Well, I took this picture yesterday. I had gone to the rock garden and the absence of telephoto lens apart, the picture taking was fun indeed. I walked past a wall covered with grafitti, littered with shards of broken commodes, wash basins and the like when I saw a juxtaposition that suggested itself. A proclamation of love, certified by the ISI (Indian standards institute... currently also called the BIS or the Bureau of Indian Standards for unknown reasons). And the humor apart, I wondered that is really ever possible... I mean does love last? Or should it at all?
The walls and the parks all over the city seem to suggest that everyone is crazily in love so maybe it does after all.
As I came back home, I started thinking about a book called the Quiet American by Graham Greene (him again, the bane of all thinking men).
Friday, May 23, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Development
I just saw this pic on flickr, taken by my good friend Sourav. It shows a view of new housing developments under construction in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, on the outskirts of Delhi.
In the backdrop is agricultural farmland which will also be urban landscape in the near future. Two years back, the buildings on the right did not exist. Instead, this area too was farmland.
Much the same is happening on the outskirts of Chandigarh. Now it is difficult to see any farmland in the entire drive from Dera Bassi to Zirakpur which is a good 10kms. This was not the case even till about 2-3 years, housing schemes and marriage palaces have mushroomed like well, Mushrooms. With prices in Chandigarh being obscenely high, these housing schemes are the only way that people from the middle class can have any chance of owning a house of any sort. The problem remains one of infrastructure, these buildings have come up in the midst of debris and chaos and have added to that debris and chaos. people in power who have wanted to make money have allowed direct entrances to these buildings from the national highway leading to even more chaos on the highways, no power, no water, no amenities. No farmland....no agriculture...I wonder where we are all going.
In the backdrop is agricultural farmland which will also be urban landscape in the near future. Two years back, the buildings on the right did not exist. Instead, this area too was farmland.
Much the same is happening on the outskirts of Chandigarh. Now it is difficult to see any farmland in the entire drive from Dera Bassi to Zirakpur which is a good 10kms. This was not the case even till about 2-3 years, housing schemes and marriage palaces have mushroomed like well, Mushrooms. With prices in Chandigarh being obscenely high, these housing schemes are the only way that people from the middle class can have any chance of owning a house of any sort. The problem remains one of infrastructure, these buildings have come up in the midst of debris and chaos and have added to that debris and chaos. people in power who have wanted to make money have allowed direct entrances to these buildings from the national highway leading to even more chaos on the highways, no power, no water, no amenities. No farmland....no agriculture...I wonder where we are all going.
A post-Uploads and Downloads
This got left undone, so I a completing it now and with a new picture too. This is from the welcoming committee at the sun temple of Konark. Meanwhile the whirling circle of the blogger image uploader has me dizzy, I wish there was an easier way through this whole rigmarole.
Can u beat that, I have to do the whole thing all over again!! About as bad as having two flat tires at one time.
Got that bugger up finally!!!!
Now you go and face the world.........hahahaha
Can u beat that, I have to do the whole thing all over again!! About as bad as having two flat tires at one time.
Got that bugger up finally!!!!
Now you go and face the world.........hahahaha
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
A virus in the CF card
I have read at various places that computer viruses do not infect memory cards....well that is not entirely true. Yesterday, at a friends place I plugged in a CF card that he had got from his friend and found a USB type autorun virus that i blogged about previously under the Nhatquanglan name.
As I connected the CF card to my laptop, the free AVG antivirus lit up and healed the infection too, I wonedr might have happened if the CF card was put into his canon 400D SLR. It seems that if a CF card is used like a pen drive or a flash drive to transfer data (pictures even) from one infected computer, it can be infected with this type of virus. What it does when plugged into a camera is something I dont know and dont want to find out. To all those reading this, do not use your CF cards as pen drives, use them to store pictures in the camera. keep your computer clean with any antivirus...burn pictures on to a CD, use the CD to get pictures printed from the shop (if you dont have your own printer).
As I connected the CF card to my laptop, the free AVG antivirus lit up and healed the infection too, I wonedr might have happened if the CF card was put into his canon 400D SLR. It seems that if a CF card is used like a pen drive or a flash drive to transfer data (pictures even) from one infected computer, it can be infected with this type of virus. What it does when plugged into a camera is something I dont know and dont want to find out. To all those reading this, do not use your CF cards as pen drives, use them to store pictures in the camera. keep your computer clean with any antivirus...burn pictures on to a CD, use the CD to get pictures printed from the shop (if you dont have your own printer).
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
The Candle Light March from Tsuglagkahng
I generally go to Mcleodganj every couple of months or so...I have waxed eloquent about the reasons numerous times in my previous posts. So those interested can refer back to those.
In continuation of the series of visits, I spent a weekend at Mcleodganj that also doubled up as my honeymoon. As it turned out, because of paucity of time more than anything else...i did not have much of a choice in the matter. As it turned out...I was quite happy with the whole experience. The weekend in question also coincided with the start of the protests that again drew world attention to the Tibetan question. And for once, Mcleodganj became a cauldron of angry, self righteous Tibetans from a peaceful hill station teeming with honeymooning and not so honey mooning couples.
There were marches every single day, and candle light marches every evening. It was touching to see groups of people coming together, fighting for a country that many of them have never seen. A hunger strike went on unabated and monks and nuns from surrounding areas made up the numbers. Another tent had children from the Tibetan Transit school.
There was a fairly large media contingent as well, and now after a month...it seems that there is no real effect and no real change in anything.
The Tibetan people seem to be waiting for a world that doesn't care, or for guidance from a god that seems to have counseled patience since the last fifty years.
In continuation of the series of visits, I spent a weekend at Mcleodganj that also doubled up as my honeymoon. As it turned out, because of paucity of time more than anything else...i did not have much of a choice in the matter. As it turned out...I was quite happy with the whole experience. The weekend in question also coincided with the start of the protests that again drew world attention to the Tibetan question. And for once, Mcleodganj became a cauldron of angry, self righteous Tibetans from a peaceful hill station teeming with honeymooning and not so honey mooning couples.
There were marches every single day, and candle light marches every evening. It was touching to see groups of people coming together, fighting for a country that many of them have never seen. A hunger strike went on unabated and monks and nuns from surrounding areas made up the numbers. Another tent had children from the Tibetan Transit school.
There was a fairly large media contingent as well, and now after a month...it seems that there is no real effect and no real change in anything.
The Tibetan people seem to be waiting for a world that doesn't care, or for guidance from a god that seems to have counseled patience since the last fifty years.
IPL
After ICL, Its IPL. And I am watching a match on TV right now. It seems cricket has finally become a business in more ways than one.
Most of the matches have been very one sided so far so nothing great in that respect so far, more irritating than that is the type of advertising on TV during these matches. Having the beginning and the ends of the overs lopped off is common stuff, but there is a new virus in town. Its the Vodafone and the Godrej ads being shown during the overs. It some sort of an animation that takes up some off the screen and more than that is the music that cuts off whatever the commentators are saying right when they have something interesting to say. I mean, the advertisers and the TV wallahs cant always have such a low opinion of the intelligence of the viewers. I hope they mend their ways soon. Its not always money that counts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
