Out of the box....

108 Divya Desams(108 Holy Vishnu Temples)

2012-01-23T10:38:00.000-08:00

Its really interesting to know about the holy temples and the places through out the world. The stories behind the places and the the history are really intesresting and inspiring. As part of that, there are 108 holy temples that are identified and dedicated to Lord Vishnu which are called as 108 Divya Desams(108 Premium Places to worship). These are pretty important especially in the life of Sri Vaishnavas(segment who dedicates the prayers to Lord Vishnu).

I am happy that I have visited atleast 3 of them(which are very important and stands at the foremost in the order). Its not tough to cover all of them, but one should have the determination and dedication to see them.

Out of 108, 105 are in India(most of them in South India), 1 in Nepal and 2 are outside of earthly realms. Tirupati is also one of them obviuously which most of the people might have visited. Each place has its own importance and the history. All these temples are kind of selected by Alwars(poets, saints who are dedicated their lives to Lord Vishnu and wrote the poems mentioning these temples).

Below is nice wikipedia article listing all of them and also links to each of them detailing out the history and the importance and forms of dieties worshipped in the respective temple.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divya_Desams

Please enjoy reading. It will really give some pleasant information other than our regular work.:)

Happy New Year & Movie Reviews

2012-01-02T09:30:00.000-08:00

Friends,

I wish you and your families a very very happy new year. Great to write a blog in the new year beginning. I hope you all have enjoyed the new year celebrations, now its time to come out of hang over and start working.:) Come on, its just another year, isn't it?

Wanted to write quick reviews about the recent movies I watched.

1. Mission Impossible - 4 - Ghost Protocol(English)

As usual, I was very excited to see this movie as its been long time watching a real good movie. As expected, the movie is nice and good. Although there are not lot of action sequences, but the story is gripping and not at all boring. One thing I could observe is that Tom Cruise is no more a young guy and this time his old lookd are kind of noticeable. Anyway, cruise is cruise. I am sure there will be another installment for this series.

The sequence of Burj Dubai is very well made and he lives upto the expectations and makes us think that he only is fit for those.

Verdict - Must Watch

2. Don -2(Hindi)

Similar to MI series, I am a fan of Don as well and was waiting to see Don-2. Somehow I feel that Shahrukh acts weel in this series.:). However the movie is a bit prolonged, but worth watching. Its not boring, so that makes it watchable. This time, its not any more action, but will all interesting story. The dialogues are nice and the action is good.
Shahrukh had all mischievious features/action that a Don should have. But I am pretty disappointed about the songs which were not there in the movie. I think Hindi cinema is following the foot steps of Hollywood, may be. I wish the songs were included as part of movie.

Verdict - Worth Watching

Will come back with more news later with another post. Till then, have a safe year ahead.

Raising Kids in US vs India

2011-12-15T09:55:00.000-08:00

I have been a key witness to see Indians growing their childen in US right. Definitely would be able to comment on some pros and cons.
I would say its not a problem to raise a Girl/Boy till certain stage in any other country because raising infants is a bit easier here I guess based on the facilities and etc.
But after certain stage, it will surely go out of parents control. Howmuch ever you control, they will have more exposure outside because of the schooling procedure and friends etc.

Pros and Cons of raising kids in countries other than India ---

Pros :

1. Kids may feel more independent in a positive manner which could lead them to proper maturity levels earlier
2. Studies will be good, not only bookish but kids will be trained in other areas also
3. Exposure to all kind of people which increased their ability to move with anybody without hesitation

Cons :

1. Kids may feel more independent in a negative manner and prone to some dangerous habits(mainly dating). This creates negative impact for our families especially in case of girls
2. They will not be able to understand the familiy ties and bonding because of living far from relatives. Note that the phone conversations and web cam chatings are not effective enough to make them realize
3. There is a danger of them forgetting the mother tongue altogether(although you train in whatever manner at home). I feel mother tongue is the most important thing to be known
4. Especially girls, Indian girls still have more respect towards their softness and attitude towards life. So raising in non-indian country could make them lose that
5. They might become ABCD(American Born Confused Desi), a regular term used here for Indian kids born in US. Its really a fact. Becase they will be so confused in deciding whether to mingle with Indian kids or US kids completely. They will not be able to balance the cultural shocks sometimes.

Also please note that there will be 10% exceptions in any case. So there are cases that the kids are spoiled even in India also and kids are pretty good in US.

These are all my live observations as I am obersing the kids here. FYI, I am teaching telugu here for Indian kids on behalf of Silicon Andhra Manabadi US.

Also one more recent observation is that most parents these days are prefering to raise kids(specially girls) in India once they reach 7/8 class. One of my colleagues has moved his family to India from US(staying after 16 years) just because to raise her daughter in India for rest of life.

Bottom line - Based on the pros and cons I have listed, I would prefer to raise kid in India after certain stage which will help them understand the culture and society.

P.S. These are just my personal thoughts only.

2011-11-15T10:05:00.001-08:00

Posting some funny snaps...see and enjoy

What to write?

2011-10-19T14:24:00.001-07:00

Can somebody give me an idea on what to write?..:)

Yes, you heard it right. I am running out of ideas on what to write. Bored with same kind of work, seeing same kind of people at office, working with same teams I am hitting the boreddom phase which comes once in 2/3 years. But you know life has to go on and I need to go along with the flow.

Not thinking(trying to think) too much these days and just going along with the flow. Hopefulle someday soon I will get my energy back. Also its winter time here at my place in US. Everything is cool and calm. We got used to this climate and prefering to be quiet and maintain low profile for sometime.

Till then, have a good one all of you out there and will talk to you soon.

Finally We Did....

2011-09-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

Dont be panic, we dint kill anybody. We finally did sky diving. Yes, dive from 13000 FT from THE SKY. It was all exciting itenary to go on a flight till 13000 feet high and them jump from there. Believe me, I was not at all scared but really excited to jump. The most luckiest thing is that the parachutes worked as required..:) and we came back to earth safely.

We posed as if we are astronauts coming back from space while returning after the event. It was so amazing. And I cannot stop appreciating the videographers who were jumped along with us and shot our event. I think you can do anything after you do sky diving. It gives more confidence I would say.

My friends were equally excited and they did their part well too. I usually dont post any of my personal photos as you know, but cannot resisit to post this one. Ofcourse you can get a feel of how sky diving would be with this photo, but cannot really see me:).

One final thing guys, do this atleast one time in your life.

Interesting Result

2011-09-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

Did you ever see this type of results?
I was searching for the tickets in an online website and below is the first result. Do you dare to book this itenary?:)

Lok Pal

2011-08-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

Friends,

As you know the agitations for strong lok pal bill are going on in India. I dont understand the problem of Government to pass the bill by making it strong. It shows that they want to loosen the rules for the higher officials and secure themselves from corruption. Otherwise whats their problem in passing that bill if they are so sincere in the aspect of corruption.

Politicians are eating money left and right and somebody like Anna Hazare making his efforts for the lok pal bill. Ofcourse its not that this bill will eradicate the corruption, but atleast can control. With the amount of money politicians are eating, if it can be spent properly we cannot imagine how weel India can be developed. I am sure that Manmohan Singh want to be sincere in doing the bill, but being silent jsut because of party and political pressures.

The most worst thing is to start the reverse attack on Anna without having the proper discussions. They even tried to restrict his hunger strike. But its tough to submerge the agitation coming out of common people. Let Anna be whatever, he is trying to something which is good.

Although I cannot directly support him, I atleast want to support him virtually by spreading the message. I request you also to do it so that it can be reached till farthest ends of the world.

Dreams Unlimited

2011-07-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

Isn't interesting to get dreams? Sometimes we(most of us atleast) get pretty strange and unrelated dreams. Personally I just forget all my dream, but occassionally i remember them and they will be so funny and strange to recollect. Below are few which I got/remember from last few weeks.

1. I am travelling with Mammotty(Malayalam actor) in one fictional route in Kerala having Tea in various places. Nobody is recognizing him in this process. Incidentally the same day, Mammotty has been attacked by Income Tax department

2. Kapil Dev is performing telugu song on the stage

3. (this is too much) Manmohan Singh (Prime Minister of India) and Sonia Gandhi (AICC President)came for lunch to my home and I took photos with them. And started teasing my friend by showing those photos. Somehow my mind registered that he is a fan of Manmohan Singh.

Interesting right? Share if you have any of like this.

Dont get AirTel

2011-07-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

Yes, thats true. Please dont get AirTel connection anytime either landline, cell phone or broadband. Please pass this to your friends also. Let me tell you the story now...

I had the AirTel connection(Internet and Landline) few months back. And as usual they were billing left and right with whatever money they want. We used to pay the bills properly, I never miss any kind of bills. Finally they showed up a bill of Rs. 14,000 and asked us to pay. After several negitiations and discussions with the so called AirTel agent(cant call him executive), we have settled the bill and got the documentation proof. All is well till here right.

Alright, one fine day some lawyer(cant really confirm him as a lawyer based on his language and attitude) called my sister and informed that a case is filed against me. When I called him and enquired he explained that AirTel had filed a case against me for not paying the bills. And the most frustrating thing is to claim that I still use the connection. We were thinking that everything is done after getting the letter from the agent. Believe me, we did not even received the legal notices, but just got the last minute phone call. He told that I need to go to AirTel office(I am in US infact), pay the bill and send him the scan copy so that he can close the case. Interestingly like in a movie, the last day for the case hearing is the same day I called him.

I explained him the situation and he is least bothered and openly told that AirTel will put up cases like this for money although we settle it. Also the letter we got from agent may not be the valid one. Are they expecting the letter from AirTel CEO? They are ok with the agents for taking the connection, but not valid for settlements. See the horrible situation of their policies.

So I had my friend go to AirTel office, pay the bill and send me the receipt. I had send the same to lawyer and no response at all till now. He is supposed to send me the final case settlement document etc. I might have definitely fought if I was in India. I had no time based on the information to fight. As a common man I had to settle the bill(which I am not supposed to pay) clean my hands. What can one can call this, isnt this an OPEN/ROYAL FRAUD? So the moral of the story is, although people are sincere, they(companies like AirTel) will still try to screw you.

Friends, I want you to spread this to as many as you can through any social networking resources so that nobody takes AirTel connection(or disconnects if they have one). They should feel the cost of unethical behaviour. Its not about the people's inability to pay the bills, its about the ethics companies should show towards the loyal customers.

Thanks for your co-operation.

Do we really need a seperate state?

2011-06-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

You know a while ago, atleast very few years ago, people had respect towards politics(ofcourse not towards politicians). But with the current situation, people are fed up with all these. Nobody admits but I think its the mistake of us(people) only. We dont rebel, we dont oppose, we dont question and we expect others to work properly.

Its very sad to see our state's(Andhra Pradesh) situation right now. There is no value for any kind of agitation. Actually agitation became a kind of hobby and pastime for everybody. Especially this seperate state agitation is degrading the state's prestige in all possible ways. We have to be shamed and understand that we are fighting amongst ourselves for useless demands.

I dont have any words to express the anger towards these so called leaders. They talk so much of non-sense(infact they talk only non-sense), but no implementation at all. There are so many of them(100's of them) who could not do anything for poor. They are talking about seperate state etc, but they dont know the thing that people want food, water in first place than a state.

