Shooting Manik!

I clearly remember having found a great interest in the advertising and the modelling industry, when i was in class 8th. Since then, I would love to rate ads myself, and think about how they could have been made better and all the stuff i usually dreamed of doing one day. Let's say it this way, advertising was one of the things which excited me as much as architecture and delhi metro, the other two things I am crazy about. And as much as Iwould love to get those bigtime expensive cameras used by professional photographers, I had cursed myself innumerable times for not having one until I got my beloved sony ericsson k750i last birthday (precisely Nikhil's b'day-25th sept, 5 days before mine). 
    Anyways, Manik (who's like 1 yr behind me in college) and I had never interacted much but when college ended, we would have the usual gtalk chats and once upon a time :p he told me how he was encouraged by one and all to go for the glamour industry. We started talking and led to the verdict that about a month after that day, I'd come over and shoot him, thanx to my love for photography and the fact that I had gone through innumerable male and female portfolios on international sites. He too wanted some time to work on his body. That was in the starting of June, and the shoot was slated for 1st or 2nd week of July, got delayed and delayed and finally yesterday, 30th July, we did it. Out of about 150 pix, we shortlisted 32, and finally 20 were selected, pruned and spruced up for this site, to which I have been addicted for about an year now. I can't boast of having turned up with something on the lines of  a Lope Navo or Subi Samuel, but one thing I can surely say is that Manik did his homework very good, and got the expressions well. Now I just hope someone professional catches him and gives him a real pro port, till then he can bear with the ones we shot yesterday. lol! And we had a blast trying to make all the wierd poses and wardrobe combos. And of course, I was happy about the fact that I worked on someone's port... ha!! So this one's for Mr. Manik Rana, the model - all the best for your stint and I hope you make it big :D ( and in a few minutes from now...) Happy Birthday :) 
You can catch his portfolio in here -
http://www.modelmayhem.com/manikrana
   
   

Quote of the day

Would you rather be right or free?

Lots of stuff :D

    Went to meet Abhishek today, for probably the last time in a long while from now. The dude is going to Carnegie Mellon, and me and Nikhil'd like to wish him all the best once again for his MS :) Thanx for the treat at Barista ;)
      Finally, I've been able to 'sketch' Supriya, but that's for another entry in here. Lots has happened since the last post here; my swimming got better, especially the back stroke which can be tiring like hell yet such a joy when completed; thanx to Tinku-Pinku too, who gave a party which we all enjoyed greatly; had a word with Ranazi after a long while; UD's joining is here - well almost; Rajdeep is finally 'settled' at TCIL along with Valun; cleared out stuff with Harleen; Ankit too enjoyed his holidaying stint in Bangalore; Sameep must be having a good time at IIT-Kharagpur and Sariyu too is hoping to get Bio-Tech in a grt college soon - wish him luck; someone's got lucky and m happy as hell for her ;) Anju is getting better and better at sketching with each passing day ... phew... of course all this is amidst high drama and ome negative things too which happened as a part of life but I'd rather not share them here for many reasons, yet primarily coz it's a waste of time. Anyways, let's get back to a few more positives - Teacherji had a great b'day :D ; things are getting better on some fronts for me which were messed up till now, and yeah, focussing on positives has just gained more importance than ever before, especially at a time when bomb blasts have scarred my country and left us all seething with anger... never mind the long queues and intense checking at Rajeev Chowk Metro Station today. M in not exactly the forgetful mode here especially with my anger and the grudges, but just want to tell my YDI ppl to smile away everyday coz that's what we were doing when we together in the college, and now strewn around the globe in a few days from now, somewhere some part of us will miss the times when the highs and lows of life were faced together... :)

Myriad hues

Yippieeeeee.... Swam the entire length in the deep with breathing, without any problem and also was able to do floating with much more ease though the lethargy seems to get the better of you once you have practiced a few times in shallow waters. Anyways, had a short yet fun day with Anju and Billo rani :p The Barista crap was the most enjoyable stuff throughout the day, and we are looking forward to tommorow, i.e someone's birthday, who truly deserves all the happiness in the world :) ... and Delhi is throwing up a plethora of beaooooootiful skyscapes throughout the day. It started raining while we were buying the stuff, i.e between the sunshine before and after. Hahaha... passing by FMS reminded me of Rajdeep. Bohat time ho gaya usse gaaliyaan diye hue ... lolz!! Hope he is doing great in Mumbai. Damn, m gonna miss all this soon, but when the heck is Infy gonna send the call???? God, help plz!

