A Tryst with Destiny: Bhindra Burns through Beijing!

Phelps all the way (Source: CBS News)

Bhindra Burns through Beijing (Source: LA Times)

Even though this post is largely out of schedule, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Abhinav Bhindra on his stunning performance at the Olympics. I also hope that our three boxers Akhil, Jitendar and Vijender Kumar do well and make India proud in Boxing (as they are our medal hopes).

----------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE: I also congratulate Michael Phelps (USA) on his world record for securing the most number of medals (8) in a single olympics (16 in all), beating the earlier Spitz who has 7 medals to his name.

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C.R. Aditya

The Elite Window

August: A Tryst with Destiny

A Tryst with Destiny

Happy Independence Day! 61 years of Indian Independence have passed. India is a free country, developing rapidly, expanding, conquering all that comes in its wake. The Elite Window will be celebrating this glorius occasion with a month of Indian Independence stories, and incidents that have shaped up India today in August: A Tryst with Destiny, all this month, here at Elite.

Once again, wishing all the Indians in the world a Happy Independence Day.

Yours,

Aditya C.R

The Elite Window

Gadget Gossip: iPhone- Are you Crazy?

iPhone- iCrazy?

Guys, the iPhone is coming out on August 22nd via Airtel and Vodafone. I told you all in the previous Gadget Gossip ( http://craditya.blogspot.com/2008/08/gadget-gossip-iphone-3g-exclusive.html ) that it may cost around 20000 Rs but unconfirmed sources are popping up saying that one or both carriers will in fact be selling the iPhone for Rs 31139 (at current rates 750$) which is really a blown-out-of-proportion cost, exorbitant and not worth it at all for its small camera (without auto focus and flash) and its incorrigible Bluetooth and SMS functions. IF the rumours are true (as we will get to know in the coming week on the 22nd), iPhone will not sell even 10 phones in the first month of its release. It will be highly unpopular, reducing image for Apple and its iPhone as well as the two carriers; personally I would recommend HTC Touch Diamond/ Touch Cruise or the N 96 from Nokia. If otherwise priced at the nominal 16000-25000 range it will be a hit in India like in all other countries who recieved the phone on 11th July. What do you plan to do?

To know more about the iPhone SMS IPHONE [space] INFO to +919962302293 or if you are a Vodafone/Airtel; customer and want to PRE-REGISTER/BOOK the iPhone with them SMS IPHONE to 56789 for Vodafone subscribers and IPHONE to 54321 for Airtel subscribers.

Aditya C.R
The Elite Window

One World, One Dream.

Colour Fest at Bird's Nest

That is the slogan or theme of the Beijing Olympics which had a spectacular opening on 08/08/08 at 8:08 pm at the National Stadium or Bird's Nest which was splashed with a million colourful hues amidst crackling fireworks. The theme of the opening ceremony was China's 5000 year history which was potrayed with a touch of Chinese technology on a an electronic paper scroll. Then a huge ball symbolising the earth on top of which Chinese popstar Liu Huan and British popstar Sarah Birhtman sang the Official Olympic song. Then it was the turn of all 205 nations which are taking part to walk the ramp into the centre of the stadium. The President of the IOA then gave his speech after which the Chinese president Hu Jintao declared the games open in Chinese. The Olympic torch was finally lit by veteren Olympian who won the first Chinese gold medal, Li Ning by flying around the whole stadium with pictures of Olympic torch lighting displayed as he flew around the stadium. All in all it was one spectacular show with approximately 4.5 billion viewers all over the world. The event was truly superb and can really be summed as- "when the heaven and earth looked at Beijing Olympics- the best Olympics yet."

When the world watched Beijing

Aditya C.R

The Elite Window

iSpy: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Movie

iSpy, The Elite Window's spying portal, gets you info on things which are months away are too exciting to wait that long. iSpy quenches youre thirst for info. This month we are looking at the next movie installment in the Harry Potter series that is HP & HBP. The trailer was released on 29th July via AOL and satellite. The interesting part is that each movie gets darker and more serious than the previous one. You can make this out from the trailer which you can view below- it contains (SPOILER WARNING- highlight to read the next few lines) Young Tom Riddle speaking about his seemingly ábnormal abilities of magic which Dumbledore realises and comes to offer a seat in Hogwarts. The movie as reported by Warner Studios contains never before seen new scenes which have been improvised and added along. They were described as emotional scenes involving Harry, Dumbledore, presumably after Dumbledore's tragic death grusomely expected to be potrayed in the film. Meanwhile, enjoy the trailer for now, we will keep you updated.

"I can move things without touching them" - Tom Riddle, Half Blood Prince


Aditya C.R
The Elite Window

Website of the Month: AURA India

Hey you all, this one is for the Astrophysics geek! This site is cool with all the latest quizes, trivia and news on Astrophysics. There are even contests which you can win prizes in! Also, get new from the International Year of Astronomy 2009 here. So go ahead and visit the site at:

AURA- Astrophysics Union of India
http://www.astrophysics.org.in/

Aditya C.R.