It doesnt matter for a common man whether he is in Andhra or Rayalaseema or Telangana. It just matters for him if he is getting food to live or not, its as simple as that. Our leaders are so kind towards us that they want to get a seperate state itself for people creating differences between them.
They always say that others looted their resources. Its their responsibility to protect the regional resources and rights, instead they are asking for seperate state. The reason is as simple as that they can eat whatever they want with seperate state. Its people's innocence to think that the so called leaders will do something great with the seperate state.

They dont have respect towards the constitution, they dont know how to talk, they dont know how to behave. They should understand the impact of this agitations towards the state, especially the capital Hyderabad. Millions of rupees of business is going back because of the unrest in the region. Are they getting effected with this? or Are their childer suffering with this? No, end of the day we are suffering. We as a common people are suffering a lot. Our children are suffering. They are claiming that 100's of students died in the agitation. Is atleast one student a son of these politicians among the dead ones.

They should understand the development ratios in all three regions, they cannot always compare what happened 50 years ago. Time has changed a lot and there is good ratio of development in Telangana in several fields including power and irrigation. Its sad to see the students who are educated choosing the path of violence. Forget about India, they have so developed so much of indifferences among themselves in other coutries as well. Its shame to get questioned by others that we are fighting amongst ourselves. We should come out of political arena and think practically.

Politicians need not realize this because its their job to keep the unrest in the state for their political career. Its people's job to give proper answer back to them. Let us hope this will happen sometime soon.

Time to visit Chicago

2011-05-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

I know I am lazy these days to write blogs. But worth taking a break since my parents are here. we are going to Chicago this weekend and hopefully we will have good time with our relatives.
I will surely come up with a good topic next time to write. Till then take care and have fun.

Busy Time

2011-04-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

I hope you are all doing fine. Its been long time I wrote a blog. Actually I dont have much going on.
But I am really happy for coupe of things which recently happened. One is India winning the world cup. Its the most satisfying news in the recent times for me(for everyone I guess). That too with a team where Tendulkar is in there. (Loved the below wallpaper):)

Also my parents came to US few days back to stay with me for a while. It was very good feeling seeing and receiving them at the airport. Hope I can spend much time with them as it is Summer time here at my place.

And BTW, I have given another performance at UGADI(telugu festival) function at my place which is conducted by telugu association. This is my performance for second time. Just like last time, my song got lot of applause and audience appreciated for well formed song, vocal and content.

Other than that no specific updates from my side. All of you out there, please take care and will see you soon.

Come on India - World Cup 2011

2011-03-24T14:46:00.000-07:00

As you all know that India won the quarter final cricket match against Australia. It was a wonderful match and day for India for sure. A very crucial match to win to survive in the world cup as India is the hot favourite as title winners.

I am hoping they will continue the same spirit till the end. The next match against Pakistan is a HUGE one and the team might be very confident with the win against Australia. Other matches are also interesting with the kind of teams they include.

Hoping for the best and all the best INDIA.

Nothing to Write

2011-03-04T10:36:00.001-08:00

Friends, I hope you are doing fine. Really I did not get anything to write. I thought not writing anything is also can be a blog to buy sometime to get an idea.:)

Well, my birthday was on March 2nd and we are going to celebrate that this weekend with friends and few families at our home. Other than that no special updates. Take care and I will come back with a bang after sometime.

Inspired!!!

2011-01-27T11:40:00.000-08:00

As you know everytime India gives the nation's well recognized awards like Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padmasri etc. Well, keeping the controversies apart I really felt that this time the awards were given to most appropriate people.

And they are really inspiration to our generation. I am primarily happy that SP Balu(one of the eminent singers in India) got Padma Bhushan. He is my inspiration to get into singing. Well deserved person to concur the award.

Also Akkineni Nageswara Rao got Padma Vibhushan(first telugu film actor to get). More than his acting, I would say his life is more inspirational. The discipline he had(i would rather love to say say "he has") and the focus he had towards his career was extra-ordinary.

Also, I am reading news these days about people demanding to award Bharat Ratna for Sachin Tendulkar. I dont think its required for him. Dont get me wrong:). I am saying there is no need to demand, it should/will come by itself to him. No doubt that he is deserved being for that. But it will not be glorious to get it by request or demand.

Thanks to Government of India for this inspirational awards. May many of these awards come to well deserved people and elevate the India's pride.

New York Trip

2011-01-10T10:37:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

As planned, I have completed my trip to New York along with my wife. It was different and interesting this time. As usual city is more beautiful that too in Chrismas/New Year's time. We have visited all standard places like New York city, Washington DC, Pittsburg etc.

However something different is that we went to Empire State Building observatory to have glimpse of the city skyscrapers. No words to explain, but just WOW.

Spent sometime meeting friends and relatives which was relaxing. Also had a family get together for new year night playing games etc.

A nice break from work with this trip. Finally had to come back to work and should sit tight for more period this time as there is no holiday season soon. Till then have a good working time guys. Some pics below as usual to get inspired.

The White House

Statue of Liberty
New York city from Empire State Building

Big Apple

2010-12-21T15:50:00.000-08:00

Friends, I hope you are all doing fine. Well finally I am visiting New York city nearly after more than 2 years. I am very much excited to visit the city that too in Christmas/New Year time. I feel the city will be like a newly wed bride in this time, so beautiful and cute.

Well this time I am taking my wife to the east coast first time and personally my visit to there will be Nth time.:).

I will post more details after coming back from my trip. Till then take care. Happy Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Bahamas - Miami Trip

2010-12-03T11:32:00.000-08:00

All,

Recently I went on for a vacation to the bahamas and Miami. Believe me, they are wonderful places on the planet earth and must visits if possible. The weather was perfect, and the travel was great as I took a cruise to Bahamas.

Overall its a nice and relaxed vacation for me, as opposed to my usual trips where I will be in driving seat most of the time. Miami beach is one of the best beaches to visit with blue waters and white sand. Same with beaches in Nassau(capital of Bahamas) as well.

Posting some photos below for you to get inspired and motivated.:)

Inside the Cruise

Inside the cruise

Nassau Cruise Port

Miami Downtown

Miami Beach

More performances

2010-11-03T14:33:00.000-07:00

Hi, I am glad to say that I had couple of more chances to perform songs. One is in a program organized by local telugu association on the name of a great singer Ghantasala. Other one is a hindustani classical performance organized by Kalanjali. My music class is also going on well. Only thing is that I am not getting more time for practise. So these performances help to keep me on tune and track.
Nothing more to say as there are no major happenings from my side. I hope you are all doing fine.

Movie Reviews

2010-10-06T11:35:00.000-07:00

ENDHIRAN(Tamil)

Well, finally I get to see the most awaited picture of the year(should I say decade?). ENDHIRAN. This is my first tamil film I watched straight in a theater. I always loved Shankar who delivers the movies with picture perfect quality. Endhiran is another feather in his cap, however I felt he changed his movie making style with this movie. Moreover, being Rajinikanth as hero Shankar had no limits on the budget and could deliver an awesome entertainer.
However any movie will have likes and dislikes and below are those in my perspective. This is purely my opinion.

Likes

1. Standards are extra-ordinary. Felt like I am seeing an hollywood movie DOT
2. Everyone says that Rajini is a stylish actor, but he is a good artist as well.Liked the ROBO character
3. No over hyped emotions

Dislikes

1. I wish the first song was shot completely with full rhythm. My favourite song
2. Shankar is known to elevate the movie in the first half to the peak. I did not see that in this. He dealt it pretty normal

Anyway, this is a must watch movie to appreciate the advanced technology Indian movies are running towards.

Another interesting rumour is that Chiru-Aishwarya Rai-Shankar combo is going to grace the silver screen. I wish this dream combination works out soon. :)

KHALEJA(Telugu)

Well, this movie also had more hype because of the reason that Mahesh is coming up on screen after 3 years of gap. Cant say anything but this is like a normal story. But Mahesh did a different role with more sense of humor. Most of the time he was able to generate the genuine timing comedy. As usual he looks awesome. But it did not have the complete punch of Trivikram. You cannot compare with Athadu which was picture perfect.

I wish the director concentrated on story line more rather than standard masala elements. Songs are just OK. Fights are typical Trivikram type but need to change eventually for upcoming movies.

I would say that the movie is one time watchable if you go without expectations.

Borugula(Murmura/Puff Rice) Laddu

2010-09-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

This is a homemade rice-jaggery crispty sweet from India. Best served as a evening snack.

Items required --

Murmura(Borugulu or Puff Rice)
Jaggery
Water
Cardamom

Preparation --

In a big, sturdy, thick-bottomed vessel, add water and jaggery. Cook on medium-high heat. Jaggery melts and begins to concentrate. Adding cardamom powder as optional. When it starts foaming, it reached the consistency we want for this recipe. To test, add few drops of jaggery syrup to the cold water. When pushed with fingers, if the syrup can be rolled to a round and keeps share without melting in spite of tilting the plate to different directions, it is done and the syrup is ready. This whole process takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat. Remove the pot from the stove. Now take a bowl filled with Murmura. Pour the jaggery syrup prepared on to this murmura proportionately(It will not yeild good results if you do it other way, pouring murmura into jaggery syrup). Mix it well. Now start making laddus(round balls). Keep making your hands wet once every ball is prepared.

Wait for about 5 minutes for murmura-jaggery mixture to cool down and then start making laddus. Take a spoonful of mixture into hands and press gently into round shape. Keep a bowl of cold water on the side. Dip your hands in-between laddu making to keep hands unsticky and cool. Or ladle off the whole mixture into a greased pan. Press firmly and evenly. Cut into squares and let it cool. Break along the lines to separate the pieces. Makes about 12 medium sized laddus or squares.

Hope you enjoy making it...

One word

2010-09-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

I just got this from Ria's blog. Thought of doing it.

Rule - Answer should be only in ONE WORD.

1. Where is your cell phone? Pocket

2. Your hair? Black

3. Your mother? Lovable

4. Your father? Inspiring

5. Your favorite food? Indian

6. Your dream last night? None

7. Your favorite drink? Buttermilk

8. Your dream/goal? Singer/Singer

9. Where are you? Office

10. Your hobby? Music

11. Your fear? God

12. Where do u want to be in 6 yrs? USA

13. Where were you last night? Home

14. Something that you aren't? Rude

15. Muffins? English

16. Wish list item? Switzerland

17. Where did you grow up? Hyderabad

18. Last thing you did? Blog

19. What are you wearing? Indo-western

20. Your TV? 36''

21. Your pets? None

22. Friends? Valuable

23. Your life? Interesting

24. Your mood? Normal

25. Missing someone? Nephew

26. Car? RAV4

27. Something you're not wearing? Shoe

28. Your favorite store? Daddu's

29. Your favorite music? Anything

30. The last time you laughed? 12:45 PM

31. Last time you cried? Nope

32. You hate? R's

33. One place that you go all the time? Winco :)

34. One person who emails you regularly? Sandeep

35. My favorite place on earth? Hyderabad

I will pass this to few people I know. Please feel free to take it up.

Crater Lake - Again

2010-08-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone are doing well. As you know I already went to crater lake long time back. But I have visited it again, but this time with my wife.

