acoustic grunge

The artist

2011-12-21T03:25:00.001-08:00

Everybody in the gathering called himself an art lover,
But the truth behind everyone's love he could uncover,
The stark reality, his art would just cover a plain wall,
And at the end of the day, the buyer would stand tall.

Some people said they loved his usage of colors,
Some branded his brushstrokes extremely bold,
Some of them casually sipped wine, posing as donors,
Looking at the paintings that would soon be sold.

Tired of the lies, he wanted to find an excuse,
To being the best he could be, being a recluse,
But someone in the crowd raised a toast,
The artist was his friend he would boast.

Forced to make a speech, he stood in the center,
Social interaction was never his cup of tea,
He was done soon, it sounded like a little banter,
And slowly he made his attempt to flee.

And soon everyone fought,screaming out a number,
He wished every moment that he be in a slumber,
Before the numbers and people could leave him confused,
He looked around the chaos to find his next muse...

The Performer

2011-11-29T03:43:00.000-08:00

There she stood, draped in silk,

Looked like she had bathed in milk,

She soon became the cynosure,

As silence descended over the enclosure.

She was brought to the stage by her teacher,

Whose finger she held tightly in her tiny hands,

Reaching for the mic which was standing taller than her,

She stretched her tiny frame and held on to the stand.

She closed her eyes, and it all came back,

How the prize offered had caught her eye,

How her house was fully lit the previous night,

How she was told not to give up the fight.

She started singing like she knew no fear,

Smiling to people watching from far and near,

Scaling notes was her sweet feeble voice,

Chirping like a bird, she made more noise.

She was telling a story and the crowd listened,

Her parents feeling proud, feeling unburdened,

And when it was finaly over, she stood there,

Oblivious to the applause, she looked for a hand... To take her away

A Devil's Workshop

2011-08-03T23:26:00.001-07:00

I see that photo from our first ever and best ever trip. A lot of feelings are flowing in my mind and I wanna throw it out today. I feel nostalgia, I feel pain, I feel anguish. My eyes are filled with tears but I will not cry. It is not manly to cry.

NOSTALGIA:

Yeah that was us back then, still growing up(We still are). Those were the days when the only thing we were worried about was the blisters on our feet after playing bare foot football under the sun. Those were the days when we waited for the college bell to ring so that we could run to Tapas's place and play. Those were the days when all we worried about is the cricket and football matches we played.

We made a list of ten most memorable moments remember! I managed to save seven of them on my mobile. We never thought of completing it :D

The Journey by train to Shimoga: It was a very simple plan for a trip but executed perfectly. We stayed the whole night from 1145 PM to 6 AM inside the train. We kept chatting, speaking like there would be no tomorrow. Nothing could stop us from talking that night. We made non stop jokes about a Brett Lee and a 'Solid' Neil McKenzie. I still remember the clouds against the moon representing the food chain gone wrong. Mouse chases cat, cat chases dog. Awesome!!

Watched this video ten times last week and kept laughing. Ujju and Gujju had to share a bicycle at Sirsi. Ujju was the rider and Gujju was the pillion rider who sad in the front. It looked like Ganesh and Pooja Gandhi together. And just as Sanki was capturing these golden moments, something happened. Ujju lost balance and they fell down in classic slow motion. Sanki could not keep himself steady and started laughing putting the camera out of focus.

Aslam's place. We reached there after spending some amazing time at Sanki's place. We were not prepared for the reception we eventually got. Everybody in Aslam's street came out of their houses. Gujju, amazed by the attention innocently asks us 'Maga, should we wave back at them?'

Aslam's place. Everybody was keen to see the girl in the opposite house. We tried to catch a glimpse of the girl, but thanks to sanki's ill timed whistle ringtone we had to hide. The girl went inside and in a moment the light went off.

This was something I never witnessed but the description of the event by Tapas himself was enough to make it memorable. Gujju tried to exhibit his vocal skills by singing 'Tu dhoop hai'. Still remember how we laughed at that.

Gujju is an amazing artist. He is a master of languages. He successfully translated a famous Kannada song which resulted in the line 'In me chest sweet Kolahala is comes'.

Gujju and Aslam also started the trend of 'Memento'. The lesser said about it the better. But it was awesome fun.

How can I forget the day when My club Barcelona Beat Man U and we witnessed this at Ujju's place. I was the only Barcelona fan that day among 9 people and yes as soon as the lights went off, I became the football.

At that time, being together meant we could do anything. That was the kind of confidence you guys gave me. You taught me what friendship is and I became the proudest guy on the earth.

PAIN

Now, I am left staring at the photograph and wondering "What the fuck went wrong?"(The language will get worse from her, so if you are a girl I recommend u to go back to facebook. Thank you for reading) Why has things changed so much. We stopped playing football and started spending more time at our college parking lot. We started watching really dumb movies in theaters. Our cameras never had any more group photos of ours. The seven of us never posed again for a photo together. We were never a group, we were seven good friends who had great understanding and now we had become nothings. We started worrying about what situations it would create if we stood together for a photograph. Why the fuck did that happen?

We went together to the most stupid of fests with none of us participating but why on the earth couldn't u come to support me when I did and Shaw performed in some of them?? (Yeah I am complaining about it, but I m doing it to you guys, you're my best friends)

Why the fuck have we stopped spending time together? What the fuck went wrong there? We could still have played football near Tapas' place. Why didn't we?

I'm not demanding answers here, these are just a few questions I kept asking myself.

ANGUISH:

Sanki's sister's marriage was the most awaited event for us since we became close friends. We dreamt of doing all the work there. It eventually happened, my eyes filled with tears when it happened. We also managed to serve food and become a part of the celebration in our style. Other than that and the time me, kat and ujju got lost in the woods, it turned out to be the worst trip ever to his place.

