cats and a tag!

cats in uk : bad....bad mannered!
we've got 4 dogs as pets at home in India. though i've seen them once in the last two years, they still surround me with utmost love whenever i see them..but pets here, donot ask! sitting on the steps i was gazing at the sky, my fav past time...this black cat, out of nowhere is standing 3m away from me, staring at me for abt a min. i waited for it to go away but its still there....no superstition but i cant have a good feeling abt a cat thats staring right back at me. i get up, muttered a gentle 'shoo' and that damn thing gave a giant leap towards me! one small animal, it was supposed to go away....not meowww me into the kitchen.....
not the first time.....sometime back i had a cat chasing me all around the management school


Ashish's 7 tag :
You shud actually let me know when you tag me!

7 things I plan to do :
I'm a good planner but executing them? I'm null! but....
-sleep.....immediately!
-eat.....feel like I havent eaten for weeks!
-fly a MiG....nothing to do with rdb but I've alvays wanted to be a pilot...old readers wud know..and the inspiration...aero show-India in Blore held every winter. used to go there as a kid, watched them fly over our farm house....never missed them until last year. Piloteering, maybe but I'll be grateful if somebody can lend me a MiG!!!!!!
-go back to India asap?
-take classes in photography this time...
-buy a new phone in two days time
-go on a holiday...soon....

7 things I can do :
-speak out, without caring.....leads me to being outspoken?
-put myself in a disadvantageous position/lose.....but I really dont care as long as I think I'm right
-cook.....always thought i'm bad at it....but know what? for a 19 yr old, 'never seen a kitchen' self taught cook, I'm good...I'm not that bad!
-be lazy.....probably the most complained thing abt me
-never tried it much cept my sis and bro and a few others.....but if you get me too mad, an extreme, i can punch or push you out of my way.....seriously!
-tend to be messy.....abt everything....my room's a big mess always! note : a big diff b/w messy and dirty
-time and again, i keep surprising myself [good/bad] with things I do or say

7 things i cant do :
-break an egg to make an omlette...i cant, i need atleast 15 seconds before i break an egg
-be a vegetarian....i tried to but i luv chicken too much
-dislike someone to an extent tht i hate them
-be punctual? impossible!
-do things faster.....i do things in my own time....shower - 45 min, wash my hair - 95/1oo min...dressup- 15min, coffee - an hour? eat - should'nt you enjoy your food....?
-shut my mouth while driving....have i not said this before?
-get along with everyone....there's one particular set of people i cant get along with

7 words i use the most :
-damn....my current fav...i've got no probs saying 'damn me, i'm bad !'
-dars, di, da, babes, sweetie.....limited to closed ones
-huh?
-':D'
-mmmmmhhh....? [anyone from home, on phone get this]
cant think of more!

so thats it! I'm done! tagging someone? anybody's welcome!

Arts, your's is next i promise :D

My govt...your govt...whose govt?

TOI portrays a state crisis as a city crisis.....paints its front page a lovely red! A word to the paper...Karnataka isnt just made of Bangalore! The way you present something makes all the difference! but you're media and you just want to sell or should i say..'reach out'?
Karnataka, a fully visible huge state, in the south of India, up until i post this, is run by a coalition govt formed by JDS and Congress. BJP, though won the maximum no. of seats is pushed out of the scene cos of the coalition. Dharam Singh from congress is the CM, a puppet in the hands of JDS leader Devegowda...

chronologically....

Siddy has a row with H.D.Devegowda's son Kumarswamy on the leadership of JDS, attends a minority [kuruba] conference in Hubli against Devegowda's wishes......so is sacked from being a deputy CM and is kicked out of the party
Siddy joins congress as a junior [something is better than nothing]!
M.P.Prakash, a senior but more quiet leader, is appointed the deputy CM just as expected.
Kumaraswamy is still itchy fo power...wants to lead JDS and the state, is extremely unhappy about not given importance under the present congress govt. Devegowda cant help his son cos he's committed to the central govt and moreover there are other senior and more experienced ministers in his party.
kumaraswamy ditches his own dad, dumps other seniors, takes most of his witless colleagues into confidence ..
they elect him as the new JDS leader
Meanwhile, BJP, content with the happenings, promises full support to JDS if a new govt is to be formed..
the Kumaraswamy lead JDS, head to the governor's house, withdraw support from the present govt, leaving congress astray
Devegowda isnt happy with the developments, requests the governor to not consider till time
BJP, the biggest loser, gains....[desperate times call for desperate measures!] elects Kumaraswamy [the guy from the opposite party JDS] as their leader!!!!!!! call him their king....declares that they're ready for any sacifice to overthrow cong,Promises to make him the CM for the first twenty months!!!!!
M.P.Prakash and sindhia [ministers fom JDS] still stick to congress and provide support to the present govt.
dharam Singh, the CM, asks the gov for time to prove support
all in the hands of the governor..

