Life's EPIC Experiences..

And then there was a war cry!

2011-11-05T19:49:00.003+05:30

The past few months have been quite a roller-coaster. Visits to markets, selling products, talking to random people, making presentations, getting "feedbacks". A few good parts included a few trips home, meeting friends and Anushka Sharma in Reliance ads! Even though there were stories to share, the hand never had the inclination to type out all the experiences. So, after a month into my sojourn of the hinterlands of TN, here a few choicest experiences. Confused about the title, well, you would get to know about it soon!

-- Everyone knows the CM---
Talk to the cab driver, the local auto rickshaw fellah, everyone knows the ruling party officials in and out! And be sweet to them, they would offer you friendship and tell you that, any problem, they would solve it for you! Sadly, they do not solve the biggest immediate problem of hiked auto-rickshaw fares!

--- Everyone's invited to marriages----
I have seen people crib about their wedding cards being expensive for printing! Imagine this, huge cut-outs of marriage invitations posted in various parts of the city! (Yes.. Madurai is a city) with the educational qualifications and "we would live happily ever after" poses with of course best wishes from.. yep.. you guessed it, the whos-who of the local political circle! Someone rightly told me this, you cannot keep the politics out of TN and you ALSO cannot keep TN out of politics!

--- Women always rule---
You cannot change the rules anywhere and TN is no exception! Tirumangalam was a town where this happened.

I was at a medical shop (Yes Grandma! After engineering, your grandson is selling Oil, OTC and a whole lot of products at various outlets!) when my salesman told me, "Sir, lets leave". I never suspected that the two policemen at the shop beside me were not just sipping "cooldrings" but also questioning locals. As I left the place, I saw a crowd standing at the local panchayat office (all those boring Civic Lessons now seen in real life!), I asked him, "What the hell is happening"? He said..

A Drunk man came in and troubled his wife, the lady got irritated and threw a stone on his head, the man fell dead on the spot!

Tho Bhaiyon, daru peeke definitely apne honewali biwiyon ke paas mat jana, Maare jaoge!

A week later a bomb is found in the same village on Advani's Yatra! Anyone keen on swapping places with me? ;)

---The War cry---
Imagine a lady with both sides of her nose pierced, shouting like a red-indian does when he is about to attack!! And this, not just once but twice in 20 minutes! Well, this was done to stop us on our way to pay for crossing the fields when they are sowing rice for the first time this season!! When we stopped, she was still giving the red-Indian war cry and running towards me - all this for 10 bucks!

And all this at the beginning.. A full season coming up! ;)

Cheers!

Lage Raho Bhaiyon...

2011-08-01T22:37:00.005+05:30

Women are an interesting species. That is why we, the male species, are so interested in them! It is the case of - "Woh na hote, tho hum kya karte!" But when you combine women and shopping, you end up thinking a lot of stuff - but basically the thought would be - "Woh na hote, tho hum KYA KYA karte!!" I had the 'fortune' of meeting a few female friends on their shopping spree! I call it fortune because it is wonderful to see how a piece of cloth can bring such a wide smile or distress to their faces! And couple the shopping spree with the "sale season" - then it is called "Qayamat"!

At the arena you see these two different species - male and female in different moods! Husbands/Boyfriends play the split-personality role (This is pure observational skills and not personal!). At one second, they are exasperated standing outside the trial rooms. Standing and waiting for their beloved ones with a minimum of 3 bags hung around their necks,arms and shoulders, thinking how good it would be to sit in their rooms in their cosy sofas with a beer in hand watching Sachin bat! At the other second, when they see their beloved ones coming out of trial rooms in tried on dresses, they play the role of motivator (when their beloved is unhappy)-cum-someone who sings paens (when their beloved one wants the dress badly!). Of course, this split-personality comes into play when the lady has FINALLY decided on something.

Before that, comes the onerous task of walking beside the lady and seeing through various colours - you know the "baby" pink, the "turqoise" blue, the "vermilion" red, the "bluish" green and the blah (if you do not understand the colours, it is absolutely fine, you are the perfect guy)! The worst thing about this part is - When you give an opinion, you are given the cold stare and the look which says- "That one!!" and when you do not given an opinion - "Agar tumhe interest nahi tho aaye kyu" and before you know the ducts have leaked to create floods! And more than that, you move around half a dozen stores(minimum) to finally come to the realization that - "that baby-magenta-pinkish-blue-top" is JUST NOT available anywhere!! Oh, why cannot retailers do better consumer research!!

Female species of course have eyes for prices and colours and patterns and the clothes and the other blah.. and of course their minds at the same time would be on

"Does that **&^^* have the same top"!!

"Damn, What for FRIDAY!!"

"I do not have anything to wear at all"!

All this, while I think, which pant do I need to put for washing and where do I spend my salary? ;)

But, if ladies do not do it, then who will! Even tho my marketing guru told me that Women dress only for themselves, ultimately, ultimately ;)

Tho lage raho bhaiyon..lage raho!

Cheers!

You know you are getting old when...

2011-06-25T23:15:00.006+05:30

Sometime back, I came across a message/post which had things signifying that people of my generation are turning old! The list was pretty impressive. Things like DDLJ was released 16 years ago (man, Maratha Mandir still runs a show!) to the fact that SRT has completed 22 years in cricket! Having met "old" engineering batch mates, there are a few more which can be added to the list of "You know you are getting old when..."

1)..... you open facebook and the first thing that stares you in your face is - Marriage of people you know! This is either through marriage albums, Roka/Engagement ceremonies, snapshots of lovie-dovie all entangled in arms, *relationship updates*! Shaadi aur abhi??? Haan beta, ab teri umar ho rahi hai!!

2) ....the school going kid walking past you in the garden, footpath, or while playing cricket utters the dreaded 5-letter word starting with a U. I know that shapes and sizes have changed considerably, but the inner child is still there. When this inner child wants to play cricket, a cold ugly stare comes from a feet below your eyes.."Uncle, Aap bhagoge??"

3).... you start waiting for friday evenings after getting frustrated at work place after constant hankering at the hands of your boss, your customers for five days and you start waiting for that week of the month when something meaningful goes into that thing called - bank account! Did you ever think of all this when you were eyeing "that" beautiful girl in school as a potential girlfriend? Luchche!

4)... when discussions with friends start reminiscing of old times!

"Kya din the yaar woh..! Un dino ki baat hi kuch alag thi".

"Abbe tujhe yaad hai.. tujhe class se nikal diya tha"

.. or when discussions veer to (F:Friend)

F1:"Abbe.. tujhe pata chala.. woh school ki chashmish..uski shaadi ho rahi hai."

F2: Haan tho

F1: Saale, Maal ban gayi hai woh ab!

F2: Jaanta hoon, par uska honewala chapadganju (simpleton..bhai, We are the most eligible ones, baaki sab paani kum) hai. Pata nahi, aisi ladkiyon ko school k baad ho kya jaata hai!

...or when they veer to

F1: Abbe, tera number kab lag raha hai?

F2: Tere baad hi, tujhse chota hoon yaar. Bade bhai ka hakk pehle banta hai!!

Suddenly your friend becomes a big brother only to give peace to your heart: Yes, there is an example to show to MOM that someone else elder to me is yet to get married, WHY ME!

5)... when you have finished your last probable interaction with a classroom and an institute and the future looks very bleak. Either in the hallowed A/C rooms of some bank in Mumbai/Bengaluru or in the hallowed villages of India! Either selling ideas to the phoren peoples or selling products to aapdo junta! The future looks very very bleak my friend! No more classes, no more sleep in classes, no more "chalta hai" attitude and more and more thoughts of "What have I done so far in life? And What would I do further in life??"

So, my dear friends, if you also happen to be one of the few who have crossed swords with the above mentioned phenomena, welcome to the club!! Yes, it is time!!

Cheers!! *sniff *

P.S. If there any more phenomena that you people have come across, please share. Kyunki bhaiyon, dukh baatne se kam hota hai!

