My Dear Forgotten Friend

 My relationship with my blog has become like that of an old friend you used to meet every day and suddenly there's been a long distance between you two. You haven't talked in such a long time that you don't even know where to start when you meet after a long time. 

मिलते थे उसे हम कभी पल पल के फरक से, 

फिर रफ्ता रफ्ता फर्क ये सालों में आ गया

फिर यूं हुआ की आँख से आँसू निकल पड़े,

चेहरा कभी जो उसका ख्यालों में आ गया 

Milte they use hum kabhi pal pal ke farak se

Phir rafta rafta fark ye saalon mein aa gaya, 

Phir yoon hua ki aankh se aansoon nikal pade, 

Chehra kabhi jo uska khayalon mein aa gaya. 

[I used to meet him every moment 

then this grew into years, 

Then it got so that his face in my thoughts 

filled my eyes with tears.]

(Ha, I made it rhyme this time.) 

I still come on here once in a while and do a movie review or some random post like the friend who never has time to actually talk to you but keeps sending you all these useless forwards on whatsapp. 

But from my side also, I feel like - I am not gonna start telling you my life story just because after six months you suddenly messaged me and said "aur batao"!

So, here's my idea to fill this rift. I will give a very quick summary of some of the things I have done since the last time we actually talked. 

The biggest news is that in September 2019, I moved from Doncaster to Oxford to enrol in a master's degree program. It's called M.Sc. Digital Media Production. Remember I used to be very much into photography, filmmaking and vlogging? Well, that's why. It's going well. It's a one-year program that I am doing in two-years as a part-time student because I still need to earn my daily bread by working full time in IT. 

It's going well so far. I have survived three semesters and need to do 1.5 more. 

I told you this so that we can have more conversations and when I talk about what I am doing for a certain module you wouldn't be lost without a clue. 

More later. Let's keep in touch. 

50+ Scratches

Yeah, it was a bank holiday and I wanted to blog something. Took the tag from Bikram's post and decided to enlighten you about my life. :) 

This tag is pretty simple. Just strike out the things that You have not done so far and to make it a bit spicier add a line or two as explanation to the ones that you have Done..

1. Graduated high school … Yes. Long time ago

2. Kissed someone… Well, I am single so I better not answer this.

3. Smoked a cigarette. …. Yes, but not properly. For various reasons I wanted to smoke so many times, but always found some reasons to not. So, smoking a cigarette for me means holding one between my fingers and pretending.

4. Got so drunk you passed out… Never. Not a big drinker.

5. Rode every ride at an amusement park… Nope. Don’t like roller coasters and the scary rides. I am only good for very gentle ones like boats and stuff.

6. Collected something stupid… when I was a boy we used to make playing cards out of match boxes, but I don’t think it counts as stupid because my friends did it as well and we used to play against each other.

7. Gone to a rock concert…

8. Helped someone... Of course. Isn’t that part of being human?

9. Gone fishing… Nope. Vegetarian.

10. Watched four  or more movies in one night…I am sure I have, have even watched at least 3 movies in the single day on the cinema. Probably 4 also at some point.

In India, people used to hire a VCR for the night and play movies back to back, 3-4 movies a night. Have attended some of those sessions. That deserve a post of its own.

11. Snorted cocaine/Weed.. Never EVER going to do that.

12. Failed a subject… more than once.

13. Been in a car accident… a few, unfortunately. A bike accident too after which I had amnesia temporarily.

14. Watched someone die…

15. Been to a funeral…

16. Burned yourself… Yes, many times, but not enough to need a hospital.

17. Run a marathon… Not gonna happen.

18. Cried yourself to sleep… Unfortunately, yes, a few times. Last time was when my mother passed away.

19. Spent over 10,000 bucks in one day… If bucks means Indian rupees, yes, many, many times. If bucks means US dollars which is like 430,000 rupees, yes, that too.

20. Flown on an aeroplane…  Many times. Took a flying lesson also on a Cessna 172.

21. Written a 10 page letter… If emails count then yes, on a paper letter, no. And even with emails not the love sick kind of letter, just giving advice to young ones.

22. Gone skiing or Sailing… No, but hopefully, soon.

23. Cut yourself… Many times, but not enough to need a hospital.

24. Had a best friend… still do. And I have many very close friends. I am very lucky that way.

25. Lost someone you loved… Yes. More than one, unfortunately.

26. Got into trouble for something you didn’t do… Does homework count?

27. Stolen a book from the library… Nope. Never stolen a book from anywhere. Begged and borrowed many books many times.

28. Gone to a different country… A few. US, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, Netherlands, Denmark, Scotland, Wales, England, France, Sweden.

