Coming soon.....

Major overhauling of the blog going on. Please check back soon for updates. Thank you. 

Ignite Hyderabad Volume #5 - A night full of ideas

Hello Biryani Lovers!

If you're in Hyderabad on July, 6 come join me for a night full of ideas to get enlightened and take back home a bag full of awesomeness.

The video below shall help you learn what Ignite really is about. 

Like our Facebook page or follow our twitter handle or use #ignitehyd in your tweets.
Most importantly, do not forget to register for the event. Remember it is FREE event, and we've had all of our events housefull. Make sure you reach before/on time.


Come say Hello! to me, I'd love to meetup. :)
 

Dreaming about providence

When was the last time you did nothing? I mean literally nothing, not even thinking? When was it? Can you remember? Was there any such moment? If you are sane you wouldn't be able to recall any such moment.

Let me tell you a story so that you can understand what I'm trying to suggest.

Far away from the constant echoes of the city traffic, besides a plush green field was a beautiful little mansion. A farmer lived there with his wife, cherishing every moment of togetherness. Like on any regular day the moist air kissed his cheeks while he gazed at the waving crops. The sun was going down and the night wasn't far from falling. The coldness of soon approaching winter could be felt in the atmosphere.

 A few feet below his legs that caressed the bosom of the earth, there was someone else who knew winter was not far. A mouse - It took the mouse several weeks to carefully gather his food that was kept in a burrow to keep the food safe and to keep him breathing all through the winter, towards the end of which the mouse would again embark on its wild goose chase for food. 

Neither of them was aware of each other’s existence yet they both were happy and enjoyed every micro second of what life offered them. The following evening, the owner on his regular routine took an archaic wooden stick to which was attached a rusty plough and started digging the ground for he had to embed some seeds in the chest of the earth which he'd harvest post winter. Little did his innocence hint him that there lay a mouse with its winter secured & comfortably numb to the incoming sabotage. He was patient and in his usual style started to plough the ground foot by foot. It took only a handful of minutes for the entire winter food of the mouse to be tumble upside down while it ran in haste to save his self. The mouse and his entire winter have been compromised in a few blows of plough and it still ran without a trace of understanding into the oblivion. The farmer totally unaware of the catastrophe he just committed, calmly buried the seeds, leveled the mud sprinkled water and went back into the mansion to sip some tea in the warm arms of his wife. 

How often are you caught oblivious in our lives like the mouse of the story? How often do your plans fail? Are you now used to embracing pain & grief in life? Do you continue to live for the promised joy? Do you always find yourself alone while you wait for Godot? Do you have a backup plan for life? How often do you spend time thinking absolutely & literally nothing? Do you readily accept defeat? Are you a fighter? Are you free?

Do you dream of providence when you find yourself in such a scenario? Do you introspect? Do you invoke divine intervention? Should you? Ponder!


(inspired by the poem 'To A Mouse' by Robert Burns)

How to become a Standard Bearer?

New Year is around the corner and everyone is either worried about the parties to attend or is worried about the new year's resolution. Here is a very beautiful essay by Mr. Mirza Yawar Baig the Chairman of Standard Bearers Academy.  I hope you read it and find fetch some food for thought for the year ahead.

Being a standard bearer is all about raising your standards and constantly endeavoring to achieve success without compromising on the fundamentals. Hope you enjoy the read, and do not miss the video that is there towards the conclusion.

How to become a standard bearer from Mirza Yawar Baig

Why the world should have ended on 21/12/2012 ?

The Mayan calendar effectively ends today. For many it meant that the world would end. Question this, if Mayan's were so good at predicting the future would they still not be around? Would they not have predicted their own peril? I am a moron, i don't have the answers. I guess you do.

This life we have been living and will still do post 21.12.2012 is extremely over-rated. It is a camouflage which only a handful decipher. All the bling bling of life and the world attracts us instantly but to a large extent it is hollow and we all are to a very great extent hypocrites.

Here are a few reasons that made me hope the world would end today and the Mayans stand by their calendar. Lest!

