Friday, November 28, 2008

Mumbai Under Siege...

Aftershock!!! :

Some philosophize in poetry. Some vituperate in words. Some candle in silence, some parade in demonstration. Some brood eventualities, some vocalize in visual. Some conference on strategy, some indulge in exploit. Some weep at loss, some weep at sympathy. Some courage in reconstruction, some repair in caution.

And some… sitting far, or within us, twitter and chuckle on the completion of a dastardly action…!!!

Events that unfolded :

In the last 48 hrs or so, as you must be aware, more than 150 people have been killed in a first of its kind terrorist attack in South Mumbai. It’s a one of a kind urban warfare that’s happening as I write this blog. South Mumbai is a posh area with all hotels and tourist hangouts. It seems like the terrorist had just that in mind while planning this attack. Western media is terming this as 9/11 of India, possibly because residents of their countries are held hostages. And for God's sake would someone tell the media not to repeat the cliched phrase "Spirit of Mumbai"!!! Utter bullshit!!! A few points of facts and news reports that have been unveiled as of now:

  • ·         The terrorists have come directly from the “neighboring” country it seems. They have clearly planned out this sea route attack months in advance and executed it brutally over 100s of innocent civilians.
  • ·         They arrived at around 9:30pm on 26th November and scattered across different locations in the city. They went to CST (Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus) and sprayed bullets over dozens in the waiting room), Cama Hospital where they engaged in a battle with the ATS and Mumbai Police. ATS chief was killed in the incident. The terrorists were finally shot down. Among the other scattered groups, one group sprayed bullets near Metro Cinema, Leopold Café, and then entered Taj Hotel, one group entered Trident Hotel and another holed up inside Nariman House.
  • ·         Presently a battle is raging on between the NSG commandos, the MARCOS (Marine Commandos) and the terrorist holed up inside Nariman House and Taj Heritage Hotel overlooking India Gate.
  • ·         Trident Hotel (formerly Oberoi) has been freed of all terrorists. Two terrorist have been killed and all possible hostages have been rescued in the morning. Some have been killed, the exact number of which is unknown.
  • ·         Gujrat CM Narendra Modi couldn’t find a better time to spew political propaganda and accuse the Prime Minister.
  • ·         External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee directly accuses Pakistani elements for the attack while Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Quereshi was quick to tell the media that this is not a time for political altercation.
  • ·         PM Manmohan Singh calls up his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani and asked the ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha to come to India and cooperate in the investigations of the Mumbai attack. The Pakistani President has approved the request and also called up PM in this regard. This is a first of its kind direct face to face talk between chief of intelligence of the two neighboring countries on a particular terrorist attack.
  • ·         The whole incident has attracted a lot of media attention all over the world, the reason being that residents from US, UK, Israel, Japan, Canada, Finland, Spain and other countries have been involved in the onslaught. The US terrorist “experts” are quick to point their fingers towards Al-Qaida.
  • ·         Fifteen policemen and two NSG personnel have lost their lives in the anti terror operations, says Maharastra Deputy CM, R R Patil. NSG officer Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan was killed in the operation at Taj Hotel.
  • ·     NSG commandos have blasted the 4th floor of Nariman House. All terrorists are said to have been neutralized. Nariman House encounter appears to be over now. Fate of hostages/injured civilians inside Nariman House are unknown. Meanwhile, Taj Hotel has seen a fierce gunbattle between the security forces and the terrorists.

  • ·     Latest reports coming in saying 5 people have been killed by terrorists at Nariman House. This has been confirmed by the NSG.
  • ·     7:59PM  : Fresh firing has been reported in Nariman House. Clearly there is still a situation out there. Also intermittent firing and blasts are being reported from Taj Hotel.
  • ·     10:17 PM: The operation at Nariman House is finally over, according to the NSG. Five hostages and two terrorists have been found dead inside the building.
  • ·  09:04AM : NSG chief says the 59-hour siege of Taj Hotel is almost over. 3 terrorists have been killed in the Taj operation. 

