Message from a Little Tiger

"...Let me rest, I am tired. I have tried enough.

You give me a mighty place on earth, yet take no responsibility to help me keep my home intact.. What has happened of my house? Where are all my lush green carpets? Where are all my flower pots, of roses and pansies and lilies? You have taken it.. taken it all.. I don't have a marble floor, I find comfort on uncarved, unpolished rocks. I don't mind getting my feet dirty from the soft, wet soil that my mother has offered to me.. You have ruined it.. taken it all from me and my parents..

Where are all my wooden doors and windows and furniture, of teak and sal and rosewood? My simple, yet serene green curtains that let the rays of the morning sun bring light and glory to my house? What happened to my roof, of bamboo shoots and twigs and barks of the dying flora? I can't find the drums and barrels of water that I used to drink from.. I can't find anything left for me in my own house.. You have taken it all for your children and your family..

Mom and dad haven't returned from the hunt.. It has been two days and I have no food to eat.. I have no aunts and uncles or cousins to go to.. I have looked high and low, but find none of my brethren. Where are they? I am too young to know, but I have this feeling.. You have taken them too, away from me... and my brothers and sisters.. I love them.. and miss them all.. I am all alone, and there is nobody I can turn to now..

Dad always told me "It's a big bad world out there.. Never give up..". Mom was my epitome of Love.. I have tried enough.. I never meant vengeance.. I was just looking for love and harmony.. But now, I find there is nothing left for me to do, but Quit.. I have given up.. I cannot take it any more.. Let me rest.. I am tired, really tired... .. "

-Bopanna

Pic - Ad Campaign in TOI

A Nite at Fuga - Nikhil Chinappa DJ San

A night to remember for me.. Thanks to the day, which began on a bad note.. :)

I spent the Saturday night watching "We were soldiers", a movie depicting the valour of the US soldiers in the Vietnam war, and the sadness it left in its trail. Watching late night movies on HBO with bro at home was slowly picking up trend at home, much to the dismay of my parents. But, gradually they began accepting it.. Afterall, we are growing boys.. :)

Not long before the movie came to an end, my phone came alive with the message "Cmng 2 Bangalore, party Sundy nyt". It was a friend, Kay studying to be a journalist, staying 3 hours away from Bangalore, but always wanting to run away to someplace unknown... with someone along of course. My reply "Sure, c ya 2mrw :) "

Saturday, Sunday and holidays seem just like any other regular day at work. Quite understandably, I was scheduled to work that Sunday, the 13th Sep '09. The only concession was that I was working from the sweet confines of my home and I get to party with Nikhil Chinappa at Fuga that night!.

Unfortunately for me Sunday began on a bad note with my telephone lines going dead and taking the internet down with it. So, it was a quick bath, grab any piece of clothing, and rush to work, nearly 25km away. All along my drive, it was Fuga and Nikhil on my mind, for I have seen this dude on MTV and as much as I have admired him, I wanted to see him in person. At work, I dedicated all my time to complete all tasks in time for the party.. But the day had to be bad, remember?? It started raining cats and dogs toward the evening and I had a feeling that I may be dripping wet on the dance floor after having to ride my bike in it. Fortunately, the rain Gods were kind enough to clear out the skies until I reached Fuga an hour and a half before midnight.

Fuga was brimming with late night revelers, weekend night running high on their heads, drinks flowing and to top it off Nikhil Chinappa lending his voice to the music. The icing on the cake was the great music by DJ San from Amsterdam. I met Kay and her pals and in tune with the music, I grabbed a drink as we continued setting the dance floor on fire. Swaying to the music by the bar were beautiful girls with their overtly possessive boy friends. Fashion trends prevailed with the latest in the market making its presence felt at Fuga. The ambiance was definitely hot.!

Spoilsports as they always are, the police intimated the disc to shut shop close to midnight. Nikhil expressed his disappointment, but was happy to announce that he could play a few final numbers .. and was greeted with loud cheers.. DJ San belted out a final mix of DJ Tiesto with his own.

The party stopped, but the beats still rang in my head with the same intensity and energy that was radiating inside Fuga.. Kay and I exchanged a few words before we bid good night.. A day that begins on a bad note will not always end that way.. !!

Cheers..!

PS: Thats DJ San and Nikhil in the pic. Pardon the poor quality- taken from a mobile phone cam.

Let me show you my den.. :)

Splendid Anthem..

It's been quite some time since I watched a movie at a movie hall. So. ever since the song, “Dan Ta Naan” started making the rounds on radio and television, I was very keen on watching Kaminey. Though I admired him as an actor, I wanted to see youthful Shahid and his on-screen chemistry with Priyanka. The movie was rated ‘A’ and I hoped to see more than just that. J

So, amidst the hectic schedule of client meetings and deadlines and deliverables and blah blah balh, I finally managed to fix a date for me to watch Kaminey. Tickets booked, cousin bro, bro, a friend and I were off on 22nd Aug to warm 4 seats of Fun Cinemas on Cunningham road.

Five minutes before start, as we made our way inside the movie hall, a message appeared on the screen – “ Please stand up for the National Anthem.” I was astonished.! Outside the hall, thoughts of patriotism hardly found an inch of space in my mind. And I was quite sure the pretty girls with their boy friends that I saw in the elevator, or the college going gang of boys n girls at the food stall, or the novuea riche IT geek with his parents, or even my friends had ever thought about it. As best as I could perceive, the only thing in everybody’s mind was Fun, some time to relax from all the stress from daily tasks.