1. The world should have ended for the atrocities, the crimes, the ruthlessness of the blood thirsty and greed filled leaders would still continue beyond 21.12.2012

2. The world should have ended for religion would still be used as the opium of masses beyond 21.12.2012

3. The world should have ended for the Arabs (& Brunei) would still continue to build hollow palaces and have cars gold plated while the African women get raped and the African innocence is staved to death even beyond 21.12.2012

4. The world should have ended for Palestine and Israel would still continue slaughtering each other while the America feeds the Israel and Arabs stare in the face of Palestine even beyond 21.12.2012

5. The world should have ended for Krokodil(Desomorphine) will still continue to eat the Russian and the Eurpoean junkies while the government turns a blind eye even beyond 21.12.2012

6. The world should have ended for daughters would still be treated as a curse in India and despite the development women are ill-treated even beyond 21.12.2012

7. The world should have ended for every teenage and adult alike prefer online lives and projected selves to offline lives and real selves even beyond 21.12.2012

8. The world should have ended for bombs would still explode in Pakistan killing innocent civilians while the US makes a grim face at it and the world watches on even beyond 21.12.2012

9. The world should have ended for North Korea will still be ruled by its dead president and no nation would dare question its nuclear weapons even beyond 21.12.2012

10. The world should have ended for Europe would still consider veil oppressive and promotes modern female slavery in the guise of liberty while Feminists applaud even beyond 21.12.2012

11. The world should have ended for people would still judge each other by their religion without knowing what the scriptures preach even beyond 21.12.2012

12. The world should have ended for we all are living a highly over rated, so called social life where we'll give condolences via Twitter even  after 21.12.2012

13. The world should have ended for Iran would still be a subject of constant criticism by the West for the alleged nuclear warheads even beyond 21.12.2012

14. The world should have ended for the rich devotees would still donate kilograms of gold to the Tirupati lord while the poor still makes his/her livelihood by selling off the devotees hair even beyond 21.12.2012

15. The world should have ended for Gangnam style and the likes would still be a rage to the world while Albert HUBO goes unnoticed even beyond 21.12.2012
 
16. The world should have ended for merciless merceneries try to kill Malala while children in Afghanistan risk their lives for education even beyond 21.12.2012
 
17. The world should have ended for educated illiterates would still demand for dowry and harass the brides while the groom looks on even beyond 21.12.2012
 
18. The world should have ended for the Illuminati would still control the world and its economy while everyone else would regard it as a mere conspiracy theory even beyond 21.12.2012
 
19. The world should have ended for individuals would still be regarded as mentally unstable despite killing innocents and slaughtering the happiness of numerous even beyond 21.12.2012
 
20. The world should have ended for  the Westboro Baptist Church would still be the most hated family in the America while presidents win the elections by pleasing the gay community even beyond 21.12.2012
 
21. The world should have ended for the rich will get richer while the poor gets poorer while people like me do nothing but blog about it even beyond 21.12.2012


My eternal optimism still reckons me to believe Louis Armstrong and makes me say "What a Wonderful World!"

Facebook Messages get a new look

While you were busy updating your status, uploading that pic from last week parties and commenting and liking and you know the drill........while you were busy facebooking, Facebook silently upgraded the way you share messages on Facebook 

Facebook announced on 22nd August 2012, that they've improved the messaging features and overhauled the look. I just received the upgrade and hence sharing the info.

Here's how the new layout will look like.


My observations on the new features & layout:

• Looks very much like MS-Outlook, isn't it?
• You can now see thumbnails of pictures in a better fashion than before. 
• The typebox is more or less how it was before. 
• The recent messages list in the left is what I liked best. I don't have to go back a step to change the message window. 
• You can now know, if the person you've messaged has seen it or not. It will also give you the exact time the message was viewed. A privacy threat? Nah...
• If you wish to learn more about Facebook Messages and care to improve them click here. 
• I am happy with the new layout, expecting Facebook to keep surprising me time and again. 

What do you feel? Leave a comment and let's get talking. 

