Owner: I, Me, Myself URL:http://sidhusaaheb.blogspot.com Join Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2007 14:31:36 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Sidhusaaheb's world view. Site statistics:Click here
Of Human Bondage 2007-09-22 09:27:00 A little more than two weeks ago, I received a telephone call from a Calcutta-based dot-com company. Apparently, the recruiter had seen my resume online and wanted to discuss a vacant position. A couple of tele-conversations and about as many days later, he seemed to have decided to hire me and sent a job-offer through email, which I accepted as the money being offered was not too bad. Besides, I was rather excited at the prospect of going to work in a city I had never been to before and even purchased some new clothes for myself.I agreed to join on September 17 and was on a Calcutta-bound flight on the morning of that day. After landing there at about 7:00 a.m., I took a pre-paid taxi to the guest-house, where the company had booked a room for me, the bill for which I was supposed to pay on my own. Perhaps I should have paid closer attention to the fact that the company offered to reimburse the expenses that I would incur on relocation, only 60 days after I joined service.After droppi
Bugatti Veyron at top speed 2007-09-08 06:12:00 The Top Gear team at BBC harnesses all 1001 of the horses under a Veyron
's hood and takes it up to its maximum speed, on a test track in Germany.Thank you so much, Atul, for sharing this video with me! Read more:Bugatti
, Bugatti Veyron
A Gift for My Pakistani Friends 2007-10-01 18:26:00 For the benefit of those of my readers who live in Pakistan or other countries where certain blogging websites are inaccessible, I have decided to make available, at Wordpress.Com, a duplicate copy of my blog at Blogger.Com. Henceforth, I shall continue to post simultaneously at both web-addresses.Thanks Asma, for giving me this idea! Read more:Pakistani
, Friends
A legend is reborn! 2007-10-11 16:12:00 The fastest production motorcycle in the world at one point of time, the Hayabusa had since been overtaken by Kawasaki's ZX-14. The 2008 Suzuki Hayabusa appears all set to reclaim that position, with an increase of 41 cubic centimetres in engine capacity and an additional 20 horses, in terms of power. Incidentally, this is the first major revision of the bike, since its launch in 1999.
Calcutta and I 2007-10-04 13:19:00 As mentioned in a previous post, I was in Calcutta for a very brief period of time.The first thing I noticed about the city was that the roads were not too good, at least when compared to those in the other state-capitals that I have been to in India, including New Delhi, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Madras and Goa. Another vital difference that I noticed, as against Delhi's roads, was that there were no stray cattle on the roads of Calcutta, even as there were plenty of stray dogs around.I found the city to be much more verdant, though, than Delhi, with a lot of plants and shady trees along the roads. It also means that a number of birds live in these trees and, therefore, one has to be careful while passing under the branches. I was at the receiving end of the birds' beneficence on at least two occasions, even as they failed to score direct hits at other times.As compared to some other places in India that I have been to, like Chennai, for instance, where I d
Quattro 2007-10-25 15:06:00 No, this is not about the car.Actually, I have been tagged again.So, here goes:Four jobs I have had in my life -Internet ResearcherHuman Resources ExecutiveRecruiterResearch EditorFour TV shows I love to watch -Mr. Bean on PogoClick on BBC WorldTop Gear on BBC WorldThe Car and Bike Show on NDTV 24x7Four movies I can watch over and over -AnandChalti Ka Naam GaadiThose Magnificent Men In Their Flying MachinesThe Shawshank RedemptionFour places I have lived at -HardwarChandigarhIndoreFaridabadFour places I have been on holiday (in the last couple of years) -KathmanduGoaOotyMysoreFour of my favourite dishes -Anything that my mother cooksAnything that my mother cooksAnything that my mother cooksAnything that my mother cooksFour websites I visit (almost) daily -Gmail.ComGoogle.ComStatcounter.ComTechnorati.ComFour places I would rather be right now -My ancestral village (in district Bathinda, Punjab)GoaSimlaKasauli Read more:Quattro
Southwards bound: Goan architecture 2007-11-10 03:21:00 I had heard and read that Goa has a number of beautiful churches dating back to the colonial era, when the state and some of its surrounding areas were ruled by the Portuguese. I found this to be true when my family and I took a conducted tour of North Goa. The best in terms of architectural splendour, perhaps, is the Basilica of Bom Jesus or the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier.However, a fact that I had not known of before and one that I realised almost as soon as the train entered Goan territory was that among the most beautiful specimens of architecture, which is nearly ubiquitous in the state, is the Goan villa. Besides the sloping, khaprail (tiles made of clay) roofs, my attention was caught by the ornate glass doors and windows that had designs that were distinctly European (as can be seen in the photograph posted above, which was taken by my brother) and unlike any I had seen elsewhere in India, even in colonial-era buildings. Apparently, the British style of construction in India
