The Handshake

What do you do if a friende shows you his hand for a handshake before parting? Obviously you would take it. But what if that friend was of the opposite sex? And would a person of the opposite sex even offer to do that?

The following is a real experience that I had not some long time ago. There were five of us there, talking about somethings. Then one of us a boy had to leave. He offered his hand to each of us boys in turn and each of us returned a hearty handshake. But when he turned to the girl, instead of offering his hand, he just gave her a wave. He then said goodbye and left. 

Why the double standards? Why the handshake for the boys and nothing to the girl? Personally if i were in the girls place, I would have been offended. Here is one guy who I consider to be a friend who shook hands with everyone else but me. Why would he do that? The girl didn't seem to mind. She just smiled at him and said goodbye. 

I was pondering on this and then I realized where I was.  This was Trivandrum, Kerala. Touching girls is probably taboo here. Nattukaar enthu parayum?

These conservative notions are surely outdated if even a simple handshake is out of place!

The Grand Holiday

This is the I.V. rap in reply to Schrei Warduhnn : 
"http://ae10-friends.blogspot.com/2008/10/nitish-kottakkal-and-our-final-hope.html"
On the massage bed I lay,
Thinking of what to say,
Without the tour the class was glum,
Right then the hot nurse lady smacked my bum!

Thats when I sat up and thought,
Here's an idea for the tour I've got,
But there was one thing left to do,
The nurse and I had a job to do!

I wore my pants and left the room,
I promised the girl I'll come back soon,
Straight for the college I went,
And for the tour "committee" I sent!

Though they were feeling very sad,
I told them not to feel so bad,
A novel idea is what I have to say,
Its something all the boys will crave!

We'll pack bags and go to Kottakkal,
On the way we can drink, smoke and yell,
There we'll get a massage, ayurvedic,
from a really nice hot chick!

Its not just massages that they do,t
hey offer a lot of other 'things' too,
Flexible and bendy is what they are,
In any position they can spar!

The girls need not worry either,
Male nurses may also be there,
If not there are 50 of us too,
We'll start in the bus, it'll be cool!

Some in the class are quite horny you see,
They would like to be set free,
This is the perfect opportunity,
It will also remove any disunity!

I request the tour committee to think over this
,Give us a chance to get some bliss,
Any groupism will melt away,
In this perfect holiday!!!

The niTiShn5 PlayliST

This is the list of songs I love the most. I have also added the reason they are my favorite. This list is not exhaustive and neither is it an any order. But I can safely say that the ones at the top will remain at the top.

1. Holy Wars…The Punishment Due - MEGADETH This is my most favorite song of all time. It is a truly awesome combination of an intro, riffs, lyrics, drums, a superb guitar solo and everything else. It was this track which brought out the thrash metal part of me out. Anyone who has even a bit of thrash metal in him would like this song just coz of its amazing intro. This is a thrash metal masterpiece.
2. Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying - MEGADETH Another great song by my favorite band. The opening bass solo is awesome. This one is for all the headbangers. It also has great guitar solos. The lyrics are deep. The anger in Dave Mustaine’s voice says it all.
3. Enter Sandman - METALLICA This is one great combination of thrash and heavy metal. It opens slowly and grows into a spectacular mix of riffs, solos and drums. James Hetfield’s guttural snarl makes this a perfect thrash metal lullaby. Also the guitar solo is mindblowing.
4. Californication - RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS Amazing lyrics to a great track. The lyrics to this song are damn good, quite poetic with a lot of allegories and metaphors and stuff. The riff is also quite catchy. It is great to listen to.
5. Hanger 18 - MEGADETH This track is could be on this list just for the sheer number of guitar solos it has. It is a great song for headbanging. It also has matching lyrics. The way in which the solo after solo come is really cool and it can make anyone want to rattle their goddamn heads!!!!!
6. Summer of 69 - BRYAN ADAMS A nostalgic track for probably all rockers in India. This has great lyrics to remind us of younger carefree days. The music is quite catchy and hummable. Another quality is that this track is easy to understand i.e. we can get the words in one hearing.
7. Rust In Peace Polaris - MEGADETH This track has a mindblowing drums+guitar intro which would get anyone to start banging. It is damn fast too. Another thrash metal great.
8. Mechanix - MEGADETH There is normal speed then fast paced then there is Mechanix. One of the fastest Thrash/Speed metal songs I’ve heard. This has really cool lyrics though some may not get it all at the same time and also a good riff . It is the faster (and for me better) version of The Four Horsemen by Metallica albeit with different lyrics.
9. Highway Star - Deep Purple This is a song for our generation though it may be really old. This song is about Cars, Girls and getting high. It has a cool intro and a couple of great solos. A song for the rock loving masses.
10. Losing My Religion - R.E.M. This song has amazing deep lyrics which makes us think. The music is really cool. This is a great track. The music video for this song is quite cool too, a bit different than the others. The lyrics are full of deeper meanings. Poetic stuff.
11. 99 Problems - JAY-Z This is my favorite rap song. This is really a hard-hitting track, telling us about all the shit a black dude faces. The lyrics can apply to anyone though. The chorus says it all : “99 Problems…but a bitch ain’t one.
12. All good Things (Come to an End) - Nelly Furtado This is the saddest song I’ve heard. Really a senti-fest. This is my favorite desp song. Nelly Furtado’s voice does justice to the song and its somber mood.

