Age is the number and mine is unlisted. HB2Me

I seem to have been rather slow at the blogging thing recently, but one thing that I feel deserves a blog entry is my Birthday (11th Nov).
When the spotlight shines on the birthday person: I used to feel self conscious about all this attention, and now I’ve learned to enjoy it.
And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
On this special day of mine, I have some personal reflections for the year:
** A birthday is a time to take stock of my own life.
** I reflect on all the friends and relationships I have made, formed and renewed for the past year.
** I remember the events, happenings and people that have influenced me to help me become who I am.
** It’s also a time to literally and figuratively “smell the roses”.



My Birthday! What a different sound
That word had in my youthful ears;
And how each time the day comes round,
Less and less white its mark appears.


As Oprah Winfrey says - The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.

Age is the number and mine is unlisted.
Though I pass the phase of life & cover the journey of life, some days I don’t remember when I slept while the fight of inner voices was on…
All I have learnt in my experience of life with my weakness is:

1. Smile at your problems
2. Learn from experience
3. Help your self

As I turn the pages of life getting a year older, I just want to figure out what to hope for. And the most I can do is live inside that hope.

Happy Birthday to me.. Celebrations are on.. Join the party :)

PS: I couldn’t wear my new pair of clothes to office :(
PPS: Whether I like it or not…all these seem to be just a faction of my deranged mind
PPPS: Hope my Birthday gently breezes all the choicest of things and all that my heart holds dear

Good-bye, Farewell & Amen..Sunshine Girl

Totttttallly my pleasure, I must say...
Ohhh my Gaaaaawd!!! I am humbled & thrilled...
Phew!!! Touching one...
Gooooooooooood Morning Baaaaaangalore...

I think most of you must be missing these lines just as the way I am missing right now.

The ‘sunshine girl’ who brightened Bangalore City has now dusked into history. We wouldn’t get to listen to her voice anymore. Saturday she decided to move-on who was unanimous queen of hearts since 4 years now for millions of radio-fans like me. From a mere listener to ardent listener of radio, I transformed with her shows.

When Vasanti’s Box was opened, along with all the evils & vices came something that would turn out to be the elixir of life – Hope. It’s the drug that all of us live on, and it’s the only ray of light that gives you belief in the dark. That’s the caliber RJ Vasanti had.

She marauded her listeners & changed the traditional RJ perceived. She was ready for her own onslaught.

We take time to open up to people but there are some people whom I connect instantly. It surprises me how I get into long conversations with people we barely know. Vasanti was one whom I could connect to as well.

It is ironical that while she was the breakfast and travel companion for lakhs of Bangaloreans she rarely shared the breakfast tables with her own family even on holidays – for these are occasions for special shows on air. Well, such is life…


Professionally, her big moment was when she was chosen to represent India at the “Global Young Leaders Seminar” in Salzburg. Trivialities such as the color of your skin just did not figure as they plunged themselves into scenario- building - on how the world should look in the year 2030. She spoke on “Radio for Social Change”.

She did her bit to create an awareness, rope in organizations to this big cause thereby bringing people ready to help and the needy together. A concerted plan is slowly emerging from her efforts in building ‘a sunshine’ community for Bangalore. For this she truly deserves the title, ’Bangalore’s sunshine Girl’

She vows that she will never delete that mail by Mr. N. R. Narayanmurthy, “I listen to Vasanthi’s shows whenever I can. I notice that she has a genuine desire to make a difference to the world around her. She has the power to mould the opinion of over 2 million listeners through her radio show.” was at once wonderfully motivating and humbling for her.



When Radio or even disc Jockeying is full of negatively funny ’evil’ pranksters who love to rip you apart, here was a person with whom you will ‘connect’ endlessly without squirming in your seat. Little wonder that she was chosen for the Radio Excellence Award for the India's Best English RJ.

