Farewell to Bush: a message from hell

This is George Bush's last week as the President of America. He leaves behind a legacy of invasions, inhuman killings and a mountain of stupidities. So, as a farewell to him am posting a few lines which I wrote some years back when Saddam Hussein was hanged by the US government. This song is in the form of a letter written to Bush by Saddam from hell.

******From hell, with love*************
... a message from Saddam to Bush...

I looked death, right in his eye
The black cloth din't block my sight
Your men of false valour dint scare me a bit
Their valour clouded by darkened veils
As they abused a soul on death's bed.

How fast the journey here was, I forgot
Its not as bad as I thought
The life down here in Satan's lair
with less of the bloody unfair..
Than bear your words in that tiny cell.

The irony of it all, I laugh at
You butchered them in millions
While I was trying hard for a thousand
Yet, It was your own rope that took me here.

Waiting for you, my cruel friend
Praying for you, for a scary end.

You are busy building a legacy of homicide
When will you be here, by my side
Am busy counting the dollars, for my deeds
Wondering who's gonna count for you, Mr.millionaire.

The fading hope warns me that you would never come
But, this is the place you could call real home.
The satan here is scared of taking you
He knows his throne's beckoning you.

PS-For your kind info, am in no way supporting the dead dictator. The idea is just that his crimes pales in comparison with that of the Bush administration and yet, its they who executed his death sentence.

PPS-The PS was needed because, of late I been a target of anger and harassment which arised out of misunderstanding. Not in blogs, but in real life. Can't post more details right now as it can invite more trouble. But, I assure you that story will appear here in this page one day for sure.

PPPS-Was not able to access net for the past 4-5 days because of a virus attack. So couldn't read many of your blogs or reply to your comments. So, gotta get back to all that soon.

your crusader Praveen

A.R.Rahman:The Golden Globe man

Rahman has done it again. He becomes the 1st Indian to win the Golden globe award, for his path breaking work in 'slumdog millionaire'. It is by no means his best work till date. He had given far more better works in many other Indian movies, but the fact that this one came in a hollywood movie made all the difference. In a way, this is a debut award for him in Hollywood as this is his first film there. The soundtrack of 'Warriors of heaven and earth' was not considered some years back because it was a chinese movie. His crossover started with the broadway musical 'Bombay Dreams'. He took it to the next level by composing for the mammoth stage adaptation of 'Lord of the rings'. Then his songs were featured in a couple of movies, most notably 'chaiyya chaiyya' in the spike lee movie 'Inside man'. Around that time, 'Roja' was selected by the Time magazine as one of the 10 best soundtracks of the last century. He conducted the Birmingham symphony orchestra some years back. The video of 'Pray for me brother' won wide critical acclaim. At the same time his Indian soundtracks were also getting wildly popular in the west. Most notably, the 'Bombay theme', which was used in more than 20 ADs across various countries, the most famous one being the French one featuring Zidane. His international concerts were sold out affairs with the foreign crowd merrily singing along the Hindi and Tamil lyrics. Then came the underdog film 'Slumdog Millionaire' and along with it a new legion of fans the world over waking up to the brilliant tunes of this short man hailed as the 'Mozart of Madras' by none other than Andrew Lloyd Webber. And, a truckload of awards followed, in which the Golden globe is the 6th one. Many more are to come soon. The young guy who made us all go 'WOOOOOW with 'Roja' has grown into a worldwide phenomenon. Today he finds himself in the same league as the legendary composers John williams, Ennio Morricone and Hans Zimmer. Its another matter that he has sold a million more records than all these men taken together. He's featured in the list of the top 25 all time greatest selling artists, above the likes of Metallica and Iron Maiden. Wishing this one man army great success in the future too. Hope he churns out more slumdogs. Now, lets all wait for the elusive '1st oscar for India'. And yeah, let me scream out once more...'Rahman Ki Jai!!!!Jai Ho!!!!'

