I was reading an interesting piece on HowStuffWorks about what happens to your social networking site account(s) when you die. The good news is, whether something good or bad happens, you won’t have to bother (because you’d be dead, remember?) The bad news is, that you’d always leave someone who cared about you behind and s/he might get emotionally hurt.
Interestingly, many sites don’t have a definite policy on what to do with accounts of deceased users. Facebook, however, does. It locks access and makes your profile into a ‘memorial’ (deleting all contact info and status updates) so that only friends can visit, leave messages and share grief. Very noble move indeed.
That being said, I however would care less. I mean you’re dead right…. so who gives a f**k! As for all those people who could possibly spam your profile, there is no guarantee that they wouldn’t do so by any other means (e.g. bitching about you at your freaking funeral…. To them I could only say: atleast show some respect for the dead!)
But there is an important point that I’m trying to make behind all this. That social networking on internet was meant as a sidekick to real life, and it is only us who have put a giant ‘S’ on its chest (and underwear on the pant!) to turn it into a superhero. It doesn’t matter if you have 400 friends on Facebook or 10,000 Orkut scraps… If you just pick that phone up once in a while and call up an old friend, you would end up being happier than logging in a hundred times a day!
And eventually, there’ll be a lot less people bitching about you at your funeral, especially the ones who could have said…. the bastard had time for just ten scraps in his entire life!
[First in the series of articles under: Things The Society Doesn't Want You To Do!]
I’m a man with a mission. I’m surfing the blogosphere to find out Indian Blogs that are cool in the real sense of the word. I find some interesting things, and then, some really crappy articles which completely blow my mind to bits. Here is my take on one of such articles. Put it in any category you like.
If you are having sex before marriage with someone ready for following consequences:
MMS
Compromising Pictures in public
Ready to listen that “My family is not ready for our marriage”
Pregnancy
Abortion
Your neighborhood boys may have every details that how and where your boy took you for ride. (Boys loves telling their tale of bravery)
Be Brave . Ready to be center of attraction , Your collages and college students might look at you and laugh like anything, Some of them may ask you to come to his bed for some money.
I could simply state, and believe me I have every right to, that this is all a big pile of bullcrap. Read the rest of this entry »
India is home to a fast-growing population of bloggers, something that reflects the growing ‘e-wareness’ of its people. And now that there are quite a few people blogging about anything and everything, how to know if you’re getting a good deal when you visit a new blog? Simple… ASK THE VISITORS!
You don’t have to take my word… The visitors to this blog bear a testimony to the fact that they found it worth their time and energy to read some of the things that I had to offer!
In just one year, a blog that has NO ADS, NO PAY-FOR-WRITING component has become one of the most visited blog in India. It gets 500+ (unique) visitors a day and as you read this post, the total number of visitors in that last ONE year (i.e. since its launch) have reached 90,000+. The blog is called NAAM-TO-BATAO (www.arpitrao.co.nr or naamtobatao.wordpress.com) by ARPIT RAO. In case you’re wondering, this is NtB!
No, I don’t write about Technology, Movies or any of the higher-yield (in terms of visitors) topics to get visitors. I don’t distribute illegal music or movies or videos. I don’t show pornography. I just write what I feel must be written about. As simple as that.
So, on this special occasion, I’d like to thank and congratulate everyone who’s backed me up through my first year blogging, in every which way, including just visiting NAAM-TO-BATAO.
I will ensure that you have a site which looks GOOD (I’d say AWESOME but let’s just go with the bare minimum), does the work and all this at an exceedingly reasonable price.
For any queries, or business enquiries, contact: ARPIT at: arp1t@in.com
It’s raining in Delhi today. And it’s raining good news on the lucky few who’ve made it to the BEST medical school in the nation! The results of the AIIMS MBBS Entrance Exam conducted on June 1, 2009 are out.
RESULTS are available at this address: CLICK HERE!
Better still, you candownload the MBBS 2009 result (taken from www.aiims.edu; RIGHT CLICK AND CHOOSE ‘SAVE AS’)
Good wishes to all those who made the cut. I extend my warmest welcome into our coveted community.
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 from the lucky lot, 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.
After another unbelievable Wimbledon Men’s Final, here’s one more thing for all you fans out there to indulge in. Bringing to you the COMPLETE COMMENTARY of the match in PDF format to download, read, and keep for later.
Here’s the commentary from Wimbledon 2009 final ANDY RODDICK v/s ROGER FEDERER:
[DISCLAIMER: All content in the file is copyright Wimbledon.org. It is only distributed for your personal use and in good intent. Please don't abuse the right to share freely.]
Ladies and gentlemen, get ready to put your hands on the v10 final release and experience web like never before!
For those running Ubuntu, there’s a good news. You can now download (.deb) Opera from its official site. You don’t have to compile your own Opera 10 anymore if you intend to use it!
Here are your download links: LINUX 32 bitLINUX 64 bit
<– Original Article begins here –>
The endless war of the browsers may now have a clear winner: the OPERA 10 BETA 1. It was released a few days ago as an open public beta but the non-developer Opera-fans like myself couldn’t keep their hands off it because it is just too cool to resist. And the reason why I’m writing this blog post is because I believe you should have a shot at the best browsing experience too!
Ladies n Gents, let me give you a few reasons (read list below) to throw Firefox into the dark corners of your computer. We shall not speak of Internet Explorer because it would be a shame to take its name in a post about the best browsers.