Yet another tag... 2007-11-17 04:09:00 I have been tagged yet again. So, let us get down to business, without much ado.Here we go:1. Name one person that made you laugh last night?General Pervez Musharraf. He told me "a joke of the highest order"!2. What are you doing at 8:00am, generally?Usually, I am fast asleep, or, at least, that is the way it has been for the past year and a half or so.3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?I was reading the newspaper, while sipping from a mug of hot milk.4. What happened to you in 2006?A lot of things, including unemployment.5. What was the last thing you said out loud?The lyrics of a Hindi movie song, while there was no one at home.6. How many beverages did you have today?None. I do not consume any beverages, including tea and coffee, on a regular basis and do not consume alchohol at all.7. What color is your hairbrush?Black.8. What was the last thing you paid for?I paid for petrol, for my motorcycle.9. Where were you last night?I was at home.10. What color is your front door?White.(1
Saanjha Virsa PunjabiaaN Da (The Shared Heritage of Punjabis) - II 2007-11-26 07:45:00 The Advanced Centre for Technical Development of Punjabi language, Literature and Culture of the Punjabi University, Patiala, has released two utilities, one of which is meant for transliteration from the Gurmukhi script to the Shahmukhi script, while the other is meant for transliteration from Shahmukhi to Gurmukhi.The latter is still in the beta stage of development, however.For the uninitiated, the Punjabi language is mostly written in the Gurmukhi script, in the Indian part of Punjab, whereas, the Shahmukhi script is mainly used for that purpose in the Pakistani part of Punjab. Read more:Heritage
Southwards bound: The Chosen One 2007-12-05 14:50:00 We were at the villa at Loutolim, where our guide, Mrs. Pinto, had gathered all her charges around herself, at the gate. As she continued her monologue about the history of the place, some of us listened intently, while others, including my brother and I, took pictures.Subsequently, as we walked into the premises, along the path that led from the gate to the porch, there sat, on the grass that had been planted alongside, a kitten. It was pure white in colour, interspersed with patches of black. Even as my brother and I tried to attract its attention, it continued to nibble on something and appeared quite content doing that. So, we walked on.Later, while we were inside the house, we found the same little one sitting in a corner and purring softly. My brother whistled and I snapped my fingers, as each of us knelt down on one knee, on the wooden floor, to try and attract its attention.It got up and started walking slowly towards us. It stopped in front of my brother first, sniffed a bit a
Seven Random Facts about Myself 2007-12-12 14:54:00 This time, the tag requires me to write down seven random facts about myself, which are as follows:1. I love animals. If I knew how, I would like to make friends with almost every single animal in the world (Disclaimer: This does not apply to humans!). This is despite the odd mishap that can and does happen every now and then, like the disagreement I had with my maternal grandfather's dog and which led to his holding one of my ankles between his teeth and, ultimately, letting me off with a little scratch rather than a bite or when a very sick little puppy bit me on my left hand, when I tried to disengage him from my shoe-laces, subsequent to which I had to be administered the anti-rabies shots since the poor little one had died soon after having bitten me (I suppose this should be publicised in the animal world's news media, so that they all know how lethal biting me can prove to be. I still feel bad for the puppy though, even as I shall always remember him by the crescent-shaped sca Read more:Seven
, Random
, Seven Random
Southwards bound: Sidhusaaheb and the Sea 2007-12-24 02:20:00 All my life, I have been reading in books about the 'blue sea'. When I was much younger and at school, I was told to use light blue crayons to colour rivers in my drawing-book or the space occupied by the various oceans in a map of the world that was blank, except for the outlines of all the continents.In reality, all the rivers that I have seen have either been a dark shade of green or a dull shade of grey. So, I was really excited when I travelled to Goa in July this year, with the family. This, after all, was the first time that I was going to see the sea, so to say.It was early morning when the train rolled into Goan precincts. Besides the lush, green countryside, there were the lovely villas that caught my attention, from amongst all that rushed past the window. I did not really expect to catch a glimpse of the sea until after we reached our destination. Soon, however, beyond a line of coconut trees on the shore, a vast expanse of water, which was a pale shade of grey, came into
Another Book Tag... 2008-02-26 06:14:00 This time the tag requires me to reach out for the nearest book, open page 123, grab the fifth line and add the next three lines to the blog-post.So, I have reached out and picked up the nearest book. It is titled 'A House for Mr. Biswas' and the author is V. S. Naipaul. I have opened page 123. However, I think I shall grab the third line instead of the fifth."I see you have got your name in the papers," Seth said.Mr. Biswas shrugged.The gods swung slowly in the hammock, frowning.As for what the book is all about, I have no idea, for I have not read it. The tag, after all, mentioned reaching out for the nearest book and nothing at all about reading it!
