A proud moment - Burj Dubai

As a grown-up who spent his childhood in Dubai, my heart swelled with pride when I read that the new building Burj Dubai is the tallest skyscraper in the world.

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Here are some other interesting statistics:
Height: 800+ meters
Floors: 160 floors
World's fastest elevators - 64kmph
15,000-strong workforce, mainly from India
Premises has a musical fountain that is the same height as a 50 story building
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Dubai has changed a lot over these past years and its transformation into a world-class city is the greatest story never told. I am sure that one day the UAE will be given more power and visibility in the International stage. A big thannks to the ruling Sheikh family and the expatriate population for helping the UAE reach where it has today.

Psycho Killer

One fond memory from childhood is me gyrating to an awesome song called 'Psycho Killer'. This number by Talking Heads has a strong bass and rhythm that will leave you mesmerized! I recently downloaded its mp3 and I realized that I still am in love with its tune...

Today, I decided to check up more about the song and found out that it was written to represent a serial killer's thoughts. With a title like that, I guess this fact was a foregone conclusion.

Well, I still love and enjoy this song. I hope you do too!

Hail King Nano!

The TATA Nano is the most revered car in India. Period.Want proof, huh? Line up a Nano along with a Merc, a BMW 750 and a Bentley. An Indian passing by will only notice the Nano and will stop by to admire its 'beauty' and 'architectural marvel'. This is a prime example of Indian pride for you.

Here, in my humble opinion, is a list of the most revered cars in India:

1. TATA Nano
2. Maruti 800
3. Ambassador
4. Contessa
5. Premier Padmini

The cars mentioned above still elicit a sense of nostalgia and a strong sense of pride in being Indian. What more could we ask for?

A humble message to the Nissan-Bajaj working on a Nano rival - if you can re-create the hype that surrounds Nano, then you have a winner car in your hands!

Kerala Health Minister's embarassing English

If you do a survey to find the country with the most boring leaders, then India would win hands down. Our PM Manmohan Singh always has this sleepy grin on his face, while Sonia's speeches can drive even the faithful into a coma. The less said about our President, the better.

It took the likes of Raj Thackeray, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Amar Singh and Rahul Gandhi to inject some life into Indian politics and this is why the media adore them. Kerala has its share of popular leaders and Shashi Tharoor leads from the front, albeit for the wrong reasons. He presents himself as highly sophisticated and wordly(he really is) but gets himself into unpleasant situations, thanks to his 'tweets'.

I believe his mannerisms and penchant for speaking in English has rubbed on to some other Kerala leaders as well. Foremost among them is P.K. Sreemathi, who delivered a speech in English with highly embarrassing results.

Is it necessary for a politician to know English to do his job well? Does a regional leader have to give a speech in English to prove his caliber? Since our politicians rarely do anything for the common man, it will be difficult to form opinions on the matter.

The bottom line is that India's politicians should do good for the people who voted them to power. Knowing the local language and being confident and authoritative are what is mainly required.

Happy Birthday Juhi Chawla!

Juhi Chawla just turned a year older - 42 to be precise and looks as beautiful as ever. Juhi had numerous on-screen pairings and those with Aamir, ShahRukh and Rishi Kapoor were particularly successful.

At this juncture in her career, she now has all the creative freedom in the world to choose movies that appeal to her. Recently, she turned in a fun-filled and humorous performance in 'Luck By Chance'.

For me, the fondest memories of her are from a movie called 'Love, Love, Love', in which she was paired opposite Aamir Khan. The movie bombed but I had seen it a thousand times.

I hope she continues doing sensible roles.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUHI

Amitabh - the Supremo!

Most of you already know that Amitabh had a comic superhero based on his persona. Well, I learnt about this only 2 days ago. Even though I gorged on his movies, I never had a liking towards Amitabh, the superstar.

Being a die-hard fan of comics, I was immediately smitten by Amitabh, the comic superhero. Which other movie star can boast of having his own comic?

The 'Supremo' comic was released for only 2 years in the 80s. It's a pity that we don't have any of them anymore. Does anybody have a copy of Supremo :-)?

I noticed that the Indian version of Spiderman wears a dhoti just like Amitabh's Supremo. I guess its safe to say that the creators of the Indian Spiderman were 'inspired' by Amitabh's Supremo!

Tribute to Freddie...

My fascination for English music began when I was around 8 years old. As a child, I used to love listening to soft rock, techno(read OMD) and alternative. The older I grew, the more fascinated I was with singers, bands and their escapades. But one man stood out in my mind and he answers to the name Freddie Mercury.

Freddie, a Parsi with origins in Mumbai, has the best male voice I have ever heard. He may have been the flamboyant driving force behind Queen's success but led a very shy and reclusive private life.

Success can be very intimidating and Freddie's short gay flings with multiple men led to his downfall. He was diagnosed with AIDS and died in 1991, placing him among the first celebrities to admit having AIDS.

Even though Freddie has left for a better place, I can feel his presence around me through his music. Songs like 'Living On My Own', 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'I want to break free', 'We are the champions' and 'The Great Pretender' will keep playing in my mind and heart forever.

I agree with Queen - THE SHOW MUST GO ON

God bless you, Freddie!

A long break away from blogging!

Wow! Its been a while since my last post and this time I am here to stay!

Henceforth, I will be writing on topics of interest to common folks like you and me. Stay tuned.