EPILOGUE:

I seriously do not know why I wrote this, but I know why I wrote this here. Nobody can come here and press a 'like' button or comment on it and have someone else 'like' the comment. This is MY space and I wanted to make sure I can put my thoughts without any inhibitions.

I sincerely hope that things get better but also realize that all good things come to an end. But moving on is a very hard thing. Maybe now, I can move on. I've done this personally too, but here it is. Aslam, Kat, Ujju, Sanki, Shaw and Gujju, I'm really sorry if something from my side triggered this and I apologize sincerely. Will always remember you when I see any word that relates to friendship. Love you guys. Good luck!

Another year of Solitude

2011-06-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

Here I am, an unlikely poet,

Trying to paint a picture through my words,

An empty canvas to throw colors at,

I try to fill it with trees and birds.

Sitting with an out of tune guitar,

Here I am, an unlikely singer,

Hoping that the newly found harmony,

Lasts a little while longer.

Absorbing the silence of the sky,

and the darkness of the clouds passing by,

Embracing the loneliness with gratitude,

I celebrate another year of solitude.

KID WITHOUT CANDY

2011-04-19T11:06:00.001-07:00

"Fuck!", I kept on saying the word every time my heart beat and it was beating like crazy right now. The bell had just rung and me and my buddy pals were silently making our way out. The professor was making his way into the class. He saw me. I thought that the old man would not remember me and hence I kept walking. I would not have given a fuck but he called me by my name! The Doppler Effect indicated that the apparent frequency was high and hence he was very near to me. I had to go back. Here I am, stuck in the Physics class!

I hate physics! The old man is talking about gravitation. What goes up comes down. It is fairly simple but why the equations and acceleration? Couldn't Newton just eat the damned apple that fell on his head. It is so hot inside the class. I look at the window and see my friends. Those fuckers are having fun. I was so close to being with them, thanks to him I am stuck here. Wonder how he knows my name.

I hate those first benchers. Fucking geeks. They always listen to the lectures and raise fucking doubts about those stuff. I always have a single doubt and that does not have anything to do with the lecture. Wait! Who is that chick in red? Thank god she is not a first bencher. She's hot man! Do I have a chance with her?

Fuck man! Liverpool lost again! God save the club. I really do not know what kind of tactics the retard of a manager is employing man! Look at other clubs, even Man city is doing great. Oh come on! What the fuck is wrong with my watch! Feels like the hands inside it need a push. Still half an hour left.

Hey old man, don't you dare look at me. You screwed my plans today and I cannot tolerate anything more. I feel like tying you up on a chair and continuously talk about my dreams.

Hey! Concentrate. He is asking me something. I did not get it.

"I beg your pardon sir"

"What is the unit of Gravitational acceleration?"

I am not going to utter a word. You can do whatever the fuck you want. You screwed my plans today and now you are screwing my dreams up. You are going to die the most violent death in the history of mankind.

Isn’t it a universal rule that every hot chick has a guy by her side all the time! It always happens to me.

Hey! Concentrate! He is scolding me.

Those geeks must be enjoying this. I am having the urge to use my middle finger and show them what my opinion about them is. God! This guy is going on and on. My dreams are crumbling and I am concentrating on him.

"Get out of my class!"

So. What the fuck was I talking about?

The Rookie

2011-04-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

He threw up in the trash can. The stink in the dark bathroom did not help him either. Years of training had not helped him. Down on his knees, facing the can, he threw up again. He looked to his right. His revolver was on the floor. He picked it up. It was still warm. He had been holding it tight for the last two minutes. Right from the time it was in his pocket close to his crotch,

till now. He saw his watch. "So much in two minutes!", he thought to himself...

It was all over in thirty seconds. There was a loud gunshot and blood sprayed all over the walls of the dimly lit room. He had just managed to shoot the 'bastard' in the head. He had starred in

the climax of the encounter.

The situation was surreal. Every second seemed to fill his mind with many thoughts and many images. The demons in his mind took the shape of the 'bastard' whose picture he saw during the

mission briefing. The demons taunted him and so did the bastard. He could not take it. He tried very hard to keep his eyes open, and stop biting his own teeth but could not. Finally, he pulled the trigger.

He could hear his own heart beat. It was racing as he climbed the stairs. The team consisted of four members and there was a backup team too. He was the rookie, freshly drafted into the team. He could remember every word his team mates had spoken at every step he took.

'The bastard is sleeping in the fourth floor of an old building in sixth street', one of them walked into the office.

'Hope the intelligence hasn't fucked it up this time', the other one had asked.

'The intelligence does not know about this. It is my man who gave it to me.'

'Are we doing it?', the rookie had asked.

'This motherfucker is responsible for half of the trafficking that takes place. Sells children like he sells fucking peanuts. Shot one of our men point blank and skinned another undercover agent. You ask me if we're doing it?'

The rookie had no answers.

The next thing he could remember was the conversation he had with another senior member.

'It will be bad at the first time. You'll hear screams, see a lot of blood and also some brain if you shoot him in the head point blank'

'Shoot him in the head', the other senior added.

'You'll even throw up. But don't worry even I did it in my first encounter', he was told.

They had reached the fourth floor now, a hundred and fourty one beats and ninety seconds later.

'You do it', one of the seniors told him.

He looked at his bulletproof vest. Tightening his grip on his revolver, he broke the door open.

Autograph

2011-01-19T09:17:00.001-08:00

TRRRRING!!! My mobile rang on a friday noon ( Actually I have the default Nokia tone so it wasnt trrring exactly). It was turning out to be another boring day of the most boring vacations in my engineering life so far. I was banking on the evening's football session to provide some relief. Back to the phone, it was US, my brother( I have deleted the 'in law' part)

Me: Hi!!

US: Hey Handsome!

Me: Temme.

US: I ve got passes to raghu dixit's concert today eve at JP Nagar.

Me: I'll be there.

US: Cool!

