It's time to move on...

Before you think anything else after reading the title, let me clarify that I am not leaving to any other planet neither I am leaving someone nor I am bidding farewell to the blogging world.

So, what's changing? The platform I would be blogging on - yes, I have moved to my own site http://surineni.com/ , in case you are not aware, 'Surineni' is my last name. I opted for this as my first name 'Bharani' was already taken and my next option was to go for my last name. I would request who all are following and also those who want follow my blog from here on to update my blog's bookmark to:

http://surineni.com/

To get the facts right, all the back-end process was done over a month back it's due to my laziness that this got delayed. I am sure this laziness would not creep on to my new blog and there would be regular posts on my new blog. Also, note that all my previous posts from blogspot page will be available on the new site too along with some new pages which I will gave a tour on the new site. So, this would be my last post on the blogspot page and request all the readers to move on to my new site.

See you there...

P.S: There might me some minor temporary incompleteness on http://surineni.com/ and some changes now and then for a while until the complete page is set so please bear with me.

Congratulations to Naveenkanth and Shailaja

My buddy Naveen tied a knot today, Guys:

May you find every day, sweetly lying awaiting
All you're dearest sweetest; dreams yet come true
While sharing a lifetime jointly, forever on today
May endless happiness ever pursue the two of you

Did someone ever pull this?

Click on the picture for a bigger view.

I have been traveling in Indian Railways from the time I was born and was always intrigued by a red chain hanging around in every aisle. it says, to stop the train , pull the chain. Not to forget, it has a disclaimer 'if we pull the chain unnecessarily we may be fined up to Rs.1000 (Around $20) and can also be sent to jail for 3 months'.

But in all these 29 years I have never pulled it or never seen some one pulling it. Apart from hearing the talk among the passengers that 'someone might have pulled the chain' when train stops abruptly. I guess this talk raised my curiosity even more.

However, I wish no one should land up in such an emergency that they would have to pull the chain, of course when traveling in the train. Fortunately or unfortunately there is no such chain for life! :-)

Michael Jackson - the undisputed 'King of Pop'

There no questions asked when Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009), is referred to as 'King of Pop'. I have been a huge fan of Michael from my childhood and grew up listening/watching the songs from Thriller, Moon Walker, Dangerous and History.

I used to watch the video tape of Thriller and Moon Walker for hours after coming back from school. I still remember how helpless I was when Michael's dangerous tour hit India. I desperately wanted to go for it, but my age and the price of the ticket stopped me in putting forth my request to the elders. The days I fought with the audio store guy to get me the 'History' audio cassettes which he was delaying after me paying an advance are still afresh.


I still cant believe he is no more. I was at least hoping to catch up at least on or few of his 50 sold-out concerts to over one million people, at London's O2 arena, from July 13, 2009 to March 6, 2010 online( with things getting on to Internet so easily these days, I was very positive about it).

I like most of MJ's songs, My best pick will include: "Beat It" "Thriller" "Bad" "The Way You Make Me Feel" "Dirty Diana" "Smooth Criminal" "Man in the Mirror" "Black or White" "Jam" "Heal the World" "Give In to Me" "Will You Be There" "Scream/Childhood" "You Are Not Alone" "Earth Song" "They Don't Care About Us" "Stranger in Moscow". Songs apart I love his Moon walk, the cover art of Dangerous album and the Opening sequence of 'History' album, its absolutely fabulous.

Despite of his rough personal life, I admire him as an artist. Thriller still being the biggest selling album even after 25 years of its release is a testimony of his popularity and success.

Indeed, MJ is the undisputed 'King of Pop'.. may is soul rest in peace!!!

Global Warming - The man-made natural disaster

Go Green!!!

Stop Global Warming!

If

You Give Up,

They Give Up!

Request for like minded people to help Aalambana help street & slum children

There is a registered organization called AALAMBANA (please visit http://www.aalambana.org/) which is a school for street & slum children, located in Kukatpally, Balajinagar. This is supported and run by my close family friends.

