Nirvana

This note illustrates a revolutionary pricing theory for assets particularly derivatives which depend so much on random behaviour of underlying market variables.
This is revolutionary in a sense that it has almost zero correlation with market movements. This however is a copyrighted theory and usage of this to price derivatives and structured products will be charged on a case by case basis.

Following is the theory

Consider a derivative say, a swap. We start with a guess of its price, Say X. Now we introduce random variables to converge the price to its fair value. The fairness is achieved by a total non-biasedness of the sampled data. We use a trinomial tree approach to price these securities. We also segregate the direction (up, down and no movement) from the quantification of the movement.

To achieve non-biasedness, we use parrots to sample. One parrot is used to determine the direction of movement and other to quantify the volatility. To know direction one parrot is used to toss a coin (teaching the parrot to toss a coin is achieved using another theory. Please refer appendix). Depending upon the outcome of the toss. Our sample space contains the following outcomes. { head, tail, standing coin}. We define a random variable C as follows

head = +1
tail = -1
standing coin = 0

Another parrot is used to determine the quantity of movement say Q. Now choosing the quantity can be a discrete or a continous process. For a discrete one we use a dice or a card. dice has lower number of outcomes so its volatility is lower.

For a continous one we can use a circle where the parrot runs around the circumference and depending upon the point where it stops the distance is calulated as the difference between the initial and final point. This distance is the random variable. We can have a multiplier to the distance to find the quantity of movement. The parrot either picks a card, tosses a dice or runs on a circle. This gives the quantity.

The ultimate movement is determined as follows. The final movement is

C*Q.

Hence the final price is

X + C*Q.

This experiment is repeated till both the parrots faint. Then the average of the prices is taken and this is the correct and fair price.

The above method is a generalized one. Care should be taken to choose parrots of only those region from where the security originates. Parrots can be shown a video of the market or stock exchange if you want to achieve some correlation to the market.

Addendums to follow

XantoZ

Verbed-Nouns

2009-02-26T18:25:00.006+05:30

OBAMAed Jobs
BUSHed Iraq and Afganistan
CLINTONed Interns
PALINed Russia
MAOed liberties
RAJUed accounts and balance-sheets
BOYLEd (social) reality
GABBERed dialogues

(c) santosh & ameya

Shoeconomics

2009-02-03T15:32:00.020+05:30

"No shoes thrown at me during my speech!!" fumes Joamon, the president of Daakland. He rants "This is the third time. Do people not care about me? You have no idea what this is doing to my popularity ratings man! There are no games in the internet about me! This is not just bad for me but also our country's economy". These were the outbursts after the address to the mass of jobless and houseless people.
Daakland has been hit very hard by the recession and economy is in ruins. So much so that either people dont have shoes to throw at their president or they have only one pair left.
But the president doesnt want to remain behind in the world stage. First Bush, the leader of the developed nations and then Jiabao, the leader of the developing nations have had the honour of utmost appreciation from the public. Not so with Joamon though. He vividly remembers the meeting in the UN with other country heads. They all boasted of token public appreciations in their own countries. He didnt want his country to fall behind.
"Arrange a talk show. I want it to be rigged."
------
Daakland Talk Show

"What do you think about the incident?' Talk-show Host
"I think it goes on to show the pinnacle of freedom people have nowadays" President.

Jack the first shoe-thrower was jailed. He was released on bail. He got the highest paid job and a hot wife after that.

To audience member " What do you think of the guy who did that?"
" Man that is easy money" quips Joe, the mechanic "if only I had some cheap shoes.."
--------------------
"Ben, did you see the interview yesterday?" Dave, the head of Kike shoe company
"Are you thinking what I am thinking?"
Ben replies " A new market segment, a new need"
Dave "Something to boost our sagging sales, may be"
Ben "Spot on"

The new Kike "Hurler". Available in all sizes, infants to oldies. Its light-weight And its dirt cheap. "Kike Shoe Finance" also provides easy loans to buy your own hurler.
Dave smiles "Shoe sales up 80 percent".
----
"Sorry sir, we have no vacancy for the next three days. All the auditoriums are booked for some speech or other" Jill , the PR of MNA Event management
"Now all ministers want to give speeches, even in non-election times" Jill says to her colleague
Colleague "More work but at least the company is making good money, my job's safe"
------
"Why are you changing the posters? Its a shooting training company aint it " Barbara to her husband"
"Dont worry! Am just repainting the gun to a shoe. Enrollments are more if there is a shoe. Dont you know anything" Husband retorts back
------
"Sir, your chances are better if you have thrown a shoe at any speaker or chief guest. The more the status of the guest, the more the bargaining power." a Jobsearch firm
----
A few quarters later
Daakland News "The number of jobless have gone down. Public spending has increased and it includes not just shoes. Economy seems to show signs of improvement."
----
UN Secret Meet
"Ladies and Gentlemen. As promised to Jack the shoe-thrower, we are gathered here to reward him. Our plan has succeeded. What the numerous bailouts could not do, the shoe did. Certainly ingenious. " UN head