AIIMS or All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New-Delhi, INDIA conducted its Pre-medical entrance test on June 01, 2009. Not even a few hours had passed when rumors of paper leak in Ghaziabad started coming in. I don’t know if there is any truth in all this because most such news tend to end up as media-hooplah!
I happened to be at a centre in Delhi when this exam was being conducted and the instructions were so strict that candidates were not allowed to take even their pens inside the centre. All that was allowed was the admit card, a water bottle, and money. I refuse to believe that any candidate could be able to leak the paper by him/herself because once the exam begins, no one is allowed to go out until it ends three and a half hours later. So, if anything, an entire school has to be involved for any paper leak to occur.
But in my personal experience, the examination section of AIIMS has been conducting few of the most honest examinations in the country (including our internal and university exams) and it’d be unlikely that they would be careless enough to allow such transgression. We will have to wait for a few days to find out if there is truth in all this or it is just a figment of Media’s imagination. The students need not worry though because it is extremely rare a possibility that the exam will be taken again.
If you happen to be one of the students or parent of a student who took this exam and feel like saying something, you are most welcome to do so. COMMENT BELOW!
Hi all!
I just came back from a week-long trip to Shimla-Chandigarh-Panchkula with three of my friends and must I say, it was exhilarating! I will write more about the trip and also post some really cool photos that we took during the trip.
I am running short of time so will catch back later!
Have you ever really liked/hated something so much as to get desperate enough to raise your voice? If yes, you got to read this one really carefully!
Here’s your chance to contribute your two cents to the cause. This blog has been around for a while and it would not be a bad idea to ask if you like what I write. I mean, though the stats that I gather are truly heart-warming but it’d be better to hear from my dear readers about things they like and hate about NtB.
Here’s the poll:
Oh and NtB is open to suggestions for a prospective change in the name. Kindly comment if you could while I rack my brain to come up with something useful.
As I’m writing this, BJP led NDA trails UPA by around 70 seats and the gap seems to be widening. Now, let me make this very clear… I hate to see UPA rule once again (remember all the inflation, terrorism etc) and I’d hate to see a lame PM at the helm of affairs (this time, both Advani and Manmohan are included) but whatever… I don’t believe in this fkin Democracy (the reason why I didn’t vote, apart from not having my name in rolls of correct constituency!)
Coming back, Advani has ALWAYS BEEN UNLUCKY FOR BJP and I wouldn’t have believed even if BJP gave me a million$ that it had any chance of winning these elections on its own. Advani is the proverbial ‘last nail in the coffin’ for BJP this time around. If the party wants to have any hope of coming back in power, it needs to reinvent and find a leader from its second-line jackasses who could have the national image suiting a PM candidate.
Google, one of the best search engines out there, has just gotten better. It now shows an link on your search results’ page called SHOW OPTIONS. When you click the link, you get a detailed menu with two cool options named Timeline and Wonder Wheel to help you reach the result you need in a better way than clicking a 100 search pages.
Here’s what Google has to say on the new features:
“a new set of tools that allows you to slice and dice results in new ways.” – Marissa Mayer, VP Search Products and User Experience, Google“Wonder Wheel,” a graphical way to explore topics by clicking on related searches that go deeper into the subject of the main query.
Timeline is a more obvious and intuitive search assistants. The results are displayed as a histogram with time as the x-axis. What it means is that you can effectively search for results in a given time frame. So, for example, if you are looking for that historical reference, just click towards the left side of timeline and you have more chances of getting lucky.
This is a new feature, so be warned… not all that you expect will happen with Google Search. But hey, atleast they are trying. What’s the hold-up then, go google!
If you are constantly annoyed by the advertisements in the top-right corner of the Foxit Reader, but like me were unable to find a cure for it, wait no more!
Presenting the latest version of FOXIT PDF READER WITHOUT ANY ADS!!!
Just download this image file and rename it to foxit.rar
Then open the archive
Extract FOXIT READER and get on with your work!
(NOTE: ONLY RIGHT CLICK AND CHOOSE SAVE IMAGE AS)
Courtesy,
@rp1t
(P.S. To the publishers of Foxit, let it be known that we mean no harm. Just that we don’t like adware in such a beautiful piece of software!)
Guys, I just came back from Indore to Delhi (both in India – for my International visitors’ sake) by a Jet Airways flight. By god was I in for a shock when I boarded that plane! I mean everything was ok until the machine was sitting on all fours at the airport. But when it came to the actual takeoff, boy was it shaky when I guess the only thing pilot knew was pretty unusual throttle pushing! Just when I thought that this was the craziest of my 200 or so takeoffs, and after an hour of flying turbulent times (forgive the pun), came the call for landing over Delhi.
Dude, I just wish if the guy had learnt his lessons properly cuz he cud’ve done it better when drunk! He landed the craft at an oblique axis with the runway so that the craft literally swayed side-to-side to give some of us a scare before the pilot (may be) altered the back burners differentially to bring it back in line but then I realized that he had brought in the craft at a higher speed and he braked so hard, it was almost enough to crush my stomach but not enough to stop us within 500 meters.
