The Argumentative Indian : Excerpts

Chaarvaaka's materialistic view of the world(24),
arjun doubts were well placed(5),
pohibitory vs. neutral attitude towards secularism(20),
British Raj didn't give India its identity ( 39),
"India has succeeded in supposedly western spheres of success, like logic,reasoning etc.(80)",

Movie Review : The Man from Earth

No panoramic shots, no super stars. Sheer power of a good story well told.

Bike/Motorcycle dealers in Noida

Hero Honda :
Name
M/S. UPPAL MOTORS PVT LTD
Address
B-7, SECTOR-4,
NOIDA
201301
Uttar Pradesh
Phone
0120-2440801
0120-2440803
Email
uppalmotors2000@yahoo.com
Contact Person
VIRENDER UPPAL



Name
M/s. DIVINE AUTO SOURCE PVT LTD.
Address
C-71, SECTOR - 58,NEAR LABOUR CHOWK,
NOIDA
201307
UTTAR PRADESH
Phone
0120-4227222
Email
divineautosource@gmail.com
Contact Person
MR. RAHUL BHANDARI

TVS
Aditi automobiles,
C-2,Sector-10,Noida.
Phone : 2548629

Bajaj

Address	B-77-78, PHASE-I , SECTOR-2, GAUTAM BUDH NAGAR Pin- 201301
Phone Nos	(120)24442223 , 2442224 , 4531969 , 4756520
Mobile Nos
Contact Person	ASHOK GARG
E-Mail	d10418@baldealer.com
Fax	2531969

Sony Service center in Noida

N.R.I. Electronics
D.R. White House
Near Vinayak Hospital,
Sec-27,Noida
Time : 10AM to 7PM (Tuesday closed)
phone : (0120)2540122/2540123

Sony Customer Care phone number : (Delhi) 011-66006600

First semi-accident

As you might remember, I had started biking to work almost a week ago,
and today I had my first semi-accident. Just 10 seconds ago, I had negotiated
a very tricky situation at a decent speed, without hitting the brakes. And I
thought I would scrape through this one easily as well, but the brakes
didn't work as expected and in fact I hit them at least a second late.
So, I crashed into a Maruti 800 in front of me, without causing any damage
to either side, thankfully. The driver waited for some time and eventually
decided to come out. It was evident that he was reluctant to engage in
an argument, since he approached me rather slowly. I was ready with
my "sorry boss" and "Main nuksan bhar doonga", but he was "Koi baat
nahin" and that's it.

Even yesterday, I was in a battle of sorts. I refused to yield space to a person
coming from wrong side on his bike. He was a "cool dude" type, with a hunky
frame. Though I didn't give him any space, another "gentleman" did.
And once through,he started yelling, in English, "That's called helping out". I tried to
ignore him, but he was adamant. "Stupid" "Stupid", I guess he said it 4-5 times,
and he actually came pretty close to me in the process, accelerating in my face effectively.
I was trying my best to ignore him(thankfully I didn't have my AK-47 :-)).
Then the signal turned green, and we parted ways. Otherwise, who knows... :-)

It's cool to be fat

if you are Shane Warne, that is.
Not many athletes, let alone the plebeians,
can make it look as cool as Warne.
His leg-spin is legendary, and now captaining
a nondescript Rajasthan team in IPL, he
has put the team at the top of the table,
ahead of much more expensive and star-studded
teams.
The intensity and effort he puts in making
field placements, not only for his own bowling,
but also others', and the constant chit-chat
that goes on between him and his bowlers seem
to have born fruit.

Weather in Noida

has been fantastic for past two days. It has been raining here and there.
Temperatures have lowered and a breeze has been flowing across. All in
all it reminds me of all those years in Bangalore.

Noida Sand storms

For the past few days sandstorms have been a regular
feature of Noida's night life. They are high speed,highly
threatening sandstorms. Seems that the whole building
would be blown away. Yesterday coupled with rain
they played a hand in defeating Delhi's local team in
IPL.

The mythical man month e-book

Torrent here.

Flex 3 Cookbook by Joshua Noble, Todd Anderson

Download it from here.

Apache cook book (e-book) by Rich Bown, Ken Coar

You can download it from here.

Bomb blasts in Jaipur

Before Feb 2006 : Number of bomb blasts in Rajasthan = 0.
Feb 2006 : India Pak reopen railway route connecting Rajasthan to Pakistan.(Thar Express)
Oct 2007 : Bomb blasts in Ajmer(Rajasthan).
May 2008 : Bomb blasts in Jaipur(Rajasthan).

Woman breastfeeds fawn

This picture by Hindustan Times lensman Himanshu Vyas has won the IFRA Gold Award for News Photography. Vyas had heard about an orphan fawn being looked after by a Bishnoi woman near his hometown Jodhpur. At the mud dwelling, he noticed the fawn playing with her children.

'When hungry, the woman breastfed the fawn and her daughter simultaneously. Wildlife activism is publicised around the world. But this connect between man and nature is unparalleled,' he says.


