Chp 530. Orkut - The end of an era

Some of us may remember how much time we used to spend on mIRC, hi5, Myspace, Friendster and all those other threaded discussion forums (zoram.com, izawl.com, zawlbuk.net etc). Man those were some memorable times wasted cherished at such social networking sites.

One such competitor back then was Orkut in 2004.

I can say with surety that I am one of the early Indian members of Orkut. I got an invitation from my college classmate Jason to join Orkut back in 22nd May, 2004, four months after it was launched.

Remember Orkut back then was invitation-only. We had just graduated from Engineering college that time, and while most of my batchmates were working in the IT sector in Hyderabad, I was in Hyderabad doing my CAT coaching class.

Some unconfirmed sources claimed that Orkut started spreading in India mainly because of Hyderabad where a lot of the IT crowd got to interact with their American counterparts, hence the invitations. Plausible reason, I guess.

If you want to find out when you joined Orkut (since it is not possible to know from your account), you can simply search your mail account which you used to register or got an invitation from (hopefully, you haven’t deleted it).

Back in the early 2004, there weren’t that many Indians on Orkut. But as Orkut slowly started picking up, enter the smooth-talking egomaniac orkutiya, the ones who would randomly send a cheesy fraaand invitation to any female profile they came across and not afraid to verbally abuse one if she ignored him. Their scraps were full of craps.*badamtsss*

Back then, two of my closest friends in Hyderabad were Kini (who went on to become a popular VJ slash DJ) and Adonica (who went on to become a popular RJ, a model and even acted in a couple of Telugu movies like Romeo and Aravind 2).

As you can see, they’re both attractive and so they used to receive a lot of friend requests and corny pick-up lines from strangers, most of them with horrible grammar and spellings. We would just spend the afternoons reading their mails and laughing at the over-confident, aggressive and abusive ones, until I suddenly suggested about making a community around it.

And so, “Worst pick-up lines of Orkut” was born!

[Haha, I know, my graphic design sucks, but remember I made that in 2004. Back then, people love that kinda design]

Initially, I created the community only for our group of friends like Kini, Addy, Shruti, Pawan, etc who would post the corny pick-up lines they received. Suddenly, in a matter of days, the community went viral and hundreds of Indians joined! A lot of people too shared the corny pick-up lines they received, and soon it was a community where people played word games, movie trivia etc. I had to appoint moderators from among the active members to help me manage the content.

The Times of India published an article about Orkut back then, mentioning the ten most popular Indian communities in Orkut, and my Worst pick-up line community was SECOND, right below the community “INDIA”. Whoahhh, none of us saw that coming. In fact, if you search on Google with the keywords “Worst pick up lines of Orkut”, till now, the first result on Google search is the community that I created!

And then IIM-B happened, and I was caught up in this and that, assignments here and there, I started showing more interest in blogging and no longer had the time to manage the community. And even though many people left, as of today, there are still 6040 members in that community (of which I’m sure the active members would be zero, lolz).

Now, 10 years after its inception, Orkut is finally coming to an end.

Tomorrow, September 30, 2014, Orkut will finally be decomissioned. RIP Orkut.

During these 10 years, a lot of things happened. Today, according to mediabistro, the largest social networking sites in order of monthly active users are Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Vine, Snapchat, YouTube and blogs.

Orkut itself underwent major redesigning two times, one in 2005 and another in 2007. For those of us who had been using Orkut since 2004, it was indeed a big change. An option to change background themes was introduced in 2008, and seriously, that was sooo oldskool :) Luckily, I had long shifted to Facebook when that happened.

What I liked about Orkut was the “Testimonials”. Haha, I am print-screening some of the testimonials I received here on my blog to remember the good times before it is gone for good! :)

Just for the sake of walking down memory lane, here is the first testimonial I received. It’s from Kini back in June 1, 2004. It currently shows as “Anonymous” because she had deleted her profile a long time ago.

The next two “Anonymous” testimonials are from Priyanka my Engineering college classmate and Sonam, my senior at IIM-B who was more like an older brother to me, advising me and guiding me whether it was about academics or extra-curricular activities.

