Wreath of Barbs says:
i tell u i really enjoy these convos of ours!
abha says:
why
Wreath of Barbs says:
coz 'its different'
abha says:
oh ok
abha says:
u r wierd
Wreath of Barbs says:
thanks so r u
abha says:
im not
abha says:
im perfectly normal

Its confirmed now... another girl has said the words I love to hear!
No no not 'I love you' but 'u r weird'.

:D
Is this a good sign or a bad one? I am not sure.. but for some reason its made me really happy!

This sign (at the Wagha Border) makes me proud! Even though there is still a long way to go before we can call ourselves the largest and the BEST democracy in the world... I feel that we are well on our way. We only need to hold our nerves... and play it till the end.

Called by God...

I have just returned from Amritsar.
The city (very close to the Indo-Pak border) is famous for a couple of things.
1) The Golden Temple
2) Wagha Border gate (between India and Pakistan)
3) Jalianwalla Bagh

The Golden Temple is the holiest of all the Sikh shrines. Their holy book the Guru Granth Sahib resides here. After having been there and felt the atmosphere I can only say that God does indeed live within the Golden Temple. The first time I saw it through the arched entryway a line popped into my mind 'I present myself before thee O God'. I must have read it somewhere but for it to pop into my mind the very instant I saw the temple for the first time. For a second time did stand still and all was at peace. I felt like a sick child being comforted by his mother where in that instant all pain is forgotten and all weight lifted off your shoulders.

It is truly an amazing place and I suggest everyone should visit there atleast once in their lives. I for one plan to go again next year!

On a lighter note, people say that you only go to such holy places when you get the 'call of God' . For example if people make it to Vaishno Devi shrine they say that 'Vaishno Mata called us so we went' and if for some reason trip gets cancelled they say 'Mata did not call us this time'. I feel like reminding them that Gods dont run an outbound call center and such changes in programs are luck. No God can be that selfish to deny the devotees an audience. Although who knows the greater truth? Is there even a God? Maybe God does run a call center and the only problem is that the inbound lines are all jammed up.

Another thing thats amazing to see is the Wagha
Border gate between India and Pakistan. This is one of the few border crossing points between the two countries. Here in this pic you can see the Indian soldiers (Border Security Forces) with their backs to the camera and their Pakistani counterparts (Pakistan Rangers) in black facing the camera. The Pakistani flag can be seen on the other side.
Every day at sunset the ceremony of closing the border gates and lowering of the flag is carried out by both sides. It is a spectacle which attracts hundreds of people on both the sides.

Everyone with Varun (all dressed up for the wedding ceremony). 

My first time wearing a three piece suit. Im looking like a monkey wearing a dress and feeling even more uncomfortable in it. 

Me (right) with Varun on his engagement day. I dont like wearing formal clothes as you may or may not be able to make out. 

Another shot of the mountains from the plane (at 35,000 ft). 

Taken from a Boeing 777 on my way home. Somewhere over the Middle East. Its hard to believe that the plane was at cruising altitude (35,000 ft - typical). I had to use the full 12x optical zoom to capture the road going through the mountains. 

Warm Hearts on a Winters Day!

I used to think winter would be tough!
But right now I am feeling so warm and happy that I could be living in Siberia and yet enjoy it!

As the last month of the year dawns I think we should ALL feel lucky to be alive.
Whether we are feeling down or up, happy or sad, angry or calm lets just take a step back from it all and look at the past year and the good things it bought us. We should also not think about the bad things which happened rather reflect upon the lessons they taught us.
Next year will be amazing too. Another blank slate another set of seasons to go through. A dozen new beginnings and a dozen old endings. A thousand roads travelled and hundreds of stories exchanged. New people met and forgotten and then remembered again!

So people SMILE and be HAPPY TO BE ALIVE whether you are alone or surrounded by loved ones. Whether you walk back home through a freezing winter evening or drive back home in a warm and cozy car!

Remember a warm heart beats central heating hands down! :D

In fact I think there is a reason every year ends and begins (in the Northern Hemisphere) with winter. Winter reminds us about the end of good times and beginning of new ones. While we shiver at the first snowfall of winter we also think about the spring of next year!

