Sastry's Corner on the Web

To the innovator that brought so many smiles :: You will be missed dearly

2011-10-06T00:02:00.003-05:00

This morning, I woke up, got ready and went to have my breakfast. There was a TV on the wall with some song playing in it. And there were scrolling lines at the bottom showing different news. I started reading those lines and the next moment was sheer pain and sorrow in the heart. The news read "Steve Jobs Dies". I was not sure for a second if I am reading it correctly. Is this real news? Just a

India's Second Freedom Movement

2011-08-17T10:31:00.005-05:00

Wow!! The whole series of events over the past two days have indeed been jaw dropping. The way in which people have come out onto the streets and held rallies and expressed their support for Anna Hazare has been stupendous. Definitely, the Government in its wildest dreams has never expected the situation to come this far. All it might have thought, based on its previous experience was that, if

Interesting Article on Tagore

2011-05-04T15:41:00.002-05:00

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1913/tagore-article.html

dil kehta hai kuchh

2010-12-22T13:30:00.001-06:00

दिल कहना चाहता है कुछ चुप चुप के खुद ही सुनता है आस पास में कोई नहीं हो हर पल यूं ही घबराता है सोचना इसका काम है बस यह सोचता रहता है कभी अतीत में तो कभी भविष्य में खो जाता है चाहता आखिर क्या है यह कह नहीं पाता इसकी चाह बस यही है कि कोई इसकी बात सुनले और समझले वोह बात जो उसने कही नहीं कहने से पहले ही घबरा गया इसकी चाह बस यही है कि कोई इसकी घबराहट समझले

Happy Deepavali Bengaluru..And I miss you

2010-11-05T23:22:00.000-05:00

Far away from Bengaluru, on this day of beautiful deepavali, I cannot stop myself from just thinking about Bengaluru. I cannot forget the beautiful nights of deepavali celebrated in Bengaluru. We would light up our balcony with little diyas in the evening. Then we would go down near the gate to fire some crackers. The whole evening sky would lit up with varieties of fire cracker designs. And

Its morning in India

2010-10-31T12:56:00.000-05:00

Came across this interesting article in NY Times : Its morning in India

What a Disastrous morning

2010-05-22T14:39:00.002-05:00

We all woke up on May 22, 2010 to a disatrous news of Air India crash in Mangalore. For several hours we were shocked to hear how the precious lives were lost just when they were about to meet their loved ones. News channels were completely covering the disturbing event that made all of us wonder what if it was me there. Several information pieces were scrolled. Some ridiculous ones like the

कहानी

2010-01-28T13:14:00.003-06:00

सूनी सूनी सी ज़िन्दगी दिल में ज्वाला पर है जगी राह निर्जन सा लगता है मंजिल पर नज़र मगर है लगी चलना है चलते रहना है किताब के पन्नों को उलटना है कहानी जो अभी शुरू हुई है किश्तों में उसे आगे बड़ना है कई कलाकारों से बनी यह कहानी कई रिश्तों से सजी आगे बड़ते रहेगी नए अध्याय जुड़ते रहेंगे - शास्त्री वद्लामानी

ज़िन्दगी का गीत

2010-01-26T09:10:00.004-06:00

चलो चलो चलो चलो चले चलो बहती इस धारा में बहे चलो ज़िन्दगी की लहरों के साथ साथ मदमस्ती में बस गाते चलो चलते चलते सूरज को देखो हौसला तुम उससे लेते चलो लहराते हुए पेड़ों को देखो बुलंदी तुम इनसे लेके चलो देखो देखो देखो उन चिड़ियों को देखो गाती हुई वोह उड़ती चली कलकी फ़िक्र न करती हुई वोह आज कि मस्ती में हंसती चली आज का वक़्त जो हाथ में तेरे कल तेरे हाथों में ना होगा इसलिए आज को जी भर जी लो कल का

Where is my freedom?

