31 May, 2006

Dhauli - The Peace Pagoda

As I said before my brother was making a short film. He and his crew had to capture a sunrise and had planned to go to Dhauli on Monday. Hardly slept for two hours the day before and joined them at 0300 hours. I also wanted to do some photography. Dhauli had been my favourite hangout place since I have got a bike. I have been there a numerous time, with friends or alone and at times ranging from early in the morning to late in the evening. I have watched three sunrises over there itself. The monastery near the stupa is also a nice place. Kind of silent and peaceful with the drums beating. Daya river flows below the hill and the area surrounding it is covered with bushes, shrubs and cashew trees. Once went through a dirt patch with Praveen and watched an angler for a long time. Its actually a nice getaway for an afternoon or evening when you run out of your options. I generally avoid the stupa area in the day time because of the huge number of tourists thronging the place. Commercialisation always takes away the tranquility of such places. One of the landmarks, it is situated 10 kms from from the city and is on the way to Puri. This stupa was built on the site where Emperor Ashoka is said to have renounced war and violence. Took some snaps there till dawn. Will upload after editing them. technorati tags: orissa india photography travel

A fun weekend

Again a hectic trip with hardly 36 hours to spend at home. Baddy left Hyderabad and went to Bhubaneswar. Last few days were spent in his farewell party, packing, and of course gorging. We left for Bhubaneswar on Friday. Sunday had a quiz there, Quizzotica 2006. Came third and raked 2000 bucks. We did some silly things in the buzzer round and lost the second place by 2.5 points. Ridiculous, simply ridiculous ! My younger brother was making a short film on street children. Joined him on Monday morning to Dhauli to film a sunrise. I was with him to watch the shooting. Got some DVDs. Got a tripod for my camera. Mainly hindi this time. Left for Hyderabad at 1500 hours and slept all the way back. Mouli was already waiting over here and he shifted to my place yesterday. technorati tags: orissa travel

24 May, 2006

Yesterday...

... I watched Agantuk. Another movie down from Satyajit Ray list. A stranger(Utpal Dutt) claiming to be a long lost uncle coming for week, generates suspicion, doubt, confusion and excitement among the family members. Each with various levels of emotion interacts with the stranger as the story unfolds. It becomes very difficult for the so called civilised urban class to accept a nomadic stranger who claims tribals are one of the most civilised people with whom he has spent most his time. When asked if he considers cannibalism to be a civilised practice, he replies "Yes, it is barbaric. But do you know what is even more uncivilized? The sight of homeless families on streets of New York. The mere ability to destroy a civilisation by the push of a button." Or when asked if he believes in religion, replies that he does not believe in something that divides people from people. A movie providing some deep insights to urban life. technorati tags: movies

22 May, 2006

Get busy living or get busy dying...

Whim: A late night 50 km bike ride on Friday Achievement: Woke up with an hangover and scored 20 in Mahaquizzer 2006 yesterday Routine: Boozed all the three evenings, not a deliberate attempt Excitement: Going Bhubaneswar next weekend Responsibility: Avoiding as always :) Regret: With no responsibility, you might be kidding! Best time in the whole weekend: Friday evening. (with "Old Friends/ Memory brushes the same years/Silently sharing the same fear...") Concern: Downloads going to touch 150 GB, have to back up, back up, back up... technorati tags: life blog

Restaurant: Angeethi - Kabura - KFC

Angeethi In Banjara Hills, near Barista. Tried buffet over here. Rs.140 including taxes. Not a bad deal. Numerous North Indian and Tandoori dishes and great deserts. Weekends are busy and waiting time is around 20 minutes. Nice bollywood posters adorning the walls. Dhaba type setup. Nice crowd, if you know what I mean. Good service once you get your table. Kabura A North West Frontier cuisine restaurant. I guess buffet would be economically recommended. We should have gone for it. Murgh Kabuli Shorba was awesome. Mutton curries were OK. Biriyani was spicy, Chicken in it was not satisfactory in quantity. Tried variety of rotis, none up to the mark. Its in the Lifestyle Building, Begumpet. KFC Went there a umpteen number of times and it has never disappointed me. Original Recipe Fried Chicken fries are always a treat. Back them up with some french fries and a large cola, you have got one full meal. Burgers in itself can be quite filling. This time we had the chance to visit the kitchen and saw how such delicious chicken are prepared. Most of the ingredients are imported while Chicken is locally procured. The formula of the mix is a secret including its employees and even the companies who produce its ingredients. With clearly defined work practice, these international chains show good professionalism. Lightning fast service and always some nice music playing gives you fair enough time to relish the soft and finger licking chicken pieces. Its there in MG Road, Secunderabad. technorati tags: hyderabad

17 May, 2006

Who What Which ?