Change...

Change...

Coming back from Kapil's place yesterday, a lot of things were noticed on my way back. Firstly I walked all the way from Moolchand to INA market, as the weather was quite good and I was alone, Pinak had left in some bus he got for Rajouri. I was enjoying everything on my way, from the ever changing facades of the malls to me left, to the high number of imported cars that I got to stare at on my way ;) Where else but South Delhi can you see them? Airplanes were hovering above us, coming from the Dwarka side while taking off, as the directions have been changed, and needless to say it was a great sight. The Underpass just before AIIMS flyover was quite good to look at, while passing it by on the footpath and I decided that instead of going straight to the Safdurjung Hospital bus stand, i'd rather take a sybway and go towards the INA market one , in hopes of getting a seat in 588, coz while coming in the morning towards Kapil's home, me and Anuj faced a hell of a crowded bus-ride, all the time very conscious of our wallet and phone. Haha! And I was in no mood to go all the way to Tilak Nagar while standing in the crowd which would swamp the busy 588 route from the Safdurjung Hospital side.

And so I got to walk along, what I beleive, is the most beautiful flyover project of Delhi. the Rajeev Gandhi Setu, far better known as the Safdurjung-AIIMS flyover. And far beyond that I could see the cranes of Delhi Metro, the exciting views of it's tunnels I was lucky to watch in the afternoon bus ride. Was I happy all the way or what? All the damn tiredness went out of me like anything. Anyways, got the bus, didn;t get the seat till about a minute, but was enjoying the view outside. Thankfully it turned out to be not to crowded a bus! The impressive facdes of Mahavir Mediial College were great to watch, so was the Trauma Centre building next to it, but while we were crossing a flyover at South Africa Avenue, I noticed something below. The cars which were waiting at the red light were all beyond the 'STOP' signal painted on the road. A pleasant change to watch, especially because everytimje I travel to Dwarka, call centre cabs are a speeding lot and people just don't waitn for green lights too at the further ends of the sub-city as it does not have much traffic. Another change was that all bus stops along the Ring Road have been changed to that international look, yet the FOB work near the RK Puram Sector 12 bus stand looked long abandoned, I dunno why. Yesterday, the most welcome change was definitely the weather, as it rained for the first time in July, after a wet June, and today it was again one of the best weather days in Delhi. While passing through Cantt. road, the FOB was fully functional now, and the greenery on both sides of the narrow arterial road was truly a sight. While coming from Dhaula Kuan side and entering the Cntt. road, if you go just a few kilometres ahead, you must notice house no. 6 on the left, on the gates of which is written "Dog is Ok, Beware of the owner". The first time we noticed it was with Ankush, while going to the MJA classes. LMAO!

There was this guy standing next to the door. who amusingly spit out his chewing gum while the bus was in motion.Minutes later, when he was supposed to get off at the Lajwanti flyover, instead of going to the front door, he was standing at he back one, almost holding his head out, when the bus conductor who was sitting right ahead spitted the paan out, and it almost got on this guy's face. Haha! I am sure he must have been wondering then about what he did, even as the bus conductor was at least good to the point of looking back to see if any motorist would come in the way of his paan supari spit! The Lajwanti ROB is the worst of all, and reminded you of how bumpy Delhi's rides used to be all over, long time back. Anyways, each time it rains, the roofs of all the Metro stations get cleared of dust and all and pose a fresh sight. And I must mention that each time we were passing a flyover on the Ring Road, civic sense amongst the motorists was quite admirable as seen from the top, with the usual flouters too making a mark. I just love Delhi all the more, with each passing day, yet I want to move out asap because of the job thing too, and reasons better left out of all this. The greenery is increasing and weather is so welcoming these days, seems like God is gifting us GTBITians a few moments to cherish forever, that is before we leave for our jobs. Kapil's house too was very beautiful from the inside, what with it's raw and earthen appeal which reminded me of my Grandparents house in Patiala, as both had a central courtyard which one could see from all directions, once on the first floor. The spaces in the walls to keep stuff, the old style upported roofs and the windows were all reminiscent of an era gone by. And his 'Mamaji' Akash was just like me when it came to going on and on about the developmental things in Delhi, for once I kept shut and enjoyed having to listen to someone who was like me, only to see that he too was made to shut up in sort-of the same way as these people make me do, when I don't stop lauding the Metro etc. I have just enjoyed the rains which lashed Delhi once again, with a steaming cup of tea of course.

