yeah, yeah, I am still missing in action, buried in Linux Bangalore/2003 work. 72 hours to go. Aaaaaaaarrrrgghhhhhh!!!!!!!!

A quick headsup for those of you who enjoy rock music, and feel the urge to do something good and worthwhile this evening:

Friend Mrinal and his other group Cryptic are doing a gig this evening. Here is what Mrinal has to say:

“Cryptic is doing a show today (29th of November) in aid of Shristi Special Academy, an academy for the mentally challenged and autistic individuals. The venue is Lincoln Hall, Baldwin Boys High School, Hosur Road (near Johnson Market), Bangalore, and the show starts at 7pm. Donor passes in two denominations – Rs. 200 and Rs. 100 are available at Java City and Casa Piccola and at the venue. Be there, support a worthy cause and get your dose of Harmonic Power!”

If you dig rock music, especially progressive rock, then you will be well served, and your money will go to a good cause. What better way to spend a Saturday evening than with good music and a glow in the heart?

Be there.

In a few hours from now, I will be on my way back to India.

I leave behind tons of memories of my grandmother, and of her … no … our home. Hopefully, I will be able to bring Shubha and Anjali here early next year.

In Bangalore, the collossus named Linux Bangalore/2003 awaits me, and all the chaos that goes along with the organisation of such a huge event.

Just juggling the huge list of talks is a massive task, occupying various people full time. And let’s not talk about all the other millions of things that need to be done. Luckily, the team of managers running the show knows what it is doing – after all this is the third year that we are doing this event, and it is already on the world’s conventions map!

OK everyone, ready or not – here I come!

On the 12th of November I wrote:

“I am not here to sight-see, but to meet my mother and grandmother whom I had not seen in more than two years.”

My grandmother passed away on the evening of the 15th of November.

She was at home, in the surroundings she has lived in for the past 50 of her 90.5 years (exact, to the day – she was born on 15-May-1913). She was hale and hearty, and not ill in any way. She did not suffer, nor was she in any pain at all, she just had a cardiac arrest, and it was all over in seconds.

I am glad I listened to my Piscean intution by coming to Germany despite all the stuff I should have been attending to in India. I was able to spend more than a week with her, in her home, completely normally. I spent time talking to her, singing to her, joking with her, eating meals together. On last Sunday, we had a family gathering where everyone dropped in impromptu and had a rollicking time. And I was lucky enough to be here and part of it.

Yesterday, she and I had lunch together, at her dining table, as we did every day that I have stayed in her home since I was born.

Here is a poem my daughter Geetanjali wrote this morning. It refers to the times when she and my grandmother were together – neither being able to speak the other’s language, but getting on like a house on fire.

My Fairy Great-Grandmother

– Geetanjali

OKOKOK, stop howling at me! So I haven’t been updating my diary for a while. I didn’t know that your lives would come to an end over this

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Listen to the pouring rain
Listen to it pour
And with every drop of rain
You know I love you more

Let it rain all night long
Let my love for you go strong
As long as we’re together
Who cares about the weather?

Listen to the falling rain
Listen to it fall
And with every drop of rain
I can hear you call
Call my name right out loud
I can here above the clouds
And I’m here among the puddles
You and I together huddle.

Listen to the falling rain
Listen to the rain.

It’s raining, it’s pouring
The old man is storming
Went to bed and he bumped his head,
Couldn’t get up in the morning

Listen to the falling rain
Listen to it fall
And with every drop of rain
I can hear you call
Call my name right out loud
I can here above the clouds
And I’m here among the puddles
You and I together huddle

Listen to the falling rain
Listen to the rain

Rain — Jose Feliciano

Sometimes, dreams do come true.

And for my old (figuratively speaking) friend Vinod Unny, they most certainly did yesterday in Delhi, when he finally got married to his longterm dream, Neeta.

I wish Vinod and Neeta all the best and everything they deserve (well, they already got each other, so that’s a start), and may all their troubles be little ones (not figuratively speaking .

Here are some pictures, courtesy Kishore.

Phenom is competing at the Castrol Garage Rock competion on Friday, between 6:00pm and 8:30pm, at “The Club” on Mysore Road.

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They say that somewhere in the world, there is a person who is your exact twin.

Well, I don’t know if there is anyone out there who looks exactly like me, but I do know that somewhere out there, there is another Atul Chitnis.

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Not bad – within two days of launch, COMversations is beginning to see some really heavy traffic – several thousand pageviews, and my mailbox is full of comments from readers – most of them really complimentary.

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As promised earlier, my “techno” column, COMversations, is back.

That’s where you will find all my technical and techno-social writing from now on. I promise I will try to add at least one or two items every week, touching as diverse subjects as PDAs, networking, digital photography, open source, etc.

The site is at http://comversations.com.

Comments from readers would be appreciated.

[Update: XML/RSS, PDA Friendly and LiveJournal syndication formats are now available for COMversations readers]