Back to blogging? maybe yes..

Its been 2-3 months I have blogged properly. Whenever I visit my blog, I feel I should write something. Well to put it simply, I was very very busy in past few months, maybe busiest I had ever been till now. Good part is it is over now.

Two weeks ago, I received my master's degree in computer engineering. In last two years and some months so many things were packed together, so many different experiences, so many self-realizations, failures, successes, feelings, emotions, that words will fall short to sum it up together. Looking back all I can say is, this is what I wanted when I came here..

Yesterday, I met my schoolfriend - Yatin Phatak, almost after three years.



In the evening, we tried Thai food at nice place in Richardson. Man, I love Thai food. It is the closest I can relate to the homemade food. Spicy tilapia curry with coconut, peanuts, onion, and potato; served with white steamed rice. Heaven! While coming here, fish curry was one thing I thought I will have to miss. But boy, was I wrong? I strongly feel that there is some connection between Konkan and Thailand :P

In the afternoon, we saw Avatar movie at an IMAX 3D theater in Garland.



The movie is an out-of-the-world experience, both in literal and figurative sense. Masterpiece by James Cameron. He surely has taken science fiction/fantasy genre to the next level. The concepts alone are quite impressive, and picturization is breathtaking. Watch it, definitely watch it..

Well, thats it for now.. Wishing you all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Defense!

I am happy to tell you guys that I successfully defended my master's thesis yesterday. Altogether it was an amazing experience and totally worth it.

Love to all those who have stood by me through thick and thin...

Link to Thesis Abstract: Design and Analysis of Application Architecture for Opportunistic networks using Ad Hoc Wi-Fi

Some gyan from a friend

Life is like a tree. At every point you take a decision, choose a path, branch out or expand your horizon. There is no cycle in it. You cannot go back to previous point, you can only go ahead.

Nice analogy, huh?

BTW heartiest congratulations to the greatest of the great, the bestest of the best, one and only Sachin Tendulkar :) I don't think I need to mention the reason. :)

Life lessons from N.R. Narayana Murthy

Narayana Murthy is so much like Bill Gates for India. Last weekend, I was watching him on Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai - Zee TV talk show celebrating lives of great personalities.

Anyways, I happened to read about his pre-commencement lecture at New York university. He talks about his life and career lessons. In brief, they are:

1. Learning from experience: It is important how and what you learn. The quality of learning should be high and the development gradient should be steep enough.

2. Power of chance events: It matters a lot how you react to them. The quality of how systematically we react to chance events, is crucial.

3. Growth mindset: Skills and abilities should be developed by taking on challenges and learning from criticism. That is how we go to next level.

4. Self-knowledge: It helps in developing more grounded belief in oneself, courage, determination and humility.

I found it quite inspiring, so sharing it with fellow bloggers..

Sources:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeena_Isi_Ka_Naam_Hai

2. http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/may/28bspec.htm

Year of underdogs!

Congratulations to Juan Martin Del Potro on his superb win over Federer!



And hats off to mom Clijsters on her inspiring comeback!


This is the year of underdogs at US Open 2009!

Courtesy:
1. Juan Martin Del Potro Image: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
2. Kim Clijsters Image: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Bliss!

Just had mouthwatering Mutton Biryani and spicy Chicken Gravy made by friend's mom. Pleasure thy name is homemade Indian food :P

Interesting!

Sources:

1. Image: http://whatconsumesme.com/2009/what-im-writing/how-to-be-happy-in-business-venn-diagram/

2. Article: http://indiauncut.com/iublog/article/the-choices-we-make/

Happy Birthday to me!

It was my 24th birthday yesterday (July 1st). Thank you to all those who remembered my birthday!

Love & Care,
Sankalp

Hot summer and Barbecue!

It is hot as hell here. 103 Fahrenheit (~39.5 C). I just walked for about 100 meters, and I am feeling exhausted. My head has started spinning and my eyes are blurry... I am not falling unconscious (otherwise, I would become the first person to blog in such state :P ), but I feel lethargic. This heat literally saps your energy.

Weather department has declared heatwave for this week. The moment you get in a car parked in open parking lot, you come to know what its like to be in an iron furnace. To top all this, our housing assistants have organized a barbecue at 6 O'clock in apartment campus. Have they gone crazy? Who would do that?

I so miss Mumbai rains... Sea wind... and smell of wet soil... a cup of hot tea and bhajia. God, that is all one wants to live happily.

Rudeness & Simon Cowell

Currently I am reading this book - I don't mean to be rude, But... by Simon Cowell (Yes, the one who verbally assaults every contestant on American Idol, Britain's Got Talent etc.) The man admits that he is egotistic and somewhat harsh at times, but he also says that his being harsh brings contestants to the ground and they need somebody like him. I do agree with him, although I am aware how hard it could be for somebody facing his criticism.

Given everything, I like the style in which he has written the book. He writes whatever he feels about things, without being politically correct.

