Corruption has been an integral part of human nature. And the slightest opportunity to make a few quick bucks or extract a benefit or two by being ‘slightly corrupt’ is too tempting to be let gone away. In view of strict checks and balances including the accountability practices in the private sector and the strict stand against malpractices have kept corruption at a low in the private sector. However, absence of the above factors in the public sector has led to rampant corruption in the public sector to the brink that now Govt. officials simply do not bother about the consequences of their corruption.

And in order to put a check on that the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI) was introduced which enabled the citizens to question the Government officials, especially the Bureaucrats in order to ensure transparency and put a check on corruption. As it directly challenged the modus operandi of the corrupt bureaucrats and their easy money-making processes, there was a lot of opposition to the Act being passed and even after that, the bureaucrats kept shouting, “People are misusing RTI Act,” and stuff.

However, I wondered, RTI Act only enables truth to come out and how can someone misuse truth? But when I saw this news, my query was answered. In a nutshell the news is about how Municipal officers of Bangalore are threatening hotel owners that if they don’t pay up money than, they will answer to the RTI Application filed against their hotel license. And if they pay up money, they would give some nonsensical answer to the RTI Application.

Hats off to the bureaucrats – A tool designed to check corruption has been successfully converted into a legal tool of extortion by the corrupt Govt. officials. This is actually misuse of RTI Act and none other than by the bureaucrats.

Yesterday saw the completion of one week of something very substantial in my life. Living alone. Away from home. Yes, admitting at 25 the fact that you’ve never lived alone ever isn’t a flattering fact. Nevertheless, when you move out of the place you grew up in, you start missing a few things. Here it is for you guys to read and me to rant.

I learnt that communication is a weird thing when you don’t know the language. I am no linguist. I don’t pick up languages that easily. My dad, a Malayalee of the first order, whose weekend job list includes making me sit though an old Malayalam movie on Asianet, would stand testimony to this fact. In the 25 years that I’ve lived under the same roof with him, I have managed to pick up exactly 16 Malayalam words. And I can’t even pronounce them right. So when I walk up to someone to ask something, I don’t know which language to start talking in. As such I know only 3 languages – English, Hindi and my mother tongue, Tamil. I realised that I actually miss talking in Tamil. Yes, that was the first thing I missed.

Evenings are for catching up. And when you just move in, there is a lot that happens in your life. New job. New people. New experiences. New places. And all that jazz. But then, you realise that you don’t have anyone around to catch up with. Which is fucking sad. And the second thing I missed was my friends. What would I do without them, I used to ask myself. And I have the answer with me now – nothing.

Surprisingly, the next and the last thing I missed wasn’t home. Or home cooked food. Or parents. It was porn.

Deepika Padukone is one of the busy bee in Bollywood. After Om Shanti Om release she became one of the top heroine in Bollywood. Recently this girl went to USA on her well wishers marriage occasion. Before flying to USA she has spoken with reporters. She said that, this is the quality time which she got to spent her self.

After Love Aaj Kal her movies not released. She has her next release Karthik Calling Karthik in 2010 February only. In 2010 summer Housefull is going to hit the theaters. In this movie she is going to share screen with Akshay Kumar and Lara Dutta. Deepika has some other commitments also which are going to release in 2010.

I’ve been on a flight for the past fifteen hours, and as soon as I stepped out into the Bangalore airport, my first thought was – “I have arrived!”

I looked around at the people and saw only guinea pigs running inside an endless wheel, and felt more than pity for them. There are quite a few things I’m good at, and spending time pitying other people isn’t one of them. I moved on to collect my things, thanked the captain and the first officer for their patience, and climbed into the waiting limousine parked at the foot of the stairs. Private hangars are never hard to come by if you can dig deep enough into your wallet.

I think, perhaps, mine was the only limousine on the roads of this city yesterday. If you saw it, you probably got a glimpse of me too.

It’s been close to 18 months since I’ve been to Bangalore. Last time I was here, I had to leave suddenly due to certain events I’d rather forget but can’t. To come back to this place seems a bit foolish at first thought, but then, tying up loose ends is one of the things I’m good at. I have to do this, no two ways about it.

I am in Bangalore. I have arrived to make a difference in your lives, people. Watch out, and watch this space. Your lives are going to be changed in more ways than one.

          Exact date unknown..around feb-may 2008

     It was may or probably feb..i dont remember but it was the 1st “mini-marathon” i ever ran…in school the farthest i’ve run was about 400m and that was was insanely exhausting! The only thing that was on my mind was the 1st marathon runner who ran a hell lot of kms (maybe 100km or so) to deliver a message and died after delivering it out of exhaustion..well so i heard frm my 3rd std teacher..but the pretty new girl who had shifted to my school was there waiting with a bottle of glucose with a smile on her face..that was all i needed to 4get about dying!

