My constituency is Bangalore South. Here, according to me, competition is hot between

• Congress - Krishna Byre Gowda: http://www.krishnabyregowda.in Krishna’s was a very low key campaign.. Trying to be very professional.. But unfortunately too soft for an Indian election.. The congress brand and clean image could work the trick for him..

• BJP - Ananth: http://ananth.org/ Ananth’s campaign was very loud.. Lot of hoopla on the roads and literal spamming using SMS and emails too..

• Independent - Captain Gopinath: http://votecaptaingopi.com/ The very popular Captain Gopi is however the toast of the corporate world.. But the general public would want to vote for a party.. He would probably just split the vote..

May the deserving candidate win..

Some useful information:

For karnataka state:

• Search for your name in the electoral list : http://stg1.kar.nic.in/searchfinalroll_2009/Search.aspx
• List of candidates : http://stg1.kar.nic.in/GE2009Affidavits/

Krishna Byre Gowda’s website gives useful information about IDs accepted:

1. Passport.
2. Driving license.
3. Income Tax Identity (PAN) Card.
4. Service identity card issued to its employees by the state/central government Public sector undertaking, local bodies or public limited companies with photographs.
5. Passbooks issued by Public Sector Banks/Post Office and Kisan Passbooks with photograph.
6. Property document such as pattas, registered deeds etc with photographs.
7. SC/ST/OBC certificate issued by competent authority with photograph (issued upto 28-2-2009).
8. Pension document such as ex-servicemen’s Pension Book/Pension Payment Order ,ex-servicemen’s Widow/Dependent Certificates,Old Age Pension Order, Widow Pension Order with photograph.
9. Freedom Fighter Identity Card with photograph.
10. Arms License (issued upto 28-2-2009).
11. Certificate of Physically Handicapped with photographs issued by the component Authority(issued upto 28-2-2009).
12. Job card issued under NREGA with photograph (issued upto 28-2-2009).
13. Health Insurance Scheme Smart Card with photograph (issued on or before  28-2-2009),
14. Student Identity card issued with photograph issued by the Recognized Educational institution(issued on or before 1-9-2008).
15. Ration Cards with photographs, issued upto 28-2-2009.
16. Ex-Servicemen CSD canteen card with photograph.
17. Sandhya Suraksh Scheme card with photograph issued upto 28-2-2009.
18. The service identity card with photographs issued by the local bodies like Municipal Corporation, CMC TMC, Village Panchayat etc.
19. Senior Ctitizen Card bearing photographs of the holder of the card, issued by the government department.
20. Computer generated temporary ration cards, in original, issued by the Food and Civil Supplies Department containing the relation to head the family.

Any of the above mentioned documents that is available only to the head of the family may be used for identifying the other members of the family provided all the other members come together and are identified by the head of the family.

After much thought and analysis, I have finally decided to move from wordpress.com to a separate hosting. We were earlier at http://indiareviews.wordpress.com.

The concept is to keep things simple, hence the name: India + Reviews + Blog. So, I hope the name itself describes everything about the blog.

IR is back ! Now to inform my co-blogger

URL: http://www.pgsem.net/index.php/Convergenz-09/Upcoming-event-Convergenz-09.html

Date: March 15, 2009 (Sunday)

Venue: Auditorium, IIM-Bangalore

Events:

1) Alchemy
The biz plan contest for all with a focus on technology innovations.

2) Case Contest
The case contest for all those with a passion to solve multiple challenges.

3) Quiz
A business quiz with a difference, conducted by the Karnataka Quiz Association this event, with its high profile prizes will be a quizzers delight!

4) Panel Discussion
A lively discussion with a focus on future growth on the following theme: “Search for the next business model in the Indian IT Industry - A wild goose chase or the need of the hour”

THEME - Innovation - Leading the Way:

The world is increasingly looking to the emerging economies to drive future growth. The days of seeking jobs and guidance from the developed countries are fast coming to an end. Our moment of reckoning is here.   India is poised to take the leap - a leap of courage, conviction, energy and imagination. In villages, towns and cities, small but progressive changes are taking place at every level. India has sprung to life, throbbing with expectation and vibrating with new ideas. Changes in every industry, every sector, are taking place at breakneck speed - revving up the economic engine like never before.