29. Watched the Harry Potter movies… First two, got bored in the third one.

30. Had an online diary... My blog counts as one I think.

31. Fired a gun… Yes. Came 4th in a firing competition in NCC.

32. Gambled in a casino… Several times. I enjoy it a lot, yet somehow never end up becoming a degenerate gambler.

33. Been in a school play… Kind of. Not like a real play, but been in some performance pieces at school time and later also. Wrote and directed some skits later.

34. Been fired from a job… Not in a “You’re fired!” kind of way but I worked as a contractor for many years.

35. Taken a lie detector test… No, never needed to.

36. Swam with dolphins… Can’t swim.

37. Voted for someone on a reality TV show… Oh God, no!

38. Written poetry… Yes, you can even find some on this blog.

39. Read more than 20 books a year… I probably don’t average that now but when I was younger I used to read a lot. I have probably read that many a month sometimes.

40. Loved someone you shouldn’t have… Yes. Many times.

41. Used a colouring book over age 12…

42. Had a surgery… Nope. Hope I never need  it. Really scared.

43. Had stitches… No and hope never need it. Fingers crossed.

44. Had more than 5 IM conversations going on at once.… 5 is a light session for me.

45. Been in a fist fight… Been in fights but not real fist fights. Always been a coward, always avoided fights. How do you think I developed this sense of humour?

46. Suffered any form of abuse…

47. Had a pet… Not me, but when I was very young we had two dogs. I don’t count that as me having a pet though.

48. Petted a wild animal…

49. Dyed your hair.. Yes, and still do. My unique style.

50. Got a tattoo… No. I have commitment issues.

51. Had something pierced… Nope. Low pain threshold.

52. Got straight A’s… First two years of school I did well, then went down. Now, doing my Master’s at an advanced age and got distinction in both my module in semester 2.

53. Taken pictures with a webcam.. Yes, many times.

54. Lost something expensive… My heart. Again and again.

55. Gone to sleep with music on…Everybody has.

 Take it forward people, and please comment here with your link so I can read yours. 

Wake up India

The recent 16th December incident has shaken me, not just by its brutality but also by the facts that have come out to show how prevalent this evil is in our country.

As a common man, there is not a lot in my power, but one thing is well within my power and that is to raise my voice against the current state of affairs and demand a change! I was sorry that I was not in India to partake in the protests that followed the outrageous incident but it occurs to me that there are more ways than one to take part in a revolution.

I may be less than a drop in the ocean but drops have a habit of joining together and becoming the flood that cannot be stopped. To that end I am starting this series on my blog tagged as "Wake up India".

And I am reminded of the old expression from pre-Independence India -

खींचो न कमानों को न तलवार निकालो
जब तोप मुकाबिल हो, अखबार निकालो

[Do not bend the bows nor unsheath the sword.
When faced with the cannon, use the printed word.]

Man re tu hi bata kya gaoon..

I was going to write a nice long post on the occasion of hitting the 75,000 visitor mark on my blog. But then, real life got in the way and I couldn't even start it properly.

These days it happens a lot with me. I do want to post. There are so many topics that I want to discuss, but somehow I don't get around to posting. One reason for this is that the topics I want to discuss require deep, philosophical discussion and these days I am not getting that kind of time.

Second reason is that my thoughts are quite radical on some very general topics and while I never shrink away from controversy, I would not have time to properly participate hence my reticence.

But I am not done yet, don't deal me out of the game, just watch this space. :)

Golden Jubilee

So now I have 50 followers on this blog. Actually 51, but it took me that long to decide that I did want to comment on it. First I was thinking why make a big deal. But in fact, it IS a big deal! There are blogs that have 100s or even 1000s of followers so why is it a big deal? Well, mine is a very humble little blog. I am not a celebrity so it's not a status symbol to follow my blog, nor do I have a team that could publish 7 psots a day making it imperative that you check every 2 hours. I write about simple things and I write as and when. So each follower is someone who liked something in my blog, in what I write about or how I write about it. And that, my friends, is a warm feeling. So excuse me while I enjoy this moment! 