         And now back to the “mini-marathon”. It was the sunfeast10k, the 1st of its kind in bangalore..and man was it huge! The turn-out was historical..that made me wonder about how quickly ppl have become health conscious over the years..television isnt an idiot box..or not completely an idiot box atleast. Well there i was waiting alongwith about a few thousand ppl for the 10k to start. The run started and the Gatorade in me was really psyching(picked up from one of my dopee friends) me out. But my cousin and her friend were there running lazily next to me…i was so frustrated and told them ill meet them at the loo and ran my arse of for about 4 kms non-stop(no exaggeration..gatorade works!). As you might have guessed i was really tired and these 6 pretty girls were holding glucose bottles and smiling and screaming -”hey cutie! you can do it! run! run!” not wanting the pretty smiles to fade(yeah im a sucker for smiling cute girls)..I grabbed the bottle smiling quickly and bounded off with all the energy i could muster…as soon as i turned the corner i started walking and drinking the glucose ..i couldnt help grinning to myself even though the glucose was pouring all over my face.

      Finally after running 59mins in the bloody hot sun..the run was over..was walking to collect my certificate and the goody bag when this insanely cute girls walking towards me…with a mic! But it was too late..ill tell you y in a while..anyway she was so fast tht i thought she actually ran! ive msged my friends a dozen times abt wat happened..here is the exact msg- “well..ill tell u the whole thing…2 of my other friends were there but i had no idea where! u can guess y..the lazy louts cant run for nuts…i just finished the marathon and was out of breath when this man comes over and asks if he could make a call..and i just gave the phone to him…hes busy talkin when i spot this reporter frm youngistaan with a cnn mic..she looks at our direction and starts walking over..my 1st thought was to scoot but i couldnt coz of this stupid man..then she comes over..camera rolling and asks “hey can i speak to u ppl”..the man says yes and then she asks me! “u look tired how did u find the run”…and some 3 more questions in a row! i just said something like im really tired and im in a hurry sorry..and RUN OFF hahahaha…the woman was gud lookin man..but u should have seen her expression..it was priceless! Hw many times do u c a reporter being snubbed on live tv! “

   A few mins later i went to collect my certificate and my friends older bro calls up and says DUDE i saw u on tv!

How I’ve longed to say these 3 words (No No … “Back to Civilization”). After a short ‘n sweet six month stint in Bangalore, I was combo packed with my life … and sanity and chucked to Ludhiana. Oh Wait. I did have a nice – royal one month sojourne’ in Jaipur and Jodhpur.

Anyhow, what began then was … Shit I’m so troubled by the mere recollection of the story that the words just scamper away from the mind.

No point really in dwelling in the past. As I’ve already said, I’m just glad to be back to Civilization. Back to long, irritating traffic jams. Back to bad road sense and driving manners. Minimal Powercuts. 5 day weeks (Awwright !). ‘Co-ed’ Parties . Impossible to solve parking problems. Marriage parties bang in the middle of the road. Chicks . English Movies ! Hard Rock Cafe`. Delhi Winters. GK M Block market. Khan Market. Big Chill. (I could just go on and on and on…)

Also, (hopefully) back to blogging as well with Suds 4.0 !

Bitch!! If you set me up, I’ll hunt you down and kill you.

Dirty linen was pulled out at Bangalore University, where controversy is nothing new. But Tuesday’s developments were perhaps the ugliest, which involved the decision-makers of a university that has a student population of over seven lakh.

While vice-chancellor Dr N Prabhu Dev refused to allow the newly-appointed registrars — M G Krishnan and M S Talwar — to assume office on Monday, insisting on official communication from the CM’s office, the latter said they were armed with the government order (GO) from the higher education department.

That’s where all the confusion began. The professor of the department of rural development at BU told `The Times of India’ that students were upset that the V-C did not allow the registrars to join.

“The protest began around 10.30 am and continued for three-and-half hours. Students, teachers, non-teaching staff — all participated in the protest. There was no compulsion on anyone to participate. We wanted the vice-chancellor to respect the GO and appoint the registrars,” he said.

“We have given the university three days to solve the issue amicably, failing which the protest will continue indefinitely. It is the image of the university that is affected,” he said.

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A & N Chai Coffee Pvt Ltd
MESSRS Ernst Young
Rmz Infinity
Old Madras Road
Bangalore – 560008

A & N Chai Coffee Pvt Ltd
MESSRS Juniper Networks
Embassy Building
Behind Bagmani Techy Park
C V Raman Nagar
Bangalore – 560093

American Hot N Sweet Corn
# 160, Masjid Rd
Opp Jagath Mansion Apartments
Kodihalli
Bangalore – 560008

Ammas Pastries
No 1, C.M Complex
80 ft Road,
Next to Uttamsagar
Subbaihana palya
Banaswadi Bangalore – 560032

Amma’s Pastries
No 1, C.B.I Main Road,
Vasantappa Block Ganganagar
R.T Nagar Bangalore – 560032