  • ·     I was watching Times Now all along following the whole ordeal. I would like to applaud the efforts by the news channel especially by Arnab Goswami, the TV camera crew and other reporters. They have been constantly covering the whole incident and reporting Live for the last 48 hrs. Truly phenomenal. Even Amitabh Bachchan appears to have been moved. Here’s an interesting copy from his blog :

     I have been riveted to Times Now and to the incredible anchoring of Arnab. He has been at it non stop for almost 24 hrs; reporting, discussing, interviewing, taking opinion, tirelessly.” 
    Another part of the blog  :
    I am ashamed to say this and not afraid to share this now with the rest of the cyber world, that last night, as the events of the terror attack unfolded in front of me I did something for the first time and one that I had hoped never ever to be in a situation to do.
    Before retiring for the night, I pulled out my licensed .32 revolver, loaded it and put it under my pillow. For a very disturbed sleep.”

Movie Maniac goes reviewing : Part II

Yuvvraaj

I had to watch this Salman-Katrina starrer. Not only because it’s a Katrina film, but also since it’s a Subhash Ghai film! The last film of Subhash Ghai was Kisna, an utter flop as I remember. There are a few distinct characteristics of a Subhash Ghai film. All of them are larger than life magnum opus drama with rich families in them. A clear contrast between the rich and poor divide is always shown. Also, in character traits, there will be good characters, perpetual bad characters, and some shady characters who will finally become good. All in all, a film which shows good is conquering over evil after a series of melodrama. The extended family (maama, maami, chacha, chachi, cousins etc) are always shown to be bad! Be it Pardes, Taal, Yaadein or Yuvvraaj, it’s the same common characters there. Although the whole thing is good initially, after sometimes it gets too much to digest! You feel like watching copied scenes from his earlier movies! Change Mr. Ghai, we need some CHANGE! Yuvvraaj thus is a decade too old to be released. The story is all the same, estranged brothers getting together after 12 long years after some over heightened melodrama. One good thing that is common in all Subhash Ghai films is good music. A. R. Rahman certainly doesn’t disappoint you in Yuvvraaj. There are some nice romantic songs like “Tu Meri Dost Hain”, “Tu Muskura” and a fast party number, “Shano Shano”. Almost all songs are pictures amidst beautiful locales in Europe with magnanimous bright colours, greenery, and costumes. Salman, Katrina, Mithun and Boman Irani does an average job. Anil Kapoor does a pretty good job indeed. Zayed Khan seemed simply out of place. I felt like his character was simply thrown into the film in haste! Overall a watchable film, but certainly not a must-watch.

Dostana

I feel there should have been a serious explanation on the name of the film! The film is absolutely not about “friendship” as you all must have known already. Although there has been discussion on the basis the name was given, by some reviewers like Greatbong. The theme of the film is loosely based on “Kal Ho Na Ho – Kantaben” hangover and the Hollywood film “I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry”. Although Kal Ho na Ho was a blockbuster hit, Chuck n Larry film was a terrible flop but I watched it a few months ago. The concept is basically the same. The story revolves around two men (Abhishek and John) and a girl (Priyanka). Then there is also a proper (and not guest) appearance by Bobby Deol. The film overall does a good job and definitely has some laughable moments. What was that Gandalf look-alike saying in the remix song, “main akaashwani hoon, aur ye sach hain ki aap ka beta gay hain!!!!” The film is definitely not a gay joke or gay spoof film as some reviewers have said. Some people have even said that this film is a pioneer in its category (gay film?)! Bullshit! I would tell them to watch Page 3 again or Fire (I havnt seen it though). The music is average, some good beats to hear out. Watch this film if you want some quick dose of fun filled laughter show.

