Laptop audio jack not working but speakers are working !!

Below steps resolved my problem. Don't think the solution is specific to any OS! 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Turn off the laptop.
2. Remove the power supply and battery both 
3. Push the power button of laptop, keep it pressed for 30 seconds, then put back battery and reboot 

It basically removes static charge.

Headphone jack should work now
Full credit to 1st answer in the link. No names provided 

Debugging NUnit Test Cases

If you are trying to debug a NUnit test project and thinking how to do it. Here it goes, it's as simple as giving the path of NUnit UI executable.


1. Right click on the NUnit Test project
2. Click on Properties
3. Goto Debug tab
4. Select "Start external program" radio button
5. Browse the path of NUnit.exe ["C:\Program Files\NUnit 2.6\bin\nunit.exe"]
6. Save the project file and you are done.
7. Set breakpoint in the test method, which you wish to debug.

Either set the NUnit Test Project as your startup project and hit F5
OR
Right click on NUnit Test Project and Select Debug > Start new instance.


Refer to the screengrab ..

Steps for Number Portability

Here are the steps to port your mobile number to any operator in India –

1. Send an SMS to 1900 in following format: PORT - eg. PORT 9999999999.

2. You will get a 8 digit unique porting code (UPC) instantly as a SMS.This code is valid only for a 7 days, and have to be applied again if it expires.

3. Approach new operator, give your UPC ,fill up required forms and submit identity proof and Address proof. You will need to sign the document as well.

4. Your new operator will check with your existing operator & if there are no dues then approval will be given for porting.

5. You will get a SMS with the time and date when porting will take place. Rules mandate that process be completed within 7 days of applying.

6. After porting is complete, wait for the SMS from your new operator confirming the switch. Your phone may be dead for 2-3 hours when the porting takes place.

Karela chicken la-Jawab

INGREDIENTS (for 2 persons)

1. One medium sized bitter gourd
2. 5 medium chicken pieces (boneless)
3. 1 ½ teaspoon of ginger garlic paste
4. One large sized onion
5. One large sized tomato
6. One large sized potato
7. ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
8. A dash of fresh lemon
9. Salt according to taste



1. Take some chicken pieces (chop it up into very small pieces as big or medium pieces are not recommended for this. (½ inch square size). How much chicken to put is up to you but its better not to put more than then bitter gourd quantity you are using!

2. Take one large bitter gourd and cut it into small pieces. If the bitter gourd is small you can take 2 or 3. The pieces should be ½ inch square size.

3. Take one large potato, peel off the skin and cut it into 4 pieces so that it boils well.

4. Take one large tomato (red and ripe one). Remove the top black portion and just puncture the tomato with a knife from the top so that it boils properly.

5. Boil the bitter gourd separately and throw the water if you don’t want the dish to be too bitter else retain the water to pour the water in the dish at the end.

6. Boil the whole tomato, chicken pieces and potato. Add some salt, ¾ teaspoon of ginger garlic paste and retain the water. Don’t put too much of water in the cooker, it should be just enough to boil. If you don’t want to throw the bitter gourd water then you might as well cook everything together and retain the water. If you can separate the chicken pieces then its better.

7. Chop one large onion. Put oil in the fry pan and sauté the chopped onion till its golden brown. If you have the chicken separated then put the pre-boiled chicken in the pan and sauté it for some time. Stir fry it a little and then add the turmeric powder.

8. Add some ginger garlic paste, squeeze a bit of fresh lemon and chopped chilli. Add salt according to taste.

9. Now put everything (bitter gourd, potato and the tomato)into the frying pan. Smash the tomato and potato. Pour ½ cup of chicken-veg combo stock water, which you had separated out after boiling. Keep it in flames till the water is reduced and no visible water can be seen. Remove it from pan and garnish it with some chopped coriander leaves.


10. Let it cool a bit and enjoy the dish. Tastes best when it’s moderately warm.

Bitter gourd is very rich in vitamins and it offers protection and helps ameliorate type 2 diabetes.

Make Visual Studio Break at all Exceptions.

If you are developing and you want visual studio to break at all the exception without you placing an explicit breakpoint there then below is the setting.

Goto “Debug -> Exceptions”. From the Exceptions dialog box, check throw checkbox against “Common Language Runtime Exceptions” and click OK. That's it.... Visual Studio will automatically break at all errors for you.


Happy Coding!!

AOC Customer Support

It's been almost a year that I am using the AOC monitor. Suddenly one fine day the monitor display is gone. I was quite distressed and started making calls and the guys from where I bought the monitor told me that I can call the AOC's customer support number, which is also mentioned in the cover. I called up AOC customer care and registered a complaint, within 2 days I got a response and they fixed the problem. Then after 2 days it started giving another problem but this time they replace my LCD monitor. I am very satisfied with AOC's after sale service mainly because every-time they called me back to know the status and the service guys came without much of a follow up from my side, which I felt is very professional.

AOC customer support number: 

18004252318, 

080-41122335, 

080-32430234

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Refresh Problem

I have upgraded my Visual Studio Editor to VS 2010 and I just love working on it but I faced this refresh problem where the VS screen was not getting refreshed and I had to resize the window to get the refreshed screen, which was quite annoying. I posted the issue to Microsoft and this is the resolution, which I got and it worked fine for me. Thanks to Microsoft support team for the same. The resolution is to disable the visual studio hardware acceleration on the machine. Below is the step to do the same.

Step 1: 
From Visual Studio menu bar, goto Tools/Options/Environment/General

Step 2: 
Under Visual experience group box, uncheck the the below check boxes.


i) Automatically adjust visual experience based on client performance
ii) Use hardware graphics acceleration if available.