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT TIME THIS DECEMBER WHATEVER THEY END UP DOING!

ROCKIN AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!

"Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree / Jingle Bell Rock"
Lyrics from: LINK
Rockin' around the Christmas tree
At the Christmas party hop
Mistletoe hung where you can see
Everybody tries to stop

Rockin' around the Christmas tree
Let the Christmas spirit ring
Later we'll have some pumpkin pie
And we'll do some caroling

You will get a sentimental feelin' when you hear
Voices singing let's be jolly
Deck the halls with boughs of holly

Rockin' around the Christmas tree
Have a happy holiday
Everyone's dancing merrily
In the new old fashioned way

You will get a sentimental feelin' when you hear
Voices singing let's be jolly
Deck the halls with boughs of holly

Rockin' around the Christmas tree
Have a happy holiday
Everyone's dancing merrily
In the new old fashioned way

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
Snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun
That's the jingle bell rock rock rock

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time
Dancin' and prancin' in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air

What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go gliding in a one-horse sleigh

Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and mingle in the jingle bell rate
That's the jingle bell rock

What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go gliding in a one-horse sleigh

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
Snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun
That's the jingle bell rock

Mix and mingle in the jingle bell rate
That's the jingle bell
That's the jingle bell
That's the jingle bell rock

It was snowing and I was waiting for the bus (no. 70) at UWE Frenchay Campus!

City of Bristol Museum from afar. The magic of optical zoom! 

Me and Amol at his convocation.28th November 2005 

The central chamber at Bristol Cathedral, UK 

Arches at the Bristol Cathedral, UK. 

A Winter Garden 

Snow in November! 

The Path behind the house...

The cycle path connecting UWE to Filton Avenue.

One of the songs I love the most!

Cowboys and Angels by George Micheal
Lyrics from: http://www.loglar.com/

When your heart's in someone else's hands
Monkey see and monkey do
Their wish is your command
You're not to blame
Everyone's the same

All you do is love and love is all you do
I should know by now, the way I fought for you
You're not to blame
Everyone's the same

I know you think that you're safe
Mister
Harmless deception
That keeps love at bay
It's the ones who resist that we most want to kiss
Wouldn't you say?
Cowboys and angels
They all have the time for you
Why should I imagine
That I'd be a find for you
Why should I imagine
That I'd have something to say
But that scar on your face
That beautiful face of yours
In your heart there's a trace
Of someone before

When your heart's in someone else's plans
Things you say and things you do
They don't understand
It's such a shame
Always ends the same

You can call it love but I don't think it's true
You should know by now
I'm not the boy for you
You're not to blame
Always ends the same

I know you think that you're safe
Sister
Harmless affection
That keeps things this way
It's the ones who persist for the sake of a kiss
Who will pay
Cowboys and angels
They all take a shine to you
Why should I imagine that I was designed for you
Why should I believe
That you would stay

But that scar on your face
That beautiful face of yours
Don't you think that I know
They've hurt you before

Take this man to your bed
Maybe his hands will help you forget
Please be stronger than your past
The future may still give you a chance

Lovely weather!

Its been foggy and VERY cold lately. Since it is winter time it also gets dark early. Here is a shot of Bristol at 5:10 pm (taken on 21st November 2005).

A Sign to home... and fellow travellers

Cardiff Bay and Center

Lake at Tredegar House, Wales

Happiness is a peg away!

Me.. happy?

Between Love and Alcohol...

Another night of getting smashed. Another SMS another empty promise another quest to go against the world.
Perhaps the hardest words I have heard are 'you deserve better'. They smash my heart into a thousand pieces. I just want to give up the fight. But something inside me lives on. It wants to fight on. It wants to lift its head above the waters that seek to drown it. It wants to rise in that final light... it wants to ascend!
But why!

Our dreams are our own... but how we behave is dictated by society. I just want to make sure that she knows how much I love her. Rest is all relative. Rest is not important. Rest is rubbish. My future is looking great. Why care about society. Why fight. Why take the tough road.
Why?

That is what I am about. Always out of phase. Always the outsider. Always the big question.

That is the truth between which I shall live and die.