The Man from Earth

This is a low budget film which possibly came and went by and no one noticed. At least it never came to theatres in India. It’s a semi science fiction movie. Semi, in the sense that this is not a typical sci-fi thriller, and definitely not in the star trek genre. The whole film is shot inside a single room. This is a story about a person named John Oldman (pun?) who claims to have been living for the last 14000 years. There was not possible proof left with John to prove his claim. He tries his best to explain to everyone what it is like to be living for so long surviving illness, and all natural calamities. The possibility of a man living for such a long time is a big debate indeed and hence is science fiction. One interesting thing to note is that the people listening to John curse him when he points out saying that he himself was Jesus! People would believe anything and everything but when you question their faith, it becomes bullshit! An interesting climax ends the film, but a whole lot of questions hover around you after you have seen the movie. A must watch.

Dasvidaniya

Vinay Pathak is the king of low budget films. His simple and confident style of acting simply mesmerizes you and you sit back and watch him in a non glamorous, realistic film. Dasvidaniya is a one man film, almost like Bheja Fry. This one has him in a dying man’s avatar, a simpleton living the life of a hard working clerk. He diligently makes a list of “things to do” everyday. Till one day when he discovers himself having only 3 months left to live. His conscious self confronts him and he sets out to a make a “thing to do” list before he dies. The whole film deals with how he executes all of them! A simple film, told in a simple way minus all the glam-sham. The music is average with good songs by Kailash Kher. Watch this film to know how Vinay Pathak exists in between SRK, Hrithik, Salman and all others.

~Lots of Love~

Friday, November 14, 2008

Movie Maniac goes reviewing : Part I

I watch a lot of films these days. Films which you watch, you should watch & films which I watch & most people wouldn’t watch, terming them a flop. I download a hell lot of movies utilizing my broadband bandwidth to the fullest. I would like to give short reviews for some of the films that were worth mentioning for reasons good or bad. I’m not a professional movie reviewer but just another movie buff. I like watching movies for sake of enjoying! So here goes my reviews :

Heroes

Now this is a film which came and went by. Nobody noticed. A box office flop! Sure it is but I watched it (at home of course). This is a story of three jawans and their families. The jawans were killed in the Kargil battle and the film shows how the families of these jawans live after 3 years of the jawans’ death. Now why would some director/producer like to make a film on Kargil war! Not that this film shows the war in any way. Still, why would they make this film after so many years. Isn’t it a bit too late for these kind of films?!! No doubt it’s a different kind of approach to the life of a jawan. But people don’t like such celluloid dramas; they would rather watch serials at home! A few things worth mentioning in this film : Salman Khan and Priety Zinta’s Punjabi was top notch, sunny deol’s knuckles were top notch and , sohail khan’s kite flying skills were top notch! Okay now imagine this situation, sunny deol is handicapped and he his limbs are paralyzed. He has to be on his wheelchair most of the time. Yes “most”, not when a bunch of hooligans are trying to dance with his girlfriend! Oops pooh pooh these hooligans. Wooing Sunny Deol’s girlfriend in a film? You have got to be kidding! So when these half a dozen party goers challenge Sunny paaji, he has to say “sab ek saath aana, ek ek karke aaoge to pit jaoge”! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Now here’s a scene from the fight sequence. What you can see is that sunny paaji is punching floor tiles and they are cracking like glass plates! Now where have I seen that before? Did someone say “hulk”?? Oops! So finally Sunny paaji does beat the hell out of these poor stuntmen even when they came as a bunch! Duh! Yes I did watch the whole film. It was worth watching. However I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone unless he/she has nothing to do like me.

James Bond – Quantum of Solace

What are the five things that come to our mind when we think about the 007? A gun, martini (shaken not stirred), cars, women & style quotient! This film had the first three but the fifth was missing somewhere. Even the fourth (Olga Kurylenko and Gemma Arterton) weren’t really eye popping. The first scene itself is a car chase sequence. The film has lots of actions. May be that’s why some people didn’t like this film. Also another reason could be that some people couldn’t understand the film in the first place. They had no idea of what’s going on. I and my friend had to discuss the events during the 1st part at regular intervals to understand what was going on. This is a film for all Bond maniacs and Daniel Craig fans. This blonde bond has something in him. I have seen him in Munich and Road to Perdition. He is a real gem of an actor. But I guess 007 needs more than that. The action sequences done by Daniel were superb. At one time I was feeling as if I was watching Spiderman! Go and watch this film if you watch Bond films.