2 Gunshots. Both Bush and Wen with guns.
Jack's body on the floor.
"Now the world will never know the greatest conspiracy theory that saved the world. He he ha ha.." Entire UN laughing

Zamfir..The Pan Flutist

2009-02-01T11:32:00.032+05:30

Pan Flute Music..I had never really explored this genre. Was always into Rock. A recent episode in Southpark showed some of this music. The soothing tone of this ancient instrument got me hooked. Some research over the internet and I got this CD by one of the pan flute virtuosos, Mr Gheorghe Zamfir. Not very sure about its origin, but essentially gives a strong Native American feel to it. Zamfir though is a Romanian. One listen to it and my restless mind and soul calms down. The music has a strong solitary vibe to it and interestingly it is not usually played along with other instruments. I put the CD on, lied down and closed my eyes. The disturbances around me died down. I got transported to this lone hill away from the population, the sun was setting down and my horse was tied to the tree beside me. My back rested on the trunk and I put my cowboy hat over my eyes. My silhouette against the dark red sun setting behind the hills was postcard perfect. I so longed the blissful solitude. The music caressed my ears smoothly like a cool breeze on my face, like a soft kiss of a maiden on my lips. I absorb the moment. I tried to grab it. It seemed it was fleeting away, for Sunday was fast ending and Monday was doubly fast approaching. I desperately tried to hold on to it, like the water in my fist. It left me but not before it had cooled my tired hands. The CD had finished. When I finally opened my eyes, the hill was gone, the horse was gone, the sun was gone and my tiredness, my restlessness was gone too. The sweetness remained, the bliss remained and so did the lingering not-so-vivid pictures. Thank you Zamfir

Unforgettable tracks
(1) The Lonely Shepherd
(2) Solitude
(3) Stranger on Shore
(4) Summer of Love
(5) Serenade

Greyer Shades of "RAM RAM SA"

2009-01-30T16:00:00.023+05:30

"RAM RAM SA"
Choki Dhani is where you will get to know the purport of this phrase. A rajasthani gastronomic, folk and cultural export which is bound to enthrall a first time visitor. Legend has it that it was formed by a group of private cooks and entertainers of the king of Jaipur which incidentally also has the first Choki Dhani. Kidding!!..Some marwari may have started it definetely. Dont bother over it much.
So anyways a fine thursday when we did not have much work we planned to Choke ourselves with food and hence we planned on Choki Dhani. It has the indian style buffet where you are served till you pass out. 'Ram Ram sa' is what you are greeted with when you enter the Dhani or literally a village in rajasthani. You are applied a tilak and showered with flowers for you are about to battle it out inside with the awesome food and service. Spread over an area of about 4-5 acres in a traditional village setting viz. huts, machans, choupals, some cattle too, it does reminise you of an unseen rajasthani village. Its a traditional fair/mela kind of atmosphere replete with your regular Jadugars, karputlis, kalbeliyas, shooting arcades, mehndi etc. 'Ram Ram Sa' is what revebrates the air there. Whereever you go, you are greeted most politely and offered whatever they have on table. We started with some magic tricks by a very eloquent and proud jadugar.
Jadugar(excitedly): Ram Ram Sa!!. (meaning..welcome)
Us: Ram Ram Sa. Koi jaadu dikhao
Jadugar: Jaroor sahab
He claimed he had entertained some big shots. Really liked his dexterity. Some ten minutes of magic from things appearing and disappearing into thin air to some hardcore(??) stuff of coins raining from inside your undies. Guess, we really could use that kind of magic in these recessionary times. Finally
Jadugar(with shrunk eyes): Ram Ram Sa (meaning ...magic over)
Us: Ram Ram Sa (meaning.. Ok bye bye)
Jadugar (expecting eyes): Ram Ram Sa (meaning..some tip please)
We forked out some cash. Well he deserved it definetely
Next we proceeded to see some Kalbeliya dance. For the uninitiated it is a rajasthani folk dance combined with some tough gymnastic tricks with occasional fireworks (spewing kerosene) thrown in. Traditionally performed by a particular caste called Kalbeliyas, similar acts are a staple among banjars too. There was an entire family of three generations there with their setups and getups.
Entire family(almost shouting): Ram Ram Sa (meaning..please come)
Us(Obliged): Ram Ram Sa (meaning...sure! why not)
Artist: Sahab nach dekhiye
The Beautiful village girls dressed in colourful lehnga-cholis with miles high pots on their head, gyrated to dholaks and tamburaisque music. They did it all. Thumkas, danced on a tumbler, on broken glass pieces, on knives, picked a hundred rupee note using only their eyelids while bending over backwards. Really a music and colour riot. A treat to eyes.
Artists (panting): Ram Ram Sa. (meaning...show over)
Us (totally awed): Ram Ram Sa (meaning..No doubt India sucks in Olympics, All the talent is here rotting in Choki Dhani)
We tipped generously to the performers.
Artists: Ram Ram Sa. Ram Ram Sa (meaning..thank you thank you)
Next on our itinerary was a puppet show. Katputliyon ka khel. Some colorful bad ass dolls they were. A young boy was playing the dholak. He was soon joined by a singer.
Boy (gesturing): Ram Ram Sa (meaning ...please sit on the cot)
Us: Yeh bhi dekh lete hain
Neatly arranged dolls. One by one they were made to dance accompanied by catcalls.
However the show was kind of sullied by some foulmouthed patrons (women of kitty party variety) who kept criticizing the puppeteers.
Singer(to the women): Ram Ram Sa (meaning ...please excuse us).We kind of left it midway.
A mewar section was there too where on a raised platform a couple was playing some folky music. We arrived there and were greeted by the most unexpected host. Their 3-4 year old kids
Kids (in Unison): Ram Ram Sa
They pulled us to the porch and exhorted us to dance. Man that was the cutest persuasion I have ever seen in my life. Could not deny those little angels and we all started to shake our legs. I have to say it was the highlight of our visit. Also had a few bajra and makki ki rotis full of makhan. We proceeded to the snacks corner. Helped ourselves with some sumptuous kachoris and chat. Next one colleague wished to know his future and engaged a fortune-teller while I enjoyed a headmassage. After somemore hobnobbing, we decided to call upon the dining hall.
One big thali, five bowls and five or six attendants. Need one ask for more.
Attendants: Ram Ram Sa (meaning..get ready for dinner of your lifetime)
Us: Ram Ram Sa (meaning..how do you tackle all these fellows)
Item after item followed. Starting from Churan, dal baati, curry, dal sabzi, assorted breads to jalebi and chaaz. Delicious fare..only too much at one sitting With pagdi on our heads like a sword we had no other option but to push food down our throat. Somehow we managed to get ourselves up
Attendants: Ram Ram Sa, Ram Ram Sa, Ram Ram Sa (meaning...Tip, Tip, Tip and more Tip)
Us: Ram Ram Sa, Ram Ram Sa (meaning..how will we go home ..ab to Ram Bharose)
After a few minutes of rest,a paan and a big belly we all bade adieu to choki Dhani..
In retrospect it was a great evening, a chance to feel like royalty in a city where you keep getting pushed around all the time, a chance to know your culture and above all a chance to understand that words dont have a single meaning, they are not either black or white, they are not binary, they depend on the speaker, their expectations and their frustrations, their dreams and their failures, their pride and their humility, their treachery and their honesty, the myriad of human feelings and emotions which is behind every word and we hopelessly expect to find the right shade in this limitless canvas by an evening visit, a few tips and a blog.
Till then
Ram Ram Sa (dont know the meaning.........)

