Continuous Shooting - Dog Fight

Exploring the Continuous Shooting mode of my camera was a revelation in itself.

What say?

Sayan's Pictures

Here are some pictures that Sayan clicked of buidings in Dubai.

SAD TWIST TO MY STORY

Last evening I had an appointment with my doctor. He found that there was some improvement in both the nostrils, but the deviation inthe nasal septum was such that it will continue to impede airflow and cause problems. He suggested an operation - Septoplasty. Though the name may sound great, the procedure isn't. Here's what i found from wikipedia:

Septoplasty is a corrective surgical procedure done to straighten the nasal septum - the partition between the two nasal cavities. Ideally, the septum should run down the center of the nose. When it deviates into one of the cavities, it narrows that cavity and impedes airflow. Nasal obstructions caused by serious deviations frequently lead to chronic sinus problems. Turbinate reduction may also be advised to further enlarge the nasal cavities. Most surgeries are completed in 90 minutes or less, not including recovery time.

Because the deviation is a result of a cartilage surplus, the procedure usually involves an excision of a portion of that tissue. Under general or local anesthesia, the surgeon works through the nostrils, making an incision in the lining of the septum to reach the cartilage targeted in the operation. Before the crooked portions of the cartilage can be excised, the cartilage must first be separated from the bony structures beneath it. After excess cartilage has been taken out, the septum may then be secured to the bone with small plastic elements, splints, or sutures.

The nasal cavities are then packed with a special material, and a piece of gauze is taped underneath the nose to absorb blood. Postoperative care includes frequent changing of this gauze (roughly every hour or so) and after a complete day, the excess bleeding normally stops and the inner nasal packing may be removed. The following day, saline irrigations of the nasal cavities are required, and it is only now that a patient is allowed to gently blow his/her nose. After approximately four days, patients can then blow their nose normally.

Patients typically regain about 80% of their energy one week after surgery, and make a full recovery after one month.

To know about Septoplasty click here

To know more about Sleep apnea click here

NEW TWIST TO THE FORD STORY

Just a couple of days back Kent's Graham Ford was selected as the Coach of the Indian Cricket Team and was offered a contract for a year.

All was fine. Until now. News has just come in that he has declined the offer! Thank you Mr. Ford. Spare Indian Cricket your ignominy.

Ford said in a website -

I am very grateful to the club for allowing me to go to India to find out more about the job of coaching the Indian team.

I have had a chance to reflect on the offer made by the BCCI and their urgency to fill the vacant position and after careful consideration, I have decided to continue my work here at Kent. This has been a really difficult decision.

I am honoured that India have shown such interest in my capabilities, but feel that this is the right decision for me and my family.

Sayan's Pictures

Here's how Sayan captured WEATHER on his mobile camera. Love these............
The Norwesters hitting the City of Joy - Kolkata

Sayan the Sheikh

Sayan is my friend. If you have been following my blog, you would know him from out Bakkhali trip. The real connection is much older and much sweeter than words or logic can describe.

This and the next four posts are dedicated to this wonderful friend of mine, who has decided that blogging is not for him. So i had a word with him and decided to showcase some of his pictures here in my blog. He doesn't believe the fact that he is good with the camera. Just check out his pictures in the next few blogs.

And here, check out my sheikh friend from Shibpur.........

These pictures were clicked by his colleague during their Dubai trip last year.

India's Cricket Team Gets Graham Ford as the New Coach

Red Carpet Welcome for Former South African
Coach, sacked for his alleged connections with Bookies in India, to
India

The Indian Cricket Team gets Graham Ford as the new Coach. The BCCI arrived at the decision after a two hour long discussion where Former English Cricketer John Emburey's candidature was also considered.

Introducing the new coach with the following excerpt from rediff.com

Born in Pietermaritzberg, Natal, on November 16, 1960, Ford, like a number of South African players, excelled in various sports during his younger days. He was a good tennis player, too; so good that he once won the provincial tennis championship for Natal.

Why, is wife Liz is also a former Natal champion in the love-all game. Ford represented Natal in soccer, too. What's more, he is a qualified rugby union referee as well.

Despite his flair for different sports, he wasn't more than an average cricketer. As a right-hand batsman and off-spinner, he represented the Natal B team and figured in only seven first-class matches between 1982-83 and 1989-90.