The Mummy - Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

As Brenden Fraser was told “You guys are a Mummy magnet”. He may not be a mummy magnet but he sure is a mummy film magnet! I'm a fan of the first two films, The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. They were simply awesome to watch with all the realistic special effects. Coming to this film, it lacked everything that was there in the first two films except the few common actors and the mummy factor. This film has three awesome looking Yetis. I came to know about the living snowman from Tintin in Tibet long back when I was a kid. The Yetis did a wonderful job in this film. Wish the humans would have done better. Michele Yeoh was a complete bore in this film. Special effects were good but not jaw dropping. The terracotta army was given a detailed expressive look. The three headed dragon was a bore. It rarely spewed flames, and whenever it did, it had no effect on our heroes. No doubt it was termed a box office dumb squib. I think you better watch your “mummy” cook in the kitchen rather than getting a bad taste of this mummy film!

The Downfall

This is a German film based on the fall of Hitler and his Nazi regime. I was recommended to watch this film by Atanu, and I wasn’t disappointed a bit. The film is a marvelous drama portraying the last few days on Hitler and his close associates in the bunker while the Russian Red Army was marching into Berlin. Everything in the film was detailed portrayal of the life of the vegetarian, teetotaler Nazi ruler. The film shows how he tried his level best in the last days of the war to order troops and regiments which existed only on paper. The film doesn’t glorify his deeds nor does it slander him. Some raw facts were dramatized as narrated by a personal assistant of Hitler recruited in the last days of the war. This is a must watch movie. There will be subtitles of course to assist you.

I have one question regarding Hitler. This does not relate to the film. Subhash Chandra Bose is rumoured to have close ties with Hitler and the Nazi regime during the hay days of the World War II. Bose as we know is a communist and Hitler had thorough abhorrence for Communists. Then why did the Nazi regime entertain Bose in the first place? Was it just because Bose was fighting against the British? Logic fails to give me an answer out here. May be I’m not thorough with the history. Can someone enlighten me?

I missed the October month completely. I will try to compensate in this month. A post on F1 is long overdue.

~Lots of love~

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Racism Revisited

For the last few weeks, I was eagerly reading three Sidney Sheldon books back to back. The last one named “Nothing Lasts Forever”. The title seems like some kind of Bond movie actually. The book itself has nothing to do with the contents of this post. It’s a thriller/murder mystery with lots of plots & subplots (as most Sidney books are). There were lots of medical terminologies which I was obviously unaware of since I haven’t touched the Biology book after giving my ICSE in 2003. So these terminologies puzzled me more than what ‘girl talk’ puzzles me! All right am wandering away from the original topic. Back to it … The book itself seemed pretty average & predictable but one paragraph in the book made me sit up & take notice. After reading this paragraph, I had decided what my next post in this blog would be. I am sure you would find this text really interesting. So here it goes...

"There are wonderful worlds in there," she told the young girl. "Read, and you'll learn where you came from and where you're going. I've got a feeling that you're going to be famous one day, baby. But you have to get an education first. This is America. You can become anybody you want to be. You may be black and poor, but so were some of our congresswomen, and movie stars, and scientists, and sports legends. One day we're going to have a black president. You can be anything you want to be. It's up to you." It was the beginning.

Yes it’s the beginning of my blog & also the beginning of “Change”. Unless you have already guessed, I’m of course talking about US Democratic Presidential nominee, Barrack Obama. But this is not just about Obama (wonder why the surname is so similar to ‘Osama’), this is about “Racism” in general. Obama is possibly one of those big figures (not Madame Tussauds’ wax figures), I mean figures as big as Martin Luther King. May be I’m exaggerating, but its true that he’s the first black Presidential Nominee, who is possibly slated to sweep the polls in November, 2008. He is now more popular than Oprah Winfrey (who incidentally supports his campaign) or even some basketball & baseball players. Obama has been under attack from so-called-purists who are against any “black” person becoming the Head of the State. Four decades have passed since Martin Luther King gave his famous “I have a dream” speech, but it seems like nothing has changed since then. I earnestly hope that Obama is not assissinated like Martin Luther King.