PS: Some Facts for Choki Dhani Mumbai
Reach: Kalyan station (w). Auto to Choki dhani at Bhiwandi bypass road
Cost: Rs 400/- per adult
Phone: +912522647074

Murud Janjira (24-26 Jan 2009)

2009-01-29T02:13:00.003+05:30

Murud

Mahuli (June 2008)

2009-01-27T12:48:00.006+05:30

Mahuli

My third trip to Mahuli. Friends come and go but the place still remains my favourite getaway during rainy days. All the three times I had different company, but the route was the same, the stream was the same, the temple was the same and peak was the same too. I had been bugging my busy (I am sure they pretend) friends for quite sometime now. Finally they agreed. A little bit of shopping for booze and snacks the Saturday evening at DMart made sure our lungs will keep firing for the trek the next day. Early morning we boarded the local to Asangaon from Mulund. A quick but expensive autorickshaw ride brought us to the base camp( pardon my exaggerations but this is my Mt Everest). An half hour climb and all of us were panting our ass out. Man I have grown old. Regular smoke breaks werent helping our stamina either but old habits for old people die hard. Nevermind, slowly and steadily we did reach the summit (took us about 4-5 hrs). There were some scary moments/slips but we lived to tell the tale. So what some ten groups overtook us and three of them even returned before we reached up there, but our spirits(pun intended) were high and we were high too. The summit was worth it. We picked a distant rock and parked ourselves there. Finished our booze and gave rest to our lungs. We explored and admired the fort the marathas had built up there. Man how did they do it. No wonder the enemies never cared to take it. We returned by evening. It rained on the way down and I did not like my ass get wet. There was a sense of accomplishment that we were still fit for the adventure, however the reality dawned the next morning when I woke up with a tremendous all body ache. May be I should do it more often to get used to it or completely stop..Nahh... will go again..may be with a different set of friends..
Adios

