Yeh naya hai. Isko dekho. Aur batao kaisa laga.

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No bib. No timing chip. No finisher's medal. Still the best run ever!

Got an opportunity to present the vision that drives VRfirst.in at Startup Saturday Bengaluru. Took to the stage after a long time, but thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it.

So, this happened...

As has been the case for the last few years now, the onset of the monsoon has inspired me to create and build something I can call my own. Whether it was this blog in 2008, Popular4Peanuts in 2011, or Deadline's Tonight last year. The idea of being the parent of a baby that you've conceived with love and devotion is unparalleled. Keeping the tradition alive, here is a sneak peek into what I've recently come up with. We call it VRfirst. Puneet and I started on this quest ever since we covered the Google I/O from our hostel room in Pune last year. The year gone by saw us experimenting with the awesomeness that is Google Cardboard. The device and the ideas that it inspired took me places. Goa being the most notable one.

My first 3D printed toy. Hopefully the first of many more!

It only seemed logical to take the next step when we saw our vision being echoed at the Google I/O this year. This has been the idea behind VRfirst. The baby is just about a day old and doing very well. Do pay it a visit and give it your blessings. Feedback can come to me.

Two hundred and eighty-eight. That's the number of days for which you have been languishing without my attention, dear Blog. Though I'm not one to give excuses, the last few months were too action-packed for me to sit down and write something for you, with complete freedom. This is quite ironic, given that our last post together was about our society's take on Independence!

Nevertheless, a lot has changed since the last time we met, Blog. There's a lot of catching up to do. I've moved to Bengaluru for a start. And boy, has the city been kind or what! A new job, new friends, life couldn't have been better!

Figured that we're pretty big here! ;)

This week, I complete two months in this beautiful city that I now call home. Here's to many more!

Had been pondering over this for quite some time now. Guess it just had to happen. Hoping for the best!

#Spoiler Alert: This is only if you've watched Gravity, the latest space thriller that has taken the world by storm. For those who haven't, please go do yourselves a favour and watch it. NOW!

I would have missed watching Gravity like most other flicks, had it not been for a good friend* who egged me on to watch the trailer. One look, and I knew I had to catch it, first day, first show. I did. And boy! What a wise decision it was!


Note: The following observations are not mine. I have collected bits of trivia from various sources online and otherwise.

-The human gestation period is nine months long and is divided into three trimesters. The movie is 90 minutes long and features three major locations- the ISS, the Russian space station and the Chinese one.

-The explosion and the resulting debris represent the conception of a baby, with the Russian anti-satellite missile symbolising the sperm and the satellite itself being the egg. A little difficult to interpret, I know. But don't judge me!

-Sandra Bullock's character, Dr. Ryan Stone is shown to be dormant and laid back as long as she is referred to by her last name. However, the moment Clooney's character, Matt Kowalski starts addressing her by her first name, she gains a certain level of confidence in herself which pushes her to get over her past and do something more meaningful with her life.

-The foetus-like position that Dr. Stone is shown to be in, during one of the scenes, resembles an actual foetus, second trimester onward.

-There are references to abortion when Dr. Stone decides to give up and turn off the oxygen. At this time, it is her own belief (in the form of a self-conscience-inspired hallucination of Kowalski) in herself which helps her overcome the pessimism and chart her way back to life.

-On touchdown, water, earth, air, fire and wind are the first elements that Dr. Stone comes into contact with. Exactly the same elements that are believed to be responsible for the genesis and sustenance of all life.

-Though Bullock's character is shown to be atheistic, the first words that she mumbles are, "Thank you!" This could be a reference to her renewed belief in a higher power. Her first few steps resemble those that a baby takes when it first begins to walk.

Though there are some other spiritual connotations as well, who would've imagined that a movie about a disaster in outer space could have so many hidden messages? Hollywood and its sheer brilliance never cease to amaze me.

*Thank you, Tania! ;)

She was the one, I’d known since long,

I've always been an information junkie. News, trivia, senseless water cooler banter- useless bits of information that I can easily do without- end up grabbing most of my attention. More than white papers, novels and hardcore pieces of serious writing. So much so that pulling off an all-nighter jumping from one link to another online, is not unusual. And owing to my increased obsession with Twitter, this is becoming quite a habit. Plus, with the addition of Quora and Coursera on the list of sites to visit before I hit the sack, there is a colossal amount of information that I'm exposed to.

Woke up last morning to Sonia Shenoy announcing that Tata Global Beverage and Tata Coffee stocks will be up since Tata Starbucks' first store in India was opening later in the evening. The stock tips proved to be useless as usual, but it gave me an agenda for the evening- to go visit the Starbucks launch. Though it was a media and VIPs only event, didn't think twice before boarding a train to CST and walking it up to the beautiful Horniman Gardens area. And indeed, it sure turned out to be a wise decision!

Hey Blog, long time, huh! Last time we met, Steve Jobs, Dev Anand and Neil Armstrong were still alive, Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal were buddies, Shahrukh Khan was gung ho about Ra.One, Shirish Kunder was relatively unknown, and Sunny Leone was busy with other jobs! Clearly, its been a while. So I thought I'd just drop by and say hello...

Though Apple recently launched the iPad2, my father bought me a Samsung Galaxy Tab. The choice was mine. The money was his. Sindhis we are. So finding the best possible deal runs in our blood. It's been a little over three weeks since we bought it and boy, must I say that it's proved very lucky. Yes, it has!