So when I saw the message on the screen, I was cynical of most revelers around me and hoped to find only some takers to the National Anthem besides myself. However, as the instrumental rythm of “Jana Gana Mana” began playing, every single person in the hall maintained absolute silence. It was as if life had suddenly come to a stand-still. I looked around from the corner of my eye to find everybody paying their due respect by standing up as the video of our great soldiers at Kargil, Siachen showed them proudly hoisting the Tricolour. Even the ones entering the hall stayed put in their places in attention.

It was truly a great example of oneness I got to see among my people after so long. We are busy with our lives and rarely get an opportunity to think about our martyrs and of our great country. But I am glad unity still finds a place in our egotistical society. I’m grateful to Vishal Bharadwaj for making such a nice movie and to the organizers for having revived the feeling of patriotism in me.

Jai Hind ! J

WWW - What? When? Where?

If it wasn't for Tim Berners-Lee, you wouldn't be reading this blog the way you are doing now. Since the time it was created in 1989, and later released in 1992, the World Wide Web has grown leaps and bounds to what it is today. It is simply amazing to know that the www reaches far and wide and has over time evolved to be one of the most simplest tools that one uses for just about anything imaginable.

In keeping with this trend, it is interesting to note the significant role played by the internet in the very recent US elections. BBC reports that one quarter of the voters received election news and updates online and a remarkable one in five internet users accessed election news everyday. Now, considering that the US forms only a few hundred millions of the world population, this is a sizeable reach. This undoubtedly helped increase the popularity votes President Obama gained, among other payoffs.

The Democrats had used the internet advantage during the 2004 elections too, when it was primarily used for fund raising. But the Republicans outsmarted them by developing a highly effective electronic database that enabled them to reach out to individual voters and address their issues, in the long run, gaining their support. The Republican victory by a narrow margin in that year is just another example of how complacency and innovation on the internet, when put to test, can bring about incredible results.

Fastforward 4 years and the trend hasn't changed. Only, this term, the Democrats were more innovative and exploited the internet to come up with Telephone canvassing. I call this innovation, because telephone canvassing per se, does not guarantee voter confidence in the candidate. Gaining new voter confidence was the idea and effective mode of communication in the canvass was the key to achieving this goal. It also won the Democrats the popularity of many more citizens who untill then were reluctant to vote, but were now willing to try the Democrats in office.

Winning though innovation is definitely the icing on the cake. It doesn't take a scholar to see the way internet has made life easier for the larger mass. It has for me too, if not for all. If it wasn't for online transaction process, I would still be standing in those long queues to pay my telephone and electricity bills. If it wasn't for e-commerce, I'd still be crowding that prized mall to make a purchase on a discount sale. If it wasn't for e-books, I'd still be spending considerable time, browzing newspapers or frequenting the library for new releases. Not to forget the spared days and months of my parents' efforts to scout for my better half. Online dating is the trend that is here to stay. ;-)

Last but not the least, imagine the amount of time I would have wasted writing copies of this scrap and posting it to individual mail addresses. With innovative internet, the planet had definitely become very accessible. It's now a small world..... unless you have to paint it... Well, this too could be reality in the years to come...

Ratatouille...another day at work!!

Remy gives an oscar winning performance in his latest hit "Ratatoullie". Aspirations and dreams abound, he sets out to accomplish his interminable desire to become one of the greatest chefs in Paris. This quest brings him in acquaintance with Linguini...and then, the rest is history. With his talent, Remy puts the cullinary world of Paris in a tizzy while adding to the fame of Gusteau's restaurant.

Sounds like one another of those verbose reviews of the celebrated movie. This undoubtedly is one of the best movies, packed with the right blend of theme, passion and humour. But Ratatoullie took me on a totally different ride- the one to which I could connect to .. with my day at work.

Sitting at my desk, staring expectantly on the computer screen, I was in the midst of one of those times when lunch breaks and tea breaks just pass by without you having made your presence in them. Window shades drawn, I could see the sun retiring for the day and the birds making their way back home. So also the staff and the office space wore a deserted look. " Happy weekend!!" said Tom, probably the last one to leave before me. "Have a great time..", I said,"Squeaak!!". Hey... I didn't make that noise..

As Tom made his way out, I got back to business. Through the corner of my eye, I spotted a little bump. I turned to find a little head popped up through the void between the wall and the raised panel of the cubicle. " Remy..!! ", I thought, as I saw the little pest staring intently at a colleague's workstation, as if at loose ends. He turned to me and quickly scurried away.

Could this be the Remy of the IT industry? I couldn't stop but think about this utopian possibility. A provincial rat with dollar dreams, who holds Bill Gates in great regard, and despite his family's wishes, made it all the way into the IT industry, only to be dejected to see the dismal state of its workers. I am pretty sure, this little brat was strategizing to change the state of affairs by throwing in some magical ingredients into the soup we were in and in the process, becoming the unsung hero or our success stories.

The time seems right. With the apparent slowdown of the IT industry and quite a few Linguinis being hired, one shouldn't be surprised if the next great breakthough comes from the inexperienced lot, with a little magical hand lent by the Remys of the industry. With a little "food" for thought coming through the huge volumes of books written for "dummies", and a little "hands on" on the key boards, I don't see why they will not make good assistant developers...

Cheers..

Have we met before?

Hi. My name's Bopanna. Hard worker, passionate, keen learner, painter, humorous are some of the traits I'd like to associate myself with. I did my schooling in Navodaya Vidyanikethana, Bangalore, then went on to finish my pre university education from St. Joseph's College, Bangalore. To pursue my interest in machine design, I took up Mechanical Engineering in M.S.Ramaiah Institute of Technology,Bangalore.

My interests lie in travelling, reading, Numismatics, getting lost with friends. I look up to my parents, good teachers and friends with great regard. Just love them all.. :-)

Well, that's pretty much about me... Watch out my space for more of my views...
Cheers to bloggin...