heav?en ( P ) Pronunciation Key (hvn) n.
The sky or universe as seen from the earth; the firmament. Often used in the plural.

Any of the places in or beyond the sky conceived of as domains of divine beings in various religions.

A condition or place of great happiness, delight, or pleasure

My definition of heaven is the one in italics.....

I have spent my life living in three cities.....22 years in Pune.....sometime between that a month in Bombay and for the last two and a half years I call Akron, Ohio my home......and in all three cities....I have found my heaven.......

Pune: Thousand Oaks on East Street....good food (chicken tikka, paneer tikka, dry manchurian)....pitchers of Kingfisher......Benson and Hedges Lights......rock music and galli public

Bombay: Cafe Mondegar......fish and chips....or fried eggs and toast.....Benson and Hedges Lights.....rock music on the Jukebox...Mama......me getting tipsy...followed by chicken at Bade Miya....

Akron:Buffalo Wild Wings on Exchange Street......chilled MGD's......wings with hot sauce....roasted garlic mushrooms, potato wedges with cheese...Marlboro Ultra Lights ( with the occasional Marlboro Medium's from Mickey).....and ma peeps from Akron....rock ...hip hop and country music in the background.....

I guess the main ingredients in my heaven...good music (preferably rock).....good food.....beer (must have)......smokes (atleast for the moment)......and my peeps....its good to have your own definition of heaven......just like Calvin and Hobbes

Calvin: Hobbes, what do you think happens to us when we die?
Hobbes: I think we play saxophone for an all-girl cabaret in New Orleans.
Calvin: So you believe in heaven?
Hobbes: Call it what you like.

What do you call your heaven?

God Among Directors

Saw Kill Bill Vol. 2 on Friday...and my obsession with both the movies seems to be growin day by day......it was all the more fun 'cause I went to a drive-in and mast sutta marte marte dekha picture.....have spent the whole weekend and the last two days reading all I could about the two movies and in general about Quentin Tarantino...or as he is rightly called by some.."God among Directors".......and the trivia I have come up with is amazing........the connection between Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction or then Kill Bill and Reservoir Dogs.....or for that matter how Mr. Tarantino ended up calling his first movie 'Reservoir Dogs'......or then.,...any 80'/90's kid interested in martial art movies must have seen the 36th Chamber of Shaolin......while growing up that was like a 'God' Movie...well Pai Mei in Kill Bill i.e. Gordon Lui....was the hero in that movie......I could go on and on and on.....considering all the stuff I have read......maybe someday..aap hum aur bagpiper milke baate karenge......

Truly awesome that guy....and truly awesome are his movies.....

Thought for the day

Never hold your farts in.
They travel up your spine,
into your brain,
and that's where you get shitty ideas from

Since I started taking an active interest in cricket...the test match kind...which was after I came to the US....I keep listening to junta talk about how Dravid is slow when it comes to scoring...and how his game is best suited to test matches...and then there are those few who are ekdam fullto supporters of Mr. Dravid......However...as per the views of the Puneri....... without him our one day team is incomplete..just like we need SRT or Kaif or Yuvraj.......We need The Rock....and he has done pretty well to adapt his natural game (read technically perfect) to the one day verison....

I would still say that he is a relatively slow scorer though one few occasions we do end up seeing him score really fast.....which is something we have seen in recent times after the above mentioned adaptation to the shorter version of the game.......however the final verdict about whether his scoring is fast or slow....is given by 'The Wall' himself.....when asked ....."On whether he would contemplate going for Brian Lara's new world record"......Mr Dravid says...."For me to get 400, you would have to play six days [laughs]! "

Phani...Batulla....I can already hear Adi laughing out loud:)

While growing up I would often hear friends of the family ..or then relatives remark on the similarity in terms of actions, style of talking etc....between my Dad and me or my Chacha and me....or then at times between my Grandfather and me......it always felt good to know that someone actually thought that I looked or behaved like my Grandad or Dad or Chacha.......got this feeling that I belonged to a family.....I was one of them.......when it was time to go to college I decided not to continue in Loyola Junior College....instead I opted to enroll at Fergusson College....which has kind of been a family tradition.....right from Dad to my three Atya's and my Chacha too.....

Nowadays when I speak to folks at home they tell me that Saul (my cousin) has started reading Orson's Farm ...just like I would...he is fascinated by Orson and the Junta....soon,Chacha said " He is gonna start reading Calvin and Hobbes...just like u did"........Last week, Saul gave his entrance interview at Loyola High School...apna alma mater...It would be awesome to have him attend the same school.....have another Loyolite in the family......I have already visualized visiting him there the next time I am in India...and kinda relive those memories....that canteen, the ground, the hill........ Chacha says thats nothing has changed in Loyola....I keep hearing these stories about how Saul throws tantrums like I did......

Though with time the men in the family do think differently and do things in different ways....our experiences make us what we are....my grandfather completed his matriculation.... but was a very well read man......started a businnes from scratch........Dad and Chacha completed their bachelor's degree in India and have made the factory what it is today......I am here in Akron...working .....after having finished my masters.....time will tell what I do.......and Saul....well....godspeed to him and may the force be with him.....every male in the family has been compared to the other and similarities have been pointed out....though a distinct identity always remains....

On evenings like these when I think about Saul being compared to me....... I just smile to myself.....It now feels good to experience all this from the other side.......I guess even with generations.... somethings just don't change......at some level we are all gonna be different....or the same........two sides of a coin....:)

Formula 1 moves to Bahrain this weekend....Ferrari is already quite dominating this year..a.nd to top it...two new circuits introduced this year in the calender...Bahrain and Shanghai.......can't wait to see how the teams are gonna tackle these new circuits....

Weekend is here...and Formula 1 beckons.....jhakas!!!!!