If wax was vacuum, I was deaf

It was my wife's persistence. She actually pushed me into the doctor's cabin, after close to 5 months of pressure on me.

Probably, it started in the summer. We used the ceiling fan during sleep. There would be some kind of block in my left ear when I get up in the morning. On some days, I used to cover my ear when going for sleep. During the mid summer, the pressure started building on me to visit the doctor. But end of summer, it subsided. SO we decided to ignore it.
But the discussions started again, when a small brown\reddish layer started forming in the ear nozzle. After repeated discussions (including argument), she was successful in taking me to the ear specialist.

In the first consultation the doctor mentioned that there was a thick layer of dry wax attached to the ear drum and gave me some ear drops (Soliwax drops). This was because the wax was pushed rather than being pulled out. (Though, I have no clue on how that can be done). She asked me put these liberally for 5 times a day for 5 days. "This would soften the wax and that can be removed", doctor said.

Because, I regularly forgot about those drops during office hours, for those 5 days, my wife woke me up at insane hours - regularly. Night 1am, 3am and 5:30am were ear-drop times.

Then came the D-day. I was feeling that some kind of incision will be made and my body will be opened. I sat on the revolving stool in front of the doctor. The doctor was looking like a miner, with a head band which had a lamp in it. As the miner look-alike came near my left-ear with her equipment, I picturised a miner entering a mine with his axe and ready to drill a hole to make his latest discovery.
I heard of gush of water flushing through my ears. This was repeated for some more time. It was loud and clear in my ears. The doc has injected syringes of water through my ears. (I wonder what would happen to toilets when we flush them, if toilets had ears.) My wife was requested to help the doctor in holding a container that collected the ear-flushed water. Particles of reddish wax also came out. Then came the miner's catch. A 2cms long, 0.75cm wide cylindrical mass of wax. Every sound was loud & clear when this piece was pulled out.
After the doctor declared an all-clear, I heard myself and my wife weaving a sigh of relief.

Just recalling my physics, I wondered if this mass was vacuum, I would have been deaf for sometime, long back.

Prologue to Raktha Charitra

Raktha Charitra is ready for release. This Ram Gopal Verma venture is based on the notorious politician\gang lord of Andhra Pradesh – Paritala Ravi. I am eagerly waiting to watch the movie.

On the outset, it looks like RGV has done enough research on the characters. Probably he has covered most of the bloody acts of Ravi. 

Has he covered this act of Ravi?

The scene was in a train.
One of Ravi’s trusted man is traveling in the train. A rival gang (let us call them gang B)  gets into this train in a station. Their plan is to kill this friend of Ravi, and get down in the next station. The next station is an area under gang B’s control. A well planned attack. When the train leaves the station, as per plan gang B attack Ravi’s man. In a chase inside the train, the guy is killed. Blood inside the train.
When the chase is happening, Ravi is informed about the attack. (It’s a mystery if a passenger informed Ravi or if there was a rat within gang B or whatever).
Paritala Ravi used all his clout and wit to hatch a counter-attack immediately.

He coordinated with the railway guys so that the train does not stop in the next 2 stations. Thus preventing any of the gang B members escape. The 3rd station falls under his control. Before the train reaches the 3rd station, he has his gang ready at the station. As soon as the station stopped, Ravi’s gang attacked gang B – inside the train.
Before the train left the station 40 mins later, gang B bodies were dragged out of the train and put on a lorry. 

The revenge was complete. And instantaneous.The incident looks very filmy, but bringing film-like violence to real life was Ravi's style.

PS - Like my Rann's prologue, this is not a paid advertisement to RGV's movie.
I am not linked with any of the gangs mentioned. I know this incident via an eye witness.

Number 836 - Short play

Scene 1

Location - At a bus stop in a residential area of Bangalore. Night 8pm.
Unknown person (U), standing in the bus stand, looking lost.
Narasimha(N), a senior citizen carrying a bag to the vegetable shop. Walking along the road.

U – Excuse me, sir.
N – yes?
U – Sir, how to reach this address.
Stretches a piece of paper with an address on it.
N – (Adjusting his spectacles and taking the paper in his hands) It’s not legible. Can you read it?
U – 836, 9 main, 3rd block, Jayanagar
N – Name of the person you are looking for?
U – Venkatesh..
N – (Thinking) – This is 3rd block. This is 5th main. So go to the 4th parallel road on the left. You will find the house there.
U – I went there and could not find.
N – Do you have the phone number?
U – I lost my mobile in the bus, sir.
N – Hmm
U – I will try again in the same road. It’s very important to find Venkatesh. Sir, he has to give me Rs 5000.
N – ok.