Hair fall problem in women: post-pregnancy

Post the birth of my second child my wife started complaining about excessive hair fall. I would see a lot of hair lying around on the floor but I didn’t take it seriously, until she showed me by combing her hair, which resulted in huge locks of hair in her hand and it was only then that she had all my attention. I hit the panic button and was ready to take her to the doctor . But she told me its normal post-pregnancy because of all the hormonal changes in her body. Like everyone else I thought of checking it up in the net as quite frankly wife getting bald was in fact freaking me out (LOL). I was quite relieved to find out it’s a temporary situation and the hair would come back in 6-12 months. The first 3 months post-pregnancy (or postpartum – medical jargon for post-pregnancy) is the worst. But if the hair fall seems abnormal it is best to consult a doctor because it could be because of other health reasons. Although it’s best to take measures to make sure the hair fall is to the minimum by far possible. Few tips that have been recommended are:

1. Cut short your hair.
2. Use a wide tooth comb.
3. Use a shampoo/conditioner that suits your hair.
4. Avoid brushing hair vigorously
5. Multivitamins and have good amount of protein in your diet
You will find hundreds of article on this topic. The below article near about explains what you as a layman needs to know.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/hairloss.html


If you are a man and you have a hair fall problem, well then bad news for you my friend. All I could find in the net is pretty much “may god be with you“, unless it’s caused by some medication. Only way you can have your precious hair back is by “Implant…. Hair Implant” *


*in James Bond style.

Power of Presentation

Last week I took my kid cousin to MacDonald’s. I asked him what he wanted to have and he said he want to have the same things which is shown in the TV advert. I pointed to Mac-Chicken and he happily nodded. So I ordered 2 Mac-Chicken, 1 Pepsi and regular French-fries. I got the order in a tray and guess what, he did not want that. I asked why and he told me it did not look like the one shown in the advert and he pointed at another kid who was having the same thing but he picked up the burger out of a box (the happy meal Mac-D box). I tried to reason with him that it was the same burger in the box which you got here and apart from that he got the fries and the Pepsi so no difference. Then my cousin promptly counters my argument saying “it’s also got a toy in it”. I asked him to at least taste the burger and after several minutes of convincing he did tastes the burger, which after one bite he flatly declares he hated the taste and after that he refused to take another bite of the burger. I was angry but I cool off my emotions and offered him to take anything else since we were in a food court so he had quite a few outlets to choose his snacks from. But he just said no and kept staring at the other kid’s box. So I finally decided to take him back to MacDonald’s. I asked him what he wanted and he pointed to the MacDonald’s happy meal box. So I ordered another one of the same thing, which was exactly what we ordered few minutes back except the box and the toy. But this time I specifically asked the counter guys to wrap the burger in the box and give the toy as well (the price was different because of the toy). Now my kid bro was happy, it was a double take for him as he got the box and the toy….. ahh well along with that the burger, Pepsi and fries to compliment it. He played with the toy for a while and he took a bite of the burger. I asked him whether he liked the burger and he happily said yes… the same burger which he swore he hated the taste of. He left the burger after few bites. This happened few days back as for the toy I guess that last time he played with it was the day he got it.


Well few things that can be said about human behavior (though it varies from person to person):


1. Presentation makes hell lot of a difference.
2. If the presentation is good we tend to ignore the quality at times. Our mindset is more like if the look is good the product got to be good.
3. Free Stuff that comes with the product at display (does not matter how insignificant the free product is or how cheap the free product is) but it surely increases the probability of us buying the same. At times we give more importance on the free stuff then the actual product.

How much to invest for future?

     There is always this question which baffles most of us, how much should we save for our future and where and all do we make investment?

     Well to start with, according to general statistics you should save the % of your salary equivalent to your age, which means if you are 20 years old then save 20% of your income, if you are 30 years of age then save 30% of your income as so forth. So the younger you are the less you need to save. That's the basic idea and you also have to be consistent if you want a future where you are self dependent.

     Also if you have a figure in your mind like “I wish to have a bank balance of 1-crore post retirement” then it becomes easier to save, as now you have a target to achieve. Setup your mindset to achieve the goal you have in mind and work towards it. Here is the another piece of information, if you target to have 1-crore then you definitely need to target for more than that as almost always you have other obligations like children’s education, their marriage, unforeseen circumstance etc.

     It’s best to assume that you earn at least 30% less than your actual income and religiously invest that for your future. Divide the investment that you have allotted every month and invest 60% in safe investment like

1. PPF (Personal Provident Fund)
2. Fixed Deposit
3. KVP (Kishan Vikas Patra) KVP are measured as one of the most safe investment tool. It has the backing of the Government of India, although there is no tax benefit. In KVP the money is doubled in 8.7 years)
4. LIC
5. Health Insurance if you need to

Other 40% you might invest in MF, ELSS, shares etc.

Make sure you have covered your tax limit for the year by investing where it gives tax benefit before invest where it does not give any tax benefit like KVP etc.

     There is also a buzz, which is going around “Highest NAV guaranteed”. The fund management company always gives a rosy picture but they don’t explain the flip of the coin. Below are two articles, which explain the fine lines. So if you are investing then be sure what you are getting into, no point complaining later.
Best to stay away from guaranteed nav plans
NAV based Insurance plans

Hope this article was of use to you. Please do share with us if you are aware of any better investment opportunity.

GLOBAL WARMING

     If anyone asks me what is the best thing about Bangalore, the first thing which I always say is “Bangalore has got a very nice weather.” But, it seems like this statement of mine is soon going to change, as Bangalore is getting hotter by the day.

     I came to Bangalore in 2004 and from then till now there is roughly about 4-5 degrees of temperature change. I am sure the government is doing something about this but unfortunately that something is not enough. There is definitely a need to do more than what is being done.

     I personally feel Metro is a great way to start but it needs to be efficient like most of the European countries and also Asian countries like china etc. If the Metro is efficient it will not only reduce the traffic above the ground but It will also reduce sound pollution, smoke, petrol consumption and will also contribute to the tackling of the global warming issue.

     The government should also take initiatives for converting all the buses and autos running in diesel to CNG. Delhi’s is a much better place because of this step alone.

     Bangalore has boulevards but that is not enough. More trees need to be planted especially the outer ring road areas. More parks should be introduced. Where I stay the government had allotted a piece of land as children’s park. In the name of park all that has been done is fencing the area and instead of children playing all I see is some cars and tractors parked there. The so-called park looks more like a waste land.

