2 weeks without Google!

The past 2 weeks have been hectic with lots of travel. One of my experiences of the past 2 weeks is regarding life without mobile network, without wifi/data connection, and of course ultimately life without Google!
Early in the morning, when I want to check out the Google Reader style Feedly(Reader was dead last year) for latest news in movies, google-related and technology, there is nothing! Its almost as if I were sent to some detention center with basic facilities but isolated from the outside world!
Later after breakfast, when I want to check my Google+ posts, there is no data connectivity, forget about wifi!
During lunch time, I feel like checking my gmail, but get disappointed to see that there is no way to even get sms in the area I lived in!
In the evening, near the banks of river Krishna, I feel like taking a snap of the beautiful scene and save to my Google+ photos, but alas, no network!
In the night, I feel like using hangouts to chat with friends and wish them good night, but the terrible network makes it nearly impossible!
I only got back online while on my way to Bangalore onboard a train from Vijayawada Railway station, which is one of the largest railway stations in Asia and the third busiest Indian Railway Station!
Below is the map of where I have been to:



With love.. Anil

Birth of a new Telugu State

Yesterday was an important day in the history of India and Telugu people. Not just because of the approval of Loks Sabha for the new state of Telangana, which is obvious, but also the manner in which it was achieved.
Some of the tweets went as below:
1. When the land is same, air is same and people are same, why the hell people are fighting over a line in the map. Live peacefully #Telangana
2. Somebody said..... Why black out Parliament? They are creating a new state... Not creating a baby!! #Telangana
3. #congbjpbros made love behind the closed doors of parliament and produced an illegitimate baby called #Telangana 

My reactions to all the above: Enough of the emotions because emotions are only temporary, whether it is the joy of getting Telangana or the despair of our beloved state getting split. Once the emotions settle down, the real issues of people come out and it affects both the regions, and indirectly affect the nation.
In my view, this is more like Seemandhra being carved out of AP, because Hyderabad remains in Telangana. When AP was carved out of TN, TN was not created out of the erstwhile Madras state. AP was created because Chennai remained with TN.
More than the division, it is the enmity that was created between the people by the politicians all these days that saddens one and all. Why are people so stupid to fall in the traps set by the netas?
The problem is not about the division alone. Its about the emotions that arise when brothers are divided. The combination of "Telangana, Rayalaseema and Costal Andhra" is actually a Super State of Telugus and I give this combination the name of "United States of Andhra". And when I mean Andhra, I mean Telugu.
The urgency of congress party and the timing of this bill is clearly evident of what they are upto and we just need to wait and watch till the elections when the people give their mandate.

India>>United States of Andhra>>Telangana, Rayalaseema, Andhra. This should be the way.
A look at the Telugu movie Leader is enough to show what happens within closed doors of political meetings.

In another issue, KTR says to avoid provocations by media the live telecast was blocked. So by blocking people from getting info, he thinks a bill can be passed? Today something may be born and tomorrow it may die but truth lives on. The truth of what happened in the Lok sabha during the debate on t-bill. What are the secret deals and acts made during those blackout hours due to which a state is about to be born? This strongly hints at an illicit act during those moments resulting in the birth of a whole new state!

The people of Telangana deserve a better treatment than a bill that was reportedly passed off in stark darkness of the house. What happened in that darkness? Did everyone do a lungi dance? A sunny Leone act perhaps? Did the members show their Vishwaroopam that was too ugly and vulgar to be shown on tv? Or a secret deal by the heads that matter?

During the Newshour on Time now, a TMC leader has disclosed few images that show a procession and the anarchy that happened during the blackout hours. And respected KTR says he should be punished for taking photos inside the house! This clearly shows the one-way method that congress took to save its numbers in Telangana.

When something is done in the dark on a public forum like the parliament, such questions will be asked. Is the stage set for similar demands like kodagu, gorkhaland,vidarbha,etc?