Get Over!

2011-06-15T02:17:00.002+05:30

He is a sore loser, he hates being second best! But why the hell bother about something that is gone and is not going to come back!! Get over it! Get over it!! Cross the bridge!

He needs to be told, there are better things to look out for in life. He has learnt a lesson, now move ahead. Some things are never worth it. If the past does come back to haunt him, show up THAT finger and say, " Bloody hell, you have just missed out on awesomeness"!

AMEN!

I saaay.....

2011-05-11T23:47:00.004+05:30

Please give a round of applause for Amitabh Bhattacharya. I mean, Wow, what lyrics! At the beginning "Character Dheela" sounds crappy - the "Stop that Govindaish" sound track which gives a damn about the lyrics, sur te taal! But man, the more I hear the song, the more I believe, it is actually quite fabulous! Though Neeraj Sridhar is Pritam's blue-eyed boy (one song atleast in every Pritam Album), his songs do not give a clear idea of what the lyrics are. So I went into in-depth research of the lyrics and boy oh boy! It sure will give sleepless nights to Javed Sahab and Gulzar Sahab and erstwhile Urdu Kalakaars, but Thought-provoking lyrics nonetheless!

"I Love you forever koi fool fool fool kehta hai"

Sorry you ideal romantic idiots but this line is a clincher (I know I am taking a big risk with the single ladies reading the blog, but....). As practical as one can get! Aur himmat dekho bhai, not once, not twice but christened a "fool" thrice! In a way it speaks of India also having changed. The days of Madhur Dixit Nene blabbering to her close friend on "how her prince charming would come in front of her on the full moon night of valentine's day (sheesh!)" in DTPH are days of yore! It is now the fast, instant noodles generation which believes in the ability to bear each other for some time of the day which helps them to stay together! (Criticism welcome!)

"Fark padta hai kya baahon mein munni hai ya sheela hai"

Two ICONIC names in Indian cinema treated with disdain! Women who gave sleepless nights to Indian men over the last year treated with contempt! But, look at it in this way - "Both are good in their own way, doesnt matter who comes first!". Though, the hidden meaning to the average Indian male is - "Bhidu, Apni chaddi mein reh, sukhi rahega - Munni aur Sheila sirf Sallu ki hain"

"Main karoon tho saala character dheela hai"

Aptly put. Pointing fingers comes easy. Lesson from this line - "Jeeyo or Jeene do"!

All this and references to Facebook ogling, Aishwarya Rai's eyes being blue not much of fancy anymore and really put - Salman Khan's life in short is quite a catchy number! Though it certainly would not be in the all-time hits list of mine, quite a number for the season!

Ishak ke naam pe karte sabhi............ HAAN! ;)

Cheers!

P.S. I am jobless for almost the next two months, so do bear!

Tamil Movies..

2011-04-16T16:37:00.004+05:30

Last week, my family dragged me to a tamizh movie called - "Mappillai" which means "Jamai Raja" which starred "Superstar Rajni" oda Mappillai in real life - "Dhanush". People who do not know him, kindly do the following:

1) Search on Google Images with the name Dhanush

2) Please decide for yourself whether this guy is presentable enough to act in films. If it is a yes, then I might as well try my luck in Kollywood!

That made come to this topic. Movies made down south have a taste of their own. Conventional Mass films in bollywood are now almost passe (until there is a Salman Dabangg). The success story for a Hindi movie now is to have a hatke script (the days of yore arty films), Amit Trivedisque Background score, sex scenes and cussing dialogues! There you go - a film made on a smallish budget becomes a grosser! But then Hindi movies on another day - now is time for "Namma" (our very own) tamil movies to be analyzed!

1) The Movie Base: Have you ever heard of great Tamil actresses?? There has been a Khushboo, a Simran, a Meena, but they have been few and far in between. That gets us to the first point - Tamil movies are always based on Heroes! And these are no ordinary heroes. They are the honesty clinging, value-seeking, mass-appealing, girl-charming, kick-dancing, raga-singing poster boys! Whether it is "Super Star" Rajni, "Ulaganayakan" Kamal, "Ilayadalapathi" Vijay or "Thala" Ajith (I can go on and on with the titles and superstars) - these are the ones on which the film rides! They are not only dutiful "putras" to their mothers but at the same time, master "porukkis" (rogues) for villains alike. Everyone is a "Robinhood Pandey" in their own way! All hail Machoism!!

2) "Panju" Dialogue: Since all the heroes are portrayed Macho - all need a "panju" dialogue (Punch Line). Something similar to "Kitne Aadmi they" from Sholay - but here the hero mouths it! Some famous ones:

"En Vazhi... Tani Vazhi" - My way... the separate way - Super star Rajni (Padayappa)

"Andavan solran. Arunachalam seiran." - "God tells, Arunachalam does."- Rajni (Arunachalam)

All these dialogues elicit huge whistles and claps from the public. And if you do it time and again over the big screen with success, then it results in "Paal Abhishekham" (Milk Abhishek) over huge effigies!

3) Comic Tracks: Whether it is a Rom-com, a drama, a thriller, action - one track remains constant - The Comic Track. The comic actor's role is totally separate from the main story. He will pop out anytime in the middle of a movie and crack jokes, dress up in funny costumes and act weirdly funny (In fact, I do love watching Vadivelu and Vivek - super comic timings). You would never notice them at the end of a movie - because by that time the main story has taken over and the comic track has ended. It is a parallel movie that runs within a movie.

4) Song and Dance: The actresses are here only for a purpose - to dance and sing. "Performance oriented roles" with the "panju dialogues" are reserved only for the heroes! Again, songs do not have any kinda significance in the movie - they can pop up anytime! While the hero is languishing in the poverty driven confines of Tamil Nadu - here he will be dancing with his beau in arms along with a troupe of dancers in the weirdest of costumes in beautiful locations! Talk of contrasts!! And how can I forget Item Numbers!! Item Numbers are reserved only for the MEN! These are songs where men gyrate wildly and there are pelvic thrusts galore! So be it "Gemini Gemini" of Vikram or "Pokkiri Pongal" of Vijay - MEN rule! All the Munnis and Sheelas are put to the background!

5) Fights: The most crucial part of any Tamil movie! Whatever be the size of the hero - for example take the case of "Dhanush" - a stick like frame who can be blown away by the wind - This guy can beat up the nastiest looking rogues just like "that"! His punches and kicks can send men (usually triple his size) flying across in all directions. When the hero closes his fist while going for a punch - his hands make a crackling sound which is similar to what happens when a strong wind blows against an open window! And the hero has to beat up a minimum of 20 people in one go with the fight timing ranging from 10-12 and a half minutes on screen - only then does the fight scene qualify as a fight scene!

But tell you what - they sometimes act a wonderful stress buster. They are similar in a manner to those "No.1" Comedies of Govinda for which you just had to keep your mind out and enjoy the movie! And hey, they are way way better than "Tanu Weds Manu" and "Game??"
So, Machchi - - "Apdi Podu, Podu!!" ;)

Cheers!

IPL-- The first day!

2011-04-08T23:53:00.003+05:30

I have tried really hard.. Hard to stay away from posting about cricket, but I have tried enough. When the whole country cannot get enough of the players after winning a world cup, why should I? Indian Premier League version 4.0 and what a good start! Let us get down to a few keen observations!

1) Cricket and India: People thought it has reached a tipping point, Marketers tried to stay away thinking that people have had enough of their heroes! But hey, one look at the Chidambaram Stadium at 6 p.m. and it was packed! We just cannot get enough of the game! I am sure even the foreign players in the IPL would be wondering - what is in this game that keeps the people hooked to it for so long!