Racism is a rampant menace which has been there since ages. All nations, including the United Nations publicly say that they are against any kind of racial discrimination. Still if you do a search on the internet, you’ll find racial abuse happening each day. Believe it or not, its prevalent in India, & in you own home. Yes. You heard it right. This might seem a bit hard to digest fact but its true that our mothers would want a “beautiful, fair” bride for us. Isn’t it racism? We are practicing it in our own home. Do you protest? I guess not. We do not protest. Why? You possibly dont have a proper answer to that. Check out matrimonial ads in the Sunday newspaper & you'll know what I'm talking about. Some people even believe that black/dark/brown (coloured in short) men & women have lesser abilities to perform office work
. We all hear about racial abuses on Indians all over the world (especially Sikhs). But we never bother to lodge our protest against this menace. Recently Lewis Hamilton, a McLaren F1 Driver, was racially abused by spectators in Montmelo Circuit, Barcelona, Spain. This blog is my way of protesting against this blatant illogical show of chauvinism by some demented minds! We may be white, black or brown, but overall we are all human. Treat human beings in a way that it doesn’t question your humanity. I dont understand how a human being can forget this basic fact. Here is one forward mail which is worth reading :

This scene took place on a ****** Airways flight between
Johannesburg, South Africa & London.
A white woman, about 50 years old, was seated next to a black man. Very disturbed by this, she called the air hostess. "You obviously do not see it then?" she asked. "You placed me next to a black man. I did not agree to sit next to someone from such a repugnant group. Give me an alternative seat."
"Be calm please," the hostess replied.
"Almost all the places on this flight are taken. I will go to see if another place is available."

The hostess went away & then came back a few minutes later. "Madam, just as I thought, there are no other available seats in Economy Class.
I spoke to the captain & he informed me that there is also no seat in Business Class. All the same, we still have one place in First Class."
Before the woman could say anything, the hostess continued. "It is unusual for our company to permit someone from Economy Class to sit in First Class. However, given the circumstances, the captain feels that it would be scandalous to make someone sit next to someone so disgusting."
She turned to the black guy & said, "Therefore, Sir, if you would like to, please collect your hand luggage, a seat awaits you in First Class."

At that moment, the other passengers, who'd been shocked by what they had just witnessed, stood up & applauded.

This is a true story.

WELL DONE, ****** Airways.


This might be a forward mail, but it was more than that for me. I didn’t forget this mail although I received it a few years ago. I digged it out somehow @ 2am last night from my orkut message box. This post might not be an enjoyable read for you. It was never intented to be. Its just a reminder to the world that racism still exists . But if you really think Racism needs to be protested, do it. Leave a comment if you have anything to say regarding this topic or my blog.

~Lots of Love~

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Rockin On!!!


First of all I would like to say sorry for breaking my promise. Trust me I usually don’t break them. It was not that I didn’t have much topics to discuss about, but its just that I couldn’t get enough confidence on writing them down. But this time its different. A film really inspired me, it brought in the much needed passion within me. I would compensate for the posts that I should have written (once a month) by writing a few more in this month itself.

Rock On! ~ A brief review...

