Author: manuscrypts

  • The Cybergypsies

    Indra Sinha

    For all those who consider themselves cyber wanderers, this is a must read. It shows us glimpses of the net before it became the www. It talks of the mid eighties to nineties when early cybernauts roamed about bulletin boards (BBS) and multi user domains/dungeons (MUD) creating their own versions of reality in extravagant roleplays.
    In what seems to be almost autobiographical, it is the story of Bear, a copywriter who is unable to get over the cyber addiction that threatens his marriage, and who still finds time to help the Kurdish cause and the victims of the Bhopal Gas tragedy, and go about hunting clues to meet his virtual friends in real life.
    It also talks about his various co-habitants on SHADES and VORTEX, virtual worlds, who, along with the worlds they created, perhaps played a large role in defining what the net is now. A disconcerting thought is that a lot of issues discussed in this book stille exist in one form or the other, and especially in this part of the world, the impact of the internet has still not been seen.
    Personally, i winced when i realised (after buying the book) who the author was, because another work of his (The Death of Mr.Love) had really irritated me with its pale climax, but this one was a pleasant surprise, though his complete irreverance for chronology can be a bit confusing at times. 🙂
    It is an extremely good first person view of the early days of the net and an excellent read for anyone who has any interest in the early uses of this medium, and can wonder how it must have been then, in the imaginary worlds they made and shared.

  • A colorful personality

    She was always interested in colors, ever since she was a child. Not that many people appreciated her work, but she couldn’t care less. She had a way of mixing the most varied of colors and producing what she thought was sublime harmony. Of course, the masses never seemed to agree with her, but she was sure if the critics got a chance to see her works of art, they would fall short of words to praise her with.

    And that was the only thing that kept her going inspite of the harsh words from her parents and all those who came in contact with her works. But even her detractors would have to admit, those that came in contact were profoundly affected.

    Once she grew up, she decided to focus her energies on fabric. Though the opportunities that she got were not many, she tried her best to do justice to all the ones she got. The brickbats continued to come, but she was not to be deterred.

    And today, she had decided to create a work of art that would knock the air out of whoever saw it. And knock the air out she did, as I could only gape in shock as our maid nonchalantly showed me my new bottle green corduroys that now sported violet gashes in strategic locations.


    until next time, maid to disorder

  • Views

    …and we lament, ‘Oh, he has changed’, without pausing to consider the objectivity of the statement. We like people to stay whoever they have been so long, because it then means we don’t have to alter the patterns we have set for them, and when, in our view, they alter themselves even a wee bit, we frown, and even that small changes causes a butterfly effect on the set of patterns, however irrelevant they might be to the particular change.

    And that was what i discovered the last time I checked – ‘our view’. In many cases, it may not be the person that changes, but only our view of him. Our views, which change constantly as a result of all the experiences we keep having. Our views, which keep adding layer after layer, filter after filter,so that the tint that we see once may never be seen again.That perhaps is why the youth are not able to have a child like innocence in their perspectives, and the middle aged can never find their youthful exuberance in their views, and so on…

    And so, the next time, i say ‘You have changed’, I shall perhaps do a quick review of what really has changed.


    until next time, next change

  • Tandoor – Koramangala

    Yes, really, i say. At the Oasis complex on the Intermediate Ring Road, the building which has Lifestyle and Spar. Tandoor is on the same floor as Polynation, Fire Wok, Sanjeev Kapoor’s Yellow Chillies, Cream & Fudge Factory, Bull & Bush and so on. So you won’t go hungry there even if you don’t get a place in Tandoor. But since we went with a single minded purpose, we reserved in advance and after many weeks, found some kindred souls who believed in the concept of reservation. (no not the controversial type, the normal table booking kind). For those who want to go there to watch IPL (as their ad says), there are about 4 tables which could offer you a view, so let the objective be food.

    They gave us a ‘table in the centre of the room’ for two, which wasn’t quite appealing, especially since the group at a nearby table gave us looks that could be read as being snobbish. So we bullied the staff to give us a better one.

    The menu, though looks better than the MG Road one as far as aesthetics go, is much lesser on content. And they don’t serve liquor, I think the MG Road one does. I especially missed the Patiala on the menu, the Murg kind. So, while there were around 3 shorbas and a few starters to choose from, we skipped them, since the Tandoor quantities are usually large.

    We ordered a Shahi Fish Tikka (served on a sizzler), a half Kadai Chicken, a butter naan and an onion kulcha. The fish came first, and the fowl didn’t follow as quickly as we’d have expected, especially since we had explicitly asked for it to be brought with the main course. So it wasn’t in as hot a state as it should have been eaten in, and that perhaps was the reason it tasted so bland. The kulcha was a very young one, it hadn’t been allowed to grow to its full potential. But the naan was. Dont expect the same quantities as the Tandoor on MG Road, the chicken was just about enough for two, though it tasted quite good.

    The service was good, except for the late delivery, for which they apologised. The ambience could’ve been better, and they could’ve avoided the flies, especially since they were on the house, er, houseflies ;). Bad ambience, bad PJs !!! All of the above cost us (hold your breath) just below Rs.950. (It took us a while to get our breath back, you? )That, plus the options weren’t enough to convince us on dessert.

    Tandoor: 4th Floor, Oasis Mall, Koramangala Ph: 41747008/9/10

    Map at Zomato

  • Dealing from the front

    He tried again. The damn thing just wasn’t going in. He’d been trying to push it in for the last half hour with no success. He wondered how he’d got himself into this predicament. All he wanted was to have some fun, just like the good old days. Maybe he was too old for all this.

    Wait a second, he wasn’t old, what was old was the object of his affection, increasingly becoming merely the object of his irritated attention. He tried pushing it in once more.

    Truth be told, he’d always been used to doing it from the top in the good old days, but that one’d died on him a while back.This frontal attack was something new to him, though his friend had told him it wasn’t anything radically different when he loaned him his item – one used to such moves. For only one day, he’d said quite forcefully.

    Quite apparently, his friend had no idea of the subtle differences. He gave up. It just wasn’t worth it, he thought, as he switched the DVD player on. He’d remember to give his friend a piece of his mind, when he returned the damn front loading vhs system!!


    until next time, cardio video