I was thinking about a lot of other things and changes that I noticed yesterday, in the now elusive long bus rides, thanx to the metro of course, but then, I'd rather go out right now and enjoy the awesome weather... :)

I love TV...

urWell! One of the best things about the on-going 'vacations' is that I can catch up with so much on TV. Just got back after watching the Ellen Degeneres show, and as was expected, loved it all the way till the end. In the initial minutes she had already told her studio audience that they were gonna be treated to a tete-a-tete` with who else, but Will Smith!!!   
   Lucky them! Then she gets a letter in her mails section, by an avid fan who asks her to decide for him which show he should watch, her show or the Oprah Winfrey show, as both of'em were being telecast at the same time at the place where he lived, joking about the fact that the batteries of his remote control were running out fast as he would try to switch channels at every chance he got. And if you expected Ellen to play diplomacy games, you were just so damn wrong!! She bluntly said that she got Will Smith, obviosuly her show ought to be seen, and more-over we saw this great clip of Oprah herself having appeared on Ellen's show, and recommending Ellen's show all the way, to which Ellen quoted that "see... Oprah herself told you to watch my show!!" Lol! That lady has got a seriously kewl sense of humour. And then I saw probably the most hilarious conversation in a long time as Will Smith came out in full force with his witty and humorous answers. Haha! Will Smith rox... Period.
     Towards the end of the show Elen had this Miami vacation to gift away to two of her audience members, of course from the studio itself. The two ladies were supposed to answer 4 simple questions which Ellen would ask them, by grabbing a coconut first which lay in fron tof them on a table and, oh yeah, this thing was called something like Co-Co Nuts, Go-Go Nuts... :p The questions were wayyyyy too simple, more than you can imagine and let's not get into discussing the IQ's of our American counterparts. The whole thing turbned out to be more funny than anything else, with the Black lady getting a clear win after the very first question, and then going on never to give a chance to her White rival, who was acting shocked at her speed!! Lol... They were soon fighting over the coconut and did we have a laugh or what! Well, to their surprise both of them won the vacation give-away thing and this got them dancing like anything. I wonder if obese Indian women would break into anything like a jig after having won even a crore on the slew of reality TV contest these days. Damn! And hey, if anybody noticed, Will Smith was seen sitting throughout the show with one leg crossed above the other, wonder what my college mates have to say to that, since they so commented on my sitting in the same way to be girlish! Seriously now...
   Last night's episode of NDTV's Jassuben turned out to be both heart-warming and extremely funny. The way firstly 3 of the brothers in the family turned out to wish their mentally undergrown brother Raju (a husband and a father as well), on the first day of his first job in life, was just.. too much tha ji :p And then Pankor-ba's rock steady rudeness melting away at Raju's innocence laden request, and the way she blessed him was both funny and nice. Though it was a sight to see her messed up after Pushpa carelessly threw 20 damn kgs of flour on her, and the ensuing barrage of her shrewish demeanour was a treat. All of us just couldn't stop laughing. Jassuben Jayantilal Joshi Ki Joint Family is unarguably the best thing to have ever happened to  Indian TV in a f*****g long time, especially after having had to bear the 'K' for Krap, which turned out to be the vangaurd of sickening shows on all TV channels. Even Star One lost it's original touch with which it banged onto the screens and our minds as well, only to fizzle out to re-runs of Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai (another tremendous satirical comedy) etc. NDTV imagine should get something even more than a Filmfare  or an Oscar equivalent for bringing us this seriously sensible family comedy. The best dailogue of the previous episode was of course... "aur Pankor bhabhi ko lagta hai ki ghar wo chala rahi hain..." And in case you expect me write what and how about it, please go to http://www.ndtvimagine.com/dailyschedule.aspx#top and look for Omnibus: Jassuben Jayantilal... timings, so that you too can have a hearty laugh and get addicted to a good TV serial in a long time to have happened to Indian primetime.