With love.. Anil

Quality of Mobile services in India

Recently there has been a talk about mobile operators planning to hike the rates and the reason seems to be the hefty prices they seem to have coughed out for the bandwidth auction.
There is only one question I would like to ask: What are the benefits of buying more spectrum when the quality of calls cannot be improved.
I dont mind paying a little more for a better quality of calls and overall network, but increasing the prices doesnt make sense when they cannot live up to the expectations.
My recent trip to Vijayawada was one such experience which showed the weakness of mobile networks.
My phone remained isolated for a complete 1 week with no mobile network, no data connectivity and no reception of SMS either. When I try to send out an SMS, it remains in my outbox forever, despite momentary appearance of network signals.
1. Let there be a larger coverage area so that no one can complain about lack of network, especially in rural areas.
2. Let there be a consistent call quality, especially in the remote areas.
3. The ability of the network to get the call get connected is the first big hurdle which needs to be passed. Many times when I try to call someone, it never gets connected, despite the other person's phone being under coverage area.
If due to the present spectrum allocation if the call quality gets improved, it would be of immense pleasure to the millions of subscribers of the nation.

With love.. Anil

Mobile market in India

There has been a tremendous growth of the market in India for portable devices like mobiles and tablets but the major manufacturers doesnt seem to care much about the same. Of course the nexus 5 came pretty early to India, the real game changer Nexus 4 never made it to India in the same price range as in the US. It still costs around 24K which is not cheap compared to others with similar specs in the market.
The most recent entrant in the segment was Moto G, but even that took some time to come from Motorola.

Moto G was expected to be the low price alternative to Moto X, but even then the launch was delayed. Why? Because India is still seen as something secondary in the eyes of smartphone biggies. Anyway its good to see that with Nexus5, Google has made a serious attempt at bringing their flagships to India soon.
As far as Sony is concerned, it looks like it is firing too many bullets at too many targets with the result that it gets very few points. Take for example the Xperia Z. It is still one of the best Sony smartphones, but it was followed by bigger flagships like Z1 within a few months. If sony can concentrate all its energy on 1 device per year, then I seriously feel that it will  become a major player in the smartphone race. One admirable maker is HTC which has shown that despite being in losses, one can be focused on few products and deliver on them perfectly. India is no different.

As far as design goes, LG seems to be aping samsung and both their phones look similar in terms of external design and with common features.Sony still has one of the best designs in the industry alongwith the HTC One. Even though most post-xperia z devices look similar, the new Xperia E1 looks fantastic, especially the white version.


With love.. Anil

Humanity is dead, Constitution is alive

Imagine a time when there is no humanity is left and all that is left is a big fat book of constitution in all its glory. I really don't understand why so many people keep talking about constitution while the main issue of drug trafficking and prostitution is swept away. They talk about anarchy when the people have some genuine issues and someone is taking an initiative despite police remaining a mute spectator in the fateful midnight.
Several comments against the AAP, made in the newshour show on Timesnow channel seemed to be overly hyped.
Are the leaders interested in making the constitution a success rather than taking society's security and safety seriously? Why are we obsessed with following the rules? What happened to the same law and order and governance when the 2012 delhi gang rape was taken to great heights by the media?
"Anarchy" has been mentioned so many times that the debate itself looked like a competition of english words, with the participants, including the host Arnab Goswami reading out the definition of the term "Anarchy"! All the participants talking against the AAP's representative Ashutosh are doing so out of false concern for the constitution and the legal structure of the government. Since when did a peacefull protest become anarchy, illegal, lawlessness, etc?
There have been a sudden surge in the national pride just because the dharna will disrupt the preparations for the republic day parade. A nation's pride doesnt lie in display of exhibits during the republic day or independence day, but in showing the self respect towards our self. We need to show to the world that we are not a banana republic which is run only by the laws. Of course laws are important for a nation's stability, but out of the box thinking and bold steps are necessary and in fact mandatory during the present times of globalization.

Yesterday was the first time that the debate turned out to be a kind of one-sided affair where the host was hell bent on picking up the minute details of AAP and showing that through a damaged magnifying glass.
Hope today's debate is a well-balanced one!

