Of Saturday and Sunday

After a very long time, I had a fulfilling weekend at Hyderabad. Yesterday went for a movie with Neha and Samarjit. Though I felt the Govinda movie a bit boring, the constant Neha-Laughter on every scene, made me feel that I am a highly humorless guy and hence I have no right to say that the movie was boring.
Another usual incident that happened in the cinema hall was about an unknown couple sitting next to me. Till interval, the girl was sitting besides me. Post interval, the guy (her husband/boyfriend/fiance/whatever), swapped seats. Fearing his sweethearts security, he sat next to me. Though even after swapping, there was a strong man sitting next to her(on the other side). Which means that guy thinks I am more a threat than the strong guy on the other side.

The best part of the evening was the dinner after the movie.

We went out to dine at Basera. After a very long time, after those college days, I saw someone doing justice to the unlimited Buffet system. The foodie in Samarjit was in full form(which according to him, is nothing compared to his old times). And I am really happy as long as the person with me goes on doing justice to food, so that I can do some justice to the Alcohol.
Ohh don't think I am a drunkard. Yesterday It was only cold drinks (Beer has fallen into that category ever since Egg became a veggie).

All this was at the Ohri's restaurant at Basera. For the dessert (another beer) we went to the Pub at basera. There we were witness to come cool dudes and dudis, who were drinking and dancing, with no sense of what is happening around them. Probably, they were chilling out. Or probably we are so crude dudes, that we can never do that, even If we really want to. Anyways, watching them was fun. We came to know what all we can never do.

So obviously today morning starts at noon. Evening went on a long drive with Ramesh along Shamirpet lake. Ramesh is one such nice person who is ready to join whenever you invite him. Way back did something which I have never done before. We stoppped-by at a soft toy stall. Probably the soft boy in me aroused today. Got a 2 and a 1/2 feet white feathery teddy bear, which, considering my height, looks really big when I see it. Now the question: Why should a crude-uncool dude ( the closest antonym of cool dude) like me, buy a teddy bear? Ohh no idea. Still thinking on it.

Anyways the weekend was really memorable one.

Postscript: Reader might think how boring this author is, who thinks and writes about people having fun/chilling out at pub as a very unusual act. Also reader might think why cant this guy gift the teddy. Remember, the author is still single and has given up looking.(the tragic end of the single and looking phase).

A day of bliss

Today I was just thinking of what makes for a day, at the end of which you can say you had bliss, a one-off day.

This is what I could think of and what I have been wanting to have since long.
Wake up in the morning by 6 AM to the hymns of MS Subbulakshmi's Suprabatham. Open the door, to see the Hindu lying on the veranda. Comfortably lift the paper and you should not see any pamphlets falling off from within the paper. (Which is never the case with the Hindu/Times in Hyderabad, or may be off late in Madras also. Recently Hindu gave a half page ad clarifying that it's not them who is doing this manipulation).

An easy chair in the Veranda, sit on it and mom comes with coffee - Not the Bru/Nescafe kind, but the proper filter coffee, with its rich aroma spreading around the veranda. This used to happen when I was in Madras, the only place I have stayed in an independent house.

Filter coffee with Hindu paper - Ah the best combination you can ever think off!
Neha says here, that when it comes to filter coffee I am The Sanjeev Kapoor of it!
An hour passes by reading Hindu.

Have a bath. Visit the nearby temple. Reminds me of the KK Nagar Aiyappa temple:-)

Head off to watch one of those morning shows like the Sun TV Vanakkam Tamilagam/ Asianet/Surya TV.

Next in the line comes up the most important and exciting meal of the day- The Breakfast - called so since you are now breaking the fast you were on since previous night.

For me, an ideal one would be some hot - steaming - soft Idly (Ohh ya the Khushboo idly kinds) with equally good Sambar and coconut chutney. The chutney would taste better to your tongue if its bit wet and hot (not the temperature). A plate of pongal would top up the pleasure. And some sweet - best at this time of the day would be the sweet pongal or Chakkara Pongal as it is called in Tamil.

An hour passes by watching one of those debate shows on TV - Sun TV Arattai Arangam. Next in the line is some mild reading. Spend some time reading the Sunday Magazine/Frontline kinds.

Now comes the lunch time. I would prefer a kerala Palakkad lunch.
Top it up with one of those Sunday special movies on Asianet/Surya. Next comes the sleep time.

