February 2012
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Anna Centenary Library - A New Landmark in Chennai
I had been wanting to visit the Anna Centenary Library for a while now and finally got to visit the library this week. I had heard that the facilities and the collection of books there was world class and saw it myself that it was no exaggeration. The library has seven floors of books on various subjects including children’s books, engineering, medicine, history, arts and humanities. As...
January 2012
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A Separation - Iranian Movie Short Review
I watched the Iranian movie “A Separation” on the recommendation of a colleague. The movie is a poignant narrative of events from day-to-day life set against the backdrop of an impending divorce. As with all Iranian movies, the characters are true to life and very identifiable. The story is simple: the wife in a household wants a divorce but is denied due to the lack of a sound...
November 2011
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Why is Bakrid celebrated?
I have always felt that there is not much awareness on the general populace on the significance of the Bakrid festival. So, here is the raison d’etre.
Bakrid also known as Eid al Adha is celebrated to honour the sacrifice that Prophet Ibrahim (may peace be upon him) was going to make of his son Ismail (may peace be upon him), on God’s command. It is related that God commanded Prophet...
September 2011
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Nampally Railway Station
I was in Hyderabad for work recently and returned yesterday by train to Chennai. I boarded the train from Nampally railway station as it was nearer to my place of work. I have boarded trains from Nampally station earlier, about five years ago and the station was not that great compared to other stations at that time. When I went in to board the train on Friday, to my surprise, the station was...
August 2011
2 posts
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STL-ORD-AUH-MAA on Etihad Airways
After completing my assignment at O’Fallon near St.Louis (STL) I traveled back to Chennai (MAA) enroute to Chicago (ORD) and Abu Dhabi (AUH) on Etihad Airways. The flight from St.Louis to Chicago was on American Airlines and I had over 3 hours of time between flights at Chicago. But thanks to the bad weather, the flight from St.Louis got delayed by 3 hours. This meant that I would mostly...
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Short Visit to the St.Louis Arch
I was at O’Fallon near St.Louis, MO for four weeks on a work assignment.
View of the sunset in O’Fallon from my hotel room
Though the trip was fraught with health issues, one evening was well spent, visiting the St. Louis downtown. Here are a few pictures of the St.Louis Arch also known as the Gateway Arch built in the ’60s.
The Arch
View from the top
Height of the...
July 2011
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Revisiting Marina Beach
I visited Marina Beach after a long time and was surprised to see this side of the beach near the lighthouse fairly empty, especially on a weekend. I remember this beach to be full in the past, but with the malls and multiplexes coming up all over the city this was bound to happen.
I did not find many changes in this side of the beach - there were the usual shops selling Bajjis, simple toys and...
June 2011
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The Shade of Swords - Book Review
The Shade of Swords is a book by M.J Akbar, well known journalist, founder of The Asian Age newspaper and editorial director at the India Today. The book is a perspective on world history with particular focus on Muslims. M.J Akbar takes varying stances ranging from neutral to a Muslim point of view. The book starts from the history of Islam as it came into existence and traces its growth as it...
March 2011
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Semmozhi Park - First Visit
Semmozhi Park is a new park located opposite the US Consulate in Cathedral Road, Chennai. The Woodlands Drive-In restaurant used to be located there. I visited the park today with family to spend the evening.
Since I went on a weekday, parking was easy with plenty of spaces available. The parking charges are a nominal Rs.10 for the car. The entrance fees are nominal too at Rs.5 per adult. The...
February 2011
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Reliance Digital - No Hard Sell
I have been having DNS issues with my net connection for the past few days. The DSL technician said that there was nothing wrong with the modem/line and hinted that it could be with an issue with the router. I did a few checks and decided to change the router, and went to Reliance Digital on Mount Road to get one. Before I purchased the router, I discussed the problem I was facing with a...
November 2010
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NYC to Chennai on Jet Airways
I traveled on Jet Airways from New York City to Chennai this week, here are my thoughts from the trip.
I was curious to see how Jet Airways fared as an international airline and was pleasantly surprised to see that they did quite well. I liked the relatively new aircraft - Airbus A330 with monitors on all seats for flight entertainment (unlike a few airlines that have monitors only in the EU-US...
September 2010
2 posts
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Eid Mubarak!
Eid wishes to all friends. Hope the fasts went well, hope you gained faith and lost weight :)
This earlier post of mine talks about how Eid is typically celebrated amongst our community.