I’ll just include one more testimonial, and this one is from Pawan. We had just met around that time and became close friends quickly.

Dayymm, I’m so glad to be still in touch with most of these friends even today. Those were the cyber café days, sitting in a sweaty dingy cyber café glancing frequently at the bottom corner of the screen to keep a tab on the time spent, while the guy sitting next to you is slowly turning his monitor away from you because he’s probably browsing through some shady sites.

Unlikely most people, I actually don’t post a lot of pictures on social media, probably because I have a premium photobucket account where I upload photos meant for my blog. I have uploaded only NINE photos on Orkut during the entire time I was using it from 2004, lolz. And four of those were pictures from my blog and misual.com where I was interviewing some reputed people in our Mizo community.

Blog: Interview with Muanpuii Saiawi, IFS

misual.com: Interview with ZoNet Zonuni

misual.com: Interview with Boxer Jenny

The other five photos are quite random…

One is a group photo of my cousins at my cousin’s wedding…

Another is me with another cousin and her friends on our way to “Bial Inkhawmpui” Church service…

The next one is me showing off the Arsenal goodies my sis got for me from UK…

And then there’s this really random sunrise photo I took from my balcony back home…

And finally there is this cute BRO (Border Road Organization) road sign I saw on our way to our farm at Neihbawih…

And those are all the photos I have on Orkut. Backed up now on my blog.

Hope you too have backed-up all your Orkut uploads. Google Take-out is one good method to do that. Do it before it’s too late. In fact, tonight let’s all get back to Orkut and party like its 2004! :) Yayyyy, fraaand requests incoming, one last time! Wooohoooo! :D

Chp 529. Game Week 5 - Super Awesome

What an awesome weekend this had been for Arsenal fans! We played an amazing game on Saturday, and Ozil who had been criticized since the start of this season, was all over the ground and even scored a stunning goal assisted by Welbeck, silencing all his critics.

Next up, all critics of Welbeck, including a lot of ManUtd fans who mocked and laughed at Arsenal fans for buying their “useless player who was not even worthy of playing in their main team” were silenced, as Ozil returned the favor and assisted Welbeck to his first Arsenal goal.

And then the third goal came again, all in a span of three minutes, and one of the commentators even exclaimed if this was a new record for the fastest three goals in Premier Football history.

What an adrenalin rush it was. And the best part was looking at the other match results - While Arsenal won and got 3 points, here are some of the results of the other top-table and mid-table clubs:

Chelsea – drew

Manchester City – drew

Liverpool – lost

Manchester United – lost

Spurs – lost

Everton – lost

Aston Villa – lost

The funniest thing was watching Manchester United lose. Just last week, after they finally got their first victory this season by thrashing QPR 4-0, every ManUtd fan was rejoicing and cursing other rival club fans, and a lot of my FB friends had finally put back that “Works at Manchester United Die Hard Fans” job description on their FB profile, something that a lot of them had silently removed since the end of last season…

And last night after watching them go down to a recently promoted team, I was rolling all over the floor laughing like an insane person. And of course, rather than focus on their loss, there were a lot of hate posts and status updates abusing Arsenal fans. Lolz. I fail to see the logic behind that, and even had to make this comic strip this morning :D :P

[click on pic to enlarge]

Hehe, it is strange and at the same time so awesome to be hated so much, lolz.

But seriously, it was really funny watching ManUtd lose, considering the amount of noise and hype the fans made last week after beating QPR. My timeline was filled with ManUtd fans posting photos of Di Mario and Falcao, comparing them to Arsenal players and laughing at Ozil and Welbeck.

The best part was how one of my friends correctly predicted yesterday’s scoreline!

Right after ManUtd thrashed QPR 4-0 last week, one of my friends posted this…

And he was absolutely spot on! Eight goals were indeed scored in their next match.

