneliness ...)
How can a poet live through all emotions? And know them so well as to squeeze the essence of life into a few lines?
, ,
"..din gujarata nahin hai, logon main,
raat hoti nahin basar tanha.."
(...can't spend the day amidst people,
can't spend the night in loneliness ...)
How can a poet live through all emotions? And know them so well as to squeeze the essence of life into a few lines?
, ,
Friday, August 05, 2005
Tennis time..
oh yeah, I almost forgot, this is the summer and so this is tennis time !!
Gosh, I end up playing a lot sometimes. A field nearby to my place ensures that we can play at night times too. But what a pity that the lights go off at 11pm !!
But then this week was busy and could not play much. As a matter of fact, it was I who refused to go and play on weekdays, because there are so many more things which need to be done...as always....so much more to be done......
Tennis is a nice memory, which brings cheer to me. And I wake up sometimes, with the thought of a perfect ace, going down the middleline, perfectly and smoothly.
I am sure my old love, table-tennis must be feeling jealous at all the attention tennis is getting. But then what can I do if they decide to close down the "paid by the hour" table-tennis room for the WHOLE of summer !!!
, ,
Gosh, I end up playing a lot sometimes. A field nearby to my place ensures that we can play at night times too. But what a pity that the lights go off at 11pm !!
But then this week was busy and could not play much. As a matter of fact, it was I who refused to go and play on weekdays, because there are so many more things which need to be done...as always....so much more to be done......
Tennis is a nice memory, which brings cheer to me. And I wake up sometimes, with the thought of a perfect ace, going down the middleline, perfectly and smoothly.
I am sure my old love, table-tennis must be feeling jealous at all the attention tennis is getting. But then what can I do if they decide to close down the "paid by the hour" table-tennis room for the WHOLE of summer !!!
, ,
The Marriage Season
As the rains pour all through the rainy season, it seems that this is the marriage season.
From far and wide, I get mails from people with whom I was in constant touch or from people who rarely appeared in my inbox with one constant subject - "I am getting married" !
Good, I feel good for them. And of course wish them all the best. As they go along this new path, hand in hand. Sigh..so romantic !!
, ,
From far and wide, I get mails from people with whom I was in constant touch or from people who rarely appeared in my inbox with one constant subject - "I am getting married" !
Good, I feel good for them. And of course wish them all the best. As they go along this new path, hand in hand. Sigh..so romantic !!
, ,
The Caged Bird
From the archives - Monday, September 06, 2004
==============================================
I let the bird go, fly away from the cage I had so painstakingly made for it. Made with the best material available so that it would love to stay there.
And since then it hasn't returned back yet.
On some quite evening, thinking about it, I realized that the bird was never in the cage, never was it with me. I had woven the web around myself and deceived myself to see it. When I opened its cage, it was I that flew, freed from the cage......
(c) Deapesh.
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==============================================
I let the bird go, fly away from the cage I had so painstakingly made for it. Made with the best material available so that it would love to stay there.
And since then it hasn't returned back yet.
On some quite evening, thinking about it, I realized that the bird was never in the cage, never was it with me. I had woven the web around myself and deceived myself to see it. When I opened its cage, it was I that flew, freed from the cage......
(c) Deapesh.
, ,
Gotta run...see u bye
From the archives - Thursday, June 09, 2005
==============================================
then she said,
"gotta run, see u soon, bye" and walked away on me.
I kept wondering, why did she do that, why did she just walk away like that without even registering my reaction to her leaving so suddenly.
It was mysterious. And it was sad.
I picked up what ever was remaining. And slowly made my way back home...slowly...head bent and shrugged shoudlers....sad.
The door opened with a creak. It was all dark inside. I switched the light on, put the radio on hoping that I would not be bombarded with some advertisement. Some song ran.
The windows need to be opened to let the late night breeze in. And along with that came the sweet smell of the Farangipani flowers outside my window.
The moon was right in front. As if to offer me some solace.
Yeah I was back with my friends, the evening breeze, the soft moonlight and the silent tree.
, ,
==============================================
then she said,
"gotta run, see u soon, bye" and walked away on me.
I kept wondering, why did she do that, why did she just walk away like that without even registering my reaction to her leaving so suddenly.
It was mysterious. And it was sad.
I picked up what ever was remaining. And slowly made my way back home...slowly...head bent and shrugged shoudlers....sad.
The door opened with a creak. It was all dark inside. I switched the light on, put the radio on hoping that I would not be bombarded with some advertisement. Some song ran.
The windows need to be opened to let the late night breeze in. And along with that came the sweet smell of the Farangipani flowers outside my window.
The moon was right in front. As if to offer me some solace.
Yeah I was back with my friends, the evening breeze, the soft moonlight and the silent tree.
, ,
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Its not over,,,,,,
the same repeats..history itself.
The might of numbers, of attitudes, of the power of distrust, of suspicions, of fears, of hollowness within, the fear that everyone is out to kill.....its the same....nothing has changed with time.
Trust looses to the might of numbers, bows down to the numerous who never trust.
Its the same, just the same attitudes, the same ignorance. Oh where is the beauty of mankind? Where?
I see the same ugliness continuing....propagating down generations.
my hopes for the mankind lie ill,
My trust grows weaker,
looks for a corner to hide,
dwarfed by the giants of suspicion,
who only are to be found.
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Tag: My Thoughts
, ,
The might of numbers, of attitudes, of the power of distrust, of suspicions, of fears, of hollowness within, the fear that everyone is out to kill.....its the same....nothing has changed with time.
Trust looses to the might of numbers, bows down to the numerous who never trust.
Its the same, just the same attitudes, the same ignorance. Oh where is the beauty of mankind? Where?
I see the same ugliness continuing....propagating down generations.
my hopes for the mankind lie ill,
My trust grows weaker,
looks for a corner to hide,
dwarfed by the giants of suspicion,
who only are to be found.
-------------------
Tag: My Thoughts
, ,
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