The Greatest Artists

This is my list of my favorite music artists. These are the ones who have influenced me the most. It is in alphabetical order after Megadeth which is me most favorite

• Megadeth - This is my favorite band. It is one of the best thrash metal bands ever. It was founded by Dave Mustaine after he got kicked out of Metallica. This band has released mindblowing tracks over the years. It has combined all the aspects of thrash, speed and heavy metal into an awesome mix of sound. The best thing about this band is that its songs are for normal headbangers and it is not full of screaming. It can be sung by us. Though it has been pluaged by a lot of lineup changes I feel that as long as Dave Mustaine is there Megadeth will rule.
• AC/DC - One of the fathers of hard rock and metal. Their album “Black in Black” is one of the greatest albums ever. Every track on it was great. They have cool lyrics hard, rocking music and great vocals.
• Deep Purple - The gods of heavy metal. They along with others like Iron Maiden and Motorhead invented Heavy Metal and inspired bands like Metallica. Though their songs may not fit the Heavy Metal genre now but they are still one of the best songs ever.
• The Doors - One of the first English songs I heard were of these guys. I was about 6-7 years old and they are the ones who paved the way for my metal addiction. Their slow melodious rock is just great.
• Eminem - An excellent rapper with great lyrics and cool beats. Unlike most other rappers whose songs are about either cars or babes or money, etc. this guy has released a number of great tracks with exceptional lyrics and wordplay. He also has a lot of funny rap songs which are hilarious.
• Gwen Stefani - This ex-lead of the band No Doubt is a great singer. She has an amazing voice and can make a variety of sounds(pitches and notes and stuff). She has a wide vocal range which one can see in almost all her songs.
• Jay-Z - Just like he says he is the best rapper alive. He has a lot of hard-hitting songs which would get anyone up and into the mood. The lyrics in his songs are cool too with a lot of double meanings and other wordplays. The music is also sometimes different than the mainstream ones.
• Korn - One of the best Nu-Metal/Heavy bands there. It is one of the ’Against the system’ band with a lot of songs in that style. The music is really cool with a lot of effects.
• Limp Bizkit - This may not be among my most favorite bands but it is one that has brought me into metal music early on. Limp Bizkit also has a lot of the against the system songs which are really great. The rap+rock mix has come off better here than in bands like Linkin Park. Though its lyrics are littered with a number of fucks here and there it is qiute cool still it is a children’s band.
• Metallica - Another Thrash Metal legend. Metallica has a number of exceptional songs with great lyrics and awesome riffs. James Hetfield’s angry voice and Kirk Hammett’s superb guitar solos are just great. Though it can be compared with Megadeth, I feel that Metallica has some exceptional songs and Megadeth has many good and some great ones.
• Nelly Furtado - This is another exceptional singer with an amazing voice. She has a lot of cool folksy and funky tracks to her name. Though she recently acquired a more glamorous image, the quality of her music has not changed.
• Outkast - This is a great rap group which has a lot of different songs in the sense that they don’t match the existing stereotypes. They are really great to listen to.
• Shaggy - The reggae master. This is one cool dude. His song are all upbeat and great to listen to. Though many times we may think that all he says in his songs is a couple of “uh-uh’s”.
• Travis - This was a band I listened to a long tome ago when I was probably 10-12 years old. It used to be on MTV all the time. I used to like all their songs. They had an eclectic mix of music and poetic lyrics.

Train Journeys You Have to Experience.

This is a list of train journeys that I have experienced in my short life till now. The descriptions are of the time I last went on one of them. I don’t know whether they have changed now. The descriptions are rather short for want of space otherwise I could go on and on for pages about each one.