Celebrating India - Book Release Function

If you're reading this and if you happen to be in Hyderabad today, kindly consider yourself invited to the release function of the book 'Celebrating India' by Nivasini Publishers.
The contents of this book are quite unusual. Short stories, poems, illustrations, photographs, lesser known facts, everything and anything that relates to the spirit of India can be found in this book. There isn't a single author to this book. The content submission was requested nation wide and the best of the best has been chosen to be part of this book.

The venue and timings and other details are in the poster above. I'm going to be at the venue. Let's catchup!

Facebook's new ad - Chairs are like facebook?

You must have already heard or read that Facebook today has One Billion active users. Few hours ago Facebook also released an advertisement trying to suggest how it is now an everyday thing in our lives. 

If you do not auto sign in to Facebook, you can check this advertisement on the LogIn window of Facebook., 

Like chairs, aeroplanes, bridges, floors etc which we humans use on a day to day basis to connect with each other, take a break, share emotions, etc. Facebook is also no different now. 

The caption to the video suggests that they honor everyday things that brings us (we humans I presume) together. 

However, is Facebook really like a chair? or a bridge? or a social tool? or just another avenue to past/waste time? What do you think? What does it mean for you?

See the video here:  

Twitter Blooper in Hyderabad - #ignitehyd mistaken for T agitation

The not so active twitter community of Hyderabad demonstrated a peculiar characteristic this evening.

The fourth volume of Ignite Hyderabad was scheduled to be held as part of the 2012 UX-India conference at the Indian School Of Business.

Like always, Ignite Hyderabad asked its audience to participate in the LIVE tweeting and like always the hashtag to be used was #ignitehyd 

The event started as scheduled in the Khemka Auditorium of the ISB Hyderabad. A fast paced event with just 5 minutes per speaker the event got over in about 90 minutes and there were loads of tweets being sent by the audience and shown at regular intervals on the big screen.

Where did the Hyderabadi tweeple got messed up in all this?

An award for the best tweet was announced and thus the audience geared up a little more than usual and the tweets with the hashtag #ignitehyd started trending in Hyderabad in no time. While the tweeple in the auditorium were all high on design and were sharing instant feedback through tweets, those unaware of the Ignite Hyderabad derived a whole new meaning out of the hashtag. 

The hashtag #ignitehyd was associated with the not so popular Telangana Agitation movement and the twitter community started blasting all over using the hashtag. Most of those did not even bother to check out what the hashtag was meant for and what others were tweeting. So much in the name of tweeting. An epic virtual drama followed. Check out all the screenshots attached towards the end of this post to see the user behavior for yourself. 

It's been 3 hours since the event concluded and the hashtag continues to trend as I type this. What a perfect example of the power of 140 characters. Hail Social Media!

The one who got it all wrong

Another one who got it all wrong

Just another of many who got it all wrong

The Attendee

The Attendee

The Attendee

The Hashtag #ignitehyd is still trending. The Curators must be feeling so awkwardly happy. 

Call for submission

 My friends at Nivasini Publishers are calling artistic submissions for their upcoming book themed CELEBRATING INDIA. You can submit your short stories (800-1500 words), poetry (within 27 lines), illustrations, photographs, interesting facts. You will get a chance to be featured in the Collector's edition of Nivasini.com upon getting selected. Share anything and everything depicting or narrating your way of being Indian. The childhood memories of your narrow streets, a monument you associate yourself with, the Indian food you can't spend a day without, the colors of the festivals you await to spread, the legendary war hero you want to be like, the bhangra that makes your legs shake, everything that makes you Indian. Share and let the world know what sets your India apart and why it is special to you.

Click, sketch, write, narrate. Be it in punjabi, telugu, bengali or assamese. Send your Indian spirit and be a part of the book.
Refer to www.nivasini.com if you wish to know more about Nivasini Publications. You may also get in touch with them here.

Send your submissions at  submit@nivasini.com
Latest date for submission of entries: 10th June.

Note: The work shared should be genuine, please do not plagiarize. Standard copyright rules apply.

Writers Carnival in Hyderabad

A fellow engineer, a poet and a dear friend who blogs at Restless Fingers is releasing the book Ah! Poetry at the writers carnival happening tonight at Saptaparni, in Hyderabad.