With love.. Anil

My Review of 1 Nenokkadine:

My review of 1:
It is well known that no psychological-suspense-thriller has succeeded in Telugu, especially any film with a star hero. So below is my analysis of the movie without any spoilers:

1. The hero's introduction as the rock star with the song "who are you" was awesome and makes the crowd wanting for more. The starting credits are also novel and goes with the mysterious theme of the movie.
2. The scene in which Mahesh finds out the phone number based on photos is just too good and the audience has applauded for it.
3. The interval scene creates a new feeling and is certainly a huge asset to the film.
4. When Nazar says: Here comes my golden rice, the shot was amazing, but the next scenes couldn't keep up the tempo as much as it could have been.
5. The climax felt a little stretched because of the boring sequences and not because of the length. When we think over it after the movie gets over, the lengthy climax indeed seems to be required to bring to the point what the hero is exploring for and to show his emotions in the end.
6. The background score is a plus point that goes with the mood of the film. DSP has shown that he can adapt to the requirements of a unique film like this which needs a different treatment.

As seen above, some sequences and elements were completely novel, fresh and deserved a huge applaud for the way they have been planned and set up. But all of those scenes couldn't create the cumulative effect that films like Pokiri and Athadu have created. Both those movies had suspense and twists and had some great scenes which connected well with the remaining part of the film and aided in their huge successes.

The movie is certainly an experiment that might go haywire because of the genre and the lack of punch expected from Mahesh's movies.
Technicalities:
One thing that anyone who feels that Tollywood needs to go on par with Hollywood: Its not just the technical department that needs to excel, but more importantly the way a movie is told and the storytelling ability of the directors that needs to improve. Technical stuff and the graphics will come later and they just compliment the content of a film. For example, Krrish3 has done a marvelous business not because of the graphics, but the content that it had for the audience. Same is the case with Dhoom3 which had a good content in the form of the brother sentiment portrayed by Aamir so well, and some actions scenes
which were well planned. The graphics just added the icing on top the cake in both the movies.1 nenokkadine is much more than just stunts and graphics, so when someone watches 1 nenokkadine, it needs to be watched with an open mind and not just whether it has spectacular graphics like Hollywood.
Need honest promotion:
When a film is promoted, it needs to keep in mind what will be the effect on the people's expectations. If it is promoted heavily by focusing only on action, and if the movie turns out to be a psychological thriller, the public wont be able to digest it. Same has happened to 1. It has been promoted as a complete entertainer during the festive season, which it is not.

Final words: 1 may not be the regular masala film and it does not have the commercial elements to make it a success, but it is a path breaker movie that will be remembered in the future. I had the same feeling after watching Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises as well as Inception.

Postscript:
Disco lights: For the first time in my life, I experienced special disco lights in a theater! Yes while the song "who are you" started in the movie, the theater turned on the disco lights in the ceiling to add to the excitement. Of course this may not be in all theaters but a good value addition nevertheless!

With love.. Anil

Who are you?

The experience of the song from Mahesh Babu starrer-Telugu film "1-Nenokkadine":
The track "Who are you" from the philips bass audio system pumped up my evening yesterday. By the way,
who am I? Will it not be more apt to ask myself who I am not?
I am not cash
I am not tears
I am not anger
I am not body
I am not thought
I am not fame
I am not work
Once I gave some thought to the question, it suddenly seemed to be philosophical. Who am I? No definite answers but there is a kind of realization that the
exploration for an answer to the question is called life. Ever since our birth, we keep exploring and thats when we really live. Continuous exploration of
ourselves is an inseperable part of life's nature which never ends. And when it ends, I feel humanity and life itself ends, because exploration is a part and
parcel of the nature itself. Change is inevitable and change is nothing but exploration of more options to expand life and become a part and finally keep
running a race to dominate the universe. Change is the only thing that is permanent in the universe. The earth keeps rotating as well as revolving across the
sun.
You may think that the sun is stable but even that keeps moving across the galaxy. And the galaxy itself is moving across the universe. And finally the
universe in itself is ever expanding.
If you argue with the earth or sun or galaxy and decide that you want to be at an absolutely fixed point in space. You may even get successful in your effort
and stay at one point but then you will be shattered to pieces due to the relative velocity and the energy that it generates.
So change and exploration is life and stagnation is death.