The way he ended the acceptance speech by dedicating the award to "the billions of Indians" was heartening. Today is a great day for diehard Rahmaniacs like me to see their idol as part of the headlines world over. Morrow, we can see his smiling face on all the national newspapers. What more can a Rahman fan ask for?

your crusader Praveen

Travels:Sangama,Mekedatu & Chunchi Falls

a 'welcome' message at Sangama

It was an uncharacteristically early rise on a cold saturday morning for me. But the purpose for which I was sacrificing my morning sleep made me energetic. Yes, me and my roomies were heading for a trip to Mekedatu, Sangama and Chunchi falls. Five of us ser out in 3 bikes braving cold winds at about 6 'O Clock. The Kanakapura road had little traffic. So it was perfect for a zip-zap-zoom ride. Though it was bumpy and pot holed at many places. Kanakapura was a much smaller town that what I expected. From there, the road to Sangama passed through many a villages. At many places we really doubted if we were travelling on main roads or through some small 'gali'. There were some dry crops laid out like carpet on the roads to separate the chaff. Cows, sheeps and goats were roaming freely on the roads that sometimes we had to ride on the non existent foot paths. We saw the board to Chunji falls on the way but we decided to visit Sangam and Mekedatu first. There were a couple of really dangerous hair pin curves along the road which are said to have caused many accidents. So, after a ride of 100Kms and 2 hours, during which we spent a lotta time photographing and resting, we reached the Sangama.

the bumpy ride to Mekedatu after crossing the river

posing to glory

Sangama is the meeting place of rivers Arkavathy and Cauvery. What greeted us was the big red board screaming 'Danger!' It gave us scary description of the danger posed by crocodiles and strong under currents. Also, the board was dedicated to the memory of someone who lost their life at that very point. Can you ask for a better welcome message? Anyway, the really shallow water didn't seem much of a threat. After walking through the water for sometime, we settled in a small island under a tree to eat the bread, biscuits and chips that we carried with us. At some distance from there, we saw a sculpture of some Goddess with only the head portion above water. To get a closer look, we had to walk barefooted through waterbed covered with stones, broken beer bottles and all. Near this sculpture was another full lenth sculpture of a Godess with the hand severed. We guessed this might have come there after it was immersed in the river after some festival. We couldn't find any other possibility.

the unwanted sculpture in water at sangam

Mekedatu

From Sangama, we proceeded to Mekedatu. We could've taken a bus but we decided to go by bike. For that, first we had to cross the river in the bike. The 2 others did well whereas I sank my poor unicorn deep in the water on both onward and return trip. We had to pay 50 per bike just to enter the the Mekedatu road. The road was not tarred and it was one of the bumpiest ride we ever had. For about 4 Kms, we had an enjoyable ride along the river through the dusty road. The first look at Mekedatu from the top took our breath away. It was a long rocky gorge, through the centre of which the river was flowing rapidly. The same river which was silent and calm at the Sangam was unleashing all its fury at this place and it had changed its colour too considerably. The rocks were shiny as well as slippery. At the other side, we could see mysteriously shaped holes on the rocks. We went down along the rocks to the farthest and lowest point possible until we could touch the waters. We realised how dangerous it was only when we looked at couple of snaps at home and also read reports of many lives lost at these places. After a pretty long stay at the place, we decided to return. As we were getting out I was in for a surprise as I met Panky and his gang getting down from the bus. But unfortunately, we had only time for a Hi n Bye. Hope to see the awesome snaps from his camera soon.

looking down upon U

Mekedatu-the narrow gorge

We crossed the river again and set off to Chunchi falls. It didn't have much of water to speak about. Its best to visit the place during monsoons. The sculpture like rocks and the sheer size of it made up for the lack of water. There are a couple of really dangerous points at the top, which can deceive you. We realised it only when we had a look of it from the bottom of the falls. After another eating session and an hour of rest, it was time to bid goodbye. The sun was starting to go down as we started our bikes. As we rode on through the villages, the cattle were heading back home after a day of worriless grazing. The sights and smells of the villages were one to savour for a long time. The picturesque mountains seemed even more beautiful under the rays of the setting sun. As darkness fell, a full moon came into view. It guided us for the rest of the journey till Bangalore.