Andromeda Galaxy (M 31)

The picture on the Top Left corner was taken by me on 18th November 2005 using my telescope. It shows the M31 spiral galaxy. Although it is difficult to make out in the normal and the sharpened (Bottom Right) images the moment we enhance contrast (Top Right) or obtain a binary threshold we get the elliptical shape of M31 seen at an angle.

It is the first picture I have ever taken of a deep sky object!

Land of the stupid, home of the insane..

Saturday the 19th of November 2005, 07:19 AM
It is -2 degrees centigrade outside (as can be seen from the frost on the ground!) and I am standing and posing in a thin t-shirt and jammies! All this frost and fog makes me come alive!
I must be insane or stupid or bit of both!

My cousin is DRUNK! Don't she look cute! It was her first night of getting smashed on vodka! Three cheers for her!

Moon!

Photos of the Moon taken from my 130mm Newtonian Reflector and Sony DSC-P100 camera on 17th November 2005. It was 0.0 degrees outside and when I came back inside I couldnt feel my hands. But it was all worth it! :)

Moonset at Dawn when Darkness comes at noon...

Taken at 6am on the 16th of November 2005. Bristol, UK.
Outside temperature: 7 degrees C.

deepak_scorp: bhai
deepak_scorp: wat is this
deepak_scorp: y r u buring yurslef
deepak_scorp: i bet yu r in love
XY: hahah did u not see the pics?
deepak_scorp: ya
XY: hahah and what did u think
XY: no im not in love
deepak_scorp: yu r crazy
deepak_scorp: 7 degree, and yu r out to take photographs

Moonset at Dawn when Darkness comes at noon...

Taken at 6am on the 16th of November 2005. Bristol, UK.
Outside temperature: 7 degrees C.

Burn out...

I am burning myself out.
Can't seem to be able to fall asleep.
People will ask me to get some help.
I will tell them I am all right.

I have not gained anything.
I have not lost anything.
There are times when I feel I will break.
But then I shrug off the blow and move on.

Nothing really changes.
I keep coming back to the same milestone.
Always alone.
Always happy.

Yet everything changes.
The milestones look the same yet they are different.
I always have someone.
I am always sad.

Roar!

I mean when you hear a lioness roaring down the phone line asking you whats on your mind the only thing you can think of is crawling under the nearest rock and waiting for the storm to pass.

Vapor Trails at Parkway

Taken at Parkway Station, Bristol, 15th November 2005.

Nobel Laureate Migrant Workers wanted!

The UK has a visa program for highly skilled migrant workers called the Highly Skilled Migrant Worker Program (HSMP).
It is a point based system and if you have more than 65 points then you qualify for it and you get a work permit (yay!). But according to the HSMP points counter at: http://www.workpermit.com/uk/hsmp_calculator.htm
the kind of migrant workers expected to apply are nothing short of geniuses in their field. Here is why.... below is the explination (and I quote!) of what 'Outstanding Achievement in your chosen field' means:

Examples of Outstanding achievements (25 points) - this is a category which applies only to very small numbers of internationally recognised individuals, and include people who have achieved the following:

• Receipt of a Nobel Prize
• Receipt of an Oscar, BAFTA, or Palm D'Or
• Receipt of a significant international prize such as the Booker prize
• Winning an Olympic medal
• Achievement of a major sporting world record
• Running a large publicly quoted company
• Election to the premiership (or, in some circumstances, cabinet or supreme court) of any democratic country or international organisation such as the UN, World Bank, IMF, Commonwealth
• Establishing a significant company - to prove that a privately held company is significant may require evidence beyond that included in publicly filed accounts
• Designing an internationally recognised building (such as the Sydney opera house, petronus towers, Guggenheim museum in Bilbao)

Damn a Nobel is worth only 25 points and ditto for winning an Olympic medal. Also I bet the designers of the Guggenheim museum or the Sydney Opera house would be kicking themselves for going through so much pain coz a PhD and three years of graduate level work experience would have given them the same number of points (I kid you not!).

For Lorena!