Amma’s Pastries
No – NG 15
Manipal Centre M.G.Road
Dickenson Road
Bangalore – 560032

Amma’s Pastries
No 201, HBR 2nd Block
2nd Cross, Hennur Road,
Near Chandirka Soap Factory
HBR Layout
Bangalore – 560032

Amma’s Pastries
No 14 & 15
BDA Complex
Bangalore – 560032

Archies Chocolates Shopee
# 26, Commercial Street
Bangalore – 560001

Bake N Cake
No-466, Opp BMTC Depot
80 Feet Road
Koramangala
Bangalore – 560095

Bake N Cake
Shop No-19
H.S.R. Layout
BDA Complex
Bangalore – 560034

Bake N Cake
No-1, Old Madras Road
Vinayaka Layout
K.K. Puram
Bangalore – 560036

Beverage Polynation Food Court
Citymax Hospitality
Oasis Centre,
4th Flr Bangalore – 560037

Butter Sponge
127A, 8th Main Road
J.P.Nagar, 3 Phase
Bangalore – 560078

Cocoa Diva
36, III Cross
Palm Springs
G S Layout
Off Kanakapura M N Road
Gubbalali
Bangalore – 560062

Daily Bread
43, 4th B Cross
5th Block
Koramangala Industrial Area
Bangalore – 560095

Daily Bread
Embassy Gold Link
Ground Floor
Pyramid Food Court
Inner Ring Road
Bangalore – 560095

Daily Bread
The Forum,
29 Ground Floor
Koramangala
Bangalore – 560095

Daily Bread
No-901, 7th Main
4th Cross
HAL 2nd Stage
Opp 100 FT Road
Bangalore – 560095

Daily Bread
Near Ulsoor Lake
Bangalore – 560095

Daily Bread
NO-43, 4th B Cross
5th Block
Koramangala Industrial Area
Bangalore – 560095

Daily Bread
No-56, 2nd Main Road
12th Cross
Vyalikaval
Bangalore – 560095

Daily Bread
No-1355,
15th Cross
3rd Stage
JP Nagar
Bangalore – 560095

Daily Bread
No-3117, 5th Block
39th C Cross
9th Main Road
Jayanagar Extention
Bangalore – 560095

Daily Bread
Upper Ground Floor, 12
Old No-23F
Robertson Road
Off Mosque Road
Opp FAB Mall,
Bangalore – 560095

Daily Bread
RMZ Infinity, NGF
Opp Shell Petrol Big Bazer
Old Madras Road
Bangalore – 560095

Daily Bread
No-402, 4th Block
5th Main, HRBR Layout
2nd Block, Kammanhalli
Bangalore – 560095

Divine Foods
Sham Singh Complex
1st Flr, No. 53 & 54,57
Basavanagudi
Bangalore – 560004

Fire Works Polynation Food Court
Citymax Hospitality
Oasis Centre
4th Flr
Bangalore – 560037

Gloria Jean Coffee
Polynation Food Court
Citymax Hospitality
Oasis Centre,
4th Flr Bangalore – 560037

Iyengars Bakery
No-849, 13th Main
A Block Sakar Nagar
Bangalore – 560092

Iyengars Bakery
No-9, KHM Block
Ganganagar
Bangalore – 560032

Iyengar’s Bakery
9066, 6th Block
80feet Road
Bangalore – 560095

K. A. Nassir Jaya Bakers & Fast Food
223, Hospital Road
Near Shivajinagar Bus Stand
Bangalore – 560001

Kanti’s
# 70, 1st Cross
Main Road
Bangalore – 560025

Karahs Bakers
740, B Block
BDA Flats, MIG
Domlur 2nd Stage
Bangalore – 560071

Land Of Cakes
Kagdaspura Main Road
Bangalore – 560037

M.P. Bakery
14th Cross, 4th Main
Chinnayana Palya
Bangalore – 560027

Madras Curry House
Polynation Food Court
Citymax Hospitality
Oasis Centre
4th Flr
Bangalore – 560037

Milan Bakes & Juices
No 154, 16th Main
7th Cross
Bangalore – 560076

Munchies
1-A, Albert Street
Bangalore – 560025

N & N The Cake Shop
No. 1, P & T Colony
R. T. Nagar Main Road
80 Feet Road
Bangalore – 560032

New Indian Bakery
Shop No.8
HAL Market Builiding
Bangalore – 560017

Ooty Chocolates
NO-20, Mosque Road
Frazer Town
Bangalore – 560005

Ooty Chocolates
No-3137A, 7th Main H A L
2nd Stage
Indiranagar
Near ESI Hospital
Bangalore – 560008

Ooty Chocolates
No-2, 4th Block
8th Main
100 Feet Road
Koramangala
Bangalore – 560034