Aalambana currently runs with strength of 67 kids, with classes happening till 7th Std. For a small group of people like us, it is indeed a Herculean task. While funds come from most of the core group, there has been help coming in form of volunteers and other like minded people...But then, we still have a long way to go.

We are at the end of an academic year and the next academic year is going to bring a lot more worthy kids who need enrollment into the school and thereby education, minimum hygiene, clothing and food.

As part of our regular awareness, fundraiser and outreach program, Aalambana is conducting an event on the Saturday 25th April, 2009.

Aalambana aspires to get:

1) Your attention towards AALAMBANA's cause, effort and vision is building a much better society for at least some deprived sections

2) Evoke a sense of responsibility that can bring in contribution and participation.

3) Refer / Invite your friends at Hyderabad to attend the 25th April Event. The Donor passes are available for a minimum contribution of Rupees One hundred only.

Also, please find the below presentation that aims at sensitization and awareness towards Aalambana and some details about our work.

Aalambana Sensitization

View more presentations from viveeonline.

Please pass this on to your friends and other like minded people.Looking forward to your feedback, If you are interested to attend the event, please send me an email @ bharani.surineni@gmail.com, so that I can arrange for the donor passes.

Also, if you want to give some donation or contribute to this organization please let me know so that I can arrange for the same.

Also please pass to people who might be interested.

Cast Vote, Choose Life...

This video was made by my friends who wanted to create awareness on coming elections:




Another video of the current political happenings in our state - inspirational:

Please, Please, Please do Vote!!!*

* I am re posting my earlier post of July last year by adding more additional thoughts, as I think its appropriate time now to spread awareness/message.


Hope is the one which keeps the soul alive
And where there is no hope, there is no soul
And what good a body is without a soul?

After seeing how sick the politicians and politics can be, if we take a back foot during the elections thinking that what matters if "I" do not vote, please think again. 'Cause at the end of the day, we are the ones who are going to crib about the government for the next five years.

I over herd someone saying the other day that politics is trash and that person do not want to get involved in it or participate in it by voting as he/she does not want to get into that trash. My question to all those who have this reason, If you have garbage in your house, do you keep quiet doing nothing about it ignoring, thinking that anyways that trash is going to come back? Think...So.... that's clearly not a fair reason.

I even heard someone saying, that they stand in long queue's in hot sun, they do not have any amenities there and its too tiresome. My question to such people, I am sure all of us at some point or the other stood in a queue for movie tickets / for getting into a bus/ at the loo / at cash counter in the store / boarding a flight ... and so on, this list is unending. So, having stood in all such places with patience, can't we stand at this one place, once in 5 years to cast out vote for the future of our country?

Come what may, do not miss to vote.

Be unreasonable and vote for our country, for ourselves and for every ones future

Again, I thank you for your time. I request you to please spread this message if you think it makes some difference, copy/paste, forward in an email, put this link on your messenger status do what ever to spread this message.

~ Bharani Surineni

Let's blow the whistle hard and loud!!!

Yes, blow it hard and loud and let the money mongers, corrupt, insincere, selfish, jumping jacks in one word called 'politicians' know that their time is over and we want a new generation of leaders to lead our country into a golden era for which its once known for. Not as the country which has most number of Swiss Bank accounts(and money of course) like it's known now a days.

Let me make myself clear that, in these thoughts of mine or the way I look at it, a personal conversation I am having with every reader who cares about our country that this is not an another political campaign and these thoughts are straight from my mind.

Before I get further, I would like to emphasise on a powerful quote by a powerful Man 'Martin Luther King', "The Silence of good men is more dangerous than the brutality of Bad men"

If you are a person of integrity, person who thinks what's happening is not correct, person who believes that no matter how small a person is he/she can make a big difference. Please do not sit silent and just crib about it; Talk, motivate and involve people in raising awareness about the importance of a vote and make people vote. If Gandhi Ji, had sat silently thinking what can a person like me make a difference to the country, imagine where would be now. Also, if People around Gandhi would have thought that how can a single person change the future of a country and did not support him, imagine....!