Both walk away.

Scene 2

Location -  At the same bus stop. Night 8:30pm.
U is standing in the bus stand, still  looking lost.
Narasimha, is walking back from vegetable shop with vegetables.

N – You are still here?
U – I searched again for half an hour. I could not locate the house, Sir.
N – You should come in the morning again and search. Its dark here. Catch the last bus at 9pm.
U – Sir, I have nothing with me. I lost my mobile and purse in the bus. Venkatesh had to give me 5000 rupees. I am searching since 5pm without food and water. Now how shall I go sir?
N – Hmm
U – Sir, Can you help me?
N – Hmm…What?
U – Please give me some money. I have to go to Kunigal. I wanted this money for my sister’s hospital expenses. She is sick since 5 days.
N – Kunigal? Tumkur Kunigal? 80 kms right?
U – Yes sir, can you give me thousand rupees. My sister is serious.
N – What? 1000 rupees?
U – Please sir.
N – I don’t have so much money. And even if I had, I would not give you.
U – Sir, I am not lying. Please sir. How will I go home now?  (Almost tears)
N – I have 40 rupees with me. Take a bus and go to Kunigal. (handed over the 40 Rupees and walks…trying to get away from the scene)
U – Sir Sir...Thanks sir.

Scene 3 –

Location - 9th main, 3rd block, Jayanagar…Morning 7 am.
Narasimha is walking trying to locate number 836, during the morning walk.
He sees houses at 837 and 835. And an empty plot at 836.
An elderly lady (L) is sweeping the leaves off, the compound of house 837.

N – (Curious) Do you know a Venkatesh here in this road?
L – No sir.
N – Hmm
L – What house number?
N – 836..But this is a empty plot?
L – 836 is empty. I have not seen the owner. I am staying here since 25 years. There is no Venkatesh in this road.
N – No house on 836. No Venkatesh. Did he cheat me or Did Venkatesh cheat him?
L – (Confused) what?
N – Nothing, Thanks madam…(Walks away).

Strikes and Deals – India this week

This is the summary of the events of last week. India saw strikes and we also were involved in some “deals”.

Strike 1 –
The citizens participated in a strike against the taxi and autowallas. We called it MeterJam. This media\internet hyped event saw little success but if you are on social network sites, your views may differ. Some also compared this as a David vs Goliath war….I am not sure who is David and who is Goliath.

Strike 2 –
A small strike by the Indian cricket team captain, MS Dhoni. Mr Cool, lost his cool about a bad practice pitch offered by Lankan cricket board. The practice pitch was bouncy and good length deliveries turned out to be bouncers. Karthik got hit on the elbow during practice. The already unfit Indian outfit were in for another blow. Dhoni lost his cool and walked away in protest, from practice. The team followed and observed the strike.

Strike 3 –
Our dear Parliamentarians did a mini-strike. They stalled the Parliament session for a day to ask for hikes. The “poor” MPs wanted a 400% increase. As the cabinet surprisingly put this on hold, the united MPs decided not to work for a (yet another) day. Though there is still no decision made on this, it’s hardly a  tough guess to predict the outcome.

Deal 1 –
In a Times Now expose, we got to know the deal between India and US. India wanted some favor from the US in a world bank issue. Montek Singh wrote to a top official in the US govt requesting for help. In the quick reply, the US official asked Montek to handle the ‘noise’ created by the Dow Chemicals judgment.  We all know how we got silent on the entire issue of Bhopal gas tragedy.

Deal 2 –
After Randiv shamelessly bowled a no-ball to Sehwag and denied him a well deserved century, the media lambasted the Lankans. Technically, Lanka had not committed a crime. But audio\video recordings, bowlers apology, twitter messages forced the Lankans to take some action. Captain Sangakkara was to be blamed. Seeing SL’s precarious position in the tri-series, a deal was set and a bakra was caught. Dilshan was fined and Randiv was suspended for a game – effectively both lost a match fee.

Deal 3 –
Govt was looking for a support for the nuclear bill to be passed (pending since a long time). And they got support from the most unexpected party – BJP. A separate headlines came on the same day. CBI announced that Gujarat’s BJP CM, Narendra Modi is not involved in the Shorabuddin encounter\murder. Though some call it co-incidence\truth, I think it was a bloody good deal.

Amidst all these, we also celebrated our 64th Independence day.