Papdiwala
#15, Bull Temple Road
Near Ramakrishna Ashram
Bangalore – 560004

Pathankot
Ecospace
Bellandur Village
Varthur Hobli
Bangalore – 560037

Poly Nation
Polynation Food Court
Citymax Hospitality India Pvt Ltd
Oasis Centre, 4th Flr
Bangalore – 560037

Preethi Bakery & Sweets
No 787, 4Th Cross
16th Main Road
BTM Layout
2nd Stage
Bangalore – 560076

Ruchi Rich
No. 69 MICO Layout
7th Main BTM Layout
Bangalore – 560076

Sanskriti Polynation Food Court
Citymax Hospitality
Oasis Centre
4th Flr
Bangalore – 460037

Seven To Eleven (The Cake Shop)
#23, Nehru Nagar Main Road
Bangalore – 560020

Shastrin Bakery and Sweets
No-7142, 12th Cross
7th Block
K. R. Road
Jayanagar
Bangalore – 560082

Shastrins Bakery and Sweets
No-683B
46th Cross
8th Block
Jayanagar
Bangalore – 560082

Shastrins Bakery and Sweets
No-803, 12th Cross
27th Main
1st Sector
HSR Layout
Bangalore – 560034

St, Anthony’s Bakkery
St. Anthony’s Bakery Rajanna Colony
Basava Nagar Main Road
Basava Nagar
Bangalore – 560037

Stop N Joy
NO 55,3rd Cross
Kaveri Layout
Thavarekere Main Road
Bangalore – 560029

Surya Bakery
No- 45
Mission Road
Bangalore – 560027

Swee & Spice
Opp. Tata Sherwood
Basavanagar
Bangalore – 560037

Sweet Chariot Café
Residency Road
Bangalore – 560025

Sweet Chariot Café
No 3940
2nd Phase
Bangalore – 560100

Sweet Chariot Café
No. 301
Pristage Center Point
Cunningham Road
Bangalore – 560052

Sweet Chariot Café
Surya Park HP Invent
Bangalore – 560095

Tasty Bytes
Vignannagar Main Road
OPP. Adarsh Vista
Bangalore – 560075

The Higher Taste
6th Floor
Phase 3
Mind Tree
Global Tech Village
RVEC Post, Bangalore

The Orange
# 757
Behind Syndicate Bank
4th Cross
Konenagrahara
Bangalore – 560017

The Yellow Chilli Express
Polynation Food Court
Citymax Hospitality
Oasis Centre, 4th Flr
Bangalore – 560037

Trim Polynation Food Court
Citymax Hospitality
Oasis Centre
4th Flr
Bangalore – 560037

Venus Bake Point
No. 5, Lakshmi Complex
Wind Tunnel Road
Airport Road,
Bangalore – 560017

Venus Bake Point
Wind Tunnel Rd
Off Airport Rd
Bangalore – 560017

Venus Bake Point
No. 351, Aswath Nagar
Varathur Main Road
Bangalore – 560037

Yang Tse Polynation Food Court
Citymax Hospitality
Oasis Centre
4th Flr
Bangalore – 560037

Indian Glamor Pictures The pictures are rocking.

It started out with catching up with Rashmi for coffee. Maybe, she thought I was trying to pin her down for a wine list. But I was bored and had nothing else to do after dropping off clothes at the dry cleaners’.

So when I met her she asked me if I was in a hurry to go back. Nope – all yours, but why? There is an amazing place to check out nearby – I didn’t get the name, but I did hear fudge, icecream and factory. Yumm. And Rashmi’s sis Sani wants to check it out too. By the time we leave Sani’s in-laws’ place, there are 5 of us – one of which is a toddler 1 week shy of turning one (Sani’s daughter Clarissa)! Sani’s sis-in-law makes up the 5th girl in the group.

We reach the shop that goes by the name ‘Cream and Fudge Factory’. The walls are covered by pictures of icecreams that instantly made my mouth water. We finally settle on three different varieties: Black Forest in a chocolate dip wafer lined cup, Mocha in a plain cup and a strawberry truffle heaven in a plain wafer lined cup.

When the icecream arrived, I was disappointed to see that the strawberry heaven didn’t resemble the picture in any way. There were no whole strawberry – instead strawberry sauce. No cherries in the Black Forest either – just more of strawberry sauce.

But the look of unadulterated joy on Clarissa’s face with each spoonful of icecream more than made up for it. With her minimal front teeth (about six), she chewed on the wafer. Her lips are covered in chocolate but she dabs it clean with her tissue. She jumped up and down on the sofa with glee. We never realized that more than one hour had passed.

Reluctantly, I say goodbye and part.