It was wonderful experience this time since I went in peak summer and all the lake areas are open. We did the boat tour also which was wonderful. You should really get into the lake to experience how big it is. You cannot estimate by seeing it from outside. And the water is damn blue.

Overall, it was pretty nice trip with hot sun and the lake around. If you are nearby and have a chance to visit it, dont miss it. Below are some pics of it. See you later.

Change of Status

2010-07-21T16:16:00.000-07:00

Finally I have changed my status from Single to Married..:)

Yes I got married 2 months back and back to US as well and in settlement mode. Believe me, its a new life altogether with new interests, twists, what not. Anyway life has taken a new turn for me and I am experiencing it. My wife is getting used to the new place, people etc.

No visits till now to any places. I will keep you posted about more updates. I hope you are all doing well and did not forget me.:)

Straight from PDX(Portland)

2010-05-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

Friends, I am heading to India today. This time for a big occassion and its my marriage. I was busy last one month in shopping, packing stuff etc. I hope you are all doing well.
I will try to keep in touch and see you all after I settle down. Have fun guys.

Are you eating healthy food?

2010-04-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

I learnt a lot from my roommates about the calories, fat and protein stuff in last one year. Initially I used to wonder whenever they see the nutrition facts for each item they consume. Later I realized that they are really important to make the health better and fit. Thanks to them.

I used to eat lots of (really a lot) chocolates, sweets and other items with fat when I initially landed in US. You dont believe, but I used to eat atleast one donut each day. It was so scary when I think now.

I also used to feel a lot heavier(Ofcourse I wasn't that fat, just feeling). I have decided to follow some rules in diet so stopped all fat stuff. Also started going to Gym, working out and swimming. In 6 months I have observed complete change. My body got toned a bit and I have lost 10 pounds and also feeling comfortable and light body.

I think its really important to maintain the body. Not to be handsome but for health. I dont believe that I have cut down so much on food. But sometimes I cannot control myself for some food items.

Ofcourse I have a formula. Eat and workout.:)

I suggest you also to take care of your health and diet. Thats it for now.

Yellow Stone Park - 33 States

2010-04-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

Hope you are all doing good. Finally I have visited one of the popular places in US - Yellow Stone National Park. This is real huge park which covers almost 4 states. This was also shown in a movie "2012". I along with a friend flew to Salt Lake City, Utah first. Salt lake city is not a great city, but the location it is situated is beautiful.

It is completely surrounded by mountains. We have also visited the Bonneville salt flats near salt lake city. This place is amazing, its just miles and miles area covered with salt on the ground. You know, this place is known for hosting the international speed racing at peak summers.

Next our destination was to Yellow Stone National Park. It was snowing heavily near the park but we could visit the required places in the mornings without any issue. We drove along the northwest side of the park and reached the north entrance. There we could watch some wild life on our way to mammoth hot springs. It was a good driving practise for my friend on different types of roads(snow, gravel etc).:)

This is another amazing place where there are several hot springs. Its interesting that the water would be boiling at high temparatures and we could see the fumes all over the mountain. Definitely a natural wonder.

Last but not the least, the total number of US states I have visitied increased to 33 with this trip.:)

Checkout some photographs from my trip below..

Salt Lake City(mountain view)

Bonneville Salt Flats

Hot springs in Yellow stone

Small portion in Yellow stone

Ugadi - Performance 4

2010-03-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

Hello all, I dont have much to say at this time. But one update is that I gave another performance. This time its not classical, but for movie songs. The local community here celebrated our new year Ugadi sometime back and I have performed couple of songs in there.

I was well prepared and presented the song with some interesting visuals. To my surprise, the song came out very well and the response was really good. I was satisfied that the result came out well for whatever work I did. Ofcourse the whole function was good with some mix of classical and entertaining programs.

These events helps to meet new people and have fun and break from regular work. I will upload the actual song whenever I record it.:). Till then have fun and am waiting for friday for a trip to Yellow stone national park..:)

Third Performance

2010-03-15T11:29:00.001-07:00

Hello all, by god's grace my classical music thing is going well. I gave another performance at Portland Central Library . This time it was much better performance wise as well as crowd wise. It was nice to see lot people turning up for these type of events other than DJs and Discos.:)

It was also nice to see the kids performing tabla(an instrument mostly used in classical music space).

I thought about the time I have wasted in my past.:-P. Anyway I am atleast doing something now. Refer to my blog's header for the song I performed. This is called as "Tarana", one of the forms of classical music. This sounds interesting to audience because of the kind of tounge twisters it has.

Refer to this link which explains about the interesting history about - Tarana.

Sachin - 200 Years

2010-02-25T19:17:00.000-08:00

I don't want to become a fool by saying what Sachin Tendulkar achieved before two days. As everybody saying it is almost an impossible feat. And I was thinking that why really it is so amazing achievement. Simple, it is not so easy.

Click for the news and Sachin's achievements...

It needs extensive concentration, patience and the technique that need to be continued throughout the game. All these were amazingly balanced in Sachin's play in the match. Its specifically praised because he played this game against one of the strongest teams South Africa. I believe that God writes human fate. Thats why he wrote that Sachin only should do this for the first.

It is really a happy moment for all of our indians that a person like Sachin who is absolutely uncontroversial, balanced has done this. His emotions after reaching double century is so humble as if he still have to reach some other goals.

He is not only inspiration for me in the aspect of game, but mainly for dedication, hard work and humbleness. He is just genius. Hats off..May god bless him and may he live for 200 years............

Movie Reviews

2010-02-15T14:14:00.000-08:00

Its been long time, I did not write any movie reviews. I watched some movies recently and below are their reviews.

1. Adurs(Telugu movie)

Story line : Twins seperated in the past re-unites and cleans the villain group

Much awaited movie with the combination of V.V. Vinayak and NTR which did not reach our expectations. Its sometimes really disappointing that the telugu movies are not coming out of formula base. We atleast thought that the action sequences and songs will be good. But the movie is disappointing in those sections as well. May be the story is weak and pretty common, but the taking would have been much better in terms of fights and songs. Comedy is also average. This is just an OK movie for timepass.

2. 3 Idiots(Hindi movie)

Story line : Tale of 3 college friends life and the their goals

Well, most of you might know this movie. Aamir Khan is quite selective these days and he delivered a 3rd consecutive blockbuster after Taare Zameen Par and Ghajini. He is few of the leading method actors in India who really tries something different. 3 Idiots is also an experiment on the studies in India with entertainment. As usual Aamir Khan is at his best in this movie.

3. My Name Is Khan (Hindi movie)

Story line : A person suffering from autism meets the president of US to say that he is not a terrorist

Much hyped movie of recent times because of the sensitive elements in the film. Ofcourse it has reached the expectations and I really liked the movie. Shahrukh Khan and director Karan Johar finally came out of Romantic tragedy type of story line to a story that is different and has plenty of space to really ACT. Shahrukh has done wonderful job in his expressions and timing. Kajol is prety apt for her role.

Finally I am awaiting for the new horror movie "The Crazies" releasing on Feb 26th.
Till then, see you and have fun guys.

Second Music Performance

2010-02-04T22:13:00.000-08:00

I am happy to say that I had given another performance with my group in Portland downtown. This time I sang a nice bihari folk song and a holi song. I have uploaded them(which I sang separately) in my blog header. Please refer to the song titled "Makayya re & Holi.

It was basically a cross cultural meet where artists from few other countries like China, Philippines, Palestine came and performed. It was nice to have that gathering. You get to know other traditions and cultures.

On behalf of India, our group has presented some classical music items(dance, instrument and vocal).

And I also gave my nomination for singing in a program conducted by telugu association in Portland. I have a good plan to sing different type of songs if they agree for my program.

Well nothing specific from my side other than this and my work which is hectic these days. I hope you are all doing well.

First Performance

2010-01-19T08:42:00.000-08:00

I remember updating you that I am learning Hindustani classical music. If not, yes I have started learning music at my place in US from last 6 months. As you know I have lot of interest in music and entertainment industry.

Recently I gave my first performance in the local temple to raise funds for them. I had satisfaction that I did something practical instead of just learning in the class. I along with my group sang a bhajan on Lord Rama.

It was nice evening as well with lot of bhajans and get together of all music learners. I feel we need to have this meetings often to divert ourselves from the busy work life.

Below is the link to the audio of bhajan I sang in the temple. I have also embedded the same to my blog as a page element. Hopefully you will like it.

http://www.box.net/shared/6r1ia8s6rq

California(A Real Development)

2010-01-06T15:48:00.000-08:00

Friends, as I always do I went to another trip to California again. But this time for new year. I have been to San Francisco. Last two new years I was alone for the new year day. So this time I want to be with crowd to welcome new year. So my trip went on like this...

I along with my roommate drove to SFO from Portland. I enjoyed the long drive after long time. We have visited a club in SFO for new year night and it was fun to be with people at midnigt. I have visited the hindu temple in Fremont, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale areas. I could see the real development(be it infrastructure wise or other) in the state of California. And as you all know the development in the area of technology.

Lots of companies with beautiful infrastructure can be seen in the state of CA, specially in the SFO area(popularly called as Bay Area). I was amazed to see the roads and highways. They are awesomely built. Even the local road has 5 lanes. It was fun to drive over them.

There is no wonder if one thinks that their country or area should be developed like that. It can be a ideal infrastructure for other countries.

And also I went to Lake Tahoe which is a lake in the state of Nevada. But we missed some rides(like snow mobiling and cable car up to mountain) due to delay. Next time better luck. Here I am posting some pics.

Happy Christmas and New Year

2009-12-25T12:12:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,
I wish all of you and your families a happy and prosperous Christmas and New Year 2010 ahead. God bless you.
I wish the problems right now in my region(State of Andhra Pradesh in India) will be resolved soon. May this horrible politicians realize their mistakes and get the peoples life into normal pace.

Do we really need Telangana?

2009-12-09T09:47:00.000-08:00

I hope most of you would know that there is this issue of separate state(Telangana) in the state of Andhra Pradesh(India). And it became serious issue these days the so called leaders started riots to get separate state.

But are they really thinking about why we need a separate state? I am sure no. Its just a stunt to get the political power. Several years ago Andhra Pradesh was separated from the state of Madras in the ending of British rule. Yes, this made sense that time because we had a language barrier between Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh. But this telangana movement doesn't make sense at all. This is absolutely trying to make Andhra into pieces so that everyone can enjoy their share without obstructions.

If they are real leaders, are they thinking about the people and the post issues after forming a separate state? If they have real guts, they should verify how much they contributed to (at least tried to ) that region to develop before asking for a separate state.

If they think that only Telangana region is undeveloped that is absolutely wrong. There are 1000's of undeveloped regions in Rayalaseema and Coastal regions too. Its about developing the entire state as a whole. In addition to that, they are destroying the public properties all over the state. Do they thinks its their father's property? They will realize how it feels only if they lose their personal property.

Another main concern I have is even the students are agitating without putting their thoughts. They are the ones who should lay the path for the future India. They should think in a constructive manner rather than breaking everything into pieces. I am sure that most of the students are being used politically by the leaders for this issue.

This is the time to resolve this issue without prolonging further. I hope the central government will take the right decision without bowing their heads to the corrupted leaders.

Heights of Wealth

2009-12-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

I was reading about Bill Gates few days ago and came across some interesting facts(below) regarding his wealth. I could understand the heights of wealth with this. Check out.

