I happened to come across kalyans' website couple of days back and had been speaking a lot about photography and wildlife.
Kalyan is wildlife photographer. I spent hours on his site browsing the great pictures he had shot. His site was filled with pictures of exotic birds, lizards insects apart from pictures of Tigers, elephants and deers.
My best wishes to Kalyan.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Digital Camera
I'm had plans of buying a digital camera. So I was doing some reading on what to look for in the cameras. With new models coming out every other day, I posted my needs in bulletin board so that folks having knowledge about cameras would help me in finding one which suits me. I got quick replies and there a guy named visu who explain the different things that I should look in the digital cameras and some of my queries. Another guy suggested Cannon Powershot A540 as a good pick. Still searching for models in Cannon/Olympus which will fit in my budget and needs
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
My best shot
I feel this is is the best photo, i had shot. I'm don’t know much on the details of the camera I used. It’s an 35-105 mm Pentax zoom camera.Shot this picture in the Bandipur wildlife sanctuary in the moth of April 2006. A bunch of college guys went on a short trip here on a mauruti zen. It was a bad choice for us to take a city vehicle for an off road ride. The road clearance was pretty bad and we had to get down in lot of places where the water was stagnated to check if we could probably get moving or we have to get back home
A good article on patriotism of our bollywood stars.... -Shame
Got this article through email which is an extract from indiatimes.com
It was shocking that the Indian government spent Rs. 40 crores on the Bollywood stars for an eleven-minute show at the recently concluded Commonwealth games in Melbourne. If the government had spent even a fraction of that amount on the athletes who participated in the event then we would have had some more medals in our Kitty. It is really shameful that the government gives step motherly treatment to the sports and sportsmen and spends crores on Bollywood actors that has no connection with sports world at all.
I have seen our national hockey players bathing in a railway yard and being stashed in a second-class railway compartment when they were traveling for a hockey tournament. The sportspersons participating in Olympics and Common wealth games are paid peanuts and the sport facilities are pathetic. Even the medal winners at the Commonwealth games will not receive even one percent of what Bollywood stars like Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutt got (one crore each) for simply waving to the crowds. And the so-called face of Indian cinema Aishwarya Rai’s fake patriotism was exposed when she boasted of performing at the ceremony just for patriotic reasons. And what was the cost of this patriotism – a cool Rs.3 Crore. Bollywood actors do not even represent India but the sportspersons do and they are the ones who are more eligible for receiving large amount and not some dumb actresses like Aishwarya Rai, whose only qualification is her good face. Now there is every reason to believe that Aishwarya Rai might also be charging hefty fees for indulging in other social causes.
Can’t our Bollywood stars perform free of charge for India even for eleven minutes? The government would have definitely spent on their stay and travel expenses and it was not even the case where the Bollywood stars had to incur a loss by rejecting a movie offer for performing at the event. The Government should get their priorities right and instead of wasting money on Bollywood stars they should spend money on improving the sports infrastructure, the training facilities for sportspersons and increasing their fees.
The organizer of the event, Mr. Viraf Sarkar of Wizcraft says that Bollywood stars were showcasing our country. He should know that Bollywood is not India. And if he wanted to showcase our country then he should have had people from different fields and not just from Bollywood. And if the government is thinking that they can attract spectators by displaying Bollywood actors in the ceremony then they are seriously undermining the sports lovers in India. A sport lover would always go for Commonwealth games whether Bollywood endorses it or not. There is nothing wrong if Bollywood actors are used for publicity but there could be no justification for spending 40 crores on them when the sportspersons are being poorly paid and leading a pathetic life.
Such poor sports administration has been the bane for our sports culture for decades. I hope that the Indian government and the sports minister look into the matter and ensure that this kind of money wastage does not recur. It is high time that the politicians and officials are thrown out from sports bodies and are replaced by retired, outstanding sportspersons and able administrators who know something about sports. Why have politicians like Suresh Kalmadi at the helm when he has done nothing good for the sports all these years?
Finally, Bollywood stars like Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukherjee, Saif Ali Khan, etc should stop talking about patriotism and their love for India when all they do is sell their soul and patriotism for money. They are nothing but mercenaries and the sports administrators are nothing but idiots.
AMJAD K. MARUF
It was shocking that the Indian government spent Rs. 40 crores on the Bollywood stars for an eleven-minute show at the recently concluded Commonwealth games in Melbourne. If the government had spent even a fraction of that amount on the athletes who participated in the event then we would have had some more medals in our Kitty. It is really shameful that the government gives step motherly treatment to the sports and sportsmen and spends crores on Bollywood actors that has no connection with sports world at all.
I have seen our national hockey players bathing in a railway yard and being stashed in a second-class railway compartment when they were traveling for a hockey tournament. The sportspersons participating in Olympics and Common wealth games are paid peanuts and the sport facilities are pathetic. Even the medal winners at the Commonwealth games will not receive even one percent of what Bollywood stars like Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutt got (one crore each) for simply waving to the crowds. And the so-called face of Indian cinema Aishwarya Rai’s fake patriotism was exposed when she boasted of performing at the ceremony just for patriotic reasons. And what was the cost of this patriotism – a cool Rs.3 Crore. Bollywood actors do not even represent India but the sportspersons do and they are the ones who are more eligible for receiving large amount and not some dumb actresses like Aishwarya Rai, whose only qualification is her good face. Now there is every reason to believe that Aishwarya Rai might also be charging hefty fees for indulging in other social causes.