Photo courtesy: Giorgio Montersino
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Empires of the Indus - Book Review
Empires of the Indus by Alice Albinia is a travelogue interspersed with history. The author has covered almost the entire region surrounding the Indus including dangerous expanses in Afghanistan and surrounding areas. As the author travels across the country she provides relevant facts and events from history in order to form a complete picture. In a chapter on Sindh, she informs us that even in...
August 2010
3 posts
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Tumblr makes it to Time's 50 Best Websites of... →
Yay!
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“God does know what every female womb does bear, by how much the wombs fall short...”
– Quran 13:8
(We were blessed with a second child on Aug 22nd 2010, weeks earlier than the expected date)
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Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai - Short Review
Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai is a movie on the life and times of Sultan Mirza, loosely based on Haji Mastan and Shoaib Khan, based on Dawood Ebrahim.
Ajay Devgan is brilliant and looks natural in the role; the dialogues help him set the screen alight. Emraan Hashmi brings out the negative shades in his character but is becoming a bit stereotyped in his roles. Randeep Hooda’s presence and...
July 2010
2 posts
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Madrasapattinam - Quick Review
Just finished watching Madrasapattinam - a love story set in British times. The movie is about a British lady who loves a “Madrasi” - a native. She is forced to leave him and go back to London due to opposition from her family and India getting independence at the same time - which forms a nicely interwoven backdrop. The lady then returns after 60 years to search for the native...
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Ampa Skywalk Mall - First Visit
I visited the Ampa Skywalk mall this evening with family and heeding warnings of the poor parking facilities by Sushil and my father, I decided to take an Auto Rickshaw to reach the place.
The mall’s interiors are on par with most major malls in the country. It is spacious and the shops seem well spaced. The escalators are functional but I did not find any elevators. I found the food...
June 2010
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Fear of Failure - Norman Vincent Peale Rescues Me...
I have recently taken a new role at work and have been worrying about not doing well on the job. In the past too, I have had different kinds of worrying and negative thoughts about various things. At that time, my father had given me Norman Vincent Peale’s book “The Power of Positive Thinking” to read. This book helped me a lot. So, this time too, in true Norman Vincent Peale...
May 2010
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Graph of Life
The graph above shows how I live my life and compares it with how others do. Clicking on the image will take you to the Flickr page for a larger version of the image. Ionz will build this graph based on your answers to their 9 questions. Around 45,000 people seem to have used this.
April 2010
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Book Review: 2 States - The Story of My Marriage
2 States: The Story of My Marriage by Chetan Bhagat is a love story inspired by his own. I had read Chetan Bhagat’s Three Mistakes of my Life and found it engrossing. Cricket and politics along with a bit of romance had me interested in the first book I read of Chetan Bhagat. After this book, I decided to read 2 States: The Story of My Marriage as it was generating a bit of a hype in the...
February 2010
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A Quick Introduction to Indian TV Serials
I watch TV when there is Cricket on it or while having my dinner. During dinner, if folks at home watch any serial or program, I refrain from changing the channel. As a result, I get an opportunity to watch serials in bits and pieces. And I have been able to understand the story even if I’ve watched the serial for only a few minutes after missing several episodes, such is the story....
January 2010
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Missed Call - Invented in India?
Missed Call to the uninitiated is a concept where a caller calls the receiver on his mobile phone but disconnects the call before the receiver answers it, resulting in a “Missed Call”. The details of the caller are displayed on the receiver’s phone. Why would one do that? There are several reasons. Though the primary reason for the missed call is to save on calling costs, there...
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December 2009
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A Walk in Downtown SFO
I was in Brisbane, a suburb of SFO last month and took a walk on Powell Street on one of the weekends.
The green tram below reminded me of Kolkata’s trams because it is utilitarian - actually being used by people to move around. The yellow and red ones below seem to be only a tourist attraction, they don’t seem to be used for actual commuting.
Interesting structure of the...
September 2009
2 posts
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Munnar!
I visited Munnar, a beautiful hill resort in Kerala, India with family this week. I try to relive the trip in this post.
We started from Chennai by the Alappuzha express around 9 PM and reached Erankulam Junction at 10 AM. The train was an hour late but the pleasant weather and the scenery on the way made sure that we were not too bothered by the delay.
A view from the train
Another view...
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Eid Mubarak!
After 30 days of abstaining from food and carnal desires, it is the hope and prayer of every fasting person that their souls have been cleansed to a certain extent. Eid Ul-Fitr is an occassion that is “earned” by self-conditioning unlike other occassions such as weddings and public holidays that come to happen regardless. For this reason, it gives the Muslims a sense of great...