Bwahahaha!!!! What an awesome prediction! Give this guy a medal. I’m now going to ask him his prediction for next week’s lottery winning numbers :D

What I truly admired during the enter Gameweek 5 was the Chelsea – Manchester City match where Frank Lampard scored a much needed equalizer against his old club, and then refused to celebrate. Now THAT is how you show respect to a former club. #Respect

I wonder how Danny Welbeck will behave when Arsenal meet Manchester United. It is obvious he still has close ties with his former teammates, but the way LVG announced in public that Welbeck was not good enough for United or not up to their standard was a soccer-punch below the belt. I mean, how can a manager diss his former player who had given so much for the club just like that? I really hope Wenger can transform Welbeck to the next Thierry Henry and kick LVG’s sorry ass.

Funniest moment of the ManUtd match was when that Apollo Tyre advertisement video featuring Manchester United team kept playing even after ManUtd’s humiliating defeat, adding more salt to their injury. It seemed to pass on the message that spending 150 million pounds will not necessarily grant you success because “there are no shortcuts to achieving your full potential” (Apollo Tyre tagline). Hahaha… Here, enjoy the ad to get a good laugh.

Performance. There are no short cuts indeed. Lolz.

Cheers :)

Chp 528. North East: The New Tibet

When Indians are racially profiled at places like airports and malls in America, we raise a huge hue and cry about it. And yet, back home, we do the same with our own people and suddenly, it seems reasonable. Yesterday’s news about not allowing any Northeasterners to be near the visiting Chinese Premier is perhaps one of the most ridiculous and bizarre news I have read recently.

I can just put a stop to this ridiculousness with a blunt statement – “WTF. NORTH EAST INDIANS AREN’T TIBETANS”.

Not allowing any Northeasterner near the visiting Premier because of the Tibetan issue is as good as putting this new map into our school books.

But this needs to be dealt with seriously and explained more elaborately, otherwise it’s just going to repeat over and over again whenever some high ranking Chinese official visit our country. My Mizo friends were once stopped in Delhi near CP when an important Chinese delegation was visiting the city a couple of years ago. They were pissed off. All they wanted to do was eat lunch at a restaurant. Other Indians were let through except them. And they said the racial difference between those who were stopped and allowed was obvious.

They even showed the paramilitary cops their PAN Cards and driving licenses. But the reply was stern - they just weren’t allowed to pass through. Another guy said he wasn’t carrying a passport right then, but even if he was carrying it around for some random reason, it wouldn’t have made any difference. And I have heard about many such incidences from other Northeasterners living in Delhi whenever we get a visit from across the border.

This is plain silly and it needs to be stopped, for good.

First and foremost, there is a huge difference between Tibetans and people from the North East. You will of course find Tibetans here and there in the North East (just as you’ll find Nepalis), and some Arunachalis and Sikkimese are said to be essentially Tibetans by heritage. But other than that we don’t speak the same language or share the same culture, among many other things. And personally speaking, much as I sympathize with the Tibetan cause, I know for a fact that a large majority of the North Eastern population are more preoccupied with their own issues than to be bothered about the Tibetan issue. Until college when I finally met somebody from Tibet, the closest interaction I ever had with Tibet was perhaps reading Tintin’s “Tintin in Tibet”.

And being somebody who had travelled all across India, I know a lot more people from this side of the country (mainland India) who are Pro-Tibet sympathizers rather than those actually from the North East.

Yes the Tibetan issue is controversial. I am not dwelling into that topic here, so I hope my Tibetan friends will understand. Discussing about whether Tibet should be free or not can go all day long, arguing about whether it is right or wrong, throwing up historical facts, wiki links and ANGRY CAPS LOCK ON COMMENTS. No, in this post, I just want to ask why North East Indians always have to serve as collateral damage whenever an important Chinese diplomat visits India.

Below are some of the comments in social media, justifying this act. [source]

WHAT tensions does the North East have with China???? The Tibetan exiles living in India have an issue with China. Other than the border dispute issue India has with China in Arunachal Pradesh (which China claims is a part of South Tibet) that most of us are aware of, do you really think Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya or Tripura are bothered about China? In fact if you look at the history of the North East, back during the days when insurgency was more rampant, a lot of the insurgent groups had camps based in China. I frankly do not know any people from the North East who are angry with China (except when some Indians randomly call us “Chinese” in public, that pisses the hell out of us).