The Elite Window

Weekly Western/ Just For Laughs: America, America!

Fine, weekly western is not so weekly but yes, its still western news. I came about this video when being broadcast in one of my foundation classes at college and I thought you should have a look at it. Bombay Jayshree was involved in this video and she has done such a hilarious job! No offence America!

America, America!



It literally criticises the US for its ill behaviour saying "America, America, America War Paar Da!" which means "America, America, see the American War" in Tamil colloquial language in Tamil Nadu, India. Enchaai (Enjoy!)

Aditya C.R
The Elite Window

Living in the Present: Guru Gyan #2

This story has a nice message in it. Read on.

One day, a Swami was having a conversation with Lord Shiva one day and said. 'Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like. Lord Shiva led the Swami to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the Swami looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the Swami's mouth water. The people sitting! around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.
But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The Swami shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
Lord Shiva said, 'You have seen Hell. They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The Swami said, 'I don't understand.'

'It is simple,' said Lord Shiva.

'It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.'

I hope you have learnt the simple, yet powerful message the story delivers. So be kind and generous to all to keep away from a fall.

Aditya C.R
The Elite Window

Poll of the Month: Can India host Olympics by 2020?

The results of the previous poll are out and I'm glad to say that I'm happy!

81% [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] Fab!

19% [][][][][] Good!

0% Poor!

0% Bland.

I thank everyone who voted profusely for your judgement. Also, I am proud to announce this month's poll - Can India host Olympics by 2020? You can either select online and vote on the right hand side banner or you can also send an SMS to +919962302293 - the Elite Window number with SMS service. Text POTM [space] YES if you agree and POTM [space] NO if you do not agree. Please keep voting and coming back for more exciting stuff on India's (and eventually) the World's best entertainment blog.

Aditya C.R

The Elite Window

Living in the Present: Hues of Homage

Hues of Homage
I think we should all spend a minute on this article as we pay homage to the people who have died in various terrorist attacks around India, Israel, China and Afghanistan. May all of them rest in peace.

C.R. Aditya
The Elite Window

88888 Lights Out!

LIGHTS OUT

Global Warming: is a pretty well spoken about term in every field- economic, environmental and basically Mother Earth's future. This is in response to the sights being telecast callously all over the media- like for the instance when a New York sized Ice sheet melted and broke off from the Arctic Shelf, and how Greenland is truly becoming more greener as the ice receeds. It is forecast that all coastal cities are in great danger around the world as the ice melts, raising sea levels, decreasing salinity (causing species extinction), raising water levels by around 8m which will submerge Mumbai, Chennai and other coastal cities on India's 7000 Km coastline. The main contributers to this progressive doom are GHG's (Green House Gases) like Methane (from cow dung 18%- it has to be tapped properly), Carbon-di-oxide (from vehicular exhaust- use public transport and your own legs as much as you can) and ultimately fossil fuel burning. 60% of India's electricity comess from burning of coal. It is predicted that this will all come true by 2025 so to prevent this you can do so in your own ways. Starting from this month. If we all pledge to switch of the lights and fans and tv's for 8 minutes on 8th August 2008 at 8 pm it will save lots of electricity and we could tide over the power cuts too! This campaign is carried out by Exnora International all over India similar to Earth Hour in Sydney, Light's Out in London and Batti Bandh in Mumbai. So you can do your bit by helping in a small and simple way. Also tell all your freinds and family- its simple and it will do good to the world. Don't forget that we hven't got time left and i'm serious! Do it quick NOW!

Save the world and not only yourself,

Aditya C.R
The Elite Window

Beijing Beckons: Olympics Draws Nearer!

Beijing Beckons

The Olympics are drawing nearer to its grand inaugral opening on 08/08/08, Friday in Beijing's National Stadium (Bird's Nest) amonst pomp and glory. It is said that Beijing spent more than 40 billion dollars on the Olympics (translates into 1680 billion Rupees roughly) which is a pretty tedious amount. Although it is expected that Beijing will recover all that and more with ticket sales and Infrastructural sales (Metro, Airport). Beijing has built the world's largest dragon shaped Terminal 3 (A, B, C) in addition to the first two terminals at Beijing's new Capital International Airport. It is connected to the newly built railway lines which go into the terminal for quick transport to the Olympic venues. The structure is gigantic just like the National Olympic Stadium or the Bird's Nest which is a framework of criss-crossing steel bars which can host around 90000 seating with a floating capacity of around 30000 people. Even the National Aquatics Centre or the Water Cube is quite large, situated next to the National Stadium and can house 3000 people with 6000 floating capacity. Also the CCTV towers, National Theatre (The Egg) have all been built to create a sense of what Beijing really can do to prove its International standards. Around 3.6 billion people will watch it on TV from all over the world and 1.2 billion people will visit Beijing during the Olympics itself. India will bid for the Olympics in 2020 when its capital New Delhi will be a world class city with the other metros Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore following in its wake. With only four days to spare, all eyes will be on Beijing to witness one of the grandest and costliest Olympics of Olympic History.