August 2009
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Tweet Relevancy: The Next Killer Feature For...
As the number of followers increase, so does the volume of tweets that one sees on his/her Twitter stream. Do all of the tweets matter? How do we know which are the ones that interest us without sifting through the deluge of tweets? I have tried to put together a set of criteria based on which tweets could be presented to the user. The tweets following this criteria may not necessarily be ordered...
July 2009
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“I divide my officers into four classes; the clever, the lazy, the industrious,...”
– German General Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord in Truppenführung, 1933
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The Swine Flu Scare
I always look forward to my journey back home as it usually brings me thoughts about good food, relaxed life and of course family! This time however, I started from Vernon Hills less enthusiastically, with a fear of Swine flu - the disease with symptoms as common as the common flu yet deadly enough to cause death (or so the media would have us believe). I tried buying a mask to wear on my journey...
June 2009
3 posts
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Toyota Qualis by DC Chabria
Never thought that a Toyota Qualis could look this good. DC Chabria does wonders.
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May 2009
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Limo in Vernon Hills
I haven’t seen a limousine from this close. This one was parked just outside the hotel where I was staying. It is a Lincoln.
In Vernon Hills near Chicago
Reached Vernon Hills, a suburb about 34 miles away from Chicago, yesterday. The weather is pleasant here as summer has seemingly started. The taxi driver who drove me to the hotel from the Chicago O’ Hare airport was an Indian who had studied for his masters degree here. His job contract with AT&T was terminated early this year and he had to start driving taxis to make ends meet. I had...
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RAM on USB
I was trying to install a software on my ageing laptop and had issues due to lack of disk space. Ruthlessly, I cleaned my hard disk - deleting some files and moving many to a portable hard disk. This made things good enough to install the software.
When trying to run the software, I had a problem as it needed 2-4 GB RAM while I had only 1 GB. Increasing virtual memory, swap size etc did...
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Chennai Rail Accident
Having been a commuter on the suburban trains myself, I was greatly saddened to know about the rail accident that happened yesterday at Vyasarpadi Jiva. These trains are known to be safe with accidents being caused only due to people crossing the tracks inadvertently or due to passengers hanging outside the coaches and getting hit by external objects. But I do not recall any accident involving...
April 2009
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Taxi Ride Across Saudi Arabia
After performing the Umrah, a friend and I started around 9 PM from Makkah to Jeddah.We had planned to start at 8.30 PM but things got delayed. The flight was at 10.30 PM and we thought that it would be tight but we would make it around 10 PM. Also, since we had boarding passes issued from our onward journey itself, we thought that we could go straight to the gate. The heavy traffic meant that we...
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Umrah
I performed Umrah the minor pilgrimage (Haj being the major one) to Makkah last month. Unlike Haj, Umrah can be performed at any time of the year. I wore Ihram, the attire for the pilgrimage and started from Dammam (the city with an airport closest to Jubail). To reach Makkah, one has to fly in to Jeddah and take a taxi.
On arrival at Makkah and reaching the Kaaba - the black cube-like...
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Site Theme Updated
After months of deliberation, I decided it was time to update the site’s theme. I picked this theme as it looks neat and clean. It also seems popular on the tumblr theme garden. Credit goes to Prashanth Kamalakanthan, for designing a professional looking theme.
An issue that I faced during the theme update was that the Disqus comments system did not inherit the theme elements correctly. It...
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Gulf Air's Deceits
I had traveled to Dammam, Saudi Arabia enroute to Jubail, a couple of months back on Gulf Air. My flight was booked from Chennai to Dammam via Bahrain; what followed was a harrowing experience. Boarding Pass but no Flight I was booked a ticket in Gulf Air flight GF 69 from Chennai to Bahrain and on flight GF 101 from Bahrain to Dammam. But on arrival in Bahrain, I was put on a bus to Dammam...
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Site in Internet Explorer
Update
I have updated the theme of this site and moved the icons in the sidebar to the bottom of the page.
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I just realized that in some versions of Internet Explorer, the images in the sidebar of this site show with a light blue background. Seemingly, it is a CSS PNG issue with versions of IE older than 8. IE8 displays the sidebar correctly as do Firefox and Opera. So, if you are...
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March 2009
3 posts
Bowled over by the Nokia E71 as I saw one in person only yesterday. Looks small & neat unlike in photos. For now, this will be my next phone