Posting some questions from my quiz done at K Circle, Hyderabad. Mail me the answers at: durgesh.singh@gmail.com Questions: 1. Chuck Cunningham syndrome, Jumping the shark, Fonzie syndrome, Spin-off, Cousin Oliver... Whats common to these terms? 2. It has been presented 33 times in the past. Recipients include Robert Peary, Roald Amundsen, Capt. Robert Bartlett, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Richard E. Byrd, Charles Lindbergh, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Louis Leakey and Mary Leakey, Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, Michael Collins, Richard Leakey, Jane Goodall, Robert Ballard, Bertrand Piccard, Brian Jones.... What? 3. Early known instance of using this is in a newspaper advertisement in the New York Herald Tribune, March 10, 1953. Promoting the film Lili, starring Leslie Caron, the ad read as follows: Today You'll laugh __ You'll cry __ You'll love __ What am I talking about? 4. Name the neighborhood of New York City that includes the area between 34th Street and 57th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River. [Hint: The Godfather] 5. What take its name from a pair of celebrated racing cars built and raced by Louis Zborowski and his engineer Clive Gallop, in the 1920s? 6. He looks and sounds like Elvis Presley, except for having blonde hair and a Fonzie-ish[as from Happy Days] appearance. Incredibly narcissistic and dumb. He lives in the fictional town of Aron City. Who? 7. A series of animated short subjects produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1938. Donald Duck got his start in The Wise Little Hen, 1934 and Pluto's first appearance without Mickey Mouse in Mother Pluto, 1936. Seven times Academy award winner of short series. Name the series. 8. Bernd Maylander is a German racing driver who has previously competed in the DTM series. Whats his present job? 9. He started his career as a wicketkeeper and played cricket clubs. He joined his father's firm and made it into one of India's top construction firms. His firm constructed Kolkata's M.P.Birla Planetarium in 1963. In 1996, the BBC declared him to be one of the world's top six sports executives. Who? 10. In the 1958 film North by Northwest, director Alfred Hitchcock wanted to do it but couldnt. Sydney Pollack did it in 2005. What? 11. King Parikshit of Hastinapur, one day walking in the countryside found a man beating up a one legged bull and a famished cow. He recognised the figures immediately. Who were they? 12. A member of Eric Clapton's band played this album for him and asked him to cover it. Initially he refused to so, as it would be disrespectful to the original artist. This was Clapton's only #1 hit. Give me the song and the original artist. 13. Glenn Frey came up with the title when he was up all night drinking and the sun was rising when he finished the song. The line, "take another shot of courage" refers to how if you drink this, it will give you courage to talk to women. Which song? 14. He never took seriously the awards he himself received. And once said "I owe my Swedish Order of the North Star to my cook, whose skill won the approval of an eminent stomach," "And my French Order was conferred upon me as the result of a close personal acquaintance with a minister." Who? 15. During W.W. II, the head of Hitler's Luftwaffe, Hermann Goring, offered a $5,000 reward to anyone who could kill or capture a famous American airman. Who was this airman? * Zelda, Yosemite, Yoda, Warhol, Tsunami, Trinity, Perseus, Jaguar, Dulcimer, Cyan, Spartacus, Osiris ...... and the list goes on. For what? technorati tags: quiz hyderabad blog

11 May, 2006

Caffeine + Nicotine = Nightout

Pooh ! Finally completed my questions for today's quiz. It demanded a complete nightout from me. Found some audio clips too. Going to host my first quiz at K Circle. Tensed?? U bet ! Completed my task by 0400 hrs and headed to roof top for some night photography. Sounds too big when I say it though. I have posted some of my nocturnal exploits here. Trying my hands with delayed exposure. Beginning to have fun now. Gotta go to the office now and doze off. Reminder [Comments awaited]: Pics Uploaded technorati tags: hyderabad photography

10 May, 2006

I'm singing in the rain...

... Just singin' in the rain, What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again -Singin' in the Rain [Gene Kelly]
It rained two days back in Hyderabad. The evening became wet and cool. Real respite after a long time...
Sis came that morning and left by evening to Pune. Murphy's law proved its dominance again. I asked my Sis to get my raincoat from Bhubaneswar in view of the rainy season. She failed to get it and the same day the city gets lashed by showers. Murphy rules. Did some shopping with her. Went to Odyssey and rode my bike back in the rain. Awesome evening...
I am still in the R&D phase with my new camera. Various permutations and combinations being tried. Though the Auto mode is always a lame shortcut.
This Sunday, the Ferrari and Schumacher showed why they are an indispensable team. How sheer strategy can beat a faster car and why experience always rules. The second pit stop strategy by Ferrari showed when it comes to Formula 1, you can never take Schumi lightly.
Stuck with questions for a quiz at K Circle. Dont know if they will be ready by Thursday... technorati tags: hyderabad

06 May, 2006

"I can resist everything...

...except temptation." - Oscar Wilde A Digital Camera - My biggest weekend whim. I am now a proud owner of a Canon PowerShot A 530. After toying with the idea for a long time either to buy a film SLR or a digital camera, I finally settled on this financially apt solution. Since Friday, after I left office I decided I am going to get a camera this weekend. Didnt know which one. What range. How I gonna pay for it. Or why this impulse. Only thing that I love now is, I crossed another long pending roadblock. Also got a good deal on a book on Formula One. Looking forward to European GP today. Snaps to follow soon...

03 May, 2006

Hell yeah...

Havent scribbled anything since last week... I am trapped in the vortex of laziness, I guess. I guess?? Too lazy to think about it even. Back some days I realised I havent doodled since last three months. My irritatingly addictive habit has gone for a toss. Just now my mentor called me and asked me about my future plans. He must have been fed up with my increasingly careless attitude in the office. What did I reply to him? Just imitated a confused garden lizard. Nod, Nod and run. Two days back, I took a day off as I wanted to have a long nap. Atleast I completed this task and as described by Baddy, "I sleep in four shifts a day." That means I operate 24/7 from the comfort of my bed. Now U can see the result, a lousy post just to keep up with the visitors, so that they dont get too lazy to visit this blog. technorati tag: life