If you're reading this and if its not 5:00pm of 3rd March 2012, consider yourself invited. Come on over for a joyous time and listen to some poets, writers, authors and have a wonderful evening and rejuvenate your muse. Find out more details and RSVP to the event here.

PopCorn is 6700 years old!

We all have tasted popcorn atleast once in our life. It's probably the first choice of movie goers and marathon TV viewers. There are plenty of flavors and varieties popcorn come in. If we like a movie we want a bag full of popcorn, if the do not like the movie we rely on popcorn and go through the rest of time in the theater munching on it. As Dan Glickman says "I'm someone who believes the only way to see a movie is in a big theater, on a big screen, with a big bag of popcorn." Although the Big Screens and Imax and 3D are all 21st century inventions Popcorn is being consumed from the past 6000 odd years. Believe it or not!

A latest news report  talks about a discovery made in Peru. According to the research done it is believed that the Peru inhabitants have been consuming Popcorn since 6700 years even before the ceramic pottery was invented. You can read more about the research and the conclusion here.

So next time you munch on to that bag/bowl of popcorn remember that its was once a past time food for our ancestors somewhere in the western part of the world.

Kuch Na Kisi Se Bolengey

This is my first post of 2012 and what better way of starting it, than with a Faraz' poem.  

This poem is listed in my all time favorites and more so because I sort of relate to every 

syllable of it. Read on and Enjoy!!!  

Kuch na kisi se bolenge, tanhaai mein ro lenge. 

Ham berahabaron kaa kyaa, saath kisi ke ho lenge.
Khud to huvey rusvaa lekin, tere bhed na kholenge.
Jeevan zahar bharaa saagar hai, kab tak amrit gholenge.
Neennd to kyaa aayegii 'Faraz', maut aaii to so lenge.

Twitter is down and its not even 2012 yet

On this new year's when most of the world is busy partying and clubbing and barbequing and boozing and etc etc...... I've been sitting on my laptop carrying on with my usual research. I had this sudden urge to tweet some poetry and it was disappointing to see the Twitter is Down For Maintenance message on its home page. 

What grabbed my attention was the absence of the Blue Twitter Whale. It's gone, and is no where to be seen. It has been replaced with a cartoon of an Ice Cream cone trying to console a caterpillar, with a thought bubble as shown in the picture below.

This picture is self explanatory and I must say that I really feel like that Ice-Cream hoping to see twitter back again and trying to chillax. With the allegedly doomed 2012 just an hour away, let me see how long i can be patient (been almost 3 hours already by now).

ps: I just had to write something and hence this post. By the way, if you believe in celebrating a mere change of dates a Very Happy New Year. May whoever reading this prosper and succeed in his/her life. -Amen

P for Peace P for Palestine

 Below are the videos excerpts of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Isreali Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking for and against the statehood of Palestine respectively in front of the General Assembly at the UN this Friday. 

Very carefully listen to both of them and you'll know who's right and who's wrong. Seems to me that in order to obtain the goal of returning to their homeland Palestine, all of them have to grit their teeth now. 

Think again the children walking over the bricks of their devastated homes, with their mothers putting up the tents instead of making food, with their fathers locked up in jail for no good reason, sobbing for they cannot even afford tears, with tanks and gunmen walking down the streets, the palestinian child can just stare hopelessly. We can not even imagine what it feels like to be a Palestinian. VIVA LA VIDA!

  and now you see the other end of it

I'll leave you with a quote by Yasser Arafat "I come bearing an olive branch in one hand, and the freedom fighter's gun in the other. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand".

courtesy: WashingtonPost & AP

How to activate the new Facebook Timeline

source: cnet.com

If you are impatient and want to experience the new Timeline Facebook announced earlier today, you can turn it through the developer section of Facebook. The process is simple, takes a few minutes, and will require some patience as Facebook tidies up any lingering issues and bugs. You game? Read on.

As reported on TechCrunch just a bit ago, users can quickly enable the Facebook Timeline on their account in a matter of minutes. Here's how you do it.

1. Visit the Facebook Developer page, and enable it for your account. If you aren't currently logged in, you will be required to do so. 

