Have you ever seen this before?

Has anyone seen this thing before? I even loathe to call it an automobile or vehicle. This travesty of something with wheels and engine is known as the Actyon and the contraption is hammered together by a company named as Ssangyong.

I initially thought I had finally seen a Chinese automobile but later figured out that it is a Korean brand. The company was founded in 1954 ( can you believe it?? )

This is what the official company website says -
In 1986, when the SsangYong Group acquisitioned Keohwa Motors specialized in manufacturing jeeps with the brand of Korando, and launched a full-scaled investment in automobile manufacturing. In 1988, it developed a compact 4WD SUV, Korando Family, which was the first SUV manufactured in Korea, opening the era of SUV. Since then it has established its reputation for innovation, leadership, and quality in the SUV field in Korea.

WOW! Are not Hyundai and Kia the other Korean brands which we know of? I mean they are much better known and are really making a concentrated effort to improve their image in the world market with good products, decent quality and after sales service initiatives. Still they are not looked at in the same league as the other manufacturers from Europe or US.

And to top it all up Mercedes Benz has done a strategic investment in Ssongyang. Now coincidentally I saw a SLK and a Actyon standing next to each other. I only have one question to ask - what the hell was Mercedes thinking?


Beauty and the best???



Yeah I know you all would say that I am biased because of the looks of the vehicle but heck I am talking about viewing this thing in the land which makes the "best automobiles" in the world so who can blame me for loathing something which is so ugly to look at.

Very slow

Wondering whats happened to me these days. I have always enjoyed reading and have been a voracious reader for ages but over the past few months I have noticed that my speed is going down.

Its been months and I still am trying to finish Shantaram. Agreed it is a big book but I finished Lord of the Rings in 3 weeks so not completing a book for months is something which I cannot explain. Maybe the changes in life have something to do with this.

By the way, I came across something very interesting yesterday - "Peace causes the biggest cut." So true isn't it? We all know war does not achieve anything but do we also know that peace could cause "cuts" too? Found it to be thought provoking.

Over the weekend bought couple of new books though. Will let you all know when I get to them.

The most efficient concert yet?

Last weekend I had the privilege to drive over to Saarbrucken and see one of the legends of our time perform. Considering that I drove for around 130 kms after running for 15 kms with uphill stretches it can be safely assumed that I was really looking forward to the concert.

The show started dot at 8:00 pm and ended dot at 10:00 pm. the artist arrived ontime, played efficiently, focused entirely on his performance, didnt feel the need to unnecessarily try to connect to the audience by talking to them or talking about the beautiful spring weather etc., left exactly ontime and despite the full house clapping for an encroe didnt return. Guess the artist's name....

Guesss....


Guesss.....


Guesss....


Guesss....


you are right, Bob Dylan!

So yeah the concert was ok...I have seen better but the opportunity to see him perform was something which I couldn't let go.

The setlist -

1. Gotta Serve Somebody (Bob on keyboard)
2. Lay, Lady, Lay (Bob on guitar)
3. The Levee's Gonna Break (Bob on keyboard)
4. Every Grain Of Sand (Bob on keyboard)
5. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum (Bob on keyboard)
6. Beyond The Horizon (Bob on keyboard)
7. Honest With Me (Bob on keyboard)
8. Sugar Baby (Bob on keyboard)
9. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
(Bob on keyboard)
10. Po' Boy (Bob on keyboard)
11. Summer Days (Bob on keyboard)
12. I Believe In You (Bob on keyboard)
13. Highway 61 Revisited (Bob on keyboard)
14. Like A Rolling Stone (Bob on keyboard)
15. All Along The Watchtower (Bob on keyboard)
16. Spirit On The Water (Bob on keyboard)
17. Blowin' In The Wind (Bob on keyboard)

In the end I do think it is probably the most efficient concert I have seen to date.
The T-shirt was nice though!

Slumdog - sure, but why?

So yesterday I saw Slumdog Millionaire again - twice over the last two weekends but still the questions which elude answers remain - "why did the movie become such a big sensation?" "what's so different from any other usual Bollywood movie?". I watched the movie the second time mainly to try to see if I missed something the first time but unfortunately I am still clueless.

All my western friends love it and I also find the film an interesting one just that I can't seem to figure out why any other similar movie was not even nominated let alone win the big prize.

Rahman won the Oscar for the musical score as well as "Jai Ho" which is great news for him. I do believe he really deserves the accolades but again I felt he has provided much better scores which were not acknowledged earlier so what was so special about this piece of work from the master?