Vasanthi Hariprakash must surely be the fizziest thing amongst all those that dot the FM horizon with their light-hearted banter. Her energetic waking up of the city with a beautiful thought here, a concerned enquiry there, a sympathetic tch! tch! sprinkled at the right moments ringing laughter in us. Speaking your hearts language she truly did. She spoke 6 languages including Hindi, Kannada, Gujrati, Tamil, English etc. ….!! Vasanthi’s intensity and depth as a person, her genuine desire to heal and make a difference was apparent. She has deeply lived those moments and feels good that she can keep that faith for that is the beginning of change to other people.

Her shows – Breakfast with the brats for kids, Friday Flashback for hindi retro, her fitness tips, her investment suggestions, party at 6-40, by-2-coffee, babbar sher & lingo-leela for vocabulary enhancements. Bangalore Talkies, Idly vada funda, Music-e-azam, her interviews diverse with people spanning to NRN, bolly celebs, journos, her London travel-tales..list seems endless, every bit of it would be missed for a long time to come. The scaled success of hers would be unachieved by other RJs for a long time to come.

Her choice of songs which unwound me is truly commendable.

I owe all my gratitude & thanks to her for being such an influencing factor all these days.
I infact have few memories with her to cherish, I had spoken to her on-air & met her couple of times in Radio-city studio & inside Infy campus as well.

Now she has moved-on, I wish her the best of Life’s Journey & a bright future ahead.
Wish to see her back soon… as she told even she missed Radio badly when she moved out…

Sayonara Vasanti, Kabhi Alvida na kehana..

PS: For people who don’t know, Vasanti was the most celebrated RJ of Radio-City 91.1 Bangalore.
PPS: She can now be reached through www.vasanthihariprakash.com
PPPS: I am a kind of paranoiac in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy

There is no sincerer love than the love of food.

Two evenings & dinner to remember, embed into my memories.

“For the millions of us who live glued to computer keyboards at work and TV monitors at home, food may be more than entertainment. It may be the only sensual experience left.”

I had an ecstatic reason to be happy over the last weekend, infact not 1 but two. 2 of my friends had planned for the dinner, which they owed me as their Birthday Treats.

On Friday evening, me & my friend set out to dine, with me no clue of what kind of food I wanted to have. I am very morose in what I choose to eat. But one thing I had in mind is, at the end of day my fren has to feel good for having delicious food as he had been here in South for the 1st time.

Tried to catch up with some friends for a nice place to hang-out, but didn’t get the timely suggestions.

So I took him out to a place which I had been before, Banjara (Near Race Course, Blr), a great place for all food-type fare. The concierge directed us to the candle-lit tables which he felt was murky. So we took our tables inside. The ambience was brilliant as I am a complex human who don’t like teeming/strident places. Decent music & yummy food of our choice made the evening memorable. We had lung-fung soup, lip-smacking latcha paratha etc, blame it on my memory. Soup and fish explain half the emotions of human life.

My friend also liked it to my surprise, hope I made his day.

"Food here responds to our soul’s dream as to our stomach's appetite.” Overall a decent place to enjoy a delectable food of your choice.

Suggest you people to try that out as well

I had the following evening, to acknowledge another friend’s invitation to join him for his treat.


But this time, was not indecisive as I was the previous day. I was clear about having Chinese food for the day. So we dropped in at Chungs’ (Malleshwaram, Blr), clean place, but too crowded, but still could hold on to my nerves for a decent meal. I eat merely to put food out of my mind.


We had Tom-Yom Soup, Dragon Rolls with Garlic sauce, Chicken-pops, Schezwan rice & chowmein. Totally I was taken back with the quality & taste of the food that was served, in spite of me having other reasons to brood on with the place & people around, which would make up a topic of another blog; will bring it out sometime. Again a place I would suggest you people to try out.


"I refuse to spend my life worrying about what I eat. There's no pleasure worth foregoing just for an extra three years in the geriatric ward."

All I wanted to say is had two decent evenings which would be cherished for sometime to come.


PS: All happiness depends on a leisurely supper.
PPS: I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food
PPPS: “When I get a little money, I buy books. And if there is any left over, I buy food."