     Before the global warming issue goes out of hand we should take steps to fight against it.

     Related links: [Rising Sea]
                       [Indian teen addresses UN on climate change]
                       [London, Bombay, Tokyo etc under water by 2100]

3 Years LLB Course with Evening Classes

If you are thinking of talking up 3 years LLB course in Bangalore and if you are working and wish to do correspondence course then here is the scenario. I am talking in terms of Bangalore options only.

Good news is there is 3 Years LLB course available and it ends there, bad news is no correspondence course, which is BCI* approved, effectively what it means is that you might find some LLB correspondence course but you cannot practice in the court of LAW. Also if you are thinking of joining evening classes then that is also not available in Bangalore which is BCI* approved.

I checked out IGNOU option also, they do have correspondence course but it’s not BCI approved. If anyone has any other information regarding this then please share it with us.

*BCI: Bar Council of India

Recharge your Vodafone prepaid phone online

     I am using Vodafone cellular service and recently I was browsing the portal for different tariff options. While doing so I came across a link by which one can top-up online. I found it very convenient and useful. I know I am not the first one to know about this link but I am pretty sure I am not the last one either. This is for those who are not aware of it. You can recharge using credit card or net banking.

    Follow the link below to recharge your Vodafone pre-paid online [Vodafone Recharge link]

MEGHALAYA – Where nature speaks

     After crossing the snake trail road and 4 hours journey from Guwahati we reached Shillong. Altitude of Shillong is about 1520 meters from sea level and is sandwiched between Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills with pine trees all around. Shillong is definitely one of the best hill stations in the country. I never been to Scotland so I cannot make the comparison but Shillong is described as “Scotland of the East”. Shillong is the capital of Meghalaya. It was my 3rd visit and I enjoyed Shillong every time I was there. We stayed in Rainbow Hotel, which I think is quite a nice place. It’s got extensive wood-work which makes it quite cozy. It cost me 1500 bucks for a night with 4 beds. I always enjoy hill stations in winters.

     There are many places to visit. Some of them which I can recommend are Shillong Peak, Elephant falls, Ward’s Lake, Golf course, Botanical garden and a beautiful church to name a few. Shillong peak gives a great view overlooking the entire Shillong town. Elephant falls is awesome and the water is freezing over there. Its named Elephant falls because there was a rock by the side of the falls, which resembles an elephant, although the rock formation was destroyed in an earthquake.

     If you love eating out then Shillong offers you Chinese, Indian, Tibetan, khun kesh food etc. Don’t miss out on the momos here, you can get both veg and non-veg momos. I had my dinner at Barbeque Chinese restaurant in Police Bazaar and I liked the food over there and I am sure there are many great places to eat out in Shillong.

     If you want to shop then you can go to Tibetan market where you can shop although it does not offer you high end elegant stuff but it’s decent and reasonable but the market complex is very claustrophobic

     From Shillong we headed for Cherapunji, which is an obvious destination. It’s 58km from Shillong. We rented a taxi for 1200 bucks. Cherapunji offers you great view, mist all around, waterfalls, caves etc, but I feel you can cover Cherapunji in a day. I liked Mausmai cave a lot and also Nohkalikai waterfall which is the world’s 4th highest falls. When we went there the waterfall was only a narrow stream of water but I heard monsoon changes the face of the fall and that’s when Nohkalikai unleashes nature’s fury. You can walk down quite a number of steps towards the fall to get a better view but stepping up can be quite tiresome, so be prepared if you do choose to step down. There is also an Ecology park near by which you can visit. The view is just amazing from there. Its said monsoon is the only season in Cherapunji and the highest recorded rainfalls stretches for 5 months. Cherapunji no longer holds the place for highest rainfall. Now Mawsynram is the place with highest rainfall, which is just 10km from Cherapunji. I had a great trip and enjoyed my 2days stay in Meghalaya and I do recommend visiting Meghalaya where nature is still at its best. You can make out from the fact that Meghalaya’s forest is 9496 km square, which is more that 42 percent of the total geographic area of the state

     Places I wish to visit next would be Darjeeling and Tawang but for now I will have to go back to my office world.

Hongkong – Amazing Asia

     Hong Kong is the fashion capital of Asia, financial hub with sky-scrapers to gel with it. It's a well organized city and a SAR (Special Administrative Region) of China. You don’t need a visa to enter Kong Kong if you wish to stay for less than 14 days. At the customs only you will be given a temporary visa. All they will check apart from the usual security check is the return ticket and whether you have enough money to sustain for those many days. The British rule HK for many years and there is a definite impact of that in HK. Most of the street names are European names. The street names and signboards have got both English and Chinese, which is very convenient and I would have to say most of the people here know English but I am sure it’s a different story if you go to main-land China. So for a foreigner in HK, it’s easy to explore without getting lost

     In the must see places in HK, you got to visit “The Peak”, “Victoria Harbour’s Avenue of Stars”. Again, if you are fan of Mickey Mouse then don’t leave out Disneyland and last but not least Big Buddha. Also if you have got time and money try to make it to Macau. Macau is the mecca of Gambling where the stakes are high and adrenaline keeps pumping. You can take a ferry to Macau. You don’t require visa for Macau either if you are going for less then 14 days. Apart from that there are endless shopping malls, food joints and techno lights all over. You will always feel like a festive season because of the lights. Also don’t miss Causeway Bay, Central, Tai Koo and Tsim Sha Tsui. In Tsim Sha Tsui you will get all the big brands where you can shop till you drop. There are also some really good parks like Victoria Park if you fancy jogging, which is definitely not in my agenda. You can also take the Ferry and take a trip. You can get ferry from many different places as HK is an island

     I stayed at the “Park Lane”, lovely hotel and awesome place with great view. It’s in Causeway Bay area. Hotels like the Inter Continental, The Peninsular, Sheraton etc are in Tsim Sha Tsui area and gives you a panoramic view overlooking the Victoria Harbor

If you wish to go to the peak, then go to central tube station. Ask some one, which exit should be taken for the Peak Trum, never the less it’s also mentioned in the information board. You have to cross the street and walk uphill, maybe 4-5 min and you will reach the Peak Trum station. The return fare charge is 33 HKD (when I was last there).