2) Kochi Commandos/Tuskers/ Sreesanth/ Whatever: This is an open letter to the owners of this franchisee. Get me onto the branding team, I will work for free. I am shortly going to send my resume over to you guys! Heaven help me when I took a look at that horrifying jersey! Orange,purple on the tshirt and then a black track suit which resembled the one similar to what I wear to the gym! No wonder they haven't got any sponsors (as per newspaper reports)! If I am a brand, I wouldn't like to get noticed on such a jersey! These guys have certainly not started on a good note. First, all the hullabaloo over the team ownership, then they come up with a name called "Indi Commandos" which a wise friend of mine likened it to a s**** stained lungi of Mohan Lal (no offence to the actor), then they call themselves "Tuskers with a Kerala" to let people all over the world know where Kochi is and they have Sreesanth! Might as well had a name - Kochi Appam Chu****!

3) SRK: As much as I do not like the guy, I felt sorry for him today! Team badli, Dada nikla, Wasim Bhai reh gaye, Gauti aaya, saath mein Pathan laya aur rejult - THENGA! I just hope for the competition these guys notch up a few wins and botch up the points table a bit! But trust Nokia guys to market the "loseability" of KKR as well - Drop in messages to cheer up KKR through your Nokia phones (atleast thats what I have heard on the radio so far). Marketing ho tho aisi - Kuch samjhe Tuskers?

4) IPL commentary: And we are back to the Morrison shouting "Dee--ELL-EFF half a dozen" and Laxman Siva..(long name check out google) shouting "citi moments of success". Soon we will see the "MRF Blimp" (woh bada balloon) on our TV sets and commentators telling - "What a technological innovation!" Ravi Shastri and Sunny Gavaskar tho hain hi!
Side Note: My sister got surprised when I and Ravi Shastri said the exact same words during the post match and the pre-match ceremony. Well, I was not surprised to match myself with a BOT!

5) MSD: This guy certainly has the MIDAS touch - What a Man. They say he is lucky, but as much as I hate it, I need to put in a Sidhuism - "A Man makes his own luck, my dear friend!!". He backs his players and gets the best out of them - A born leader!

I am sure this post was not totally totally cricket - please do let me know if I need to reduce the CQ (Cricket quotient). Till next time!

Cheers!

Things ONE needs to do in life..

2011-04-06T01:46:00.005+05:30

It has been a tough few days. Saying good-bye to people whom you have seen day in-day out for the past 2 years, saying good-bye to the campus which you made your home for the past two years and saying good-bye to student life (atleast temporarily!). From this roller-coaster experience of the past two years, I feel there are certain things that one needs to do in life to be happy! These are no "kaan" mantras as one wise man had put out - these are just...well..forget it and read!!

1) Stay in a Hostel: I have been born and brought up in the safe cordons of Mumbai. Going to a hostel was a wonderful new experience in itself. The work you do, the fun you have, the friends you make, the joys and sorrows that you share and the "activities" that you perform away from home cannot be described in short. So, if you get the opportunity, stay in a student hostel - believe you me, it changes you for the better!

2) Go to a "CO-ed" B-school: This is tough! The IIMs have a real skewed gender ratio, but they are taking cue from our institute and are improving! You know - "they" bring sanity to lives. Or else just ask what happens to a bunch of mechanical engineers who have studied together for 4 years!!

3) Eat Maggie at 1 am: There is no better joy than knowing that you have a paper due next morning and you order a spicy maggie at the neighbourhood tapriwala irrespective of what is the status of your "readiness" to write the paper!

4) Watch a cricket match live with your friends: India, cricket, friends = Awesomely Legend-ary! The opposite country players' mothers and sisters get remembered every second ball, and the same happens to our players if you become Ashish Nehrasque as he did against South Africa! It is an experience that one can only RELISH!

5) Watch Unknown television series and movies: I mean, there is something about laptops and movies and television series that even ignorants like me start watching! I for one was never fond of the Star Worlds and the Zee Cafes, but hey, some of the stuff is pretty good I must say!

6) Participate in all kinds of activities: If you are a school/college kid busy stuffed into books - get this straight mate - just all that studying won't do you any good! Jo dil kehta hai - woh karo. Padhai Chalti rahegi mere dost!!

7) Be yourself: Do not be a goody-two shoes if you do not like someone just for the sake of "being nice". Call a spade a spade. Some people would not meet eye with you - but hey you DO NOT want that in the first place!

8) Repeat steps 1 to 7! and repeat step 1 again!!

More important than anything else, make friends - they make you up! (Bahut senti maar liya!)

Cheers! (HIC!) :P

Life@SCMHRD - The PLC Way!

2011-03-13T12:48:00.002+05:30

Now, that I am an MBA, I wish to apply in real life whatever I have learnt. PLC, as well know stands for the Product Life Cycle. For those who do not know and for those who wish to remind their brain - Every product has a certain cycle wherein it goes through various stages viz. Introduction, Growth, Maturity and Decline. Well, certain products also go through initial growth and accelerated growth – but basically it has 4 stages. My life @SCMHRD has gone through more or less the same way.

Introduction:

Introduction is the stage where we get welcomed at the institute. The Grand Old Daddy gives his fearsome welcome speech – a continuation of what he had mentioned in the joining letter – the “if you cannot work, do NOT come here” types! This is the stage where we all are innocent little kids, looking to find our way through every stage. In the PLC, introduction is where the product is pushed into the market. Similarly, here we are pushed to all corners. We get hit by schedules of 12 hrs lectures, Guest Lectures, Workshops, Student Committees, Seniors and a dreaded life sucking animal on the campus – FCQ. FCQ generally stands for fortnightly conducted quizzes, but the meaning here is totally different. Here it is known as – Frequently (And Randomly) conducted quizzes where students do not know which form does the animal take. Sometimes it is Economics, sometimes it favours to be Operations Research, Sometimes Organizational Behavior!! Everytime you get a paper in hand, you feel – If only had I studied for this paper!! You start getting used to random schedules – you know the sleeping for 4 hours only types! Finance for engineers and Operations Research for General Arts /Sciences/Commerce Students elicit similar reactions as to when one is suffering from an upset stomach. We get “gyaan” from various corners as to what one exactly needs to do at such times – but in the end, the product..err..we get to understand ourselves what we need to do in order to survive.

Growth:

Growth is the stage where we get familiar with the institute’s whims and fancies. Here, you realize that you DO NOT need to top every exam and that there is more to MBA life than quizzes. You start to spread your wings for other bits of learning. Organizing events, Participation in competitions help to take your thinking beyond the books. For some time, you are spared the rod from the Grand Old Daddy as he gets behind the Seniors helping them in their ultimate objective! (Placements!!). Growth is also the period wherein you get the opportunity to have a look at who you will be giving gyaan in the next semester (Admissions). Growth is also the phase, where your institute turns from SCMHRD to SCM’F’RD where you get bombarded with all sorts of balance sheets, Ratios, Profits and Losses! You also learn to get familiar with a famous word – PFAFF! “PFAFF” has got different meanings in different institutes, somewhere it is GAS, somewhere it is GLOBE – actually in simple words when you make up stories and give GYAAN in impressive English – it is termed as PFAFF! Later in life, you would realize that corporate life is based on ... guess what.. wohi--- PFAFF! Summers are where your growth reaches maximum potential – Here you become the “Star” in the BCG matrix. All the market research techniques, all those excel tricks come to your rescue as you try to match eye to eye with your peers from other B-schools! Grand Old Daddy gives the best gyaan for this phase – Do not be a teacher to others!

Maturity:

Maturity is that period where you get familiar with your own turf (read specialization). You are now trained and experienced well enough to take on any challenge. Now, you are the giver of GYAAN! PFAFF comes naturally to you. Juniors look up to you as you looked up to your seniors for gyaan! Maturity is also the period where your eating and DRINKING habits undergo a sea change. By this time, you get to know your MESS and your expenditure increases beyond your income. BALA,Mezza9, Tamanna, become centres of serious group discussions. You tend to forget that Breakfast is supposed to be the best meal of the day! Maturity is also the period where all the good work done during your growth (read summer internships) bore fruit (read JOBS!). It is during this period again that the ultimate purpose of you doing your MBA gets fulfilled (yeah, that five/six figure something!) As is the case with products during maturity stage, even we realize that our shelf life (student life) is about to end.