Anyways, now firmly back in the safer confines of my own place, I only wonder… what if the bastard burst a tire while landing and the plane crashed? All the while, I couldn’t help but draw similarities between my profession (doctor) and his. I save lives, one at a time, but he could have potentially killed 150+ people, at the same time. Both of us need to be really cautious about our skills so that nothing untoward happens to those who trust in us completely, whether be it to get well or to take us to destinationations soaring through the skies. Now, that’s a lesson learnt!
I know you must be wondering what on earth am I going to tell you that’ll change your world! But, here’s a good trick that will help you in long run if you are deep into tabbed browsing. Here, try this for yourself:
1. PRESS CONTROL+T (OPENS NEW TAB. Alternatively, open it using mouse)
2. Type in any address. Press go.
3. MIDDLE-CLICK THE MOUSE ON THE NEW TAB.
4. Wallah! The tab is closed and you did not have to scroll all the way to the close button.
Infact, you have learnt two new tricks today, if you are a total newbie. But even a lot of us who are regular at web browsing tend to not know about the second one (the middle mouse trick).
Hope this helps!
Cheers,
ARPIT
[P.S. This was tested on latest versions of Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer, and Google Chrome, and was found to work. It does not work on Safari for some unknown reason!]
UPDATE: Here’s another trick which might come in handy if you are keyboard savvy: TRY AND PRESS F2 IF YOU ARE USING OPERA… And it’ll open a dialog box for you to quickly type in the website address and take you there when you press ok. (This trick doesn’t work in Firefox).
It is a war which was bound to happen sooner or later. Now when the SriLankan government has officially initiated the final round, the LTTE is staying put on the last 10-12 km long strip of land under its control, employing the civilians as a human-shield. This, however, has led to a widespread criticism of the government on human-rights issues.
While no one would want any innocent person killed in the struggle, as is the case with most other lesser-than-ideal situations, it is bound to happen. But what is of a greater importance is the fact that this is a fight to save the existence of SriLanka as we know it, and to prove that secessionist forces, fighting on whatever grounds they may, should not be let to succeed. The futility of LTTE’s endevours must be imprinted in the textbooks of history in bold letters for those in other countries with similar malefic intentions to see and fear. This exercise should be a lesson to the countries like India and its all-too-glorified neighbor, which even after 60 years of independence, have not managed to hold united and counter these forces.
Infact, talking about India, it makes me immensely sad that the Indian government is actually backing LTTE and asking for the SriLankan government to announce ceasefire (on the pretext of rescuing civilians). Read the rest of this entry »
It’s a season of change guys, and while we are at it, why not give our blogs a makeover??
Now that blogs hosted on WordPress.com such as this: NAAMTOBATAO, have the option of choosing a brand new theme called Depo Masthead, it has become almost necessary to take it for a spin!
I have applied the theme, and find the new look too good to resist. I mean, how else do I get to showcase the THREE recent posts on the blog without the reader having to scroll down? And it has the simple, clean, fast-loading and attractive look that I’ve always been a fan of. Not that I have not used heavier and fancier looking themes for website deployment (check my latest project at: www.su-aiims.co.in) but they often land up being most frequently used by those on high-bandwidth internet connections.
Since every visitor is almost equally as important (conditions apply -mail me to find out why users to your site differ in certain aspects) for your blog, I’d suggest you to refrain from using large themes with flashy loaders (coming soon – a post about optimizing your site for maximum attention). Read the rest of this entry »
We all have different opinions about Ghajini. Some have dismissed it entirely, but a minority does seem to like it. Anyways, the important point is that all the songs in the movie were beautifully cinematographed. The angles, the colors, the usage of props, and scenic locations are all just too cool to miss.
So, I’m going to give you guys a link to this High definition Songs’ torrent that some (good) guy managed to upload. It is around 200mb and has pretty good seed:leech ratio. So, without further ado, just click on more button below to get the download link>>>
I write this post in the last hours of an amazing year. Elation fills my heart as I recap the events of 2008 and make the joyride through memory lane. A lot has happened, enough to fill pages and pages, with more of good and less of bad times! And I’m glad that it is such. Life could’ve been a hell lot better than it were in the year but I’m very happy to have formed a baseline of sorts to base my future on.
A brief list of what happened:
1. Ru (though it began a lot earlier, the last few pages were written in 2008)
2. Maiden U.S. Trip (Just in time)
3. Preparing for exams…
4. Pre-professional exam (1.5 months!)
5. Professional exam (1 month)
6. Results out… Now a doctor… what??? YES! a DOCTOR.
7. And yes, a lot of parties!!!!
8. Oh! and, the blog reached 10000, 20000, and 30000 visitors marks in 2008.
Hope all of you have an exciting, amazing, hope and fun-filled, and prosperous new year!
Love,
Arpit
[The author sends his heartfelt sympathies to all the victims and their families. He salutes all the bravehearts who rose up in the grim and asking situation. He also hopes that this would stop someday]
History: India defeats Pakistan in all engagements.
2008: It’s War between India and a ‘terrorist’ Pakistan. And India stands defeated, brought to its knees by just 12 Pakistanis. 100 billion Indians hang their heads in shame, wondering what hit them and how! Amazing to see India transform into a nation of gutless, emotionless weaklings. Amazing to imagine people in the ‘terrorist homeland’ cheering themselves over a drink (may be a champagne!) after watching the visuals of the carnage that their brave ‘jehadi’ boys had just created.