     En-route to Avenue of Star: take MTR to East Tsim Sha Tsui tube station and follow Exit-J sign and from there you can walk to Avenue of Stars via business center mall. From Avenue of Star you can see the other side of the HK with all the sky-scrapers. The best time to go there is evening as the view is simply amazing. It’s somewhat like Westminster Bay of London.

     The metro (MTR) here is very efficient and if you are new in HK then metro is the answer for you. Very easy to commute and it connects almost every place of HK. I found very few differences between UK metro and HK metro. The only difference is that in UK metro the compartments are separated but in HK metro you can literally walk from the first compartment to the last one. One good thing about UK metro is that you can take an Octopus card top up for month validity (for a specific zone) and then you don’t have to worry about topping it up until that time. In HK also you have octopus card but every time you travel equivalent fare till that destination station will be deducted but you can use that octopus card in many shops across HK as well. It acts more like a debit card. Again in Europe you will find couple kissing passionately while travelling but in HK almost everybody is hooked on to their mobile or walkman or some super gizmo stuff :-) speaking of which, pirated Windows 7 OS is already out here in Chinese market even before the official launch of the software. I wonder how!!!!!!

     If you are Chinese food lover it’s a paradise for you. But if you are vegetarian then you are in the wrong part of the world. I also tried out some authentic Japanese food at Ichikawa, which is there in Citiplaza (Tai koo). I ate raw fish like prawns, salmon etc and to be honest it wasn’t too bad, I liked it. It was a totally different experience. Japanese and Chinese food are less spicy than Indian or Vietnamese etc. I liked food republic at Citiplaza because you get different cuisines to try out like Thia, Hongkong, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese etc at one place.

     Here you have got 2 different words for thank you in Chinese. If some one has gifted you something then you say “Toa Chie” and if someone has helped you or for service, you say “Goi”.

     All in all I really enjoyed my stay in Hong Kong but it’s good to be back in India. As the saying goes “No place like home”.

Office [interregnum]

var projectTransition = function ()
{

    HongKong;
    Fun at work; //Work;
    Team Lunch;
    Lots of Sushi and noodle soup;
    Travel and sightseeing;
    Reading cool stuff;

}

OSD Lock problem in AOC monitor

I recently bought a new AOC 22’’ F22S monitor and just after few days I get this OSD lock problem. OSD stands for “On screen Display”. We need the OSD to alter monitor settings. Tried many thing but that OSD lock is pretty persistent and it was not going at all. After much of a hassle this is the solution that worked. I thought I should let others know if they have bought AOC monitor and is facing the same problem.

Turn off monitor using the center button. Now, keep holding the left navigation button while turning the monitor on. This should hopefully turn off the OSD lock.

INDIAN PASSPORT FOR MINORS (BANGALORE RPO)

After much delaying for several reasons I finally geared up to bring out my daughters passport. She is minor, infant really (1year 3 months). So I started filling up the passport application form and after that looking at the ANNEXTURE’s. My wife and I both had valid INDIAN passport and we are neither divorced nor separated so that narrows down to 3 forms, which are as follows ANNEXTURE “H”, ANNEXTURE “I” and ANNEXTURE “F”. I believe you have to fill in some extra ANNEXTURE forms for divorced or separated parents.
ANNEXTURE “H” anyways you have to fill in a plain paper and signed by both the parents so not much hassle. Now we are left with ANNEXTURE “I” and ANNEXTURE “F”.

DAY 1:
It was almost 3:10 PM, so I thought of paying a visit to Passport office once, and I had a feeling the work will not be done. Anyways I went down to RPO office, Koramangala. I reached there by 4:00 PM and it was all empty so I figured out its closed for the day. I asked the security guard there of the timings and he told me it’s from 9 AM till 12 AM only. So who ever get inside the office before 12 AM their work will be proceeded after 12 AM but no new entry after 12 AM. I suggest if you are all prepared with all your documents it’s better to go early. I asked him if ANNEXTURE “I” and ANNEXTURE “F” is required and he said “yes” and told me I have to go the court and there you will get NOTARY OFFICERS who can give affidavits for those forms. So I went to Mayo Hall near BANGALORE CENTRAL mall. You will always find lawyers there ready to greet you. I went along with the lawyer who was standing right at the gate and I told him I want affidavit for ANNEXTURE “I” and ANNEXTURE “F”. He said he can only help me with ANNEXTURE “F” for which he will charge 300 bucks, which I feel was high but I did not bargain. After some time he came back again and told me that he knows a guy who can help me with ANNEXTURE “I”. I said fine. He took me to another lawyer and he immediately was asking like give me all this details etc. I asked him how much and he very casually said 4000 bucks. I was totally pissed off and I did not even argue with him and said no and came back. Anyways I came back home and I was thinking from where I will get this done and I started browsing the net to see if ANNEXTURE “I” and ANNEXTURE “F” are mandatory for minor and browsed to one of the blog. There it was mention that ANNEXTURE “I” and ANNEXTURE “F” are not required.

DAY 2:
I directly went to RPO office and reached there at 10:10 AM. For tatkal there is a different line at the back of the office where you have to take a token and go inside the office. It was a very long line. I also came to know there that you can take the token online and you save time by not standing in the line to take the token. The online token is given out for the next day and is valid for one day. I don’t have the token link but you can Google the passport token link and fill in the information and take a print out copy of it and go directly to RPO the next day.
Once you enter inside the RPO office and go to the room, there is a line next to the door for document verification. We did not know about that and were waiting for our token number to be called. Anyways it’s good that we realized in time and validated our document. After that you wait for your token number and submit your form and then go to first floor, meet the Assistant Regional Manager and then go to counter number 8 in first floor itself to pay the money. I was charged Rs 2100 as fee for tatkal (all inclusive).

