Status update

Disclaimer - This is a personal post. Please be kind enough to bugger off if you were looking for something else.

Dear (nonexistent) readers,

I'm alive and kicking. I've been rather busy of late. To be honest, the last two months or so have been demanding, frustrating, tiring, depressing, at times embarrassing, and most importantly, one hell of a learning experience - not only on the technical front, but on the people front as well.

I believe phases such as these give you a lot of scope for kaizen. They eventually become your driving force, urging you to go on and deliver, and meet your own expectations. They also reveal the ugly side of most people you thought were by your side. Those who did are probably the ones whom you should hang on to, to the end of your days. It's all for the good, I tell you.

Anyhoo. So, I happened to visit Crosswords the other day and picked up Chowringhee and The Dubliners. I'm almost half way through Chowringhee. It's a gem of a novel. Set in post-colonial Calcutta, the story revolves around a hotel and souls associated with it. The protagonist is the stereotypical educated Bengali babu, supported by an enigmatic hotel receptionist, a doctor who ends up in the colonies by a cruel twist of fate, a street smart private eye and a easy woman who always manages to give Mr. Bond the slip. Romanticism at its best!

Will post a detailed review soon.

Let's see. What else? I've had an idea for a pet project of mine for quite some time now. I need to start working on it. Even if I eventually end up building a prototype, releasing it would be a pain, with all the legal hassles and paperwork. More details soon.

I've heard there is a major blogging revolution going on, back at college. I guess this post would qualify as a 'behti Ganga mein haath dhone' types post, trying to get some readership moolah (Yes, we all want it!). IMO, there is more quantity than quality on the IIIT blogroll. Most of the blogs are restricted to a particular genre - random/arbit/BC/life - and this is what makes them boring. I'm not saying - 'Hey, read my blog! This is how and what you should write. I rawk!' - but then, (quoting William Cowper- no! not the one who named the glands) variety is the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor. Read on, write more! Pwn the blogsphere.

I guess it is back to the scrum board for me. Until we meet again, I have the honor to remain,

Yours truly,

Sultan of Samarkand.

OSE, Knight of the Crescent Table