In those seven matches and 13 innings, he scored just 162 runs at 13.50 without ever scoring a fifty. His highest score was 43. He held three catches and never got to try his bowling arm.

So much for the Coach. Worse, he was chucked out of his job as SA Coach after Hansiegate came to the fore. He allegedly had some connection with the bookies in India and avroad, and look here, we have invited him back to his den. Sure he loves to keep a low profile, and make all the money that the job offers, but is he good enough to deliver?

And what happened to Dave Whatmore? Was some secret meeting/ or phone call between BCCI and PCB played out?

SHOOTING THROUGH GLASS

Most museums do not allow photography at all. And I find it very irritating. For instance, during my last month’s visit to Hyderabad, when I visited the famous Salar Jung Museum, I was so disappointed to learn that cameras were not allowed inside. Damn.
We could click pictures of the museum from outside, I was told. Huh

Worst of all, mobile phones were allowed inside. And these days, even the lowest end mobiles have cameras. People were shooting pictures of anything and everything, and I kept kicking myself for not having carried one. I really wanted to click a few pictures of the Veiled Rebecca. It was so lovely. You can read more about this statue and the sculptor here.

Anyways, I still don’t understand why photography cannot be allowed inside museums and monasteries. What harm can it cause? When so many objects were kept in the open at Salar Jung Museum. So many people kept on touching these objects. I tried to prevent some, but who would care. I myself got tired of the exercise after a while. Better allow photography than let people touch and damage these objects.

And perhaps, that is exactly why, I was happy when I visited the Andhra Pradesh Archeological Museum. Photography was allowed and to get the permission, one had to just buy a ticket. Cool!

However, please note that in museums most of the articles are on display behind glass partitions, to prevent visitors from touching and damaging these centuries’ old artifacts and articles. But it is usually never too easy to shoot pictures through glass. The most common problems relate to flash shining back and reflections. Then there are some who wouldn’t allow the use of flash. Good! That prevents light shining back. However, the low-light conditions are not good enough for decent photography. The results are usually not very good either. However, I got lucky at the AP Archeological Museum. Here are some pictures that I would like to share with you.

Please let me know what you think of these pictures. Post your comments.

War, Economics and the Female child

The last post saw cannons from the AP Archaeological Museum, Hyderabad, remnants of a violent past; these cannons bring to mind one word which has mixed reactions over centuries. WAR!

Without getting into the complexities of war, may I bring to the fore Carl von Clausewitz’s famous observation - war is nothing more than a continuation of political intercourse with the mixing in of other means. The 1970s movie Cross of Iron used it erronously – War is a continuation of politics though other means.

No wonder. Today politics is largely economic. Governments stay or are ousted depending upon how they strengthen their economy.

Politics is heavily loaded on the economic front and the guardians of politics, governments, make no mistake about it, would leave no stone unturned. They would rather embrace one of the easiest tools – WAR. It not only improves the economy of the eventual winner but also distracts its citizens from other, perhaps more serious issues.

And what rules in an economy?
Toothpaste, mobile phones and soft drinks. And beauty creams.

The countries today are largely capitalists and the private players in the commodities and products market constitute the very backbone of any economy. So, wherever you see war, is it for the profits of these private players. If yes, nice puppeteering!

Beauty creams. Targetting the young female population to change their fate once and forever, to make it big in career, life and love, one must use all those jelly-like substances. No wonder, some have adverse consequences upon long term use and incompatibility. But the makers are not concerned. They are not concerned so long as your pockets are depleted to fill their own. Zero-sum game.

The lack of concern is alarming. Not a single seller has come up with any societal issues concerning their target population – women. Look at the Indian example. The sex ratio is sliding. Here are the figures:

Source: Level and Pattern of Consumer Expenditure, 2004-2005, NSSO, MOSPI, Government of India, December, 2006
Table 1R and Table 1U, pages A-1 though A-24
The data reflects the position through estimation between July 2004- June 2005
Sex ratio is defined as the number of females per 1000 males

A country as large as India with such a highly skewed sex ratio does not auger well for its people. We are all aware of the adverse effects of such a skewed sex ratio.
• Social unrest
• Dowry deaths
• Child marriage
• Bride selling
• Kidnapping
• Rape
• Polyandry

And of course as one of my friends said, “...there wont be as many gals to marry...”.