Maybe as is mentioned in the movie towards the end -
D. It is written

Allowed to Drive!

After my board exams the most I have studied is for the driving tests which I cleared in February.

For the past few weeks before the 19.02 - both Sats and I - would be talking only about the driving rules. We had resorted to using sign language to communicate with each other so that we get used to paying attention to signs. Spending quality time meant sitting together and doing the mock tests - we had a package of 60 odd test papers and we each of us did each paper around 2-3 times. The people who had given the test earlier had convinced us that the actual questions are from these papers so we tried to mug 1800 odd questions and of course it was a Herculean task, phew!!
We also found the following website very useful link

For a driving license in Germany one needs to pass a written test and then clear a driving test. We cleared the written test on the 19.02 and then the driving test on the 27.02. The driving inspector told me that he is giving me the license but "I am a fast driver. Do be careful". Whatever! for a person who got his driving license home delivered in India without appearing for a test to clear the strict procedures in place in Europe on the first attempt is a big achievement :-P.

Now I look forward to the delivery of my car!

Coffee on Demand

We bought a Braun Tassimo coffee machine last week. This is how it looks



and this is what the official site has to say about the machine -

With the TASSIMO machine and the TASSIMO Discs you can make the hot drink you want, when you want it. No fuss. No bother. It's truly amazing. The same machine that makes a real espresso and freshly brewed filter coffee from some of your favorite U.S. and European brands, also makes real milk-based latte & cappuccino, cafe crema, tea, hot chocolate - something for everyone. Each cup is freshly brewed to celebrate its true character and gives you the taste you love, every time. Tassimo lets you enjoy a cup of exactly what you want, right now. Simply insert your choice of T-DISC, select the right cup for your drink and press the button. In about a minute you'll savor an exquisite cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. You can brew your next delicious cup right away, knowing it will be as fresh and delightful as the one before it. No mess, no grounds and no waiting. Just pure pleasure, one cup at a time.

I was impressed by the size of the whole setup since it is very compact but to be very frank with you I was more impressed with the price. Though the new machine is available for I think around 130 bucks, a person in office( God bless him )was offering it for 35 and it was only half a year old. Since we really wanted to have a coffee machine but not spend too much on it we decided to go ahead with it.

On putting the contraption to test we found the whole thing very easy to use. A jar fitted to the machine was to be filled up with tap water and then we needed to put something known as a coffee disc which looks like this



into the top of the device and press the button to get the latte. That simple! The discs are usually sold in a package like this



and this is how our latte looked like in the end



Now we can offer a host of drinks to anyone visiting our house - Vodka, Wine - Red and White, Sekt, Gluwine, Rumm, Bailey's, Campari, Beer, Indian tea, Europent tea, South Indian filter coffee, Latte Macchiato, Cappucino, Konning, Cafe Crema - anyways I guess you get the picture. Pretty impressive eh? I am the designated coffee maker in the house and I really look forward to "brewing the passion".

So yes its simple, effective and impressive and the only drawback I can think of is the fact that each of these disc packs are at least 4-5 bucks and if one is a heavy coffee drinker one needs to get a packs every couple of days. However, considering we got the machine for 30 bucks and we, as of now, use it sparingly I think its a prudent spend!

So everybody is invited for a nice cup of coffee....

I am no chicken.... but a penguin?

Most of the first European winter as a resident here has been spent trying to settle in so winter sports opportunities have been limited. However when Sats mentioned that ice skating was possible close by we along with another friend decided to give it a try.
Now I have never done roller skating, roller blading .. in fact the only thing which i have done close to having external medium supporting my feet for enabling motion is to walk using stilts. So of course you can imagine the situation i found myself when i put on the skates - People....skating REALLY HURTS! Both physically as well as emotionally. I could not keep myself up straight on the rink while everyone else including little kids were gracefully moving around me. The other thing I learn't is that it is difficult to keep oneself up on the rink but it is even more difficult to get up once one has fallen. A skating rink is a good teacher, teaching an important lesson - when down be down!
Anyways, swallowing whatever little pride i had left I took help of a "skating assistant" - a wooden figurine of around 3 ft in height in the shape of a penguin with skates as webbed feet and started navigating gingerly the contours of the rink holding its ears :-O. The penguin didn't make me an expert but it helped me in not plonking myself on the ice or bumping into people. By the end of 2 hours I was in a position to slowly walk around without assistance and though I fell around atleast 10 times and had bruises in all sorts of mentionable and non mentionable places I do intend to go back again and make progress without depending on my friend the "penguin".