“Innovation” is the new buzzword – to increase efficiency and create new directions for growth. From the farmer in Ujjain who uses the internet to plan his produce, to the fisherman in Chennai who uses satellite data to find his next catch, to the taxi driver in Bangalore who uses the GPS to choose the optimal routes, India is finding homemade solutions to its domestic problems.

But as the recession gets deeper, India is also feeling the heat, as evidenced by the recent downward forecasts of GDP growth and mounting job losses in a few sectors. The world is indeed flat, and no country is completely insulated. However, the good news is that the key drivers of growth in this new golden age – Domain knowledge, technology ownership, flawless execution, creative marketing and charismatic leadership – are all found in abundance in India. We have the tools to beat the recession. Recession can be our opportunity.

What is required, though, is a common focus to streamline our thoughts and synergize our actions. Convergenz ‘09 provides that focus by bringing together some of the best thought leaders in Indian Business to address the compelling issues of the day at both a macro as well as micro level .

· How can innovation help us beat the recession?
· What will the winning strategies look like?
· How will the world shape up in the coming decade?
· What are the major changes required for our businesses?
· Which are the most exciting tech startups in our country?
· What’s the next disruptive idea?

Convergenz ‘09 promises many such fundamental insights that impact the dynamic world of Indian Business. Come March, the masters of the game descend on the sprawling campus of IIM Bangalore to chart the course of the future as they see it. And if you have seen the future a little differently, you belong here. PGSEM welcomes you to unleash your imagination in all its elegant fury. IIMB dares you to Innovate.

[slideshare id=1091326&doc=convergenzinvite-090302125746-phpapp01]

All three leads (no, Bobby Deol aint a lead) ooze sexiness. And more sexiness. And boy, do Priyanka and John show of their well-toned/muscled bodies. In one of the scenes when Abhishek goes “bum?” look at Pri’s derriere, one reckons that he could have done it over and over and still meant it for Priyanka’s derriere looks that fabulous (and who’s the costume designer for such fab clothes?). John of course, wears the least clothes, and displays oodles of musckle (note: if going with your lover, make sure you both get seats at different ends – you’d both wanna enjoy the display of all that opposite sex rather exclusively)

Now that I have finished with the sexiness bit, lets talk about the other bits that I did like – moojik. And forget the current chartbusters – look at Maa ka ladla – if that aint a situational song, nothing is. And boy are the lyrics great! Loved the way all the songs are written, pictured – acted/directed, of course. Talking of cinematography – lovely. Camera just hugs the skin (tones) although in someplaces I felt it could have been better – but top notch.

The movie moves fast – and doesn’t bore one at all – not even the faux gay bits – in fact the entire movie pretty much moves without a blip and boredom – with the faux gay bits being very funny cos of the inside joke ‘tween John and Abhishek’s characters.

The only flaws? Bobby Deol, and the ending.

Everything else rocks – especially the ideas of including some Hindi film superhits in the dialogues – whodathunk! (wont give away too much though – except that I found Jhumma Chumma the funniest of ‘em)

Enjoi the movie!

Not an experience I’ll forget anytime soon. It was totally one to savour for some time! The first hurdles were locating a place that’d lend hogs at a decent rate - and also be close enough to my hotel. It took a bit of time, but I finally got there - after half a dozen phone calls!

The eve of the day (weekend) of reckoning, comes news that weather’s gonna be not so good - and 80% chances of rain. Ah great! Rain. Just the thing I was hoping for. But, there was this tiny voice that said “wait a minute, your last ride which was highly enjoyable was partly in the wet too…”. But a 140 kilo 180cc animal is slightly different from a 250+kilo Hog with 6 times engine capakitty, innit?

Well, Saturday morning opened to a nice surprise - it was sunny!! for the first time in a week nearly! And the change in weather signaled a good ride - in nice sunny weather.
So out I went to get the hog - got all the paperwork done, which, by now, it was kinda familiar to me.