Few other important pointers:1. Carry 2 copies of each of the document that you are attaching like address proof etc along with the originals. Don’t forget to carry the original document.
2. If you are providing the rental agreement or gas connection or phone bill then make sure you have got the latest bill or current year’s rental agreement. I am not very sure if they honor the rental agreement. It’s better to carry Voter ID card or PAN card if the address is same as the present address.
3. If the passport is for minor then bring your baby along with you. If the baby is too small they might consider else they might ask to bring the baby.
4. It’s always helpful to carry all documents (address proof’s etc) just in case they don’t accept the other. Go prepared with documents if you don’t want to revisit again.
5. Carry a pen with you, very important.
6. For minor since there is no police verification is required (if both the parents have a valid INDIAN passport) the last 2 pages of the form (where you furnish the information in duplicate) is also not required but it’s better to fill in and go.
7. So in my case only one picture of my daughter was needed along with ANNEXTURE “H”, Xerox copy of both the parent’s passport and the address proof for which I have produced my voter ID card.
8. You are not asked for the proof of urgency for tatkal, but if you do have some sort of proof like an email from office etc, it’s better to carry just in case.
9. For minor, ANNEXTURE "I" and ANNEXTURE "F" are not required.

The service in RPO is prompt so if you have all the documents, you should be out of RPO office in half a day. Hope this article will help you with your kid’s passport. All the best. Cheers.


PS: Please look at the comments section, as lot of useful tips has been posted.

CLASSIC SONGS – Relive the moment in movies

There are many songs, which were huge hits when they were first released but forgotten but certain movies have made those songs and their musicians relive their forgotten glory.

I am listing a few, which I came across. This listing is not in any specific order and I love all of them. Please do share your favorites and add on to the list by adding comments to it. I would love to listen to any new song I come across.

1. Who’s gonna drive you home by The Cars from the movie Transformers – An unlikely movie to have this song as the movie is all about robot invasion. I feel the song is damn romantic with a soft tune to it. Youtube link

15. It must been love by Roxette from the movie Pretty Woman. It’s a classic,the movie as well as the song. Youtube link

3. It's Not Goodbye by Laura Pausini from the movie Sweet November. She hails from Italy and has got a soulful and a much heavier voice then most of her female contemporaries, which make’s her stand out as a unique singer. Youtube link

4. Tomorrow never dies by Sheryl Crow from the movie Tomorrow never dies. She has performed this song with such elan and poise that at times I feel no other artist could do justice to this song as she did. Youtube link

5. Sinnerman by Nina Simone from the movie The Thomas crown Affair . When I listen to this song I feel something exciting is about to happen. Her voice is unique and I love it. Shortly after this I realized there was another “The Thomas Crown Affair” released in 1968 starring Faye Dunaway and Steve McQueen. I so want to watch the older Thomas Crown movie but I haven’t got hold of the movie yet. Youtube link

6. Everything (... is never quite enough) by Wasis Diop from the movie The Thomas Crown Affair. Wasis Diop is an African singer from Senegal who later moved to France. Listening to this song, I just can’t help imagine myself in a mountain facing the sea and wind caressing me. I believe the song would be categorized under African pop genre. mp3 link

7. Time of my life by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes from the movie Dirty Dancing. A great song by itself and an awesome dance performance by Petrick Swayze and Jennifer Gray. This song rightfully picked up the Grammy in 1987. [Read more trivia about this song] Youtube link

8. My Sharona by The Knack from the movie Reality Bites. This song is a rock and roll, a foot tapping number and the best song by far by Knack. Youtube link



9. Every thing I do I do it for you by Bryan Adams from the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. This song is a record holder for the longest time spent at no.1 in the charts in many countries like UK, US, France etc. In UK it stayed for like 16 weeks. I don’t have to say anything about this guy. He is a true rock star and music would be incomplete without him. Youtube link

10. Have you ever loved a woman by Bryan Adams from the movie Don Jaun DeMarco. You can definitely feel the Spanish touch in this song and it remained number one for 5 weeks. It has very soulful lyrics. Chris Daughtry performed this song during the American Idol competition and he rightfully quoted the song “It’s got all the elements of a great love song”. Youtube link

11. What a wonderful world by Louis Armstrong from the movie Madagascar. No matter what I say it will not be enough to praise this song. It’s a masterpiece from a legend. He was an American jazz trumpeter and singer. In 60’s when jazz was at its peak, Louis was right there at the top. His voice is most distinctive and you should see him singing. If we ever compile the greatest collection of all times, it would be incomplete without this number. Youtube link.

12. You sexy thing by Hot Chocolate from the movie The full Monty. It was written by Hot Chocolate lead singer Errol Brown. It was a huge hit in the 70’s and it always sounds good whenever I listen to it. Youtube link



13. Staying Alive by Bee Gees from the movie Saturday night fever staring John Travolta. Disco was all that dominated at that point of time and this song just created hysteria amongst its listeners. It’s is a forever classic and whether you love disco or not you would love this song. At the same time I cannot leave out any of the songs sang by Bee Gees for Saturday Night fever which are: How deep is your love, More than a woman, Night Fever. Staying alive (Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk, I’m a woman’ man; no time to talk… that’s how it goes), this song was all over the charts back then. This album was certified 15x Platinum. Staying Alive, How deep is your love, More than a woman, Night fever

14. You’re the one that I want by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John from the movie Grease. This compilation is incomplete without this song. Youtube link

15. You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine by Lou Rawls from the movie Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. His voice was smooth as silk and he could sing effortlessly. Youtube link

16. Baby, I love your way by Big Mountain from the movie Reality Bites. Big Mountain redefined Reggae and put more popish tune to it. It's still so refreshing to listen to songs like Baby, I love your way, Sweet Sensual Love, I would find a way etc etc. It put Reggae into perspective for me. I also listened to UB 40, Bob Marley but I have to admit, for Reggae I go more on a song by song basis than on a group basis, effectively it means I am not a big fan of Reggae but there are few songs, which are right there at the top of my favourate play list. Youtube Link

Music plagiarism on the high

[img source]
We always branded Anu Malik of copying music and probably branded him as king of Inspiration, but PRITAM is just in another level of Inspiration. Pritam has gone global, he gets his inspiration from english, arabic, korean, indonesian, bangali etc. I am just trying to figure out if there is any song, which he has actually composed on his own !!!