Another interesting thing is this is one of many books I think I will read till the end. Now a days, I don't finish many books I pick up. Also, I don't enjoy the work of fiction anymore. I don't know why? I started reading this book - Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. But then got bored after sometime. Its basically a collection of short stories. Quite nice stories. But not so captivating, to me at least. May be, I prefer simple and straight words from real people over detailed fictional accounts of some quirky characters.

Dedicated to a friend..

This post is dedicated to a great friend of mine, whom I respect for his sincerity and openness (and biting but unintentional remarks ;) ) Following are some incidents that show this guy's spontaneous wit. Actually, I had drafted this post long time ago. Somehow, I forgot to publish it.

Scene 1: Engineering examination room. Its a mid-term exam, so nobody is that serious. Teacher distributes answer sheets and a person seating in front of Siddhesh, looks at his answer sheet and because he got an answer sheet with fewer pages or something, he starts whining "I got a small answer sheeeeeeet". Siddhesh quickly replies: Tula Granth naahi lihayacha aahe.. (You don't have to write a storybook). Everybody cracks up, including the whining guy :)

Scene 2: We are lazying around in our Engineering lab, pretending to be working on some programming assignment during lab hours. A girl from our class, leaves her seat for a while. As usual, somebody quickly steals her chair. When this girl returns, she is little annoyed, and gets suspicious about the guy seating next to her (who was standing earlier). She tries to push him out of his chair. This grabs Siddhesh's attention, and he quips: Arey, Deun taak tila khurchi, nahitar ti tula khurchisakat khali fekun deil. (Hey, Give the chair back! Otherwise, she will throw you and the chair, both out of that window!). Now everybody is laughing and the girl is embarrased :)


Scene 3: A usual boring Engineering class and the attendance sheet is showing more than the actual number of students present in the class. One girl is taking little longer to sign her (?) attendance. Siddhesh is patiently waiting for the attendance sheet (he neither did this kind of 'social work', nor complained about it). Now this girl starts chatting with her friend, totally forgetting that she has the attendance sheet (and that Siddhesh is seating behind her :) ). There goes Siddhesh's fuse. He speaks up in slow but firm voice: Aga, dey ti sheet ikde, tichi puja kartes kay? (Hey, please pass on that sheet, are you worshiping it or what? ). Even in that soporific lecture, everybody starts chuckling :)

I hope you take all this in good humor, Siddhesh. I know you will.. :) Also, best luck to you on starting your MBA course at NITIE, Mumbai.

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Quips from Aamir Khan's interview on CNN Talk Asia

AR: Anjali Rao, the interviewer
AK: the one and only - Aamir Khan :)

[Transcript Source: http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-9138.html]


About the competition he faces from his Bollywood peers

AR: After this movie made it so big, people said that you were the real “King Khan”. And that you’d kicked off Shahrukh off his perch because he appeals to the masses but you’ve managed to do this thing that loads of actors would love to do. In that you’ve had both critical and commercial success in spades. How do you do that? How do you stop from being pigeon-holed in one box or another?

AK: Well, you know I just do work which excites me and which I enjoy doing. I just do work which makes me happy. And I have absolutely no intentions of kicking Shahrukh off his pedestal. Though I have to say I don’t think he ever was on it...

About getting into his much talked physique, for the movie Ghajini

AK: It was tough, it was really tough, and actually there’s a joke in my family and friends, when you want to get Aamir to do something, make a movie around it and he’ll end up doing it.

About Slumdog Millionaire

AR: Slumdog Millionaire was a huge eye opener, I think, but you know for all the accolades that it got around the world, there were plenty here in India who slammed it. What did you think of it?

AK: It didn’t touch me personally. Emotionally it didn’t do anything for me. And I suspect it is because I am not used to watching Indians speak English. So you know, all these slum kids talking in English, and the cop...I find it very strange…it didn’t work for me because of that problem.

About recent Mumbai Terror attakcs

AK: I am critical about how a number of leaders have been using religion and cast in our politics for decades now. And that only, you know, polarizes people. It spreads a lot of poison and negativity in society.

About his unconventional choices of movies

AR: Now you obviously took on that project because you believed that it would work. But did other people think that you were just bonkers?

AK: Yeah. Well they think that all the time actually. Every time I start a film they’re like hmmm this time he’s going to really mess it up. So it’s really…

AK: Everyone who knew me was like, he’s nuts, he’s really done it this time. And then when I did Dil Chahta Hai also, or you know, even Rang de Basanti, Taare Zameen Par they were like hmm childcare and education, ok. But it’s also exciting, you know, when you pick things which are unusual and difficult and are breaking the rules of mainstream cinema.

About his childhood

AR: What kind of a childhood did you have?