Decline:

Decline is the period wherein people from the west and south understand the meaning of the word – VELLA. You still sleep for 4 hours during the night, yeah, but the rest of the sleep is caught up during the day! It is during this period, that people start realizing the importance of Fitness and start going to the GYM! You begin to realize that there are other institutes sharing your campus! You start loving the people whose sight used to create a feeling of hate! Now you are the master of GYAAN and PFAFF. During this period, your DRINKING habits definitely undergo a sea change with countless farewells, goodbyes. Now, you realize that your period of fun is over and it is time to get back to what we have wanted to do since the inception of MBA in our minds – Join the corporate RAT race!

Cheers! ;)

A Tam-Brahm Wedding

2011-03-07T18:48:00.003+05:30

It is after a really long time, that I got an opportunity to goto a Tam-Brahm wedding (For those who do not know the meaning of Tam-Brahm - It is the uber cool way in which we tamilian Brahmins describe ourselves in short - Many of us are settled in the US, so it is kewl.u see!). There is something about these weddings which endear you. Of course, beautiful girls aside, it does give you a view of how rich our tradition is - right from the smattering of a variety of easily digestable delicacies (The point is important - All the paneer in the world cannot match a "Poriyal" in terms of digestion!) to the smacking sound of the tavil (a dholak type instrument) - it is wonderful to be a "Tam-Brahm".

And of course, there are a few things which are seen only in these weddings! Yours truly tries to explain a few of them.

1) The Quintessential Maami: She is the Kanjeevaram silk wearing, gold hugging, Carnatic music singing, former Bharatanatyam dancing superstar home-maker! Everyone described in the way above are classified as Maami. Whether you know her or not, she will always ask you - "Shaptiya" (which means - have you hogged till someone had to force you out of your dining seat). Her eyes will go up in amazement if you have a list of degrees beside your name. Even if her children are modern, the girl must have learnt Bharatnatyam and the guy must have learnt the Mridangam(south indian version of the tabla) (and these are atleasts!). She knows everyone in a typical family tree (A typical family tree starts off with the first generation consisting of 5 brothers and 3 sisters). Back during her heydays, she did not get the opportunity at an Indian Idol or a Singing star kinda show - so, at every marriage she waits for an opportunity to show her singing wares - whether you like it or not, you need to listen to her singing for atleast 5 minutes!

2) The Quintessential Mama: He is the typical veshti (dhoti) wearing, balding, times-of-india reading, cricket following, god-fearing bespectacled gentleman. In marriages, this breed usually goes un-noticed (Well, cannot help it with the overpowering kanjeevarams!). People of this breed usually sit together and discuss Cricket/Politics. They would ask distant nephews and nieces - "Teriyarda - Naan yaaru???" (Do you know who I am?) and run from pillar to post whenever their better kanjeevaram wearing halves order them to do so! Hogging comes naturally to this breed. You know that they have finished lunch when you hear a slurp (coming from licking the last bits of payasam(kheer) from their hands. Trust me, it is delicious to do it!) or when you hear a resounding belch! (Eating all that rice does take a toll!)

3) The FOOD: How can I not include this! Food is the best part of any marriage, but trust us to give you a meal which is sundar, sasta and tikau! (The meals you eat at receptions of southie weddings are just rip-offs of northie weddings with paneer et al.) Food starts with breakfast in the morning (and I personally think that southie breakfasts are the best!) Idli, Wada, Pongal(rice formation), Chutney, Sambhar and piping hot DIKAKSHAN coffee( For people who do not have a idea - please goto your nearest southie friends houses and taste it! Bru, Nescafe, CCD ek taraf - dikakshan coffee ek taraf!). For those people who think we hogg only idli and wadas, the lunch is a surprise - poriyals (vegetable preparation with coconut toppings!), curries, Kootus (southie Dals to put it in a simplistic way), Rasam, Sambhar (Yes, these are two different things!!), rice, some more rice and did i mention rice? And the end result of all this, well I have described it in the quintessential Mama part!

Apart from these main characters in the show, the others include the bride, bridegroom, the musicians (Live music the whole day on the Nagaswaram (South Indian trumpet) and the Tavil (South Indian Dhol) - no DJs here!!), the Vadyars (The modern veshti wearing, bike riding, pony-tail sporting, Blackberry carrying priests who carry out the function). The vadyars nowadays carry out english translations of the Mantras for the benefit of us - the modern generation! Guess what, they also have facebook and twitter accounts! Talk about social media not even leaving the priests alone! I guess their statuses would be - "Muhurta Neram at Matunga finished (wedding at Matunga), now moving to Dombivli (Matunga and Dombivli are suburbs in Mumbai having a high percentage of Tam-Brahm population)

All said and done, I still think these marriages are aweee-some! and legen--dary! They constantly remind me of my identity - the quintessential Tam-Brahm ;)

Cheers!

Rather... NAMASKARAM! :D

P.S. This is no way demeaning my culture - I have just taken the liberty to have some fun at my rocking community's expense!

IF HRDians were ROADIES!

2011-02-25T00:32:00.002+05:30

I think the roadies interviews make for some fabulous entertainment! The two baldies shout their lungs out wheras a silly looking Rannvijay tries to act tough! Some of the answers that these guys read out of the contestants forms are hilariously funny! Now am going to take the liberty to put a few guys in front of these judges who I believe can drive them crazy. I would like to imagine what the interviews would be like. Here's sharing a few snippets!

Rag - Raghu, Raj - Rajiv, Ran - Rannvijay

1) Discount ben aka SN:
Rag: Kuch apne baare mein batao!
S: Main kya bolun.. Main hoon na..hehehehe.. Mujhe kuch bhi na..hehehehe
Rag: Aap has kyun rahi hai? Aap roadies mein kyun aana chahti hai?
S: Main na..itsie,witsie,tootsie,bumsie hoon! hehehehe..Falafel khaati hoon..photos khichti hoon..shakalen banati hoon (SHOWS HER TONGUE OUT)..hehehe.. mujhe aapke takle pe tabla bajana hai..hehehe
(At this moment, all three are bewildered! Not knowing what to speak next!)
S: Mera ek business bhi hai.. DD! usme hai na.. (she starts of rambling in gujarati)
Next thing you know is these guys need Aspirin!!

2) Crazy Bong aka AS:
Rag:Kuch apne baare mein batao!
A: When elephants make love, it is the grass that burns!!
Raj: Abbe oye, ise bhi GD samjha hai kya.. theek se hindi mein bata!
A: Jab Haati pyaar karta hai, tho ghaas jalta hai! (kindly note it is karta - with the "ta" and not "tha" - bong che!)
Rag: Abbe &^^%%! *&^^^&! Hero samajta hai kya khud ko!
A: Subroto Sengupta says - "Differentiate or Die!!"
Raj: Abbe *^%$$^^! Seedhe Seedhe bola nahi jaata!
A: It is time that you remove your ROSE-TINTED-GLASSES and see the reality! I am the Mafia, I am the one! I am AUGUSTUS!
All 3: Baahar nikalo isko..please (signs of exasperation)!!

3) Mr.slow...very slow... very slow... (forget it) aka AG
Rag: Kuch apne baare mein bata..
AG: What I want to tell u is this... that I want to tell u how excited I am.. and how I am supposed to speak fast.. even though I am considered to be very slow..and what can you get from getting me on this show is that you will not only get a great show which will be entertaining everyone and would get everyone to watch this on every saturday-sunday at 7pm...but also..
Raj: Abbe JAM nahi khel rahe.. apne baare mein bata.
AG: Sir, Sir, That is the point that I am trying to make.. the point is that it is very exciting to be a part of the show...if you see from the graph that 45% of the youth of the country are interested in participating..but..i mean..but what would get more interesting is if I.. who speak so less..yet it seems so much..tho it is slow..
- - All 3 are snoring----.
AG: Sir,aap meri jagah le rahe hai! SONA MERA HAKK HAI!