I would probably say the most clichéd phrase said over the years, but I seriously cant help it … Rock On! really rocks! The story of Rock On! itself has nothing much in store. The real essence & the ‘Magik’ of Rock On! is in its passion… passion about music, passion about life & real happiness! The basic mistake that most people make about rock music or the perception of rock music is that it has to have a wild looking singer who will scream nonsense & the background music will be equally bone shaking! But that’s a wrong perception. Rock music is all about the passion, passion for life & passion for everything related to music. Rock On! lives up to all the three. It gives us the view point of four members of a band of their life while they were together forming a band named ‘Magik’ which buys Ibanez guitar & Line 6 equipments (really costly) after a performance at a ‘gujju’ dandia ustsav! Okay fine its bollywoodish, but we shouldn’t go into that much details. The four members Farhan Akhtar (Aditya), Arjun Rampal (Joe), Purab Kohli (KD) & Luke Kenny (Rob) start off with well shot stage shows. I must say these four have really worked hard on the film & their characters they play. It shows time & again during the film that Farhan in no way is a mediocre actor. In fact he does better than Arjun Rampal, who actually doesn’t have to act much in this film because of his character. Although Arjun & Purab's looks as guitarist & drummer respectively is worth watching. Since this is supposed to be a review, I wouldn’t include any spoilers out here. After a break of 10 years, the four members finally meet after much dramatic scenes between Aditya & Sakshi, Aditya’ wife (Prachi Desai). Prachi & Shahana Desai (as Debbie, Joe’s girlfriend & later his wife) aren’t just pretty faces out here, they both did a good job indeed. In fact, without these two characters you would pretty much be watching Dil Chahta Hai. But this is not DCH! Rock On! proves the point that one should always follow his/her heart no matter how many personal problems arise in our life. The phrase ‘Life mein compromises to karna padhta hain’ may seem to be realistic words, but wherever our heart is, our mind essentially shall be. No amount of money, fame, good wife, good girlfriend, good kids, good friends, not even the dream job would give you that satisfaction. A person’s soul will be hooked to those memories & the passions where he/she found real happiness. Aditya’s life shows it quite clearly. He isn’t happy with all the success, money & his good wife, because his heart is elsewhere. He’s a mechanical version of his former self, which was full of life once upon a time. The film essentially shows what a young band goes through, the passion for rock music, faded jeans & tshirts, girlfriends, booze, & over everything ego clashes! That’s what this film is about. I as a passionate music lover could relate to everything in the film. I have spend my last three years with much more passionate people who are really good guitarists and their bands. I enjoyed every moment learning from them, observing them & I suck in their passion ...

I wouldnt like to give any rating for the movie since I'm a simple nobody who doesnt know much about music or films. I just know that I loved this film completely ... Go watch it & if you have already watched it, do comment here. If not, still comment. :)

Monday, May 26, 2008

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Ye Luv Shuv Kya Hain???

This is possibly one of the best fwd mails i have received till now ... Anyone who reads this will appreciate am sure .... All thanks to the original author .... Do comment if u like it ....

I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me. Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool,
she filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it before me,
and said this: "You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love." This was how I saw it.

As long as you keep your hand caringly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds. This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love...they try to posses it, they demand, they expect... and just like the water spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you.

For love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature. If there are people you love,
allow them to be free beings. Give and don't expect. Advise, but don't order. Ask, but never demand. It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice.

It is the secret to true love.

To truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations from those whom you love, and yet an unconditional caring."

Passing thought... Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take; but by the moments that take our breath away..... Life is beautiful!!!

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Scanning myself...

When i first started this blog, i didnt know what to write about. I started writing about formula one racing, the one passion i seemed to grow inside me for long time now. Then i moved on to interviews, my friends had endless queries on how to crack an interview!! I wrote two whole posts dedicated to interview alone. After that i never seemed to have enough time to write anything as such. Its not that i dont have anything to write on... Anyways i promise to write at least one post every week... ahem... the lazy couch potato inside is poking me... fine fine... once a month. I promise to post at least one post every month & this i will deliver. Now coming back to posts... I' was not posting anything but i was regularly checking some famous blogs like youthcurry & Aamir Khan's blog. Today i've decided to write something about myself taking a cue from some friends who have done the same. Lets say i'm scanning myself...