things that will happen :
cong fails majority....resigns as the ruling party...
Kumarswamy is the brand new CM of Karnataka with BJP backing up...
Huge split in JDS...M.P. Prakash, Sindhia and others walk their way or simply join congress with the hope for a better future..which i cannot promise :(!
JDS vith kumaraswamy falls enormously......becomes incredibly unpopular...

distant dreams:
somebody suffers a heart attack to step back from politics forever
the BJP/ JDS coalition throws up
kumaraswamy and his gang is kicked out..
elections...[that i can finally vote in]
SMK returns to active politics for a CM.....
Congress wins
and i'm happy! I promise everyone a treat ;D


facts not opinions :
BJP is not a good enough government for Karnataka...people wont elect them, they are not powerful....but with all the confusion, looks like they are powerful..
mostly, people of Karnataka, omitting the vegetarian sect, support JDS/congress....
JDS without M.P.Prakash, Sindhia and other such ministers is nothing
The kumaraswamy lead JDS contains a bunch of uneducated ministers who were famous rowdies that i donot dare mention
implies we'll be ruled by people who are no good than some roadside pigs

Disclaimer : what i write is what i think....I donot care abt the changes that are happening....not at all...! The present govt's sleepy to say....so make way for another useless govt lead by a dubious moron supported by pathetic hypocrites!
and oh, does this mean Bangalore is not gonna be called Bengalooru?

Brokeback Mountain...

''I wish I knew how to quit you...'' says Jack as he faces unending streams that lay infront of tall mountains, before bidding goodbye to Ennis..
A cold summer of 63, a story starts on the brokeback mountain, wyoming, when two tough cowboys meet to fall in love with each other. the talker and the emotional of the two, jack [jake gyllenhaal] invites a rather 'keep to himself' ennis [heath ledger] into his tent to avoid the nights chill, when passion sparks almost accidentally... its undying...an unreal bond that developed through the challenging blizzards and storms comes to an abrupt end and all they say to each other is ''see you around!'' time takes four years and a change in life to bring them together again. a twisted and tormented tale of love takes shape again in between real life, a shaken wife and lovely kids.... in between the mountains gaurding their secret.
Ennis : we can still see each other once in a while...
Jack : once in a while? once in four fucking years?
the topic maybe debatable or even unacceptable or understandable....but the movie, in all, is lovable....not one flaw could i point out....not one thing to criticise...
I will be mighty surprised if Heath Ledger, an australian born lad, who's ennis's soul and heart does not win an oscar for his performance......nobody has performed this well in any of the movies i've seen....[just explaining the magnitude]maybe Hillary svank of 'boys dont cry'....
Jake gyllenhaal is the expressive sensation!! eye candy! watch him when he cries or when he's fisting ennis or when he forgets the world in ennis's arms.
the character Elma played by Michelle williams, makes you want to cry for her when she's torn apart by her loving husband's gay story...not knowing whether jealousy for Jake, who is a man, should take over her emotions or anguish and disgust...
Jack's wife, a rodeo rockstar, anne hathaway, compressing her emotions, supports well...
Larry Mcmurtry , though not read the novel, must have done a writer's job for the film to be what it is....to have inspired the director's imagination...
AngLee...AngLee.......how do you make a two people talk without words? he does it with style on the mountains and away from it, between two people....doesnt matter that they happen to be of the same sex! the movie, though without a lot of talking speaks a lot cos of him!
ultimately, its not abt coming out of the cowboy closet, its not abt sex.... its more abt emotions...love and romance between two people who fall in love but are of the same sex....''If you can't fix it you've got to stand it!''..Ennis Del mar

DISCLAIMEr : Again, I'm not concluding on whether being gay/lesbian is rite or wrong, i'm talking of the movie....so any discussions or judgement is 'not' welcome! this post does not mean that i have a soft corner for homosexuals or that i dislike them....so no conclusions about me too!

"your little mind, my dear, is so easy to be analysed!!!!"

I've done some limitless shopping.....here's a list of entertainment out of everything I've got lined up!

Music:

Green Day - American Idiot
Oasis - Dont Believe the truth
Oasis - Heathen Chemistry
Cold Play- X&Y
Kylie Minogue - Ultimate Kylie
Bryan Adams- Anthology

Movies:

Rainman
Dancing with the wolves
The Manchurian Candidate
Casablanca
Sound of Music

Books:

Life of Pi- Yann Martel
Olivia and Jai - Rebecca Ryman
To kill a mocking Bird - Harper Lee
The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown [had to give in to the hype]

btw, I've got exams in abt a few days time.....

Hanuman in Bangalore

Hanuman in Bangalore
Originally uploaded by Archana's.