With love.. Anil

22 Yards, 24 Years

The mist of doubt couldn't block it.
The clouds of adversity didn't slow it.
The hills of injuries couldn't stop it.
The burning sun couldn't crack it.
The thundering lightnings couldn't burn it.
The winds of change couldn't erode it.
The pacy cricket balls couldn't soften it.

Its the determination to excel.
Its the inspiration to drive ahead.
Its the oxygen to live immortal cricket.
Its the endless desire to play.
Its the endless sky of love of the game.
Its the large emerald that never loses its sheen.
Its the living room of cricket's Kohinoor diamond.

Its the 22 yards, 24 years!

Dedicating the above poem to the maestro who ruled cricket for 24 years and his equally best partners in batting: Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and VVS Laxman.

Many say there is no one better than sachin. True, but lets not ignore the contribution of Rahul, Ganguly and Laxman in Sachin's long journey. I am sure that all of them played like a team and supported each other in times of adversity. In short, I believe Sachin would not have achieved so much and created so many records without the help of his team-mates.

With love.. Anil

The Path Together

The sky opens up to both sun and moon.it witnesses both day and light.so the same way life is also like a sky that shows both sides of the coin.and in that life, when two souls walk together, even though the tastes vary, they both have a similar sense of determination to go ahead by facing the challenges posed by life, circumstances,and society. No matter what happens, we shall overcome the tough times and withhold the respect of everyone. just like we two. Despite the usual differences, there is a deep sense of determination to not get bogged down. the below poem is dedicated to my soul mate on the occasion of our second wedding anniversary. I don't believe in God making match in heaven but there is something greater than it that keeps us bonded in a most unique manner and you have been and will be a crucial part in the life ahead without which there is absolutely nothing. As said by big b in bagban the movie, "tum ho toh hum hain.tum nahi toh kuch nahi.kuch bhi nahin"

There was a rose thats exotic
and a leaf under it thats least exotic.
The thorns between them seem to widen the gulf,
but the flower never leaves the glimpse of her leaf.
One day a priest arrived to pluck the rose,
and the leaf's worry arose.
As each rose branch gets pulled,
the priest's basket of flowers gets filled.
sharp remains the thorn between rose and leaf,
however far they may be.
As the rose gets pulled apart,
the leaf watches his flower depart.
The leaf sheds a tear of dew,
which can be seen only by a few.
"I'll join you" says leaf,
as he sheds it's greenery.
As the rose reaches the foot of the lord's light,
leaf falls to the earth and takes flight.
Wind takes the leaf into temple,
rose's hopes takes one more tremble.
The wind pushed them both like an airline fleet
and all join the service of lord's feet.

With love.. Anil

The Amazing Lunchbox!

Just watched The Lunchbox which was a unique experience. The first thing that strikes us while watching this movie is its simplicity. The script is so well written that we get lost in the worlds of the main characters so easily that we start believing we were also present next to them!
The next thing that strikes us is the natural performance of the actors in the movie! Never do we see the actors in the movie. We only see characters! Before watching the movie, I didn't know any of the actors' names except for Irfan Khan!
I even have a personal liking and admiration for Mumbai city in general, thanks to the 2 years of association I had with it, but this movie took me into the lonely lives of the main characters in this highly urban city.
Its true: In this age of google, fb and twitter, when two unknown people become close friends due to a simple misplacement of a lunchbox(thanks to the dabbawala!), the way they deal with the loneliness in their respective lives echoes the lives of so many people not just in Mumbai, but everywhere in the urban settlements across the nation.
I was expecting a small twist in the end and may be a better climax, but the movie was intended to be open-ended! No doubt it won several prizes in film festivals!.

With love.. Anil