I got this list mentioned below as fwd mail in my mailbox, so thought of sharing it. It's the list of music, which Pritam has composed or should I say "Inspired by". Well if Pritam is denying all this, in that case also clearly some one must be getting highly inspired down the line, but for now go through the links below and you do the math.


Race Song Pehli Nazar copy of Chinese Kim Hyung Song Sarang Hae Yo
ORIGINAL
COPY

Race Song Zara Zara Touch Me copy of Lee-Hom Wang's 'Zhu Lin Shen Chu'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Gangstar's Bheege Bheege Se Hai Rate copy of Prithibi ta na ki chotto hote hote-Mohiner Ghodaguli
ORIGINAL
COPY

Jab we met's 'Yeh ishq kya' copy of Anggun's Être Une Femme
ORIGINAL
COPY

Jab We Met Aao milo chale copy Indonesian band, Peterpan's 'Di Belakangku'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Woh Lamhe 'Kya mujhe pyaar hai'copy of Indonesian Band 'Tak bisakah'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Bhool Bulaiya Halla Hafiz copy of Amr Diab's Awedony
ORIGINAL
COPY

Dhol Dil Liya copy of Dania Khatib's 1999 hit, 'Leiley'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Life in a Metro song Baatein kuch ankahee copy of Korean song, 'Ah Reum Dah Oon Sa Ram' by Seo Yu Seok!
ORIGINAL
COPY

Bhool Bhulaiyya Hare ram hare ram copy of Bill Hailey's Oriental Rock
ORIGINAL
COPY

Life in a Metro song O Meri jaan copy of Queensryche's Silent Lucidity and Amr Diab's Ba'ed el Layali
VERSION 1
VERSION 2
COPY

Pyar ke side effects song Jaane kya copy of 'Mahi' by Hadiqa Kiyani
ORIGINAL
COPY

Woh Lamhe song Chal Chale copy of a 1965 track called 'A World of our own' by the band, The Seekers
ORIGINAL
COPY

Dhoom Song DHOOM AGAIN copy of a song called 'Dudu' from Tarkan
Portions edited appropriately
ORIGINAL
COPY


Speed song Tikki Tikki copy of Turkish pop superstar Tarkan's 2003 hit, 'Dudu'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Agnipankh song Janmabhoomi & Zindagi hai copy of Abrar-ul-haq's 'December
ORIGINAL
COPY VERSION 1
COPY VERSION 2

Bhagam Bhag songs Signal & Afreen copy of Trinidadian Soca hit, 'Signal for Lara' by Superblue & Cheb Mami's 2001 track, 'Viens Habibi'
VERSION 1
VERSION 2
COPY VERSION 1
COPY VERSION 2

Life in a Metro In dino copy of Waqar Ali's 'Mera naam hai mohobbat'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Raqueeb songs 'Jaane kaise' copy of Amr Diab's 2003 track, 'Allem albi' and song 'Channa ve channa' copy of Pashto singer Rahim Shah.
VERSION 1
VERSION 2
COPY VERSION 1
COPY VERSION 2

Kya Love Story Hai Song 'Miss you everyday' Lift of Lebanese singer Karina's 2006 chartbuster 'Alatoul'

'Jab se tum mile ho' is a lift from Pakistani singer Hadiqa Kiyani's 1996 number (album: Raaz), 'Jab se tum milay ho'!
VERSION 1
VERSION 2
COPY

Kya Love Story Hain song 'Deewana teri aankhon ka' copy of Black Eyed Peas' 'Bebot'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Kya Love Story Hai song Gum sum hai dil mera copy of Thai song, 'Oh la nor...my love' by Bird Thungchai.
ORIGINAL
COPY

Ankahee song Aa paas aa copy of Ottmar Liebert's 'Starry nite (March of Kings)
ORIGINAL
COPY

Apna sapna money money song Dil mein baji guitar copy of song, 'Sheloha shela' by the Middle Eastern group, Miami Band
ORIGINAL
COPY

Woh Lamhe song 'Tu Jo nahi' copy of 'Tu Jo Nahi SB John
ORIGINAL
COPY

Bas ek Pal song 'Hai ishq' copy of Yuri Mrakadi's 'Arabiyon Ana'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Pyaar Ke Side Effects song 'Is this love' copy of Paul Anka's 1969 track 'A-mi-manera'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Ankahee Title song copy of Boney M's 1984 track, 'Somewhere in the world'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Gangster
Song 'Ya ali' copy of Arabic band Guitara's 'Ya ghaly'
ORIGINAL
COPY


SOng 'Lamha lamha' lifted form Waris Baig's 1998 track, 'Kal shab dekha maine'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Song 'Bheegi bheegi' lift from Mohiner Ghoraguli's Bangla jibhonmuki gaan
ORIGINAL
COPY

Song Tu hi meri shab hai copy of 'Sacral Nirvana' by Oliver Shanti & Friends
ORIGINAL
COPY

Dhoom song DHoom Macchale copy of Jesse Cook's 'Mario takes a walk'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Ek Hasina Thi
Song Akhiyaan Na Maar copy of Pakistani singer Waris Baig's 2004 track, 'Challa'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Song Jal Jal Ke copy of Yuri Mrakadi's 2001 track, 'Arabiyon Ana'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Fight Club Song Chorein ki Batein copy of Pakistani singer Ali Zafar's 'Channo ki aankhen'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Ek Khiladi Ek Hasina song 'Jhoom' Lifted from Britney Spears' commercial for Pepsi, 'Joy of Pepsi'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Garam Masala
Songs 'Dil samundar' copy of Turkish singer Tarkan's 'Kuzu kuzu'
ORIGINAL
COPYM