2010-01-14T02:37:00.000-06:00

An Indian citizen asks that question almost every second. Or may be, his soul asks him. Sometimes he makes the voice of his soul heard out in the form of expression. Sometimes he stifles it within and keeps up a face saying I am free and I am fine. Because that's the only way it seems, to make peace with the life around you. Our "great" constitution is a big book with lots of rights for its

Work like a Donkey today, Live like a king tomorrow

2010-01-11T21:37:00.004-06:00

This is an interesting story from my childhood. It may date back to around 18 years back that is around 1992 when I graduated from high school and about to enter the plus2 that is 11th and 12th, the two years spent before you get into undergrad.An uncle of mine who is no longer in this world, came to my home to find out how I did in 10th class. This is a typical habit of the uncles of the

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T02:31:00.006-06:00

Waited and watchedAs the turn of the time took meSuddenly from one year to the nextFrom one decade to the otherAs the moment clickedLots of hopes and lots of wishesStarted blossoming in the heartAs we look back,So many thoughts keep crossing our mindsAbout the eventsSome we are satisfied aboutSome we wish happened differentlyAnd some we wished did not happenLife and time keep coming in a bag of

Motor Bike Ads

2009-10-24T13:31:00.002-05:00

Does it really matter? Does it matter if the Ad shows risky postures? If I am a customer I think it doesnt matter to me. So, let me think from my perspective hence. Why do the motor bike folks dont get it?The outrageous one is the latest Honda Bike Ad. Gosh!!. The biker there (Hrithik Roshan) literally drives the motorcycle through some Tsunami and cyclonic situation. Ok!! Do you want to say that

Happy Diwali

2009-10-19T09:24:00.004-05:00

दिवाली की रात, आसमान के साथबनायी हमने फुलझडियों की रंगोलीजगमगा उठी हर दिशा, खिल उठी हर गली

Boating in the Ulsoor Lake

2009-10-11T06:04:00.003-05:00

Today, the sunday was kinda interesting. In the afternoon, after lunch, we felt like we will do a little boating. How romantic :-) So we went to the Ulsoor lake to try the boating in the legacy lake of Bengaluru. Three options were available. The motor boat for 8-12 people was costing Rs. 20 per head while the couple's manual pedal boat was Rs. 80 without rooftop and Rs. 100 per head with

For All the Egos Hurt

2009-08-16T21:32:00.003-05:00

I really liked this article in Times of Indiahttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/world/us/Would-Khan-have-fared-better-as-Kennedy/articleshow/4899589.cmsWith news Channels airing the Shah Rukh Khan ordeal story 24 hours as if the world has come down, with Ambika Soni making knee-jerk comments (that shows how mature our ministers are. Old Age is on their side but definitely not the maturity),

Kanyakumari Trip

2009-08-03T21:48:00.000-05:00

I cannot get over Kanyakumari.The beautiful ocean view lingers in my mindThe thriving waves echo in my heartThe colors of the ocean paint my visionA voice from the nature calls my soulAnd this post gets delayed forever. My life has become hectic. I am not sure about what to give priority. Naturally, the one that does not pay but gives satisfaction got a backseat. It is around 12:50 in the night

CAG Flays Delhi Metro's Quality Control

2009-07-21T22:15:00.005-05:00

Read this interesting articlehttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4790222.cms Isn't a Deja Vu to read all the comments in the article?How do we ensure that such things do not happen?What is the guarantee that Bangalore Metro is not in the same boat?Yesterday I was in an auto rickshaw. The auto was passing under the pillars on which slab has been placed in the MG Road section. To be

High Court Contempt Notice to BMRC and BBMP

2009-05-30T08:12:00.007-05:00

I read this in Times of India.Contempt Plea:Notice to BMRC and BBMP ChiefsHere lies the credibility of the our so called esteemed organizations like BMRC and BBMP that are supposed to develop India. I feel ashamed and so should every Indian.I wonder why shouldnt one be punished for contempt. And particularly in these cases where the actions inviting these contempts are irreversible.A tree cut in