As you can see in the above table for figures between the period July 2004 and June 2005, more reds are in the urban side. Whereas one would have expected that with affluence and education, at least the urban populace would bring in balance; one can well see that knowledge, information, power, science are being abused in one of the gravest crimes against humanity. Pre-natal sex diagnosis is banned in India, and though laws are in place, it is being blatantly being ignored. What with corruption raging the corridors of the nursing homes and people’s minds.

The central and state governments must enforce laws against sex selective abortions, as well as the killing of newborn girls. Daughters should get the right to perform the last rites of their parents’ equivalent to that of sons. The government should amend the existing laws of inheritance. The daughter should be accepted as heir to ancestral property legally as well as socially. Campaigns to encourage people to view girl-children as socially and economically desirable need to be launched. Rather than one more advertisement campaign on glowing skin and hair care.

Cannons

When I visited Hyderabad, last month, I made it a point to visit the Andhra Pradesh Archeological Museum. It was very close to where I was staying - Avanthi Nagar, Basheer Bagh.

Thankfully, photography is allowed inthis museum, at an extra cost of Rs.20/- which seems reasonable. Here are some pictures from the museum.

Self Portrait

In blue

Inferior Turbinate Hypertrophy

What on good earth is that?????????????!

Seems like that is what is disturbing me for a while now. I have been complaining about my breathing problems, and now it is official. After work today, I visited a surgeon who found out that this was the problem that was giving me sleepless nights.

From what I understand - the pink lining inside my nose, which is usually a spongy mass has enlarged. It is susceptible to allergy and dust irritation, and those are the culprits in this case.

There are, however, two methods of dealing with this problem. The first is to use medicines - decongestants, antihistamines and nasal steroid sprays and if the condition is severe, one has to go for approach two - surgery. I am fortunate enough not to have a very severe case and hence will remain on medication for the next two weeks.

Wish me luck!

Softwares and Copyright Issues

I had written about a problem in one of my earliest posts – about how it was difficult for me to upload images because of their size. Most of the images that I capture are in Superfine mode of my Canon Powershot A530 camera and are Large. Each of the images are around 2-2.5MB, making it very difficult for me, using a Jurassic dial-up connection at home to upload these images to my blog. Yet, I have always wanted to share the pictures.

Believe it or not, in spite of being a nobody in photography, I did not want anyone else to use my pictures either. Recall a blog entry on Copyright Issues. Friends have smirked and laughed about it. But what’s mine is mine!

Recently I visited www.freewarehome.com and downloaded two freewares / free softwares – Photorazor and Photo-Image Resizer. Guess what, either of them solve all my problems. What these softwares do is convert a 2+ MB image to <100KB. The high quality image resolution is lost, I agree. But I have the original image with myself. Should one need printed copies, just ask. I will send them over. Of course, the cost would be for you to bear. Lol

Copyright issues are also addressed. There is no point using a low resolution image for anyone, but it surely acts as a showcase for me.

And copyright issues remind me, I clicked a picture of the books I recently read and posted it on this blog. I think the covers are copyrighted. But I am not too sure. So, to avoid any unpleasantries, I do herein seek to be condoned for any violation. Furthermore, may I add that the cover copyrights, if any, rest with the original owners and my effort does not take away any credit. If at all, it provides good and positive publicity. Peace!

Being Creative

Being creative at night, capturing images in low light conditions.

Fireworks

and a car had zipped past

Pictures from Golconda Fort

Panoramic view of Golconda Fort

Against the Sunset

The Wall of the Fort

The Food of Hyderabad

MMMMMMMMMM Kebab
Hyderabadi Biryani

Love food

Reading Books - Fiction

Ever since the Hyderabad tour, I have picked up on a lost hobby - reading books. Really, when I come to think of it, I was such a voracious reader when in school and gradually through college and during my pursuit of MBA, reading fiction was like vaporized. There was always so much to do and if there wasn’t anything much to do, I would just lie down and listen to some old Indian music. Tiredness is a killer. A killer of hobbies. (Excuses!)

I have read three books in rapid succession.