Pay NBA MVP Michael Jordan's salary for 1,394 years.
Give every man, woman and child on the face of the Earth $7.46.
Pay every California Lottery prize for the next 34 years.
Fund 158 Mars Pathfinder missions.
Fund the US Department of Education for 19 years.
Pay tuition for the residents of Seattle and Tacoma to go to the University of Washington for four years.
Fund the US presence in the Persian Gulf for 11 months.
Fund the US peacekeeping forces in Bosnia for 157 years.
Buy 233,346,297 copies of Microsoft Windows 95.
Buy 1,680,000,000 copies of his own book, buy more with his royalties from those sales, continuing the cycle and easily the best selling author of all time.
Make Hanson the most successful musicians of all time by buying 3,529,411,765 copies of "Middle of Nowhere."
If he wanted to challenge George Lucas (worth only $2 billion), he could make 227 sequels to "Waterworld," or 35,000 sequels to "Sling Blade."
At the median donation for spending a night in the White House, he could stay in the Lincoln Bedroom for 46,300 years.
If he wanted to go on a killing spree in Los Angeles County, at the rate that Simpson was charged, he could kill 3,360 people and pay all his attorney fees and punitive damages.
At the rate of 1/2 ounce per $27 million, he could pay Mike Tyson to eat 1/5 of Evander Holyfield.
He could fly from Seattle to Paris and back on Air France 45,258,621 times.
If he wanted to go to a local baseball game, he could buy Seattle Mariners season tickets, all of them, for 411 years, and with his spare change could buy the team and the Kingdome.
At Denny's, he could buy a "Grand Slam Slugger Breakfast" for 9,150,326,797 people.
If he couldn't get service, he could buy every man, woman and child in China a Big Mac Extra Value Meal, as long as no one "Super Sizes."
If they preferred, he could buy 17 billion packages of Top Ramen noodles.
He must like coffee, and could buy over 6 billion pounds of French roast at his local Starbuck's.
Speaking of a cup of coffee, he could support one of those Sally Struther's foreign kids for 113,341,969 years.

Isn't this interesting?

Back in action...

2009-11-23T09:34:00.001-08:00

Friends, I am back to US from India trip with some mixed feelings. I think it will take sometime for me to sync up to the current situations. Will be back with a blog after sometime.
Hope you all are doing fine.

Going to India.....

2009-10-22T10:08:00.000-07:00

From LA airport....

Hi friends, finally I am going for a vacation to my home(India). I will miss my swimming and music lessons and also you here for a while..:).

Anyways I will try to blog in between if I get sometime. Otherwise have a great time and see you later.

Floods in South India

2009-10-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

As you all might know that severe floods had hit India(in some states). And that too specifically in the place where I lived most of the time(almost 20 years). This is a place called Kurnool in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/india/Major-floods-hit-Andhra-Karnataka-rescue-operations-on/articleshow/5081295.cms

Not only this place, there are several other places in other states too had flood hit. It is really sad to hear the troubles of people who became homeless without food for so many days. They have lost their homes, properties everything. But nobody can stop the natural disasters, but can take some advanced rescue measures to track and save lives of people.

I hope such time will come soon to avoid human loss. I was moved by this disaster actually since I lived in that place for long time. Luckily all my friends are safe in those places.

But I did send some funds(whatever I can) for the relief operations for the poor people. After all they are our fellow human beings.

I wish they recover as early as possible.

Below is the website through which I have donated the funds for 5 families. I am posting here so that somebody who is interested also may donate something in their limit.
If you cannot donate the minimum amount, you can combine with your friends and donate.

http://www.shop.theuscats.org/category.sc?categoryId=24

Can't I be at the receiving end?

2009-10-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

From long time, I am kind of thinking about this. Why can't I be at the receiving end? I am observing this pattern right from my childhood. Any event, any topic, any gathering most of the times I will be at the giving end. Like organizing, arranging, planning something etc etc.
I mean this sounds good right. But I sometimes feel that somebody should arrange things for me too.

It feels tired sometimes to do the things. Take anything either work or personal, I will be identified as a person who gives or helps. For example, whichever place I go to work there will be minimum 10 members in the team. But believe me, all the managers used to ask me a favor of helping any new member(in finding a apartment, settling down etc) after joining the project.

Ofcourse I enjoy that, but I am not sure to say whether this is my strength or weakness. People say that I will also get some favour in the future and they also say something big is waiting for me to receive.
Ha ha, my question is when?

Just wanted to share this with all of you.

Movie Updates

2009-09-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

I have watched some movies recently and wanted to give an update to all of you.

1. Magadheera

This is a telugu(my mother tongue, one of the Indian languages) movie where the hero of the film is my favourite star Chiranjeevi's son. I would say this is of of the best telugu movies made. Technically very nice and brilliant movie. Its a periodical love story. As his father, he inherited all the good parts of movie like fights, dance and action etc. And this movie became one of the biggest hits in telugu film industry.

2. Inglorious bastards

I watched a great conversational movie after long time. As a fan of Quentin Tarantino, I went to this movie for the premier show at 12 midnight:). The movie is made brilliantly and its a Tarantino brand as usual. The dialogues and the screenplay are the best ever. And the scenes are typical Tarantino style. I would strongly recommend seeing this movie if you did not watch.

3. Whiteout

I went to this movie because of Kate Beckinsale. I really like her. And the movie also decent one. This is about an investigation of murder case on Antarctica and she does her role pretty well. The film makers also depicted the Antarctica and the intense weather over there nicely. A good movie to watch.

4. Jennifer's Body

If I did not update you, I am a big big fan of Horror films. I think I did not miss any good horror films till date. And a horror film with Mega fox as actress, how could I miss this?. Ofcourse a typical horror film, but only attraction is Mega fox. Its about a gorgeous cheerleader (Megan Fox) possessed by a demon and starts feeding off the boys. She is really hot and apt for this role.

Well, I hope these reviews help you.

Las Vegas - The heaven on the earth

2009-09-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

Yes. I did not see the heaven. But I think it will be like Las Vegas. Fun, enjoyment, thrill...you name it, it has it. One of the top most best places I have visited till now in my life. And given a chance everybody has to visit this place of unlimited fun.

I got a last minute deal and was lucky enough to spend time in Vegas, the sin city. And the other best thing is that I got a BMW convertible rental car. Imagine driving through the Las Vegas strip in BMW. I could not imagine that this will happen so soon for me.

I have visited all major casinos like Bellagio, The Venetian, Wynn, Encore etc. Each has its own unique style and beauty. No words to explain the architecture and the degree of detail. I have also went to a show called "LE REVE" in Wynn casino. I would strongly recommmend you too to checkout this show if you are in Vegas anytime. What a amazing show? Fantastic experience.

I have also experienced the thrill rides on the top of Stratosphere(Insanity, Xscream etc). They are really breath taking rides. I appreciate the ideas they get and implement in the places like these.

What else? oh yaa..the BMW...amazing car. I went on a ride to Death valley road which I wanted to visit from long time. I used to see this road in the movies finally got to visit. This completes my visit to 28th US state.

I was almost depressed to return to work from a city like Las Vegas. But you know life has to go on...Check out some photos of the trip.....

Las Vegas Airport

My first BMW

Wynn Casino

LE REVE Show poster in Wynn Casino

Ending scene of LE REVE Show

Death valley

Ganesh Chaturthi

2009-08-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

Hi friends, hope you are all doing good. As you know, yesterday(23rd August) was an Indian festival called as "Ganesh Chaturthi"(Birthday of one of the Indian gods - Lord Ganesh). Also called as "well-wisher" god. And this is my favourite festival of all.

Although I felt not being at home(as I am in US now), I made sure I celebrate this festival as is like home. I had prepared all the things as per the tradition and set up the Ganesh Idol.

We did pooja(prayer) and all nicely and also had good food. These idols and the festival is pretty famous not only in India but also throughout the world where there is a presence of Hindus. The idol immersion ceremony day is also very popular in major cities in India.

Below are the photos we took at our home in US that day.

San Francisco - The second best

2009-07-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

I have visited San Francisco for the July long weekend and I have reached a landmark of visiting 27 states in US with this trip.

SFO is absolutely amazing city. I have rated Boston as the second best city in US before this visit. But Boston lost its rating after my visit to SFO.:-P

The best thing I liked in SFO is the transporation. They have all types of vehicles under the sun like bus, cable car, ferry, train etc. The city is always lively and happening.

We have visited places like Alcatraz Island, Stanford university, Ghirardelli chocolate factory, Crooked street, Silicon valley, Half moon bay beach and Golden Gate bridge etc.
Over all it was nice trip, but got tanned a lot due to California weather. It took 3 weeks for me to come back to my original color.:)

Below is my rating of US cities I have visited till now.

1. New York(may be always 1)
2. San Francisco
3. Boston
4. Chicago
5. Atlanta
6. Seattle
7. Washington DC
8. Providence
9. Portland
10. Charlotte
11. Raleigh
12. Ashville
13. Pittsburg
14. Minneapolis
15. Richmond
16. Milwaukee
17. Newark

Interesting, is it?. What is your rating if you are in US?

Check out some photos below of SFO.

Alcatraz Island

SFO Downtown View

SFO Downtown

Golden Gate Bridge

Crooked Street

The Emperor of Pop

2009-06-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hopefully you would have understood what I am going to write about by seeing the title of this blog. Yes its about one and only Michael Jackson. I would say he is not only the King but Emperor of pop.

It is really tough to digest that he is no more, but you know you never know when death takes away a person. Well coming to reality, I think he is a definition for Dance. I am almost sure that there will not be any dance school in the world without his picture in it. He is so popular through out each corner of the world irrespective of country, language and music.

He is an inspiration for almost every dancer, choreographer and any music lover. He is the definition for hard work and ambition. Forgetting about all the controversies in his personal life, he was always the best.

Especailly in indian film industry his impact has got revolutionary change in the field of dance. Any film industry belonging to any language has got his impression in the area of Dance. Wow!! what an artist. I think only one person like this will be there for a century.

Even my favourite hero Chiranjeevi who is considered as one of the best dancing artists in India has taken him only as an inspiration.

I am here giving Michael Jackson a great tribute through my blog. May his soul rest in peace.
Below is my favourite item from Jackson's dances. Bille Jean...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7MmEMrCRfc&feature=related

Below is another interesting item from Chiranjeevi's songs(language - telugu) where he remade the Thriller song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcF2f8XVwpk

President meets Prince

2009-06-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

Interesting photo of Pesident of United States, Barack Obama with Prince of Cricket, Brian Lara.

Quick story -----

http://blog.kridaya.com/2009/04/22/barack-obama-brian-lara-and-cricket/

Recipe time(Ivy Gourd)

2009-05-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I did not even used to go into kitchen when I was back in India. I never had to cook something. My mother used to serve me everything. You know mother is always mother.:-P
But things changed when I came to US. I had to start cooking which I was kind of scared. But you dont believe, I kind of became expert and have lot of interest in cooking now. I feel it as a stress buster sometimes.
My friends and rooommates say that I cook really tasty food whatever I try. With concentration I think its proved that we can make anything successful. Anyway let me not bore any more. I am here posting you the recipe of Tindora Fry(called as Dondakaya in Telugu language). Its a very special vegetable which grows in India only. Here it goes...