Aditya C.R

The Elite Window

National Stadium (Bird's Nest)

National Aquatics Centre (Water Cube)

Beijing Capital International Airport

CCTV Towers, Beijing Central

Gadget Gossip: iPhone 3G Exclusive! August Release!

Iphone 3G in India

Date of Release: Apple confirmed that, in its quarterly financial conference, 20 more countries will get iPhone on 22nd August, including India.

Price: Well thats a big question! Expected to be around 16500-20000 Rs (without applying taxes and import duties and without plan charges)

Plan Charges: Expected to be starting from 299 Rs per month for the basic plan and upwards.

Features: Plenty more than iPhone 2G!

1) A-GPS/Maps/cellular tower positioning/Wi-Fi positioning

2) Multi-Touch screen

3) Accelerometer and Proximity cum Light sensors

4) 2 MP camera (a let down as it does not have flash nor autofocus)

5) 3G speeds

6) Mobile Me (Push Mail)

7) Wi-Fi

8) Bluetooth 2.0 Sync

9) Flushback Headphone jack

10) Improved sound quality with Stereo Speakers

11) App Store with more applications to choose from (in Indian Currency)

12) iPod and Safari integrated

13) Cover Flow

14) Intelligent Keyboard

15) Home button

16) Scientific Calculator

17) Youtube App

Carriers: Vodafone and Airtel.

Network: 3G network will come later around mid-2009. As announced by Andimuthu Raja, Telecommunications Minister on 29th July, 3G spectrum will be auctioned for a price of Rs 2020 crore and above for local players and Rs 3705 crore and above for foreign players like AT&T who want to enter into the Indian market with a licence. It will take 2 months fo 3G to be auctioned to Vodafone and Airtel but BSNL and MTNL already have a spectrum reserved in Delhi and Mumbai circles which can have only one more GSM operator while the other areas can have around 10 operators. It is said that BSNL and MTNL have an unfair 3 month advantage over the other bidders.
Website: www.apple.co.in/iphone

Yours techno,

Aditya C.R

The Elite Window

Enchanting Eclipse in Totality

Eclipse Enchants Everyone

It was an awe-inspiring sight for many all across Europe, North America and Asia where one could see the Friday total solar eclipse in all its glory. The event was telecast live on the internet from Novosibirsk, Russia. The path of totality ran through Canada, Greenland, Siberia (West) and finally into China with a 200 Km radius. In india the maximum eclipse at peak was around 54% in New Delhi and around 30% in Chennai. Although, as a member of TANASTRO, I was at the Birla planetarium, rain played spoiltsport till just as the sky cleared at around 17:17 when the eclipse was at its peak 30%. We were a lucky lot (those who came to the planetarium at 17:17 till 18:04 when it finished). Although people got to see a partial eclipse in India and will see a total Lunar Eclipse on August 17th in the wee hours of the morning, on 22nd July 2009, India (and Chennai of course) will get to see a total eclipse. So hurrah about that!! Tune in for more astro news.

Aditya C.R

The Elite Window

Silver Screens: The Dark Knight

"Why so Serious?"'

Release: 18th July 2008
Status: Completed. Post Production.
Studio: Warner Brothers Entertainment Studios
Budget: A whopping 180 million $
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Cristian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhall
Plot: An awe-inspiring twisted plot where in Batman (Bruce Wane/Christian Bale) decides to tie up with Comissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) to wipe out the remaining gangster groups in Gotham City- but something goes wrong when an even more powerful gang with the most notorius villian ever in the Batman series- the mad and hysterical Joker (Heath Ledger) hits the city and wreaks havoc amidst Bruce Wayne- who is at his tenderhooks of choosing between his love Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhall) and the safety of Gotham.
Excerpt: (In the trailer) Joker (to Batman): "Why would I kill you? What would I do without you?" (laughter)
Tagline: "Why so serious?"

Trailer: Rating: U/A (India), Motion Pictures Association of America- PG 13

VERDICT

The Joker has done some immense potrayal of hysterical behaviour and unexpected mad bouts to utmost perfection which ads to the thrill. There has been a lot of stunt scenes for this movie especially the scene where the director has made a huge truck trailer flip over from back to front without any special FX. The scenes were shot mostly in Chicago and the famous Sears towers do feature in the movie (Batman stands on the edge of the rooftop). It is surely a better bargain then its predecessor Batman Begins- thanks to the Joker. We can sure hope to have a wonderful thrill watching this installment of Batman's.

ELITE WINDOW RATING: An expected 10/10

Aditya CR
The Elite Window

Gadget Gossip: The iPhone is here!!