AK: Well, fairly standard actually. I think my parents looked after us very well. We had a fairly sheltered life. I mean my parents were really against me getting into films. I come from a film family. My father and uncle were both filmmakers. And I faced hell at home. It was like there’s no way you’re getting into films. But I don’t usually listen to people. I just do what I feel like. And then when they realized… actually it was more because they were concerned for me, you know. Every parent is concerned for their children. And they had been through this line and this profession is so uncertain. You know one day you’re up there, the next day you’re nobody and…it’s a really harsh profession.

After showing a short clip of his movies from QSQT till Ghulam
This is little quirky. But that is Aamir Khan :)

AR: When you look at those clips from the 80s and 90s do you go you know what I’m really proud of that or do you go oh god I just want to die?

AK: No I just want to die. I get totally embarrassed. Usually you know when I finish a film within six months I feel eh, this is not good enough. This is where we’ve messed up, and we could’ve done this, and I’ve grown so much as an actor and I can do this much better now. I don’t like my work usually after some time, I don’t like it anymore.

Aamir Khan talks about getting first-hand audience reaction of his movies, by watching his audience in theaters without them actually knowing about it.

AK: They don’t know because they’re already in there. And then I walk in, I stand at the back, I go into the projection room, those windows there, peep out and I can see everyone, I can hear them. So you can see them shifting in their seats if they don’t like the scene. You can actually see that happen. So when the film is not working, you’ll suddenly hear a lot of chairs you know, chair sounds…shifting, coughing, so you know you’re losing the audience there.

Interviewer wonders how AK has managed to be on the top for so long..

AR: If you had to name a characteristic of yours that’s gotten you through, that’s helped you to make it to be as big a star as you are now, what would it be?

AK: I think for me it’s been, I’ve always done what makes me happy. I realized very early in my career that you know, whenever I’m taking a decision which I think is the correct decision, or I ought to be doing this. Whenever I’ve done that, I’ve failed miserably. Whenever I thought I was being smart, I’ve ended up making an ass out of myself. But whenever I did what I felt like doing, it worked for me. No matter how ridiculous it may have seemed to others, and no matter how impractical it may have seemed… but whenever I followed my heart and done what makes me happy, it’s worked for me.

Aamir Khan on CNN Talk Asia

A candid interview of the acting genius - Aamir Khan. It was broadcasted last Wednesday - 03/25/2009 on CNN Talk Asia.

Enjoy his witty and honest answers to the questions revolving around his movies, career, and social & political views.

Interview Part 1



Interview Part 2



Interview Part 3



Post-interview Q & A Part 1



Post-interview Q & A Part 2




P.S.: By now, I have watched this interview 2-3 times, without getting bored at all. Ideally, I would like to post my favorite quips from the interview. I will probably do that too, whenever I get time...

Also,
1. I have published some of my old drafted posts. So if you feel like, do browse through my previous posts.
2. I have added my Pandora stations sidebar to the blog. So, feel free to enjoy my (terrible?) taste of music.

Happy Gudi Padwa!

I know its little late, still I wish you all happy Gudi Padwa!

Bad, bad server. No donut for you...

Great!! I won't put on any weight :P

Welcome to planet Earth!

I am an alien, the non-resident kind :P

(For the uninitiated, US naturalization services refers to non-resident foreign citizens as non-resident aliens. And I am fully aware that by explaining this I am spoiling all the fun :) )

Gattaca : The story of human will

While talking to a friend today, somehow the topic of one of my all time favorite movies - Gattaca, came up.

Its a futuristic story of a naturally born, hence genetically inferior (!) kid - Vincent, who has enormous will that could surpass all his physical or biological deficiencies. He always tries to match up with his genetically superior, hence much pampered brother - Anton. Their favorite pastime is to swim in ocean to see who can go the farthest. After endless defeats, Vincent wins this race for the first time when he is a teenager. For the first time he realizes that he can win. He leaves his discouraging parents behind to pursue his dream of going to the stars (space research). But again this field is reserved for the genetically superior only.

Faking an identity of another genetically superior but demotivated person, he pursues his dream. When he is almost near to his dreams, a drama unfolds. Vincent's eyelashes are found at the murder-spot in the space research center - Gattaca. The murder investigation brings back two separated brothers. When Vincent's brother - Anton, sees what Vincent has achieved, he fails to believe it.

He challenges Vincent to compete with him the old way. Anton tries to prove his genetic supremacy for one last time. They swim in a cold & dark ocean for long time. When Anton is about to give up, following dialogue takes place:

Anton: Vincent! How are you doing this Vincent? How have you done any of this? We have to go back.
Vincent: It's too late for that. We're closer to the other side.
Anton: What other side? You wanna drown us both?
Vincent: You wanna know how I did it? This is how I did it Anton. I never saved anything for the swim back.

There are so many beautiful lines in this movie. I would leave you with a compilation of some of those lines:

Happy 2009!

Let year 2009 be like a colorful, shiny rainbow!

May you be blessed with peace, health, wealth & happiness!