Voting is not like going to your favorite movie or doing your favorite thing. Because in voting there should be no favoritism, do not vote to someone because he/she your favorite hero/heroine, do not vote to someone because your favourite movie star is supporting him, do not vote to someone because he/she is from your Cast/Religion/Community, do not vote to someone because people around you are voting for him/her, do not vote for some one because he is showering free goodies if he/she wins.

Think, Analyze, Research and then vote for the right candidate. If there is a reason coming up in your mind that I do not have time for all these, just question yourself, for whom are we taking this time for? My answer for this question would be, It's for you, for me, for us, the future of our children, for the entire people of the country and for the generations to come by. So, be unreasonable in Thinking / Analyzing / Researching and vote for the right candidate.

There is also one other 'rather famous' notion that people have, thinking "...yeah, this candidate is great, talks sensible but he does not have capacity to to form a Government and my vote might be wasted if I vote for him. So, I will vote for the next best in the worst, who I think has a capacity to form a Government". Again, the power of one comes into play here. Everyone of us have that power and we have to stand for what we believe no matter the complete world is on the other side. I can promise, you are not alone I am with you and I bet once we dig around we can unearth hundreds/thousands/millions of people who believe in what you believe.

So people, do not vote for people who promise goodies, subsidies, reservations, houses, free medication, free food etc. Because all this will be over within 5 years if at all they keep up with their promise and give what all promised which rarely happens.

Don't believe the person who gives you food(figuratively speaking), once their term is over, we start looking again and get lured by another. Believe in person who let's you know the process of making food so that you can make it yourself for the rest of your life.

I hope this conversation I had till now has started some thinking in your head.

Remember, Please Vote and be Sensible in doing so!!

Thank you for your time and I will sure come back with more...please spread this message if you think it makes some difference, copy/paste, forward in an email, put this link on your messenger status do what ever to spread this message.

~ Bharani Surineni

Save the Turtles... Mr.Tata!!!

The beaches of Orissa, India provide one of the last nesting grounds of the Olive Ridley Turtles in the world and the port construction by Tata's is going to destroy it forever.

Below is the latest campaign from Greenpeace(Click on the below picture to enlarge):


If you want to support Greenpeace by donating, please click here.

Walls...

“Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.”

... and sometimes it's left to time to break them.

'Happy Days' Re-visited...

It's been 10 years that we joined college and 6 years past we left. Uff.. to refer, 10 years seems to be a long period of time and when we think about the incidents/accidents ;-) happened in our lives, the same 10 years look like ages. But when we think about the college days, the memories are so fresh as if they have occurred a 'month' back(I am not exaggerating this) and I am sure all my friends agree with it.

Yesterday few of my friends visited our college "Sri Venkateswara Engineering College" at Suryapet. It was a great trip, we visited the college, met the Principal and all our Professors, went out for lunch with a few, took lot of photographs, spent some time in and around college getting nostalgic. We missed our buddy "H.A.W.K.S" and all our other friends. We talked to our Principal for a arranging an Alumni Get Together and he assured that he will make that an event in the decentennial celebrations along with Mechanical Branch Building opening sometime March/April this year.
Sri Venkateswara Engineering College:

(The above picture is the result of combining 20 pictures into one, covering the entire building. The resultant picture was 31 Mega pixel and 15 MB is size. Of course the above is scaled down a lot for the blog.)

Every step and for every nook and corner we had a story to tell. Happiness, Joy, Tears, Anger, Forgiveness, Love, Hatred, Ambitions, Dreams, Passions, Strength, Crushes, Entertainment and Support - we got and had it all here. And one thing which tops all the above things is we got to get "Great Friends".