Life crisis

2007-10-03T17:27:00.000+05:30

Nowadays, I am increasingly facing THE question in life which everybody claims to
have grappled with. There is increasing disinterest in work. I am totally confused
with what do I want to do with my life. I had read Paulo Cohello's "The Alchemist"
long back and wondered why am I not facing the internal urge that Santiago faced.
He seemed so clear of what he wanted to do with his life and I envy him. I have no idea where I want to go. Do I want to just be a rudderless boat drifting along with the world ? I certainly dont think so. Everybody and most of all I myself am getting impatient with my lack of direction. I am resisting making a stable set of decisions fearing that I will be stuck with it. I know for sure that I dont want to be in the sector I am currently in. It doesnt excite me at all. I tried to get interested in other conventional areas like finance( at one point in life not much far away I thought that finance is my only hope) but sadly that is not the case.
The extent to which I have known myself, I can jot down just two areas where I take active interest
(1) Space
(2) Music
These are the two areas to which I find an internal pull. But throughout my life, I never did anything towards this area. Primarily because there never was any promise in this fields. I followed the herd and though it seems that I have done quite well in conventional sense, I myself dont feel that I have done anything worthwhile. There is no satisfaction. Time and again, I read about how people left their regular well-paying job and started on their own pursuing their dreams, doing what they really liked, but i never could gather enough courage to do that. The financial safety is the biggest reason, coupled with family responsibility. Will I ever be able to manage both, family responsibility as well as my dreams. I have serious doubts over it.
I think I need to sit down alone and do some soul-searching, spending time to know myself. There is just so much going on everywhere in my life I am not able to think or rather I am avoiding to think..god knows...
One thing is for sure...I will be dead if I dont enjoy what I do
Till then
adios

Iron Maiden : Zurich Hallenstadion 5th December

2006-12-07T17:39:00.000+05:30

Iron Maiden (Zurich)

