I have moved!

Peeps... I now blog at AboutPranay

Does this spell death for ThinkTrash? 
I don't think so. Till the trash in my mind ceases to exist (which will happen never), ThinkTrash will live. If not for anything else, as a legacy.


At AboutPranay (my portfolio cum new blog), I will talk less about trash and more about user experience and design. But there will certainly be a trashy post here and there for you all to read and enjoy.


Till then...
Pranay/PeeCee

From the third attempt, till the final one...

A little over an year after my last blog post (below), I'm back to blogging! This is in fact the third attempt to rejuvenate my blog from dormancy. The second one failed miserably despite promising frequent activity to myself and the readers. 
So this time around, no commitments and no meant-to-be-broken promises! Maybe just a hope and a possibility that this time I'll continue writing, atleast in the near future. Why this sudden ray of hope? Well for one, I'm going back to college! New people and new experiences always make good stuff to write, don't they?! Plus, I think the itch to write is making a comeback in me, and I have a renewed urge to put my thoughts to words. 


You can probably make out that I'm really REALLY interested this time, by the new look ThinkTrash! Yes, I have given it a brand new look and feel! And I definitely intend to boast when I say that I designed the top banner from scratch, all by myself! I know you're dying to shower praises but you can read the rest of the post, and then drop a comment about what you think about the design... I can wait a bit! :D


Meanwhile, I came across this awesome video on TED, which got me thinking...

What would be my final Facebook status update, my last blog (if I do continue blogging till then ;) ), or my last tweet? Would I be on my death bed, hurriedly posting something with my wobbly hands? Something like...

Yeah, wait till I'm back in my next incarnation, I'll settle scores with the 5 people who liked that!


Or maybe, people will start posting their wills online! Hereby, I announce that XYZ will have all permissions to read, access and modify my blog, Facebook, Twitter, GMail, LinkedIn and Foursquare accounts so that I remain online in the virtual world, forever!


On a more serious note, as the guy in the video said, we are all leaving behind an unimaginable amount of data, stored and shared across the world wide web. And that data isn't merely a digital combination of 0 and 1. It's a plethora of thoughts and memories in the form of text, photos and videos; and in the larger sense, a legacy and a culture in it's own right.
In a way, it is all probably good. My great great grand daughter will know what a jerk her great great grand dad was! :D

Add Music to your Life!

Music has to be the most wonderful gift man has given himself! Mood-uplifter for some, trance-inducer for others - music can cast magical effects on one's mind, persona and character. It can make one achieve unfathomable highs and surpass untraversable barriers.


One such classic example of how music can lead to miracles, is Billy McLaughlin - A world renowned and supremely gifted guitarist and composer who stunned audiences with his unique fingerstyle guitar strokes. With compositions beautifully depicting shades and situations of his own life, listeners were able to relate to his signature style of music - which is inherently sans vocals!
In 1997, Billy started losing his touch with the guitar. He was diagnosed with Focal Dystonia - a neurological disorder in his left hand which severely restricted his ability to play. All he could now play with his guitar, was the very first tune he learnt as a child. The disorder took away from Billy the ability to play much of his music, including his signature fingerstyle.

In 2006 - 9 years after being bogged down by the disorder - Billy staged a comeback. He had wonderfully adapted to, and virtually won over his condition - by actually re-learning the craft using his right hand. In an amazing story of rarely-seen patience, courage and grit of the human mind, Billy resurrected his music, his career and his life.
Having ascended from the ashes like the Phoenix, Billy emerged better than ever before - so say his fans!


I had the fortune to experience Billy performing in front of me. I was mesmerized, to say the least - it was a high you just can't know unless you've really experienced it.
Listening to Billy live, I realized how music can change your world. How it can, at times become the singleton driving force to bring about a change in your life. It just adds a new dimension to your mindset and attitude towards life. It has done that - for me. 
Being able to play that song I've been practicing since days; suddenly waking up one morning and realizing I can strum that chord which seemed impossible the day before; just randomly plucking my guitar and suddenly realizing that the tune sounded great - it all happens with me, and I'm sure it happens to each one out there who plays an instrument.
So, pick up any musical instrument you like (or think is cool!) - the guitar, saxophone, piano, tabla, sitar, drums, flute... any one. Learn it - it can turn out to be a life changing experience!



I leave you with one of the most popular and arguably the most astounding creation of Billy. This song was composed on one quiet night in Minnesota, when Billy was not able to sleep because he had got so used to the noise from the cars passing by on the freeway next to where he lived before in Los Angeles. He tried to reproduce those 'noises' of vehicles in this composition - Helms Place 

Links: 
Billy McLaughlin Official Online Presence
The return of Billy
Helms Place

Lift kara de!