Me: Cool! C u there.

I had mixed emotions. No football, but I was going to Raghu's concert. Wasn't expecting any action at Raghu's concert compared to football. (I atleast run around while playing football if not play!) So I made it to the concert. US had VVIP passes so me and me friends Shaggy, Kat, Shaw and my bro Aditya made it inside. We sat in the penultimate row of chairs like obedient last benchers. One of the leading music directors in the kannada industry, Mr. Gurukiran was giving the mic, the sound system and us a real hard time. We were there for Raghu Dixit only. This was obviously testing our tolerance levels. There were times when we felt Raghu won't make it and I would get my butt kicked for calling my friends.

We were hungry and we had to eat. But with a crowd like that there was confusion whether we could leave the premises and come back. So, to clarify, me and Kat went towards the gate... We passed the stage, and at the backstage I saw a couple of people in dhothis. One of them holding the base guitar (Gaurav Vaz, I came to know his name after I came back home). There was a chance of us meeting Raghu. I looked at Kat. Kat surprisingly took out a small notebook. I was as amazed as a little child watching a majic show for the first time. He asked for a pen. I ran back to US and took a pen. I came back. And there he was, Raghu Dixit, washing his face. There was

nobody around to stop us. Me and Kat planned an ambush. We went around backstage walking among debris at the place and finally I was face to face with the man himself...

My pulse was racing. I was actually rehearsing in the noon the whole situation in front of the mirror. Now that i was in front of him I was short of words. I started.

"Sir, I am a huge fan!!" like everyone else does.

He acknowledged it with a smile. A man cannot do anything more in such situations especially when he is washing his face.

Kat: "Autograph please"

Raghu:"Thadkolappa, mukha tholkotheeni" ( He has a great sense of humour)

Me: "I am a guitarist and I never thought I would be singing a kannada song in my life till I heard munjaane manjalli. Now, I m famous for singing that among my friends. It is a beautiful song".

Again no response. He finished washing his face

Me: "Sir which scale do u play that in?"

Raghu: "I think A. I actually used a capo for that song"

Me: "Beautiful song sir, amazing"

He went inside the changing room. For a second i thought he wont come back. If it was a dream, he wouldn have. Instead it would be mom, screaming at me, waking me up saying i don keep my room clean.

He did come back, the sound of anklets signalling it. He took the pen and the small notebook that Kat had and started signing.

I gathered courage and told him

"Sir, I will share the stage with you someday. I will make the stage mine and perform with you. I will be there with you". I seriously dunno if any of that makes sense. But I made my point. I ll make some music and will perform

on the big stage someday.

Raghu: "Make sure you do it before I grow old"

Me: "Sure sir"

Then we posed for the photograph.

Raghu (if at all you're reading this), you have no idea what you've inspired. And it was an awesome show. We were right in front of you. Never had the chance to watch you perform from such close distance before.

To the band:(again, if at all you're reading this): I din know any of your names, so it wouldnt have been a gr8 idea to blindly take autographs. I did not mean any disrespect Gaurav, Wilfred, Vijay, Jathin. You guys rocked! Will queue up only for your autographs next time.

Kat: Hadn't it been for you, I wouldn have had the guts to even go backstage! Love you man! And thanx for the photo. you still gotta give that autograph :P

Umashankar (US): You're a real gem who truly appreciates me for what I am. Thank you so much for the passes and everything else.

Shaggy, Shaw, Adi: Thanx for the awesome company!

Abstract Engineering

2010-12-16T23:49:00.000-08:00

Drowning amidst equations like a lost knight,

Counting stars in broad daylight,

Tuning our minds to an unknown frequency,

Want to break free, we want to feel valency.

Every brain is an auditorium,

Where amnesia and insomnia freelance,

Hoping to break free from this pandemonium,

Can't see Einstein perform the devil's dance.

Feeling dyslexic every time we write,

As we jumble the greek alphabet,

Diagnosed with examination fright,

We feel we're better off writing a sonnet.

The artists in us always rebel,

So that we can use our right brains,

And still we are the envy of many people,

Who cannot see us trapped in these chains.

Last Comic Standing

2010-12-03T22:33:00.000-08:00

His sense of humour ceased to be,

As he could only stand and see,

He had delivered his last punchline,

He wished everything would be fine.

He was the last comic standing,

His dry sarcasm had dried up,

His wit no more commanding,

He felt like a lost little pup.

Laughter was his only business,

That would always feed him,

Robbing people would've been a mess,

Since he could never stop talking.

Laughter dies a slow death,

It was dying in front of him,

He stood there catching his breath,

His supper was at the audience's whim.

Looked like he had to be hungry,

The audience showed no mercy,

Some of them bored, some angry,

Some begged them to stop.

Laughter died, chaos took over,

As everybody went out,

The lights went out but he stayed,

Wondering what he'd eat tonight

Dial A for Adventure(also Abhi :P): The Monsoon Assignment 3:

2010-08-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

All of us finally breathed relief that we had reached our destination for the day and almost threw our bags. Our bags were all wet and so were all the clothes and bed sheets inside them. Brrr.. It was cold and I was sleeping. I was hating it everytime the door opened. Cursing my wit and luck for the bag and its wet contents, I was lying down. Most of the others went to take a shower under one of the waterfalls nearby. I couldn't even manage to get up. The whole idea of sitting

wearing wet clothes after a cold shower sent a chill down my spine.

Then I was woken up when the rope on which all the clothes were put to dry gave way and fell on me. I almost screamed out aggressively, thanks to my dream (never remembered it!) My sleep vanished. Now it was cold again. It was dark already. Thanks to all my wet clothes, I spent most of the night in my underwear... Soon it was dinner time. By now, we had almost become allergic to chapatis. We had some rice. Santosh had a better meal. He cooked the crabs he had caught and ate it. Me, a vegetarian politely turned his offer down. After heating my hands and feet, we sat down for the team meeting. We had to decide on what we would do the next day. We unanimously decided we'd trek furhter instead of boarding a trainto Khaginere. We slept and slept well. You tend to sleep like a baby in such situations. I was occasionally woken up by the fact that I did not have any bedsheet on me.