Ingredients:
250 gms /1/4 kg Dondakayalu / Tondli / Ivy Gourds½ tsp mustard seeds
10-12 fresh curry leaves
pinch of turmeric pwd
salt to taste
1 ½ tbsp oil
1-2 tbsp roasted peanuts (garnish)
To be roasted in oil and ground to a coarse pwd:
few drops of oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
2 dry red chillis – remove stalk, tear into two and de-seed (adjust according to your spice level)
1 1/2 tbsp roasted peanuts

1. Wash the dondakayalu and nip the tip and tail ends. Slit each gherkin into two, length wise, as shown in the picture and slice them into thin long strips.

2. Heat a few drops of oil in a cooking vessel. Once the oil is hot, reduce heat to medium flame, add the cumin seeds and let them splutter and turn brown. Add urad(white lentils) and channa dal for crunchy taste. Add the red chillis and fry for a few seconds stirring continuosly. Turn off heat and cool. Once cool, add roasted peanuts to this roasted spice mix and grind to make a coarse pwd.

3. Add oil in the same pan and heat it till hot. Reduce to medium flame and add the mustard seeds, let them splutter. Add the curry leaves ,stir them till the aroma come out.

4. Immediately add the sliced dondakayalu and combine. Add salt and turmeric pwd and mix well. Saute on medium heat for 3-4 minutes , keep sauteing them so that it doesn’t burn. Now reduce to low flame and let it cook covered till soft, approx 12-15 minutes. Keep checking inbetween, sauteing them so that they dont burn. The sauteed dondakayalu lose moisture and begin to have a wrinkled appearance and turns to a deeper color.

5. Don’t overcook the dondakayalu, they should retain that, slight crunchy texture. Add the ground coarse pwd at this stage and combine well and let it cook, uncovered for another 2 minutes on medium heat. Turn off heat.

6. Finally adjust the salt and garnish with roasted peanuts. Serve hot with steamed rice, dal or sambar.

Let me know if this is helpful to anybody who tried this.:)

Laksha Gala Sankirthanarchana(100,000 People Choir Singing Praising Lord)

2009-05-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

Amazing!!!. Imagine more than 100,000 people singing to praise the Lord for the good. Since I am in US, I am not lucky to participate in this event which happened in my city Hyderabad in India.

Coming to the news, TTD(Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams) an organization which takes care of affairs of Lord Venkateswara in temple town Tirumala. As you know this temple is believed to be the richest of all the temples in the world. Almost 100,000 people akes their visit to this place daily to gain blessings of the lord.

There was a telugu poet and lyricist called Annamayya in 15th century who was greatest devotee for Lord Venkateswara. He wrote around 32,000 sankeerthanas(holy songs) on the lord. We are lucky to obtain atleast 13,000 of them from the history. May 9th was his 601st birthday so based on that occassion, TTD has conducted a major programme where 100,000 people sang together some of the songs written by Annamayya for the Lord. This also went into Guinness Book of records breaking the German musical event happened in 1937.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Andhra-singers-set-new-world-record/articleshow/4506982.cms

http://manahotspot.blogspot.com/2009/05/nagarjuna-k-raghavendra-rao-speaking-in.html

ANNAMAYYA(DOWN) WITH LORD VENKATESWARA(TOP)

I am lucky enough to have several co-incidental attachments with Annamayya. Our family is considered as the descendants of him. And the college where I have graduated is just next to his native place(Tallapaka). I have visited his place and temple also several times.

I am here taking a chance to salute this great poet and may all his poetic wonders will become inspiration to all generations. This should also help us to remember our tradition and culture.

Intel Dot Com

2009-04-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

This time I wanted to share about a milestone that happened in my career. I am right now working for Intel Corporation. So we were working on their new website design and delivery in more efficient way with less cost.
So finally we could finish that and send live to public last week. Just wanted to share this thing with you.
Below is the link if you want to check that out.

http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/products/server/processor

Chi-Town Trip

2009-04-18T18:56:00.001-07:00

Finally, I could find sometime to go for a trip to Chicago. I am always ready to visit that city because I feel it as my home town in US.:). Ofcourse the reason is because I have landed there only when I came to US from India first time. Isn't this funny?. But not for me...

I had a plan to visit my uncle's place in Chicago. And also one of my friends also planned to visit Chicago for his personal reasons. So I thought I can shoot two birds at one shot. After spending two days at my uncle's place, one fine saturday me and my friend went on a road trip. We went to Milwaukee. I would say that as a city of dead. OMG, that city is kind of depressing may be for its oldness. But the good thing is that we have visited the Milwaukee museum of Art which is like a architectural wonder.

Later we also visited the Miller's beer brewing company and went on a small tour in which they showed the brewing and packing process of Miller beer. It was kind of fun to see that gigantic system of beer brewing. What else, I have returned back to Oregon after the trip.

And back to work and cooking stuff........:(
Check out some cool photos of that museum and the michigan lake.

Oregon Sand Dunes - The most memorable trip

2009-03-23T22:12:00.000-07:00

Day : March 21st, 2009(Saturday)
Time : From 10 PM to 1 AM

I cannot imagine how much I laughed at the specified period above. I think that is the day where I laughed atmost(to hell infact). It went till me getting some chest pain as well due to laugh. Ok, let me not blabber anymore and come to the point.

I went to a place called Florence which is in the Oregon state of US(West Coast). This is a place with full of sand dunes where one can take ATV(its a vehicle which is used to drive in sand) on rent and enjoy the ride in the tough sand. This is a different experience for me as we dont find this things in India.

So we(me along with other 3 teammates) started travelling towards that place. Our plan was to reach there afternoon and return by the same night. We have reached there at 5 PM in the evening since the drive was along side of pacific ocean and we had to stop at few scenic places. Believe me, pacific coast drive is one of the best drives.

Finally we got to know that the rental shop will be closed at 5 PM. So we thought of not missing the chance and stayed that night in a small motel. This decision was the turning point for us to have LOADS of fun in the motel. First we have visited a nearby casino and won some money($20 for $1 investment). Then we went to a restaurant called Bay Street Grill where I have met one of the beautiful girls I have ever seen. OOPS! she was an absolute beauty. I had a good time having drink and food served by her.

Later, we headed over to hotel and then started the actual fun. People were in good mood and started explaining their past in the form of stories. My god, the way everybody explained their college life, career and crushes was HILLARIOUS. I almost had a doubt that police may come by seeing the way we were shouting and laughing. We had to end this earlier to leave the next day morning to play in sand dunes.

At last, we rented the vehicles and had lots of fun in sand dunes. The weather was also helpful for us to enjoy perfectly in the drive. It was a wonderful experience. Later we played mini golf which was unexpected in the plan. The fun continued in the game as well by commenting and playing jokes on each other.

As I always tell any day has to end. So we rushed back to our place(Beaverton) by having nice food in an Indian restaurant on the way. Once again, you should have right company to have right fun. And I guess It doesn't happen all the time.

Check out few pics below -->

Beautiful pacific coast

Nice drink served by beautiful lady in the restaurant.:)

Sand dunes spreading out in 5 mile radius

My Journey in US - Part 5

2009-03-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

OOPS!! Its almost 3 months since I have posted a blog. You know, I was like drowned in my project work from the last 2/3 months. It is always good to have more work in this bad economy times. So was inviting as much as work it comes on my way.
So as a come back I would want to post a blog on my journey in US(Part -5). Below is the older post which is actually part -4 where I stayed in Groton, CT.

http://ootb-jaggu.blogspot.com/2008/12/64-paul-revere-rd.html

I have got my next project in Beaverton, Oregon in the west coast. Well, yes I have moved to another end of US which I wanted anyways. Believe me, Oregon(also called Green state) is a very beautiful place, but only thing is it rains almost always. Once you get used to it, this is great place to live for a while.

Now I am working for Intel Corporation which has very big facility( 7 to 8 campuses) here. Even NIKE has its headquarters here. So small city with big companies. Its all fun since the Portland and Seattle cities are near and driveable. Here I am posting some pics of local and Seattle. I have visited Boeing manufacturing plant, Microsoft and Downtonw in Seattle. Well one thing I would say about Boeing is, its just a wonder to see the anufacturing process of aeroplanes in which we travel. Can you believe that a Beoing 747 plane is manufactured completely in 3 days and delivered. Its just a beauty. Well let me post some pics below. Hope you enjoy them.

It doesnt snow here much normally. But it snowed so heavily in Christmas 2008 after 1930 as below.

Seattle downtown

Boeing Manufacturing Plant(The left most big building block)

64 Paul Revere Rd

2008-12-19T12:32:00.000-08:00

Cool!!!! The title is not a movie(like 15 Park Avenue). :)
This is the place(house) where I had a very good stay at Groton, Connecticut while I was working for Pfizer.
This post actually is a continuation of my journey in US. Please visit the below link for the history.

http://ootb-jaggu.blogspot.com/2008/03/my-journey-in-us-part-3.html

So after working in North Carolina, I have moved to Connecticut and got new friends again in the my path. But this time it was fun professionally and personally with the group I have worked with. The community where we have stayed(Groton Estates) will be remembered by all our team members.

The apartment community has got bulk bookings of apartments since lot of people came to join this project along with me. :). I worked like a driver to manager initially to make new comers settle down in the new place since most of them were new to US. Daily pick up, drop, shopping, groceries...ha ha.. it was fun. After all nothing wrong in helping.

I can't forget the 2 mile walk to a Beach nearby and speding time there with friends. Weekend cooking(sale), especially experiments on me with new items by the other two girls(infact only one girl) staying at 113 Nathan Hale Rd were nice moments to share and remember.

Can't stop mentioning about my roommate Srikanth. He was the one of the nice persons I have lived with. Well, having a good friend is always a nice feeling when you are alone.

The project was much fun for all people because of having a good team. We could do some good work as well with the friends around helping each other. Anyways nice things lasts for sometime as usual, so we had to split to other projects quickly for various reasons. Looking forward to work with all again.

Few casual pics -->

Crater Lake...An exceptional beauty

2008-12-02T15:50:00.000-08:00

Nothing can be compared to the natural beauty. This is again proved when I went to Crater Lake. Crater Lake is a naturally formed lake out of volcanic eruption 7700 years back. This is the deepest lake in US. By the way this is located in Oregon State.

I cannot really explain the scenic beauty around the lake. Believe me, its worth watching once in a life time. The waters are so blue that you cannot even imagine. For me, it was a great relief to visit that place after long long working hours from last one month.

Due to winter, the Rim Drive(a loop drive around lake) is closed. But the entrance which is open was great enough to explore the entire lake over from a mountain. Snow everywhere on the road, absolutely perfect view of the lake from mountain, perfect climate, scenic roadways and water falls etc made my visit great.

Check out some photos below -->

Tagged(9)-Just a casual one..

2008-10-31T16:35:00.000-07:00

I am finally back after long pause. Thanks to aarthi for triggering me to come back.

RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

RULE #2 Tag 6 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by.[I was tagged by aarthi]

Continue this game by sending it to other people.