Song 'Chori Chori' copy of Balwinder Safri's 'Hai rabba'
VERSION 1
VERSION 2
COPY

Song'Ada' copy of song Amr Diab's Ana
ORIGINAL
COPY

Dhoom song Shikdum copy of Tarkan's 'Sikidim'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Chocolate
Song 'Zahreeli raatein' copy of Jal's 'Aadat'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Song 'Bheega bheega sa' copy of Abrar-ul-Haq's 'December'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Song 'Halka halka sa' copy of 'Breeze from Saintes Maries'
ORIGINAL
COPY

Being a father

After losing our first child, we both were very skeptical about our second child and kept a low profile as in like not telling it upfront to anyone. Finally the day came when we were blessed with a baby girl. When the doc rushed in to the corridor calling out for me saying my wife’s name as “Raina’s baby”, I was confused whether or not the child was mine, as the doc mispronounced my wife’s name. My wife’s name is Rainan. I figured out it’s me she was referring to, so I went up to her, she smiled at me and put my baby in my arms almost immediately and gave me one more broad smile, congratulated me and told me she is a cute baby. I was so very nervous. She was so fragile. However I cleared my doubt about whether she was my baby or not, I verified my doctor’s name :-). After a long wait finally everybody gathered in our allotted ward and rejoiced. I could see a sense of relief in everyone’s face. My wife also managed to smile with all the operation pain . The joy of being a father is different, it’s nice to see a child’s serene face, I am sure it’s even more if the baby is yours. Back in my mind so many things started creeping in, like…. will I be a good father, will I be able to give my child all that she requires, don’t forget to collect the vaccinations chart, and the baby clothes, oh damn we need diapers, which school and all kinds of other similar stuff.

After 3 days in hospital we came back home. That day was a nightmare. She started crying at 10 at night and kept doing so till 2:30 in the morning. Finally we took her to the hospital and doc diagnosed the possible reason as hunger or colic and gave few drops of colicaid and after some time things came back to normal. That was one scary night, I was like…. fish man it’s only the first day.

Soon came the day when I had to change diapers. God the smell..!!( I usually escape all this because my mom and mom-in-law was there). Anyways days rolled by… actually its still rolling…long sleepless nights … rocking her in my arms... and I love kissing her on the cheeks, although everybody instantly shouts at me “Ur beard will hurt her”, which I always ignore. She smells so good like all babies. I keep staring at her tender hands and feet. But I have to admit mothers go through a lot while raising a baby, because it’s not fun all the way. A baby requires constant attention of someone and that someone is always “mother”. It could be tiresome at times. Its really amazing a baby can recognize her mother’s smell in less than 4 hours, when I have to wait for 40 days before she recognize me as someone in her life or so the book says... she might be thinking like “who is this with thorns all over the face who tortures me everyday”.. he he.

I have seen a lot of changes in my wife. She is much more dedicated than I have imagined she would be. Being parents brings along with it a lot of responsibility. It teaches you patience, love and compassion. It requires patience because you have to take care of the little birdie day in and day out, and sometimes it can be nerve racking.

We’ve named her Aisha Yasmin . She also has a number of nick names like my wife at times refers to her as "sorai", which means bird in Assamese. It kinda suits her as she is small and at times she also makes sounds like a bird. I have failed to play any singnificant role as of now, which I regret. Maybe someday...

MITHYA Vs BHEJA FRY

Two different movies but almost the same cast: Vinay Pathak, Ranveer Shorey and Rajat Kapoor. Although Rajat is associated with Mithya he is not acting in it. I think it’s a right decision that he chose not to act. I felt he would not have fitted into any of the characters.

Bheja Fry is a painfully hilarious movie. Vinay did a great job and I loved the movie. It’s a movie, where you don’t have to think too hard. Just enjoy and try not to derive any morals out of it. Well you can actually, something like “Don’t make fun of others; it might boomerang”. I enjoyed watching Bheja Fry although Vinay’s character got into my nerves. Vinay’s character was all ga ga about himself all the time.

Arindam Chaudhuri’s (author of “Count Your Chicken Before They Hatch” fame) Mithya I think was a much media hyped movie. From the promos it seemed like it’s a comedy flick. So the anticipation of the movie was high with “Bheja Fry” to back it up. In the opening week the multiplexes went houseful, but failed to create any impact on the masses. I am not sure what the story wanted to convey. They were trying hard to give a moral but I got confused what should be derived out of it, like

1. Make sure your face does not resemble any gangster, if it does God help you.
2. Don't be a struggling actor and get kidnapped.
3. Don’t fall from high ground and loose your memory.

I think the author had a fight with his girlfriend/wife when he penned down the ending of the story and so he decided to kill the protagonist and his female counterpart, too bad, quite an ironic ending. Nasir, an actor with great potential does not have much of a part to play and his acting skills were under utilized. With his jazzy clothes he looked more of a 70’s rock star with the fading effects of Elvis. I personally didn’t like the movie but you will like it if black comedy is in your interest list.

Quiz time, no prizes for guessing the correct answer.

What was the movie Mithya all about?
A) Dinosaur from planet u’tat.
B) About mighty gorilla and how he fell in love with Naomi Watts.
C) I am still thinking and getting more confused and annoyed!!!!
D) Epic story of lion king and how he learned to climb tree.

Who directed this movie? (Hint to help you guess the correct answer)
A) Rajat Kapoor ( from Bheja fry fame)
B) Picasso ( the painter)
C) Bugs Bunny ( cartoon character)
D) Ninja Turtle from the Southern province of china.

What was the author thinking when he wrote the plot of Mithya?
A) His mother and almighty god.
B) Who will count the chicken when they hatch their eggs?
C) What to do with the rotten eggs?
D) Who the fuck gives a damn.