KHAGINERE:

The plan was to wake up at 7 and leave at 730. We finally left at 830 after waking up late and getting ready and taking a lot more photographs, we finally started from Yedukumari. The fact is that when you are at such places, even an average photographer can look like a genius. Such is the scenic beauty around! We started walikng and were greeted by a train again. We walked past a tunnel and another bridge. The folks prepared rasna only to realise that there was no sugar! They tried to use glucose but that did not help our cause. The orange flavoured rasna tasted like the oranges in most parts of Bengaluru, sour. After walking a little further, we found the route to Khaginere. We were looking at a small but an intense waterfall. That was our way!

It was an overdose of awesomeness. The plan was to walk (climb rather) continuously and not stop since there were a lot of leeches around. We climbed and climbed and climbed. Then we reached a terrain full of grass and what I saw next can best be described as heaven. There was greenery all around. Mountains in different shades of green and a waterfall looking like spilt milk. We were ecstatic. It was time for a leech check. We had them all over our legs. A couple of photographs later, I heard my mobile ring. Finally signs of network after a day. I was tense about my results and that had spoiled most of my mood the previous day. I would lose a year had I not cleard it and this fact compounded my tension. I was in a dilemma whether I should find it out then or later. I kept the mobile in the bag since the caller had hung up. Five minutes later, there was another call. It was the customer care's offers related call. I was furious. But there were 17 unread messages in my inbox. I breathed hard and opened it. The first message read 'Congrats!' I screamed in joy! Everybody had wuestion marks and exclamation marks all over their faces. Then I explained to them the whole situation. This was the best way I'd ever celebrated my result!

We left again and it was a simpler route. Then it started raining heavily again. We made it to the top and walked through wet grass terrain and finally made it to Khaginere. And god!! It was absolutely beautiful! We got rid of our bags. Vasu pointed to a nearby peak and told me "We ll go to the top of that mountain and come back in 10 minutes", I was game for it but wasn't sure about the others. The bus would be there at 1200 and that would be our only bus for the entire day. It was 1135 and we did make it to the top at 1140. After a few photographs, we thought of climbing another one which seemed to be the tallest. We gave up after realizing that we had to go on a different path. Finally Vasu and Santosh did go there. We kept our bags in the premises of a school building and waited for the bus. In the meanwhile, I took some photos including that of a beautiful well. And finally the bus arrived. We ran behind it and hopped into it only to realize that the driver was in no hurry to leave. Sometimes bravery in such situations can turn out to be useless and senseless.. But that is adventure!!

The bus finally left at 1230. We had to reach Vanagooru to catch a bus to Kukke. We reached Vanagooru at around 130 PM. We had a good lunch and were waiting for the bus to come. Kukke was 24 kilometers from there. The bus would come by 230, so i took photographs. Wanted to take a photograph of a girl who seemed very attractive but could not. Finally the bus did come at 230. We hopped into it. Santosh came up with a plan. He told us that we could take a leave on Monday, climb Kumara Parvatha and come back to bengaluru on Tuesday. The prospect itself made me jump with joy. But it was cancelled, Santosh said he would have done it had it been a good three-four months back. What difference does that make, I wondered. Later, I realised he was married. I was wondering to myself "Couldn't he have got married a little later? All of us could've had more adventure!" All folks laughed aloud when I told them the same thing in the evening.

The bus started. We were finally moving to the last stage of the whole journey. The bus journey was an adventure in itself!! The route seemed no different than the one we were trekking on. Since we were sitting in the last row of seats, every time the bus encountered a speed breaker, we were almost hitting the roof of the bus! We saw Kumara Parvatha in all its glory. That is next on my mind. There were waterfalls everywhere, even on the road as we crossed one. It was one awesome journey. We stopped at one temple. There was a waterfall there. The water was so sweet. After a small break, we were back on the road again. And we finally made it to Kukke at 430!

Pre dinner session (From left: Vasu, Shashi(sleeping), Nandeesh, Karthik, A part of prasanna)

First photos of the morning.

Me trying some spook effects

Adi trying some more. Who looks scarier? Let s have a vote!!

Santosh's meal!! (The crab :P)

Dial A for Adventure(also Abhi :P): The Monsoon Assignment 2:

2010-08-18T08:58:00.001-07:00

Some of us were whistling and to our surprise somebody was whistling back. We looked around hoping to find some people. Then, US pointed out that it was a bird! I stood there thinking for a second in astonishment, appreciating god's creation. We finally started at 715 at the 49th kilometer milestone. We walked, talked and more often than not stopped for photo sessions.

A result of which was the fact that we did not have any momentum. After almost 6 kilometers on the railway track where we walked, talked, sang and slipped, we took a detour to have breakfast. This was where we first saw leeches sucking our blood. US was the first one, followed by me and the rest. There were all sort of jokes on the same topic. In the meanwhile, we drank some instant coffee and ate 'Figure rice'(Chitranna!) on disposable paper plates which we did not dispose. Instead we washed them and kept them safe for further use. I saw a mini landslide in the meantime. The water at the Kempu Hole was at its furious best. Imagining the same on a large scale I couldn't help but cross my fingers. I think it was a warning for all us greedy human beings screwing around cutting trees and causing harm to nature.

We left again at 11 AM, lacking momentum, stamina and agility. The water from the rain had entered our shoes and soaked our socks. The rashes on my sole hurt me for every step I took. We stopped at another station called Kadagaravalli. We finished some of the food we had and got rid of some more leeches. US and Karthik interviewed some more locals and we were off again.