Rajdhani Express (AC 2 Tier) - The Rajdhani Express is the name of the set of fully air conditioned trains connecting various parts of the country with the capital New Delhi. Food is included in the fare and this train has a higher priority over other trains which means it rarely runs late. Now this is one amazing experience where you do nothing but eat, sleep and watch the scenery outside. Try going on a long journey such as Delhi to Trivandrum/Chennai/Guwahati. This way you can stuff yourself with all the food they serve. Food is served at: Breakfast, Midday, Lunch, Evening Tea/Soup, Dinner. The quality of food is quite good too unlike in other trains.

Shatabdi Express (AC Chair Car) - The Shatabdi express is the fastest train in this country and it is surely a thrill going in one of them. Now keep in mind that this is not the JanShatabdi that I’m talking about which is poor guy’s Shatabdi. The Shatabdi Express is a fully air conditioned train for shot journeys of usually less than 12 hours. In one word this train can be described as ‘posh‘. It is just like traveling in an airplane. With the speed, smoothness and the good food(unlike in planes) helping the journey to be quite enjoyable.

Mangala Express (2nd Sleeper) - Earlier before the Konkan Rail Route, the Mangala Express took the long route going through Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, etc. Now the Kerala Express may provide a similar experience if you are lucky not to be stuck with a bunch of Malayalees. The great thing about his trip is the sheer amount of distance it covers. And you can also meet people from different parts of our country, people of different cultures, religions, etc. If you are anything like Gandhiji you could probably learn half the languages used in this country in the space of the journey. If it is spring then the scenery is spectacular. Concerning food you can get different things from each state. It’s an amazing treat.

Footboard Travel - This is to be done in a reserved compartment maybe with a waitlisted or RAC ticket. This is actually not legal and very dangerous, but on the other hand is quite an experience. It is even more fun when you are with a friend. You can feel the wind in your air and see some amazing things outside that you would surely miss when inside. You should get down at each and every station and buy something different to eat. Make sure your legs are safe.

Mumbai Local Train - A ride in this during the rush hours is something you will never forget for the rest of your life. It is the extreme rush, the crushing feeling and if you are standing near the door the fear of falling of. You can see crazy Mumbaikars fighting for every inch of space. There are unwritten rules about traveling on the local that every Mumbaikar knows. If you are being stared at, you’ve probably done something wrong. Also,women are not far behind men, you can find women, young and old shoving, pushing, abusing ad jostling for place. Some times you can be lucky enough to be the last one to enter and get about 10 sq. cm of space to one of your feet and on to the pipe-thing that keeps the rainwater away. A similar journey in a local train in Delhi or Chennai would not be the same.etiquette.

Parasuram Express (General) - Travel from Mangalore to anyplace after Ernakulam. This journey was once described by my friend as ‘Hell on Earth’. You can listen to all the different dialects of Malayalam and learn quite a number of new abuses. You can experience a variety of different smells ranging from the flowery mullapoo smell to extreme nauseating pungent smell of some guy who has not taken bath for a week. You should also empty your bowels before boarding since you may never get a chance once the train has started. This would not exactly be fun but is something you would remember.

Delhi-Patna (2nd Sleeper) - Except maybe for the general class, this is quite probably the most unsafe journey. If your ticket is not reserved you can always bribe the TTE. Just make sure you get to him first. And most probably you will find a person sleeping on the floor in each cabin. You would probably have to keep an eye on your luggage all the time.

Konkan Railway (2nd Sleeper) - Make this journey in the daytime to see some of the most awesome scenery in India. And if it has rained, the land would be all green and beautiful. With countless bridges, tunnels and many rivers, streams, waterfalls and more, you will never get bored. You can also get to eat a lot of vada pavs and bhel puri on this trip and if the season is right a variety of fruits too.

Discovery of India by Pt. Nehru

The book 'Discovery of India' is an amazing book by Jawaharlal Nehru. In this book Nehru describes the country he loves and the development of its cultures and religions. He has filled it with a lot of interesting titbits about our country. This is a book which would make any Indian who reads it proud to be an Indian. Unlike books by other freedom fighters such as Mahatma Gandhi which give us a way of leading our lives so that we serve our country, or fight opression, etc., this is a book which gives the Indian reader a sense of nationalism and respect for his country. After reading this book one admires India and her long and glorious histry spanning over 4500years. We can learn a lot from this book which helps us to shape our mind about our country. This book is a must read for all Indians.