2. The button to create a new app can be found in the top right corner of the Apps page. Make sure to give your app a display name and name space when requested (it doesn't matter what you enter here, no one will see this app, just make something up and continue). Accept the Platform Privacy agreement by checking the box. You will have to have a verified Facebook account, meaning you have either a credit card or phone number on file.

3. After the app has been named and terms accepted, you will then be taken to your shiny new apps' settings screen. You will see an Open Graph option on the left-hand side. Click on it.

4. You will need to define an action for your new app. You can enter whatever you like; no one is going to see this app when all is said and done, so don't fret too much over the details. (We entered "People can 'high five' a 'video'" as our action). Click on Get Started once you have entered your action.
























5. Once you are presented with the screen above, you don't actually have to do anything, just scroll to the bottom and select Save Changes. You may have to do this on a couple different screens; just remember to scroll to the bottom and select Save Changes.

6. After you are taken back to the Dashboard for Open Graph, you have completed the setup process. Give it a few minutes, then go back to your Facebook home page. You should then see a big invite to enable Timeline. If you don't see it right away, give it a few minutes.

That's it. Once you click on Get It Now, you will then be redirected to your new Timeline. Your Timeline is private, by default, for the time being. You can either edit it until you are ready to publish it, or you can ride it out and let Facebook publish it for you on September 29. 

One more note: if you access your Facebook account from another computer, your Timeline is turned off. To get it back, enter the follow URL into your browser: http:www.facebook.com/[yourusername]?sk=timeline. Make sure to replace [yourusername] with your actual Facebook username.

Happy Facebooking everyone.

Source: CNET

Facing the New Book - Welcome to Timeline

Take a look at the new profile timeline video below.

The annual Facebook conference F8 was wrapped up a while ago, and it was one boring conference. There were a million viewers initially and then the number kept decreasing steadily: so much for the new changes and layouts facebook has announced. To start with, their is a very intersting new upgrade to facebook called Timeline. Naaaah....i am not talking about the twitter TL, its the facebook version. Take a look at it and sign up for it to upgrade your profile by clicking here.

There are a lot of changes one will see in their profiles starting today. The music on facebook will be one of the first updates apart from movies and radio(iheart). A whole new family of interesting apps can be expected as the Open Graph has been given an overhauling. With all these new changes facebook is bound to get a little complex and messy than it used to be and it will intrude a little more into your personal life than before. Nothing will remain personal anymore until you prefer not to put it up on facebook. The secret services and other agencies must be feeling so relieved at this move by Facebook.  So, just be careful and mind your script and watch your actions whilst you are facing the upgraded book.

If you want to know how facebook defines this new changes then click here to go to Facebook's blog. And, just incase you don't like the new changes and would like to switch back to good old facebook try this Better Facebook addon.
Ciao!

Six of I don't know how many

This is the sixth post of the Lyrical Excerpts series I've been blogging about. A quick recap about it; I share a part of the lyrics from the songs I like and what they mean to me, under this label. In this post I shall share three more songs in this post. Since I am in a Lucky Ali hangover, lets start with a song of his that is not so well known.

1. Tanhaai mein Basi hai Zindagi by Lucky Ali

चला हूँ मै तो तेरी चाह में

मिलेंगे जाने किस राह में

कहा है मेरे दिल भी यही

तुम्ही से जुडी है यह ज़िन्दगी

इरादा है के तुमको पाऊं मै

जो कहना चाहूँ कहते जाऊं मै

तुम ही तो उम्मीद हो मेरी

तुम्ही से जुडी मेरी हर ख़ुशी

I must confess I fell in love with the lyrics of this song when i heard it for the first time. The whole song gives you a little sad feeling, a sense of despair with a pinch of disappointment but reckons that their always is some light at the end of the tunnel. Hope they say is what drives us all. The lyricist has done a wonderful job and has very creatively and emotionally sewn the entire poem so as to provoke the trust in thyself. Another awesome song by Lucky Ali and certainly in my favourites list. 