1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?
A. That will become a nice oppurtunity to lose all emotions and be in peace

2. If you can have a dream come true, what would it be?
A. Becoming an icon in film industry

3. Why do you blog?
A. To share my thoughts with fellow bloggers and be in international arena

4. Will you fall in love with your best friend
A. No love business

5. Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?
A. On Papers, Being loved by someone. But practically you will have more pain in this than loving someone.

6. Which one you think is more painful? Loosing parents / loosing a girl( My Question)
A. Losing parents

7. If the person you secretly like is attached, what will you do?
A. I would have checked this first before proceeding.. :))

8. If you could root for one social cause, what would it be?
A. Removal of bad politics

9. What takes you down the fastest?
A. Ego and Cunning Nature

10. What resurrects you the fastest?
A. God, Family and Friends

11. What’s your fear?
A. Losing Confidence

12. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
A. Friendly and Frank

13. Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?
A. Married and Balanced

14. What’s the purpose of such Tags?
A. To understand better

15. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously whom will you pick?
A. Pick both...ha ha...just kidding..

16. Would you give all in a relationship?
A. Try to keep my self respect

17. Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has done?
A. It depends on other person's realization about the thing he/she had done

18. Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?
A. Married

19. Who/what inspired you to start blogging?
A. Inspired by a friend

20. Tag 6 people.
Meghna, Ceedy, Vandita, Madhu, Kalpana, Gayathri

Nice Break

2008-08-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

Friends, I am going to India on this Friday(08/08/08) on vacation. And I will be back after 4 weeks. I guess I wont be able to write any blogs, but will try to check.
Anyway, you guys have a great time and see you soon.

Will He?....Yes says my heart....

2008-07-19T18:51:00.001-07:00

Chiranjeevi......One name which can create sensation in Andhra Pradesh. Infact it is creating now very frequently. Well as you know, he planned and almost confirmed that he is entering the political world.

Now the question is whether he will be able to manage the so called Political Movements. My heart says "Yes". Not only as a fan, but as a citizen I am keen to see his kind of approach/agenda to reach public.

NTR(N.T.Rama Rao) was the only movie star who could manage to come in full swing with a new party and swept the other party away completely.

Chiru is the only actor after NTR who has the same charisma, potential, crowd pulling capacity, power and mainly mesmorizing personality in all ways.
The only difference was that there was only one major party that time, but now they are two. And ofcoure the situations then and now are also totally different.

So it is a tough task to face two strong parties at the present trend. One should have a great strategy for that and seems he is planning for one. People from all communities, People from all countries, People from all professions are ready to support him and made the ground work. The only pending thing is him announcing the party and coming into the public. Hopefully this will be done in August.

He is my inspiration not only as an actor, but for his hardwork, dedication and humbleness. It will be a wonder to read about his past. To quote one incident, once at the initial stages of his career, he was asked to see his face in the mirror and decide whether he is fit to be an actor. But now his face is the most charismatic than any other.

His talk is sensation. His silence is sensation. This really proves how dedication one can have to achieve their goals.

I wish him all the best and hopefully he will do his best to make the state proud. Thinking him as a great human being and great actor, I will definitely support him given a chance.

Here is a snapshot video about his political entry -->

http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/67358/chiranjeevis-entry-into-politics-ruffles-many-feathers.html

Octet....8 Friends

2008-06-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to write this post as I have to go back to my college days and recollect the memories.

Here I want to present few things about our group of friends. We are a group of 8 friends in our engineering college days. Sometimes it is really true that God sets somethings up for some cause. In the same lines, we met at the college luckily and became very good friends.

We used to participate in each and every activity in the college like studies, cultural activities, ragging..:-P, teasing girls(positively..ha ha), seminars, what not. Each of us are experts in different activities. So our group used to be like an all-rounder group in the entire college. Can you guess our group name in college?...Its "Super Special Batch(SSB)". All other groups used to feel so jealous at our group which led to many quarrels as well. Ofcourse, its a college and even a quarrel is fun until it dont become serious.

Personally to me, everyone from our group are very special as I learnt different things from each one. But let me recollect my special acquaintance with each guy...In order of our roll numbers in the class..:)

Balaji...my roommate and what else can I say
Dimpu... good friend at having fun, cracking spontaneous jokes
Kalyan...a nice combination in studies
Raghu...a perfect combination at entertainment and cricket
Sandeep...my buddy in the topic of girls
Shanmukha...A challenging programmer to me always
Suresh...The Bike Guru for me

Today we all are across the globe busy in our own lives and professions. But wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we will be in contact through our hearts.

I am very happy to share about my friends with you. I dedicate this post to my group and all of the blogger friends.

Remember............

The bird a nest

The spider a web

The human friendship..Protect it safely

Dasavatharam....A great attempt

2008-06-15T06:54:00.000-07:00

DASAVATHARAM....an eagerly awaiting film was finally released on Friday in US. And I have seen this first day first show. Just wanted to share my thoughts on this.

As usual, Kamal the genious at his best in donning the roles. The main story line in a single sentence would be "The principle of Karma". It is about the destiny of an human being after struggling with all types of problems in life. It is about the impact of unknown power or God on this world.

I was more interested in this movie to obviously see Kamal in versatile roles and performances. He wrote the story and screenplay for the movie. As the critics were saying that the screenplay is little confusing, but I kind of dont agree with this. There is a clear link between the beginning episode and the climax If you really go into the movie.

I personally liked this movie as Vaishnavite, as it dealt with Vaishnavism and Lord Vishnu. :)

But it is a must watch movie for those who want to take a break from usual Hero-Heroine-Villain type movies.

Coming to performances, as usual Kamal Hassan is at his best in delivering the characters. Half of his roles are great and the other half are ok. George bush make up was the best. If everything goes well, I have a thought that he might get the next national award.

Anyways, it is all individual opinion to see and assess this movie. Hope you all will enjoy it.

Tag Time

2008-06-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

Tagged by Kalpana...

Now, coming to the rules: Pick up the nearest book.Open to page 123.Find the fifth sentence.Post the next three sentences.Tag five people, and acknowledge the person who tagged you.

"The number of unsuccessful login attempts into PathBuilder is also configurable resulting in a block on the user account.
Groups must have privileges assigned to them within the Group Management module."

These lines are from a book called "PathBuilder Administration Guide". Ha ha, this is funny.

Now I Tag

Ceedy
aarthi
mflowerr
meghna
madhu

Continuation for Sea Shore

2008-05-24T05:17:00.000-07:00

Really coud not find anything to write this time. But wanted to keep the ball rolling till I come back with a good post. So I am here posting some pictures from the sea shore where I go. Details are in previous post.:)

One evening, I saw an unusual formation of clouds over there above the sea. So wanted to share them with you.

Working from Sea Shore

2008-05-10T18:17:00.001-07:00

You would have heard employees/professionals saying

"Working from home........"
"Working from hotel........." etc etc

But interestingly I am working from sea shore these days. :)). Let me explain. The sea shore(Atlantic) is just ONE MILE from my house in Groton, Connecticut. Its not a beach, but just a small park kind of stuff where we can sit, spend sometime and relax.

And taking this as advantage, I am going there daily(almost) evening and spending sometime. Why to waste time?, am also completing my office work. Ha ha ha...

Wanted to share some photos of that location.

And finally I wanted to post the below photo to show how laptops became so simple things these days. Now I have 3 laptops, (from left to right) one is my personal, second is from my company and last one is from my client. :)). I want to rent one. Anybody interested????....:)

Tagged...30 Questions...

2008-05-03T12:04:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Sandhya for this 30 Q(Infact 30 is a big number..:))blog. Anyways Here I go..

1) LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE?
The Forbidden Kingdom
2) WHAT BOOK ARE U READING??
Web Content Management
3) FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?
Chess
4) FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?
Computers Today( I used to follow this once upon a time )
5) FAVOURITE SMELLS?
Any sweet, Sambar and Paint
6)FAVOURITE SOUNDS?
Suprabatham music in Tirumala
7) WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
No as of now. But might come when I see a person in future.
8) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?
My favourite god Sri Venkateswara
9) FAVOURITE FASTFOOD PLACE?
Dadu's(You get the BEST Jilebi in Hyderabad)
10) FUTURE CHILDS NAME?
Answer in future only
11) FINISH THIS STATEMENT---'IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I'D'
Just get into film industry and help others If I can
12) DO U DRIVE FAST?
I am consistent
13)DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
No
14)STORMS--COOL OR SCARY?
Scary
15)WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
Honda Civic
16) FAVOURITE DRINK?
Chocolate Milk Shake and Pepsi
17)FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD...
Have fufilled some desires
18)DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
Yes
19)IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
I am fine as of now
20)NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?
In order from childhood
Dupadu, Kurichedu, Nandyal, Nandikotkur, Kurnool, Vijayawada, Rajampet, Hyderabad, Jersey City(New Jersey), Durham(North Carolina) and Groton(Connecticut)
21) FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Cricket and Tennis
22)ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Simple and Straight forward. No complications.
23)WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?
Carpet
24)WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??
Yes. No regrets.
25)MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Flexible in any situation
26)OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
Mixed
27) FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX?
Temple
28)FAVOURITE PIE?
Anything with Chocolate
29)FAVOURITE ICECREAM FLAVOUR?
Chocolate
30)OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
mflowerr( just a guess )

I would like to tag...
Vandita
mflowerr
Mel
Kalpana

10 reasons why I blog

2008-04-17T21:39:00.001-07:00

I am honoured to be tagged by Mel to specify the 10 reasons why I blog. Below would be my points.

1. I love to share my thoughts with the outside world and assess myself properly

2. I would like to make good friends

3. I will get a chance to meet people from various countries, religions and languages which gives me a chance to know their cultures

4. To increase my writing skills so that I can improve in my profession as well

5. To avoid feeling that I am alone

6. To meet people with same attitude/thoughts like me

7. Great time pass and nice habit

8. To know more and more information in the various aspects of life/world which I might have not known

9. To forget all the pains by releasing frustration infront of all blogger friends...:-P

10. Last but not least, to find a nice girl as my life partner. I am a telugu brahmin, you can let me know If you have any contacts...ha ha. Who knows what happens......:))

Now I am tagging you all to do this tag and enumerate your ten reasons for blogging. After doing this, please copy the tag after this paragraph and add your name on the list of those who have done this like below

1. Mel Avila Alarilla 2. Jaggu

New Year - Powered By Intellect & Driven By Values

2008-04-08T17:15:00.001-07:00

Any guesses for the title I put for this post????????????

Anyways, April 7th, 2008 was Telugu New Year called as UGADI ( Starting of an era ) which is a very auspicious day for us(Andhrites). The same day was new year in Karnataka ( called as YUGADI ) and Maharastra ( called as GUDI PADWA ). Ugadi is in my most favourite festivals list and I consider it as a very good and important day. And the name of this year is called as "SARVADHARI". This year calendar reckons dates based on Salivahana ( a legendary king ) era.

The first day of the year begins with ritual showers, prayers and then eating of specific mixture of Neem buds, Raw Mango, Tamarind juice, Green chilli, Jaggery and Salt. All these symbolizes that life is mixture of different experiences(sadness, happiness, anger, fear, disgust, surprise), which should be accepted together.

So this completes the first portion of the post title ( New Year ).

Coming to the second portion(Powered by Intellect & Driven by values), this is the caption for one of the Indian software companies, INFOSYS. Well hoping that you guessed it right by now, I have joined Infosys on the same new year day, April 7th. This was a co-incidence and I am happy for that. I just wanted to share this news with all of my blogger friends. I would be soon starting the work.