With 3 of my 5 exams over, the semester approaches a close. As of January, I should be moving to Bangalore. Thus begins the entire affair of finding accommodation and planning the next 6 months of my life…

My sister is (annoyingly) assertive over my not staying alone [frankly, I don't know whether a 1 BHK would be affordable, and how much freedom I would be accorded if I opted for a PG accommodation instead] and insists that I move into an extra bedroom that her boyfriend’s friend has in his new rental. I don’t mind the idea of living in a flat and having my own bedroom, but the thought of sharing it with 1 person I only vaguely know and another who I’ve never met, isn’t appealing.
Since no close friend seems to be moving to Bangalore, and since I’ve picked up an off-campus offer (and thus don’t have anyone else from college joining that company), finding a flatmate would be hard. It wouldn’t have been so if I were taking my Chennai offer instead, but as that is in Chennai, but since I’m not, well…

Meanwhile, a flood of other questions come to mind. What will I be doing with my spare time? I’d initially planned that once I left college, I’d join a gym, try and find a nice theatre group to audition for, look for some decent latin dance classes and, what now takes priority, pick up French classes.
Now I’m beginning to wonder how much free time I’m going to end up having, to meet all my aspirations in 6 months…

This guy sells newspapers (his shop reads Times of India) but uses the tree trunk to advertise the magazines as well: Vogue, Femina, The Man, Cosmopolitan, Outlook Money, etc. Click on pics to see the actual size.

TOI Vendor

These two roosters were crowing in the morning while I walked in the park adjacent to their home. Do you think the owner is into rooster fighting? The only other place I see chickens are at the poultry stall in the market, and they are the broiler variety.

The Two Roosters

Check out this guy at the bus stop, all decked up.

The school-goer

A very proud bird this – probably watching his mates or on the lookout for a prey. For those who can’t make it out, it was the eagle. The cell cam didn’t do justice to the pride of that bird atop the building.

A Proud Bird

Krishi Mela a hit with farmers

The Biotechnology Department of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, has taken up a research project to increase the shelf life of tomatoes. The project has started showing positive results. According to university officials, the research on the new tomato variety with a shelf life of 30 to 40 days is expected to be completed in about two years. The counting of shelf life duration begins after the fruit ripens.

A brief mention about this research project has been made at a stall put up by the BT Department in Krishi Mela-2009 which is on at the UAS, Bangalore, campus. The university officials said such a project would not only reduce inconvenience for consumers, but also help farmers as well as the country by reducing post-harvest losses in tomato crop. While post-harvest losses are more in perishable commodities like vegetables, the losses are particularly of higher level in tomato crop.

Meanwhile, the four-day Krishi Mela which is under way in the UAS is becoming a hit with farmers as a large number of them are visiting it. Farmers had come from distant places such as Dakshina Kannada to update their knowledge on recent crop varieties and innovative practices.

Such was the crowd at the mela on the second day (Friday) that it was difficult to move freely. But nobody was complaining as everyone was busy visiting stalls or having counselling session with agricultural experts.

The saplings of gum-less variety of jackfruit were in great demand at the mela from farmers.

These plants had been displayed at a stall put by the Bio-Resources Complex Project, a pilot project of the Union Biotechnology Department, which is being implemented by the UAS-B with a mandate to increase the incomes of farmers. The stall has sold about 1,000 gum-free varieties of jackfruit plants on the first day of the mela. The gum content is said to be lesser by about 80 per cent in this variety when compared with normal jackfruit variety.

The animal husbandry and poultry section which had displayed different varieties of sheep and goat weighing more than 100 kg and varieties of poultry birds including emu were also centre of attraction

Disclaimer: I write for Thermal And A Quarter. But despite my own leanings, I cannot take seriously any article on the Indian rock music scene that dwells in the era of imitative cover performances, or performances of so-called originals that are so totally “inspired” by popular covers that they are no different from them at all. That stuff is so ten years ago. Maybe twenty. Without any vintage value whatsoever.

The “fascinating article” (by Arjun S Ravi on MTV Iggy) that Cicatrix speaks of in Sepia Mutiny reads like ‘The Best of RSJ (1992-1999), with Notable Exceptions’. It’s all been documented before with elan and sincerity by Amit Saigal. Today, it’s dated. Because it casually ignores a significant slice of Indian rock history — the independent music scene in Bangalore, which was where the really surprising stuff started to emerge from the mothballed closet in the late 1990s. In businesspeak, this era was when Indian rock music sought to “differentiate” itself. Not through marketing strategy (a la Parikrama et al which still have nothing to offer the discerning music fan) but through inventiveness, performance and startling creative energy. Ergo, I am not sure if Ravi’s omission stems from ignorance (which is unforgivable) or from personal bias (which is charlatan).

Thermal And A Quarter, as those who know their Indian indie scene know, began this revolution by playing entire three-hour sets comprising only originals — as early as 1999. No Indian band, repeat, no Indian band (save some in that fantastic cultural pocket — the Northeast) was doing that then. One other band that did it explosively — and I was witness to their memorable show at Madras Christian College’s Deep Woods in 1996 — was (then not-yet-Mumbai’s) Chakraview (with Dhruv Ghanekar on some serious gizmo-led guitar).

