Would you want to be seated in the last row? Hmm.. but where? I know a few friends who would always prefer the last row - be it the classroom or a evam play. Their freedom to comment & yap without getting noticed. So much of their last row choices are much wiser though - like in the cinemas. Some of them don't enjoy last rows as much. Probably they are more like me but of course are smart at times and prefer just the opposite at the right occasion.

Today, I am seated in the last row. In an airplane. Thinking and writing about it. I am on a budget airlines so the last row really isn't the best place to be. Anyways, so I am on the last row and ahead of me all I see is a sea of heads. Some are dark, some partially and rest are shinning in the bright aircraft lighting. A few grey, white and even fewer brunette. And I am noticing something very peculiar for airplane. I can see a hand raising every few minutes trying to grab and terminate the mosquito on-board. Yes, you read that right. Some of them must have managed a boarding pass and are now guest to the airlines. Of course, under attack or rather defending the human counter attack. My co-passenger whispers (he had been quite observant as well) - "they are quite dangerous these days". Danger + Airlines brings the word terrorism to my mind but I managed to get into context immediately and acknowledged with a smile.

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Arna-Jharna is a beautiful desert museum conceptualized by Padmashri Komal Kothari and brought to life by his son Kuldeep Kothari. I visited the museum about a year ago and was amazed by the way it was built up. Very small team, almost no machines used, 100% indigenous resources, using only the local knowledge for everything and anything. The museum is located on the outskirts of jodhpur. They managed to effectively collect water in the middle of desert and use some of Israeli irrigation techniques to make the entire patch green. This place is full of inspiration, I could share only the pictures.

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Took Naksh for a beach walk. He collected shells all the way. Here are some pictures:

Bangalore was my dream city a decade ago. But not anymore. It has been a victim of the so called 'development-era'. Nevertheless, I love the city for it's weather and food. There has been plenty of memorable trips to Bangalore that I have never written about. Anyways, I am heading to bangalore to speak at Proto, The Startup Event at Nimhans Convention Centre on 23 & 24 Jan 2009. I would be sharing a session with Amit Ranjan. Unlike my usual speaking engagements, to engineering or business school students, for the first time I am going to address India's top grade upcoming entrepreneurs. It is both a chance to share experience and gain a lot of enthusiasm and inspiration from peers.

I am compiling a quick list of 5 top restaurants in Nungambakkam, Chennai. These are the places I visit more often than others, they are not very expensive - affordable for a person who eats out once in a fortnight.

#5: Sigree

Cuisine: North Indian

Where is Sigree in Nungambakkam?

1Hotel Aruna Complex 5th Floor, 144/145 Sterling Road Nungambakkam, Chennai Phone 42664222, 28238286, 43596224/28

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Have you ever spoken to a stranger in the most unexpected place that kept you wondering all day - not why but how did he do that? Well, I just had one such experience. I was browsing few books on marketing and entrepreneurs bio-graphies at Landmark bangalore and I heard someone making a remark about the books I was just looking at. He added, "I have recently started reading a few of them and I think they are excellent reads". I nodded without paying any heed. I first decided to ignore him totally. Why would someone tell me (an absolute stranger) about his reading habits.

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Writing from Terminal 23 at the Dubai Airport. Incredible Airport!

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Gangtok (which means 'hilltop'), capital city of sikkim, still lingers on my mind. A place abundant of beautiful hills and people.

We met Bhima at the taxi stand. A young (20) taxi driver with tons of enthusiam, we asked to transport us from the stand to our hotel, Golden Pagoda. We got a room with a market view for 600 rupees. Bhima was still waiting for us, he had suggested us a 7 point visit for 500 bucks. With just 1.5 days with us in sikkim we quickly agreed to and got started. Our second day was well accounted with pictures in my other post "Heaven - 12,400ft above sea level!". For people who wish to travel to sikkim here are some list of places to eat and stay.

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I was digging into some CSS (code) that I wrote few months ago. It's nice to know that you can still write some 'code' and term them something as complex as classes (I hear a lot about it from the next cubicle at work). Well these classes are relatively (absolutely) simple. Usually, I am lot more busy at work. My mobile was already ringing. It's karthik, yet again. kk: hi da, me: hey kk, wassup? kk: nothing da, busy aa? (typical south indian da and aa's) me: well just thinking about a break, a weekend in Kodai. kk: really? me: yes, I should head to kodai road. correct?

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I had recently learnt from my friend Preetam that China had never recognized Sikkim as part of India. It treated it as an independent country. He also explained how pragmatic chinese government is when it comes to acquiring back their so called lost terretories. They played smart with HK. They let Britain rule and develop it and finally chucked them out when it seemed most profitable. It puts me to great relief that sikkim is no more a disputed territory. It's one of the most exciting place in India. I hope to get there soon to explore more of it. Truly India's pride.

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