------ more to follow ;)

Cheers!!

P.S. The above is just a figment of the writer's imagination written only for good humour!

ZOR-KA-(pelvic thrust)-JHATKA

2011-02-10T00:10:00.002+05:30

2.5Cr an Episode for that crap!! Jesus Christ.. Blow me down!!

I have never been a fan of Shah Rukh Khan in his movies for which he has won almost all the awards that come and go between the months of January and March. Except for a "Chak De" or a "Swades" where he really 'acted', I have never liked him (I know I am going to be berated for this by a lot of females, but, truth is always bitter my dear 'girl' friends). I still do not get the reason why he is adored for the same Raj/Rahul/Rohit roles in which he opens his arms with his legs positioned "strategically" - his signature move i.e.

I do like his wit tho, or rather I should say, he HAD wit. His gags along with Saif at Filmfare awards were brilliant. I even liked his hosting in "KBC" and "Paanchvi Paas se Tez", where he was himself, graceful, witty and jovial. But with his new pelvic thrusting show on NDTV Imagine, I sadly have to say, he is throwing it all away!

Girls have always told me how they hate a certain Mrs.Aishwarya Rai Bachchan because shes too plastic, artificial. Nowadays, they hate her even more because shes trying too hard not to look old. I am sorry but this kkkkk--Khan--from the Epiclotis is also doing the same.

I do not like or rather I hate ZOR KA JHATKA! Following are some of the reasons:
1) Too Loud: I think SRK feels like that the microphone he uses for the show is not effective. There is no other palatable reason for him to be shouting at the top of his voice every scene!

2) Trying to act young: Grow up MAN! With that phoney hairstyle and younger looking clothes, you cannot change from the present 40+ something! You had a certain Mr.AB falling on his face for doing a "bade miyan", REMEMBER? Yet, people do not understand!

3) Crass Humour: What is with "big balls"? And those pelvic thrusts! Serious advice to parents - do not make your kids watch the show! It is tasteless humour at its best. Playing with a joystick when the players are real... JOKI JOKI? BAH!

4) It is a commentary show - not a game show: For each and every contestant, why do you have the need to bellow as if you life depends on it!

The money is definitely big - but haven't you earned enough to stay away from such shows! For all the hype created around this "SUPER"star - this show is a DUD. Period.

I am sure HUL would soon understand this. :D

Cheers!

Dhoni & Co... Please win it!!

2011-02-07T00:40:00.002+05:30

Yep, It is World Cup time again. Cricket afficionados all over are bracing up for this quadrennial event all over again. Again, we have sponsors making up various contests, sweepstakes(MBA), trying to garner the attention of the cricket crazy public, we have ambush marketing again raking up issues and again we go back to the brilliant squad of 1983 for their gameplans and strategies! Did I mention again? Oh yes, I did!!

This is in no way disrespecting the glorious team of 1983. Ultimately, because of them we have had our finest hour in one-day international cricket. But once in every four years, we have all news channels trying to get these cricketers to WISH team India good luck, describing to us - "The Ehtihasik Moment" (Which I have been hearing since 1996 - the first time, I really saw the World Cup with a touch of seriousness). We have ESPN-Star rewinding us back to THAT catch which dismissed Viv Richards, the West Indians telling us time and again about how they WERE NOT complacent in the final.

We also have probably the greatest cricketer India has ever produced - Kapil Dev - talking time and again as to how his team were journeymen, how Kris Srikkanth was never allowed to take a piss during his famous 175 against Zimbabwe, and it was only after this game at Turnbridge Wells that his team believed that they can go all the way. All this while he complains that his wife calls him PAAJI (with his slip-of-tongue grammatical mistakes!!).

Not only Kapil Paaji (sorry!), but we also have Jimmy Paaji (Now, I understand all the hullabaloo of Indian cinemas depicting the Punjabi Community so often!) breaking into a patriotic song every now and then at every commemorative ceremony for the 1983 World Cup champions! Kris Srikkanth breaking into Hindi on every English News channel - "Woh amen pata hona" - "Woh Hamein Pata tha"

Now, you realize why I have the written the heading as such! If you do not win this time around, I cannot and I mean, I CANNOT bear to see the same faces talking the same things in January 2015!! Again, no disrespect to the team - they mean the world, but change bhi tho zaroori hai! Thank goodness, we do not have Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri bellowing on every channel as they do while commentating!!

So, Dhoni & Co. for featuring over every news channel and sports channel for forthcoming world cups over the next 25 years - please win this one!

Cheers!

P.S. @News Channels: Free mein 1 tip - Can you catch Sunil Valson? I am sure he will give you the choicest bits from the dressing room from the 1983 World Cup - He was there all the while!

The Indian XV

2011-01-17T17:17:00.003+05:30

Messrs Kris Srikkanth and Co. decided to announce the final squad of 15 for the world cup starting Feb 2011. How Can I leave out my analysis of "Team ka Mujrim kaun!!" I think the selectors have done a decent job. Majority of the squad had mostly picked themselves, it were the other 3-4 spots, that were up for grabs.

Batsmen: I think India could have gone in with one more batsman or an extra keeper. Only 7 frontline batsmen including Dhoni can be an issue. Remember that 3 of them (all though they are certainties) are coming back from injury. Raina and Yuvraj are walking on thin ice as far as form is concerned. But were there any worthy replacements?? I do not think so. Just get a feeling that Virat Kohli and Yusuf Pathan are going to be the trumpcards in this lineup

Fast Bowlers: Now, now. This is casualty ward. Definitely a case for a Sreesanth to feel disheartened.
Praveen Kumar - Coming back from Injury
Zaheer Khan - Groin, Hamstring, Shoulders - U never know which one pulls up
Munaf Patel - Is surviving because Greg "guru" (***hole) Chappell asked him to bowl WELL within himself. Cant bowl beyond 130kmph, still gets injured!
Ashish Nehra - I am still surprised at the way the guy survives. Whenever he runs in, it looks as if his bones will fall off till he reaches the popping crease. Most injury prone bowler India has ever produced.

I am dreading at the thought of this fast bowling attack. But the good thing is that the world cup is in India. Visa ka problem nahi padega!

Spinners: Very Contentious this one. I am sure India is always going to play 7 batsmen (including a Yusuf Pathan) which includes Sehwag, Yuvraj and Raina who can roll their arm overs for a few overs of spin. India has to go in with 3 pacemen, because most certainly one of the fast bowlers is going to be taken to the cleaners with the new ball, so you need someone to backup. This leaves one spinning slot vacant - Harbhajan Singh. Now explain me the logic of selecting 3! and that too a Piyush Chawla who last played in 2008!! Unless India prepares rank turners (which I doubt for a tournament like the World Cup), India wouldn't play more than 1 frontline spinner. There was certainly a case for Rohit Sharma or Parthiv Patel to get a look-in. But, those are the wise men!

All said and done, this team still looks very good on paper. If everyone does perform to their best of abilities, I am sure we can regain the trophy after 28 years

Hoo Haa India....... Aaya India!

Cheers!

The Year Gone by...

2010-12-31T12:29:00.003+05:30

Quite a good year it has been so far. Never realized it, but I think it has got to be one of the best years of my life.

Right from Branding-the-storm from January to April, managing to clear financial papers and quizzes, slogging my ass off in the loneliness and the heat of Ghaziabad, realizing that there are better people in the world other than some who fall for writer-MBAs, Consumer-promotioning Horlicks (Still not able to win a final), Managing a successful Conclave (without help from the .............!), Getting my face painted horrendously, Gaining some great friends for life, Getting repaid handsomely for the ass-slog in Ghaziabad, Getting to know that I can be poetic, Being made sheepish for two S's (I am gonna remember this for some time!), staying joyfully single (apart from the now-off-now-on fling with my sexy MS-Excel..love u baby..mmuuaahh!) with a great family and a hoping for a wonderful new year!

Happy new year Folks!!

Cheers! :)

The Waltz just gets more romantic..