Hi- I know, I know looooong delay but still, (I have college you know),

We will be taking a ride through the iPhone 3G now. First of all the iphone has released all over the world in 22 countries today (July 11th) and the rest of the 48 countries in the waiting list including India will have to wait- not for very long. Apple director, Tim Cook, says that the iPhone will be "there and about"in the rest of the 48 countries as promised by the end of Fall and Winter 2008. When asked about India he said that he was "happy to bring Apple's iPhone to more and more hands around the globe". Apple signed a partnership with world's largest telecom giant Vodafone India and Bharti Airtel, a branch of Singtel (Singapore), earlier this month. Vodafone and Airtel have started pre-registering for the smart phone. One can send an SMS 'IPHONE' to 56789 for Vodafone and 54321 for Airtel. Although both companies are tight-lipped about the event, sources say that Vodafone will go ahead and launch it first by August end. We could expect it anywhere by August 20-25th. If not, latest by September, said the source. Unfortunately, the buzz around the price seems to be going on the down side- iPhone will not be subsidised in India owing to the already low call rates. The 8GB version of the phone should cost around 11000-16000 INR and the 16GB version around 19000-22000 INR. There are a lot of Pro's when compared to Iphone 1.0 like, 3G has A-GPS, App Store, a black metallic finish plastic body with white option, greatly improved stereo sound, common head phone jack, and many more software tweaks although the Cons do hurt the ears- there is no Message Forwarding, Battery Life is max 5 hours and gets juiced out by 7-8 hours at 3G otherwise, 13-15 hours, Bluetooth syncing is not user-friendly, camera has no flash, no auto focus etc. But it still makes it worth the wait for this wonderful beauty- It has got multi-touch, accelerometer, proximity sensors, light sensor, brilliant 3.5" gorgious hi-res display, geo-tagging, and oh! forgot the most important point when 3G networks operate in India it will be 2.5x faster than Edge- 3G will enter India by January 2009- until then use Edge. So, great phone, great looks- go buy it!!!!

The Elite Window rating: 9.8/10

Aditya CR

The Elite Window

P.S. For those who want some other news, look at my blog tomorrow at 3:00 pm IST.

Weekly Western: Last Parsi 'Bawa' retires from railways

Viraf Dalal, the last Parsi motor man

Parsi Bau, Viraf Dalal, the last motor man to run EMU's through the suburbs of Mumbai, retired on June 30th. He said that it was a prestigious job, ignoring the dangers and commitment involved. ''When there is mist or heavy rain, it becomes very hard to spot the signals. You miss any one signal and you are done for'' he said. He has had a clean track record with no accidents in his 34 long years of service. People from the parsi community usually are given the nickname 'driver' (those who work as motor men in the railways). He said that it was sad to see that he was the last parsi driver in the railways, as his great-grandfather, "Driver" Dorabjee also was a motor man. "But in his days, you had to shove in bits of coal to boil the steam- these days it is easier in EMU's - you do not have helpers, just the Dead Man's Handle for company" he said. Dead Man's Handle is a device which automatically switches off the train in the case when the driver faints or during other similar circumstances. The lineage of Parsi motor men have been etched in history. We should take note of their commitment without which a disaster would be eminent in the Mumbra-Kalyan stretch of the Mumbai Metro.

Aditya CR

The Elite Window

Up-to-Date: A month has passed!

Hi! (July in the air??),

Personal Updates ->
1) Got my new Quad core computer I mentioned in Gadget Gossip #2
2) Am in college!! Life rocks!!
3) The End

Updates Updates ->
1) Elite Window has changed- in looks, style, material, feel, etc.
2) Come on guys and gals forward your blog articles!
3) June has been extremely succesful for The Window as 20 articles have been published in 15 days which is very cool! Elite Window will bring in more interesting stuff about movies and music and boredom. Just hang in there and keep visiting every day to see if The Window has something new to show you.

Aditya C.R
The Elite Window

Elite Recipe: Fromarge Pasta

Elite Recipe is a carefully selected delictable recipe once every month by The Elite Window. It is an offshoot from Tongue Tinglers.

You will need-

1 cup Salsa (See the previous June 2008 Salsa Recipe by clicking on the link from the right)
200-250 gms (1 serving) Penne Pasta
Oregano
Salt to taste
Soy Sauce
Cheese (3 cubes)
Milk 1 cup
Flour 1 cup

For Pasta-

Boil Penne pasta in slightly salted water. Add a spoon cooking oil before itself to prevent it from sticking. After boiling for 5-8 minutes, remove Penne by straining the water out. Take a Kadai (or a pan) add a spoon of olive/cooking oil and add the salsa mix. Add a sprinkle of Soy sauce (not too much) and saute well. Simmer. Now in a seperate pan, add the milk and slowly boil. Add two tablespoons flour (See to it that you dont add too much- just enough to make the milk viscous). Grate the cubes of cheese into the milk saucepan. Do not neglect the other simmering Kadai/pan. Saute the milk saucepan well and pour the viscous mix onto the kadai/pan containing the salsa mix. Mix well and then add to the bowl containing the penne pasta. Mix again and then pour into serving dish with a sprig of lettuce and serve. If required, one can make the dish more interesting by adding edible, minced bottle mushrooms along with the salsa mix. Sprinkle the Oregano on top of the serving in the end.

This dish is to be taken while hot.

Your Chef,
Aditya C.R
The Elite Window

The Elite Window: The Changed Window!

Ok, now I know this is ridiculous but Elite Window has changed its looks and this time- for good (at least for now).