I have always been pro-peace, and still am now. Just that the philosophy doesn’t stick as well today as always did. The idea of diplomacy through peace has lost all its relevance in current situation. This relationship with our ‘great’ Gandhi has to be broken. He’s no more relevant, no more crucial in deciding the fate of India. It’s time to realize our loss and get a brace for our weak spines to stand up and do something concrete. Read the rest of this entry »
As I type this post, the deadly Indian trio will be on their way to perform LIVE in front of a huge audience comprising mostly of the future doctors! Wonder why and where? No, they haven’t hit the gratitude (for doctors) note as yet (hehe… doubt that will ever happen!) but where is a question I’ll gladly answer! Read the rest of this entry »
Delhi bore the brunt of cowards calling themselves Jehadis once again today as four blasts ripped through busy areas of the city. Here’s the story from IBNLIVE:
Four explosions in quick succession shook the capital on Saturday evening.
Police say the first blast, in Karol Bagh, was the result of a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) cylinder explosion while it is still not immediately clear if the second and third blasts, in Greater Kailash and Connaught Place, were terror blasts. Two people were injured in the first blast in the busy Gaffar market of Karol Bagh in Central Delhi.
Come on Young India… tell us what you think of this shameful act… add a comment right here.
“I’ll be right back!”, said the clerk at a government office I visited for some work. It was 3:48pm on the clock hung right above his head on the wall behind him. Did I really have a choice but to say ok? I guess not, and so he left with a smile. Half an hour passed with me checking the time every so often, looking around in desperation, anxiously waiting for him to return. I had to get my work done before 5:00pm because if not, it could delay a lot of my other important works by days together. Naturally, I wasn’t too amused by the fact that I had to wait so long for a work that was hardly worth 5 minutes! Read the rest of this entry »
This goes out to all of the semi-frustated, no-other-business types who would make no more use of their lives but to stalk profiles on Social Networking sites…
The Band’s name is PENN MASALA and the video has been watched over 5.5 3 million times.
[P.S. Stalk:[motion] go through (an area) in search of prey]
Here’s my compilation of top 10 Zen quotes from various sources:
A samurai once asked Zen Master Hakuin where he would go after he died. Hakuin answered ‘How am I supposed to know?’
‘How do you not know? You’re a Zen master!’ exclaimed the samurai.
‘Yes, but not a dead one,’ Hakuin answered.
Do not seek the truth, only cease to cherish your opinions.
If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are.
The tighter you squeeze the less you have.
When you reach the top, keep climbing.
A river too pure, yields no fish.
Be master of mind rather than mastered by mind.
From the withered tree, a flower blooms.
The infinite is in the finite of every instant.
When you are deluded and full of doubt, even a thousand books of scripture are not enough. When you have realized understanding, even one word is too much.
DID YOU KNOW: The ‘Top 10 Zen Quotes‘is just one of the interesting posts on NtB :: Talking Rainbow
Get ready to party hard all night long…
If you have been saving up all that cash for a big one, here is your best chance!!
The best party this month in Delhi is coming your way on 22nd August!!
Johnnie Walker and Royale Mirage Present REDHOTNIGHTS featuring one of the best Electronica bands out there, the ELECTRONIC LAB formed by Delhi’s famed Dj-Producer SAN with its well-known Audio-Visual DJ set.
Electronic Lab specializes in Progressive Uplifting, Electro House, Funk Breaks, DnB, and Techno.
At Hotel Crowne Plaza, New Friends Colony, New-Delhi – 25
It’s been 61 years since India was liberated from the clutches of the British empire (which I must say, was not able to hold on to us any longer due to economic losses suffered in WW-II). As we hoist the flag and sing the anthem, answering a few relevant questions becomes the need of the hour.
Bursting a Balloon at 2000 frames per second!!! Seriously awesome!
For those of you who are not aware of the concept of frames in videos, here’s a briefing: Frames are like pictures which are sequentially played to form a video. A normal video contains 25-30 frames per second of play. Human eye can not see the sequence once the frame rate exceeds 25/sec. Hence, the images seem to flow in the form of a video at higher frame rates. High speed cameras can produce videos with frame rates in thousands per second. This video was made using a high-speed camera with frame output of 2000 per second (that is 2000 images in one second!!) Hence you can actually see the material of bubble disintegrating once poked and water maintaining its shape for that one second!!!!
Ever felt the dire need to be heard?
The gut-wrenching desire to speak for a cause?
Need to know what world thinks about a topic?
Want to opine?
If this is what you want, in other words, to let the world know your POINT OF VIEW, your wait may soon be over!!!
Soon a brand new site would be launched to let you do just that… what’s more is that it’ll have a far greater number of features than most sites, including multiple polls, shoutboxes, articles which you can write or edit, news headlines from around the world, and to top it off, a collection of jokes and quotes!!!
So, are you ready??? Cuz it’s coming soon!!!!
[For more news, keep checking back... Naam-to-batao]
Presenting the all new, exclusive, expensive, beautiful, sexy… BUGATTI TARGA (official name: Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport). What’s special about it? For starters, a chic (starting) price tag of Rs. 10 crore (yes you heard it right… the equivalent of 500… read again… FIVE HUNDRED MARUTI 800s!). Also, ONLY EIGHTY (80!!!) will be ever produced!
