Piccolo Posts

Image Source:  Demymor I was wondering whether everybody around me was getting that smell or was it only me. I checked the sole of my shoe to make sure I didn't step on something I shouldn't have had, I checked the surroundings; nothing seemed foul.  In fact, the setting was as pleasant as it could get; centralized AC, closed sliding windows, clean-white flooring and to add to that, nobody was holding a handkerchief or even making strange bewildered faces like I was. This was annoying. “What’s that smell boss?” I was in the queue for booking tickets at a well known travel agent. Why did I even plan this trip?  Hyperbole! Why did I choose this day to book tickets?? That’s better! My asking questions and talking to myself was not at all distracting my nose, which was displaying extraordinary smelling skills today from the past thirty minutes. I order you; Stop smelling! In despair, I started smelling the form and the...

Image source: Mukesh Chhabra's facebook page When was the last time you said after watching a movie, “Ah! That new chap was good. What’s his name?” You might have even tried to google ‘that actor’ who caught your attention. Ever wondered who discovers these new talents? The overwhelming number of talented actors; be it from the theaters or the NSD or the other acting schools, has given rise to a new class of professionals in Bollywood whose job is to find out the face(new or nurtured) of that character in the script – The Casting Director. Of course somebody always did the casting; may be the producer or the director but being a casting director, is now being in a completely different trade. It is a sought after profession now-a-days with a casting director also getting his/her name mentioned in the credits. Didn’t notice? Check out the start credits when you catch a movie next time. And while you will be doing that, the name that you will find the most number of ti...

Every time I think of writing a post, I fail to find anything worth writing. The random topics that I write come to mind at times when I am not at all thinking about writing. The Mumbai Local came to me while I was working. A horrifying steep slope on one of our treks prompted me to write God of a second . A trip full of hurdles which turned to be fun with friends made me think of A Trip that wasn't . My interest in the Punjabi culture and music inspired me to write The-Lure Mehndi . Bagicha   happened while studying! Out of nowhere an idea sprung into my mind and I continued with the story instead of studying. It makes me so happy that I thought of something like Bagicha. The things around you; people, animals, vehicles, surroundings, the smell, and the actions inspire you to write. The more you observe, the more ideas you get. You have to be a good observer to be a good writer. You get inspired by these observations. The scenes in your story knowingly or unknowing...

A 110% true South Indian right from his name to his french beard and his heavy South-Indian accent. I do not know him personally or professionally but he is so loud and happening in his work-area that each and every person sitting within a circle of radius of about 10m with Mudaliar as the center (The Mudaliar circle), would be knowing him just a little less than personally. Wondering about that weird geometrical example reference that I used? Mudaliar has a knack using such weird references; “Jab gaadi waqt pe platform pe nai aati, tab tum kya karte ho? Rukte ho na? To fir ruko na. Gaadi ayega o horn bajayega. Mai bhi kaam hone ke bad tumhara phone bajayega.”, says Mudaliar when he has not completed his work in time and somebody has been repeatedly following up with him. Mudaiar probably in his forties sits some 2-3 bays apart from me and facing me. I always see him smiling. He will either be smiling at his own work on his laptop or listening to other guys in his team sco...

A Tablet The buy Tablets were a new species in the kingdom of Consumer Electronics. What set Tablets apart from a genus of gadgets is the large screen size and enhanced viewing experience compared to a Smartphone, better portability compared to a Laptop. When I spotted this gadget which bridged the gap between a Laptop and a Smartphone, I was tempted to own one. I was thrilled with the fact that I could watch movies on a (relatively) big screen, browse the net like I do on my Laptop and of course, play magnificent games. With a Nokia   ‘torchwala’   phone in one hand I was excited to buy a tablet which would allow me to do ‘things’ which my Nokia didn't. These ‘things’ brought with itself, some good news and some bad news. The enjoy When I finally got my hands on the Tablet, I was excited. The excitement doubled because it was the first time that I would experience Android. I would spend hours with my new Tablet. I watched many movies, browsed and downloaded many...

Photo Courtesy: www.naturallynanny.com The practice of massaging a new born is being passed on from generations. “ It will make your brother healthy and strong ”, my Dadi used to tell me while she smeared my brother’s body with lukewarm sesame oil. She would carefully wring his hands and slither her hands over his back. " When you give your baby a massage, you're actually stimulating her central nervous system ," explains Tiffany Field, PhD, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University Of Miami School Of Medicine. " That sets off a chain reaction: It makes her brain produce more serotonin, a feel-good chemical, and less cortisol, a hormone that's secreted in response to stress. As a result, your baby's heart rate and breathing slow down, and she becomes more relaxed ." In the age of corruption and adulteration; many anti-social elements are manufacturing adulterated and chemical based or synthetic baby oils. Even the well...

Almost three years into an IT Software development company, I have realized that an IT guy is very enthusiastic only on a few days in a year. These are the holidays, the typical ‘colour’ days and the traditional days.  On the other days he generally whines about his salary, his boss, his company and finally himself in that order; if not, he probably has ulcers in his mouth. :-D We had traditional day this Diwali at our office. Happiness and memories hit me and the nostalgia took me 15 years back when the celebrations were filled with more enthusiasm and the festive mood would set–in a week or two before the main festival. Chapter 1: The Holidays Our Diwali vacation would be of 21 long days! The Semester exams got over and there would be nothing to study; absolutely nothing. We stayed out most of the time. ‘Missed calls’ were still not invented; we used to shout out the names of our friends who stayed on the higher floors to tell them to join us play. Chapter...