Hot chocolate can wait....

Had a grrrrrrt day at CP! Thanking Babaji for ending the crappy engineering thing and that too with somewhat good marks (yeah right)! Whatever! What can be more good news than returning home after having a good time in the heart of the city, and getting to hear the news that mother dear has brought this tub of ice cream, that too chocolate wali? Haha! Save for the screwed up piece of my left foot which wouldn't end paining like hell throughout the day, I enjoyed almost everything, though when i blurted while watching Bipasha Basu in a shimmering red apparel, donned for some perfume ad, that 'She knows how to act hot... she can act hot!!!', the McD staffer overheard me and shook his head... :P And I didn't care a bit. Why the hell should I? Bipasha is seriously one hot lady, and you should have seen her on the cover of second issue of Indian Grazia magazine. Whoa! I enjoyed the tid-bits and stuff that I learnt from thiS month's Filmfare at the book shop though, brought back memories of the old Filmfare format, which i started buying 10 years back (and was reprimanded for it, never to stop though), coz this one had less crap and more substance than most of the ones which were churned out under the latest editor. I hope it continues, though I hoped I could buy it too, specifically for the article on Sanjeev Kumar - I loved his work in Khilona which i was able to watch completely only after the engineering mess ended. Damn! Ghoom fir ke engineering aa jati hai beech mein!!! And yeah, having just finished the mouthful remnant (:p) of chocolate ice-cream, I have been able to alleviate my craving for hot chocolate, for some time at least... which shot up after watching the Juliette Binoche starrer Chocolat (2000, good movie)... Hot chocolate can wait!!!

Up, up and away...

Getting up at 5 in the morning after like eons, turned out to be a great experience!! The morning looked wonderful, with hopes of a cloudy day, now thwarted by the already glistening sunshine, I hope the rest of the day turns out just fine enough, with the thanks-giving trip (:p) to Bangla Sahib and the ensuing food-hunting march in CP, coz i don wanna burn a hole in my pocket like the last time, thanx to a few assholes who think that just because they got some good cash, so does everyone else, and then some (rather most) of us have to return home feeling as hungry and thirsty as hell! Haha! Ignorance... thy name are 'friends'! lol! M gonna watch either Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na and/or Love Story 2050, obviously at Waves, Rajouri only coz that is the only movie hall in the city where my legs get some room to move around and not stay stuck up when the one in front of me reclines his/her own chair. Hahaha! Satyam cinemas suck, so do PVR when it comes to leg room for those who are above 6 feet tall. Whatever, for now m juz looking forward to spending the day with the other 3 in CP and having a grrrrreat time :) 

Quote of the day :O

"People shouldn't say shit about something they don't know much about..." ;)

Warming , weather.... whatever... :p

The weather in Delhi is just soooo awesome these days, that one is forced to get out of their houses and enjoy the rains to the core! And in a long time came such a beautiful evenings in such succession that you just have to love the summer of Delhi '08, at least way uptill now.

While going to the class 2 days back, the clouds came out in full force this side of the city, and i got drenched as if i had gone into a pool woth all my clothes on! Loved it :) Though no swimming happened, haha, yet I enjoyed getting all wet in the rain in a loooong time. The only dampener was the irritating feelings of wearing shoes wiht socks, which I totally hate yet had to bear all my way back home. Anyways, I hope you too enjoyed the awesome weather, though my friends from the north-west part od Delhi were deprived of a downpour and had to do with just awesome clouds hovering above them. Pity you... haha! Have fun... ;)