Time to rest on the rocks, by the raging river

Travel info- silkboard-BTM Flyover-Bannerghatta road-kanakapura road-deviation to left from Kanakapura-Sangama-cross the river-bus/bike/walk to Mekedatu.

2 hours journey from Bangalore. About 100 Kms. Very few shops along the road. So better to carry food and water. Roads are dangerous at some places. Also don't venture too much into the waters. Rocks are slippery at many places.

your crusader Praveen

Dev D's Emosanal Attyaachaar

Been listening to a lot of new music this past week. From the desi scene, the soundtrack of 'Dev D' had me hooked from the time I listened to the track 'emosanal attyachar'. The movie is supposed to be a modern version of devdas. Curious on what it was all about, I caught hold of the soundtrack and was surprised to see the track listing of 18 songs, which includes some background themes too. The music is by Amit Trivedi, a newbie in the industry whom we last heard in the movie 'Aamir'. The opening track 'Aankh Micholi' itself gives a glimpse of what to expect from the soundtrack. Most of the tracks have rockish or clubbish elements thrown in with loads of experimentation going on in the background too. The opening beats of the track 'Dhol Yaara Dhol' reminded me of a song from Rahman's classic 'Meenaxi'. But thankfully the similarity ended there and the soung turned out to be a melodic treat with a folksy touch. The 2 Dev chanda themes are enjoyable, especially the 2nd one with a nice whistling tune accompanied by some evocative work on the keyboards and cello. 'Dil Mein Jaagi' sounds like a 60s easy listening track and its sure to make you nostalgic. 'Emosanal attyachar' is the star track of the cd. The brass band version is sure to make you laugh with lyrics like

'Bol Bol why did you ditch me,
Zindagi bhi lele yaar kill me, ...
Tauba Tera Jalwa,
Tauba tera pyar,
Tera Emosanal Attyachaar!'

The rock version gives the song an entirely different feel, a more serious one. I loved it more. 'Ek Hulchul si' is a track in the good old classic rock mode. Also loved the veena work in the melodic 'Paayaliya'. Many more songs are there in this cd. These are the ones which impressed me after 3 listenings. The singers credits also has surprises. Most of them are newbies. And most of them have done a good job too. Overall, in this soundtrack I can see a lyricist and composer going wild with experimentation. Its sure to have you hooked. Hope movie is as good. Anurag Kashyap being the director, we can expect something revolutionary.

Other music Recommendations
1.Voyage-Rajhesh Vaidya
A fusion work by keyboardist and veena exponent Rajhesh Vaidya. Have some nice reworkings of carnatic favourites like 'Raghuvamsa Sudha', 'Nagumomu' etc.

2.Namaste-Karnatrix
Karnatrix is a well known fusion band started by guitarist John Antony. Those who have heard the classic 'Ponveene' from the malayalam movie 'Thalavattom' will identify him as the one who played those wonderful lead guitar parts. This has also reworked versions of 'Nagumomu', 'Namaste' and 2 other original compositions. The sarangi and guitar provide a perfect blend which can take you to heights of ecstasy.

The Honour of Proximity!

Been awarded again. The honour of proximity comes from Usha, the blogger poet who been very kind with me by giving me another award. The citation reads,
"The voice that speaks up for those without one, adds more to those who do have one, instigates one to go on forward, and be an Indian :)."
Thanks a lot for that. I would like to award this to the same people whom I awarded the brilliant blogger award, butterfly award and Free spirited & independent blogger award.

your crusader Praveen

Happy Birthday A.R.Rahman

Its my idol A.R.Rahman's birthday today. And as been the ritual every year, am gonna post a blog on him on this special day. Its been a great year for the maestro's fans with a handful of releases keeping them busy all through the year. In his 16th year in the industry, he proved that when it comes to all round brillaince, there's no one above him. He crossed boundaries not only within the nation but also international with equal ease. So, in Tamil he gave us the sweet 'Sakkarakkatti', which contained the soothing melody 'Marudhani', the fun song 'Elay' and the dance floor hit 'Taxi Taxi'. In Hindi, the vareity he dished out last year is just mindblowing. In 'Jodha AKbar', he gave us tracks of epic proportions like the tribute to Akbar, 'Azeem O Shehanshah', the romantic ballads 'Jashne Bahara' and 'In Lamhon Ki Daaman Mein'. My favourite from the album is the heavenly 'Khwaja Mere Khwaja', which is easily one of the best songs of the year.