Why mention something which almost all Indians WILL NOT EVEN SEE once in their entire lifetime? Assuredly, an Indian sitting (NOT OWNING) in this epitome of Luxury on wheels would be as unique as the first man on the moon! But then, as with most other things tagged as ‘luxury’ which invariably continue to elude Indians, the best way to inch closer to their existence is to window-shop!
I’m going to provide two pictures (taken from some site since Bugatti Public Relations declined to let me test drive or atleast see the car itself…) which will give you an idea of how beautiful/sleek/sexy/hot this car looks! Believe me guys, I’m a hard-core Ferrari and Lamborghini fan but this car beats ALL of those beauties hands down and smacks any competition out of the park!
Close that jaw now… oh come on… get over it… I don’t want to be held responsible for your clinical brain damage…
This sure feels like sitting in a Mercedes SLK 500 and going from 0-100kmph in just 4 seconds… Well… may be not… but it sure comes quite near!
Visitor Map for NtB
What am I talking about??? As I type this post, my counter would tick to 7000 8000+ visitors!!! This blog (atleast a part of it) has been a hit with visitors around the world (see the visitors map from the tracking website that I use) and I’m glad to see myself figuring in the top 10 searches for Arpit and Arpit Rao apart from many others!!!
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 »
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.
**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!!!
[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!]
[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)
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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!
What if your friend is seriously ill? What if all he needs is a favor… probably his last from you? What happens when life puts you in a tight spot? Answers are usually hard to come by. If you could relate a bit, read on!
Well, the reason why I’m striking this chord is primarily because of the incident that I’m about to tell you. One fine morning last week, wednesday or thursday I can’t recall, I recieved a call from my close friend. He sounded morbid. He told me that one of our close friends had suffered a serious accident. His car had crashed into a truck coming from the opposite side as he lost control on a wet section of the highway. He was admitted in a hospital in Noida. The condition was described ‘critical’ by his attending doctors. His parents were in a state of shock ever since they saw their son in a prison-cell of a room, with 2 tubes in the mouth for ventillation, two intravenous lines, a haphazard mesh of wires connecting to a machine which, for all it did, kept beeping at regular intervals and showed a wierd pattern on its green display.
Have I been racially discriminated in the United States? Well… I don’t really know but I’ll let you judge!
Well, since I’ve been getting a lot of hits to this post, I thought I should share my experiences in the land of dreams (for most Indians) with you.
As is the case everywhere, people tend to get apprehensive to find someone different than themselves in their own locality. No wonder that you see ‘goras’ and ‘goris’ getting chased around by an Indian crowd in the streets of Jaipur or Chandni Chowk in Delhi. It is very natural for them to get curious, get agitated, or even get annoyed with the ‘foreign’ presence. Keeping this background in mind, consider the events that I describe below.
A brown man stands out in a white and black crowd as much as the opposite. So, it is not surprising to get an occassional comment like ‘Oh! you’re an Indian… yeah… I thought so!’ Now, depending on the way it was said, this simple statement can be ajudged a comment, a complement, a simple observation or a racist remark! Mostly, what you can do is to ignore all of it if said with negative connotation. Avoid brawls to the best possible extent except if you are bigger, stronger and as they say, in a position of might (rare… very rare!) Please understand that this behavior is called discrimination… and if you don’t have an elephant’s memory, must I remind you that it is the same as what you do to other people while you go bossing around in India.
Now, most waiters and waitresses have a notion that Indians don’t tip well. Hence, expect a rough serving at any ordinary restaurant unless you walk in with the attitude suiting riches! Listen to this well… TIP atleast as much as the service tax on your bill or 10-15% of total bill amount. Yes, that would come to be around 2-5$ but it is a good habit. Saves people like me from getting remarks like ‘hey… you’re Indian and still you gave me a 5$ tip! Wow, thanks!’
As they say, everyone wants a piece of the best pie! When IT revolution happened in last decade, everyone wanted to become an IT professional and ride the wave of high-paying jobs with the coolness quotient. Most people I knew tried to learn as many computer languages as they could in order to get internships/jobs in IT sector biggies!
But then, as is the case in any field, some are professionals, some are newbies and some impostors… So, a breed of guys (mostly) and girls grew up downloading softwares from the internet and trying to attack or ‘hack’ a computer. Personally, I took the onslaught of these wannabes’ rather silently. Every person who came up to me and said that he/she was a hacker got an audience. I listened to them brag about how they performed ddos attacks on their friend’s computer and managed to get away with a few ‘classified’ pictures of him and his girlfriend. All I could say was ‘great work buddy!’
But as I got to know better, my understanding of this phenomenon improved. It is not hard to understand the psychology of a wannabe hacker. Also, it is equally easy to tell a hacker from a newbie.
Read on to find out:
There are a few things that get a blogger like me excited… one of them is to know that people are reading what you write! Few others include strangers telling you how they just stumbled upon your blog and found it worth a read or how your friends know you better by reading things that were just contained inside!
But then, once in a while, something special comes along. The counter at the bottom left ticks to a number followed by three zeros… and wallah… your visitor count has reached 2000!
Now, you may ask what’s so special about that? The point is that if just in a few months, and in just 30 posts, if a blogger has 2K readers, it is somewhat special and exciting… Just try writing 20 personal posts concerning your life and you’ll know how hard it is!
I could of course change my contents to more searched things like softwares, music, or popular themes like celeb gossips, free games, love etc. But what’s the fun then? Serious bloggers don’t usually find it a good practice. I write what I feel should be talked or written about. I speak my mind. I would rather take 5000 visitors an year with good content than 15-20K with the things I’ve fore mentioned.
