Only food

Went for a team treat last night to a good 4 star hotel on Mount Road in Chennai near DMS bus stop.

Ok, chuck confidentiality. It was Courtyard Marriott.

I have been to star hotels before. But this was an out of the world experience. Simply cos the menu sucked!! If you are a veggie, please avoid Courtyard Marriott like the plague.

Out of the total 30 - 35 dishes, hardly 6 or 7 were veg. The rest were all living-turned-non-living things. (Technically plants are living things too. But we veggies will never ever buy that argument. We would be left food-less then!)

So in all, I did not relish the food. Forget relishing, I hardly ate anything. So this post is less about all that.

What provoked me was the menu card for drinks. I reproduce a pic of that below.


Maybe when I used the word 'reproduce', I was being extremely suggestive (wink wink)

This prodded me to think how in the world people can order these drinks?

Excuse me, can you give me an orgasm please?
Excuse me, I would love to have a screaming orgasm please.
Excuse me, can I have some Slazy sex on the Beach? (this was another item that was listed below. And "slazy" was how they spelt it too)

Phew, I am sure the waiters would have a whale of time in their private rooms discussing the day's orders.

A friend of mine wondered if this was just a parliamentary way of indicating that they offer rooms per hour, a la Jab We Met.

Anyway that was that. Now on to today morning. I was coming to office by train. And a few college students were seated next to me. From their talks, I found out that they were having an exam today. One guy was saying

"Tamil Nadu manage பண்ணிரலாம் டா.. Andhra, Chettinadu தான் problem"
(Tamil Nadu can be managed. Andhra and Chettinadu would be a problem)

For a moment, I thought they were some B.Arch guys who were discussing different styles of architectures. Then when I peeped into their record note book, I realized that they were catering students, and were talking about different cuisines!

Their record note. Ah! That was a wonderful sight! Each experiment was a multiple-course menu of some cuisine. Two of the guys were "mugging" up ingredients like we used to learn apparatus required. Another was drawing lines in all pages and fretting that he should somehow convince Sir to sign in his record before the exam. Another was spreading worldly gyan:

"Machi எனக்கு no tension டா.. எந்த கேள்வி கேட்டாலும் மாவு பெசஞ்சு சப்பாத்தி செஞ்சுருவேன்.. கூட சிக்கன் கரி, சேமியா பாயசம்.. எனக்கு இவ்ளோ தான் தெரியும்.. இதுக்கு என்ன மார்க் வருமோ குடுங்க னு சொல்லிருவேன் டா"
(I have no tensions.. Whatever they ask me, I will mix some dough and make chapathis.. Then some chicken curry and Payasam.. Will declare that this is all I know, and ask them to give me marks for that)

Though it was funny then, soon I got a bit irked. Come on, cooking is something so exciting after all! And still these guys were not interested in doing it with spirit?

That was when I remembered that even I did stuff like this at college. I might say that the subjects I had to learn were of a different kind, and were not as exciting as this is. But the point is that I was the one who chose to pursue that course in my UG degree. And I should have been more sincere there.

Open Source

Note: If you are someone who has landed here from Google after searching for open source tech stuff, please exit asap. This is not what you think it is.

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Today morning, my manager told me an interesting belief of a friend of his: One can judge a company from its restrooms.

If that person visits my company, he'll conclude comprehensively that it is an open and transparent organization.

We recently shifted locations. And the new office boasts of Western style restrooms. I am not referring to the western commode. Am talking about the restroom by itself. They are of the kind I have seen only in hollywood movies.

Reference:

Note: Restroom changed to protect privacy. This is a Googled Image.

If you have ever used this kind of a restroom, you'll agree that the name itself is a misnomer. I mean, that is the only place where I am restless. As if the gaps in all directions were not enough, the whole damn structure rattles everytime someone opens/closes one of the doors. One would think those excuses-for-walls would all fall down anytime, leaving a scar on one's psyche for life.

Dunno what the aim of the facilities team was in putting up this kind of a structure. Whatever it was, it will surely achieve one thing: having experienced this, fewer of our people would pursue onsite opportunities vigorously. Money is not so important, after all.

RIP Sujatha

I've been quite upset for a few days now. The demise of Sujatha has struck me real hard. Even as I write this, am confused whether to say “Writer Sujatha” or “Scientist Sujatha” or “Novelist Sujatha” or “Kollywood Sujatha” or whatever!