Identify the jumbled songs

Approximately every 10 secs, a new song springs up.

Around 19 songs are mixed here.

To make life easier - None of the clippings are the starting of the songs.

Hindi, Kannada songs only..

Try to get the mukda (starting) of the songs, in the order of their occurrence!

PS – To prepare this cocktail, I used my mobile (Samsung M150) radio recorder…!

All copyrights are with the radio channels!

Pictures, Play or Practicals?

Just came across this wonderful blog on science explanations.

We always said - A picture is worth thousand words...How true!

And what is a moving picture worth?

I do not know the author of this blog. But credit to the person for explaining things pictorially.

Complicated Mechanisms in pictures

As I continued my search, I came across this site for kids.
Here you find toys that help children learn science in a very different way - By feeling it!
How about that?
Science through toys


Then we have the lab experiments...the college and school stuff.
Science through practicals

Now - what's better?
Answer - depends on the background of the person, age and purpose!

Similarity

She saw her husband reading the morning newspaper. Sitting on the chair, stretched legs, cigarette between fingers, coffee mug in the same hand...She had seen her father in the same pose for the last 25 yrs. She found her husband lovable….

He saw her in the kitchen. Atta on both hands, wiping her sweat off her forehead with the shoulders, trying to stir the sambar with 2 fingers, tasting the sambar from a spoon…He had seen his mother in the same state for the last 30 yrs. His love for her increased...

Penalty miss

Ranjit was sad. He had missed a penalty. And a 5 yr dream of his college had gone bust. His teammates were very supportive. They consoled him. They decided to hide their sadness with the help of vodka. 

Bar kaka was used to their order. Ranjit’s fingers indicated that the order was regular. Kaka got the fried rice and vodka. As the evening extended into night, 3 bottles had gone down. Kaka knew that the boys need to be warned. 

Kaka was aware of Ranjit’s last birthday gift. It was a 350cc Ninja monster. During the birthday party, kaka also came to know of Ranjit’s rich dad. After the party, Ranjit and friends were regular to the shady bar. Kaka had won the trust of Ranjit. Kaka would never disclose Ranjit’s drinking antics to the rich dad. 

Kaka told the boys to stop for the day. Ranjit explained that he was sad because of the match and wanted more. Kaka did not persuade much.

As the clock struck 11, the boys left. Ranjit drove the monster. As the canal road approached Ranjit knew nothing. Drowsy and shaky, the monster leaped in air, breaking the canal bridge sidewalls. A loud splash drowned the monster with Ranjit.

Kaka got up in the morning and read the local newspaper. “Football loss drives youth to suicide - Ranjit commits suicide after missing penalty”

The Thief

Ram saw the kid at the last minute. The minute, the street smart kid had cut Ram's bag and ran away with the money into the maze of the nearby slum. The money which had all his dreams.The dream of his own plot and his own house was gone. Gone was all the money he was to pay the Hindustan Bank.

All hope was not lost, Ram realized.

Ram walked for an hour, to reach the police station. Nobody was around. A watchman\constable told that all the officers went to the blast site.
"Bomb Blast?" Ram thought aloud.
"Yes, there was a major bomb blast at the Hindustan bank 30 mins ago. 40 people including bank staff and bank customers are dead" came the reply.

Ram saw the street kid again - in his thoughts.
Confused if he has to thank or curse the kid.

MeterJam or Auto jam – My thoughts

Photo courtesy - The Frame

Citizens from Mumbai started this campaign against autowallas (they call it Meter Jam). This caught up and citizens of various other places including Namma Bangalore have joined hands.

Basically it’s a one day strike against the autos by the citizens.

Interestingly I have some pleasant experiences with autos of Bengaluru. Let me share!

• I had to take a bicycle from my home to a stadium (around 15 km). It was a Saturday evening and time was around 5pm. It was cloudy and I dint dare to ride the bicycle. I approached an auto. He readily agreed. He even suggested (upfront) that he will take some inside roads avoiding the main signals and police checkpoints. He was kind enough to explain the reason – The cycle actually does not fit in the auto completely, some 6 inches comes out and police can fine him.  He did not ask for a single paisa more than what the meter showed.
• I was going home from MG Road (around 12 kms). The first auto I approached, agreed to drop me. I checked the address of the driver (pasted on the back of driver seat). He was from Banaswadi (the other extreme of Bangalore). Half way through, he got a phone call. He stopped the auto in the next signal. Explained me that he has to go home urgently. He said he would find me a replacement and put me on the other auto. He got me another auto. That’s not the end. He said sorry for dropping me half way, and did not take a rupee from me. What more can anybody expect?
• There are autos who drive an accident victim to the nearest doctor, without expecting any rupee. How many would do this with their cars?
• In Bengaluru and in my native town, some autos offer free service for pregnant\about-to-deliver-ladies. Neighbors with cars do not offer to help!