And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years....Abraham Lincoln
Wonder if he thinks the same too, wonder if he calls it a life or an experience....

A series of 'un'fortunate events....

23rd Dec.....want to remember this day later sometime when I look back.....
1) Insurance denied after almost a promise that I wud be provided with one, couldnt take a ridiculous reason from them, still cant understand their rules....its the law and its preposterous....being 19 is a crime!
2) On our way back, we stopped a police car for a taxi!
3) Not actually been this mad in a really long time....at the top of my voice, we head towards another company and they refuse it too...
4) Anger gives way to disappointment that I used a swear word for the way things work in this country and a guy bumped right into us that I actually thought for a moment 'we're in a brawl girl!' ......thankfully he wanted to fist someone else......and that was close!
5) I try to calm myself down, my friend's trying to calm me down.... we go to cineworld to see if any new movie's up. We've watched everything except Lassie [the dog movie] and the Family stone? [Diane keaton, I suppose]....wudnt watch them for anything
6) The train station is our next stop to buy tickets for 26th and guess what? no train service on the 26th.....the trains need a break! Btw, the automatic doors and the escalator too dont work at the interchange...
7) Atleast a coach service would do, but the travel centre was closed by the time we got downstairs...
8) At the city centre, a royal mail van drives right on a "pedestrian only zone", right behind me, my friend pulls me back just in time....
8) Its been a wonderful evening so far, I'm tired, I need a mocha.....but the starbucks guy says "sorry, we just closed!"
9) All I want to do is just sit down and sip a hot mocha...thats all I need to cheer me up....Costa should be open until 18:00.....oh no! they've closed early cos its Christmas!
End of it all we returned home empty handed to deal with a lot of other things....just another eventful 'nothing works here' day! No, not complaining.....I can take more! feel like a stalwart now.... :D

Vetti time da.....

This is what some 'VETTI' time during Christmas vacation can do to you...[wondering what vetti is? refer Vatsan please...] Few things....

1) Someone screwed up my Christmas plans, so that implies no going anywhere...I'll be spending Christmas immersed in Thermodynamics an engg approach and T.J. Hughes' Electronics.....two very... very.... VERY..... interesting books at this time of the year! cant even think of surviving without them.....! oh, I can even have them as Christmas presents! Not complaining of studying...but I so much needed this break...

2) I've become really quiet nowadays.....quiet as in, u know, just dont see myself blogging like before......now thats bad enough!

3) Not just me....I think all people surrounding me have switched into some kind of bizarre silent mode. Strange that everybody lacks enthusiasm these days! Most bloggers I know have almost completely terminated their blogs...interesting..... WAKE UP GUYS!!!

4) This I'm not complaining....the Bangalore infrastructure woes have finally given way to Bengaluru....nobody's complaining nomore! so the 'FROGS' have finally shut up! and good move DS!

5)MOST IMPORTANTLY : Something that just flashed into my exceedingly pre-occupied brain.....would you sleep if HemaMalini [yes, the real HemaMalini, the dream girl] is performing Bharathanatyam just a few metres away from you? Some broken twig called Siddaramiah did, and yours truly, people, is the witness...

sleepy now...goodnite all!

lets just sit and talk...

lets just sit and talk...
Originally uploaded by Archana's.

I'll be away from my dear blogworld until after Christmas...so, a wonderful Christmas all!
the picture : The last one was composed well but was exposed a lot to the right...this one's not much exposed, but the composition....that one was better....

Me and my brother were two big pranksters and I was the dominant queen who ruled over the both of them and over the TV ofcourse. In b/w swatcats......'Go fetch me some water, I'm thirsty!' I tell my brother. My obedient brother would tell my sister 'get two glass of water from the kitchen' and poor my sister, youngest of the lot would go and get us both water. When my sister started to talk, properly i.e, Mi, obviously, was teaching her how to address everyone at home, respecting her elders and stuff like that. My brother didnt have this habit of calling me 'akka' meaning elder sister. But my sister, as taught by Mi, started calling me 'akka'......and I caught hold of her one day and in the most threatening of all voices I said "I have a name.....somebody named me 'Archana'....you dont name me 'akka'. Call me Archana ok?"
Mi, alarmed by this whole scene, commented "you'll regret this one day!" She was right....I regret it! My sister doesnt even call me Archana now....she doesnt even say 'hogu [go], baa [come]' as in the singular sense.....she doesnt even say 'hogele...or baare...'in Kannada atleast.... she says a downright disrespectful 'podi di di!' I give a stare back and rise my hands to spank her......but before I know it, she's already chasing me into the kitchen [where my mom is] with a wooden ruler or something. Now that hurts!! and times change!! Oh....mean time, my brother is locked up in his room, concentrating on his PS2.....winning Grand theft auto.....bad brother, doesnt help his sister when its most necessary...