2. Titliyaan Yaadon Ki by Strings

एक झील थी, कई फूल थे

सब मिट गए, क्या कहें

चाहा था कहना, ना कहा, चुप रहे

राहों में तनहा चलते ही हम रहे

 तितलियाँ यादों की उडती जाएँ

रंगों में मुझसे कुछ कहती जाएँ

This song is one of the best works of the band Strings, in my opinion. This one again speaks initially about despair, desire and memory and retentiveness. The music is good and so are the lyrics. Memories at times is like a child walking alone the sea shore. You never know what small pebble it will pick up and store amongst its treasured things. 

3. Joe Purdy - Isn't Love

Last night i had the sweetest dream
That you were nowhere near me

That you could not cut me

That you do not affect me

That i had my sanity

That was just a dream

That was just a dream

So go away

Why cant you leave me be

Because i love your face and need for me


Despite being one of those peaceful guitar songs, this song has a lot of different elements in it. To start with, the way the singer has sung the lyrics is a little weird and little interesting as well. The part of the song i shared talks about a dream where the dreamer although is in love with someone but cannot show it probably because of the fear embedded in the heart. The dreamer however feels safe in the dreams and simply wants the person to get away of his/her dreams and out of the mind. I love the way this song ends. Simple subtle yet very nice guitar chords.

Lucky Ali - Live in concert wasn't so lucky for his fans

Hyderabad was all so excited to hear and see Lucky Ali performing Live and starting his 25 city Rastaman Tour. The banners were all around the city and online and offline ads were flying by. Being a Lucky Ali fan I was too damn excite to watch him perform at a venue not so far from the city. 

I entered the closed auditorium to see the seats already filled. I wasn't late to the show mind you. Out of the dark stage emerged the emcee who was doing incredibly terrible. He seemed to be a last minute adjustment and all he was doing was taking names of the sponsors again and again and again. After some anxious moments  appeared the star of the evening and introduced his younger brother Mansoor Ali. Mansoor opened the show on a sad note and expressed his grief and extended his support to a grieving cricketer father. He sang almost 3 songs. Did i say 'sang'? Shacks. He actually was lip synching, thanks to his apparent cold. He was terrible and he confessed that he is not even 1% of his elder brother. How so true?

Then came Lucky Ali dressed in an elegant gray Kurta. The crowd jumped in excitement and awe only to discover an ultra bad sound system and improperly set microphones. Lucky began with a brief introduction of his troupe which primarily had his family members, most of this intro went unheard sadly.  

From song one, Lucky himself and the crowd were not enjoying anything because the volume of vocals was too less and that of bass was too loud. And then as surprise came the microphone feedback. Lucky was trying his best to give a good performance but then he gave up. After some struggle with his microphones he announced that he is not enjoying the show as much as he wanted and he'll get back after a break. During the break, the technicians seemed to be testing the equipment to no avail. 

The funniest part of the whole evening was the camera man on stage. He wasn't alone, he had a youngster trailing behind with a bunch of wire so that it doesn't get entagled. Reminded me of the camera persons hired at weddings. It really was not an inch close to be called Professional. 

After the so called testing and fixing Lucky, came back and it was still the same, although there was a difference in the audio output (almost negligible). He retired from the stage after a handful of songs and some from his father Mahmood's films too.  Lucky departed on a reminding note of his new album RASTAMAN, a.k.a Exsuie and that it is available for free download online. Apart from Lucky's voice amidst all those chaos, the violinist stood out. He was just amazing.

Apart from the mic and the acoustics, the camera work was aweful, the lighting was confusing, the cameramen had no clue who to focus on and when to switch frames. There was a constant disturbance and discomfort in the audience. People seemed more interested in the drinks than in the songs. 

This is just a Lucky Ali fan's voice of disappointment and perhaps Lucky should check the systems before stepping on stage and the great organisers of the event should learn to get professional. It is always not just about the advertisement. Hope Lucky Ali comes back to Hyderabad once again. I wish him a great life and a wonderful Rastaman Tour ahead. 

Re-Cession

Recession a word that sends tremors down each one of our spines has been doing its disastrous job since 1929. Here's an infographic representation of how it affected the US of A.

Click here to expand
Source: Online Schooling