Naveen, Siddu, Pavan(Chinnu) and Me in front of our college:

We had a great day and wished it did not end so fast....

The secret of a "happy" marriage remains a secret..

Cake at our home today..

Two years of happiness, joy, fun trips, rides, anger, fights, arguments, ups and downs and to top all these, our beautiful baby Twinkle(Shraddha)

Shot the pic with my cam mounted on a Gorilla Pod.

Yuppie, I hit 6 months...

Today I completed 6 months and I am feeling great about it. My Mom woke up early in the morning(as usual) and made a beautiful cake for me with the instructions from my Paternal Grand Mother. I wish my Mom makes me a cake every month :-), actually that's for my Dad ;-).

That's the cake... Yummy:


It was just Me, Mom and Dad. I sat in my dad's lap and cut the cake with his help. I just got a pinch of it and rest was swooshed off from my sight :-(

Food, camera and my dad in the front - I am a happy girl:
My Dad thinks this is just a small milestone compared to the whole list of things he had planned for me. I guess he is just waiting for me to grow up and understand so that he can start his "Blah Blah Blah...Yada Yada Yada". Even now he does his "Blah Blah Blah...", I just laugh (Ignore) and he is a happy man.

More later...

Day 1 with my Parents...

The day has finally come, now I am staying with my parents. Its fun seeing them go Topsy Turvy with me around('evil laugh'). Though my dad had his own doubts that they can take care of me, my mom was all confident right from very first.

I should say, day 1 was pretty scary for my parents. I could not eat properly(I think I miss my granny), I cried all night, could not sleep continuously and my mom and dad had to take turns in luring me to sleep.

Then came Monday, the first day of the five days which my dad gets freaked up seeing my mom getting tensed/frustrated and getting all rushed up in a hurry to get things done and get to work.
They had me all dressed up first and they were busy with their daily chores and none of them had their eyes on me for few seconds and then...."B H A M", I rolled down the bed and started crying on top of my voice. I went to sleep instantly and when I woke up I was among these bunch of children and in a new place of course. Later I came to know that, It was a Creche/Day Care named "Humble Care".

I am the youngest in the lot and next youngest kid is 18 months old so, all the kids sit around me and play/talk to me when ever I am awake. The Nanny over there thinks that I am happy staying there. My parents came in the evening to pick me up and I was staring all round sitting in between my Dad and Mom on my Dad's bike(which by the way is always covered with an thick layer of dust, donno when he is going to clean it).

We came back home played for a while and hit the bed... So far so good...

...Later.

And it's ..."Shraddha Surineni"

Hello Everyone, Long time no see......I have a zillion updates from my side since the last post, so you better be patient to read the complete post.

I am 5 months and 8 days old and ...uuff finally I have been named, err... though I have my doubts if they(my parents) gonna stick to this one or not. You might have guessed it with the title, it's "Shraddha Surineni". My father had different one in mind but you know...that's how it is ;-), I pity him.

I:

• Put every thing I can lift straight into my mouth


• Bring my mouth to everything that I cannot lift so that I can put it in my mouth


• Acknowledge when some one talks or sings to me by saying "Aaaaam", "Aaaa"


• Cry only when I am hungry or getting sleep or...yew.. you know... ;-)


• Get angry if one carrying me talks to someone else ignoring me.


• Sleep sideways and sleep all night without disturbing anyone and myself


• Roll all across the bed in all directions


• This is the best part, my grand mother thought me "Sit & Stand". Yes, I sit when someone says "Sit" and stand one someone says "Stand"(Of course some has to hold me up). My father thinks I am genius(like him...) ha ha ha ha..... he is so funny.