Source : GoFrostFire

Rahman Ray

More than a month ago, I watched this movie : Ray.
It's based on a legendary musician Ray Charles.
One of the unique things about him was that he
sung his own songs, with his own lyrics while
using the tunes from Gospel. Now, Gospel is basically
related to Christian religion and can be thought
of as really sacred part of the religion. It was considered
blasphemous by many. How can someone use
the religious tunes, and play with them, and morph them....

But that's art ! I was just thinking of an example
on the same lines from Indian music fraternity.
And the very first name that came to my mind
was A. R. Rahman. For? For his Vande Mataram song !

I still remember, it created quite a furore in those
days when it first appeared on the music charts.
It was such a wonderful song, but still, it was sort
of sacrilegious. After all, it was like someone manipulating
India's national song ! But if the truth be told, it was
a fantastic awe-inspiring tune !

And that's art !

Biking

For the first time today, I rode to work on Pankaj's bike.
I wasn't sure if would be able to make it without hiccups,
but everything went well. And I guess I have to thank Noida's
traffic for that. People drive and ride rather slowly here, may
be due to the high number of traffic signals and speed-breakers.
Thanks to Pankaj, thanks Noida and thanks Anant for helping
me with starting the bike :-)

Munna Bhai Stock Broker

Munna : Arre Circuit
Circuit : Haan Bhai

Munna : Wo Tehelka mein Punjab ke Kisan log ka story padha kya?
Circuit : Kya hua Bhai, ye Kisan log kya kiye Ab?

Munna : Arre kuchh nahin re, jyada fasal ugane ke vaaste ye log fertilizer vertilizer use karte hain.
Circuit : To karne do na bhai, jyada ugayenge tabhi to jyada log khayenge, waise bhi ye Bush Vush bahut halla kar rele hain ki apun Indian log eez sala jyada kha reh le hain aaj kal.

Munna : Arre Bush ki to maan ki Aankh, ye jo fertilizer se fasal ugate hain ye bahut jahrili
hoti hai re, wo log khud hiz nahin khate.
Circuit : To bhai apun kya karega abhi, apun ko to jo milega apun khayega na bhai, abhi
apun kidher se ye Organic food dhoondhta firega.

Munna : Lekin apun ko kuchh karne ka maangta hai Circuit..
Circuit : kya karega tum bhai

Munna : Ye jo bhi fertilizer stock hai apne paas, sab bech daal, nahin chahiye apun ko haraam ka paisa
Circuit : To phir wo paisa kidhar lagayega bhai?

Munna : Koi Organic farming ki company bata apne ko
Circuit : Haan pata karta hoon na bhai.

Reproduced from : Munna Bhai Stock Broker

Suicides in TamilNadu

Here is a story about Goldsmiths in TamilNadu committing suicides
due to arrival of new technologies which have rendered them jobless
and debt-trapped.

Now, what I wonder about is whether committing suicides is a southern
Indian phenomenon. Farmer suicides in Vidarbha and Andhra are part
of the folklore now. Famines form part and parcel of Rajasthani farmers'
lives but haven't heard of mass suicides there ever.

E-book learning Flash Media Server 3

You can get it from here.
I got it here.

Using jockstrap(supporter) while running

Here is an answer from now dysfunctional Google Answers service.

Question was whether running too much without an athletic
supporter (also known as jockstrap) could cause erectile dysfunction?

"
While there are several accepted causes of erectile dysfunction (ED),
including medical conditions (illness, hormone imbalances, especially
Diabetes), emotional/relationship issues and certain medicines, I
couldn't find any information linking running/jogging without an
athletic supporter with ED.

Running without an athletic supporter may lead to minor injuries
(depending on one's stride and speed and the size of one's
penis/testicles, general fitness, et cetera) that shouldn't have a
lasting effect because when they happen, the person immediately stops
the activity to deal with the discomfort and/or pain involved. If
someone is running 3-5 miles a day for a long period of time without
experiencing any pain, running would not likely be the cause of ED.

Athletic supporters mostly provide safety from contact injuries
(bruising and rupture) when worn with a cup, and discomfort otherwise.
"Some advertisemnents refer to preventing strain on the scrotum and
spermatic cord, but these may be overrated. European soccer players
seem to get along fine without athletic supporters." from:
http://www.infernosoft.com/community/hockey/jock/jockstraps/

It also notes that athletic supporters do not prevent hernias (related
to strain on the scrotum and spermatic cord). Although you didn't ask,
there was no evidence found supporting a connection between a hernia
and erectile dysfunction, though logic would indicate what if there is
an injury, obtaining an erection may be painful or impossible until
the injury has healed.

If this is your situation, you should talk to a urologist or your
family doctor about the situation, as there may be some underlying
cause that can be corrected with treatment or should be under medical
supervision. In these situations, the sooner the better. This answer
does not constitute medical advice, per the Google disclaimer below.
"

An easy way to search movie quotes

Type this in google :
intitle:memorable.quotes site:imdb.com <your keywords here>

This way you are easily tapping into imdb's huge quote collection.