And that comment about Indira Gandhi, that is way too terrifying, dude. You’re seriously comparing what a Sikh bodyguard did to our late Prime Minister because of her action at Golden Temple to this? Remember the aftermath of that assassination? That is exactly the reason why North Easterners find it so difficult to be accepted as Indians and will always feel insecure. That is exactly the reason why just because Bodos in Assam fought with alleged Bangladeshi immigrants in their area, the ENTIRE Northeastern population living in other parts of India had to live in fear or flee back to the North East back in 2012. Why are we always generalized? God forbid, suppose one of the Chinese Premier’s bodyguards did something to our Prime Minister Modi, what are the chances that the raving mob is going to go after the blood of any Norteasterner with mongoloid features that they see? Scary thought indeed.

Noooooooooo. Yes for personal reasons, some of us Northeasterners may have sympathy for Tibet, but like I mentioned above, a lot of North East Indians are just like most other Indians - they are really not bothered about causes that do not concern or impact them directly.

Give this guy a medal. There should be more people like him. Like I said earlier, I know more non-NE people who support the Tibetan cause than those from the NE, so why are we suddenly being profiled and viewed with suspicion? Sense it makes none.

Ok what kinda mentality is this? By the way, they were protesting against the visiting Chinese Premier, they weren’t protesting against India. I don’t know any Tibetans who hold a grudge against our country. Why bite the hand that feeds? And it is only natural for people living in a different country to protest about something that strikes close to home, we see this all the time - Muslims living in UK protesting about the recent Gaza-Israel conflict, Indians in America protesting about the Nirbhaya gang rape, etc.

As far as I know, Tibetans are a bunch of really nice and peaceful people, not to mention beautiful too. Yes there were cases of self-immolations for the Tibetan cause, but how many such protests have we seen that harmed others?

And by the way, is our Sino-India relationship so weak and fragile that a mere protest can “spoil” everything? Think of the bigger picture. That’s what these talks are about.

Haha seriously, this is such a great suggestion! I would be more than willing to show the Chinese Premier how un-chinese we all are. I volunteer as tribute, even if it’s just to play the role of the doorman. Who’s with me?

See, this is exactly the reason why we have to deal with such problems. “Afraid of Tibetans passing off as a North Easterner”?

Guys, I am going to say this for the umpteenth time. The North East is not a monotonous group. I just want to point out that around 60% of the entire North Eastern population is Assamese and a lot of them look quite different from Mizos, Nagas, Khasis etc. There are indigenous peoples across the North East who do NOT have what we may consider as a typical mongoloid feature. Whether some of us look more oriental or less oriental, we are all happy with the way we look, because that is who we are. I know people don’t want to say this for fear of being politically incorrect, but it needs to be said - Not everybody from the North East is what you call a “chinky”.

Here in Mumbai, we have recently set up a “North East Helpline – Mumbai”. It is a platform where we help those people from the North East who are being discriminated. If you come to our monthly meetings and look at the representatives from all eight states, you will see a noticeable difference. And though we may vary a bit in looks, all of us are proud of our North Eastern heritage, just like how any other Indian is proud of his roots.

We all know Arnab Goswami. He’s an Assamese.

Below is my close friend here in Mumbai who is currently serving in the Indian Navy. He’s a Mizo.

And below is another friend who is of mix parentage - Her dad is a Mahanta (Assamese) and mom is a Khiangte (Mizo).

See how different all three facial features are. That is the diversity of the North East. That is our pride. No visiting dignitary of any country should take away that pride.