Essentially, all writers, including myself, write for the sheer pleasure (?) of writing. It's kind of like a disease, they can't help writing, whether anybody reads it or not. But would they continue writing if nobody ever read it? Well, Dev Anand is still making movies, isn't he? But seriously, would I continue to write, if nobody read my blog? I doubt it. 


Even though the writing habit is like a disease and I write when I think of a topic where I want to sound off it still is wonderful to get comments from the readers. To get a comment that makes me think or one that makes me want to snub the commenter (only happens if it's an Apple fanboi being himself), it is a lot of fun when the blogging is more interactive than just one-sided. 


There are several bloggers whose blogs I myself follow and admire their writing. Irfan(http://irfanurs.blogspot.com), Bikramjit (http://mannbikram.wordpress.com/) , Purba(http://purba-ray.blogspot.com), Always Happy (http://dilkibaatblogkesaath.blogspot.com/), Red Handed(http://anuglyhead.blogspot.com/), The Technical Author (http://thetechnicalauthor.blogspot.com) are just some of them. It is such a joy to be able to share ideas and interact with such people so easily because of this wonderful thing called the Internet. Did you know that the internet was originally invented for porn? No, just kidding! It might well have been though, don't you think? 


When I was a software faculty I used to give these seminars to my students, one of the topics was the internet. And one question I was always asked, "What can we do with it?" This is way back in the 1990s when the net was not so widespread, especially in India. And my answer was, "There are 3 million users on the net. What can you do if you have access to 3 million people?" And here's the answer - interact. To share ideas, to tell jokes, to regale them with the stories of your childhood, to ask advice and to bore them with your discourse on why Apple sucks. 


So, you see it IS a big deal that there are 50 people who think that my blog has what it takes to make it into their reading list. 


A big thank you to all of you! 

25000, baby!

This week my visitor counter hit the 25000 mark. It took almost 5 years to do it, but for a personal blog it's still a big deal for me!

I would like to thank all my visitors, especially my blog friends whose regular visits have helped me achieve this Silver Jubilee number.

At this point I want to mention why I still keep blogging. There is no one single reason but the strongest reason is that I enjoy it. Ultimately, I would like people to read what I have written, but just the act of writing a post is also quite enjoyable and gratifying. Another reason is to share stuff. It could be a movie, a funny picture, a touching poem or an amusing anecdote, I love to share these with my readers. I sometimes also use my blog to archive things. For example, my hatred for chatspeak or Apple Inc., my love for Android and books and TV shows. Many times instead of repeating myself I can just give someone a URL to my post for these things.

I don't want to make this unneccessarily long, let me just say I am quite happy about hitting the 25000 mark and thank you again to all my readers. I hope you will keep visiting and leaving your comments.

Apple Sucks Once again

Oh, look, a whole blog dedicated to the universal fact that Apple sucks.

http://applesucks.wordpress.com/

15000 baby!

The visitor counter hit 15000 on Saturday. It's a big number for me and it makes me smile to think about it. A big thank you to all my blogdosts and my visitors. 

Still alive

This is just to confirm that I am alive though not kicking. Not kicking in the literal sense because I am a peaceful guy, but really because even though I have been back from India for more than 2 weeks, I have been having some dental problems, and I am sure you can understand how distracting tootache can be.

Things have been getting better though, and currently I am working on my book The ODM story. No, it's not a puzzle, check out my other blog for a fuller explanation - http://operationdesertmountain.blogspot.com.

I will be posting to this one also soon.

Back like a bad penny!

Recently I have been neglecting my blog lately. So this short and sweet entry to just let you know that I am back from my vacation in India (like you care), and things have been happening at quite a fast and exciting pace. So, I am back in England, enjoyed a long break in England after the holidays in India and now back to work. Different work, different city, new hassles. I'd like you to believe that my neglect of my blog is because life has been busy, hectic and full of new hassles but it's not. It's my usual, well-known and oft-celebrated laziness behind this long silence.

Most of time, spare time, has been spent in a), looking for an accomodation in the new city, b), reading thrilling, fantastic, old-is-gold type American fiction and rest on my laptop, watching The Great Indian Laughter Challenge videos or playing Second Life.

Well, let's see how soon I can write a meaningful, (and interesting) post again. Not that there is any shortage of topics or ideas in my mind.

To Blog or Not to Blog

Why blog? Why send those random thoughts to air? Are they so important? Who wants to even hear what I am thinking? Well, the answer is simple - if I have time to write, someone, somewhere will have time to read.