I’d like to thank all you guys for the support. Remember, that one click matters a lot!
It’s no wonder that we see the American government spend billions of dollars in the name of internal security. What amazes me is that this country, which has seen the ‘real’ face of terror for only a few years now, has pioneered in showing the world how to counter it!
Terrorism came bundled with the scheme of events that took place on the night of August 15, 1947. It became our destiny as Indians to wake up to the sounds of machine guns, AK-57s, grenades, and bombs going off in the various parts. But, again, as Indians, we replied ‘appropriately’ by turning a deaf ear to all that concerns our nation. No matter how loud the sound of this ‘cuckoo’ got, we just kept on sleeping. Not even that, dare I say, worries me! What actually gets on my nerves is the fact that every day, we see so many men, women, and children being consumed in the pyre of ‘jehaad’ and that the more we see those gory scenes on TV and the more we hear about them on the radio, the more lackadaisical we become and the lesser we care for our fellow countrymen.
The moral and cultural fabric of the society that we so commonly use to counter any comparison with the ‘west’, is, and I feel sorry and ashamed to say, being not torn but shredded into pieces. No Indian that I meet can stand up and defend this nation for five minutes against the criticism (based on facts and figures) that i toss at him/her. Though I’d more than love to loose this debate, against the usual habit, it has not happened still and I’d be shouting my lungs out at this very blog the day it does! It may sound too critical of me, even bordering sycophancy of the developed nations, but the fact is that if we have to improve, we will have to learn from those who are there already.
Our intelligence agency is called RAW (Research and Analysis Wing). It is incredibly stupid (or brilliant, depending on the way you see it!) of the people who coined the term for the pun which was ingrained. It really is a raw (read untrained) manner in which this agency functions. I can not imagine them not being able to get a tip-off for such a major terrorist activity. But again, the motto of these ‘take the nation’s money-do nothing-get fat each day-keep vacationing at behest of missions’ agents (not to offend the real agents working for agencies like CIA, FBI, MI5 etc) is to ‘rise beyond expectations’ (only to fail in a new manner each time, to maintain USP that is!) If I get kidnapped after writing this piece, you know whom to blame… no damnit, it’s not RAW (those people don’t know how to do even that!), its our age-old acquaintance, the ISI. They need me because they can’t ridicule the RAW in the manner that I do!
When a nation has 90% of its police officers above the ‘you are fat’ level and the IPS’ and IAS’ making money like poker machines, this is bound to happen. Why is it not that even after three decades, we have not been able to curtail the wings of terrorism in J&K and North-East when it took us less than five years to do that in Punjab.
The answer is not that simple but the pathway surely requires a leader who actually thinks more than the ways to live for another year! Also, an important mention would be of the role of ordinary citizens, including ME and YOU, who have been sleeping long enough to cause clinical brain damage! If we don’t wake up, the policies would not change, politicians will not feel afraid of abusing and even selling our own country, and terrorism will continue to spread.
And then, one day, you will wake up to the same sound that you have been hearing over TV for years, but you would be lying on a stretcher being rushed to the emergency and the loss of one arm won’t bother you as much as the remorse and the agony of the fact that you did not do something, anything when you could make a difference.
Vande Mataram!
Time for some updates on Jaipur Blasts:
RDX used in blasts. (Do we really care about WHAT was used? Work harder and find out WHO did it!)
HUJI suspected. (Ok, so this Jehaadi setup is the cowardly face behind it. Good job finding that out RAW. Oh wait, was it that they called you up to take responsibility and get the fame! Doesn’t matter, don’t cry, just CATCH them!!)
PM announces 1 lakh compensation for the kin (Oh thanks Mr. Prime Minister. Thanks but we don’t want those green bundles rolling our way the next time. Stop being so fucking shameless and get those bastards!)
Curfew Imposed in Pink City (Just cross your fingers and pray to god it works. Fools!)
For the uninformed, the reason why I had not been writing any blog posts for the past two months was that I was in the US for professional purposes and my daily schedule did not allow me to think beyond usual, an essential prerequisite for creative writing!
But, that was then! Now, I’m back in India with tons of interesting things and experiences to share with you guys! Most of these things are ones which you already know or have heard about, hence my motive would be to impart a fresh perspective to these experiences.
Also, upon request from a few of my friends from international blogosphere, I’ve decided to keep the vocabulary simple in my posts. This is to ensure readability and easy understanding. Certain posts shall be flagged for advanced vocab, so don’t throw away that dictionary just yet!
That should be all for now. Be sure to check out the announcements in the next post! I’m also planning on launching another blog with medical content. That is subject to finding enough contributors!
This is my first post during my trip to the United States. To some it might come as a surprise as I had managed to keep the preps very low-key but anyways, I apologize for not informing on an individual basis.
In this journey called life, you meet thousands n thousands of people. But very rarely do you come across a special few who make an impact… who change your world… who change the way you perceive your life. It is them, infact, who give you a reason to smile, to be happy and in a broader sense, to live.