You all have a good one.

Frustration.....

2008-04-01T15:55:00.001-07:00

Huh, no specific reason to write this. But really feeling frustrated today with all the pending things to be completed in all sections(personal and professional). People say that we need patience, but I crossed that limit somehow today and feeling a bit uncomfortable. I have nothing to explain you really, but just thought of posting something so that I can get some relief from stress.

Sometimes it gives good feeling to have blogger friends to share the stuff which I undergo. Anyway hopefully things will settle peacefully.

Have a good day......

Movie Updates...

2008-03-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

15 Park Avenue:
Language : English

One of the nice movies I saw recently. Basically, this is a very intellectual movie directed by one of the prolific indian directors, Aparna Sen. She is a famous bengali director who basically directs art/parallel cinema. No doubt this movie is a master piece for those who can actually like art movies. The film deals with a girl who is a schizophrenic and her relations with her elder stepsister.

The movie revolves around few characters like Konkana Sen Sharma( girl with the disease ) and Shabana Azmi ( Konkana's step sister ). It basically deals with the illusions of the people with that disease and influence of the same with the family members/relatives. The movie starts with a point where the ill girl searching for her home 15 park avenue in Kolkata which doesn't exist. From there starts entering each character into the story which makes it deep and strong.

What makes this movie amazing is the climax. I was shocked to see the end where there wont be any answer for the question. Its basically left to our imagination/illusion to conclude the story. People with different mentalities conclude the story in their own way which is superb.

Thanmathra:
Language : Malayalam

Another masterpiece from Mohanlal(popular malayalam artist). This is more similar to the above movie, but deals with another type of disease called Alzheimer. The difference is that Thanmathra is more of natural and realistic. Meaning, it deals with very common person undergoing it and his family suffering due to that. Once again an extra ordinary acting my mohanlal after Vanaprastham. The screenplay is amazing.

I am watching all the national award winning movies these days irrespective of language..:). Actually I am also interested to develop nice stories like these. But need a producer to make these stories into movies...ha ha ha..

Anyways, I strongly recommend you guys to watch these movies If you have patience and interest in artistic movies.

RACE:
Language : Hindi

On the other side of the coin, a must watch action packed entertainer. The star cast is cool and interesting to see on the screen. Keeping apart the flaws in the movie(after all a commercial movie is to enjoy), this is a suspense thriller. I dont want to reveal any secret here as I want you to see on the screen. Foot tapping disco/rock type music is a plus point. Saif ali khan looked more mature in his acting. And the main reason for me to watch this movie is director duo Abbas-Mustan who are specialists in making such action movies. BTW, this is a nice weekend movie.

This is all for this blog...keep visiting for more blogs/updates....

My Journey in US - Part 3

2008-03-17T08:48:00.000-07:00

Friends, I am back after a short ( infact long ) break. Cant really think of any topic to write after resuming. So as always want to continue to write my next part in US journey. Below are the links for my old journey posts...

http://ootb-jaggu.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-journey-to-us-in-us-part-2.html

http://ootb-jaggu.blogspot.com/2007/11/my-journey-to-us-in-us-part-1_29.html

As you know after my New York project, I immediately got my next assignment at Fidelity Investments, North Carolina. But they asked me to join at their Boston office for initial training. So this made me to travel between Boston and Durham ( North Carolina ) for sometime which was fun. Its always fun If the company pays for all the expenses ..:)). But learnt a lot in these trips about travelling which may be very useful in future. Luckily I had a chance to visit Boston city and few other near by good places.

And finally settled for 6 months in North Carolina ( till date ). Nice place and nice weather. You really feel like you are in India. No snow, no tornados, no heavy rains which makes our lives a bit easier. And this is one of the best places in US to settle down. With this assignment, I have covered most of the places in east coast...:). Ofcourse apart from roaming, I will work seriously also..ha ha...work life balance...:))

And I am done with this assignment also and will soon give you the news about my next venture. It wont be boring anymore like these...:) Life is all about moving forward...what do you say?

Below are the few pictures which covers Boston and North Carolina....

Smoky mountains in North Carolina

North Caolina Roads

MIT campus in Boston

Harvard Campus in Boston

Short Break.....

2008-02-22T18:57:00.000-08:00

Friends, due to some personal reasons I am taking a short break from blogging. Will catch you all soon.

Till then, have a great time...

Anniversary/Valentines Day....

2008-02-13T19:02:00.000-08:00

Yes. By today I have completed ONE YEAR in US. The same day ( Feb 13th )last year I landed in Chicago with a broken heart in all ways at 1:10 PM. The next day was Valentines day in a new country, new place and new thoughts. Interesting right.....Still I cant forget all those emotional moments in Hyderabad ( India ) airport. With a warm send off by Parents, Sister, relatives and friends, came all the way here to achieve some things.

But thinking in positive side of the coin, learnt so many things, made very good friends. Even though somewhere at the bottom of my heart, all the thoughts & pains of the past will reiterate often. But life has to go on by crossing all the hurdles to make our beloved people happy.

I can say I have changed a lot after spending one year here both professionally and personally. But believe me, its always tough to forget some painful things in the past . Its always good to keep ourself as busy as possible to overcome them. I wish I will get enough support from all of you virtually...:)

Happy Valentines Day.....

To divert you from all these emotional stuff, I am happy to share few pictures of Hyderabad International Airport in which there was a successful trial run happened yesterday. Its going to start its regular operations from March 15th. Me, waiting to land in new airport whenever I plan to go India for sometime.

Below is the demo video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FofX5KgLGwk

Photography Time...

2008-02-02T13:26:00.000-08:00

Hi, wanted to share some photos from me....

Tag for Tag

2008-01-30T11:26:00.000-08:00

Tagged by Ceedy for this chained stuff

Instructions:Remove 1 question from below, and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag 8 people in your list, list them out at the end of this post. Notify them in their chat box that he/she has been tagged.

1) Who are the most & most important persons you like to meet in your life? ( my question )
Sachin Tendulkar, Chiranjeevi, Pierce Brosnan, Ilayaraja

2) Name Three Most Valuable Assets?
Emotional - Family, Friends and Self Respect
Unemotional - Money, Pride and Status

3) If you have the chance, what would you probably say to your beloved one?
Will ask her to realize regarding her mistakes in the past

4) If you were to be stranded on a deserted island, who are the 3 blog buddies you would take with you?
Will go alone I guess ( with a laptop )

5) Where is the place that you want to go the most?
Lord Venkateshwara Temple

6) If you can have 1 dream to come true, what would it be?
Singing for Chiranjeevi along with SP Balasubramanyam under Ilayaraja's music direction

7) Till now, what is the moment that you regret the most?
For liking a girl whom I should not have liked

8) What are you afraid to lose the most?
My Attitude

9) What would you do if you found a briefcase full of money?
Great Question.
Assuming the money is in dollars
Will write a story and produce a movie with Chiranjeevi and spend some in that profit for good things.

10) If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?
I wont love anybody

11) List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you.
As I (hope)have clear picture about Ceedy, below are the points
Good sense of humor
Intelligent( Generally & in the way of Gujju also )
Unemotional ( most of the time )

12) What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
Act accordingly

13) Which type of person do you hate the most?
People who give free advices with out following them first

14) What is your ambition?
To get into film industry and become a good playback singer

15) What is the thing that will make you think someone is a bad person?
Someone who always think about themselves ONLY

16) If you could do one thing different in life, what would it be?
I wish I could clear off my mother's all health problems

17) Something which made u laugh today
Answering all these questions

18) How do you deal with a friend who has wronged you ?
I will write/talk to him clearly in a very matured way asking abt my mistakes / his observations and clarify him. Recently did this with one of my friends and it worked. He never questions me at all and realized that he should not have done it

19) How important is love for you to get physically intimate with a person ?
Basically love is not at all important

20) Name one favorite song of yours
Sooooooooo many....
Most favourite is below...
"Cheppalani Undi" song from movie Rudraveena ( Telugu )
http://www.raaga.com/channels/telugu/movie/A0000147.html

Am passing this tag to another 5 people ( tough to send to 8 people ).
Hoping that they dint execute this tag...

Ashwini, Madhavi, Divya, Compassion UnLimited, aarthi

The Ski Day....

2008-01-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

Last weekend gave me a new and exciting experience of Sking in the snow mountains. It was fun to see and try to ski for the first time. I went to Appalachian Ski Mountain which is located in North Carolina. The drive was perfect with the snow along the road completely.

Weather that day was too good for a beginner like me...:-P. I could not ski much, but was able to learn the basics and did ski for sometime. Fell down almost all the times.....:)), but forgot all the pains in that excitement.

Good to see the kids sking like experts from great slopes. Guess anything is possible with determination and practise.

Am pasting few photos of the event for you to have a look....

My Journey to US / in US - Part 2

2008-01-13T16:10:00.000-08:00

I am back here again after getting attacked by my friend ( Bad Cold ).

Let me continue this blog as I told you.

Below is the link to the part 1 of my journey -

http://ootb-jaggu.blogspot.com/2007/11/my-journey-to-us-in-us-part-1_29.html

Coming to the second part...

After enjoying a month and half stay with the friends over there in Chicago, finally I have got my first project in New York City. I was literally scared when I heard this from my employer. By then I heard that NY is very very densed and full of crime in downtown and all other stories. One time I was about to leave that offer and try for another. Since I dint take that decision, I was lucky enough to work in the city and get the required US knowledge fastly.

In my past also, there was one same situation for me. I had to join a college in Hyderabad city after my 10th class. I was almost a kid then as you can imagine. But because I had to join there, I came to city and learnt all the things which helped me a lot in my life. Somthings like this will make us better and better I guess. Coming to the present, I did so much research on NY city before arriving. I stayed in a hotel near to city and captured all the required ( transportation and etc ) information.

Statue of Liberty, New Jersey

Finally I could manage to get an accomodation in Jersey City, NJ. I started learning things like taking bus & train tickets, walking on NY streets. I never forget those 4 months working in 42nd street for Pfizer. Still I cant forget that midnight where I travelled from NJ to NY alone in train. I was scared almost to hell. :))It was fun. After a week or so, I transformed a lot and became too confident. Recently I went with my group of friends to guide them in the city...ha ha...:-P.

The Famous Logo

I covered most of the parts in NJ and NY city while I was working there. Also got good roomies over there.

The house where I stayed....

To be continued with next part.........

Happy New Year..

2007-12-30T14:08:00.000-08:00

Friends, Wish you a happy & prosperous new year. God bless you and your families.

Here is a nice song for you...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf9cT2Y7RCw&feature=related

Happy Christmas.....

2007-12-25T16:37:00.000-08:00

Probably this might be a belated wish for all of you, as I went to New York city to see the pre-celebrations there. It was fun to watch the city with all the amazing decorations and lights. More than that, met few good friends. After long tiresome journey & drive, I got sometime today to write something about the trip. You might be thinking that I am a travelling freak. Yes, I love to travel and explore the things as fast as possible.

I have covered NY city, Atlantic City ( Hub for casinos ) this time ( which I already visited...ha ha ). But felt good to move around with friends after long time. Finally, End of the day, its only the loneliness which becomes a friend to us. After an excellent 4 day trip, I am all alone again writing this blog in my room. Sometimes its tough to be alone. Anyways, everything is part of life which should keep moving.....