Pondicherry Trip

2009-05-25T08:18:00.008-05:00

Just came back from a weekend trip to Pondicherry. Will post everything here. It may be long. Hence it will come out in installments :-)Journey to PondicherryWe took the KSRTC (Karnataka Road Transport Corporation) bus from Bangalore. The bus takes around 6-7 hours to reach Pondicherry. We did the online reservation for the bus at http://ksrtc.in. Fortunately we got the reservation for the onward

Elections Verdict

2009-05-18T00:42:00.003-05:00

Wrote it. Then got lazy. And then the delayed post.What an election it was. I was glued to the TV sets for the whole weekend. All kinds of predictions were in the air.At the end of the day, I was very happy. I was reassured. Happy that the people of this country unanimously voted for stability. Voted for securalism.Can we say the electorate has matured? That is too far fetched. But whatever

Lok Raj Andolan

2009-05-14T00:31:00.001-05:00

I saw the following from Arvind Kejriwal's blog on CNN IBN.www.lokrajandolan.org

Fantastic Poem by Dushyant Kumar

2009-05-13T23:41:00.004-05:00

This poem is in Hindi. Always inspires me. This is by the great poet named Dushyant Kumar. हो गयी है पीर पर्वत सी पिघलनी चाहिएइस हिमालय से कोई गंगा निकलनी चाहिएआज यह दीवार परदों की तरह हिलने लगीशर्त लेकिन थी की ये बुनियाद हिलनी चाहिएहर सड़क पर हर गली में हर नगर हर गाँव मेंहाथ लहराते हुए हर लाश चलनी चाहिएसिर्फ़ हंगामा खड़ा करना मेरा मकसद नहींसारी कोशिश है की ये सूरत बदलनी चाहिएमेरे सीने में नहीं

The Verdict

2009-05-13T22:55:00.004-05:00

That's the title on CNN IBN by the way. Its all exit poll time, bookie time and speculation time. The world's largest elections are just over for the world's largest democracy. The elections that took a month to finish. Millions of people participated. Hats off to Election Commission for the fantastic hard work. Hats off to Police for their hard work in maintaining law and order.As I kept on

On May 9, 2009 at Nanda Road : First hand account

2009-05-11T21:22:00.003-05:00

On May 9, 2009, there was supposed to be a question and answer session with the Managing Director (MD) of BMRCL at Nanda Road. We woke up early in the morning and reached Nanda Road by 8:00 a.m. As we reached, we saw several enthusiastic people already there with several posters that read "Vote For Trees", "Save Trees" etc. with pictures of trees that were hand drawn.There were also some posters

Save Nanda Road, Save Lalbagh

2009-05-11T01:55:00.002-05:00

May 9 2009 : Save Bangalore Protest

2009-05-07T00:44:00.003-05:00

Namma Bengalura a.k.a My Bangalore

2009-05-04T08:53:00.006-05:00

The Bangalore temperatures have gone up. It has been extremely hot this summer for sure. By the way, Bangalore International Airport has come up. Bangalore Metro is being built.We are getting modernized. We are developing. Hurray!!!But in the middle of all these, someone is getting massacred. The ones which give life to us. But we refuse to acknowledge. The ones which give us peace. But we refuse

Save Lalbagh, Save Bangalore

2009-05-03T22:05:00.002-05:00

Please read it and if you agree, please go ahead and sign it :http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savelalbaghfrommetro/index.htmlThe above is about the impact on Lalbagh, the heritage of Bangalore and India, by the metro.More coming on this blog in the coming few days.

