Month: August 2008

Pune Devcon Conference On .Net & Microsoft Tech

Harshad Oak

The Devcon site says that at the event you can –

Explore the issues surrounding programming mobile devices, Windows application development, integrated Web solutions, Microsoft Office programming, and language enhancement and IDE productivity features. Address issues such as easier development of applications across client types and migrating applications to .NET. Learn new techniques for building a scalable and secure architecture, and designing applications for easier and more effective deployment.”

30th & 31st Aug 2008, Pune, India
http://devcon.puneusergroup.org/

Friends Of The Canal Garden, Prabhat Bhandarkar BMCC Road, Pune

Harshad Oak

Over the past couple of years, the left bank canal of the River Mutha between the Prabhat, Bhandarkar and Agarkar Road has morphed from pretty much being a dump to now a beautiful garden. The area of about six acres now has lush green lawns, a jogging track and many trees. It’s like an oasis right in the heart of Pune city.

The Pune Municipal Corporation and an NGO, Hirwaee have been jointly running the project as yet. However maintaining the garden, caring for the trees, keeping it clean and free from encroachments is an ongoing challenge that requires the support of residents in the area.

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Rock On Has Got It Spot On

Harshad Oak

Writing this as I listen to the music of the movie ‘Rock On’. Rock On has got it Spot On. It’s Hindi rock and not another attempt at English rock. It’s not like it’s the greatest music ever but it just seems like an important landmark in the journey of rock music in India.

Indians rocking in English and essentially copying English rock stars and their mannerisms seemed very pseudo for it to ever catch on in India. I am nowhere near a music expert or even a connoisseur but it seemed pretty obvious that unless Indian musicians dropped the English language and moved to Indian languages, they were never going to become mainstream. So ‘Rock On‘ might be a big step in the direction of establishing Indian rock music.

Farhan Akhtar seems to emerge stronger by the day. He makes sensible movies and now also acts and sings. His talent is not surprising considering that he is Javed Akhtar’s son. However his emergence is heartening as hopefully he will lead the move away from the over the top mushy and slippery brand of common hindi movies.