What kind of a person am i?? I'm a confident, cool n carefree person. I dont believe in having utopian dreams at all. Rather i believe in aiming something and actually getting it. Not that i dont have dreams.... but they are strangely realistic. I believe in actually achieving small practical achievable dreams rather that dreaming about achieving something really big & beyond my immediate reach. Bottomline is this, I'm a practical minded fella. Yes I did fail myself sometimes but i found out what wrong i did & have gained enough experience from that. I keep talking about efficiency & i really believe in it. My mom would never actually see me studying for a long time... but does that really mean i dont study much? Hmmm... I practice trying to be efficient in my real life... I believe in doing good in something i really like & ignore all others almost totally. May be that's why i regret remaining a mediocre student all my life. But i'm happy with what i'm. If i have achieved something till now, i did with my heart & mind in it... I never tried too hard for anything, it came naturally to me. I didnt force myself to do anything i didnt like at all. I am a throughly patient individual and no i dont need to be in a hospital bed to be that. I believe in forgiving and forgetting, may be not totally but to a certain extent; yes i do. I keep very few friends as close company and strangely that is also part of me believing in efficiency. I believe a few very good friends is better than having a 1000 not-so-close ones. Another reason for keeping a few friends is because am a bit shy kind of person. But i really dont want to be shy. I hate to be in limelight, coz i hate that kind of attention, but i really wish i could make more quality friends...

No matter how much i might deny, i know deep within that i'm a geek. I cant live without a computer. Thank god i didnt take English Hons. after my XII. It would have been like Katrina Kaif teaching karate in a school. Hell i would have liked to be in that school... Jokes apart i'm really happy that i'm going to be part of the IT bandwagon. Its one of those practical dreams come to life. You cant expect better things in life that getting what you actually wanted. A computer is like my daily dose of oxygen. I have always been interested in computer science as a subject from my early days when i was first introduced to a strange looking box shaped 8086 machine. Gone are the days when i used to watch TV, i can watch everything and more in my computer itself. No wonder a friend of mine mentioned in my orkut testimonial that a computer is the 21st century "idiot box". And oh yeah am so damn proud of being a couch potato for it. But strangely i dont even come close to looking like a potato. Damn! i need a makeover i guess... I'm tired of people calling me "slim". I want to be strong, a macho, a hulk...okay fine not a hulk, but still i want to look stronger than what i'm now.

Enough said while scanning my inner self. I know there are a lot more i can write about, but i dont want to. I want my true friends to act as mirrors and show my faults. I am always open to ideas on how to improve myself. I would like to end this post with a SMS a friend once sent :