When we thought Rahman has gone into the history mode, out came the young and peppy 'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na'. 'Kabhi Kabhi Aditi' ruled the airwaves for a longtime with its instantly catchy tune, a thing not normally associated with a Rahman song. He experimented with pure jaaz in the track 'Tu Bole Mein Boloon'. 'Nazrein Milana' saw him at his youthful best. Mind you, here is a man who just turned 43. Another notable track was 'Kahin To Hogi'. Close on the heels of 'Jaane Tu' came the yet unreleased movie Ada's music. Its an album which been in the workshop for about 4 years. So it is aptly titled 'A.R.Rahman's musical journey' and you could notice the change in the vareity of songs. He came up with an idea in which he let the song 'Gulfisha' to be remixed by the public and the best ones were given prizes. My picks from the album would be the melodic 'Hawa Sun Hawa', Chitra's 'Tu Mera Hai' and 'Meherbaan' sung by Rahman himself. P.Jayachandran, the malayali singer did a good job with his first hindi song 'Milo Wahan Wahan'.

Next up was 'Yuvvraaj', a great soundtrack wasted in an utter crap movie. To tell the truth, I still hate the song 'Shano Shano' from this movie and wish Rahman had never done that song. Except for that minor aberration, the album provided a parade of Rahman's class. The hindustani tinged 'Manmohini Morey' is the pick of the album. Its been a long time since he did something in this mould. 'Zindagi' sung by Srinivas creates a pleasant mood. Then there were
the chart toppers 'Tu Meri Dost Hain', 'Tu Muskura' and 'Dil Ka rishta'. Cellos, orchestras and western choruses were used a lot in this album. Its the 2nd time, after 'Taal' that the so called 'showman of Bollywood' Subhash Ghai is wasting Rahman's songs with his inept movie making.

Then came the soundtrack of the year for Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire, about which I wrote a lot here. Hope a lot more will be written about it in the future. The year ended with 'Ghajini'. Comparisons with Harris Jayaraj's Tamil original were inevitable. Rahman did match the brilliance of the Tamil version, in his own style. The best track is of course 'Kaise Mujhe'. 'Guzaarish' garnered a lot of airplay and the video added to the effect. 'Bachchu' had rockish elements. 'Behka' was another experimentation spree especially with the peculiar vocals starting at about 1:32. And I loved the way the song changed completely with the introduction of the drums at 2:13. 'Lattu' didn't impress me much. Towards the fag end of the year, we were treated to the video of 'Jiya se jiya' from his new album 'Connections'. The video featuring A.R.Rahman and Sivamani has the 'free hugs' campaign as its main theme. Eagerly awaiting for the release of this album. In between, Rahman did short jingles like the theme for Hyderabad airport and also the one for T20 Champions league.

Yes, this all happened in the same year. Now, did I hear someone telling he's losing touch? Yes, its the same as someone saying the same about Sachin Tendulkar. Have to use this cliche, 'Form is temporary but class in permanent. And we are talking about a man who oozes class. Hope he'll bring us more gems in the coming year.

Previous posts on Rahman
My meeting with Rahman
Glimpse of Rahman
Rahmantic day
Rahman's unknown masterpieces
Rahman 2005

your crusader Praveen

Pick this Flick 11:Slumdog Millionaire

“Everybody likes the underdog, because everybody feels like the underdog. No matter how successful you are, you always think, No one's being nice enough to me!”-Kate Beckinsale.