• Eat nestum rice meal, banana; Drink lactogen milk, tomato juice, orange juice


• I open my mouth to eat food only when someone sings to me

Last weekend everyone took me to this cool and nice place called Tirumala(Tirupati) to do something. We all went in a vehicle and my dad came up by stairs, I thought he will take 4 to 5 hours considering that he puffs and pants after climbing 7 floors at his work place. But he made it in 2 hours 10 minutes, without drinking/eating anything(My mom thinks, if he has his camera, he does not need anything). I was happy that my paternal Great Grand Parents, chinna ammamma(my paternal Grandmoms sister), chinna tata, Maternal Grand parents, Paternal grandfather and my pinni(my mom's sister) and babai were there for me.

Above: It looks like a closed room, all children are crying on top of their voice.... My dad is brushing my hair... I wonder what's going to happen!!!!

Above: The ambiance around is serious, my mom is tensed, I am not understanding what's happening here and my Dad - smiling like always, damn I cant get any clue from his face.

Below: My Dad put me in his lap and in few seconds they made me like this :-( . They also had my ears pierced. It pained but only for few minutes, I was normal later. My dad thinks if my mom had to undergo even the fraction of the pain I went through she would have cried the entire day :-).

Below: Its Annaprasna(eating food for the first time) time and they put books, food(bananas), money, pen, flowers, gold, silver in front of me and they wanted to crawl towards the items and hold few of those. It is believed that the three items I touch first, I will have plenty/sufficient of that.
Below: I first went towards bananas and held those. My Mom was screaming "Nooooo", My Dad - "Yessssss" because he did the same during his ceremony.

Below: Next I went for Money and Pen. Now my Mom was happy that I will have money and have good education.

Next I went for Gold and silver, after that they made me eat the Prasadam. Later in the day we went to my dad's dad''s home town "Chandragiri" which is very near to Tirupati. I was very tired and hit lap early.

Next day we went to see Lord Venkateswara's Kalayanam followed by darshan and it was amazing. I am surprised to see my dad so devotional and he looked funny in the silk dothi and gundu. Later in the evening every one headed back to their respective locations and I left for Eluru with my Maternal Grand Parents.

Next Saturday i.e., 17 January 2009, I will be in Hyderabad permanently. I wonder how my parents manage me with their work schedules. I am sure going to miss my Grand ma and Grand pa.....

So, Hyderabad.... get ready for Shradha!!!

Colours of Life...

Have you ever played with colours? I am sure we all would have at one point or the other. The other day my sister gave me showcase piece(I do not know what is it called) which is basically a transparent bottle filled with clear liquid and some sort of colour fluids with do not mix with each other and when overlap they produce different colours. Also to create a dripping effect there are small cabinet like enclosures at both ends with a small hole where the coloured fluid accumulates if put the "thing" in one position for certain amount of time.


I clicked the above picture at my home last Sunday
I got something like this couple of years back but it broke(fell down and NOT my mistake) the very minute I brought it home.

I simply love to play with this one(of course when I have nothing else to do), various shapes, colours and especially with sunlight in the background this looks amazing. If I give it a thought, like my camera shows, this also has colours, shapes, light and ... O my God! Sometimes I feel like I have started looking most of the things as "Through the Lens" ala Frame, color, composition, Depth etc.

You know what? basically, I am confused and completely off the track as I started off to write something and ended off with something else. I find no relation with the title, picture and text. In my native language they say "Tala Toka lenidi" which basically translates to "something which has no head and tail... :-) :-( ... Ok ....Ok I stop

I guess I will end this Freak Show and get back to what ever I have been doing... ha ha ha ha.

Work like an ant and be prepared for the hard times...

I cicked this above picture near my home

Other day I was lazing around with my camera around my home enjoying the beautiful sunset. FYI, I can spend hours admiring and of course clicking the Sun Set, Alas! that is lasts only few minutes.

I was composing a plant with sun in the background and I noticed a group of ants working their ass off even at the fag end of the day. We all know how much hard workers Ants are and their well planned colonies which are engineering marvels(especially when you are at that size) explains it all.

When I was composing this picture the thought which came to my mind is "Let the Sun set on the past year's difficulties and let us march ahead into the new year with all our vigor, strength and positive orientation".