Musings of an Intellectual Omnivore

Archive for July, 2008

NO SHAME!!! – Serial Blasts Shock Gujarat…

In General Stuff on July 26, 2008 at 11:11 am
we are doing everything we can... shag for example!

We know your tricks Mr. Patil!

Seventeen serial blasts brought life to a halt in Ahmedabad today as the cowardly face of terror unveiled itself yet again. Fifteen Thirty are reported dead and many more injured as the city continues to stand in shock from the terror strike. This comes a day after eight serial blasts rocked the heart and soul of another major Indian city Bangalore.
The question now is what is our government doing to save the citizens of this country? Have issues like the Nuclear Deal become bigger than 12% inflation and series of terrorist acts in the recent months? Have the leaders of the UPA lost the courage to stand up against a common enemy?

I, as a concerned citizen, WILL NOT stand this any longer. This post will be to vent my frustration over the bloodshed of my brothers time and again! Please DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER if you can’t stand me hurling abuses NON-STOP at those (I think are) responsible! Read the rest of this entry »

Happy Birthday!!!!

In Love and Relationships on July 18, 2008 at 9:44 am

http://naamtobatao.wordpress.com/ or http://arpitrao.co.nr/

Today’s the birthday of a really special person who is quite close to my heart!

Here’s wishing the most beautiful girl that I’ve ever met a happy and prosperous year and a long n happy life!!!

Love,

ARPIT

[P.S. Sorry I got a little late at wishing you but I promise you an unforgettable treat when you come back!!!]

You are at: Ntb :: Talking Rainbow (Blog by Arpit Rao)

AIIMS UG (MBBS) Entrance 2008 Results out!

In AIIMS, General Stuff on July 15, 2008 at 3:30 pm

Related content: AIIMS – The Best? An insider’s perspective!

Updated: AIIMS MBBS ENTRANCE 2009 RESULTS DECLARED!!!

The results of the AIIMS MBBS Entrance Exam conducted on June 1, 2008 are out as of July 15, 2008. The quotas have been implemented and the total no. of seats are reported to be seventy-two this year, up from the usual forty-five.

RESULTS are available at this address: CLICK HERE!

Good wishes to all those who qualified. I extend my warmest welcome into our coveted community. For those who could not make it this year, I wish all the best for the next year.

We are all looking forward to talking to our beloved ‘fucchas’ (fresher guys) and ‘fucchis’ (fresher girls) over the internet (Orkut etc). Any of your concerns may also be addressed to this e-mail address. Also, if you are one of the lucky seventy-two, leave a comment including your name, e-mail address, city, and rank!

To know more about the college of your dreams, click these links: AIIMS and Student Union.

Forget not to visit my blog: NTB :: BLOG BY ARPIT RAO
See you soon!

**Edited on July 30, 2008: Freshers arrived today. Batch looks quite chilled out but 72 is a huge number. I don’t know how they are going to adjust with us. Lets hope we do. Btw, ragging has been eradicated!!! Now on, it’s only an INTERACTION!!!

Confirmed iPHONE Launch Price Rs. 31,000!!!

In Cool, USA on July 14, 2008 at 11:41 am

UPDATED ON AUGUST 20: The wait is finally over!!! iPHONE 3G is coming to India on August 22 through two operator networks AIRTEL and VODAFONE. An official Vodafone SMS stated the price for the 8GB iPHONE 3G variant as Rs. 31,000. The booking has to be done on August 20 and 21 with a pre-order amount of Rs. 10,000 with the rest being paid at the time of ‘appointment’ (i.e. when you buy the phone).

This is particularly heartbreaking for most Apple fans in India because shelling out Rs. 31K for an iPHONE 3G is a bit hard especially when the nearest competitor, the NOKIA N95 8GB costs around Rs. 22K (Gaffar Market, New Delhi). Mr. Steve Jobs, all that ’sex appeal’ may not be able to pull a million expected buyers to the nearest shops unless something is done to bring down the price.

Original article continues below:

Arguably the sexiest cell phone on the planet, definitely the most-hyped gadget of recent times, iPHONE 3G was unveiled on July 11 across 12 countries. Of course the disadvantage of being in India is that I will have to wait for months before the first one comes in!

Well, the popularity of the gadget can be assessed from the fact that though it is far from being the best in terms of features, no critic could resist the temptation of calling it the future of cell phones! From what I’ve learned in past few years, Apple is one company you can trust blind-folded for dishing out the hottest and most innovative products. This was proven correct once again when, barring one or two cities, there were queues of people waiting for hours to get hold of the latest iPHONE! It fails me if 200-300$ is small enough sum to be given away without second thoughts to this company. But again, there are crazy people and there are the crazier, Apple fans.

So, while some lucky people relish tapping the screens of their brand-new asset, I’ll just sit here cursing and waiting for mine to arrive someday! What a day would that be! Anyways, book your iPHONE with Airtel or Vodafone if you’re an Indian dying to get one!

[P.S.: OMG stands for 'Oh! My God'... just in case you were wondering!]

Why Clubs In DELHI Do Not Allow STAG Entry?

In General Stuff on July 12, 2008 at 6:22 am

[Stag: A person who attends a social gathering unaccompanied by a partner, especially a man who is unaccompanied by a woman.]

Ever tried going into a club alone or with your gang of boys? When that lame-looking man at the entry, after having a look, decides not to let you in or ‘politely’ suggests that you hit the lounge area instead? And you go red, with anger or shame, depending on the mood and your nature. But the face at the counter is unrelenting and you have to leave the place. End of story. Huh?