The best thing about walking on railway tracks is that you get to walk over the bridges and under the tunnels. Walking over the bridges was like watching a 3D movie for me coz there I was, between the clouds and i could see waterfalls below my feet. Felt like I was walking over them. Gosh! I can still remember the sound of the waterfall. It still haunts me.

Walking through tunnels can be a lot more awesome. It is usually pitch black till the end of the tunnel. We had our torches in full glow. Watching every step to make sure we did not slip. I actually freaked out when Vasu pointed out that there were heavy chances that we would encounter snakes. I would frantically look around! Some of the tunnels had inhabitants. There were a couple of tarpaulin sheets lying around and also some cooking vessels. Somebody had cooked chicken apparently. There was fire too. If I were to walk alone through these tunnels, and come across such a thing, I would ve tried to run away as fast as possible.

In the meanwhile Santosh was hunting crabs down for dinner and Karthik was the brain behind four of the preys. Karthik would locate them and Santosh armed with his killer knife would do the rest. Santosh later announced that he had the confidence that he will survive in the forest for 3 months easily!

We planned to take a break at 230 near one of the tunnels and decided to have lunch. All of us got rid of our bags on the track and started taking the food packets out. We had chapatis in our hand and were waiting to get some pickle, and suddenly we heard a train honking! We waited for the train to cross and got down at the sides without thinking much, since it was a goods train, we did not panic. The train did come, but a little later than we expected. Now this was another moment! Here we were, watching a train whizz past right in front of us and eating. Just like watching a 3D movie! After eating, we packed our bags again and were leaving and we heard a

train honk again. For a second we thought it was the same train but doppler effect was indicating otherwise. It was another train! We jumped to the sides of the tracks again. We finally left after that train whizzed past in front of us.

The last five kilometer stretch was the most strenous part of the entire trek. We were all tired and the rashes on the sole started hurting all over again. I was literally looking at every milestone hoping to find the number marked 67. After a very silent session, we managed to get to Yedukumari. After the eighteen kilometer walk, all of us were tired. We thankfully got a place to stay. Manju, an employee with the railways agreed to let us stay in his place for the night.

Top: Our destination, Yedukumari. Middle and below: Some photos. That is me btw :)

To be continued....

Dial A for Adventure(also Abhi :P): The Monsoon Assignment 1

2010-08-09T19:17:00.000-07:00

9 August 2010: 5 AM:

It is very cold. I am walking on an empty road from Kumaraswamy latout to my place which is almost a kilometer. I'd look around carefully after every step making sure no stray dogs attack me. But then I am missing some sounds too, sounds that could only be heared when you are in the middle of a thick forest. Sounds that i could hear 24 hours ago....

DONIGAL:

We were a team of 10. Me, Aditya, Umashankar, Santosh, Vasu, Prasanna, Nandeesh, Darshan, Shashi and Karthik. Our first objective after we all met at the bus stand was to (obviously!) catch a bus to Donigal from Bangalore. The bus was scheduled to leave at 930 and we all made it to the bus stand at 10. The bus had left. I pity the bus, it could ve made it to my blog and history had it waited for us. Finally, after a lot of waiting and roaming around we found our bus, a good one kilometer away from the bus stand. It was a private bus( it is a part of history now!!). We managed to take our seats and were all set only to find that the bus was not ready yet!! After managing to fill it up and sorting issues with a disgruntled passenger who lost his seat to us(mainly due to the number of us), the driver finally started the bus at 11 PM. A Kannada flick was playing on the Television and we had a fun time commenting on it and that acted as an Ice breaker for me and my bro Adi,the youngest in the group, and the rest of the group. US had warned me saying that the rest of the group may rag us but that didn't happen( thankfully). Everybody was very friendly and i shall talk about it later. The journey wasn't the most comfortable thanx to the seating. The legspace was too little but we did fine. The driving was very good though. Vasu joined us a lil later near the outskirts of the city. The bus stopped at 130 in the morning and we stepped out for some fresh air. I looked into the sky and could see it filled with stars. Yes! We had finally crossed Bengaluru!!

Finally, after dealing with some more land turbulence(:P) we reached Donigal at 4 AM. Ah! Nothing smells as good as rain at 4 in the morning! We got down, bid goodbye to the driver,

took our torches out and left for the donigal railway station at 412 AM. It was awesome!! Ten people in the quiet road in the early morning. We took a detour only to find elephant dung on the way(gulp!) Then we found out that it wasn't the way(Thank god!). We got back to the roadand took a detour again. This time we got it right. We reached the train track. It was raining, cold and very slippery. We walked a 100 meters before reaching the station at Donigal. Once at the station, all of us got rid of our bags, placed some newspapers on the floor and slept at 5 AM. As Santosh had previously said, it is a rare privilege we get. So I made the most of it. However, my sleep didn't last long. A cat's shriek and rainwater played spoilport and I woke up. Some of the other team members were already making plans for the next stage. The food packets were redistributed among all of us so that everybody could carry it without any fuss.

615 AM:

"It was raining cats and dogs", that is the standard metaphor. Here it was raining Hippos! It was raining heavily.The beautiful stream we were looking at ten minutes ago was looking like a flood on a miniature scale. We were shivering in the cold. None of us expected heavy rains on this scale. Everyone was looking for the other one's opinion. Finally, we decided "Come what may, We are here for adventure and we shall have it!!" We finally started for Yedukumari at 715 AM

Top: The stream I was talking about, will show the flood part later. Bottom: The track at 412 AM

To Be Continued

No title :(

2010-05-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

With shades of red and yellow,
He painted a scene mellow,
A flower in bloom smiling,
And all its pain it was hiding.

He drew on it things he never had,
From the paint on the brush's strands,
He drew a smile though he was sad,
Then he drew a pair of hands.

Got inspired by a painter who painted with his legs... Saluting the spirit.

Football diary - Moote!!!