The new Elite Window features a completely new makeover in terms of Font colours and the logo again! The Elite Window is still green (See the Go Green post) as well as starry with a glittering background and cool header; and new font colours have been added (as I pointed out earlier). What's more, Elite Window has got a classy "PC-made" logo with a superb Blackladder 'E' and 'W' amidst checkered red and white windows giving it a modern look. There are new sections added towards the sides (observe the new left hand banner) too. There is the new ADi Tube for video updates, a slideshow of new photos every month, a flash news section to keep you updated on the latest news, the fav links section remains, there is a poll where you all must vote as it is your right to do so! Also there are the google ads you should click on to keep TEW running!!! Please click as I get 20 cents for every valuable click on each ad! Look out for a brand new season this July for The Window, you and me.

Happy with the Elite Window? You sure are!

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You'll get this cool Landscape banner on your webpage (bigger of course):



Support The Elite Window by spreading its name. Meanwhile be tuned in for more updates, bloopers, fun and fiesta!

Aditya CR
"Shut up when it comes to shutting up"
The Elite Window

Options: What (How) to Blog?

Hi!

Incidently, I heard that many of you have not created a blog, so, a wonderful opportunity for those of you who have not- The Elite Window will accept your articles confined to the topics I mentioned in the first post, and it will be minimally edited and posted on the blog with your name!!! Send in you articles to aditya.cr@gmail.com and get your voices heard. They say that practice makes it perfect- you can do so here. The first 3 articles recieved will be posted this month on the blog. This process will repeat every month. Consider this for the month of July. Send your entries quick!!!

Aditya C.R
The Elite Window

Gadget Gossip: Hewlett Packard Pavilion Desktop

Hi!

Ok, this time Gadget Gossip has something nice to offer- A HP desktop m9390IN PC review.

We shall take a look at its config.

CONFIGURATION OF M9390IN HP PAVILION DESKTOP

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4 GHz Processor
Light Scribe DVD writer with Blu-Ray Disc reader (Max 20x DVD ROM Speed)
4 GB RAM
Intel G33 Express Chipset
W19" TFT Screen
1 Terabyte Hard Drive (1024 GB) @ 7200 rpm
nVidia GeForce 9600GS Graphics card with 512 MB dedicated memory
1 Touch Backup Button
HP Pocket Media Drive
1 Firewall, 2 X USB 2.0 ports
Integrated Bluetooth 2.0
Wireless Internet Wi-Fi inbuilt
Audio and Mike connection (5 channel compatible)
S-Video port
wireless mouse and keyboard
TV Tuner Card
Windows Vista Home Premium
Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat, Norton Internet Security (60 day trial)
3-3-3 Years Warranty
HP 800VA UPS

All for a substantial price of 86750 INR (Inclusive of taxes and levies). What more would one want?

Cool na? I am off to buy it!!!! For more queries contact my email ID.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will keep you posted on the Iphone* too- Vodafone and Airtel have started pre-registration online. (I chose Vodafone, its the best). Visit Vodafone IN and Airtel IN for more details or simply send IPHONE to 56789 for Vodafone and IPHONE to 54321 for Airtel. Also visit Apple India for the Technical Specifications.

*Tentative release is July 11th 2008. The release date may be delayed as 3G network is yet to come to India. As reported by Mr. A. Raja, Minister for Telecommunications, the auction of frequencies for 3G will commence in June-July 2008. Establishment of 3G networks will further take time.

Aditya CR
"Patience is a virtue"
The Elite Window

Living in the Present: Guru Gyan #1

Ok hi, (again)

Sorry for the long hold up (from June 16th) I had to do an advanced course in the Ashram- which reminds me if anyone wants to do the YES+ course in Chennai contact me at aditya.cr@gmail.com for more details (I will not reveal mobile nos on blog- go check my orkut profile). I came back by IndiGo Airlines yesterday and tomorrow is my college so will post a crux of the course in here (for now of course). Guruji (Sri Sri) has an answer to whatever question you throw at him- that's the fun part- and his quick and humorous wit is the funny part!! Here is the tidbit of one Satsang session in the evening-

WA (wise answer) #1
Girl: Guruji, I love you!
Guruji: You have no choice!!!

Q #1
Spectator: Guruji, do you believe in aliens?
Guruji: As long as you do not think that I am one myself!!

Q #2
Spectator: Guruji how will you wipe the bad karmas that you have unknowingly accumalated from your previous births?
Guruji: Sudarshan Kriya.

Q #3

Spectator: I have done nothing in my life worthy of smiling, what can I do?
Guruji: Why not? You have come here (ashram) havn't you. That should be enough to bring the smile. See, do not wait to acheive something for the smile to come, keep smiling at first and then you'll acheive something- the smile will remain too.

GG (Guru Gyan)

(Everybody is making noise in the Vishalakshi Mandap during Satsang on Sunday evening (after Guruji had talked in Kannada to the locals- I was there and I understood everything!)