"Make it fast you fat-ass... we'll miss the Honda City wale uncle".

My roommate calls me by that name, without even an iota of embarrassment. FYI, his body proportions go like 85-125-110.

As always, I laughed it off pitying his overblown aspirations of being able to match my athletic body frame someday!

"Come on dude. It's only 9:10. That chap comes at 9:20. There's no chance we'll miss him. Now shut up and let me concentrate... Wallet. Watch. ID card. Hankerchief. Earphones. Cellphone. All set... lets go...!"

"Dude... you forgot wearing your pants!"

"Oh my god! You are so funny Anuj! Now move you Gainda-Fool!"

 

We rushed towards the elevator.

"Why is this damn thing always at 0? @#$%%$TER@#@#!#!^&%#$@!", I cried impatiently.

Living at the 11^th floor isn't always fun, especially when you know that your boss can fire you for entering office 5 mins late.

We finally managed our way down.

"Okay. Here's our chance. You see that car coming. Just pounce on it. I bet it's going towards Mindspace", Anuj readied himself for thumbing.

"What are you doing???", I pulled him back forcibly.

"That's against the rules! We DON'T take lift from Maruti 800's and Alto's. PERIOD", I tried to make a straight face.

"Loser… Look at the time! First you take bloody 25 minutes in the bathroom doing god knows what. And then these tantrums! I'll loose my job like this!"

"Shut up and walk. And walk slowly. Our chances of getting a lift dip drastically as we near the main road."

"Look ahead you fool. We are almost at the main road. And I see no prospective lift coming our way. You let go our only chance. Saala maruti mei nai jayega… bhaav to dekho!"

"Look behind…", I ordered Anuj trying not to show my excitement.

"Honda City!!! You sure it's him?"

"Looks like… Now get aside. My track record at this is better than yours"

 

I moved ahead confidently to signal for a lift.

I just raised my hand a little and the grey sedan de-accelerated to a smooth halt right in front of us. The window slithered down. A breeze of cool ambi-pur scented air gushed at us almost making us forget the formalities!

 

"Aaa… Sir… Cyber Towers?" Anuj stammered in his trademark extra-polite, almost fake, accentuated manner.

"Yes yes… Hop in". Pat came the reply from inside.

"Thank you sir", we both murmured - more out of habit than a feeling of gratitude!

 

"So… now you regularly hitchhiking?", asked the person driving, in an almost self-congratulatory tone. "You followed my advice!"

"Yes sir. We thought you were right. Haggling with 3 autos, inhaling all that pollution… It's not wise after all.", explained Anuj.

You can't beat him when it comes to articulating utter nonsense perfectly!

 

"I told you last time only when I first gave you lift. You shouldn't be shy. It's a duty of people like us who have a car to help people like you who have to commute daily in such adverse conditions and then slog it out the rest of the day in office. I completely understand!" 

"Ya Yaaaa!" I yawned almost dozing off given the AC comfort and ample leg room. "Honda has made a fine car!"

Till distances do us apart

We’ll meet and share moments together
Moments, that we promised, will last a lifetime
A lifetime may not be enough, you said
To express the love that’s all mine

We’ll sit for hours, staring at each other…
And not say a word
We’ll just lie there, and enjoy the silence
 And let the stars say the story untold

We’ll be together, happy as ever
The madness will always be there
Your touch will always be as special,
And we’ll live life with reasons to cheer

All this and more… we promised to each other
We promised… separation- will happen never
Guess the stars have played their part
And distances have done us apart

We know, all’s not well
Not that we didn’t try… gave it many a chance
We simply, aren’t the way- for what we strived
But that’s all right, till the day we realized
We don’t speak the way we used to…
And neither do the stars

Still, I’d like to believe… all’s not lost.
That touch, that’s no longer with me…
I’ll try to revisit, holding my own hand
That love, which is fading away…
I’ll rekindle, with even more love and warmth
The fire, that once raged; The spark, we thought we had
I’ll reignite
The bleakness that’s abound; The darkness, that’s gripping us…
I’ll bring light

And I’ll do this all,
I’ll do even more…
To make sure
You are always mine

Then again, the stars may never speak up,
And we may never get off to a new start
But I’ll never fail to try harder
Till distances, really do us apart

A Second Lease of Life

There have been times, in the past 10 months, when i felt at lack of something. When I felt some feelings were not finding an outlet (Not that I was'nt allowed to go to the toilet!). As if some integral part of my life was suddenly just not there anymore. I was at grave loss. I was shattered. I went into depression. Okay... I'm exaggerating!
But seriously yaar... Even peecee started complaining. I wasnt exploiting him the way i used to, you know! And then there are my countless fans out there, who just can't live without me. Their love forced me back in here! Not that I myself didn't want to. But there's something called PR too! I have given in to the call of the times and the fans!
Well... Now that I am back... What are you waiting for!!! Where's my 'Welcome back' cake??? Where's the champagne? 
Guys... I'm BACK!!! Heyy... look there... one guy clapped! Thanks bro! I knew somebody's been waiting!