The evening would be more fun if the next day is also a holiday, if not as blissful as this. Else the sheer thought of the next day routine makes this evening a dull one:-)

Head off to meet some school/college friends. Drive along to ECR. Used to be our everyday hangout in the last two years of college. Ashok Nagar to ECR , with a 2-3 minutes tea break(glorified way of saying a cig break), every 4-5 km - CIT Nagar, Adyar, Tiruvanmiyur.. Mostly till Mayajal - Oh not to watch a cool movie, but only to the tea kadai opposite it and to the un-attended beach alongside.

Way back home visit one of those Udupi hotels for the pre dinner intake. Set Dosa would fine at this time. Back home, have a light dinner, sleep.

This would be bliss! A bland way of so.. A one-off day.


Postscript: The activities and ingredients that make up bliss for the author need not be same for the reader. Remember, the author is still single and has given up looking.(the tragic end of the single and looking phase)

Product Review: DishTV Direct to Home Service

Being my first experience with the interactive television, it was quite exciting to start off.
Choose between multiple camera views to see Michael Clarke blasting. Or watch the highlights of the ongoing match whenever you want. Truly interactive.

Yes, DishTV's Direct to home service seems to be value for money.

1. Get to watch YOUR favorite channel.
2. Crystal clear - You would never know if the content is being served off your DVD player or from somewhere in the skies.
3. Pay only for what you want. If you want only the free-to-air channels, you dont need to pay any monthly charges.
   

The regional mix is really cool, where you can pickup a regional bundle of your choice (Tamil/Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi etc). Best part for me is, Tamil and Malayalam fall in the same category. My cable operator in Hyderabad gives me just 1 malayalam channel and 2 Tamil channels now and that too with extremely poor quality. For him Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada are all Madrasi. With DishTv I get some 20 Mallu and Tamil channels.

Some neat features:

• Select a Programme category - News, Sports, Cinema, Music, Movie-on-demand, Kids. Click on any category and your screen display splits into various parts showing the preview of channels which are airing programs of that category- in full web 2.0 style. Now click on the preview of the channel you need to watch and the preview now expands to cover the entire display area of your TV- Again in web 2.0 style.
• Select any channel and the channel preview is shown in the left part of the screen and the programme schedule for that channel on the right half. Browse over the schedule for the next few days.
• Create an alert for a particular programme while browsing through the schedule and you will be notified 1 minute to 1 hour before the start of that item.
• You casually browse through the channels and find a known movie being played but it takes a couple of phone calls to find out the name of the movie. Have you gone through this? This would no longer happen - thanks to an ' i' button on the remote which displays the information about the current programme. It's start time, end time, episode number, Cast, Genre. And if it’s a movie, a brief synopsis.
• I clicked on the sports category and it took me to world cup section which shows today’s match timings (When I clicked on it, it took me to that channel), the tournament stats, team stats, player stats and so on.)
• Highlights of the current match whenever I need.
• Multiple camera views
• Lot of radio channels (Including All India Radio-Chennai, AIR Malayalam..)
• Games
• Movie-on-demand: Imagine this. You go to a multiplex paying some 150 bucks for the ticket + 80 bucks for the so called 'combo' snack. And that too for a noon show on a Apr-May afternoon, if you haven't booked early enough.Now just Call up a toll free number/send an SMS to watch your favorite movie lying on the couch with loads of snacks and drinks and the cooler on.. It's bliss!(The multiplex+noon+ 230*2=460 Rs might seem better for some, but for non-romantic chronic stags like me couch+chips+cooler+movie would be all-tinme bliss!)

I heard Tata Sky DTH Service is also equally good. But haven’t tried it. Doordarshan also has DTH service (Apna DTH) since long. And there are no monthly charges for the DD DTH, but you only get the free channels. Probably DD should have marketed that long back in a much better way.

In the coming years lot of people would be moving from the tradational cable TV to the satellite TV. Especially since the Conditional Access System is being implemented in all big cities. Chennai was the first to implement CAS (without much noise), 4 years back. The pay for what you watch rule is picking up well.

Off late there’s lots of happening in the DTH space in India. Coming soon is Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Direct. (Sun TV’s)

To sum it up, DishTV DTH seems to be true value for money.