Perhaps Ravi also might want to remember that Laila Rouass-starring black-and-white music video, Colourblind, by the Mumbai band of the same name (the duo of Ram Sampath and Siddharth Achrekar). It was a brilliant new statement (very indie) and added a dimension to Indian rock that did not hitherto exist (or last). Sampath (now a composer for films and famous for his copyright victory over the Roshans for copying the music of Krazzy 4) told me off the record when I interviewed him (about Ram Madhvani’s Let’s Talk for Rediff.com in December 2002) that Colourblind “had not been viable”.

Viability has always been the gradient against which Indian indie rock has laboured. Indus Creed, after showing us the light, disappointed us by disbanding and resurfacing again as Alms for Shanti, with an eponymous album that was released both in English and Hindi (Kashmakash, Free Spirit, 2001). Alms for Shanti, with a name that sounded like it had been coined by an armchair Indologist at the University of Hawaii, plays the club circuit in New York where they have established themselves as export-reject exotics. Although singer Uday Benegal cribbed about the sleaze in the music industry as an aside during an interview with Rediff.com in 2002, he also told me this: “We went West because we were disillusioned with the East. Because the music we were doing at that time had absolutely no place here. Not that we were seeking salvation in the West. We wanted to go ahead with the music we make and look for the audience in the West.”

That’s one way to go, but if you know the audience to be here you have to be loyal to it. It must be remembered that around the same time that Alms for Shanti announced their album to a crowd of wine-sipping and tikka-nibbling celebs at a swank Tardeo lounge bar, a lot of bands that had been either influenced by TAAQ or shared the same struggle emerged from Bangalore — Kryptos, Myndsnare, Galeej Gurus, Zebediah Plush… And I am not even talking in any detail about the metal scene (which, being loud enough as it is, deserves an altogether different celebratory writeup amid a full-flowing headbangathon at Styx).

That TAAQ (still an unsigned band) was not from Bollywood-besotted Mumbai or Hindi-mein-gao-yaar Delhi or still-smoking-the-Sixties Kolkata was really what went against them when they started. Or the fact that their music was a leap year ahead of the public imagination — I mean, how many Benadryl-swillers orgasming in the moshpit had actually heard of (let alone heard) Steely Dan and Pat Metheny, or even imagined that they could influence an Indian band’s sound? The few critics of this counterculture — jealous jilted lovers of it mostly — judged the music by a myopic yardstick: the done-to-death genres of metal and dinosaur rock.

With Jupiter Cafe (2002), TAAQ’s second album, Bangalore shot into the limelight. It continued with Plan B (2004), the first album from India to be distributed with a custom Creative Commons-like license. These, inarguably, were milestones in Indian rock. Indie media (Indiecision, Split, RadioVerve… hell, even the un-indie Rolling Stone) acknowledged and celebrated them. MTV, which has always fed off the now happily moribund record industry (recently resuscitated by MJ’s passing) and now mooches off Bollywood to survive in the subcontinent, has no authority to comment on the indie scene. In the two fitful decades of Indian rock, MTV has neither recognised nor supported the indie movement. And to pay lip service to it now, with a limp biscuit such as this, is both embarrassing and shameful.

As the man who named his daughter Moon Unit said: “In the fight between you and the world, back the world.”

Part of this rant was originally posted as a comment on the muchly admired Sepia Mutiny

Photo: TAAQ from the back by SlickThief

Earlier this week, the leading Indian financial newspaper (The Economic Times) scooped a story about our most recent investment: Fidelity’s  India focused PE funds led Series B financing of Manthan Systems. The official press release is a more reliable  source; the  scoop is speculative on many counts as is almost always the case with deal related reporting and more so in India.

Manthan is a rare Indian IT/ITeS business (to borrow from investor taxonomy) .

• It sells critical enterprise software to retailers, a product that addresses the business analytics needs to boost revenues, reduce costs and improve margins.  BI has been top-of-mind for CIOs across verticals for a few years now and especially in retail.
• The ARC platform is sold worldwide and is in use on every continent by brand name companies. Only a handful of Indian companies have delivered enterprise software solutions to the global markets competing with the behemoths (Oracle, SAP, IBM, etc.)  at price points comparable to theirs.
• The company develops enterprise software products driven by real innovation; the DNA of the Bangalore (and India) tech machine is well endowed with service delivery talent but limited product development skills.  Manthan breaks out of the mould.
• The business is built on world-class  processes for product management, marketing, sales, channel development and customer support – and it does these better than most startups at scale in Silicon Valley or Boston.  It has to, to thrive as a global business!