I have been in a similar situation before and I must tell you that it is humiliating at the very least. But then, I had my reasons. I am not a globe-trotter but what I know for sure is that in two cities of United States that I’ve been to, Los Angeles and New York, if you walk into any club, you will not be denied entry just because you’re a lone guy. In fact, more chances are that you’ll find someone to dance with, to talk over a drink, and to have fun. So, when you come back to India and go into a night club with your buddies, only to be denied entry, it sucks real bad!

For example, almost all nightclubs in Delhi have free entry for girls (understandable, though ugly chicks do get through!), charge for couples (ok, I mean I can pay up in this case) and double charge (what the fuck!) or even no-entry for lone guys. How far is this fair? I mean, let girls go in for free, charge guys as much as a couple but let them go in!

But, I was about to tell you why guys don’t get stag entry? The reason is the brute and unruly behavior of guys in Delhi especially when drunk. I really feel ashamed but closer to truth when I say that a sizable chunk of single guys in Delhi are sex starved and frustated, ready to pounce upon any girl they find ‘available’. If you make a video of how these ‘men’ behave, it would make you smile in disgust for long.

I have to drop all my female friends within meters of their houses to ensure their safety. This is after an incident in which my friend got verbally abused by neighborhood goons (in a posh Delhi locality!) I can’t travel comfortably with my partner in Delhi Metro with hoards of males trying to get a piece of ‘action’ by getting close to her. Such is the state of affairs in ‘Dilwalon ki Dilli’!

Well, I think this and I think that. But at the end of it all, I thank god for the policy of not granting a stag entry!

[How did you like the article? Do you feel stag entry should be allowed? Feel free to comment below!]

Learn How-to be a Dj! FREE E-BOOKS!

In Cool on July 10, 2008 at 1:09 pm

Do you want to learn how to be a Dj (Disk Jockey – the guy/babe who plays your music in the club/disc)?

Don’t have enough time??

What if you get an e-book which can teach you all about dj-ing and more in less than 50 pages requiring less than an hour to read???

Do you want it?

Click on THIS to get the download link… Read the rest of this entry »

World’s Smallest Story…

In Cool on July 8, 2008 at 3:24 am

What do you think can be the smallest number of words that one can use to make a story? Well, Hemingway once wrote a story with just SIX WORDS!!!

So, Wired.com asked a few of today’s eminent writers to come up with their six word stories. Well, the whole affair turned out quite brilliantly. Take your wits for a pleasant ride would ya! Have fun!

READ THE ARTICLE

REMEMBER… YOU’ve READ IT ON NTB!

GAY-PRIDE PARADE, DELHI

In General Stuff, Love and Relationships on July 5, 2008 at 12:09 pm

[Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are author's own. If you have any objections to the contents of this post, keep them to yourself.]

All right! Lets begin.

June 29, 2008: Around 800 people from different walks of life gather in New Delhi for a common cause. They rally for acceptance, respect, to break the ice, and to make the society know of their presence. The occasion was Gay-Pride Parade, first of its kind in India. This was a radical change for Indian Society which has traditionally been conservative and especially hush-hush in the issues concerning sex and sexuality.

Where parents decide the partner for most people, love marriage has a hard time getting accepted, the condition of a person talking about him or her being homosexual can only be inadequately imagined. I mean, if I were gay, there would be no way I would be able to tell, let alone explain, my parents about it. It is a ‘unacceptable’ departure from so-called values of the Indian social system. Such is the situation even today.

 So, it is quite brave for these men and women to come out in open and let the world know of their sexuality. I can understand why some of them decided to wear masks but still appreciate their effort to come out in the open. As I imagine, most people there would be/have been uncomfortable telling that they were gay/lesbian to their friends and family. Even in a modernizing India, it is hard for people to accept such a thing. Call it our closed-mindedness or give it any other tag but it remains a fact.

I’m a hardcore proponent of individual freedom and hence, believe that everyone has a right to choose according to their wish as long as it doesn’t hurt others. I do not endorse homosexuality but at the same time, do not loathe it either by giving a lame explanation that it is against law of nature etc etc. If one of my friends comes up to me and tell me he is gay, I would not be shocked or angered, instead, I would accept him the way he is (I mean, his sexuality shouldn’t change our friendship unless of course he is attracted towards me!) Least of all things would I ever think of telling him about what ‘God’ would think of all this.

Also, in a nation run by laws written in 1800’s, I do not expect the law concerning ‘unnatural sexual intercourse’ (SECTION 377 IPC, which currently includes homosexuality!) to change for another 50-100 years. There are a million other things queued up before that. Also, the change is expected to be gradual. But as they say, closing your eyes doesn’t alter the truth. What we need to do today is to recognize that there are people in our society who are different in terms of their sexual preferences and that we should adopt an open-minded and liberal attitude towards them, and make them feel a part of our society by letting go of our prejudices.

After all, modernization doesn’t only mean change of clothes or attitude, it means a change of mind-set and ideologies too!

(PHOTO COURTESY: Top-right – PTI; Middle-left – The Economist)

[How did you like the article? Make sure you comment below. NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED.]

Another year ticks by…

In AIIMS, General Stuff on July 3, 2008 at 9:40 pm

This vacation marked the fourth anniversary of my life in Delhi. I must say it’s been quite an exciting ride, full of ups and downs, twists and turns, but when I look back, it’s all been worth it!

No matter how much they try, emulating the roller-coaster called life is difficult to the extent of being impossible. I just wish that this coming year goes smooth and sassier than before! It actually seems quite difficult because of a major kick-ass examination that’s coming up. But lets hope that I get through easily.

Ok! That’s all for now. I’ll write more about the exam as it comes near because as you can u’stand, it’d be the only thing on my mind then!

P.S. My best wishes also go out to all those students who have been surfing similar tides! Besta’ Luck guys!