2010-12-21T23:33:00.003+05:30

I just had to write.. I just had to write on this. I mean, 21 years and the romance is undiminished! Just about three years ago, when people thought that the marriage was over, when the passion was finished, the hero comes again and sweeps everyone off their feet with this waltz! If people have not got a note of what I am talking about, then stop taking interest in my personal life and let us celebrate a monumental achievement by someone who has constantly brought happiness to the country. Aila! SACHIN!

I am not going to quote statistics. Some wise man has said that it is like a bikini, it hides more than what it shows. I wonder with God's statistics, whats more to hide!! I am not going to quote the shots he plays with which a cricket crazy nation like ours goes into raptures! I think Ravi Shastri and Sunny Gavaskar have bellowed enough about them. SEC-A Shastri comes up time and again with the same stuff, "Champion that he is!" "Glorious shot from a champion player" and so on and so forth. I am not going to make comparisons of Sachin with other players. A couple of reasons.
a) He has taken himself to another level where now it is him and the others!
b) Who cares! He is the best for me anytime! (Though I love the swagger of Viv Richards and the high backlift of Brian Lara, but hey c'mon, India has not given me too many sportsmen to love from.. so yes I am Biased.. I care a damn!)

I am not going to make a personal list of his best hundreds and glorify a few out of those 50. TOI(let) paper has done enough of it in the past two days. The brands that he endorses had a field day, no one cared that India were actually crushed by an innings and 25 runs! I am not going to say "Fie on you, you shameless critics!! You called him Endulkar and he has (yawn) let his bat do the talking!"(yawn). He has been doing that for 20 years, why to repeat something that someone has already documented over and over again! (TOI??)

I am no Sanjay Manjrekar, Ravi Shastri, SMG, and all those other pundits to write a note on how great his balance at the crease is, how hungry he still is, how focussed he still is and other blah!

I just want to say,

"
Dear God,
You made me start playing cricket, even though it was in chaddis, you made me start it. You bought a smile on our faces after teacher used to give us homework in school. We would watch you in the highlights, in the news bulletin and still not get bored. You continued to bring smiles to our faces in college,(though our smiles were for some part reserved for .. ahem.. ). We used to cuss the Dravids, Gangulys (sorry bhai log) when they got out, but when you used to get out, we used to say, "Tcha, Umpire ko maaro, BE**&^%^%%%!! Saala, paisa khaaya hai.. g*^%%%%". You spoil us with your habit of scoring centuries (Mazaak banake rakha hai!!). But, continue to spoil us, please! After all the rajas and the kalmadis, you get India smiling again, I mean, urs trule doffs his hat off!

In short, We love you! You are the best! And I am going to cry when you retire! I sure am! Coz I am pretty sure even though there will be hundreds of my generation naming their kids as Sachin, there would be none like you!

One of ur biggest fans ever!

Cheers!

Children of a lesser God

2010-12-16T01:43:00.002+05:30

I know its an impatient generation!
Less than a minute that they hear some news.. their loved and beloved ones put it all over..
Lets all wait for some..
who are children of a lesser god..
We are still comrades in this battle.. Lets have some patience before we celebrate..

This just makes me feel that the "successful" ones are mocking at the others with their celebration.. "Khushi ka Nanga Naach".. as they say..

But Cmon.. Hold on!

It is important to celebrate.. but lets not make it a mockery of a few who havent had their stroke of luck yet!!

I hope the message passes on to the ones concerned!

Cheers!

Shirdi - Then and Now

2010-12-03T16:07:00.005+05:30

I have been to Shirdi numerous times now. Although I am not a temple temple person, there is a certain amount of serenity associated with this temple which I like, but slowly the engulf of commercialism is taking away the charm of this (once upon a time)small village in Maharashtra. The first time I went to Shirdi (in my halfpants), we were put up in a place resembling a haunted house!! If I remember, the receptionist was looking a rip-off of Manoj Kumar all wrapped up in an orange "vastra". Totally unco-operative! The room phone was not working and even if it did, then the hotel staff werent! The bed had bugs and less said about the food, the better.

But, now, 10-12 years post that, there has been a dramatic change. Some for the better, some not. Hotels have taken customer service seriously and standard of hotels have gone up. But that is the only part that is good!

A Water theme park, A mall with restaurants like Rajdhani, places to celebrate birthdays - are we talking about a city or Shirdi!! But thats the reality. If you think that the water theme park is for kids, think again. It is maximum visited by adults, who want to get full entertainment value - this is what we call PILGRIMAGE tourism! In another 5 years, conversations veering towards Shirdi would look something like this:

A: Arre yaar, kaisi rahi Shirdi?
B: Mazaa aa gaya yaar, biwi ki birthday manayi, water park mein ghoome aur wahan ke mall mein shopping ki!!
A: Aur Darshan?
B: Uske liye time nahi mila!

All this has surely lead to increased employment opportunities for the local inhabitants there. But the serenity associated with the place is lost. At the doorstep of the temple is a message written, "Shraddha, Saburi" - Faith and Patience. The latter part is just not there! Walking in the crowd here is worse than Peak hour Mumbai local trains! People jump over rails, hold up one hand to allow their family to pass through and antagonizing fellow worshipers, Push and push till you stick with the person standing in front of you - Patience, you see! I really do not understand people here! The idol is placed in such a way that people can get a clear view of it from all directions, still there is something about the way to Push through and stand bang in front of the idol! Stand and keep standing, till one of the guards pushes you out! I think the devotees swear by the equation:

More time for darshan=more blessings

Some are even more irritating. Outside the temple, there is a window from where you can see the idol, people stand there as well and block traffic! Talk about "bhakti". To top all this off, you have louts who wait for the first vehicle to stop near the entrance in a bid to provide them "peshal" (special) entry and prasad! I just hope the main temple area remains untouched and yeah, there is still calmness on the old man's face! :)

Its not Saburi - - Its Gadbadi hai Hadbadi
and... Its all About the money honey!!

People who make a difference

2010-12-02T02:17:00.003+05:30

Last two posts were quite bitingly sarcastic (even by my high standards!) Time to mellow down (well.. it would be back soon). Just thought of life which has been spent in the last one and a half years and people who have made an impact to your life. There have been many who have had, but when one is away from home, when one is constantly interacting with a set of people, there are a few who create a certain imprint on your life. Following are some here at "Jisne-sabki-maar-di". For all batchmates, a quiz to find out whom I am talking about..

Roomies: You spend most of your time with these guys and I have been lucky to get two wonderful people as roomies! One is a confused madrasi and the other one of the softest spoken Bhaiyas ever (who can get violent when waiters dont get his food on time). Madrasi shows you how to live a life with maximum enjoyment while Bhaiya has taught me that it does not take a lot to pass exams and sleep! It is an achievement if the three of us wake up for breakfast on the same day!

The Other Bhaiya and the Angry Young Man: Angry young man though gets angry is still a gem of a person. No hang ups whatsoever and loves his lineage with rural India. Though I am envious of his disproportionate size and appetite! The Other Bhaiya is an epitome of "Law of conservation of energy". Cannot walk! But his finance gyaan has helped in more than one way!

Anna-High: A comrade from the past who has shared drawing boards, engineering notes and now success at competitions. Always finds a way to get into my life, but more than happy to have him around. If he is not around, you miss his antics, his colored boxers and his argumentative skills (however bad they are!)

The Sheikh and The Deputy Director's Pet: The sheikh loves to live life his size.. which is emperor size! You cannot help but admire his zest and attitude towards life! Need to learn that there is a life to relax as well! The Pet is intensity+sleep personified! If there is no need, he would not see the morning sunlight ever! Knowledgeable and brilliant in oratory skills, you would love to have his straight thinking ability!

The Mallu-Delhite-Bong: The other partner in crime! Creative and lazy! Knows how to compartmentalize all departments in life. Can multi-task with elan as well! If you are around him, try to learn how to stand in the background and have all the fun!