But on one turn, you realize that it is time for the final goodbye (For those who have lost their loved ones, it is not too hard to imagine all the things that I’m writing now.. please forgive me if I hurt any sentiments). And it is never easy to say the final few words… those few moments feel like eternity.. you can hear the breath, you can feel your heart pounding.. you look into his/her eyes and get that sinking feeling. You try to hold on.. to stay afloat.. to breathe.. but to no avail. There are so many things you want to say but no words come out. All the times that you spent together flash in front of your eyes. This sadness knows no bounds. Just then, your time runs out. The voice fades away, those eyes close forever to your sight, the comfort that you got from holding hands turns into a cold painful sensation. He/she is gone… yes, gone forever but it takes you a while to realize the impact of this sorrow. But, you feel it and it hits you hard.
But I’m not here to make you sad, right! So, seasons change, the memories fade and so does the pain. And LIFE GOES ON!
YES!!! After making me wait for sooooo long, the International Book Fair 2008 is finally here. It’s on from 2nd of Feb till 10th of Feb at Pragati Maidan, New-Delhi.
I must say, it keeps getting better and better each year. This time around, there is an increased no. of stalls with an amazing variety of books on display. Of course, the big names are all there.. Penguin, Oxford, Cambridge, Orient-Longman and a lot more.. But what I also liked were stalls from organizations like International Labor Organization (ILO), UNESCO, World Bank etc which can be categorized as unusual yet totally engrossing.
The stalls have a huge collection of the world’s finest literature of authors like Kafka, Toni Morrison, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Anita Desai, Kushwant Singh, John Grisham and hundreds of such great names. There also is a myriad of classics by Leo Tolstoy, Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway etc and practically a million other books by lesser known writers. Also, there are stalls from several countries like Russia, Canada, Japan, Spain etc featuring their most famous works.
Overall, I must say, for book lovers there can be no better place to hang-out this week except the book-fair. Believe me, you’ll thank me that you went! But if you don’t follow my advice, I’m sure you’ll be sorry for missing out on such an awesome event!!!
Yes, I’m still writing. There are atleast a couple of ‘things’ that I’m currently working on.
‘the end to misery’ – No, it’s not a love story. Its about a dead husband and a hysteric wife and three cops trying to figure out what happened and how? It’s about a radical and sensitive topic not many men would like to discuss. Any further details will give away the soul of the story, so please be patient.
‘Misfortune Cookies’ – This one’s an article about certain spine-chilling realities and is based on a recent newspaper story that (did not?) shake the world.
I’m putting in my heart behind each of these articles. Considering the no. of visitors that I’ve started getting to my blog, I’m motivated to deliver something better each time.
As usual, both the above pieces are based on true events.
She stood motionless in the balcony of her house on a cold winter night under the light of the full moon… She took the mobile in her hand, saw the missed call list, for the fourteenth time in the last one hour… but he had not called. Her hand dropped, she closed her eyes and thought… just as she had been thinking for the last few days…
What had she wanted? Was it something so unaffordable that he could not provide? Was a last phone call from the man that she loved so much… for whom her heart yearned day and night for last so many years… so undeserved? Why was she not considered worth for just one chance of saying for the last time how much she loved him, thanking him for all the beautiful moments they had lived together, just listening to his voice once again, feeling her heart race by his romantic talk?
It had been a few weeks that they had not been together. They both knew the relationship was unsustainable… not because they did not want it, but because of the circumstances… But was this the right way to end it? She wondered. Could he not have called up? She was infact as prepared as one can be, for the impending break-up.. but this move had indeed taken her by surprise. Not that she had not tried calling him up, she did… but only to find the phone switched off.
Her love story, not unlike millions and billions of others, had ended… just as fast as it began. She was still standing there… heartbroken though, barely able to support herself on her weak knees… just wondering… what if???
Kuki is one of those places that simply take your breath away. Awesome ambiance, good food, nice selection of cocktails and all of this at a decent price.
Located in GK-II (Greater Kailash Part II), adjacent to Mainland China, it is easily accessible. Although it is slightly small for a lounge, but the ambiance more than makes up for it.
Just a couple of days back, I received a call from one of my friends. Both of us had been wanting to go on a long drive.. With a temp. dipping to 3 deg a night before, I knew that thermometer would be reading 2 deg or less when we would be out. Awesome… I thought, since for me, it was perfect way to get relaxed. But we did not have sufficient time for a long drive to another city or something. We had to have it all within 45-50 kms.
So, we hit the road… I had Noida Flyway in mind since I had heard a lot about it already from my friends. I had been there in the day time before, but it never at night.
Chilly winds throughout the day… temperatures of around 16-20 deg celcius…. Dense fog in the mornings and evenings… That’s Delhi’s weather currently for you!!!
Believe me, if u like winters, there’s hardly something that can beat this! Man… I’m so glad I’m in Delhi rite now!!! Just lovin every bit of it!!!
Here is me wishing all my friends and all the people i know, a very very happy n prosperous new year 2008. I’m sorry I could not be regular on my blog but its really hard for a being such as myself to keep up with the schedule.
So, as always, another year brings another set of resolutions…. As usual, most of them are made to be broken… I’ve kept the tradition alive just for the sake of it. I really don’t know what purpose they serve but anyways, who wants to begin a new year on wrong note.
It had been an good year with lots of highs and lows, successes and failures.. And when one fine day in december, I sat down to reminisce what the year gave and what it took away, I was happy to find out that I had a positive balance. Though, the year was in no way extraordinary in terms of academic achievements, it gave a lot of good memories in my personal life for me to cherish for the rest of my life. I guess that pretty much sums up 2007 for me.
