When a friend told me to listen to the song “What a wonderful world” by Louis Armstrong, I ended up changing the lyrics from:

I see trees of green, red roses too I see them bloom for me and you And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky Are also on the faces of people going by I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do They’re really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know And I think to myself what a wonderful world Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

to this:

I see lines of Perl, some comments too. I see them run for me and you And I think to myself what a wonderful code.

I see references to arrays and hashes of strings, The bright blessed calls, the dark sacred ‘die’, And I think to myself what a wonderful code.

The colors of the syntax highlighting so pretty in VIM, Are also on the faces of the people going by I see functions sending parameters saying how do you do They’re really saying I callback for you.

I hear developers crying, I watch them grow They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know And I think to myself what a wonderful code Yes I think to myself what a wonderful code.

- Swaroop

Note: Contrary to the lyrics, I actually like Perl.

So, Jacko might leave America… he is no longer popular or admired but he’s still the King of Pop music.

So, I wrote this following so-called ode on a whim. It’s up to you to decide what to make of it…..

MJ has become a ghost of himself but now he can scream that he is not guilty. Is it scary? Bad? Maybe he’s history. Might as well be a stranger in moscow on morphine. Might be a smooth criminal singing PYT and thinking Another part of me. And he says to the tabloid junkie_s, _leave me alone. There may be no blood on the dance floor, he may not be dangerous, but he is gone too soon in the closet. Jacko, just remember the time and this time around, come together and beat it to say it doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white, it is just human nature and what people want is a thriller. Just look at the man in the mirror and ask about the way he makes you feel and tell him give in to me. In the end, just keep the faith, keep jam_ming, and _smile

Last weekend, I had been on a pilgrimage with my family to Rameswaram. I have heard that Rameswaram is supposedly the biggest temple in India, although I haven’t been able to confirm that. The highlight of the pilgrimage was that we had to take bath in, or rather poured a bucket of, water from each of 22 wells in the temple. The other highlight was the Meenakshi temple in Madurai which has 1011 statues.

Rameswaram is an island and is connected to the mainland through the Pamban bridge which is a structure of beauty.

According to the Ramayana, Rama and his followers built a bridge (sethu) from Rameswaram to Sri Lanka using stones, crossed the ocean and then he rescued his wife Sita from the demon king Ravana, Lord of Sri Lanka. On his successful return to Rameswaram, a lingam was installed and Rama worshipped Lord Shiva to absolve himself of the crime of killing Ravana. This lingam is one of the reasons why Rameswaram is considered a holy place for Hindu devotees.

In the long journey between Madurai and Rameswaram, I wrote a poem (if I can call it that):

Life is about breaking out… Breaking from the routine Breaking out from what is expected Breaking out from your own expectations Who knows where life’s journey leads to But maybe it doesn’t matter As long as you make your choices And have no regrets.

Life is about freedom… Freedom to choose Freedom to live the life you dream of Freedom to help your friends Freedom to keep your family happy Freedom to have a philosophy Freedom to live by your rules.

Life is like music… Every song has its appeal So do opportunities Every tune has its rhythm So does our family Every lyrics has its meaning So do our values Every album has its genre Such as our nation Every beat has a pulse Such as each day Every song has a beginning and an end Life is like that What matters is how you feel when the song is ending

As Forrest Gump’s mom says “Life’s like a box of chocolates - you never know what you gonna get”… You want to find out right now but you just can’t yet… There’s always a mystery… about my future and my history… On what could be and what could have been… But as far I’ve seen… There will be ups and downs… There will be smiles and frowns… There will be work and there will be fun… There will be struggles lost and won… I wanna live life to the fullest… I have this incredible zest… So much to do and so much to see… I invite you, my friend, to join me in this journey…

• ‘The G2′ Swaroop

Yesterday was the last official day of our college (B.E.) lives…I’m feelin’ kinda sad. I wrote the following poem dedicated to all my classmates and friends:

> >

Never Same Again

I don’t know how these past few years flew, But one thing is true, And I say this with a lot of pain. Things are never gonna be the same again.

I’m gonna miss rushing to class at 8.15, And trying to eat in class without being seen. I’m gonna miss talking to you friends everyday, And the jokes and the pranks that we did play.

I’m gonna miss hanging out with you guys, especially the treats, So many of us sitting around in the seats, Talking away to glory, And each telling many a story.

I’m gonna miss the fun when we were trekking, With so many dark tunnels and even the bridges creaking, I’m gonna miss the dancing at the campfire, I’m gonna miss crossing the river (which was like a quagmire).

I’m also gonna miss the lecturers, Who more than often bored us But we still had so much fun with them in class, We never could realize how the time did pass.

I’m gonna miss sitting in the OAT Making fun of each other and laughing so loudly. I’m gonna miss that carefree life As Bryan Adam says it cuts like a knife, but no, it doesn’t feel so right.

I may not be a good poet but I had this much to say, Let us not forget each other after today. I wish this college life never ends, Life is so great with all of you, my friends.

• g2swaroop

Nowadays, I have become so involved with my work at Yahoo! that I am hardly getting any time for other stuff. Spending time with friends has also become a problem, but the amazing thing is how Yahoo! Messenger and mobile phones help here. They truly help people keep in touch!

Last Sunday, 4 friends including myself got together and we had plans for the whole day. It was so much fun! I even made one of my instant raps/poems/whatever:

A joke, a dialogue, and a smile
I haven’t had so much fun in quite a while
I wish this day never ends
Life’s great with my best friends!