Fueling this ship is the energy of Atul Jalan, who checks off all the boxes that investors would look for in an entrepreneur CEO.  More importantly, he is one of the most interesting humans I have met in a while.  It is not unusual for him to quote an obscure classical French poet, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and an original composition in flawless Hindi – all within a minute of each other.  His choice of name for the company is indicative of his depth and as he explains it (quoting from his website)

In Indian mythology, ‘manthan’ is a metaphor for the eternal quest for excellence. It derives from a mythical tale where the gods and the demons churn the oceans seeking nectar. While the nectar symbolizes excellence, what precedes it, is equally important. And that’s the quest, the churning – ‘manthan’.

We are  looking forward to watching Atul and the great team he has built around him shepherd the company through the next phase of growth.

Detailed description:-
Designation level: – software engineer, Senior Software Engineer
Experience level: – 4-6yrs
Must have skill sets: – Core java, J2EE Development, Web portal development

Location: – Bangalore

1. Good Coding skills in core Java

2. Strong in Basic & Advance concepts

3. Strong in communication both verbal and written

4. Good Analytical Skills

5. Have excellent hands on experience on Core JavaTechnologies

6. Expertise in JAVA  technologies.

Candidates interested in this position. Please walk in with your updated resume. At the Venue mentioned below. And also pass on this requirement to your known one’s who has the same skills

Note:- Don’t apply for this job walk- in directly with your resume to the venue mentioned below or call me at #416906000 (6013)

Timings: – 9.30 AM to 3PM
Saturday, 21st, November, 2009

HCL Technologies Ltd
The Senate
#33A,
Ulsoor Road,
BANGALORE-560042.

Benipal Technologies
Location: Bangalore
Experience: 4-6 Years
Education: Graduates, MCA, M.Sc
Skills: JAVA J2EE, XML, STRUTS, HIBERNATE, SOAP,
WALK IN INTERVIEWS ON SATURDAY, NOV 21 from 12pm – 5 pm and SUNDAY, NOV 22 from 12 pm – 5 pm.

DESIRED CANDIDATE PROFILE:

Must have a Bachelors degree with any specialization. Preference will be given to M.Sc and MCA degrees. Excellent spoken engish is an absolute must with good presentation skills.

Ability to perform under pressure will be a critical factor.

Contact Details:

Benipal Technologies

28 5th Block 4th B Cross Koramangala Industrial Layout Bangalore, India 560095

Tel: 080-3026-8000

Filling the blanks

Rahul George is into theatre and uses it not only as a tool for personality-building, but also for education. You are surprised when he walks in as he looks more like an executive, than an artiste. “Well, I actually am a blend of both,” he says as he takes his seat.

“You know I started off as an advertising guy. Worked in Mumbai before making Bangalore my home. Continued working but always felt that there was a vacuum,” says this MBA graduate. Then he quit his job, just took “time to realise what I actually wanted to do. That’s when I started meeting people from various walks of life and took to theatre for I always had a passion for it. You know, given a choice, I would have taken to theatre as a vocation in the beginning itself.”

As he got involved in theatre, he discovered that he liked being with people and working with them. “I also realised that people opened up a lot and took very easily to me. And I started counselling them too.”

So to be able to help better, he did a counselling course with Ali Khwaja in 2003. “I did this just to pursue my interest in psychology. It was an extension of my interest in the subject. I could never see myself doing a chalk and talk method. I realised that a combination of theatre and counselling worked wonders for people.”

So he went on to do intensive research on applied theatre and also studied theatre in education at Christ University before starting his own group called Join the Dots.

“The name intrigued me. It is inspired from the games in puzzle books, where you join the dots and the picture becomes clear. It is the same when we work and get people to connect the dots. Things become clear. Most people know the answers themselves,” he observes.

As he was not looking at a typical curriculum, he started reaching out to schools, colleges and corporates and designing workshops for them. His wife, Meenakshi, a teacher, also helps him in his work. And together they have designed various workshops where they have used theatre to teach subjects like history and civics.

“We were called by schools at the point of revision. We took their syllabus and using theatre we elicited dialogues and poetry from the children themselves. We worked for one-and-a half hours with them for 10 days. It refreshed their memory, gave them a fresh understanding of their lessons and also equipped them with a memory hook to write their examinations,” recalls Rahul.

If any establishment wants him to devise a programme for them, he is willing to do it, and adds: “My aim is to train teachers so that they can incorporate theatre in their own individualistic styles into their syllabus.” He says that it is possible to use theatre to even teach subjects like physics!

Besides educational programmes he also conducts regular theatre workshops in Cubbon Park and at the Time Foundation Nalanda. The former is held every Saturday at 2.30 p.m. and is open for those aged between 14 to 65. “It is a paid membership, where the basics of a performance are taught. One is equipped with the various skills s/he needs before going on stage. This is a weekend class and is for those who want to be involved in theatre but lack the time. After every workshop we perform at the Nani Arena. In a year I conduct three to four workshops.”