So, now 2008 comes with a lot of expectations. Some storms are expected early-on but as usual, I will sail-through. There will be a lot riding on this year, especially in my professional sphere. Wish me best of luck!!!
I guess, by now, everyone who’s doing MBBS from any Medical Coll. in India has heard of the proposed 1 year compulsory extension of MBBS in the name of Rural Posting.
And it’s not going to happen after 2, 3 or 5 years but if everything goes wrong (for us that is), it’ll come to effect RIGHT FROM NEXT YEAR!!! I shall be affected, and so will you be!
All I can say about this song is: SIMPLY AWESOME!!!
Download it using ARES or something similar.
“My Own Prison”
A court is in session, a verdict is in
No appeal on the docket today
Just my own sin
The walls are cold and pale
The cage made of steel
Screams fill the room
Alone I drop and kneel
Silence now the sound
My breath the only motion around
Demons cluttering around
My face showing no emotion
Shackled by my sentence
Expecting no return
Here there is no penance
My skin begins to burn
Today I stumbled upon this very nice flash video on the net. It’s the story of a little girl called Emmeline. She’s the child of a rich couple who have no time for her. All alone in the world, with no one to talk to, Emmeline wishes for a friend from the stars…. What happens next?
One of these dayz, some stupid asshole named Manik introduced me to a band called ‘Poets of the Fall (POTF)’s song titled ‘Carnival of Rust’…. n I swear in god’s name, datz the only benefit his existence that he has done to Planet Earth…
So why am I so psyched up all about POTF?? To put simply, itz one of those things that simply take yor breath away… (and NO… South Park doesn’t do that!!!)
You gotta listen to this band… I would love to provide you with complete discography with the lyrics.
The name Naam-to-batao (meaning Tell me the name in English) is, at first look, one of the oddest blog names that you would come across. Infact it was odd enough for me as well when I was registering this blog. The story goes like this… as many of you would know, while registering at any site, it is awefully hard to come up with an unique, catchy yet original name. For me, the frustation was hard to bear. In that moment of desperation, my head cried out… “arey koi naam to batao!” (hindi, meaning “Please someone tell me the name for my new blog!!”) And then, it clicked! So, there’s the story.
To tell you the truth, I’ve begun to like this name over the period of last few months. Though now it has been largerly used in its truncated form NTB, it sticks as my domain name.
This blog is essentially a sum of my observations and opinions on various things and events that happen around the world. My writing style is simple and I work meticulously to learn from the eminent works of our times. Of course, if you do not happen to like what I write, feel free to comment and kick my ass. I would love to get complements if the winds are favorable. Do what you want… read, comment, express, refer, or talk about my blog. It’ll all keep me happy and writing!
I hope you would love my baby the way I do. I also wish you pleasant reading while you are at it! Also, do not forget to bookmark (press Control+D on your keyboard right now; then press Enter) my blog so that you can come back to it when you like. RSS feeds to both Posts and Comments are also available for your convenience.
I can be reached through comments on my blog or email: arpit.aiims[at]gmail[dot]com
“I’m just another face in the crowd… I look like you, walk like you, speak the same language…. Like another leaf in the tree, another drop in the ocean!”
But, having said that, I must tell you that looks are deceptive in my case… What’s under the hood is a ... Continue reading »
Hi! I'm Arpit, a fourth year medical student from Delhi, India. [About ME]
NtB is a blog about events in my life and also of things that I found cool enough to be shared! I hope you would find something interesting all the way! [About MY BLOG... idea, name etc]
You can get back to me with suggestions by commenting on my posts or by e-mailing me! Cheers
Update: I’ve just been informed that OPERA 10 FINAL VERSION IS OUT!!! Here’s the excerpt:
s.” – Marissa Mayer, VP Search Products and User Experience, Google“Wonder Wheel,” a graphical way to explore topics by clicking on related searches that go deeper into the subject of the main query.
We all have different opinions about Ghajini. Some have dismissed it entirely, but a minority does seem to like it. Anyways, the important point is that all the songs in the movie were beautifully cinematographed. The angles, the colors, the usage of props, and scenic locations are all just too cool to miss.
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.
This is my first post during my trip to the United States. To some it might come as a surprise as I had managed to keep the preps very low-key but anyways, I apologize for not informing on an individual basis.
Here is me wishing all my friends and all the people i know, a very very happy n prosperous new year 2008. I’m sorry I could not be regular on my blog but its really hard for a being such as myself to keep up with the schedule.
2009, andy, commentary, federer, final, full, match, men, roddick, roger, wimbledon
WIMBLEDON 2009 MEN’S FINAL – FULL COMMENTARY!
In Cool, General Stuff on July 5, 2009 at 3:06 pmAfter another unbelievable Wimbledon Men’s Final, here’s one more thing for all you fans out there to indulge in. Bringing to you the COMPLETE COMMENTARY of the match in PDF format to download, read, and keep for later.
Here’s the commentary from Wimbledon 2009 final ANDY RODDICK v/s ROGER FEDERER:
WIMBLEDON 2009 (RIGHT CLICK AND CHOOSE ‘SAVE AS’)
[DISCLAIMER: All content in the file is copyright Wimbledon.org. It is only distributed for your personal use and in good intent. Please don't abuse the right to share freely.]
-arpit