We all love to see the underdog win. Its the reason why I wanted Bangladesh to win that thrilling test match against SriLanka two days back, when they came up with an awesome fightback but eventually lost the match. Its the reason why filmmakers rehash this old formula over and over again and we cheer on shamelessly for the umpteenth time. We did it with Lagaan, Chak De India, City of God and many more. At the same time, if not handled carefully this very formula can be the filmmaker's doom. We've seen how not to use this formula in so many 3rd rate masala movies. Danny Boyle, the man who gave us the drug classic 'Trainspotting' is a guy who knows his art. He redefines the underdog formula, packs it in the attractive wrapper of 'slumdog' and delivers a powerful product which will leave you spellbinded by the end of 2 hours.

The plot minus the spoilers reads like this. Jamal Malik(Dev Patel) is one question away from winning 20 million rupees in the "who wants to be a millionaire" show. But everyone suspects he's a cheat and he ends up in the police station. There, he narrates his life story and clears the air on how he knew the answers. There is this core message underlying in the movie that inorder to succeed in anything in life, you needn't be a genius, you just need to learn the lessons from your own experiences. This may seem like reading too much into the film, but once you look under the surface you'll feel it. What attracted me most to this movie is this very own message. He answered all the questions on the show with the help of various situations in his life and also with loads of luck. The luck factor is best embodied in the scene Where Irfan Khan asks him whose face is in the hundred rupee note and he is ignorant of it. At the same time, he answered a similar question on the US dollar on the show. He says, "Its not my fault that they din't ask me whose face is on the Indian rupee".

I read so many criticisms levelled against this movie, the prominent one being it shows only the bad side of India. After watching the movie, am sure that its not a deliberate attempt, its just that the story needs that. Yes, its not deliberate bashing like the famed 'White Tiger'(about which I'll write soon). So you will see a ringside view of life in the Mumbai slums, the life amidst rotten waste, smelly shit and what not. The way the camera captures the innocent kids is just superb. Latika, Jamal's lady love played by Freida Pinto is a well etched role. Dev and Freida have done their roles full justice. Irfan Khan did good as usual in the small role that he has got in the movie. Anil Kapoor din't impress me much. All the kids played their parts to perfection.

Now, I've to speak about the star of the show-our very own music maestro A.R.Rahman. If Jamal and Boyle carries the movie with visuals, the sound of the movie is carried by Rahman. The soundtrack blasts off from the title with the beaty 'O Saya'. Rahman's high pitched vocals and MIA's popish singing give this track a different feel. The impact of almost every scene is magnified by the larger than life score going along in the bankground. My favourites of the BGM tracks were 'Latika's theme' and the high speed sitar blast titled 'Mausam and Escape'. There's 'Ringa Ringa', the raunchy rework of 'Choli Ke Peeche kya hai', which is many times better than the old song. 'Paper planes', which accompanies Jamal and his brother's train escapades is a real fun track and MIA rocks with this one. There's an innocent quality to this track. 'Jai Ho' which accompanies the end title could've been picturised better. The choreography looks straight out of an 80's bollywood movie. Was that deliberate? I dont know. With the soundtrack of 'Slumdog Millionaire', Rahman has well and truly arrived in Hollywood. Though its certainly not his best, it will go a long way in making him a part of mainstream world music. At last count, the number of awards Rahman won for this stands at 5 with many more nominations awaiting final results. The awards that he won till now are LA Film critics award,Newyork film critics online award, IPA Satellite award, Black Reel award and San Diego Film critics soceity award. The Golden Globe and couple of other nominations are awaiting results. Hope he wins an oscar too. Its unbelievable that he finished this soundtrack in 2 weeks.

PS-As with trainspotting, we have a really disgusting scene involving the toilet and a load of shit in 'slumdog Millionaire. Seems like Danny Boyle is obsessed with this. Strange obsessions indeed.