Cleaning Punjab's Polluted Waters 2008-02-19 05:21:00 Over the recent past, I have been reading news-reports of the people of Punjab suffering from the ill-effects of drinking polluted water. This has not only been on account of untreated industrial effluents, but also due to unprecedented amounts of chemical pesticides and fertilisers being used and ultimately seeping down into the ground water, which is a major source of drinking water in the rural areas.Over the long term, obviously, the solution lies in getting the industrialists to set up treatment plants, so that untreated effluents do not reach drinking water sources. Additionally, chemical pesticides and fertilisers have to be gradually replaced with biotic ones.The problem is very real, however, and requires to be dealt with in the immediate future. After all, it is now that the peop Read more:Cleaning
, Waters
Technology Tag 2008-02-08 01:16:00 This time the tag is about technology and the difference that it has made to my life.A little less than two years ago, I visited Pakistan along with my family. This was a unique experience, not only for me, but also for my parents and younger brother. None of us had been to that country before and, given the mercurial relationship between India and Pakistan, it is always difficult to say as to when or if at all there would be a next time.Being Punjabis visiting the part of Punjab that lies on the other side of the border, we were glad to note that almost everything, apart from the religious faith that most people practise over there, is very similar to that in the Indian part of Punjab. There were a lot of interesting asides too, in addition to a heavy dose of nostalgia and a nice, warm ki Read more:Technology
Corruption in the Indian Private Sector 2008-02-02 07:04:00 I received the following message through email recently, offering me a 'contract' that I could sign in order to recieve bribes on a consistent basis:Dear CandidateGreetings !We are presenting an offer to be a part time employee of our company andearn whatever you want. For this you need not to spend extra time, you need notto go anywhere, just pay your attention and cooperation to our company.Basically we are Manpower Solution Company and focusing on recruitmentconsultancy and Manpower Outsourcing. With a huge Client base, we are servingour Clients nationwide and we are very much capable to give quality staffingservices in almost all Industry and all functional areas.What You Are Supposed To Do.a) Introduce our Consultancy to your ConcernedCompany.b) Finish formality of singeing of our Ter Read more:Corruption
, Private
Sidhusaaheb at the Auto Expo 2008 2008-01-22 06:27:00 It appears almost surreal now. For all of a hundred and twelve rupees, a nearly destitute, sometimes-employed man like me could go and take a close look at some of the loveliest automobiles in the world. Twelve rupees, incidentally, was the to and fro fare for the train ride between home and the venue of the exposition i.e. Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, with the rest being the entry fee.Apart from the current range of products that each manufacturer participating in the show sells in the country, a number of other vehicles had also been displayed. Among all of these, there were some that especially caught my eye.The highlight of the trip was coming face to face with the small general-purpose vehicle that has, arguably, the best off-road capabilities, available to the civilian population of th
Auction the Bharat Ratna! 2008-01-13 08:09:00 Over the past few days, the government of India has been receiving missives from various political parties, recommending various politicians, who are either dead or retired or soon to retire or in a state of semi-retirement, for the nation's highest civilian honour i.e. the Bharat
Ratna.The Bharatiya Janata Party has recommended Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Bahujan Samaj Party has recommended the late Mr. Kanshi Ram, the communists are supposed to have been peddling the name of Mr. Jyoti Basu, whereas the Akalis are now supposed to have joined the race with Mr. Parkash Singh Badal as their candidate and the Telugu Desam Party is not far behind with their demand for the award to go to the late Mr. N. T. Rama Rao.More parties could, possibly, join the fray as the 'race' continues to heat up Read more:Auction
Remembrances... 2008-01-08 13:27:00 It has been a year now.This photograph was taken much earlier, of course, when the little one decided to take a nap one afternoon, using the edge of my slipper as a pillow.