2010-03-29T07:56:00.000-07:00

To reduce the size of his frame,
He took to this very manly game,
Took as long as twenty years,
And a few friends to kill his fears.

He played, He was pushed around,
Everyone knew he was a rookie,
But he stayed on, stood his ground,
Oh Yes! He was a tough cookie.

He tried to stop the opposition's advance,
Like a seasoned warrior in a trance,
Pushed again, this time he fell,
This time his leg hurt like hell.

Saw him next on the hospital bed,
The bones of his foot stuck in a threesome,
Went under the knife with a calm head,
He was ready to get back home.

Dedicated to "Moote" Vinod DN, saluting his enthusiasm and spirit.. Get well soon da

Football Diary

2010-03-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

TFL: Day one

Finally the moment arrived after a boring monday's classes(half of which i did not attend owing to an upset stomach!), Telecom Football League finally saw the light of its day today March 22. We have 4 teams, each one led by Karthik, Prashanth, Uday and Jaikumar respectively.As planned it would be five a side encounters with ten minute halves. The draws were decided in the classroom today, so most of us were busy thinking about the matches. Uday's team would face Jaikumar's team and Karthik's team would face Prashanth's. Any such event involving
20 odd guys would definitely have a bit of confusion. There was a lot actually. But all were forgotten when the kick off took place at the Post office grounds in Koramangala.

Match 1: Uday and Jaikumar started the proceedings. Both teams had strategies and they stuck to it for most part. Considering the fact that most of us are not trained, we weren't so bad!! The passing was pretty effective in this match. Most of the attacks were very well planned. But there
weren't any goals in the first half. Then in the second half, a defense lapse by Uday's team saw Jaikumar himself break the deadlock. A one goal lead in a five a side, ten minute a half football game is almost like an insurance policy. Uday's team did their best in the dying stages of the match but could not succeed in scoring. So those were the first points for Jaikumar's team.

Match 2: Prashanth's team(which also happens to be mine) were without him! That's like not having Christiano Ronaldo in Real Madrid(with due respect Prashanth is a lot more important!!). Most of the team was not ready to play without him. Finally we picked our team and entered the
field. Karthik's team started the proceedings. We were all over the place with our strategies!! But soon we scored a goal in the first half. In fact I did( yippeee!!!). Then all our strategies made sense to us, which is all that matters. All we needed to do was make sure we defended well. We
missed a lot more chances and so did they, but we held on to the result till the end. The fact that we won the game without Prashanth reflects our character if not the depth in talent(I am in no sense any authority to comment on that!)

All the teams are well balanced and are just one match old, so the competition will get a lot tougher!
Be careful before you pick your sides people!!

We dedicate the success of TFL and all the action to our dear "Captain" Vinod and wish him a speedy recovery! For all those who are wondering "Who is this guy!!", watch out for my next post!!

Football Diary 1

2010-03-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

Telecom Premier League

Well the day started like any other boring Monday. A day that you think is sunday while you are sleeping late into the morning and then you realize it is not. Spent a boring day in college. Never knew this day would be historical. Me, Ujju and Shaw were online chatting with each other. And suddenly we stumbled upon the idea of a football league with four teams consisting of our own classmates. It was inspired by the day's football session where there were four teams consisting of 3 ppl a side and played each others for six minutes.

So, we drew the blueprint. Four teams with seven players. Five a side matches with 10 minutes a half. We also drew the fixtures assuming the team names to be A,B,C and D. And the best part is one season of the league is virtually over in two weeks!! I was mentioning to Shaw that we must already have started feeling like Lalit Modi minus the million dollars!! But seriously what Lalit Modi is doing is not genius. It is just that he is doing it after reaching the top.
Because that is where people listen to you.

Anyways, for those who think are going to miss the action, don't worry. You will have updates here exclusively on ACOUSTIC GRUNGE!! So March 15th shall be celebrated as the birthday of TPL- TELECOM PREMIER LEAGUE.

A Helluva Day 5: The sad nightlife of Bangalore!!!

2010-03-04T07:21:00.000-08:00

Chapter 5:

After dinner we resumed our exercise of flipping channels on the television. An art almost all of us are good at! There was nothing interesting on the tv( that is why god invented internet! But we did not have that either!). So we went to the terrace and sat there chatting for a while. There was a variety of topics ranging from which neighbour's house we could break into to how lucky chotu was since he got to look at the best birds 24X7 and all he needed to do was get out of his house and sit on the staircase! We also had a screaming competition with a group which was perhaps going on a trip and were going to catch an auto or a bus.(It doesn't matter!! We just wanted to intimidate them!!)

After chatting, We decided to go for a walk. Basically we wanted to have ice cream. So we set out on our mission. That is when we realized that people who say Bangalore has a sad night life
seriously deserve sympathy and so did we as we had to say the same. Forget about discotheques or late nite parties or booze(we are not that type!!), we could not find a shop where we could
get an ice cream! Anyways we returned with our unaccomplished mission and switched both the computer and the tv on.

We resumed our exercise of flipping channels on the television. An art almost all of us are good at! There was nothing interesting on the tv. Now as I look back, I wish the so called "holy guy"
who was caught red handed in a compromising position(I wanted to put that delicately!!) with a Tamil actress was caught that day. Atleast that would ve made a difference. Some of us started
watching "Dude Where's my car" and fifteen minutes into the movie stopped watching it. We started watching "Sherlock Holmes" instead and fifteen minutes into the movie we were sleeping.

So the day finally ended at 230 AM. It was a day like no other. An unforgettable one. Dedicated to all my classmates and friends. Gujju and KK for actually scheming the movie plan. Mr I for
making it thrilling by calling us while we were watching the movie. I can go on.. But most importantly, all of you who are reading this and realizing that

"I AM A PART OF THE COOLEST GROUP IN THE WORLD!!!"