Eurotrip 2006 : Zurich 5 - 6 December

2006-12-07T17:35:00.000+05:30

Zurich

Como Again : 3rd December

2006-12-07T17:33:00.000+05:30

Como Again

Alps Dolomiti 23 - 25 November

2006-11-30T17:17:00.000+05:30

Alps Adventure

Party @ Maulik Place 13th November

2006-11-15T14:56:00.000+05:30

Party@Maulik`s Place

Eurotrip 2006 : Vatican City 12th November

2006-11-13T20:53:00.000+05:30

Vatican

Eurotrip 2006 : Rome 11th November

2006-11-13T20:51:00.000+05:30

Rome

Eurotrip 2006 : Naples 9th November

2006-11-13T20:49:00.000+05:30

Naples

Eurotrip 2006 : Monaco & Nice 28th October

2006-11-13T20:47:00.000+05:30

Monaco & Nice

Eurotrip 2006 : Vienna Oct 20 - Oct 21

2006-10-25T17:50:00.000+05:30

Vienna

Eurotrip 2006 : Como 15 Oct

2006-10-17T16:58:00.000+05:30

Como

Eurotrip 2006 : Paris 10th Oct - 13th Oct

2006-10-13T04:04:00.000+05:30

Paris

Eurotrip 2006 : Brussels 9th Oct

2006-10-13T04:03:00.000+05:30

Brussels

Eurotrip 2006 : KobenHaven 4th Oct - 6th Oct

2006-10-13T04:01:00.000+05:30

Copenhagen

Eurotrip 2006 : Amsterdam 1st Oct - 3rd Oct & 7th Oct - 8th Oct

2006-10-13T04:00:00.000+05:30

Amsterdam

Well...Everybody has his or her own notion of amsterdam...the sin city of sex and drugs, the city of liberation, the city which has always been in the forefront of thought revolution and absorbing new ideas. What I saw was how easily the life of sex and drugs blends with the normal life over there. how roaming the streets of red light district is as normal as taking a walk in any park with your children and kins. Well my journey to all these realizations started on 2nd of October (Monday). The day before I had been to Munich to attend the Oktoberfest. Earlier that week i had been impatient with my (lack of) travel plans. and made a marathon plan to go tripping for two weeks including tours of Amsterdam, Copenhagen, brussels and Paris. Had to leave Milan at night. The bus journey to the dutch city was painfully long but somehow survived. Interestingly the bus was almost vacant and i had all my space to stretch myself in all possible directions. Before that I had mailed Soumitra .my school friend who had to stay at this place. I reached Amsterdam in the evening. The traffic leading to Amsterdam from Rotterdam was hopeless. When i landed in Amstel station I headed straight to the info center ..who was quite helpful to find me my metro stop, but i decided to call Padhi up before going. After few unsuccessful attempts and a small help by a german guy I called soumitra and he instructed me to wait there. After a wait of about 20 mins he came and we headed to his home. A nice place well equipped with guitar and amps..i can never complain. Anyways we grabbed some munchies and headed off to see what Amsterdam is famous for. Located just in front of the Central Station with convoluted alleys we saw things never as blatant and well...open;)) Hundreds of tall windows with red lights and beautiful gals behind them soliciting customers. Some were so beautiful tat they could easily and very easily they can give top models a run for their money. Things are totally transparent there. If you want to fuck a girl simply go to her window and ask the price. Standard is 50 euros for a fuck and suck..with additional service very dependant on the request and the girl. Just the fact tat i can get a beautiful girl for 50 euros which i can never get by conventional means gave me a high. But then i decided against it.. We just saw most of the area .. girls and women from al races were visible there. Not just girls behind the windows..there were girls...well tourists outside as well . It was so strange seeing female tourists enjoying the sights of these prostitutes.. Dint seem that they felt offended. Well ...after talking to few of these gals we got bored and simply headed back to our house.. Reaching home we weere greeted by his room mates who had prepared nice indian food.. i was so delighted to have authentic indian food after so many days. Nice chappatis and sabzi and achaar and dahi ...simply hogged.We all slept off pretty early ..considering that all of them had jobs to go ..i just watched a bit of Tv played some guitar and dozed off ..Next day soumitra gave his cell to me before leaving office so that we remain connected. Anyways ...i made a stupid folly and switched if off to put my sim card.. dint know that the system out here requires u to key in the pin number before restarting.. All efforts to call him from outside went down the drain ..and after giving up fully I headed straight to the central station.. Most of the sights tin amsterdam are located near the Central...nearby the RLD. There were lots of coffee shops selling marijuana, hash and magic mushrooms. However i decided to postpone my experiment plans and saw the places around. They werent that impressive to be frank ..but then nobody comes to amsterdam to see monuments ..do they ?? ..By evening i was tired of seeing the same places..and i went back home after changing my euros to Danish kroner..i was supposed to leave for denmark the next morning ..(( Check the Copenhagen scribes )) I returned from Copenhagen on Saturday dawn..Was pretty tired even though i had slept all night.. Reached home simply lied down on the bed.. After a lazy lunch ..we all decided to go to a mall ...while on the way back i decided to call up some ppl in paris and brussels...i could find the cheap phones only near the RLD ..After calling i decided to try out some of the forbidden fruits of amsterdam...(dont run ur minds wild guys..i meant entertaintment drugs)..Was really enthu to try out magic mushrooms but then changed my mind and took home a big joint of marijuana instead..I was really all excited to get high..Now i had smoked pot before and it never was that strong as they sell in Amsterdam..I smoked the entire joint ..which was like 3 or 4 normal joint in about 10 mins.. Man i got high ....My head was totally doing rounds....it was like i was in a roadrash game...with colourful tracks and buildings passing by me.. God it was awesome...My senses got numb .but my perceptions of colours and sounds got enhanced like never before ..I could see colours and hear sounds which no one in room could hear.. I somehow managed to get up and went to my bed with great difficulty..I simply lied down on my bed...Cant explain the high that i was feeling...totally wasted ..no sense to do anything...it was like there were two identitities in my head...one the sensible one ..the other high one...the drug was twirling my brain and childhood memories started flashing before me..memories that had never come back...All was fine for about an hour ..but then things started to worsen..i started feeling thirsty...my tongue and my throat started drying up ..i was just gasping my friends name ...not enough energy left to call aloud ..somehow i managed to call him ..he brought water in a bottle ..by that time my feet was drying up ....like no blood flow ...and that feeling started climbing up my legs...things worsening more..i gulped the entire bottle and strted asking for more... he was refusing to give me more...but i kept asking... finally i stomach got full and when i thought that i am bursting ..i threw up in the toilet ... it was simply water ...i then again asked for water...i kept drinking like crazy ..he refused to give me ..so i begged to him that i wont drink any more and sent him back ...but i kept filling the bottle fromthe bathroom and kept on drinking and puking ..made a total mess of the toilet ...but the puking was not helping me ..the high in my head was still there ...and i was starting to get depresed that this thing..this chain will never end...the drug always multiplies the feeling that u get ...i got depressed even more... started feeling like this is the end of the world and tat i am not goign to see the sun again.,..i started remembering my family and friends before dying ..there was a constant struggle between the two entities in my head...one was trying to tell me that everuthign will be fine ..the other was trying to discourage me and that my time in this world is over...some how i gathered my will power and managed to stay calm ..i drank water and kept on pukiing to throw that crug outta my system..finally the better side triumphed ...and strted feeling well ...i went and slept...Next day i was sorry for my behaviour ..i apologised to every body ...dint go out and and dint smoke a single ciggarette...entire day i was reflecting on wat had happened the previous nite and on how i was stretching my life ..the precious gift that i have got ...on how i became selfish and dint realize that my life is not only important to me but for my parents my family and ppl who care about me.. So many ppls aspirations are tied to me ..i cannot be so careless ...The day just passed ..i had to go to brussels the other morning ...I slept early ..

Next morning I bade good bye to everybody ..they had been really considerate to me..