I have never come across any one else as versatile as Genius Sujatha was. He exhibited a perfect blend of right and left brain skills. And at what degree of achievement! He came across as an intellectual of the highest order, in everything he did.

And add to it the fact that he wrote in Tamil. That was exquisite by itself! For years, he was the only answer to the question of “Who is to promote அறிவியல் தமிழ் (Tamil for Science)?”. This moment I am unable to think of anyone else who wrote about scientific things in Tamil. Maybe, Hai Madhan comes a distant second.

The first time I came to know about him was in my class 3. Doordarshan used to telecast a serial written by him: என் இனிய இயந்திரா (Yen Iniya Iyandhira). It was a sci-fi thing, if I remember right, and I was fascinated by a puppy that starred in it (Geno). What was even more fascinating was that some male was named “Sujatha”. My Mom explained to me about pen names. But I never really understood that then.

After that, Ananda Vikatan became my most regular source of contact with him. I used to dig anything and everything that featured in his name – articles, reviews, interviews, stories, et al. But what floored me definitively was ஸ்ரீரங்கத்து தேவதைகள் (Srirangatthu Dhevadhaigal) – his book on life at Srirangam. The clear flow of his language and his succinct humor greatly touched me, and I became a BIGGGG fan of his. I even read out one full chapter (the one on cricket) from that book to my friend Ananth. That was more than a decade ago. And I still remember that. Such was his impact on me.

I almost met him in person once. Almost. When I was in class 12, a group of us went to meet him at T Nagar in PentaMedia’s office to invite him for our culturals. We were waiting outside when his secretary went in and explained the reason of our visit to him. He replied “What will I do at a school function where kids would dance and sing? Please tell them that I am not interested”. We returned disappointed.

Then it hurt me to hear him say that. But in retrospect, I can understand what he must have thought. Every minute of his was precious and had to be spent on higher causes.

Dunno what to say.. Feeling rather disoriented.. May his soul rest in eternal peace..

Today's Kavi'Day

Was reading a nice tamil blog. This guy (Sree) writes very well!! As I read through all that, I too felt an irrepressible desire to pen a "poem of love":

Yengu paarthaalum neethan therigiraai...
Kaadhal pirandha bodhum idhu nadakka villai..
Oodal konda indru nigazhndhuLLadhu..
Yaen endru yosittha bodhu pulappattadhu:
Yen manaththiraiyil uLLa nee,
KaNgalin mun neer thiraiyil pradhibalithu,
Vizhiththiraiyil vizhundhuLLaai...

எங்கு பார்த்தாலும் நீதான் தெரிகிறாய்...
காதல் பிறந்த போதும் இது நடக்க வில்லை...
ஊடல் கொண்ட இன்று நிகழ்ந்துள்ளது...
ஏன் என்று யோசித்த போது புலப்பட்டது:
என் மனத்திரையில் உள்ள நீ,
கண்களின் முன் நீர் திரையில் பிரதிபலித்து,
விழித்திரையில் விழுந்துள்ளாய்!

Ok, does not seem to be much. Did not even want to post this, initially. But eventually did so cos my friend Neo opined that this is "definitely post-able".
(Your response will tell me whether he was being sincere, or was trying to make the most out of my dilemma.)

P.S.: Smart alec comments would not be published

MBA interviews : Attempts to peep into the ass' soul

Hi guys.. Have been busy with preps for MBA interviews.. And it's such a sick thing!! Preparing for "all kinds of questions" drives me crazy.. Especially for those questions that seem to probe into the core of our consciousness..

Of course, most MBA aspirants lie through their teeth in their interviews (the others rewrite CAT the next year again).. But preparing for all this is frustrating..

Now, what would happen if B-school interview panels start forcing verita serum down our throats before the interviews?

Possibly this:

Panel: Hello Aspirant. Please take a seat.

Aspirant: Thank you, Sirs.

Panel: So how was your journey?

Aspirant: Cut the cooling-down crap.. I know you are not bothered about it one bit..

Panel: Ok then, why don't you tell us something about yourself?

Aspirant: My name is Aspirant. I did my schooling at Chen...

Panel: No no. All those details are there in this form you submitted over mail. Tell us something that is not on this form.

Aspirant: I love porn.

Panel: Ok you are a software engineer. Can you tell me today's price for an Infosys share in the BSE?

Aspirant: And why am I expected to know that?