There are definitely instances when the drivers demand more, meters hop, drivers say no to some place, they ask more when it rains etc.  But let’s not generalize that autowallas are bad.
Their reasoning for saying no to a place is also valid at-times.

• Some places are very clogged. Autos have to spend lot of time with one passenger with no additional benefits. More expense in terms of fuel usage.
• Water clogged places (especially during rains) are avoided. I have seen auto drivers, drenched in rain, pulling the auto in a rain clogged road. And the passenger is sitting happily inside without even bothering to help. Its equal to slavery!
• The destination could be too far from their homes. And they may have to come back home empty.
• If you approximately know the distance, even if the meter hops, you can just pay the correct amount and get down. Autos fear policemen.

My point is – a strike by citizens on one day will not solve any of the problems. You may deny the poor auto family of a day’s income. But will things change?
Will they start saying yes to any location? Will the meters get fixed? Hmm…I doubt. Probably their anger would increase against citizens.

• Many of us know where the meters are tampered and how. Prevent this kind of shops and improve the meter technology.  
• Get a citizen movement to get shared auto concept in place. I think Hyderabad has adopted this well.
• Probably there are other better workarounds....

There would be opposition for all these too, but isn’t it the right way to go.

We are not attacking the problem correctly.
Focus on the base of the issue and not the tip.

PS - I heard from a friend that they are a service industry and should provide good service like a bank. Just a thought on this - If banks can deny loans (without providing proper reason), why can't autos deny you the service. 

Won a prize - Good Times

Kingfisher Ultra organized a Freedom contest for its Facebook fans. 

Answer the question of the day during this week & win yourself a swanky & stylish Benetton Watch!
Question: What is your definition of Good Times in the 64th year of India's independence?

My answer - 

Waking up joyfully
Trading smiles for million smiles
Walking around comfortably
Speaking up from the heart
Listening to what we want

Working for a brighter future
Dreaming of a super-power India
& Investing in freedom

This is good times...

And I won the Benetton watch (I am eagerly waiting for it).

"Despicable me" – Enjoyable and fun

Does a thief have a heart?
Can kids change adults?

Yes - is the answer to both the questions. How and why are answered by this cartoon movie – “Despicable me”.

The movie is about a thief and his adopted kids.
The hero has sights on becoming the biggest thief of the world by stealing the unimaginable. On this mission he has a cunning enemy. To tackle this enemy the hero adopts 3 kids. Little does he know that this would change his life.

The 3D effects are less but good. The scene in the roller coaster is a must watch. The unique vehicle of our hero is a spectacle to watch in 3D. The hero’s factory workers and the factory setup is fun to watch. The entire concept of theft is good, especially for the kids who had flocked the cinema hall. Mockery of some real life institutions are done well. The kids are cute.

More 3D effects could have been introduced. Lack of big names for voice recording has not given the much wanted publicity.

Overall a cool 4 star movie. Small lessons on life and the robbery concept are good. Watch with friends and family. It’s good fun.

Goodbye

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 13; the thirteenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

She was dressed in her favorite red dress and he in his favorite kurta suit. Their worry was hidden in their wedding dresses.The son had enjoyed the evening in the temple and park.

The 3 sat for dinner in their dingy kitchen.

He collapsed half way through the dinner. She saw, did not react. Instead hugged her son, tight. The last she saw was her son crying loud, in her arms.

As the 5 yr old son also bid goodbye to life, he did not see the empty poison bottle lying on the floor.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Visualize the songs of Endhiran

Rajnikanth in Enthiran

Rajnikanth’s next big movie is ready to hit the big screens. The music is already released.
After listening to the songs, I created a picture in my mind on how the shots would be shot. No doubt  Shankar will be very different in showing the Tamil super-star.
Just adding to the hype created around Enthiran \ Endhiran or Robot.

Pudhiya Manidha –  Slow motion group dances. Back ground some visually appealing studio settings. Wind blowing across and leaves flying (or even cars flying around). But Boss will be steadily walking. Focus on the shoes and camera moving up. Rajnikanth performing some cap, coat tricks. Graphics adding some glamour.