Eurotrip 2006 : Munich 30 Sept - 1st Oct

2006-10-13T03:59:00.000+05:30

Oktoberfest - Munich

In this trip, I enjoyed the most amazing party in europe. I had booked earlier for this Oktoberfest trip which was being organised by Bocconi student club called ESEG.We were six guys from India. All exchange students. The bus tripwas about to start at 11 pm at night but thanks to the highly (un)professional (mis)management of ESEG staff (comprising mostly of young guys desperate to get laid with the exchange gals), we commenced our trip one hour late. The bus was packed with young ppl shouting and unfortunately we got the worst seats coz we came late. However beginning our trip with some classic snaps by maulik, we waited for the fun that we had heard of. The entire trip was aweful with cramped seats and zero legspace. I dint think we would have any energy left to enjoy the next day. We reached the next day at about 9:30 am. The sight was amazing. Germans in ethinic Bavarian dresses were flocking to the Beer TENTS, singing and dancing. Enough to charge me up. We all started towards the big enclosed area which housed like 30-40 tents including all fun fair stuff. Women wore the long frocks and men were wearing leather breaches( the one you see clowns wearing). Was quite surprised to see the tents to be totally full this early, people were guzzling beer out of those monstrous jugs. Finally we managed to get into one big tent "Hippodrum". We made a backdoor entry otherwise we would not have been able to make it. Inside was great. Six of us took a table, the waitress came and stood for order. We checked the prices which were awefully inflated but what the heck we have to the biggest beer drinking party of the world and we were not going to be shooed away bythe prices. We ordered 5 mugs. After waiting quite a bit our order came. Man that was the tastiest beer i have ever tasted in my life. It was kinda sweet and refreshing. We smoked and drank when a merry group came along and asked for some seats besides us. We gladly obliged. It was so much fun. The german band on the highly elevated platform used to put their one foot up and bottom up the entire jug and then play incomprehensible german beer songs. But it was fun watching them. ppl dancing all around. The toilet was always packed since ppl were eating and drinking like crazy. We all guzzled upto some 10 jugs of beer and ate some exotic food (ox meat) which was tasty. FInally we headed out to see some of the fair. It was very crowded outside. Maulik, who is not used to much of drinking ..threw up on the road. After puking for 2-3 times he was fine. We went outside and lied down on the green grass laughing over the things during the day. Our bus departure was late night at 1. We roamed around, went again inside the tent got some food. Tired we all got into the bus and crashed. My head was achuing like crazy and more so coz I was leaving to Amsterdam the oher day and I had to get the camera as well as do all the packing and stuff. However I put all those headaches behind my actual headache and dozed off.

San Siro : Inter vs Bayern Champions league 2006

2006-10-13T03:58:00.002+05:30

San Siro

Eurotrip 2006 : Barcelona 21st Sept - 24th Sept

2006-10-13T03:57:00.000+05:30

Barcelona

This was my first trip in Eurolines and also my trip alone. Wouldnt lie but i was definetely scared as I was travelling alone to a new country, Spain. With all the language problems things werent quite hunky dory. My start was very bad. The day I was supposed to go I decided to take a printout of the eurolines timetable. So as I started to the univ in the afternoon to take the printouts. To my surprise i found out that there are no return buses from Barcelona for a month. Being totally confused, I headed back home with mixed feelings to cancel my trip. But then I decided to take the plunge and head for the adventure. Having already wasted much time thinking things over, I packed whatever i had and then rushed to the bus station. I just managed to reach on time. When I boarded the bus I got a seat beside quite a hot spanish girl who unfortunately dint know a word of english (As if I stood a chance if she knew it). Howver whatever little chance was there got snatched when she ditched the place beside me and went to sit across me beside a handsome spanish guy. While i was left nursing my wounds both of them romped the whole night. The only saving grace was that I got to see a live soft porn flick for free. Anyways after the bad night, I decided to put the rejection behind and move on. Was a bit worried about how would i be able to find my hostel. The bus landed in quite a big place and the first thing that i did was to find out the buses back to milan. Thankfully there was one available the next day. I immediately booked it and then went to a tourist information center to get info but it wasnt quite helpful. Fortunately i met this guy who knew english and helped me with tickets n all. Felt quite duped to find out that my hostel was quite far from the city center. After landing on the nearest station Vallvedrera, I found out that i have to trek some half a kilometer uphill to my hostel (Sleep well). Hostel was quite good with the exception of the stern receptionist. I put my stuff in my locker and headed out with a map to Barca. Needless to say, I found it quite impressive. The square outside the main station was teeming with tourists and it was beautiful too. Apparently a festival had just started and there were lotsa bands playing all around. After roaming about the station i headed off to the famous Ra Lamblas street. It was unquestionably the most lively street in europe. (nobody can beat India). With people posing with their faces painted to exotic eatouts to some nice shopping ..u will find them all ..The street led to the sea port which was kind of guarded by the tower of Coloumbus. Port looked quite busy. Not interested in ports i headed off to the famous topless beaches of barcelona. But weather had other plans for me. Was quite overcast with some intermittent showers and all that i could see were topless men. Dejected I returned to la ramblas and hanged around there and saw the cathedrals and other places nearby . Most of barcelona`s touristy places are around there. I went to Granja Viader which is a 125 years old dairy and had the most amazing hot choclate and cream of my life...simply amazing. During the evening, I saw the many bands playing around the station square. After dinner, I headed back to my hostel. While I was hanging out smoking ..i met this polish guy and a uruguyan gal. The girl had been to india and she loved it. We immediateòy hit it off and next we were smoking hash. The next day after a nice and free breakfast I headed off to Museo Picasso. I had always loved his paintings. Among the many monuments that i saw ..La Sagradia Familia was quite good. I returned back to my hostel around 3 pm. My bus back to Milan was at 5. I checked out of the hostel and headed to the bus station. Reached well ahead time. Next I was dozing off in the bus quite oblivious to the arabic couple and their wailing baby.