Jhansi ka Raja: He breathes life into boredom. No wonder he has a ever-increasing FAN base! With him around, it is entertainment guaranteed. I think I would miss him the most. Hardworking and fun-loving - a TRUE gem!

Discount ben: She was the first from this insti whom I interacted with and how fortunate I am to do that! A complete crack-pot and a sweetheart! Does everything with undying passion and creativity! Loves the simple things in life and is always smiling. She is going to go places!

Khalistan liberation front: A sant singh and an excited kaur! Reasons for me being able to work outside academics. The Sant does everything with his heart and soul into it and still has room and energy to do other things! Ms. Excited helps me become a kid again with her constant talk. If she does not talk, then it is a worry. My "walk" companion! :)

The Crazy Bong: Creative Whizkid who needs to be controlled, else he goes into self-destructive mode! If "Mafia" has his head in one project, he has his hands in another! Multi-tasking comes easy to him even with small hands which are used more often than not to scratch his head!! Absolute genius, yearning for love!

Jaipur Lavangi: Thin as a stick, but with a mind and mouth which can beat Usain Bolt! Knows to speak her mind and is delightful company to be around with!

Sun-shine Smile: Warm, affectionate, clear-headed and with a smile to die for. Knows to speak her mind and is a joy to be around with. You love her for S's - Simplicity, sense.

Rajnikant of Western India: The Don, The Omnipresent. Known for his rants and antics and once I pass out, I am for sure going to miss him! The insti would not be the same without him, for he is THE one and THE only. SCMHRD needs him more than neone else!

It is not that there have not been others, but these are a special few who have made an impact on yours truly and will leave me with some ever-lasting memoirs!

Cheers!

A funny-not-so-funny situation

2010-11-24T01:36:00.003+05:30

A couple is having a conversation. Things have gone really bad for the two, and now the guy has had enough of her ramblings. He still likes her. Up until a couple of days, he was still is in the mode of ..

Agar tumhara pyaar jaana chahta ho..tho use jaane do..
Agar woh sachcha hai.. tho woh ek na ek din zaroor aayega

(This is precisely why I hate over-melo-dramatic Hindi movies. Eternal love.. My bloody left foot!!)

G: U know what, I like someone else.
B: Yeah, Who is (that F***** Moron) he? (By this time, the bubble has burst and he has moved on from the amrita rao mode to the care-a-damn sushmita sen mode)
G: He is a guy.
B: I know that ur sexual preference would atleast remain the same! Ok.. Do I (f******) know him?
G: Uhmmm.. U can say so!
B: (Exasperated).. WTF! Is he an imaginary kid?? Either I know him or I do not!
G: Don't you use such language. I have got bored from your long distance relationship. You have stopped poeming me, you have stopped recording songs for me, U have become fat, bald and ugly! And I am so so high maintenance. The romance is dead! I want some physical presence..errr... some more presence!
B: And that is why you get into another long-distance relation with a loser writer!!
G: How did you know?
B: Coz, he just rejected my FB request!!!

Just so hard to understand them man! Just so hard!!

Writers and writers

2010-11-11T03:14:00.005+05:30

Well, guess what!! The latest fad among MBA students is to write books!! Well, all happiness and glory to them! Some write about their love stories on campus, some others write about love stories on campus and some others write love stories on campus! In other words, it is about love stories on campus!

Tell you what I know a writer and his accomplice who can write a book on "A double-crossing" love story in the internet!!

Well, the writer would be too busy with his love story and plus I forget.. He is an MBA.

Tell u what.. I think I write pretty decently.

If at all I write a book, its going to be on that topic...

"Double crossing by an MBA to usurp another MBA's girl on the internet!!"

Preface - By the former MBA who does the double crossing
Acknowledgement - By the double crossing Girl.
Writer - You should have guessed that by now!! It is this silly nincompoop of an MBA who thought love was eternal...lol..foolish bugger!

Yeah.. you read that right.. you silly bugger!! Let urs truly know the feasibility of this plan!

More than anything else, I believe I need to hate someone to be in the writer's position. I think I have found someone, maybe a couple..

P.S. The characters in this note are a figment of this writer's crazy imagination which has gone crazier after studying for 7 papers in 3 days... and yeah.. the time is 3.22am

Cheers anyone??

Phases of Life

2010-10-27T00:24:00.003+05:30

Well..do not get me wrong.. I am JUST 23.. but you know what, bachpan seems to be long forgotten, school days seem like decades gone by and college ko bhi zamana ho chuka hai. Now as I enter probably the final phase of my education life, I just want to go back and rewind some times. What I would call - The Phases of Life.

The Bachpan:
Actually, there are two parts to this. First, when I was at Lonavala. Life was slow, I used to wait everyday at evening for my father to return back from work in his Bajaj scooter following which he would take me for a round in that very same scooter across the Lonavala market. I went to the market daily, yet there was some excitement every day to go there. I was in a girls' convent school, (oh yeah, heady days, surrounded by 6 girls while seated in class). But unfortunately too young to understand dynamics!! (Aakhir Kyun!!) Life was peaceful.

The second part is also pretty peaceful. This part is what I would call is the "Rise of the cricket allrounder". Watching Sachin bat was a joy (still is), Ravi Shastri had just started bellowing his loud trumpet, Star Sports was a luxury, and playing cricket was the best thing ever! Oh, all those inter-building matches! Also lead me to dream that I could be THE all-rounder that Team India so desperately needs!! School was fun. I did pretty well in studies (got the best of attention from all ;) ). Girls started making sense (Tamil and Gujju beauties), had my own fair share of crushes. You know what, I learnt to read and write my own mother tongue in "Aamchi Mumbai"! (yeah, heady days again, talk about learning Tamil in a Maharashtra State Board School)

The Growing Bachpan:
Academics started taking priority. Our cricket grounds were not big enough to accomodate us. Computer had become a phenomenon and Cricket97 was a rage! Staying fit was never a priority and gorging was. This was the period when I was fondly called - "Idli Kuppan" (for the laymen - round as an idli), something that women would cuddle and say - "Oh hes shooo cuuuutte". I thought girls talked to me because I was cool. Then I realized that they talked to me only for notes!! (Well, at that time I was achcha bachcha). Still, Girls started making more sense. School was more fun. We used to act as studs by pointing out mistakes made by teachers.

College life started. Girls started making more and more sense!! You felt the need to talk to them, but would fear that, Holy shit, if I goof up, she might never talk again! Now it was competition against the whole of Mumbai and then you realized that there were a whole lot of dons in academics who could chew you up anytime! Computers were used for a LOT of purposes and slowly started becoming a norm. Sachin still continued to be a rage and now shoulders ached if you bowled with a tennis ball after a long time. Fortunately, I still had hair at that time!! Did I mention girls.. oh yes :D

The Coming-of-Age Engineer and the Lows:
4 Years of "Aamchi Aai...Tumchi Aai". A great place to be. Wonderful friends, an ultra competitive peer group. Focus for girls shifted out of campus (for the pure lack of them). Pushing and prodding in trains had become a part of daily lifestyle. India was booming, our class was becoming politically aware and career oriented. By the time we realized it, engineering books were shoved to the corner and IMS-TIME-Launcher books had taken their place. Some took to Kaplan,Prometrics. Some like me took both, landed up nowhere (Now, my hair started receding). You were being measured by the marks you scored, the jobs you got (number and pay package) and the number of converts (foreign universities and IIMs). By the end of four years, when I had nothing in hand, except for a meagre job and a super supportive family, I was bleary eyed.

I started doubting myself. I felt like a dwarf in comparison to my peers, many of whom had outshined me. I started doubting people who told me "Is ladke mein hai kuch dum". But I kept silent. I worked and I worked hard. I lost a lot more hair (Girls stopped looking at me :P), but I became calmer, wiser.