Siblings and me!

I love having my younger brother and sister, who wouldnt? If you're born in those new nuclear families, guys...you dont know what you're missing.... My handsome-hunky brother is 5 years younger than me aand my precious-darling-dumsy sister is 10 years younger than me. The first thing I remember of having done to my brother is stuffing a piece of cloth into his mouth to stop him from crying.....my Mi was probably in the shower, Dad was working, I was at home and he was crying.....now dont expect lullabies from a 5 year old me! Thankfully Mi came out of the shower in time to stop me from going to prison [would they prison a 5 yr old girl for killing her brother?] ....seems all scary while writing this actually.....

Moving to my sister, I've got a lot of memories from her...cos I was older at the time of her birth! I can remember holding her in my arms when she was born, oh how I couldnt wait and how tiny she was! Her tiny hands and her tiny feet....she clutched my little finger everytime I placed it in her hand! She looked adorable....ADORABLE....unlike now ofcourse! I remember scowling at Mi and almost hitting grandmom for making her cry during her first shower at home.....I was holding that soft white towel for her after her bath and she was so warm and nice and wet when she was put into my arms. I used to dress her up, the J&J baby cream, the talcum powder, the designs I used to make with the shringaar kaajal on her forehead and her cheek ! It initially became my duty to perform aarthi late in the night [the one with turmeric powder and betel leaf] to ward off evil eyes from effecting her! I used to run to her as soon as I returned from school....I couldnt stop talking about her at school....she was on display the first time Mi came with her to school to pick me up....I taught her how to hug and how to kiss....we used to have these practice sessions where she used run to me from the backyard to the front door, where I would be sitting on my knees, to hug me and kiss me! I was soooo scared the first time she fell ill....I really thought she was dying!!!! I mean babies are so delicate.....Chinnu was only 4 months old when she had this terrible fever. I even remember crying that day, begging other parents at the clinic to let me and Mi to see the doctor first..... Why am I writing this? The purpose of the post seems lost!

Right....few days ago, when Mi called, she, as usual started complaining about how my brother is irresponsible about his studies, how he doesnt attend any of his tutorials regularly and how she suffers from an head ache everyday watching him play 'the Sims' on PS2. Again, as always, she asked me to talk to him.....persuade him to concentrate on his studies.....Ahem, this is one of those duties as an elder sister.... [the conversation takes place in Kannada [slang ofcourse], but I've tried my best to give it an equivalent English translation!]

Me : hmm....how are you sweet son?
Him: Umm...I'm ok!
me : Mi's complaining that you're not studying!
Him: She's lying! I just came back from that tutorial....I go there even if I dont understand a thing that [dabba] guy teaches!
me : You go there because your love [or dove if you may!] Aishwarya goes there! [Aishwarya is his classmate cum friend cum crush]
Him: eh..?? Who who? Miss Rai doesnt study in my class anymore...
me : [switching the topic] Did you like Mortal Kombat?
Him: I cant tell you how super it is!
me : good! Abt studies and about tutorials......do what you feel like....just follow your heart!
Him: yeah......ok....


Next day....
Mi : You terrible girl, what did you do?
Me : What did I do?
Mi : What did you tell your brother yesterday?
Me: What did I tell him?
Mi : He's abandoned his tutorials cos you asked him to follow his heart!!!!
Me: Huh???? [seriously, I had a 'way to go brother!!!!' expression on my face and I couldnt be more proud of him!]

BIKES!

BIKES!
Originally uploaded by Archana's.

For tht someone who loves wheels as much as I do!

sunset 6

sunset 6
Originally uploaded by Archana's.

Last one! This side of the horizon awaits the moon now!

the picture speaks for itself!

the picture speaks for itself!
Originally uploaded by Archana's.

need I say more? Was looking at the Wales album and found this the best of em all!!

sunset 5

sunset 5
Originally uploaded by Archana's.

This is it! He's drowning!

sunset 4

sunset 4
Originally uploaded by Archana's.

As perfect as it can get....sony cybershot was the camera and the picture looks like a painting to me. Look at the sky! and the sun, he's got a reflection on the sea at the horizon!

sunset 3

sunset 3
Originally uploaded by Archana's.

after this, just wait for the next one!

For those interested in this picture, there's a superior or a rather romantic package of a beautiful poem and a picture [darling souls, these are for you!] on Ananth's blog.

sunset 2

sunset 2
Originally uploaded by Archana's.

Would I miss you if I ever close my eyes?

I'll see you when the sun goes down - 1
Originally uploaded by Archana's.

Starting now, for next 5 or 6 days, I'll post pictures of a sunset that I witnessed in Blackpool....its a series....from the time he turned angelic gold, tinging the cold sea with his warmth until he disappeared leaving the sea glowing lonely red and me breathless!