A Helluva Day 4: Being a Rebel

2010-03-03T06:40:00.000-08:00

Chapter 4

Well we always had a plan to make some noise in college. In fact some of us had a combo plan of getting suspended and going on a week long trip (which is still on the must do list even now!!)
Today we felt very satisfied. It is the final days of our rebellion. Soon, all of us will start thinking a thousand times before saying anything or doing anything. These are the few days when we
start thinking after doing something. These are the days when we live fearlessly and sometimes foolishly too. Under these circumstances, the fact that our HOD receives most number of complaints about our class itself makes us proud!

Wait! Did you expect me to finish so soon?? No way!! It was just the beginning of our day. Chotu was going to be home alone. So we decided to give him company. All of us along with Mache,
Captain, Varun and Shaggy went to his rescue. After the usual chit chat, we got down to planning for dinner. It eventually took us an hour to decide on what to do. Finally we had the food delivered
and the bill was on Captain. We ate continuously for an hour and a half. Me, Tapas and Ujju took our own sweet time since that was the only way we could eat a lot. In short, we were celebrating our
day.

To be continued...

PS: The next chapter will be the finale. Please drop your comments. Looking forward to them.

A Helluva Day 3: WTF!!!

2010-03-02T04:08:00.000-08:00

Chapter 3

It was indeed a mess! Entropy ruled our HOD's office as we were all talking with our voice levels high. HOD and Mr I were caught off guard! They did not have any answers to our queries. Mr I's ego was so badly hurt that he walked away. Our HOD finally ended the dialogue by dismissing our reason that we went to buy books(We actually said that!) saying it was not genuine(WTF!!!) Moreover according to her the reason we were at her office this time was that we were bunking consistently on Thursday afternoons in huge numbers. This was our third time(Cool ain't it??). At the end we were given two choices: either get our parents(WTF again!!!) or write an apology letter. We obviously did the latter.

Now that we had bunked on Thursday, we had no choice but to sit through the whole day on Friday. Eight hours of non stop theory classes! That was the only boring part of the whole day. We were confronted by every other teacher as the day went on. In fact at the end of the day when we were standing in our college's parking lot recollecting the day's events, a lecturer from the basic sciences department came on his bike and asked us to leave(Another WTF moment!!). The man did not move till we did! We are not even allowed to stay in our college campus (WTF!! That is what you must be thinking now) Well I sometimes think having a watchman in our college is futile!!

To be continued...

Helluva Day 2: The Battlefield

2010-03-01T06:51:00.000-08:00

Chapter 2

We stepped outside the class despite repeated pleas from our classmates to stay so that even they wouldnt have classes.We expected it and actually welcomed it!! We were all celebrating it! We assembled in the next classroom which was empty and drew a counter attack plan. We made a list of our problems ranging from our teacher taking too many classes to us having a schedule which tests human tolerance levels. We planned to approach the HOD with this list for solutions.
Now, the strategy was simple. Five of us viz. Aslam, Me, Kat, Chotu and Captain would speak and the rest would shut up.

Once in the battlefield and more specifically behind enemy lines( Most of you should get this metaphor!!) if you find the enemy in a small number(two of them to be precise) everyone wants a piece of the action! That is what happened. Everyone started talking! Nobody gave a damn about the strategy. This was an out and out war! Our counter attack strategy worked to a certain extent. Some of the issues we raised were promised to be addressed to.

To be continued...

A Helluva Day 1: Where it all started

2010-02-28T08:43:00.000-08:00

Chapter 1

We went to college expecting a lot of action since we had bunked the previous day and watched 'Aptharakshaka'. It was common that we bunked and watched movies but this time it was the number(twenty of us) and the consistency(we bunk only on thursday afternoon as our HOD pointed out!) with which we bunked that got us into trouble. We usually plan the reasons we give in such
situations. One standard reason would be that there was a 'We dont remember the name!!' pooja in Tapas' place( He forgets the name of the ceremony most of the times!!). This time there was no plan. I had buying books as the reason and that would eventually be our gameplan.

The day started with me giving reviews of the movie to all my friends. The bell rang and we were soon in the class. Our lecturers Mr.A and Ms B entered the class. They read our names and we were told not to attend the classes.Since it was expected, some of us were making plans to go out!! Then I made a futile attempt to keep this incident in the class since goin to HOD would be boring (It seriously is when you are on the receiving end). My excuse of books was not considered even though i made it sound legitimate. My argument was met with an 'I don't know by Ms B. We were given a choice, we could stay but there would be no classes for the rest of the people too. Most of our friends begged us to stay. But we believed in taking advantage of this issue and address bigger issues. And what happened later was legendary!!!

To be continued...

P.S: Aaptharakshaka is a good movie. Probably a masterpiece in Kannada film history. A fantastic psychological thriller. Vishnu has given a good movie to his fans before leaving this world. Take a bow sir!!!

Barca V/S Stuttgart

2010-02-23T13:46:00.000-08:00

I woke up finally after repeated pleas by my mobile phone to watch the champions league match. The kick off must have been at around 1 o clock IST. I switched the television on at around 125 and I see a cross being deflected by Cacau straight into the goal!!! I rubbed my eyes and thought it was a dream, but it wasn't. Not the best start, I thought. That was the 24th minute.

I sat down patiently watching every pass and every pass that was getting intercepted. Things were not working for Barca. Neither was Messi magic. I was wondering what on the earth they were doing with the 69 % possession!!! And then came an oppurtunity in the 40th minute and Ibrahimovic messed it up!!! Things looked tense, and it showed on Pep Guardiola's face! And then there was the half time whistle.

I managed to put some stuff on download and come back to watch the second half. After the same pass and intercepted pass routine, Ibrahimovic made up for his first half miss with a goal off the second attempt in the 52nd minute. Gerard Pique's assist was very valuable. Now i could stay calm...