I append mentioned her till now in any of my posts. She is Lorena. I have known her now for the past 6-7 years now. She has often given me great advice and calmed me down when I needed calming. I think of her as my guardian angel and respect her a lot.
This one is for you! A small token of thanks for all the head picking and ass-kicking given to me by you through the years! :D

Dedicated to Insane Ann and the Crazy Grapefruit bunch.

It is 5:30 am out here (Bristol, UK) and its raining hard outside (whats new!). I am feeling exceptionally cozy sitting inside the house and watching cricket.
The title of this post represents the awe and wonder I feel for Insane Ann (i.e. Priya) and her bunch of friends. All of them are unique in their own way and I feel if they manage to channel their energies they can show this world a whole new brand of insanity.
I imagine these girls will do something great one day if they allow themselves to go forward in life.

About destiny...

Often we get a chance to turn our lives around.
We get asked a question and our answer holds the key to us accepting or rejecting the change.
Now people think that there are just two answers you can give: Yes/No. But they are wrong. They are thinking in binary. There is an entire unexplored universe of answers between Yes and No.
These answers we dont just communicate through our speech. These are communicated using all six senses.

Couple of days ago (on Monday to be exact) someone from India called me up to ask me a question. That one answer had the power to change my life completely. To turn it up side down or right side up (depending on your point of view!). It would have taken away years of anguish and depression. It would have made a new man of me. I would have seen the world in a totally different life.

But desert winds dont encourage the blooming of flowers.
Or maybe heart is a desert where I will not allow flowers to bloom.

Thus I answered as honestly as I could. The feeling of loss will never leave me and I shall forever remember the day I turned my back on the garden of eden to walk into the lonely desert.

The Seeker

The Seeker ... an unfinished poem by me :)

The earth will shake,
the skies will darken,
When I walk the roads,
all shall fall to ruin.

Hear me come,
hear me tear the world apart,
I travel through the night,
I come to claim your heart.

The mighty shall fall,
the weak shall rise,
The Seeker shall seek,
what the Others desire.

Through wind and rain,
with rage and an iron will,
wearing the cloak of loneliness,
He shall claim heath and hill.

When the terrors of his heart,
own the night road
and his deep desires
rule all that is good.

None shall stand in his way,
when he curses them away,
like a fury from hell,
He roars down the lonely way.

Dreams about school..

Another wet and cold sunday morning here in Bristol UK. I just got up for a cricket match. But my sleep was not untroubled. I had this strange dream.
I had been missing school for the last four months and I was wondering how I would go back. I was trying to think up an excuse for my absence. I had been off for more than three months and I was nervous as to what would happen when I return.
Strange as it sounds we all have nightmares about school. Why is that the case? Why this common fear of school?
I believe that formal education for some people can mean the killing of something which God has given them. I am talking about instinct and the ability to free-think (or think freely).
The problem is that as the modern society gets more materialistic people are having to work harder to earn more money. This means that sometimes they are spending less time with their kids. To educate their children there is need for an assembly line system of learning as provided for in a school.
In India the system takes a strange approach to educating a child. First we systematically take away any kind of individuality from a child. We do this by having an almost uniform education system for the first ten years in school. Thus this first stage is the stage of uniformization. The randomness is reduced in the population of kids and they are made to converge to the common target of the 10th Class board exams. Once the kids have proved (or failed to prove) themselves on this common platform they are allowed to 'diverge' into three different classes: Sciences/Commerce/Social Sciences.
The schools in New Delhi surprisingly discourage brilliance in Social Sciences and encourage it in Sciences. They do this by ensuring that the marks required for getting Sceince are the highest followed by those for Commerce and then finally comes the 'Social Sciences'.
Students who get great marks are 'encouraged' to take sceince. Science (at least when I was in school) was considered to be the elite subject and the Social Sciences classes were populated by the failures and the rejects.
It is also strange that for a country of one billion we give least importance to social sciences.

Arti says:
seems u miss teasing me lots
INDIA WINS!!!!!!!!!!!! says:
its easier for me to tease than love
Arti says:
u are WEIRD!!
INDIA WINS!!!!!!!!!!!! says:
thanks!

It is indeed easier for me to tease than love. :)

Let the sparks fly! Diwali '05 

Vapour trails from a rocket.. Bhuvans backyard..