The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth

Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat ----------- courtesy Joyjit

One Night @ the Call Center by Chetan Bhagat ----------- courtesy Hemant Sir

Well, Frederick Forsyth has always been one of my favorite authors, ever since I read the Day of the Jackal. It became the bible of thrillers for me. Then I started to pick up all his thrillers one by one. And by the end of it, I was a self-proclaimed authority on World Politics of the 20th Century. I have even thought about writing a book on the subject!!!

In the Afghan, Mike Martin is back in action in the gulf. A serious Forsyth reader will recall Martin from The Fist of God. An ingenious idea of passing the Westerner as an Arab among the Arabs to find out about Al Isra – a mission that was exposed by investigating the hardware of a financer of Al Qaeda. The story is fast paced and zips across the world. Pefectly readable.

In the last one year, I had heard of Chetan Bhagat and his two books on the younger generation of India. Well, to be honest, I was quite dismissive about the idea of a young writer and thought it was more hype than content. My apologies to Chetan Bhagat, I am truly sorry. Sorry also to have delayed in picking up the books to read.

Amazing stories. Beautiful narrative, fantastic story-telling ability, good context, lucid and everyday language and normal problems of normal people. Fantatstic read. Both of them.

Five Point Someone is subtitled What Not to do at IIT. A story about three friends and the struggle through life during their IIT years. And yes, Neha, the Professor’s daughter. Refreshing. However, when I was almost done with reading this book, I met a certain senior HR manager for a PSU at Hyderabad, who also appreciated the book, but wondered what Chetan Bhagat was trying to say, like what was the message kind of things. I remember having chatted with him for quite a while on this and it was very interesting.

Oh and thanks to Frederick Forsyth’s Day of The Jackal again, my copy of which Hemant Sir lost during his brief stay in Kolkata and gave me One Night @ the Call Center in return. A story about six people at the workplace – a call center, set on one night, when they receive a call from God. A lot of punch in the summary. A seller. I wonder if Chetan Bhagat specialized in Marketing from IIM Ahmedabad. But the book is great. I liked it so much that I reread the book the very next day. Loved the way the book is written, the humor and how the individuals’ psyches are exposed.

However, a lot of questions arise while reading the two books by Chetan Bhagat. I would refrain from putting these up here. But of course, if I get an opportunity to interact with the writer I would love to have a discussion.

LOST @ Golconda Fort

My sympathies with those who lost their lives and were wounded.

Here's an image from Golconda Fort. I have titled it LOST. Would love to get some reviews on it. What would you have done to improve the picture, what you like of the picture and what you don't.

Hyderabad Bomb Blast

Around 1:30 pm today, a bomb rocked the Mecca Masjid compound in Hyderabad when the Friday Namaz was being offered. This being another ghastly and dastardly act by some terror mongers to foster a divisive influence among the masses. Clearly, the peace and harmony of the wonderful and high spirited Hyderabadis was targeted. First and foremost, I would like to urge the people of Hyderabad not to press the panic button, and not play into the hands of those willing to instigate animosities and provoke communal disharmony.

The Mecca Masjid stands 100 yards Southwest of the Charminar. The mosque is said to comprise bricks brought from Mecca built into the central arch, hence the name. The five arched facades were carved out of a single piece of granite, a stone which took five years to quarry. The courtyard houses a large pond flanked by two stone and slab seats. Legend has it that a visitor who sits on one of these seats will definitely return to Hyderabad. A room in the courtyard is said to contain sacred relics, one of which is the hair of Prophet Muhammad.

The construction of the Mecca Masjid was begun under the orders of Sultan Quli Qutub Shah in 1617 and was completed in 1694 under direct orders of Emperor Aurangazeb. The mosque is one of the largest in the country and can accommodate ten thousand people at one time. It is the biggest mosque in Hyderabad and is adjacent to Charminar just across the road. The constructions of this mosque was started by Sultan Muhammad Qutub Shah, The work continued during the reign of Abdullah Qutub Shah and Abul Hassan Tana Shah and was completed in 1694 by the Moghal Emperor Aurangzeb.

The hall of the mosque is about 75 feet high, 220 feet wide and 180 feet long, Each of the two octagonal columns on either side are made out of a single piece of granite, It took about 8000 Masons and laborers and 77 years to complete.