Sssssssssshhhhhh.... said Guruji and the whole Mandap was reverberating with man made echoes of "sssshhhh". Then Guruji started speaking when the jam packed hall was fairly quiet)

See there is a significance behind the sound "ssshhhh", everybody becomes peaceful. Similarly, when we get a surprise or we appreciate a masterpiece, we say the sound "Wah". (The whole hall repeats both the words obediently in random fashion). Then when you join the too sounds you get a commonly uttered name which is Shiva, his essence, signifying the admirable peace and silence which comes by when uttered in a hymn repeatedly for 108 times (by the way 108 because it is the only number which is a product of 27 and 4 as told by Bau) in "Om Namah Shivaya chanting".

See how knowledgeble Guruji is!

Jai Gurudev!
"Do the course with no remorse."
Aditya CR
The Elite Window

The New Elite Window!

The new Elite Window features a completely new makeover in terms of Font colours and the logo itself! This time around, The Elite Window goes green- the web page remaining black (See the Go Green post) and new font colours have been added (as I pointed out earlier). What's more, Elite Window has got a classy "PC-made" logo with a superb Blackladder 'E' and 'W' amidst a splash of citrus colours.

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Aditya CR
"Change is for the better"
The Elite Window

Go Green: Blackle.com

As posted on Blackle:

Blackle was created by Heap Media to remind us all of the need to take small steps in our everyday lives to save energy. Blackle searches are powered by Google Custom Search.

Blackle saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. "Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen." Roberson et al, 2002

In January 2007 a blog post titled Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year proposed the theory that a black version of the Google search engine would save a fair bit of energy due to the popularity of the search engine. Since then there has been skepticism about the significance of the energy savings that can be achieved and the cost in terms of readability of black web pages.

We believe that there is value in the concept because even if the energy savings are small, they all add up. Secondly we feel that seeing Blackle every time we load our web browser reminds us that we need to keep taking small steps to save energy.

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Try and do keep web pages black- you'll save energy in a deficient world. Be conservative! Support Blackle- Blackle Support Link

My blog background stays black.

Aditya CR
The Elite Window

Personal Portfolio: My erratic schedule.

The number of alliterations (Like Simple Software, Personal Portfolio) I use are becoming annoying, yes? Ignore.

Ok, sorry for the 4 day gap, had to do college admissions stuff- Loyola college, Chennai. Nothing else, going to college seems to be the only thing left to do- of course there is AOL (for more info check Living in the Present) advanced course. I am going to Bangalore tomorrow- Ashram. Will blog of course, i have Tata Indicom wireless... laptop too (duh).

Running out of things to say when it comes to me!!!

TC
Aditya CR
The Elite Window

Simple Software: Firefox 3

Hi,

the long gap in posting will be discussed later, first the interesting software that has hit the globe- Mozilla Corporation has really gone overboard in outdoing themselves with the newest version of the second most popular browser in the world- Mozilla Firefox. With the 3rd Generation version coming out with more than 50,000 new corrections, add-ons, features and more, it is going to also create history if you download it on download day June 17th (tomorrow) by pledging to do so on Spread Firefox.com. This will help Mozilla get the title from Guinness for the most software downloads in 24 hours. So you can pledge online at the given link and help the 18.44% of browser market share Mozilla has currently, grow into a better figure.

Aditya CR
The Elite Window

Music to the Ears: The Call by Regina Spektor

Ok, this is an update to the post before the last one, just to show the superb relation between her song and the Narnian Movie. Here is the video of the last five minutes of the movie-

It is such a good movie- you musn't miss it! Check the previous post Silver Screens: A Box Office Clash! by clicking the link on the right hand side of the page to get more details on the same! Also don't hesitate to check out Stars On The Ground: Regina Spektor, for the lyrics.

Also to listen to the whole song click Listen to "The Call". You'll also be able to download from the same link.

Chao,

Aditya C.R

The Elite Window

Maami's Kitchen: Medu Vadai

Ingredients:

916 gms (4 Azha) Urad Dhall (Ulthamparuppu)

3 Chillis

Salt to taste

1/2 litre Oil (preferably corn oil)

Curry Leaves (Karvapillai)

1 cup Coconut bits

Method:

Soak the Urad dhall for 25-30 min in water. Add the soaked dhall along with the water into a mixie grinder (or go to the local miller and get it grinded). (Keep adding exact amounts of water, just enough to keep the batter from getting dry, when you're doing it yourself). When the batter is ready, add the required amount of salt (after taking the required amount of batter seperately, but if you want to use the whole batter, you'll get approx. 20 vadais depending on the size of each vadai). Add the chopped chillies, curry leaves and the coconut bits and mix thorughly. Pre-heat the oil in a kadai. Test the oil's heat by adding a pinch of batter in it and seeing if it gets cooked. If it is hot enough, take a blob of batter on your oil-greased hands and make a hole in the center. Slowly slide the batter on your hand into the oil (avoid getting hurt by crackling oil) and fry till golden brown. Serve hot with sambar, sauce or chutney. (Recipe for homemade sambar will be upcoming shortly).