Can’t our Bollywood stars perform free of charge for India even for eleven minutes? The government would have definitely spent on their stay and travel expenses and it was not even the case where the Bollywood stars had to incur a loss by rejecting a movie offer for performing at the event. The Government should get their priorities right and instead of wasting money on Bollywood stars they should spend money on improving the sports infrastructure, the training facilities for sportspersons and increasing their fees.
The organizer of the event, Mr. Viraf Sarkar of Wizcraft says that Bollywood stars were showcasing our country. He should know that Bollywood is not India. And if he wanted to showcase our country then he should have had people from different fields and not just from Bollywood. And if the government is thinking that they can attract spectators by displaying Bollywood actors in the ceremony then they are seriously undermining the sports lovers in India. A sport lover would always go for Commonwealth games whether Bollywood endorses it or not. There is nothing wrong if Bollywood actors are used for publicity but there could be no justification for spending 40 crores on them when the sportspersons are being poorly paid and leading a pathetic life.
Such poor sports administration has been the bane for our sports culture for decades. I hope that the Indian government and the sports minister look into the matter and ensure that this kind of money wastage does not recur. It is high time that the politicians and officials are thrown out from sports bodies and are replaced by retired, outstanding sportspersons and able administrators who know something about sports. Why have politicians like Suresh Kalmadi at the helm when he has done nothing good for the sports all these years?
Finally, Bollywood stars like Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukherjee, Saif Ali Khan, etc should stop talking about patriotism and their love for India when all they do is sell their soul and patriotism for money. They are nothing but mercenaries and the sports administrators are nothing but idiots.
AMJAD K. MARUF
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Busy holiday
Holidays weren't a big deal back in college. Actually I used to feel bored being at home than in college.
Things has changed now.. Weekends are so important, you have to do all the chores like washing cloths, meet friends, do shopping even consulting doctor etc over the weekend.
Got a Tuesday as holiday on the eve of a Muslim festival. Started of with Sons of Fortune by Jeffrey archer when I went to the laundry this morning. I always liked JA books.
Went to play brillards which I picked up recently after coming here to Mysore with couple of friends after which we went to Bowling :)
And after a gap of almost 2 weeks started of with my Gym.
Things has changed now.. Weekends are so important, you have to do all the chores like washing cloths, meet friends, do shopping even consulting doctor etc over the weekend.
Got a Tuesday as holiday on the eve of a Muslim festival. Started of with Sons of Fortune by Jeffrey archer when I went to the laundry this morning. I always liked JA books.
Went to play brillards which I picked up recently after coming here to Mysore with couple of friends after which we went to Bowling :)
And after a gap of almost 2 weeks started of with my Gym.
Memories to Cherish
A small collage of pictures shot on the final day of my under graduation. Thanks to Arvy who had made this.
These still pictures, brings back the beautiful days of the college life. No sooner I finished graduation and started working I'm feeling the gap in communication with my buddies. I do keep in touch with my friends over phone and email I still feel the vacuum.
Everyone has to take a different path and our roads hardly cross each other. It's the hard truth of life I have to accept.
I really miss the places I hang out with my friend, eating out at Indian Punjabi hotel and the junior Kuppanna.
Monday, April 10, 2006
A weekend at Madras
With the backpack stuffed with thinnest cloths to beat the summer heat of Madras, and thoughts of how I'm going to Madras without any reservation. I along with few friends boarded the Train to Bangalore hopping that we will get a bus ticket to Madras. Little did we know
that, even the petty normal bus to Madras has been reserved?
We took a bus to Vellore and from there to Madras. Finally I got down in the outskirts of the city with lot of body ache and joy of meeting my school day friends.
One could easily feel the summer, early morning. I started sweating soon after my shower.
Saturday went on fine, meeting relatives and spending some quality time with a friend who is preparing for the newly scheduled Entrance exam.
The lunch at the Minerava hotel (Velachery) served my gluttonous appetite. They severed good food at a nominal price.
Met my hostel mate at the Spencers had some delicious browny ice cream and dhahi Poori.
It was time to say good bye, it will be months to meet the dear ones
again. But I'm really happy about the short visit I made...
that, even the petty normal bus to Madras has been reserved?
We took a bus to Vellore and from there to Madras. Finally I got down in the outskirts of the city with lot of body ache and joy of meeting my school day friends.
One could easily feel the summer, early morning. I started sweating soon after my shower.
Saturday went on fine, meeting relatives and spending some quality time with a friend who is preparing for the newly scheduled Entrance exam.
The lunch at the Minerava hotel (Velachery) served my gluttonous appetite. They severed good food at a nominal price.
Met my hostel mate at the Spencers had some delicious browny ice cream and dhahi Poori.
It was time to say good bye, it will be months to meet the dear ones
again. But I'm really happy about the short visit I made...
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Graduation day
It was really great to see all my friends who came along with me in the beautiful part of my life :)
It was graduation day, every one is busy with work and its hard for us to keep in touch. Though email has reduced the gap still there is some vacuum between us. The Graduation day was really fun.
Thougth the time was short to meet everyone. I and all my friends
really cherish our time we had on the Graduation Day.
Thougth the time was short to meet everyone. I and all my friends
really cherish our time we had on the Graduation Day.
Blog via email
It's really a good option provided to blog via email. I sit behind a
firewall and get few hours a day of internet usage.
This being the case, its really good for users like me to blog via
email. It atleast keep you interested in blogging.
Started using Bloggers.com
I was using http://sakthiyuvaraj.livejournal.com earlier. But I foudn bloggers.com much more attractive and the interface is pertty good too. And also blogspot alows you blog photos which add a lot of meaning to blogs.. Started using bloggers.com from April 1, 2006. I will be able to remember easily when I started :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
