The B Chronicles No. 7

It's been almost 3 weeks since I began working on a project. I still do not do any "work"! The project training is slated to go on till mid Jan. Then, hopefully, I will be able to do something so that my company can fleece its client. HeHe!!! I am currently posted at the client site at Fort. The client, being a Govt. organisation, I have to make a lot of adjustments for working here, as compared to my company's office. For one thing, gone are the posh environs where you could laze around with a cup of coffee in your hand all day. Gone is the shoe polishing machine, which helped me out by cutting out the routine of polishing my shoes, completely. Gone are the sparkling clean toilets and the funky phones and comp terminals.

Here, we sit on hard cane chairs, work on comps that are slower than my 5 yr old PC at home and yet handle 10 times as much data. Tea is available only between 3 and 5 in the afternoon and that too, on a coupon basis. Everyone seems to shout at each other and comp security is thrown out of the window. The iSecurity dept guys would have a fit if they saw this setup!!! The only good thing abt this place is that food is dirt cheap. You can get a complete veg meal for just Rs. 4.50!!!

But, it must be said that working at a client site is a completely different experience and I hope that I benefit from it. Until next time, then.

CIAO.

Back to Doordarshan???

Just yesterday, I read that the Hon'ble High Court of Bombay has banned the screening of non-U rated movies on cable TV. This includes the channels which beam these movies into our homes from abroad where the censor laws are not so strict. This means that even channels like Star Movies, HBO and Zee Studio will no longer be telecast by the local cable operator, and this time, its not his fault. Even the good Hindi movies which have a U/A certificate cannot be telecast on national TV.

Now where does this leave us? I, as an adult citizen of this country, certainly feel shortchanged as a result of this decision. I certainly do not want to be told what I should watch and what I shouldn't. This onus of making this decision should rest on my shoulders alone. As regards the argument that children may be adversely affected by the themes of the banned movies, GROW UP, YOUR HONOUR!!!!! Today, such movies are easily available in video parlours and the internet is an ever-burgeoning source of material that can even put adults to shame. If the children hailing from the rural or the economically backward sections of society cannot access these modern sources, they also cannot get access to a simple TV!!! Problem solved, isn't it?

Today, when the developed countries are becoming more liberal by giving Parental Guidance certificates to films that were once marked as Adult, we are going backwards by preventing the adults from watching films that they are perfectly capable of understanding. This, for me, is an insult of my intelligence as an average Indian adult.

Instead of taking such regressive measures to obtain short term solutions to problems, we should think of addressing them from a long term point of view. A legislation can be passed that makes it compulsory for cable TV to be routed through set top boxes which can provide access to adult certified programmes only with a password. This will surely help to make sure that the TV is not misused by kids in the absence of adults. Maybe this solution of mine is too feeble. But, I am sure that we Indians can think of some effective way of protecting our kids from adult material. We are not that bad, are we???

So, Your Honour, although your intentions may have been noble, the way to implement them that you have put forward is certainly not. Surely, you do not want to go back to the Doordarshan era or, maybe you do???!!!!

The B Chronicles No. 6

Today seems to be the best day in office. The reason for my thinking this, follows.

First, it started out as usual with a meeting being held in the recreation room so that it was closed to unemployed ppl like me, who love to spend most of their time there. So, 50 pages of Anne Frank later, RR and I decided to have an early lunch. Turns out that it was good we did. Moment we stepped out of the office premises to have a small post-lunch stroll, a guy from an Indica dealership offered me a test drive in the new Turbo Diesel. WOW!!!! He thought I actually needed an invitation to drive??? 5 min later, I stepped out of the car, feeling like a truck driver but, with a wide grin plastered over my face, nevertheless.

Then, MATC called RR and me and asked us to meet a GL of a banking project. He sent us to BKC for another interview and then, we were on board!!! I can finally say that I have some work after all!!! Champagne anyone??

The B Chronicles No. 5 (Contd...)

The B Chronicles No. 5

Started attending office since yesterday, after completion of AS/400 training. Its the same old story......We go to MATC, they make a plaintive face.....we return after 2-3 hours......they ask us to return the next day. Plus, since it's Learning Week, the Recreation Room has been converted into a mini lecture room for language training. That means that there is no TT or carrom this week!! :-(

So, the only recourse is to read a good book in the library. One can also spend a lot of time on the terrace. Since there aren't too many tall bldgs around in the vicinity, an excellent view is afforded. Plus, the sunsets can be beautifully captured from here. I am putting up some pics taken from the terrace here. They kinda show that whatever the case, be it even a beautiful sunset, nothing can stop this great city from moving forward.

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire - A Review

Went to watch HP4 with family today. Entertaining movie. It starts out well enough by sticking to the mysterious atmosphere created in the first chapter of the book by JKR. But, after around 5 minutes, you find that the movie begins to deviate from the story. Then, it becomes an interesting exercise trying to find the differences between the book and the movie. I enjoyed trying to predict what scene from the book would come next. Not recommended for those who hate improvisations over the original. The movie is based on the fourth book of the Harry Potter series, so commenting on the story would be futile.

The acting seems to be pretty good, though, I must admit that this is the first Potter movie that I have watched. All the three lead actors do a fine job of portraying the journey from childhood to adolescence. Radcliffe is credible as Harry, who has to balance the expectations of the entire wizarding world on his 14 yr old shoulders. Rupert Grint constantly wears a goofy expression on his face, which seems to have made him quite popular amongst the girls. Now, if only Ron Weasley could have such good fortune coming his way.....!!! Emma Watson has done a nice job of transforming herself from a sweet lass into a teenage pinup. I found her to be extremely good-looking in the movie, esp. in the ballroom scene. The supporting actors do their job admirably. The surprise package of the movie is Mad-Eye Moody. He infuses some fresh life into the movie whenever it begins to get a bit too serious.

All in all, a good package. Certainly recommended for the kid in you.