Well, it was only till getting onto the bike that it was familiar territory. From then on, it was unexplored and very, very sensory. They don’t say “you know its a Harley when you hear it” for no reason! (more cliches found true, but we’ll come to that l8r) And I discovered the pleasure of hearing the hot-rod throbbing when I fired it up. Now THAT sounded sweet!  As were the vibes from the bike - I’d gone there expecting a bike that threatened to throw me off at first start-up, but the vibes were muted, pleasant -and gave the right amount of feel. Perfect!

The first ten miles back to the hotel, were SWEET. I had a mile wide grin plastered over my face for the whole journey. My cheeks didn’t hurt even after having that grin plastered over my face for ten miles. The initial turn-in seemed a bit laborious, from the Pulsar’s sporty stance - which’s what I was used to. After the first couple of turns trying to figure if I was on the right street, the rest of the time was spent, cruising, being stared at. (Helped that I’d dressed as a propah “biker” - leather n denims). Cruising on the hog with a full lane for me, hogging the attention of folks around me, in cages - was sweet. The cool Pacific Ocean draft set it out to be the perfect ride. (That the draft might be a bit too cool, I found out later).

Lunch dispensed with, maps printed from G-maps, and all-set to go, only to see the sky opening up. Rain. A short nap was beckoning when I discovered that the rain had stopped.  For good. Hoo-hah! Time to hit the California-1.

But now it was time for a bit of reality check. The first was the IRON of the clutch. Eooww! If someone wants to build up(?)/exercise their palm muscles, nothing better than the Harley’s clutch. It’s not so apparent when in normal traffic, but a 3-car pile-up meant I was forced to use the clutch a lot, and as a result my left palm took a good beating. Round 1 to the Sportster, for reminding me to have got some gloves along as well. Should try it Bangalore’s traffic. Palms and fingers sure to toughen up, and we can just junk the protective gloves after that, maybe.

But, the pile-up was soon dispensed with, and I was now onto CA-1, or the Pacific Coast Highway. One of the best roads I have been on, till now - ocean and beach on one side, tiny hamlets on either and the mountains opposite the ocean. Add in the ocean draft and it was perfect weather for cruising. Or so I thought.

Trouble was, I didn’t have gloves. And at a steady 50mph, that ocean draft bites in a while(and it was 8 deg C). But a Pizza/coffee /directions stop kinda took a bit of the sting away, and we’re on the road again - trying to find my way to the temple located amongst the hills in Malibu - which I’d heard about from my pals of being located in an awesome location.

Turned out that the temple amongst the hills, or, the Malibu Venkateshwara temple, if you so prefer, was just a couple of turns from the PCH. Ah nice, that meant not so long a ride - and an easy ride. Or so, I thought. Trouble was, one turn was into the hill country, the second one put me bang on the hills, with a signboard reading, in a rather friendly manner, “Landslide zone, next 4.6 miles”. 4.6 miles? Ah, not so bad. I’d get off the road in that time. Time to check the map again. “4.6 miles on that road, before the turn to the temple”. Yeah, so much for calculations. The first few corners were spent trying to avoid my fear of heights, and thinking of the rock that might send me and a 250kilo hog plummeting down. After those initial fears seemed a bit too much, out came a small tunnel to set things in sweet motion again - Nice! The roar of the bike on the tunnel was good. My hands were somewhere between being numb and totally numb, but trying to pull the levers made of IRON helped in bringing them back to life, in bits.

And finally, there it was, nestled in the hills, amongst the best locations for a temple that I’ve ever seen. The most delightful part of it, of course, nestled inside. And that was the tap with hot water streaming out of it. With fingers back in motion, and paying my respects to the deity there, I headed back home, er, to my hotel. The ride back was mostly eventless, and an actual cruise with just one break to see a panoramic view of the coastline all through Malibu up until Santa Monica(or so I guessed). The only sad part was that I didn’t have enough time to snap it - a slight drizzle and a cloudy sky meant I didn’t want to tempt the gods into dousing me with water.