The rest of the match was all about players falling down and faking injuries, so nothing special about it. The result 1-1. It is like an insurance policy for Barca who go into the second leg with an away goal. Go Barca Go!!!

The small guitarist

2010-02-03T04:06:00.000-08:00

Armed with a guitar as tall as himself,

He sits on the smallest chair,

Making faces like an elf,

As nervous eyes looked elsewhere.

Everyone finds him cute and small,

But he doesn't want to be written off,

Bullied at school as he was not tall,

This was his time, the day's better half.

Spoke only to his guitar, he was shy,

Told it about the song that he wanted to try,

Tapping his foot to get the timing right,

Closed his eyes to see a different sight.

Fingers fought with the strings,

As he tried to play the song,

Happily oblivious to all other things,

But the joy wouldn't last long.

Cacophony filled the air,

The song went awfully wrong,

He stopped and scratched his head,

Said to himself it wouldn't take long.

Then he waited for his turn,

As his teacher taught the rest,

Humming the tune he could not learn,

He sat like a student earnest

I am a magician

2010-01-26T21:38:00.000-08:00

Making a mockery of all the skeptics,
Making a fool of the wisest of men,
Carrying secrets and thousands of tricks,
Capturing imagination in my own den.

I am a magician, no one believes me,
However amazing my tricks maybe,
I am a showman, this is my marquee,
Where cheated eyes shine with glee.

I am the keeper of a small secret,
The secret that keeps me going,
Once if revealed I shall regret,
Because seeds of doom i shall be sowing.

Children watching me with dropping jaws,
As their parents point to them all my flaws,
I become a joke, people laugh at me,
I am a magician, no one believes me.

In memory of the movie 'The Prestige'...

The New Year's Eve

2010-01-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

Sitting under the eclipsed moon,

Wondering why we were drunk so soon,

Weaving tales about broken hearts,

Amidst broken glass as sharp as darts.

Playing cards till the last liar was left,

All of us bluffed, were ready for any theft,

Reliving memories, ready to shed a tear,

But the clock stuck twelve, it was a new year.

Screaming strangely among strangers screaming,

We were an unlikely team, we were dreaming,

The smoke from the two packs would die down,

And in their own world everyone would drown.

Phones were busy,screams everywhere,

Whispering sweet nothings to the One they care,

Some of us wondering why our Ones are away,

Saying to ourself, every dog has its day.

Dedicated to Sandy, Sanjay, Chaitanya, Anand, Nithin, Vikram and Sudhi. Will remember the party for a long time guys( I m serious, I ve got a freaky memory!!!) Thanx a lot...

P.S: I did not get to touch the booze... And Happy New year...

Nothing to Post

2010-01-20T06:16:00.000-08:00

All the excitement of having a blog has died down... No patience to sit in one place and write something to post... Had been to a trip but haven got pics to post... and most of them have already been posted in orkut( not in my profile) and that is the reason why i haven been able to post anything... By the way, i am watching two and a half men on my comp.. Not up to the mark if u re a fan of HIMYM or the big bang theory.. Anyways, i ll be back soon.. So please do not give up on me. Keep rocking!!!

Song of the Week

2010-01-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

Last Kiss- Pearl Jam( Original: J.Frank Wilson and the cavaliers)

Phani recommended this song at a time i was getting to know Pearl Jam(So was he!)

This is a song written by a guy who lost his love whom he addresses 'baby'in an accident.

It was on their date that he lost control of their car and ended up hitting a tree (maybe!).

She dies in his arms. And since then he tries to be good so that he can reach heaven and meet his baby.

The one i m talking about is a cover version of the original by pearl jam. I loved this song coz the rhythm pattern is simple yet beautiful. And also Eddie Vedder's powerful voice.Those who love rock music, Please donot miss this.Those who donot like rock music... Please donot miss this.. It is a soft song and is also a testimony to the fact that rock music is not always hard and loud And of course, the lyrics, honest and intense..

This is my song of the first week of Jan..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxCBTb9VE-0

I don't want to grow up so soon

2009-12-29T21:51:00.000-08:00

Like a kid at the toy store,

I kept looking for more,

Flashy colors caught my eye,

I don't want to bid this place goodbye

I don't want to grow up,

I want to stay innocent.

I want to be fascinated by the sunrise,

I want to be fascinated by the moon,

I want to be fascinated by the flowers that bloom,

I don't want to grow up so soon...

In memory of a great friend, Pavan who left us all on Nov 30...

My First Performance

2009-12-29T18:03:00.000-08:00

It was a small function to celebrate the new year(2009). It s one of my all time favorite songs and i am sure many people love it too.. It s been almost a year since the performance took place. I was very nervous back then(I am nervous now too!!)

So, there are some additions to the dedications list... I want to dedicate this song also to some of my oldest friends like Rahul, Pavan(Whom we lost :( RIP), Shreyas, Raghavendra, Ashi, etc.

And also to my Sugar :)

Pls don mind if i m not good... I promise I m much better now :)

By the way, the one to the right is me(playing rhythm and vocals). The other one is my friend Sagar playing the lead... A fantastic guy!!!

2009-12-28T20:36:00.000-08:00

I am a soldier still

Don't send me to the chilly border,

I don't want to fight this war,

Because I have been armed heavily,

Without knowing whom I'm fighting for.

I am no saint, I've been trained to kill,

Inches from death I test my skill,

As on my canvas the colors of gloom spill,

I hate the fact that I am a soldier still...

Abhijit Happy 24X7

2009-12-28T20:31:00.000-08:00

Hi people,

Finally i am here with my blog!!!! Such an emotional moment!! Waited for a long time for my own space in the world wide web.

For starters, I am Abhijit V Kulkarni, male, 20 years old and a person with diverse interests which will be evident in my posts from now on.

I just started blogging, so please bear with my poetry for sometime till i learn to do stuff with my blog.....

Abhijit Happy 24X7