Okay okay... Cut the noise! Now you people are anxious to know where have i been all these days, right? Why did i go into this self-imposed absentia? Did i get marooned on an island with no internet connectivity? Did the aliens abduct me? Did I go on a mission to abduct the aliens?
Well well well... It's a long looooonnng looooooonnnnnnnggggg story. To cut it short... I got into an IT company. Now you know eh!
That's right. College got over; joined Accenture- that too at Chennai; had a blast there managing with broken English and even more broken Tamil; had plenty of sambhar, idli, dosa, vada, uthappam; got bored of the beach (yes, you read it right!); got transferred to hyderabad; underwent an eye surgery; experienced complete blindness for 24 hours; and yes whenever i got time out of all these things- worked quite a lot at office!

You can wipe those tears off now! When I'm here, have no fear!
It's been a long time... I hope I haven't lost the touch. Lot's to catch up, lot's to read. Don't know what buddy bloggers have been up to all these months.

Let's start off with sharing the latest instance of something I do best - Dream! Yes, I'm at it again! But this time, the dream had a moral lesson underlining it! I've grown up you see! Here goes the nightmarish dream -

It was a scorching summer day. The sun relentlessly shining with all its might. No sign of clouds in sight. News channels shouting "Heat wave across India". One of the news channels had a scientist commenting on the weather. He perdicted catastrophe- "Cloud formation is not happening. Global warming has stopped the evaporation-condensation cycle. The world is going to experience a long, unbearable summer. Arctic ice is melting faster than we can gauge. The world may experience tsunamis with waves over 100m in height destroying all coastal cities. And soon, sea levels will drop drastically. Marine life is under threat. The world... is nearing its end."

Thank God this one ended quickly. Gosh! Scary thought. Phew!
Well... don't worry that much. Just switch off that A.C. The room is comfortable enough now.
And heyy... why is that cell phone charger switched on? I don't see the phone being charged. Switch it off!
I'm sure you'd never like this nightmare turning into reality. So work towards it; Our planet may not get a second lease of life.

You can put that smile back on your face now. Coz remember... I'm back!

Official Audio Release: 'Light Kab Aayegi'

Now stop wondering and giggling at that name! Read on, coz this is goin to be a life-changing experience, especially for those agonized by daily electricity cuts and load shedding. Guys, your anthem is here!

This is our first full-fledged 100% original song. With 'our' i mean, that this song is composed, written and sung by me and my friend - Vaibhav.
There's a little story behind this song. It dates to about 2 years back. Me and Vaibhav were sitting idly, bored to hell, as there was no electricity. We ultimately decided to play Carrom, but with the board upside-down! Lousily and lethargically, we went about tossing the striker and wondering..."Light Kab Aayegi yaar...". And then, it happened! EUREKA! "Lets compose a song"!!!
I picked up my guitar and started strumming in search of a catchy tune...
The rest, as they say, is history!

So here it is, a song which we composed 2 years back, digitally recorded for all you guys to listen and appreciate. Yes. Appreciation is mandatory.


~~~~~THE OFFICIAL AUDIO-RELEASE CEREMONY ~~~~~

Blow the trumpets
Unleash the Champagne Fountain
And hail the latest pop sensation.... 'PnV'

Ok guys. Now all you have to do, is click on the link below.. RIGHT NOW.

Download the song and let the music play baby!!!

Light Kab Aayegi [Download Here]

[Alternate Download Link 1 (4Shared)]

[Alternate Download Link 2 (Rapidshare)]

Artist : PnV

Lead Vocalist : Vaibhav Verma

Backing Vocals : Pranay Sethi

Lyrics : Vaibhav Verma and Pranay Sethi
Composition : Vaibhav Verma and Pranay Sethi
Music : Pranay Sethi


So guys.. wat are u waiting for!!! Listen to the song online, or download the song and listen to it on your favourite music player, share it with your friends and let the world know about it!