The Sportster’s lights were just about okay. If I had one, I’d complain about it as much as I’d complain about my 180’s lights, or maybe slightly lesser.

Fuel consumed: 1.8 gallons

Rental paid : 106$

The Experience : Priceless.

Which’s why whenever someone talks of riding gear, I sometimes think back to that incident all those years back and wonder how much better it would have been if we’d riding gear back then.

Back then, folks my age only wore helmets cause

a)  Their  parents forced them to

or

b)  It protected them when in rain.

Jackets were only worn due to rain. There was hardly any awareness about injury prevention, defensive riding/driving etc., Things have improved but still not to the extent they should. Which’s why this post.

This is what happened then. I was a *very* inexperienced rider, but full of b__s. Or so I thought. So there I was doing 60kmph which was not far off from the top speed of the scoot, the front wheel hit a rock, and I took off. Luckily for me, my helmet saved my life. But, one of my arms lost a chunk of skin - about 8 inches in length and 4 inches wide - just a light tee-shirt. My right ankle took a hit (I was wearing sandals only). Both palms got deeply bruised. Luckily nothing was broken, and nothing ran me over.

It took 45 days for all the skin to grow back. Even now,  I still have a 6 inch scar on me arm to show for it.

I had probably a 1000km’s under my belt then. I now have more than a 1000 times that experience. But still, I need my riding gear, and I wear it too.

Consider how lightly my friend got off, the other day. We were out on a 1000km ride. On the first day we’d done quite a bit of riding - about 350km. the last 75-100km were mostly on bad/no roads. And then, when returning back to the hotel that day, my friend - veteran of 50,000 km+ fell. Probably at about 50kmph, front wheel hit a ditch, instinctively hit the brakes, wheel locked, fell.

Whats the damage?

Helmet took the full blow, chin part and the visor scrathed, visor partially broken. Gloves okay, just scruffed up. No major impact to the jacket - but apparently it slid up a bit, and a slight tear in the riding pant. Steel toed boots take the hit, and now we could see the steel inside.

And he? A scratch, on the elbow. He’s slightly dazed because it was his first fall. Nothing else. That’s it. A couple of nights’ rest, some painkillers and he was good enough to ride back home!

The bike has a 6,000 Rs repair bill.

Helmets save lives. The rest of the riding gear minimizes recovery time from an incident. (More posts to follow in this direction…)

For this year’s event, I’m currently not able to exact link of Fireflies Music Festival 2008.. However, found some info on www.couchsurfing.com via samasmedialab.net.. Thanks for that buddy !

The Fest:
Fireflies Festival of Music begins at 6 p.m. on 23rd Feb and will go on till 6 a.m. on Sunday.

* The fest is ‘inspired by the World Sacred Music Festival, held annually at the mystical city of Fes, in Morocco’.
* The stage is set around the base of a massive banyan-tree. A beautiful amphitheatre overlooks the stage and a lake where beautiful people are sprawled on their colorful mattresses, right under the stars, completely enchanted by the melodious sounds coming out of the banyan tree.
* The sound from the Jamo speakers and colorful lights give the 2000-strong audience a celestial psychedelic effect. It’s a night where culture meets nature, east meets west, passion meets fusion.
* The festival covers a wide range of musical genres: Baul, Qawwali, Hindustani/ Carnatic Fusion, Jazz, Folk, Sacred/ Mystical Music.

[See my fireflies music festival 2007's review for more details of the different genres on show]

Location:
Fireflies, Dinnepalya Village, Kaggalipura Post, Off Kanakarapura Road (approx. 20 kms), Bangalore: 560082

A Brief about the location:
Fireflies is about 80 acres of nature where organic farming is applied. There is a variety of trees. There are about 5 dogs on the ground but only Gaali (meaning Wind in Kannada) entertains the guest. He is a 3 yr old Labrador, a treat for dog-lovers and bitches!

Other Activities:
* tarrot reading!
* Get introduced Indian Handloom fabrics
* A Walk in the woods

Food and Beverages:
* Food will be arranged on the venue.
* Only water will be available
* bring your own beverages

Things to Bring:
* mattresses and pillows
* mosquito repellants.