Your Chef,

Aditya C.R

The Elite Window

Stars On The Ground: Regina Spektor

Regina Spektor is a Russian-born American writer & singer. She is also a pianist and was born on February 18th 1980.

Her age actually is a deceiver as her voice sounds nothing like a 28 year old's but is far younger. Her recent songs include- "The Call" which also is the background music for the movie-The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

The lyrics of the song are beautiful and empathetic. They capture the essence of the movie and its emotions. The song itself can be downloaded through Google. the lyrics are given below-

It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word

And then that word grew louder and louder
’Til it was a battle cry
I’ll come back
When you call me

No need to say goodbye

Just because everything’s changing
Doesn’t mean it’s never been this way before
All you can do is try to know who your friends are
As you head off to the war

Pick a star on the dark horizon
And follow the light
You’ll come back when it’s over

No need to say goodbye

You’ll come back

when it’s over

No need to say goodbye

Now we’re back to the beginning
It’s just a feeling and no one knows yet
But just because they can’t feel it too
Doesn’t mean that you have to forget

Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
’Til they’re before your eyes
You’ll come back
When they call you

No need to say goodbye

You’ll come back
When they call you

No need to say goodbye

You can download or listen to it at Supload at

http://www.supload.com/listen?s=R437CAY718HG

Aditya C.R

The Elite Window

Silver Screens: Dasavathaaram

Release: 13th June 2008

Status: Post Production. Box Office tickets are completely sold out till net 17th june as of 10th june 2008. Music released by Sony BMG.

Studio: Oscar Ravichandran Films

Budget: 165.5 crores (1.655 billion) INR (largest in Indian cinema)

Director: K.S Ravikumar

Cast: Dr. Kamal Hassan, Mallika Sherawat, Asin Thottumkal, Napolean

Plot: Dasavathaaram as the name it self indicates portrayes Kamal Hasan in 10 different characters starting from 12th century to the current modern civilization. Rangaraja Nambi a brahmin preist,a strong believer of Lord Vishnu in the 12th century stood firm against bad strategies of King Kulo thunga Chola who ruled the country on that time. As a result of that Nambi got a death punishment from Chola. Nambi was tied along with the statue of the Lord Vishnu and was ordered to be immersed in the ocean. The next phase of the story begins in the modern civilization. Kamal is doing 9 different characters in the modern civilization,all with a connected story line.The historical story of Nambi and the statue of Lord Vishnu has a significant importance in this movie.

VERDICT

Considering ticket sales, it is going to be a smash hit in the box office with over 1500 prints releasing in 5D in India alone- one shouldn't miss this movie. Its the first time Kollywood is going super global! Also see Dr. Kamal in 10 avatars as never done before.

ELITE WINDOW PREDICTION: 9.99/10

Aditya C.R

The Elite Window

Just For Laughs

In local Tamil dialect we call PJ's which are very poor as "Mokkai" (pronounced "mok"- as in mock and "kai" as in Cayman) so when you see this word you know its meaning!

WARNING- Mokkai jokes are not to be read in the presence of a Chennaiite. Chennaiites please shut up if you do know the joke.

Mokkai #1

Mother: How was your day it school?

Son: It was outstanding!

Mother: Why what did you do in class to make it so?

Son: I didnt do anything in class mom because i was standiing out of the class the whole day!

Mokkai #2

(Teacher wakes up a student sleeping during class)

Teacher: You cant sleep during my class!

Student: I can sir, if you could keep your voice down a little bit!

Fruit Joke #1

What did the sick banana tell the monkey?

That it wasn't "peeling" well.

Ha Ha He He Ho Ho.....

Aditya C.R

The Elite Window

A Book to Read: The Amulet of Samarkand

Author: Jonathan Stroud

Synopsis: A magician's young apprentice, Nathaniel, summons a 5000 year old djinn (genie) Bartimaeus and gives him the difficult task of stealing the Amulet of Samarkand from a powerful, greedy, rich enchanter Simon Lovelace. As the plot unfolds, Nathaniel and Bartimaeus find out that they enter a phase where the intriguing magic and the chain of events are just too much to cope up with.

VERDICT

This book falls in the "Must Read" category and is an excellent way to kill the idle time you have. This book will take you from pentacles to magicians to djinns and monstrous entities all the way till the last word and is sure to enthrall anyone who comes by and flips through its pages.

The Elite Window Rating: 4.8/5

Happy Reading!

Aditya C.R

The Elite Window

Gadget Gossip: The 3G Iphone is coming to India!

Hi all,

With what the Iphone nearing its 10 million mark in sales, Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, only has to make it more exciting with the 3G version of its sensational super phone. It comes with an additional scientific calculator and A-GPS, Bluetooth 2.o and a multi-touch screen much to the envy of HTC and others in the category. Whats more it comes at half the price of the original phone- 199$ that is approx. 8400 INR - but unfortunately that kind of pricing stays in the USA as prices are expected to be around 10000-20000 INR here. Still it is a fun phone and buying it is definitely worth the money! (As compared to a lower Nokia N 95 8GB priced around the same bracket with no multi-touch and it is quite bulky). I eagerly await the release (globally 11th July- in India it might take more time- September and will be released by Airtel and Vodafone) and I congratulate Apple on its success.