Wish fulfilment and a strange co-incidence 2008-01-04 05:49:00 A few blog-posts ago, Raza Rumi had left a comment stating that he likes going for long walks, just like me, to which I had replied that perhaps we should go for a walk together some time in the near future.Well, it just so happened that Raza came visiting friends in Delhi and also invited me to accompany him and some of his other local friends on a long walk. It was the eve of Urdu poet Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib's birth anniversary and a candle-light march was being organised to mark the occasion.Earlier, Raza and I had exchanged mobile telephone numbers through email and, subsequently, traded text messages, as well as having spoken to each other to explore the possibility of arranging a meeting.It was really good when we met, even though I eventually decided not to accompany him for th
My father's memories of November 1984 2008-03-12 14:16:00 My father has been kind enough to pen down some of his experiences and memories
from those tumultuous times, which are as follows:"There is no doubt that the anti-Sikh riots in 1984 were a totally planned process. This is borne out by my personal experiences described here. The identities of those who carried out the planning not only in Delhi, but all over the Hindi belt, have been suppressed by the commissions or investigating agencies.I was working with BHEL, Hardwar, in 1984 and living in the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) colony at Ranipur, Hardwar.We were in office on 31st October when the news of Indira Gandhi's assassination came in. There were no ill-feelings among the staff members except one or two personal clashes.However, when we went to office on 1st November
, the at
Golden Oldie 2008-03-19 07:23:00 The B4U Movies channel on television airs songs from old Hindi movies every night around 1 a.m., which often include some from the black and white era, on a show called Tasveerein. Here is one such rare gem that has been on the show more than once. I would like to offer my sincerest apologies, in advance, to those who do not understand Hindi/Urdu. I am sure they, too, can enjoy the music, however.Film: Ek Raaz (which released in the year 1963)Singer: Kishore Kumar (on whom the song has been picturised, as well)Music Director: ChitraguptLyricist: Majrooh Sultanpuri Read more:Golden
, Oldie
'V' for Victory 2008-03-26 13:21:00 It was his birthday on March 21 and that reminded me of the fact that we have not communicated with each other for several years now.We met for the first time in late 1989, soon after I moved to Chandigarh, along with my family. He was among my class-mates at school. Both of us lived in the same sector of the city and used to ride our respective bicycles together every day, at least on the way back home, since I was almost invariably late in the mornings. We were in standard IX then.After completing standard X, he got himself admitted to a college, while I remained at the same school as before. Within the next three years, we passed the standard XII examinations and then spent a year without having joined any educational institution as he meant to re-appear and improve his scores and I hop Read more:Victory
Golden Oldie - II 2008-04-04 02:42:00 Here is another rare gem that I have been able to unearth, once again, with the help of Tasveerein on the B4U Movies channel on television.Film: Funtoosh (1956)Singer: Kishore KumarMusic Director: S. D. BurmanLyricist: Sahir Ludhianvi Read more:Golden
, Oldie
Southwards bound: At Cochin 2008-04-10 12:36:00 After having enjoyed an interesting journey from Delhi to Goa, seen some marvellous specimens of architecture there, made some new friends and having enjoyed some of the sea and sand at Goa's beaches, we went on to Cochin. It was a little more than an overnight journey and we arrived there on a rainy afternoon.Lunch, comprised of traditional South Indian fare including rice, daal (lentil soup), curd and pickle, was had at the Ernakulam railway station itself and then an auto-rickshaw was hired to take us and our luggage to a budget hotel. By the time we had checked in, relaxed for a while and freshened up, it was already evening and we decided to set out to explore the place.The driver of the auto-rickshaw that we hired to go to the nearest point on the sea-shore turned out to be quite gre
Corn-cobs, anyone? 2008-04-17 02:33:00 These goats were lounging about on the foot-path besides one of the main streets in Ooty, until one decided to inspect the stock, when a corn-cob seller stepped away from her stall for a while.
May the tribe of nomads prosper! 2008-04-28 03:06:00 This tag is one of the two that are pending and I am attempting this one first only because the questions appear easier to answer than those in the other one.Last movie seen in a theatre?RVWhat book are you reading?NoneFavourite board game?ScrabbleFavourite Magazine(s):Reader's Digest, India TodayFavourite Smells:Lime, CocoaFavourite Sound:The exhaust note of my motorcycle, guitar riffs accompanied by drumsWorst Feeling In The World:The burning sensation that follows having found out that something I would never have wanted to happen has happened and when I can not seem to either laugh or cry.What Is The First Thing You Think Of When You Wake Up?Is it morning or is it afternoon?Favourite Fast Food Place:McDonald's and the most likely purchases there include Chicken McGrill, Cold Coffee, Va Read more:prosper
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