After a Long Time

2009-04-10T03:10:00.003-05:00

Posting after a long time. It has been quite boring few months. Well, I hurt my back while trying to do some exercise. And pretty much have been very busy with work. Or so am I trying to show.Life been centered quite around work. Will need a break.Have also been thinking about in whose hands is this country going to be after a elections. I pity ourselves, the poor Indians who have so awful

Voter Facilitation Center

2009-02-22T03:50:00.001-06:00

Election Commission website information on Voter Facilitation Center is not that helpful. Here is a Deccan Herald Article that might be usefulhttp://www.deccanherald.com/content/Feb122009/city20090212118009.asp

Report on Say I am

2009-02-08T10:50:00.004-06:00

Say I Am , the silent and performative protest walk that I talked about two days back, happened this afternoon. This was organized by the students of Shristi School of Art, Design and Technology. The walk started from the Rest House Park. The crowd expected was not much. But to a pleasant surprise of everyone, it was almost around 200. We too joined in the protest march. There is something that

Khadi India 2009

2009-02-07T11:25:00.001-06:00

On saturday we went to Khadi India 2009. Khadi India 2009 is happening at Gayathri Vihar at the Palace Grounds. Pretty neat event. It is happening from Feb 4, 2009 to March 5, 2009. So catch a glimpse if you can and get some nice khadi goodies.Catch a bus from Majestic towards Mekhri Circle and get down at Palace grounds bus stop. It is right opposite to Gayathri Vihar entrance.It seems there

Say I Am

2009-02-06T01:53:00.003-06:00

Got this from a mailing list.Say, I am – a performative walk. In light of the recent violence that took place against women in Mangalore and the statements that were made thereafter, its time to say, I am. Indian culture is being defined, strained and subverted by many elements other than ourselves. In an attempt to induce the spirit of freedom, choice and non-violence we invite people from

Voter Registration

2009-02-04T22:17:00.004-06:00

I got this SMS yesterday from Jaagore."Dear user, please note that voter registration forms will be accepted from Feb 10 instead of Feb 2 at your ERO's office."By the way, go ahead and get help on voter registration etc. at http://www.jaagore.com It seems that we all really have to register and vote so that we ensure that the completely misguided groups like Shri Ram Sene etc. and their

To the Chief Minister of Karnataka

2009-01-27T23:24:00.010-06:00

Dear Chief Minister of Karnataka,I am scared and worried writing this letter to you. I am worried that, after this letter is received, if I will be beaten up or harassed by the custodians of Hindu culture. I am worried if BJP/Shree Ram Sena/Bajrang Dal/MNS or any other "messengers" of god will harass me or my family.But nevertheless, I will write believing Shakespeare who said " A coward dies

And then they came for me

2009-01-16T05:45:00.001-06:00

And then they came for meLast Thursday, Lasantha Wickramatunga, who was fifty-two-years-old and the editor of a Sri Lankan newspaper called the Sunday Leader, was assassinated on his way to work by two gunmen riding motorcycles. The Leader's investigative reporting had been fiercely critical of the government and of the conduct of its war against Tamil separatists; Wickramatunga had been attacked

Cellular Silence Day

2009-01-16T05:01:00.002-06:00

This is a very valuable petition on petiononline.http://www.petitiononline.com/30JAN09/petition.htmlI would definitely support this petition.If you do, then read the petition, support it, and turn your cell phone off. I still cannot believe how a country can so carelessly let go of a carnage ? Was it any less than a genocide?

pointReturn

2008-12-14T06:47:00.001-06:00

Good News India always used to give me a lot of inspiration. Here is an update from Good News India to Point Return Why is Good News India Not Updated? point Return

Beautiful Sunday

2008-12-14T04:22:00.004-06:00

What a beautiful sunday december afternoon today Sweet gentle breeze is blowing all around Doesn't feel like a winter at all I stand outside my balcony and look at the sky It is azure! It is serene !It is clearI close my eyes and feel the wind I feel the serenity around and the peace I feel like going by the lake side And just meditate!sit quietly and do nothing It is such a heavenly feeling

3 days of choking and now outrage

2008-12-01T07:25:00.003-06:00