Tickets:
Last year, we got it at the venue itself and if i remember correctly it was priced around 100-200, don’t remember exactly..

Disclaimer:
I haven’t found the direct source of this news. Kindly confirm from other sources or look-back for updates (if any). Course, do let me know, if you find it yourself..

To my surprise, I found google ads both on top of the page and at the bottom of the page..

I thought it was just the wordpress guys (matt and others) testing some new ads platform.. i thought it could be exciting.. coz the WP guys usually come out with some really cool stuff.. I wanted to know if any posts on their ads model already out there..

Then to my surprise, I found matt’s post “on ads“:

We very occassionally show Adsense (contextual text ads) on post and tag pages. Why? To allow us to focus on free features in addition to paid and to offset costs of rapidly rising traffic.

These were relevant ads on volvo and bangalore, unlike others who got nasty ads..

With events ranging from Rock Shows, Fashion Show, Choreography, Pro-nite Performances to Debates, Jam, Quiz, Art events, Dramatics, Street Play, Music and Games, Unmaad this year will be 72 hours of non stop action and fun that promises you the experience of a lifetime. With a host of new workshops, new events, online games and the ‘War of the Corporates’, Unmaad 2008 is all set to be a roller coaster ride for everyone.

check out http://www.unmaad.com for more details on the events

The Pro-Nite shows (Music Concerts) this year:

1. Feb 1st – Rock show featuring Motherjane and Zero – Time 7 pm

They are among the most popular rock acts in the country. This being a rock show, there will be no separate enclosures or categories, nor there any seating provided. The ticket prize is Rs 100 and gates will open at 6.30 in the evening.

To buy online http://www.iticket.in/CinemaResult.asp?MovieList=715&TransDate=2/1/2008

2. Feb 2nd – Unity concert featuring Strings and Mrigya – Time 7 pm

We are proud to be host to this unique concept called the Unity concert, of which this is the 3rd edition. Strings is one of the most popular bands to emerge out of Pakistan and their shows are known to be simply mind blowing. Mrigya, with their incredible blend of classical and modern instruments, is one of the most well known fusion bands in India and have numerous international concerts to their credit.

For this show there will be 2 categories priced and Rs 100 and 200 respectively. The Rs. 200 section will be further divided into 2 categories, seating and standing. The seated section will be mostly reserved for Profs and sponsors.

To buy online http://www.iticket.in/CinemaResult.asp?MovieList=716&TransDate=2/2/2008

All ticket enquiries can be routed to Ankit Baveja ( 9986507020) and Shekhar Gupta: 9243444363.

Some of them also lead to some funny comments. Like one biker pal saying “I was just waiting for someone to buy the Hunk so I can pass some comments on it!”. Yup, a silly name like the “Hunk” would inevitably lead people to get smart!

But, that is the name, and that is what the “Hunk” owner - male or female - would have to live with.

All is not lost however - the bike looks pretty good, on its own - though not as modern as say the Pulsars, or as Racy as the RTR, it does hold its own ground -which’s somewhere in between modern and racy. Thankfully, it certainly is not styled extremely like the Xtreme! It has got nice sculpted body panels to go with the fuel tank. These help one grip the tank easily - giving for much better control over the bike. What I loved was nice tough to the Speedo - by giving it a red background. Slick.

Most people who rode the bike were rather pleased with the handling - and yes, Hero Honda has got it spot on.  The ergonomics is pretty much on the ball - while I’ve often felt the CBZ to be smaller than my P180, this one didnt seem smaller - and the seat to foot peg to handlebar positioning was just right.  As was the knee recesses. You’d grip the fuel tank just so - and the result was amazing flickability.

The Hunk also did not feel so much underpowered compared to the P180 I’d just ridden - which meant it was a good one in performance - although I did not drag it too much. But a longer ride should convince me on the performance aspect - but it’s gear changes are spot-on and go thru with a convincing air - except for the first to second - which is rather hard - and involves a good deal of effort.

Is it the best in the 150cc segment? Not sure - but it sure as hell is good - and just maybe something I might consider - if buying a 150cc bike.