Some pics from my trip to Panchgani ... On NH4 I realized that there are subtle differences between roads in India and roads around the world: Road Signs In Australia (courtesy kleinmatt66 ) In India Pedestrian Crossings In England (courtesy Wikipedia ) In India Public transport logos In USA. Well, ok. A greyhound. (courtesy Moworld photos ) In India ...a snail??

I recently went to a neighbourhood hardware store, to repair a voltage stabilizer that was preventing our office fridge from fulfilling its destiny, viz. to keep the beer cold. There, I saw this sign: The sign says "कृपया काऊंटर समोर मोबईलवर बोलु नये", which is Marathi for "Please do not speak on a mobile phone while in front of the counter". I decided to record this addition to Pune's rich heritage of direct, impolite or downright offensive signs. Scarcely had I finished taking the picture, when I noticed the electrician had a customer, and...

Uh... been so long since I was here that the area of my brain associated with blogging has become rusty. I am spurred into activity by Senti , who pointedly told me that I hadn't been blogging of late. "Nor have you!", said I using my quick reparteeing skills. But Senti was not to be outdone. "Well, you haven't been blogging for longer than I haven't", said he, to which I had no repartee until now. So there, Senti. Let's see, what's been happening in my life of late? Quite a bit of diverse stuff, in no particular order: Yet another takeover offer for the lil' ol' startup, which we rejected after some thought and introspection. A long-deserved bike trip, during which I took some interesting snaps of the road, which will be put up in future posts. Spending time in a picturesque house in Panchgani with two girls and a purry furry friend. A shorter (photo-less) bike ride to Lonavala, where I spent a relaxing weekend reading comic books. More...

Miffed couple’s bomb defused Express News Service Pune, July 14: A Live crude bomb , sent in a parcel and addressed to the city’s postmaster, was defused by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) on Friday evening. The police though ruled out the possibility of a terrorist link. Faraskhana police said the bomb was sent from Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh by a couple angry over family opposition to their marriage. The box had a note attached to it, saying: ‘Handle with care, as it is a bomb.’ Source: Today's Indian Express, complete story at the Pune Newsline website .

Flyers in Koregaon Park (thanks, Senti )

Working on a startup is a tremendous learning process. Along with the technical learning, I also get to meet and work with a diverse bunch of folks. I firmly believe in the power of partnerships as a means for small firms to survive and grow, and have been lucky in forming a set of crucial tie-ups with firms that complement our own skills and abilities. Some of these have turned out to be mutually beneficial relationships that have provided a steady stream of work both ways, and crucial inputs on trends in the industry and what our competition is up to. Others have been more psychological comfort than hard cash, however their presence on our portfolio would have indirectly helped generate sales, as clients gained confidence in the spectrum of services we could provide through our partners, although they were only interested in the stuff we did. However large or small, there is one thing that all my partner companies share - a desire and a passion for growth. In fact, I do not think I ...

My niece, trying to catch an ant.

I had a good laugh in the morning, thanks to Messrs Raimi and Sargent. (Location: Open-air particle physics laboratory in the heart of New York) Scientist 1: Sir! There seems to be an increased silicon mass in the de-molecularizer!! Scientist 2: It's probably just a bird, it'll fly off when the engine gets started. (Location: College physics lab) Student: What is it? Professor: (peers through microscope) Don't let any of that get on you. Student: Why? Professor: It has the characteristics of a symbiote, which needs to bond to a host in order to survive. And once it binds... it can be hard to unbind. (later) Professor: (The symbiote) enhances aggression... (view through microscope - symbiote molecule colliding violently against other nearby molecules) [the symbiote slithers towards the student, but is quickly trapped under a glass] Professor: It seems to like you.

Bhuleshwar temple , near Pune

Sunday was weird. It started off all right; I woke up late and stared out the window, wondering what to do. I saw a Murakami book of short stories lying on the bed where I'd tossed it the previous night, and picked it up and read "The Fall of the Roman Empire, the 1881 Indian Uprising, Hitler's Invasion of Poland, and the Realm of Raging Winds". It's a fairly short story - shorter than the title would lead you to believe. For those who have not read it, the story is split into four sections: The Fall of the Roman Empire The 1881 Indian Uprising Hitler's Invasion of Poland And the Realm of Raging Winds Although the Realm of Raging Winds is just one of the four sections, it is the central idea of the story, and is vividly described in the other three sections too. Which is why, when later in the day the sultry still Pune summer gave way to a Realm of Raging Winds, I stopped what I was doing and paused and thought. This was uncanny. Weird, as I've ment...

Our very own Burger Nazi (Burger King, Koregaon Park)

I don't remember when I read my first Amar Chitra Katha . Along with Target, Chandamama, Champak and to a lesser extent Tinkle, it is an indelible part of my memories of growing up. Some of my closest friends claim I haven't grown up yet, but I digress. Although I wasn't as much a fan of ACKs as I was of say, Detective Moochwala, I found them interesting, adventurous, and educational. I went on a nostalgia trip recently when KP bought, for an unknown reason, a huge number of Amar Chitra Kathas. Apart from the pricing, little seems to have changed. I still find them interesting, although for quite different reasons. Here, for example, are a few pages from Garuda . This snippet explains how Garuda got his name: As can be seen, enjoying these comics demands a suspension of disbelief equal to that required while reading Superman, or watching Crank for that matter. I pity the poor parents when their kid, as precocious as they come these days, starts questioning them on some ver...

"Good night", she sang, "Sleep tight!" And so he got into his sleeping bag.

I recently made one of my now-too-frequent trips to the hospital, where the doc gave me her practiced severe look for not taking care of myself, and prescribed pills for gastritis. One of these pills turned out to contain bacteria , something I find slightly disgusting and very cool. Damn. Five missed calls. And an sms: "Pl cd u call back? I just needed some information". Unknown number. My curiosity piqued, I decided to return this call first. "Hullo, this is Shrik." "Hullo, this is Mrs _____. I wanted some information from you as a mother." Interesting! "Sure", I said. This had all the makings of something that would make my day. Mrs _____ continued that she was going through the profiles on bharatmatrimony.com for her daughter, and both of them were quite taken by this boy who's from my undergrad college. She searched around on the internet and found that I'm from that college too. "I looked at your alumni page, and felt I could ...

Near Nal Stop, Pune

Remembered this when looking at Anurag's pics . Yosemite is one of my all-time favorite places. I've been there twice, and know that I can spend many more vacations there before I get tired of its overwhelming beauty. The last time, Baap - a friend from undergrad days - and I spent Christmas there. Dismissing the tourist village and going backcountry, we hiked along a little-frequented trail, and reached our campsite by a lake beyond twilight. Too tired or lazy to pitch tent, we unrolled our sleeping bags on the rocks by the waterside and were soon asleep. The next morning, we woke up in heaven - We were so awed, we didn't want to move or breathe, lest we disturb the stillness. Thankfully my camera was close at hand. After fifteen minutes, a wind stirred up, creating ripples, and we finally got out of our sleeping bags.