PPS-Belated Happy new year to all.

your crusader Praveen

The Green Coffin:Where are the trees

The year 2008 ends on a sad note for me. Last week, my grandmother passed away. The sad vacation came to an end yesterday. It couldn't have ended on a sadder note than with what I saw yesterday just before my trip back to Bangalore. I was travelling through the road around the University stadium in Trivandrum leading to the LMS junction. There, the avenue trees on both sides were being cut off. Those trees and the sudden coolness when we reach there been one of my long standing memories of travelling through roads in Trivandrum. All of a sudden, I could feel the hot sun beating down hard on my head. There was no coolness around. The cutting process was still going on. Its sad that in the name of road widening and development the little green pastures that are left in the city are also robbed from us. Please stop this. Development shouldn't make the God's own country end up looking like a desert.

The remaining part of the avenue trees after the merciless cutting down. Sadly, there's no before the cutting snap to show you how beautiful it was

**********The Green Coffin***********
Reminiscing about a day
when I strode along this stretch
when it was so unlike this wretch
when all around was the shade.

The green filled my eyes
Not with envy,but with pride
It was always fun to ride
On those silken boulevards.

The axes of modernity laugh hard
The tree lands with a thud
Unseen tears evaporate
Obscene wealth contaminate.

And what remains now?
Where are those green shades?
Where are those sturdy barks?
Where will you hide from the sun?

Oh!Who hears those voiceless cries?
Oh!Who will heal those unhealable wounds?

-Dedicated to the fallen trees in Trivandrum as well as all over the world. Please stop felling trees.

PS- Recently I read about a young Indian village guy who developed an idea to make paper from elephant dung. He has tried it successfully and been churning out reams and reams of writeable paper. Ideas like this can save a million trees if accepted worldwide.

PPS- Have a lot of catching up to do. Have to check mails from the past 10 days and also all your blogs.

your crusader Praveen

Goa-The land of beaches II

'Are you Mexicans?'

On Day 2, the alarms chimed and for the 1st time in my life, I rose up energetically at the 1st bell. Not surprisingly, the rest of them had also woken up. I guess everyone then had a silent wish for every morning to be like this. The sand from yesterday's beach sleep was still stuck in our trousers. After everyone finished their bath, the bathroom looked like a mini beach. Only the bikini gals were missing. After a quick breakfast and a hilly ride, we raced to Aguoda fort. The atmosphere was windy. The hard sun beating up on us forced us to buy those big country hats. It was a funny sight as the five of us walked along with similar hats. One guy who passed along asked us, "Can you pose for a photo?", as if we were representatives of some rare tribe. Still, we obliged him. We are not ones to miss a chance to pose. Donnow where that snap will end up. Another team of foreigners laughed at us seeing our looks. One of those guys asked, "Are you guys from Mexico?" We replied, "Yeah, yeah, we are Mexican tourists". I understood what he meant when I came back home and did a google image search for 'Mexicans'. Try it. You would understand. The Aguoda fort is a picturesque fort facing the sea, on top of a hill. Near to the fort there's Aguoda jail, where we cudn't enter because of the wrong timing of our arrival. After the fort, we spent a short time at St.Francis church. Its an imposing structure which tells stories of yesteryear grandeur.

a little gal and her father fetching water

Now it was time to eat and we had one of the heaviest lunch in recent times where the vareity of items was enough to rival the menu of a king. We proceeded to the interesting part after the lunch-the beaches. Day 2 of the beach trip started from Colva beach. But, sad to say it was a big disappointment, partly because of the time being just 3PM. After a short bath in the beach we got out bored. Yes, lack of babes and the real hot sun drove us out. Next stop was the nearby Benaulim beach. We were surprised to find one the calmest beach we ever encountered. There were only a few people there. But the serene atmosphere drove us in. A mother was making her cute kid play on the sand castle she made. The kid was kicking and rolling on it and the happy mother was busy taking snaps of those wonderful moments. Another small gal and her father were walking towards the beach. She had a small cup in which she collected water from the sea. Then they walked back. After sometime I saw this same scene again. I was left wondering where
this water was going. But it was a scene worth a million bucks.

