choksi lab

Technology slaves

Technology was supposed to free us, not enslave us. The promise of technology was the promise of an efficient workplace and more freedom to pursue the things that enrich us as human beings...

Dark Underbelly of Technology

What about sports+tech? read this..

Technology is a handicap

Yeh bahaar keh rahi hein yehi...

There are some days when the past pushes the present and future to a corner and sits pretty stodgily in your little brain. Cloudy monsoon holiday and the song "yeh bahaar keh rahi hein" - a heady potion to reel your mind into the days of Pune.

Talat and Pehnaaz wrench the last drop of emotion from your heart with their rendering of those lovely lyrics. I believe the period in your life when you first here a song has a strong bearing on how you receive the song next time.
For example, I remember listening to the Kadal desam songs for the first time when I was down with heavy fever and scared of the next day's elec year end exam. I still feel sick when I hear Kadal Desam songs. Ofcourse in this case it is possible that Rahman's music for this movie is really bad. But popularity doesn’t say so.

Coming back to Talat and Pehnaaz, that was a great time in Pune. High in hopes, confidence of youth, great company of friends, introducing me to a world of varied music. Its different. It was an Aghaaz. Sutanu, Rajiv and Allister. Reminds me of Rajiv's love for jagjit and chitra. Sutanu's dislike for chitra. And allister's hate for all things that rajiv likes except for a rare few such as Kayani bakery stuff. One common thread among the three used to be their love for math, their thirst to do some thing more than what the office expects them to.
Reminds Allister's fertile brain to find novel ways of riling Rajiv. Few that I remember… 'one kick and you will land in the lap your father- drinking his morning coffee, reading news paper', 'I will flush you down the loo. You can easily run down the pipes'- when asked what will you do if some one locked all of us inside the house. Rajiv used to be super lean - used to survive on one meal per two days of the weekend. Secret of his survival (forget energy. What are you expecting from Rajiv?) used to be 40 hour sleep in those two days. Used to wake up in the middle only because Allister used to force him when he is home during his 40 hour work schedule during the weekend.

Looking thru the rear view mirror I am unable to give a complete picture, but those days in Pune were indeed the formative ones. Swapneshwar, Pradeep Picardo, Govind Laks, Rama Juluri, Vinvik and so many more. Surprises me that among this strong pune net of mine, apart from Sutanu till some time back and Picardo some rare times, I am not in touch with any other.

Today is a lonely, wet, Dussera of 2005, in Bangalore. 5 yrs away from my Pune days and light years away from that setting.