Zindegi ek raat hain,
Na jaane inme kitne khwab hain,
Jo mil gaya wo apna hain,
Jo tut gaya wo sapna hai...

~~~Lots of love~~~

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Interviews... putting your best foot forward - Part II

Finally the day of your interview has come, a day that you will possibly remember for the rest of your life. So, special preparations need to be made for this. On this day you have to advertise yourself, the best things within you need to be showcased. Dress up like you have done before... most importantly... dress smart. Smart dressing will make a good first impression on you. Don't forget to take all your required documents (original & photo copies) with you along with your CV. Although these days most companies give you a form which acts as your temporary CV. Do not make spelling errors or even grammatical errors.

As the day progresses you will have to go through a possible registration & then an aptitude test. Keep yourself cool, calm & focussed during the test. Do not get tensed n nervous seeing a lot of questions n too less time. Keep doing all questions you find easy & solve them as fast as possible but make sure you dont do silly mistakes. By now you must be aware of how to do MCQ aptitude questions. Sometimes, you dont need to solve the full question & you can easily check for the right answer by back calculation. Quanti section will always seem lengthy & possibly tough for some (me for example). Dont worry, do as much as possible & leave the rest to luck. Dont panic in the situation & mark wrong answers. Dont try to peep into someone else's paper or screen (in case of online exam). You may not only mark wrong answers but possibly get your paper cancelled. So just concentrate on your paper only & do as best best as possible. Ask the people present whether there are any -ve marking, if not then you can freely mark as much as possible. But make sure you calculate how much you have done correctly; the interviewer might be interested in knowing.

If you cross the aptitude test, the next round would be the interview(s) round(s), if there isnt any GD round in between. Stay calm during your interview. Dont look nervous, wipe off those sweat off your face before you approach the interviewer. Be as nervous as you want to be, but do not show it on your face. Put a nice smile on your face while greeting him/her. Do not immediately sit, ask for permission before sitting. Put your hands on the table & cross your fingers. If there's no table, just put your hands on your lap the same way. Lean a little towards the interviewer, but be seated comfortably. Do not shake your legs, arms, scratching n itching are an absolute no-no. Answer questions as they are being asked. Be confident & answer frankly, promptly & accurately. Do not be on back foot if you are challenged during an interaction. But do not unnecessarily argue with the interviewer. Make sure you stick to your stand. Do not give one word answers, explain in brief in every question. Smile when answering a funny question or while answering something like that. Use as much hand gestures as possible while explaining some answer. Do not just sit like a robot, use your non-verbal communication skills to the fullest along with your verbal skills. While coming out do remember to greet the interviewer.

The key to cracking an interview is to be confident, cool, prompt, frank answers. Remember honesty is the best policy. Whenever you get a chance, do not fail to show that you are an honest person & that you speak your heart out. Beyond this the rest is sheer luck... So good luck to everyone giving an interview; wish you all the very best.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Interviews... putting your best foot forward. - Part I

First of all, a very HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008 to each and everyone reading this blog :)

This post is primarily dedicated to all those friends and individuals who will be seating for campuss recruitment drives by major IT companies from all over India. This is just my short and sweet analysis of going through an ideal interview. This is how an ideal interviewee should prepare himself/herself. I have written this by compiling both my experience & my friends' experiences while giving an interview & while preparing for it.

STATUATORY WARNING: Do not take this as a expert opinion or a guaranteed way to get through the interview process, but this is necessarily a probable way to prepare yourself beforehand to put your best foot forward on the D-day.

Prior preparations at home before the D-day ---

Appearance - It is very important to make a first impression on the basis of your appearance. You should have good, clean, well-combed hair & please shave off those facial hairs. Take out the formal apparels that you are going to wear on the D-day. They should be neat, clean & well ironed. The clothes, shoes & other accessories should be strictly formal. No polka dotted, flowery prints (both for boys & girls) allowed. Very bright (orange, fluorescent, etc.) coloured or half-sleeves (for boys) & sleeveless (for girls) are a strict no-no. Your shoes should be shining black. Make sure you select the best formal apparel from your wardrobe.

Technical - It is important to prepare yourselves for the technical interview weeks in advance. Make sure that you are confident to answer simple, basic questions & FAQ's. Note them down, copy them from www.freshersworld.com or other such websites. Remember, it is better to be confident in a few subjects than to be clumsy on a variety of subjects. Popular IT subjects that are generally asked are C, C++, DS, OS, DBMS & other department specific subjects. It is necessary to be confident on at least two programming languages (one of them should have OOPS concept) & two other subjects.

Communication skills - This is a very wide & vague concept which most people ignore. But it is equally important (i personally think its even more important) than your technical skills. You should have fairly good command over the english language & should be able to speak freely on any given topic. Make sure your accent can be understood by the person you are speaking to & that every word should be clearly pronounced. You can develop on this by speaking to your friends in english & by watching good english news channels like Times NOW, NDTV, BBC World etc. Also keep a tab on the non-verbal communication skill. Small things make a large difference. This may seem unimportant but physical gestures like making eye contact, smiling to a witty question/comment, hand gestures while explaining something are very important to make the interviewer understand that you are genuinely interested in giving the interview. You should practice these things as often as possible. Use your home dressing table mirror if you are having trouble regarding this (it helped for me). It is important to be spontaneous & not act like a robot :)

This is the end of PART I of a two part series blog. The next post would be on how to handle an interview & some tips & tricks to remember during an interview. If you have any doubts/queries/remarks, please feel free to write them down as a comment. I would really appreciate it.