Below are few pictures from the places...

Merry Christmas ( belated) wishes to all of you...

SORRY......

2007-12-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

Finally, I woke up after few days( was not sleeping actually). I was busy in office work and other stuff, so could not write. Let me ask you a quick question. How many saw the movie?( check my previous blog..http://ootb-jaggu.blogspot.com/2007/12/vanaprastham.html ). No one right???...ha ha...anyways lets proceed...

Note: Substitute the word "WORD" in below text with the title of this blog.

Here I want to write a quick blog which revolves around an interesting word which is the title of this blog. I am using this word ( even typing that word ) after almost an year. I had very bitter experience using this word and screwing up myself completely for 6 months of my precious time. From then, I stopped using this in any any case. Once you say this to somebody thats it, you are done and you are surrendered to them. People feel like saying this word is something like cleaning up their mistake, all crap. Its just surrendering/killing yourself.

My thumb rule is, dont do mistakes. After all we are humans, will do mistakes. In case, just forget about that. But be careful next time. This might sound crazy, but its true. Even if use the word 1000 times, no use at all. Because people are so intelligent to memorize only bad things which happened to them by us more that good. What do you say?

I guess there will be an interesting discussion on this as a reply to this blog. Are you also remembering any situations in your past?...yes yes...i know...you are. Then go for it...this is the place where you can come out with all your frustrations....(not on me ofcourse...:)) )

Finally, thanks Ceedy for giving my name in Chinese..

Vanaprastham

2007-12-02T15:21:00.000-08:00

VANAPRASTHAM is a malayalam(one of the Indian Languages) movie which I saw ( my first malayalam movie ever seen ) online. I heard a lot about this movie in 1999 - 2000 regarding the national level awards in India. I was ignorant that time, dint even think of knowing about the movie. But after 8 years, one day ( Nov 30th, 2007 ) after discussing about Kerala films with one of my colleague ( from Kerala ), got to see this movie online.

It was good to get the movie with subtitles. And no doubt the movie is a masterpiece. I know that the Malayalam movies are of completely natural and art kind of movies. And thats one of the reason I dint take a step to watch any of them. But believe me, now I could know how natural and artistic they are really.

You can actually get the description of this movie by clicking on name above. The entire movie is very very slow and totally based on expressions. It resembles unbelievable emotions(facts) and situations in life. This will be a treat for those type of movie lovers who would love to watch artistic movies. Mohanlal deserves the national award without any doubt. As the website specifies, its tough to find fault in his action. Stunning performance. The degree of detailed expressions is too too deep and painful.

I am happy to see the movie and appreciate it at the same time.
Movie is available at VideoDuniya for people who are interested to watch.

My Journey to US / in US - Part 1

2007-11-29T17:05:00.000-08:00

Friends...with an advice from one of my friends, I am planning to start this blog in parts. I want to just write down my journey to US and in US. Hope you find this interesting coz I have visited various cities.

Hyderabad Airport

It was Feb 13th, 2007, a day before valentines day. I ( infact we were three friends came together )was in Hyderabad(India) airport to catch flight to Chicago at 1:30 AM. Lots of luggage, second time travel in flight and baggage check in problems...finally got into the flight by completing all the formalities successfully. It was Lufthansa and a decent flight ( for the first time comers )..-P.

The flight was having transit ( break ) at Frankfurt, Germany. We were a bit excited to see a new country within next 9 hours. Enjoyed the flight journey with different people and different things. Finally the time has come where we had to get down at Frankfurt. Oops...what a climate?..i think almost 3 degrees ( centigrade ). The three hours of break went just like 3 minutes as we had to undergo security check there as well. Struggled a lot to do a phone call to India from there and finally could not do as it was tough for us to understand the calling procedure....:).

We were too excited from the next flight as we were about to reach Chicago ( one of the biggest cities and airports in US, ofcourse in the world ). We made a call from a phone in the flight using my ICICI credit card, before getting to know that the bill would be too much if we do a call from flight. Funniest thing is, I dint get this credit card bill....ha ha ha....

Chicago snow fall in winter

Finally we got an annoucement that we would be reaching Chicago in next 30 minutes. But the flight landed almost after 70 minutes. This was due to much snow on runway and flight traffic. It was an amazing experience for me to see the flight landing in between snow. The temparature was -15 C, yes it was -15C which we even never imagine in India. And the other thing is, it was not simply Chicago airport. It was almost as big as Hyderabad City....:). Wow....landing / take off frequency ONE MINUTE. Can you believe it?..yes its true....

Chicago Downtown

Later we were taken to a guest house in a wonderful suburb(Naperville) near Chicago downtown. There was nothing outside except snow. We got habituated in a few days to snow and US basic lifestyle. We enjoyed a lot for 1 month with 5 people as total. Everything was new including cooking...ha ha...

Chicago Downtown

Sears Tower in Chicago City

In between we got a chance to visit downtown Chicago. Wow...Amazing...Excellent....Awesome..these are the few words which we used when we stepped into the city ( it was the best because i dint visit New York by that time ). We visited SEARS tower, one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world and spent sometime to feel the night view of the city. Wonderful experience as the things were new...

Enough of boring right...anyways thought of sharing this stuff....

To be Continued......

My 8 Habits/Facts in life.........

2007-11-27T18:43:00.000-08:00

Divya honoured me to write this blog.....

The rules for this blog are as follows:
1. When tagged you must link to the person who tagged you.
2.Then post the rules before your list, and list eight random facts/habits about yourself.
3. At the end of the post, you must tag and link to eight other bloggers.

Here I go...

By the way below are real.......:)

1. Strongly believe GOD. Yes, I only believe in god, dont depend on god. I will put whatever effort I can and be calm.

2. Love and Started following James Bond. Taking James Bond as an ideal to be unemotional, infact less emotional and execute the asigned job in a perfect manner.

3. Love cooking. No option after coming to US. I almost became an expert after starting to cook here. Lets see who is that lucky girl...:))

4. Strongly hate LOVE. Ya, you read it correctly. Also hate people who disrespect parents for the sake of love in whatever be the case. But I maintain good friendship.

5. Die for music. You name and give the tune and lyrics of any song from any language. I will be always ready to learn and sing. Die hard fan of Ilayaraja music.

6. Hate Flowers. This also you read it correctly. Probably 1 out of 100 ( may be ) to have this habit I guess...am I right?

7. Punctual. Strictly follow this unless in the worse case scenarios.

8. Love CHIRU ( Telugu Super Star ). Hard core fan not only (blindly) for acting, but for self discipline, hard work and humbleness.

Although its tough, guess I have covered all my intentions in 8 lines. The next turn would be...

Chintan( Ceedy ), aarthi, anonme , madhavi, vandita and just a nice girl

Thanks Giving / Black Friday...

2007-11-23T22:40:00.000-08:00

First of all, I have updated my previous blog with some good photos of NY city. Check out those.

http://ootb-jaggu.blogspot.com/2007/11/those-4-months-near-new-york.html

Coming to my thanks giving day experience in US for the first time.......

I was lucky enough to be a part of traditional Thanks Giving Day party hosted by one of my american team mates. Invited me along with fellow team mate & family ( from Kerala, India), another team mate ( From Hyderabad, India ) and a Couple from Ireland.

It was a very good expereince to be a part of that party as there were people from different countries, different cultures and different attitudes. We discussed lot of topics like traffic, food, relations, marriages...what not..... Believe me...I knew so many interesting things from other countries as well.

I gave an idol of famous Indian God ( Lord Venkateswara ) as a gift to that family which made them feel happy.

I was the only vegetarian in the party. They made vegetarian dishes for me. After having good lunch, we went to a walking trail near by their house. Anyways, a day has to end somehow, so came back with good memories.

The next day was a bit funny. As you know, all US shops will have huge discount sales on the day next to thanks giving, which is popularly called as Black Friday. I went to Best Buy ( famous electronics shop ) in the morning 1 AM just to try for a laptop deal. Oh my god, the queue started the previous night at 9 PM itself for the dicsount products. But it was a good experience to see such crowd.

Finally belated Thanks Giving Day wishes for you all and hope you also had a good day.....

Those 4 months in NEW YORK...

2007-11-17T17:10:00.000-08:00

Times Square

This type of crazy vehicles are common in NY

Interesting view right...almost got neck pain..

UNO( United Nations Organization )

Some apartment complex....

US Court House

Imagine my trouble capturing this...:))

Empire State..

Very happy to write this blog about one of the beautiful cities in the world. The city that never sleeps. (May - Aug)-2007 was an unforgettable experience for me in my life working in city, that too in 42nd street. Believe me, I have enjoyed it as max as possible. Walking on the 42nd street, going by times square..wow..what a feeling and what an exercise for eyes to see people all around?..My office was just beside UNO in mid town. You know I got shocked when I knew that it was UNO, till then I was thinking it as a hotel...:)). The 4 months of life just flew away like 4 days with the city. Still missing the city a lot, but cant do. Circumstances made me to move from there to other location.

Walking in the streets of the city is enough to forget all the past bitter experiences. Too emotional right...:))...yes the city made a big impression on me. I will be ready ever to share my experiences of city with anbody. I might not like any other city in the world that this. New York is tooooooooooo gooooooooooooooood....................

Kamal Hassan..The Best....

2007-11-16T18:37:00.000-08:00

Friends...got about whom I am going to write?...yes i know you would have recognized. He is none other Kamal Hassan, I call him a movie genious. What an actor?...you take any movie...its different...its completely different that his previous. Am not a movie freak, but a hard follower of great songs, movies and actors. Eagerly waiting for Kamal's next movie..Dasavatharam where he would be playing 10 different characters. The one above is his getup as George Bush..:). It might sound crazy, but i think no one can come closer to him in acting films. Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali...any language....Fights, Drama, Sentiment, Romance, Dance..any action...he tries to make them picture perfect. Thats why we call him Artist, not an actor.

http://www.indiafm.com/celebrities/filmography/8635/index.html

Above site gives interesting information about the various roles he played...

I will be in front to appreciate such great actors. It gives a great feeling when such actors highlight our country in this competetive world.

Yes...They are Great Smoky Mountains.....

2007-11-06T19:18:00.000-08:00

Believe me....this is perfect name for them.....GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS. You will say it is worth to give that name to those mountains when you actually see them. Anyways..lemme guide you to a virtual tour to them quickly. They are situated in the border of North Carolina and Tennesse in United States. Am lucky to get the idea of going there last weekend which was a perfect season to view the amazing fall colors. There is so much to do there, driving along Cades Cove road, Clingsman Dome, Blue Ridge Parkway.

Wow....What a scenic drive!!!!!!!!...unexplainable....Apart from all these, staying in Gatlingburg ( a small town in Tennesse ) was too good. What a street...All the lights and colors of the world were there in the street of that small town. Felt missing college friends and another good friend/ US drive mate in journey...chintan...:))

All this scenic driving of 750 miles would not have been possible with the rental car I got ( Nissan Altima ). Cannot stop appreciating it too. "Is this a car or a double bed?".. this was the first doubt I got when I started driving along the road.

Hope you will also visit these sometime and get all the fun..............