C.R Aditya

The Elite Window

Silver Screens: A Box Office Clash!

Recently, the two most debated movies of this summer box office has been

1) Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Director: Andrew Adamson

Studio: Beuna Vista International, Walden Media

Cast: William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Warwick Davis

Synopsis: As the Pevensie children return for a second time to Narnia after 1300 years (Narnian time), they find out that the human Talmarines have wrecked Narnia and stolen the land from the Narnians. Within the Talmarines is an even more evil plot between a power hungry Lord Miraz and his nephew, the rightful heir to the throne, Prince Caspian X. Watch how the battle and magic unfolds and how Prince Caspian help the Narnians along with the Pevensie children to give Narnia its freedom from the evil rule.

2) Indiana Jones Part IV- Kingdom of Crystal Skull

Director: Steven Speilberg

Studio: Paramount Studios

Cast: Harrison Ford

Synopsis: Join Indiana Jones along with his son and wife in an adventure that baffles everyone from start till 10 minutes before it ends- a thriller involving myth, magic and aliens in a spell-binding combination with cool add-ons and stunts that are marvellous and will sure catch your dwindling attentions.

VERDICT

Although both movies where in the top ten and are still there now too in the box office, Narnia has exploded into a super-hit which very obligingly and continuingly supplements the first installment- The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Although the magic was equally good, the not so obvious plot of Narnia makes it a clear winner with mind blowing scenery (New Zealand) and superb music to back it all up. No wonder Walt Disney is so happy! Andrew Adamson has waved his magic again and so has Speilberg in two movies which are sure to leave you happy and enthralled.

ELITE WINDOW RATING

1) Narnia - 9.5/10 (Winner)

2) Indiana Jones- 8.5/10 

Aditya C.R

The Elite Window

Tongue Tinglers: SALSA twist!

For homemade Salsa:-

250 gms Capsicum

250 gms Tomato

a few flowers of garlic

Tomato Puree (with flavours if available)

2 tsp Chilli powder 

Jalepeno (A few pieces)

Olive Oil (2 tbsp)

Oregano (a pinch)

Salt and Sugar to taste

Mince the tomatoes and capsicum and crush them in a bowl with your washed fingers or with a pestle. Now add the mix to a pan with pre heated olive oil and minced jalepeno and saute. Add flavoured tomato puree with a dash of oregano and saute again till it becomes less watery and more viscous. Add chilli powder as specified if you really want it and then add the minceed garlic and saute. (Do not let the mixture dry!) Add salt and sugar as per taste and mix well. Remove pan from heat at optimum viscosity and add alongside nachoes or mix with pasta and serve hot!!

Aditya C.R

 The Elite Window

Living in the Present: It was an "UTSAV" all the way!

Ok, Hi!

Thought i should first start on a good note... I have been associated to the art of living for almost a month although my first impressions of this wonderful organisation began long back. I have always had an attraction towards enlightened people especially like Guruji who started the foundation and am really fascinated by the stories told about him and his followers (like me),

i like mythology and anything out of the normal and seeing he mind-blowing wonders done by guruji i had no words for him... you'll have to see him to experience him or you simply can visit the blog of two amazing teachers who do seva under the AOLF- Bau and Dinesh bhaiyya.... for more details browse- www.bawandinesh.blogspot.com and youll get a taste of the fun we have while doing good things all the time- a mix of meditation, music and knowledge is all one needs to get his/her mind pumping- I experienced this in one of the mega courses of the AOLF which concluded in Chennai yesterday called Utsav- youll have to register and come to experience its like you can taste a strawberry milkshake and only tell its tasty and not before that....

Contact www.yesplus.org for the schedule...

Jai Gurudev,

Aditya C.R

The Elite Window

Welcome to the Elite Window!!

Hi, my name is Aditya- CR for short, and I live in Chennai. Well I started this personal blog just now (obv) and yes, you can be rest assured that visiting my blog is one superb time pass. "The Elite Window" is just a fundoo name for my blog and in the coming months I will post anything from the latest stupidity to the completely ingenious articles which include

1) Local Loudmouths (Chennai events)

2) News Views (Certain flash news making the headlines)

3) Maami's Kitchen (I am South Indian and this is for special South Indian Recipes)

4) Tongue Tinglers (Other Cuisine)

5) Silver Screens (Movies and the box office)

6) Living in the Present (An Art of Living article and schedule)

7) A Book to Read 

8) Gadget Gossip (The latest cool stuff)

9) Taare Zameen Par (A review on a cinema actor/actress once a month)

10) The Elite Window (Story of the month- every 1st)

as the segregation clearly points out i like orderliness- and leadership, I like taking up responsibility (and almost fulfill them always), I like cool gadgets- mobiles, comps etc, andi like reading books, watching tv, cracking pj's and gj's.... the list is endless... Will all see you in a couple of days... enjoy

oh yes...

WELCOME to The Elite Window!!

Aditya C.R

(Pic will be uploaded shortly)