He does not choose themes with a social message but works with people to overcome their inhibitions and inner conflicts. “The other workshop, at Nalanda, is solely for personal use and development. The classes are also structured in such a way that it helps you understand the self, emotions, dealing with certain fears. This one offers people the space and the time to talk about their conflicts and also confront them. It is amazing how honest people are and how these workshops have helped them. We have had people coming in to us on the verge of quitting a job or a marriage, but have worked it out through these various theatre exercises.”

Theatre is an effective tool that helps build relationships at home or at work, he believes. “Theatre is a tool. It creates an emotion of trust, it can build new ideas, and also creates a sense of acceptance. I have only used it as a facilitating tool. The environment is light and fun. Theatre is an experience where people are able to take back their experience to their life.”

Rahul also organizes couples’ workshops, where he devices exercises to get the couple to connect with each other. “Once things are out in the open they are able to hear different perspectives. This enhances their understanding of the simplicity of the situation. Most of the time the problem just looks big. A simple lesson is that there is more to life than just picking at each other.”

Rahul George can be contacted on 9845014330 or rahul@jointhedots.in

Until recently, I thought of certain word/words in a certain way. Now they have an altogether different meaning:

Cleansing lotion

Old: used to remove makeup, grease, etc from face

New: something I should use as a substitute of soap for the next one month (it’s medicated 8-))

Doctor

O: A nice guy you could tell your ailments as well as your life history to

N: An evil moneymaking fellow whose assistant is inefficient not to jot down your changed appointment in the first place, but has the gall to tell he’s had a long day after spending 30 secs with you – while you’ve been waiting in the clinic for more than an hour after a very long day yourself.

Powercut

O: A feature from the electricity board/dept if you didn’t pay your bills on time or due to a power shortage in the state

N: A feature that can affect only your house just because the connection from the post to the house which had become loose over a period, was permanently loosened by the frigging people drawing a new connection from the same post!

While the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike  picked up stray dogs after cases of dogs mauled children, many people plead to the BBMP to spare the stray dogs they love. While one lady threatened to commit suicide if her dogs were picked up, others asked the government to first kill Noida child killer Mohninder Singh, before killing the dogs.

Though the dog catching squad feel sad for the dog lovers, they act stone-hearted. V Shivakumar who accompanied the dog catching squad met a young lady in Jayanagar 9^th block who was weeping and pleading to the squad asking them not to take away the dogs in her street. “My heart moved at the sight. But we had to take the dogs away,” he said

Netravathi, a domestic help in JP Nagar has 30 stray dogs as her pets, and has been staying awake since three nights just to protect her dogs. “If they pick up even one of my dogs, my daughter and I will commit suicide before Vidhana Soudha. We have nobody else, other than these dogs.” She has got the dogs sterilized and also vaccinated. “Whenever the dog catching squad takes my dogs, I give Rs 100 to the driver so that the dog is returned after strilisation. I give another Rs 100 when they return the dogs.” She argues that the government should first kill the kidnappers and murderers and then question the dogs. “Let them remove their teeth, but not kill them.”

75-year old H Suryanarayanan and his 70-year old wife Jayamma have eight mongrels to give them company at their house in Jayanagar Two among them, Julie and Moni even sleep with the couple in their bedroom. From the time Suryanarayanan heard of the dog catching drive, he has been calling all the helplines and the BMP to stop the drive. “He has even been weeping on the thought of losing the pets,” said Jayamma. The couple feed milk, bread, rusk, rice and pedas everyday. “They eat only Iyengar bakery bread, and they love pedas. I get one and a half kg koya every week and make pedas for them,” said Suryanarayanan. They also take the dogs for treatment if they fall sick. The couple feels that innocent dogs should not be killed because of one incident. “Humans forget the love given to them, but dogs don’t.” Whenever the dog squad comes to catch the dogs for vaccination, he bribes them so that they leave back the dogs in the same place.

Idris Khan, the managing director of K K Color Accurates Limited takes care of four mongrels in Kanakapura road. “Humans have to understand that dog is also created by God. It is less intelligent and so we have to take care of them, just the way we take care of our children whose intelligent is lesser than that of adults.” He too condemns the catching the dogs. “These dogs are sterilized and vaccinated, then why do they want to catch them again?” he asks.

Nayi Raja (Dog King) Ramakrishna takes care of 27 stray dogs in Basavanagudi. He says that he will beat up the dog catching squad, if is comes in his area. “We humans are acting worse then dogs, by killing them. BMP says it will only kill ferocious dogs, but how do they say that the dog is ferocious?” he asks. He feels that dogs are not actually a problem, but that is all media-hype. “The sterilization of dogs is going on well. After sometime, there will be no problem at all. But killing dogs is condemnable.”

Savitha Nagbhushan, a wild life photographer pets four dogs in her street in Jayanagar. She feeds them eggs and rice also gives them medication. As a part of her photography assignments, she had seen dogs being electrocuted and killed, five years ago. “They used to be put in a page and given an electric shock of 400 volts. Now, other measures are used, but we should not resort to killing them. Let them be sterilized,” she said.