Among all the varieties of the reality shows being on hosted on different channels, I am enjoying watching "Nach Baliye" on Star One. This is actually a dance competition among 10 TV- celebrity couples. Each week, a couple gets eliminated. They have to enact different themes every week. The show is quite creative, I must say. And there is a common factor in all the couples: there is one non-dancer. And the other partner ( that is the dancer) inspires the non-dancer to perform. So each couple is performing better and better every week. Of course, lot of credit should go to the choreographers. On the whole, I think this show is a complete package.

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I can already see people getting into festive mood :-) Deepavali- festival of lights. I hope this festival will bring peace and joy to all including those who have suffered due to heavy rains.

Wishing all of you a very happy and prosperous Deepavali.:-)

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If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like old faithful. I have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting.
— Ray Bradbury

So very true.:-))))

My friend's mom passed away day before yesterday. Though I never got a chance to meet her mom, I knew that she was a very great human being. May God give my friend the courage. May her mom's soul rest in peace.

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I have never seen such heavy rains in Bangalore. Yesterday we are stuck at Hosur Road. It was so flooded and our car was almost sailing like a boat. It could be clearly seen that Bangalore was not prepared for heavy rains at all. Anyways I hope that these rains were of good help to our farmer friends.

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Yesterday we had been to a grapes' farm that belongs to a friend. By profession, he is a software engineer. But he is very interested in farming too. So he purchased a land and started cultivating grapes. And I must say that he has been very successful at it. It is truly heartening to see the educated youth venturing into agriculture. Also, we were very inspired when we got to know that he goes to his school in his village during the weekends and conducts computer classes for the kids. Man, don't we require more and more idealistic, dedicated people like him?

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I love listening to people. I love listening to them speaking about anything (no gossip, plz) and everything under the sky. And I really learn a lot by listening. I feel that I know so little when I hear people talk about the miniscule details of various fields. Wow! I feel really happy listening to them and learn new things from them. As I mentioned in my earlier post, every person that I talk to becomes my teacher.:-)

This weekend was very relaxing. Caught up with a movie. Went to Bannerghatta national park. Had gone for a safari and saw tigers and lions. Tiger- such a majestic animal- made me wonder about why lion is called the king of the jungle.:-) Saw snakes, cheetah, rabbits, crocodiles and so on. I felt good and also felt that it was much better visiting such places rather than flocking the same shopping malls every time (sighhhh...I hate shopping malls).

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Auto drivers rule Bangalore city. Ok, so if you want to catch an auto, then you need to perform the following steps:

1) Politely ask the driver about where does he wanna go. Then match your requirement with his destination. If yes, then proceed to step 2. Else, repeat this first step with another auto driver.

2) Never question the driver about the route. Just sit tight lipped and be a silent observer.

3) Enjoy the loud music if being played.

4) Meanwhile, enjoy the roller coaster ride. Aren't you lucky- you dont have to got to the amusement parks anymore for these rides?

5) Never look at the fare meters, especially if you are weak hearted.

6) Finally when you reach the destination, pay and never look back. What did you say? You want the change- Nahhhhhh, never ask for it- how dare you behave like that with the uncrowned king of Banaglore city???????

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I have been reading Nathuram Godse's biography. I also read an interview of Gopal Godse, Nathuram's brother.

I have also read Mahatma Gandhi's "My Experiments with Truth". Gandhi definitely has been one of the forefront leaders of the freedom struggle. I admire his commitment towards truth and non-violence. I also think that he had the capability to convince people to follow his way. But he had his differences with revolutionary leaders like Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev as they did not believe in non-violence. There are some accusations that Gandhi could have saved the lives of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. There were also certain eccentricities of his, like experimenting his abstention or his role as a father or a husband.

Nathuram Godse was not happy with the priniciples of Gandhi. He felt that Gandhi was responsible for the partition. Hence the ultimate step. Well, I dont believe that the assasination solved any problem. Maybe a solution could have been derived in a peaceful way. But whatever it is, it cannot be denied that Godse was a patriot and that he was involved in the freedom struggle.
In his defence in the court, he says:
I now stand before the court to accept the full share of my responsibility for what I have done and the judge would, of course, pass against me such orders of sentence as may be considered proper. But I would like to add that I do not desire any mercy to be shown to me, nor do I wish that anyone else should beg for mercy on my behalf. My confidence about the moral side of my action has not been shaken even by the criticism levelled against it on all sides. I have no doubt that honest writers of history will weigh my act and find the true value thereof some day in future.

Check out Gopal Godse's interview at http://ngodse.tripod.com/godse14feb2000.htm
In this interview, one fact that surprised me was about "Hey ram".
Also if you are interested you can check out http://www.nathuramgodse.com/index.php?playid=1

I always get carried away whenever I listen to some good songs. These songs have excellent lyrics. Above that, the lyrics are well matched by fantabulous music. And believe me, this is a very rare combination now a days. "Tere Mere Sapne" from the movie, Guide, is definitely a song of that calibre. The lyricist is Shailendra and the music dircetor is S.D.Burman. Rafi has provided full justice to the song. Such simple lyrics and soft, mellifluous music- and the song is definitely one of the most romantic numbers I have ever heard.

Read this on a website:

Fear is not your enemy. It is a compass pointing you to the areas where you need to grow. So when you encounter a new fear within yourself, celebrate it as an opportunity for growth.

Read this in a mail:

Life is a mountain.
Reaching its peak is my aim.
However trails are difficult to go through.

But the important things are-
The lessons that I have learnt,
The challenges that I have experienced,
And the people I am with in my journey.

I love my workplace. I love it 'coz I get to work( ok, I am a workoholic). I also love it 'coz it is a place where I get to listen to so much of music. My colleagues have been introducing me to different types of music, various singers and so on. So with my work knowledge, my knowledge in music has also been improving. Thanks to them.;-)

Workplace is also fun 'coz I get to meet all people- a variety of unique people. I enjoy meeting them, talking to them, interacting with them and sharing the laughter. It is fun being a part of a team- especially a team in which all of them have a great sense of humor. Yes, it does hurt when I see misunderstandings, fights. But I think these happen when you work with lot of people. All of them have their unique ways of thinking. No one is wrong. It is just that we have to respect each other's opinions and give space to one another. This is what I have learnt to be in a team. I love it when I see lot of camaraderie in the team.:-)

I have got great friends here. And I also have my headphone set that is a great companion and that keeps me going through the day.:-)

My workplace is definitely one of my favourite places.:-))))