If looks is a factor, I’m sure some of us had friends who are not from the North East who had slight “mongoloid” features. Back in school, it was my friend Chinmoy, and in college, it was Mahima. Put Arnab (Assamese), Chinmoy (Keralite) and Mahima (Delhiite) in a line-up, and I’m sure the person they would allow to go through would ironically be Arnab (assuming the guard doesn’t know him or his reputation) compared to the other two. That is what The Nation Wants Needs To Know. Using “looks” as an excuse for security is a very shallow mindset.

And seriously, we’re talking about the Grand Hyatt here, not just any run-of-the-mill hotel. Won’t the luxury five star hotel have done background-checks on all its employees? Or is it such a lame ass unprofessional hotel not to know whether its staff from the North East is a Tibetan nationalist or not? Maybe they should just put up the map displayed above in their lobby to justify their stand.

All the comments pasted above are just from the same link given above. There are countless of other such comments all over social media regarding this incident, to which I neither have the time nor energy to respond to.

I have always admired Kiren Rijiju, our Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, for being the most outspoken politician of that stature to talk about the North Eastern stance. I wonder what he has to say regarding this. He being from Arunachal Pradesh will know more than any other Northeasterner how frustrating it is in dealing with the way both the Chinese govt and Indian govt treat them.

This needs to stop. I had such high expectations from our current Government, especially considering how General VK Singh, our DONER Minister would make frequent visits to Mumbai and conduct a couple of meetings with many of us North Easterners residing here. This practice of sidelining Northeasterners because of a visiting Chinese diplomat is a setback to all the efforts the Government has taken.

But still I have hope and faith. Faith that in the near future, this will not take place anymore. Meanwhile, I’m just gonna grab my blanket, crawl back into my cave and remain there until this whole nonsense passes by. Wake me up when September ends.

Chp 527. My Spiral Sausage

The other day I came across this awesome video where a chef was demonstrating how to make a spiral sausage. Being a foodie myself, I was literally drooling on my keyboard as I watched the video. The fact that the sausage was being grilled spirally, gave it a lot more aesthetic appeal.

Being the curious and “adventurous self acclaimed amateur cook” that I am, I decided to try it out too. I am definitely not a good cook. I just know how to make the basics, but I love experimenting.

In case you don’t know, some of my old posts like Food Fusion I, Food Fusion II and Smoked Pork in Mumbai involved me trying out new recipes, while others like The Great Bandra Momo walk and the Networking dinner series like Coral: Mediterranean Cuisine, Coral: Spanish Surprise and Coral: Pondi Salon all talked about food.

So here is my attempt at making spiral sausages. Of course I started with pork hotdogs first since we were out of sausages on that night I decided to try this out :) and since we didn’t have a grill, no BBQ could take place, so I had to rely on plain old oil + gas stove.

First, get that packet of hotdogs.

Defrost them. You can either do this in the oven or just leave them in water for some time.

Next, get a long thin skewer that you can shove all the way through. Make sure that happens right in the center.

Now take a knife and cut the meat in an angle, all the way till the skewer. Once the blade reaches the skewer, continue cutting the hotdog spirally till you reach the other end.

Your hotdog will look like this…

And once you have enough practice, it will look even more appealing, like this…

Now prepare the condiments. I just used onions and chillies.

You can use olive oil too if you want, because… it sounds more exotic. Like I said, I’m just an amateur wannabe cook :P

In my case, I used the leftover oil that was used to fry fish previously, hence the “bubbles” below…

Now throw in some pork salami because mixing up is great and it makes you kinda feel like a pro even though you have no idea why you’re doing that :D

Don’t forget to place it on tissue paper once it is fried, to absorb the excessive oil used.

Now place them the way you want and devour it. AWESOMENESS!

The very next day, I bought some pork sausages. I could only find the small ones, but it sufficed. I followed the same process…

Skewer them…

Cut them spirally…

And tadaaaaa… awesome spiral sausages!

Of course they didn’t look as appealing as the ones that inspired me, posted below. But that was made on a BBQ grill. The next chance I can get my hands on a grill, I am so going to make these spiral sausages again! Attaching the video tutorial below too, in case you too want to learn. Cheers!

[Above image and video source: Food Wishes]