Next stop was baga beach and I have to say it was the most lively beach we came across. The shacks near the beach were filled with music and the aroma of tasty food. After another sea bath, we got into one of the shacks and had a game of pool. The wild dancing at a nearby shack made us stop our game and go there. The singer was doing a good job with some old classics from eagles, beatles etc. He made the biggest mistake when he came to me after seeing my ACDC black T shirt. He asked me if I can sing a song. Knowing the repulsive power of my vocals and considering the fate of the audience, I politely refused. But he persisted and my friends were eager to throw me into the ring. Fed up, I decided to make them suffer. The singer promised to sing along with me. I started with the Beatles song 'she loves u'. When I saw the lyrics scrolling faster than my own singing and also the singer himself being ignorant of the song, I stopped the song. Then I switched to the crowd favorite 'summer of 69'. 'I raped the song', would be an understatement. The happless audience still gave me loud cheers and clappings. Thanks to their kindness in leaving me unhurt. After dinner, we went to the famous Anjuna beach. We planned to get into a nearby nightclub and then was disappointed to know that only couples were allowed. As we sat there dejectedly, we saw drunken gals and guys coming outside on 4 legs. We went back to baga beach and spent our time in the shakcs and beaches till about 4 AM.

During the last day, there was a small sadness hanging in the air. The thought of parting and going back to routine work were on our minds. Still we enjoyed whatever time was left in the day at the beaches. We parted with a decision to meet up the next time in our own Kerala at Wayanad and Alappuzha. Hope it happens soon.

You can view the complete collection of snaps here. Some more to be added soon-
Click On

Goa-The land of beaches

PS-Going home morrow for a long vacation of 10 days. Will miss many of your blogs.

your crusader Praveen

Goa-The land of beaches

Konkan rocks

Its been a trip which was on the planning phase for the last couple of months. More than 10 of our old collegemates were supposed to make it to Goa last Saturday. But in the end, the number reduced to just 5, with family and work commitments taking care of the rest of them. Later we were to realise that fate could only reduce the numbers not our collective energy or enjoyment. It all started for me and my friend Praveen(yeah, he shares my name) from KR Puram station on Friday evening. The Madras-Vasco express was anything but an express. It was so slow that while it is running at full speed, one could start running from behind it and overtake it in 10 minutes flat. Coupled with that it was stopping for long intervals at every other station. The journey started on an unpleasant note with a particularly violent Hijra attack. As you all know, Hijras are a common feature in trains here. The way they demand money is disgusting and I made sure that I wont pay this time. We had to dodge 3-4 slap attempts in true matrix style. The hijra began abusing us and began pushing. I was not in a mood to relent. So I opened my own abuse dictionary and hurled out something too. Atlast the unthinkable happened. I saw the Hijra pulling up his/her clothes. We turned away. Thank God, it was pulled down in a minute saving further embarrasment. Atlast I pushed her/him away. I really wonder why these people bring a bad name to themselves with such actions. Everyone says society is treating them badly. But, isn't there fault on their side too? At the same time, there was a guy who was cleaning the trains floors just with his own shirt and being content with whatever the passengers gave him. He really commanded some respect.

Getting ready for the blast

Jeetenge Hum

The trip through the Konkan was breathtaking. All around you could see lush green mountains. The sight of the train winding through the hills is one to behold. The dudhsagar waterfall is another breathtaking sighting in the way. Not to forget those innumerable tunnels. The tunnels sometimes scares me when I think about that comic scene in the movie 'Eurotrip'. And atlast after a long journey we reached Goa around noon on Saturday. The rest 3 had already reached our hotel in Mapusa-Ajith from Rajsathan, Muthu from Hyderabad and Cipi from Mumbai. We 5 stayed in a single room(never really stayed...hehhehe). Cipi had arranged for a car and so we had no problems in moving around. The first stop was at Calangute beach. It was way better than what I say 3 years back, during an off season. The christmas-new year cheer was evident all around Goa with foreigners being spotted at very corner of every street. The bikini quotient and glamour quotient had also gone up considerably. A speciality of Calangute beach is that its having a uniform depth for a pretty long distance from the shore. That makes swimming and wading through the water easier. For that matter, almost every beach in Goa is like that. After swimming, it was time for some serious binging. We got into a hotel and found to our surprise that we were the only Indians among those seated there. And in true Indian style, we came with a lotta noise, ate royally with our hands and laughed at those doing that circus with fork and spoon. In between I made an ass of myself by going into the ladies toilet. When I came out, one British lady asked me 'don't u have eyes?' I didn't understand it until I came back to wash my hands after eating, when I saw those signs on the toilet doors.