Eurotrip 2006 : Venice 17th Sept

2006-10-13T03:56:00.000+05:30

Venice

Eurotrip 2006 : Milan Sept - Dec 2006

2006-10-12T03:31:00.000+05:30

Milan

Photographionics

2006-09-06T19:32:00.000+05:30

Explosion in the Sky

Cannot help but remember the beautiful poem by Percy Byssche Shelly

The Cloud

I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers,
From the seas and the streams;
I bear light shade for the leaves when laid
In their noonday dreams.
From my wings are shaken the dews that waken
The sweet buds every one,
When rocked to rest on their mother's breast,
As she dances about the sun.
I wield the flail of the lashing hail,
And whiten the green plains under,
And then again I dissolve it in rain,
And laugh as I pass in thunder.

I sift the snow on the mountains below,
And their great pines groan aghast;
And all the night 'tis my pillow white,
While I sleep in the arms of the blast.
Sublime on the towers of my skiey bowers,
Lightning, my pilot, sits;
In a cavern under is fettered the thunder,
It struggles and howls at fits;

Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion,
This pilot is guiding me,
Lured by the love of the genii that move
In the depths of the purple sea;
Over the rills, and the crags, and the hills,
Over the lakes and the plains,
Wherever he dream, under mountain or stream,
The Spirit he loves remains;
And I all the while bask in Heaven's blue smile,
Whilst he is dissolving in rains.

The sanguine Sunrise, with his meteor eyes,
And his burning plumes outspread,
Leaps on the back of my sailing rack,
When the morning star shines dead;
As on the jag of a mountain crag,
Which an earthquake rocks and swings,
An eagle alit one moment may sit
In the light of its golden wings.
And when Sunset may breathe, from the lit sea beneath,
Its ardors of rest and of love,

And the crimson pall of eve may fall
From the depth of Heaven above,
With wings folded I rest, on mine aery nest,
As still as a brooding dove.
That orbed maiden with white fire laden,
Whom mortals call the Moon,
Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor,
By the midnight breezes strewn;
And wherever the beat of her unseen feet,
Which only the angels hear,
May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof,
The stars peep behind her and peer;
And I laugh to see them whirl and flee,
Like a swarm of golden bees,
When I widen the rent in my wind-built tent,
Till the calm rivers, lakes, and seas,
Like strips of the sky fallen through me on high,
Are each paved with the moon and these.

I bind the Sun's throne with a burning zone,
And the Moon's with a girdle of pearl;
The volcanoes are dim, and the stars reel and swim
When the whirlwinds my banner unfurl.
From cape to cape, with a bridge-like shape,
Over a torrent sea,
Sunbeam-proof, I hang like a roof,--
The mountains its columns be.
The triumphal arch through which I march
With hurricane, fire, and snow,
When the Powers of the air are chained to my chair,
Is the million-colored bow;
The sphere-fire above its soft colors wove,
While the moist Earth was laughing below.

I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.
For after the rain when with never a stain
The pavilion of Heaven is bare,
And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams
Build up the blue dome of air,
I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,
And out of the caverns of rain,
Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,
I arise and unbuild it again.

My best friends engagement

2006-06-08T10:56:00.000+05:30

Rintu's engagement was a wonderful affair. My very first experience of cross cultural, cross lingual, cross regional, cross state ceremony but it could not have been better in terms of good will, happiness, mirth and aboveall wonderful management.

Memory Flashback
6th June
Me came from office and started watching Omen 1. The train to erode was at 11 pm. Vijay came at 8 with entire new suite of luggage bags and apparels and flashed it before me. I was not that impressed with his heroics and continued with the movie. He started clamouring to leave early. I agreed on a condition that we will have beer on the way. We started on his bike, bought 2 cans on the way and parked his bike in NAL. Unable to resist the fact that a chilled beer can is nearby I pulled open the bag and guzzeled the entire can on the road itself. While looking for a bus to majestic, we luckily got a maruti van. Vijay drank his fill on the flyover all the while pretending to turn a seemingly obvious behaviour into a clandestine affair. He failed miserably. People
took notice of both the can and the smell but didnt bother. We went to the station, only to find the train is late. We waited miserably for it with Vijay semiconsiously resting his head on the bag. Finally the train came. We got in and simply crashed with no recollections of happenings during the night.