Panel: Simple...
You are software.
Infy is software.
You want to get into business.
Shares are business.
See the relation?

Aspirant: Duck you.. Tell me this is a practical joke.. Please..

Panel: Hmmmm.. Can you please tell us why you want to do an MBA?

Aspirant: It's for the money, dude! I heard that MBA guys get paid bucket loads.

Panel: And why do you want to do your MBA at this institution?

Aspirant: I wrote CAT and applied to all institutions in the country. You are one of the few who have called me for an interview.

Panel: So what are your short term and long term goals?

Aspirant:
Short Term: Earn money.
Long Term: Earn more money.

Panel: Which other B-schools have you got interview calls from?

Aspirant: IIM Ahmedabad

Panel: Between us and IIM Ahmedabad, which institute would you choose?

Aspirant: What kind of a question is this? Either you've got no brains, or you've got loads of balls. How can you even ask such a question?

Panel: Which stream would you want to specialize in, if you get in here?

Aspirant: Marketing

Panel: Ok, lets see how good you are at marketing. Sell this pen to us.

Aspirant: I said "I want to specialize in marketing".. That means I suck at it now.. If I was already skilled, why would I want to learn that? Confirmed, you have got no brains..

Panel: Let's say you work for a multinational company. You overhear your manager conveying some sensitive data to some stranger over phone. What would you do?

Aspirant: Record his conversation and blackmail him.

Panel: Tell us one good reason why we should offer you a seat.

Aspirant: I have made you run out of good questions, and now you are trying to throw the onus on me. Is this reason not good enough?

@Other MBA aspirants: Have I missed any sick-to-the-core question? Add on...

Kavidhayae theriyumaa...

"Iraivanidam kaiyaendhungal" endru paadugiraan.

Engalidam kaiyaendhum electric train picchai kaaran.

Tag: Special pic of 2007

The new year dawned in the best possible way for me - to be tagged by my maanaseega blogging-guru PrabhuFerrari! (Ok, technically, he tagged me at the fag end of 2007. But this sounds a whole lot better :) )

Thanks Thalaiva!!

This is what the tag says:

‘All you have to do is select and upload one photo that you have clicked this year that is special to you. Could be anything…aesthetic, technical or personal. Also, put in a short note why it is special’

I'll exploit this opportunity to put up my favos from among the pics I clicked this year before honouring the tag.

Let me begin with "people". I have taken very few pics of people this year, so it has been fairly easy to choose this:

My sis

This pic is special because this was among the first ever shots I clicked when I started controlling camera settings by myself.

Another pic is that of the kids I clicked at Thirumalpur. I spoke about it earlier here.

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Airshow @ Chennai: Sometime in Mar/Apr 2007

I love this one because it took too much of an effort from my side to click this right. These machines were flying way too fast(!!). It was very difficult to keep them within the frame.

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AappiLL

This was among the first "experimental" pics I took with my (then) new Sony DSC H3.

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Thennai Maram

This pic won me a consolation prize in a photography contest judged by Thotta Tharani.

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One more pic that is very close to my heart is that of some crops that I took during my trip to Thirumalpur. That also was put up in the same page I linked to earlier.

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Now, on to my S.P.E.C.I.A.L pic of the year:

Mis-focused flower
(Click on the pic for a bigger version)

Frankly speaking, this was an error in focussing. I should have rightly focussed on the flower. But the focus ended up on the bark of the tree behind. So this pic should have been deleted at once.
But I retained it because it seemed to say:

Whether you choose to focus on the beautiful or on the not-so-beautiful is a matter of your own choice

With my job done, I pass the tag on to Arvind. Hope he shakes up from his slumber soon!

Some photos from a recent trip

Had been to my grandparents' place at Pollachi this week. The tranquil garden around the house offered numerous Sony moments. Some of them...

In retrospect, am not too happy with this pic. There is quite a lot of noise that could possibly divert one's attention from the subject - the leaf. But the coloring effect takes care of that, I guess. BTW, can you think of some interesting caption for this pic?

This one was a very difficult shot. The problem is that when you point your camera at the moon and try to focus, it will simply refuse to obey your command. The moon would appear as a blurry blob. Just try it once for yourself. For that matter, getting the camera to focus on any source of light is a difficult proposition. I got this one by sheer luck :)

And ya, I can never stop clicking flowers on macro.. These damn things look beautiful any way, making our job easier ;)