Twilight

After dinner, we had a game of pool. I proved my lack of talent in yet another sport. Still it was pure fun. Then we strode on to the beach and lied down there. Its one of those small pleasures of life, lying on the sands and peering at a starry sky. We searched for constellations and came up with our own weird formations which would put any scientist to shame. We lied down there for a pretty long time. After some sneak peeks at some small dance parties, we reached our hotel in the wee hours of the morning. That was the end of Day one.

To be concluded in next post..

PS-Picasa page with the pics will be up soon

Bushoes & Should terrorists be defended?

Bushoes n - A pair of shoes used for throwing at a notorious personality
Bushoesed v- a situation were unknown people throw shoes at you. This applies only if you are a notorious/famous personality.
Bushoese v- the act of throwing shoes at a notorious/famous personality
- latest words added to Praveen's concise dictionary(source-yours truly himself)

Just got back from the short vacation in Goa. After 3 days of no news, no newspapers and missing that Sachin ton, I was happy to get my hands on the newspaper today. I was happy today because of the George Bush shoe throwing incident. The video made me laugh no end. The Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi is now a real hero. 3 salutes to his bravery. My only sadness is that both the shoes missed hitting his face. Credit should be given to Bush's quick reflexes. Maybe he been practising this move for a long time expecting such backlashes after what he has done to the world. There are questions being asked like 'would he have done the same to Saddam?' To those who ask that, I have only this to say, 'Enjoy the moment and don't think too much'. But, there are reports of this guy being given some serious torture by the authorities. Hope he comes out alive. At the same time, in a matter of one day a newly launched game based on this incident is becoming a rage on the net. You can aim and throw shoes at George Bush. Go to www.kroma.no/2008/bushgame/. Make sure he doesn't get away this time.

Should terrorists be defended?

I also read a news about Shiv sena activists ransacking the house of Mahesh Deshmukh, a lawyer who agreed to defend Mumbai attack terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amin Kasab. Its an attack which should be condemned with the highest words and also with some hard punishments. But, what made me think more regarding this is another matter. The matter of providing a defense lawyer to guys like Kasab who are proven terrorists with not even an inch of doubt. This question is perplexing me no end-why should we provide a chance for explaining themselves to terrorists like him? Its understandable if the Govt is providing a lawyer in cases which are doubtful. But here we have guy who was shot at and was caught while doing the act. Why should we give him a chance to defend himself. There maybe a law in the country that every person who's caught should be given a chance to defend himself. But should we always follow it diligently? Can't we make excpetions atleast in such serious cases? Laws are meant to protect innocents and punish criminals, not to protect criminals. Who wants this farce called a 'fair trial' to be given to such cruel monsters as Kasab? Another famous lawyer Harish Salve who had yesterday termed Kasab as a prisoner of war. I wonder how such eminent personalities can be so stupid at times. Its also a shame that there are lawyers like Desmukh who are ready to defend enemies of our country.

My humble suggestion is this(Warning:This may sound disgusting. But I can't help it because this is just the way I think)- Extract all possible information from Kasab by using all techniques ranging from hypnotizing to heavy torture. Once we are sure that there's nothing more to be got from him, lets start with the punishment. Cut off his hands, legs and ears. Pierce one of his eyes. Cut off his tongue. Then treat him well so as to keep him alive. Then put him in a solitary cell with a small light source to rot for the rest of his life. He should be kept alive gy all means. All terrorists should be given similar punishments. At the same time, shoot the video of the above activity and mail it to all the pseudo human rights activists with a title-'Eat this'. Yes, I can be too disgusting at times.

PS- Post on the Goa trip and pics will be up within some days. Will reply to your comments on my previous posts soon.

your crusader Praveen