What’s your style? - Part I

Writing style is unique for every writer. As a child I read few of short stories including “The adventures of tom sawyer” by Mark Twin and “The adventures of Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe etc. Just in case you want to go through his adventures Click here [Source: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/sawyr-table.html]. I got acquainted with novels when I was in class 9 (that’s my best guess). I started with Enid Blyton. She was my favourite novelist as I was growing up.

Enid Blyton: Just to give a brief about Enid Blyton. Her full name is Enid Mary Blyton. I guess the gender of Ms Blyton, must have come to you as a surprise, because many of us still think, “SHE is a HE”. Her prolific output of 700 books has been translated into more than 40 languages and sold in excess of 400 million copies worldwide. Her most famous work is the mystery series. Her writing style is very lucid and is in accordance with its audience i.e. children’s. Recently I bought a 3-combo series of Enid Blyton’s mystery adventures but could not really get into a mood to start it of. It’s far too simpler.

Then at the same time I also read few of Nancy Drew and the adventures of Hardy Boys. One interesting fast is that Nancy Drew books are published under the pseudonym “Carolyn Keene” regardless of actual author “Mildred Wirt Benson”.

From the juvenile series I graduated on to being a more serious/adult readership. I started with Sidney Sheldon. By jove not a bad choice I have made. Almost all his novels have been numero-uno international bestseller.

Sidney Sheldon: His novels grip you right from page 1. I just adore his “If tomorrow comes”, “Windmills of gods”… actually on a second thought I liked all of his work. In his all his novels the protagonist is always a lady. He does not write in a very complex way, which makes it easy to understand, and it’s got enough twist and turns to make you stick to the novel.

Dan Brown: He had gained new heights only after his “The da vinci code”. He has published 4 novels so far as of my knowledge and I have gone through all 4. Just to give you an idea I finished all his 4 novels in 15 days so I guess I don’t have to say he is addictive, which he is. He creates suspense just when you start of with the novel and he maintains the pace, which binds you to the novel throughout, much like Sidney Sheldon. Unfortunately someone has to die on the first page itself ha ha ha. His style is also very gripping and is very fast pace. Reading his first 2 novels (A&D and Da-Vince) the first impression is that he is more into symbolism but that is not the case, wait till you read the other 2 novels. He does his homework before he writes on a topic in his novels. He always gives an extensive background in all the topics, which he touches.

John Minahan: I have just read only one novel of his. “Mask” is based on a story of a deformed boy. Rocky Dennis was born with a rare genetic disorder that has deformed his face. I find this novel very inspiring. He knew he is going to die but he did not except pity or sympathy of others, does his own work and despite the fact the he is different he found joy and happiness in his own way. It’s a novel very well written will make you cry for sure. I could not hold back my tears. A must read novel.

My Child

I could not even see him. So much of expectation and anticipation, all boiled down to agony and pain. I am talking about my baby who did not make it to see this beautiful world.

I will always carry a pain which I cannot describe but in comparison to my wife I guess it’s nothing. She carried him for 8 and half month and then all of a sudden it’s gone, the smile in her face even with the pain and sleepless nights and all the plans around the baby. All that remains is a void and lot of ifs and buts. Worst thing is that I was not there besides her when she needed me the most.

She was not told about what happened, so long after the baby was gone she was under the impression that the baby is alright. She kept asking about him and all she got in response was he is ok, you take rest. And when she finally got to know it’s was a blank thought and a fear for which it was too late and a stream of uncontrollable and unstoppable tears and lot of unanswered question, why this happened?, what went wrong? Superstition creeped in. We were both feeling guilty for all the things we had planned for the baby, the name, the cloths we bought and whole lot of stuff what we will do, but it was too late for all that.

I remember dad used to call now and then when I was away from home. You ok, do u need anything etc etc. I used to tell him, what dad, relax why you worry so much? All he used to reply back is you will know when you have your own child. I know now, it’s so true.

VALUE ADDED TAX

Yesterday I went to shop for a trouser and zeroed down on one. On asking the sales person for the price, he replied “It’s 699 after discount plus you have to pay 4% VAT”. I asked for what joy did I have to pay VAT when it’s actually inclusive. I said I am going to buy the pair but not paying any VAT whatsoever. He said I had to talk to the manager and took me to the front desk. The guy stationed there too said the same thing and suggested I talk to the manager over the phone. He connects me to the manager and I explained the same thing thrice and told him that he was cheating the customers by taking an extra on an already inclusive tax. I could not believe that my reading the Times of India was proving to be of such an advantage. I guess he knew about it and so he could not counter argue with me on that and told me that from the following day he would not take any VAT. I said “Why? What’s wrong with today?” … and I got my trousers for 699 only. It felt really good. So I urge everyone to also go through the article below and raise your voice whenever you find any shop trying to double cross its customers. VAT actually reduces the price of the good and not otherwise.

To more about VAT please refer to. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1973650.cms

Add by UNICEF

Should I or shouldn’t I

In my prime times I often dreamt I am playing some good guitar tune (mostly I would portray myself playing the hotel California cords by Eagles) communing with like minds and of course in the midst of all there is always this beautiful girl (which keeps changing from dream to dream.. ha ha) who would appreciate the performance and eventually fall for me. Those vibes drives me wild and all I could do is increase the volume of my music system which was just not enough to match my passion. Sometimes I wonder whether it’s the girl or is it the guitar! I guess it’s a mix of both. I used to listen to music for hours and imagine myself performing in stage but never did anything to peruse my passion. I always wanted to do a guitar course but. Ironically I couldn’t even think of a reason why I didn’t.

I want to take a last shot at what I want to do all my life. At least a part of me keeps calling out to do it. The question is should I or shouldn’t I follow my dream. Not that I want to be a rock star but a stag performance wouldn’t be bad. Over the years when I look back and ask myself what is that I have achieved something thrilling, all that comes to my mind is a void. I want to learn guitar because I find it soul filling. Now that the girl in my life is fixed so no more girl problem, just the guitar is there. My current guitar literacy is limited to few words like G-major, G-minor.

I picture myself now how would I look with the gizmo guitar performing in stage. I guess performing in stage is not that big of a deal I just want to peruse the long lost dream.