7th June.
Woke up sleepily around 5:30 to find ourselves in a sleepy town called Erode. Seemed like a malgudi days station. Unwilling to get up early but with a ticket till Erode, one can do only so much. Rubbing our eyes and a constant cold war on who will carry the luggage we dragged ourselves out of the station to a shambling for some tea and (Behenchod) sutta. Being
in a totally alien environment, I was trying to come to terms with my surroundings. Dhotis, chandans, tamil movie posters all round I sinked them in with the smoke of my ciggarette. After discussing with Vijay about the horrors of hiring an auto we decided to walk down the road for sometime, made some calls to Subi's bro Mukundan and ours truly Rintz. we were instructed to come down to a certain National hospital. After discussing with some sensible shopkeepers about the directions, we gave up and hired an auto. 25 bucks flat. No questions asked. we obliged and handed out to him our obligation Rintu flashing his teeth took us to the hotel room. It was dark inside. Dint bother much and simply dozed off. Woke up to the sounds of
ppl geting ready. With Vijay having big plans to buy a towel in Erode and me totally uninterested in his ambitions, I dismissed him and dozed off again. Next I woke up to calls from Rintus mother to get ready for some functions planned at the Brides place. Hurriedly washed myself and got a bit presentable. Subi's dad and uncle came to pick us up. We reached her place, a well decorated abode with big showcase of innumerable array of books on one side of the wall. Got introduced to many people, silently watched the proceedings. Subhi introduced one particular female friend of hers who had a heavy americanised accent and who managed to
bowl over our very own Vijay only to know later that she is married and has 2 kids. But its ok. We went to have lunch to one of a close friend of subhi's father. Food was exotic and I enjoyed my experience. We returned to the hotel to rest and prepare for marathon ceremonies in the evening. Rintu was wearing a Sherwani and was looking dashing, I was not behind and I put on a kurta and Vijay put on his new clothes that he had managed to buy the day before. I made some frantic search for deos in all nearby shops but couldnt find an. Seems people dont stink there. We reached the hall booked for the engagement and beheld a sight of spotless white dhotis and shirts arranged in neat rows one after another and of course people were inside those dhotis and shirts. After a few photo sessions where I got the chance to rub shoulders with the biggies ( read rintu, his dad, subi's dad, mammas, chacchas etc) and my very own experience of paparazzi, I had plans to search for a prey to feast my eyes on. But sadly got employment summons from Rintu, was given the camera to make my self worthwhile. Not the kind to let down my employer or my job, I got on the job from the word go. Tried hard to make Vijay look good in the camera. After posing for me a few times Vijay rushed inside the hall. I followed
him inside. Waited for my chance to prove my mettle. Finally the chance came, when the Bride resplendent with rich dress and jewellery made entry, other photographers rushed to get the first shot. Always a fighter, I swam through the sea of amateurs flashing their toys and
reached in the front row. I got some very good snaps. madamoselle Subhi obliged with some snaps but with tough bodygaurds ( read ramani) we were not allowed any more snaps. She proceeded ahead with the ceremonies. I tried to make sense out of those all the while flashing
my camera. After the local ceremony came the ceremony from the groom side. Both rintu and subhi went to stage and got seated on the thrones. We like their subjects waited anticipately for some gifts from them but dint get any. They exchanged rings amidst a barrage of photo flashes. I never missed any good shot captured those wonderful moments. It was so emotional to see them together. The first ZMEN engagement. I wish other zees would have been there. After that we had dinner. Our train was at 11 pm and we had to hurry. We bade goodbyes
to both and brides and grooms side and made our way to the station. Meanwhile what transpired was Vijays new accomplished task ( the towel) had shrunk to the size of a handkerchief after getting wet which he was proud to wrap around his loin and make some jigs like a cabaret dancer.

Adios
God bless the new couple
Santz

2006-02-18T22:21:00.000+05:30

2006-02-18T22:18:00.000+05:30

Storms in the Evening Sky

2006-02-18T22:01:00.000+05:30

Addictively addicted to camerography.
Never seen a storm so beautiful, Myriads of beautiful colours pass by my eye, desperately try I to hold on to one, laughs nature and flashs another one from its basket bountiful. Oh I am so thrilled, forget my folly and absorb it, in my brain through my eye, the beauty of nature, the beauty of life , oh I am so grateful.

Happy Valentine's Day

2006-02-14T09:26:00.000+05:30

Lets spread the joy of love in the world

Faulty Media

2006-02-13T02:09:00.000+05:30

Einstien would have been really pissed

Free love

2006-02-13T01:10:00.000+05:30

What exactly is free love?? An excuse to
keep having sex w/out taking responsibility.??
What would happen if free love is sanctioned
by society (if ever)?? Would marriage as an
institution dissolve ? Given a choice would
every body prefer free love. ??

US plans to attack Iran's Nuke

2006-02-13T00:53:00.000+05:30

This unilaterelism by US is going too far.
Reasons cited are complete bullshit
Seems Zionists influence in US ...
How safe is India ?? Now that with the
co-operation garb with US coming up, US will
be having close insight about India's nuclear
whereabouts..Some disagreements and US bombs may
rain on India :((

Suswagatam

2006-02-12T16:03:00.000+05:30

This blog welcomes all you people who believe in freedom and liberation of thought, of society, of human expressions in all possible forms of art,music,writing etc transcending all artificial human boundaries to achieve unity and peace. Ultimate human nirvana is our goal

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(Blog owner)
XantoZ Vag