It is said that when the foundation stone was being laid, Sultan Muhammad Qutub Shah invited all the pious religious elders of the city. It was announced that the king wanted the foundation stone to be laid by one who had never missed his prayers. None came forward, therefore Sultan Muhammad himself laid the foundation for he had never missed even his midnight prayer since the age of 12.

Unfortuantely, 12 namazis lost their lives, while they were closing their prayers. That’s real sad. The bomb used RDX and is assumed to have been set off by a mobile phone as a trigger. Police rushed to the spot at the earliest and avoided a worse scare. They discovered two more similar bombs which did not go off.

While all politicians have come out to condemn the heinous act, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSR Reddy have asked the citizens not to listen to rumours, nor to spread them. All caution has now been taken with Section 144 imposed in the area thereby banning the assembly of more than four people. Police remains at the spot and central RAF have been kept on stand by for the city. Also forensic experts from the Centre have been called in to investigate the site.

Following the blast at the Mecca Masjid, the injured, numbering in the 40s were rushed to the nearby Osmania Hospital. There were road blockades in different parts of the city. Police, however, rose to action to disperse any such mobs and things became normal. However, shops remained closed and not many buses were seen plying across the city. The characteristic autorickshaws were also not zipping across the city as frequently as they normally do.

It gives me such a weird feeling. I visited this place just last week. Here’s a picture that I took from the Charminar.
My condolences for the lives lost.
Peace and harmony!

Hyderabad Tour

Well, at the outset I must caution the neutral reader that I shall not remain neutral. In fact, you stand cautioned by the fact that my opinion of Hyderabad is rather biased, due largely to the summer heat. Clearly, one must never ever venture to tour Hyderabad in the summer. Make it in the winter and maybe you will like it more.

Hyderabad, the capital city of the state of Andhra Pradesh has developed in recent years at a fast pace. So much so that it is considered to be at par with Bangalore. Well, the Telugu speaking populace would claim Hyderabad or Cyberabad to be the IT hot spot of the country, whilst the populace of Bangalore will vouch for itself. Let’s just keep it at the fact that both have grown very fast in recent years and that both have traversed the IT path in a major way. By the way, did you know that the Indian HQs of Microsoft and Oracle are in Hyderabad?

Anyways, as I was saying, summer is the time to avoid Hyderabad. The temperatures soar above 40 degrees Celsius, not the exact comfort to travel around. Make it in the winter, when the temperatures remain at a pleasant 16-18 degrees.

The airport is situated at Begumpet, and is well connected to important parts of the country and abroad. The main railway station is Secunderabad. In fact, Secunderabad and Hyderabad are twin cities connected by the Tank Bund. However, many are not aware that there is another major railway station - Hyderabad Decan, at Nampally, which is closer to the Old City. As a traveler, perhaps this is where you would like to be.

There are two trains from Howrah Station that travel to this city. One, the Falaknuma Express, and two, the East Coast Express. Go for the Falaknuma Express, it is faster, has a pantry car and does not stop at some 58 stations like the East Coast Express.

There are many places to stay in Hyderabad. There are budget and economy hotels to really luxurious ones. Take your pick. I wish to refrain from making any advertisements for the Hyderabad hotel industry.

For my part, I stayed at a Government Guest House, thanks to a kindness of a gentleman whom I wish not to name. All I can say is that this Guest House is in Basheer Bagh, really not far away from the older part of the city, and also very close to the Assembly House.

I will detail the various places later. For now, I would just like to mention that I couldn’t travel like a tourist due to the oppressive heat.

And would like to leave you with a picture of the Charminar, which supposedly is the hallmark of the city.

Going to Hyderabad

I am going to Hyderabad tomorrow. Accompanying my wife on her training and hoping to visit some places of interest in Hyderabad. However, the temperatures there are scorching. In fact, I was reading about Hyderabad in a website and it said something like - if you were planning to tour Hyderabad in the summer, you must have survived the Saharan (or sub-Saharan, i don't remember which) climate for 6 years, and should have done splendidly well. Not very encouraging, is it?

Anyways, I had to go, and if I can, I will visit some of the places. Of course, I also intend to shoot lot many pictures and hope to post some here soon.

For now, I may be off blogging for a while. I want to enjoy my vacation. So wish me luck.

My Camera

Canon Powershot A530

Whistler's Mother

This particular painting has also been a part of a movie - Dr. Bean
And Parna's grandma reminds me of the painting