RivaSoul feat. Ishmeet Narula

Beautiful song by Ishmeet, written by her as well

"Dooriyon ki chadar pe yaadein taankiyein...."

let us hang our memories on this curtain of separation between us

(from the song "Chali Kahani" ,,movie Tamasha one of the most beautiful line I have heard in recent times)

Did I say it is one of the best movies in recent times. 

Ghalib Magic - Dil-e-Nadan Tujhe Hua Kya Hai

credit for translation: http://www.englishcyber-literature.net/creations.html

(Dil-e-Nadaan tujhe hua kya hai
Akhir is dard ki dawa kya hai?)

Oh my naïve heart, what has befallen to you?
After all, what is the remedy for this pain?

(Hum hain mushtaq aur woh bezar)
I am impatient and my beloved is weary.
(Ya ilahi ye majra kya hai?)
Oh! God what is the matter out here?

(Main bhi muh mein zuban rakhta hun)
I too have a tongue in my mouth
(Kash pucho ke mudua kya hai)
May I know what the matter is?

(Jab ke tujh bin nahi koi maujud)
When there is no one besides you here

(in this world)
(Phir ye hangama ai khuda kya hai?)
Then oh God! what is all this commotion?

(Ham ko inse wafa ki hai umeed)
I have hopes of faithfulness from her
(Jo nahi jante wafa kya hai)
Who knows not what faithfulness is.

(Jaan tumpar nisar karta hun)
I would give my life for you
(Mein nahi janta dua kya hai)
I know not what the prayer is

Aapki Yaad Aati Rahi - Chhaya Ganguly on TV (Aarohi)

Timeless classic. I think Parle introduced me to the music of Gaman, have loved this song for a while but chanced upon its video for the first time. Thanks to Youtube and music lovers.

Tamasha and Bajirao Mastani

Tamasha is a fantastic movie on self-discovery and highly recommended. The subject is Imtiaz Ali's core competency as he has made these wanderer soul centric movies in the past as well. AR Rehman nails the music. Both the leads Ranbir and Deepika are outstanding as is the supporting cast.

Bajirao Mastani is a really well made movie with great performances. I have no liking for SLB but this movie is well directed after the stupid Ram Leela.

Birthday blues

One year old or one year wiser

I am having fun and feel blessed. But still miss my papa on days such as these.

Fathers Day

Bloody american culture...rubs everything in your face. I miss my Dad today even more because of all this Fathers Day bullshit.

Why so few Britishers ruled India

Growing up I always wondered why so few Britishers managed to rule India for so long? I always got responses such as India was always peace loving and we never attacked any other country, lack of unity among ruling kings etc. 

Over the years through personal experiences and now finally reading Ambedkar, I have come to the conclusion that India was never a nation then. India at that time was only an amorphous mass of people. India's deep rooted caste system was the main cause of this. Caste system only helps people to live together in a strict order without any "conscious of kind". As people lack this conscious of kind they never truly assimilate to form a society and eventually a nation. Just by living in close proximity people do not become part of society as caste system was a huge hindrance for folks to truly assimilate. Therefore, it was our very structure that caused a handful of Britishers rule us.

Coke studio pakistan - javed bashir

What a gem from season 7

http://youtu.be/jDgeABMDuiU

Javed Bashir you are so raw and classy at the same time. Respect to on the composition as well especially how it switches in antras

Five Reasons India Lost the WC Cricket Semi-Final against Australia

1) The toss defined the fate
2) Johnson's cameo towards the end, added an extra 15-20runs
4) Shikhar Dhawan getting out carelessly
4) Virat Kohli easy dismissal
4) We need a true finisher like Yuvi not a parasite like Rahane

Rejoice Sikh Men

Fellow bearded Sikhs the struggle for a good gel for us has finally ended. After years of trying various hair gel products from Loreal and La Bella with lofty claims of mega hold to ultra strong hold and always getting disappointed. I present to you the finest hair gel product ever Pinaud Clubman - extreme hold. Mark my words and leave a thank you note :) This is a perfect gel not so strong as Got2B glue which is meant for creating spikes and not too weak like rest of the gel products in the market

Capturing India December 2014

Product management nightmare

Lean product development is the key in our times

Remembering Leh after one year

Leh Notes: quick snapshot of two main trips we made during a week long stay in Leh during summer 2013

Trip1:  Nubhra Valley

(a) Valley flower camp on Sumur side of town.

(b) Diskit on Hunder side of town

Trip2: Panggong Lake, really bad road as you move past Zingral

(a) Shey Palace and Thiksey monasteries (clean)

Sleeping in Panggong tents is a challenge, cold and the dogs returned. The morning calm balanced those challenges.

Aamir Khan exposed

Dhoom3 exposed the weakness of Aamir Khan  as an actor. All you see is an irritated man with eye-brow raised at 30degrees and when he smiles his lips tilted at 15 degrees. Shows what a bad Director and a bad script could do to an above average actor. I am saying above average because I have never felt he was great though he almost reached greatness through roles like Rang De Basanti and Dil Chahta Hai.

Abhishek Bachan and  Uday Chopra are actually better in terms of acting compared to Aamir Khan.

Pictures from Delhi

Janpath and Chandni Chowk are shown in the pictures below

Cheap movie tickets Shanghai

Bumped into this guy at Hengshan Cinema and his claim is he can get you 50% discount on movie tickets. I think it is worth sharing and may benefit some of you.

Commuting in Shanghai

Shanghai has a well connected network of subway, buses, taxis and scooter walas. The subway is clean, efficient and cheap. For most rides you will pay approximately ~4RMB, slightly more or less depending on the number of stations between your destinations. But expect to walk a lot if you switch lines. Most of the people on subways are doing only one thing though, looking at the screens of their smart-phones.

 The taxis start at approximately 14RMB for the first 2.4Kms and then it scales up. Taxis are amazing if you are too tired to commute within a 3Kms radius as for RMB20 or less you will reach your destination in 4-5 minutes assuming less traffic versus 30minutes or so it would take in walking to a subway station, walking towards the platform, commute time, getting out of the station and walking to your actual destination. So highly recommended.

Buses are present but they are Chinese heavy so use this link to figure out your idea bus for the route. I managed to find the bus that takes me to Zhangjiang Hi-tech park station but it takes me  at least 20minutes to reach there on bus versus 5 minutes it take me on taxi but the price is only 2RMB for most bus rides. So if you are living in an area well connected by bus you are in luck for a cheap ride. The ride also becomes entertaining because these bus drivers think they are driving a space-ship and maneuver it like that.


Speaking of cheap rides, the third option is that of scooters that take you from one place to next for only 5RMB flat. These scooter guys/gals can be seen outside of railway station exits and outside office's during rush hours and are ideal if you want to be somewhere quick and for cheap. Be conscious of the fact that these guys are flexible when it comes to  following the traffic rules.

Pictures capturing rush hour traffic in Pudong Office Area close to Jinke Subway Station

And more pics from Shanghai

I figured I am actually enjoying sharing about Shanghai and what the city has to offer. So here are more pictures from the city. The weather has improved in the last couple of days which is an amazing relief. The pictures are from different days and capture Shanghai food, bakeries, living and peak hour metro commute. I particularly liked how clothes were being dried perpendicular to the buildings which was both unique and highly effective.

I have always been a sucker for bakeries and loving bakeries such as bread talk, 85C and other French influenced bakeries spread across the city. Amazing everything and perfectly sweet.