Kadhal Anukkal – Scientific lab background. Not the college lab kind, but the ones like CERN labs. Rajnikanth getting converted to photon-electron \ air molecules and entering Aishwarya’s heart and nerves (or she entering his). Silver or golden color suits. Clearly a duet and no co-dancers.

Chitti Dance Showcase – This is a complete, out & out, robot dance tune. The drill dance & bharatanatiyam & MJ dance & tap dance & Brazilian style & James Bond style walk. Its only Rajnikanth. But multiple Rajnikanth. I can hear whistles all over the place when this is played.

Arima Arima – Some kind of Maharaja’s entry. Like Egyptian style or Roman style or Indian style. Rajni will just look and move hands and change costumes. Aishwarya dancing around him. He won’t dance.  The synchronization of the co-dancers is a must watch. 

Kilimanjaro – This is the song which is shot in the background of the big mountains. Some old ladies and animals in the background. Frequent changing tribal costumes of Rajni will be attraction apart from the “never-seen-before” locations. Some tribal dance steps from the lead duo. Traditional drums and instruments will be used by co-dancers.

Boom Boom Robo Da – Hifi graphics. Some unimaginable stunts from the Robot will be the showcase of this song. Flying Rajni, driving Rajni, sailing Rajni, swimming Rajni can be seen. Shot in local streets to malls to palaces. Probably can see one Rajni tricking another.

Irumbile Oru Irudhaiyam – Rajni’s break dance here. Aishwarya also probably dancing like a Robot. Flowers, coolers, cars, lighting will be the attraction. This could be the least attractive song of the movie.

What readers see and read?

 I was curious to know what my blog readers expect\see in my blog.
So adopted Google Analytics.
The hits to my blog have increased after I reviewed the a Kannada book.

Since July 14 (the day, I published the review) – the hits have increased.

I also checked the key search terms and found that most of the hits to the blog have come because of the review.

 So what’s the conclusion?

• Google Analytic is pretty handy
• There are people interested in Kannada books – Very good sign
• My blog is yet to catch attention of other search engines

Ridiculous prohibition!

Can you believe that this can happen in India?
Yes of course, it can happen only in India.

Maharashtra has got a law(or in the process of getting a law) which prohibits “Pinda pradhan” and “Mudra dharan”.  I read this article in Vijaya Karnataka (Kannada newspaper) on Sunday (1st August 2010). Surprisingly, I did not find this in English dailies.

Pinda pradhan is a ritual that  is being performed by a lot of Hindus as a tribute to their close dead relatives. It’s done on special days and even on the death anniversary day.  There is a special significance if this is conducted in Gaya or Varanasi\Kashi. The Govt’s reasoning is nothing short of ridiculous. Govt thinks that this is waste of money. Now govt decides on how I spend my personal wealth!!

Mudra-dharana is a ritual which the Madhva sect of Hindus follow. A heated 1 sq inch copper piece is placed on the hand or chest. The significance of this is explained here. The reasoning from Govt is that this is causing physical pain. I agree that burning causes  pain. But if it is done voluntarily, I cannot see a problem here. A relative of mine got this sometime last month. He is an Ayurveda doctor and he got this done because of its medicinal value (not sure of what exactly is the value though). But why target this ritual alone? Example - Acupuncture is also hurting. (I am not asking them to ban acupuncture.)

I hope the Maharashtra govt wakes up and takes some positive action on this matter...Immediately.

I lost my hair and football

It was a small quiz. A quiz in which I answered all questions, like many others. Luck was with me on that day. A lucky draw got me a football. The Euro 2008 football – Europass (from Adidas). 

It was a showpiece item in my home. It hung on the window bar in the living room for some days. After renovation, we put it in the attic for some days.
Then came the football world cup season. We woke he sleeping football. Put him in the car. As a show piece in the car, it hung near the rear glass (not sure what that is called!).
 

Yesterday went for a drive. Came home. Locked the car and went in. After 30 mins or so, came out. Went inside the car. The ball was missing. Theft. Nothing else was missing.
 

How?
 The backdoor window was left open when we got down. So there was no break in. Just pickup and go.
 

Why?
 My dad usually sits in the front seat. Via the switches next to the driver seat, I close the windows (only the front ones are power windows in my car). My dad sat behind yesterday. No habit of closing windows. He closed the door and walked away leaving the window open.  
 

I hope that the football is in the place where it has to be…On the ground and getting kicked.

On the same day, I lost a lot of hair too. And this happened early morning when I was fully awake and aware. At the hair dresser’s shop! Long hairs were cut short. He he....