Jisne-Sabki-Maar di Phase:
Probably one of the best phases. The last one and a half years have been brilliant. Many at time, I felt like I have run out of breath. I mean, what can you expect - Acads, more acads, beautiful girls, awesome pune weather, water which made u lose some more hair, turning single again, winning a few competitions, Sachin getting back to his best, India shining, Getting to learn what you felt should have been your graduation subject in first place and most importantly getting some like-minded people as friends!!

I am probably the first from my batch to start worrying about the end of this course. But naturally, I am worried. Again, time has come for comparisons, but I think I have mellowed down and have realized that these comparisons are going to stay with you for the rest of your lives. It is best when you ignore them (which is believe me, THE MOST DIFFICULT thing to do). But the more worrying aspect is, things wont be the same again. You would not find this peer group again, this fun, this frolic, this frenetic life all encompassed at one place.

Oh Lord - Let this period between now and April 1st week be the longest ever (excluding exams and the you-know-what season). I know, I have lost hair, but let that not deter people from the opposite sex to strike conversations with me, let Sachin continue the way he is doing and win India the world cup and let there be peace in life!

Cheers!

Adventure at 4 am..

2010-10-13T11:48:00.006+05:30

I just had to post this. Nothing can be more a dramatic start to the day as to what happened to 12 of us starting from 4.30 am in the morning. What was supposed to be a meeting with the "Big-UNI-Boss" of the marketing world turned out to be adventure that all of us would not forget in a hurry!

The adventure began at 4.30 am.. 18 of us were selected to meet the "Big-UNI-Boss" and we started out from Pune as if were Maharajas. 5 SUVs for a bunch of 17 people was quite a luxury. I had the great opportunity to share a vehicle with people who I closely work with, viz, Ms.Pink Flawer (PK), Mr. Fiery Turban (FT), Ms. Excited Kaur (EK). Others involved in this adventure filled trip were, Ms. Ma o9-11, Mr.Aila, Mr.Champi, Mr.Sutta, Ms.Lost-in-Mumbai, Mr.Beer, Ms. Jaipuria Stick and Mr.One-liner-wonder.

As mentioned earlier, the maharaja feeling set in and I was at my laziest best. Stretching out my legs on the last seat of the Tavera and making my pals jealous with the ease of which I slept. EK was trying her best to undo it all, but to no avail (hard luck!!)

Suddenly after an hour of travelling, the car came to a halt. As per the discussion earlier, we were supposed to stop at Ronald's. I woke up thinking that I would wake up to some hot breakfast, but as I spread my hands out thinking that I would get them on food, to my rude shock, there was none. As I managed to open my eyes, there was loud honking and I see huge lines of vehicles on the front and back of our vehicle. For once, it looked like the expressway was being used for parking vehicles. Though the way vehicles were parked were not the most ideal. One container was made to sleep on the road and towards the back, there were 6 vehicles looking to grab one special place on the road, one which was next to another sleeping truck oozing out acid. In the process of grabbing that special place, the vehicles had actually piled up one after the other! Wonder why that particular place was so special!! On a serious note, glad that no one suffered any mishaps, coz the situation looked very bad.

So there we were, standing in the middle of the road in the company of other frustrated truck drivers and chirping monkeys. Thankfully, Mr.Aila had driven back to the spot of action along with a tensed Mr.Sutta. They were happy to see us hale and hearty but probably would not have liked getting their "Maharaja"ism getting rolled over with 13 of us getting stuffed in one vehicle. Yours truly was constantly hoping that the driver drove in the 3rd gear, lest it would have probably damaged the prospects of continuing with the Venkatraman familia!!

Pushing, prodding, adjusting against all odds, all 13 landed up at Lonavala. And then we had amazing breakfast! Misal Pav in the heartland of Maharashtra at 7.30 am in the morning.. UNBEATABLE!! Mr.Sutta with all his tensions did not give his order and when the waiter came to check for his order, he said " NO..I want a PAPER MASALA DOSA!" Built like a stick and ordering like an elephant, that would be the perfect way to describe this situation. But somehow, Sutta power surged on.

Further excitement was in store. Early morning exercise is always recommended for good health. However, walking on a road where you can be run over by a vehicle any time, walking in formal clothes, with a laptop bag and under direct sunlight - hmm.. not a very pleasing thought! Well, that is what exactly happened. A 3 km walk down to the nearest bus station and then using all local linguistic skills to reduce the fare rate, our adventure never seemed to end.

I love sleep and I love more sleep, but the bus ride back down to our Hinjewadi probably defined the NIRVANA moment of my sleep. One and a half hours and I never flinched from my bus seat. Just showed how tired we were. And when we reached campus:
Time - 10 am

You know what.. the day had just begun!

Oh.. for that smile

2010-10-09T02:19:00.001+05:30

Blink..and ull miss her..

such is her demeanour..

but see her smile..

u feel life is so much more beautiful.

Sweet and warm..

she has a charm ..

making her the stand out one..

Have lost count for the moment

of the number of hearts shes won..

When happy..the twinkle in her eye

the beauty spot on her nose..

the smile on her face..

u wish to be with her..

for now the worlds a better place..

Anything and everything.. Oh for THAT Smile!

A day in the life of a Marketer

2010-09-09T23:48:00.003+05:30

Talking and interacting with people is an important aspect of any marketer's life. For the past two days, I have been doing this and it has been quite a ride. From straight-faced NOs, to telling me, "just take 5 minutes I have to rush" to themselves taking 20 mins, its been fun. Some of the examples I thought would be worth sharing.

Scene1: The feisty Punjaban.

This lady was an "aag ka gola". I have seen Punjabi girls in my institute, but this lady was something else. As soon as she understood that I was doing an MBA, her "gyaan ki tokri" opened up and she was throwing marketing strategies left, right and centre.

Nestle jaisi company. Badhiya quality hai, Maggie dekho, aankh bandh karke le loongi, Aisi branding honi chahiye

Propaganda karo! Agar tum propaganda nahi karoge, tho kaise koi kharidega. Propaganda karoge, tho pata chalega na ki kitni achchi brand hai!!

I believe only in Quality. Pehle quality fir price! Koi aira-gaira-nattu-khaira brand hoga, tho kam price mein bhi nahi kharidoongi!! Nestle ko dekho!! (Nestle can add a LOYAL customer to their base)

In the end, she said, " I am telling you all this because my husband also does marketing!". Gosh, her husband does not have to work. She would be giving him these STRATEGIES time and again!

Scene2: The silent ones

These are women who feel so important that someone has approached them, that they would not be able to open their mouth for speaking!

I ask: Is it important to you that .............................

Reply: uhm... yea...to some extent...u can say

I: So is it important?

R: uhm...not always..

I: so u neither agree nor disagree

R: Yea..u can say that

( by this time, I am exasperated!!)

Scene3: The BUSY ones.

The most annoying. I mean it is okay to not give replies to my questions, but you can tell that straight to me.

I: Ma'am Can I have.........

Respondent: (before i complete) I am sorry, my son is at home alone.

I: Ok... ( :( )

Next thing I see, she is hogging at Subway. She smiles uncomfortably at me when she sees me at the counter. I think, ok, she might have a bite and then go to her child. After an hour I again see her. This time near an apparel store!! Its been one and a half hours since she said her child is alone at home!! I think by home she meant the Mall itself! (Sheesh!)

The best thing about my upbringing is this: A Tamilian born and brought up in Mumbai through the state board system where I have to learn Hindi and Marathi. So, today, according to the consumer, I changed my language thrice. From Tamil to Marathi to Hindi, where I was using words like "apeksha", "maayne"," mahatvapoorna!" And people say Mumbaiites cannot speak hindi! (well, they are right to an extent)

Coming to the retailers. I thought builders were the roughest and toughest customers. But these guys are a special bunch. No wonder FMCG is considered to be the toughest of all sales!! Some excerpts: (well the entire dialogues were excerpts, I was not allowed to stand for more than 5 minutes in any shop!)

abhi time nahi hai..baad mein aao (this is a polite form)

Tum MBA kar raha hai.. par hamere ko kya karna hai!!

Seth ko maloom, seth so raha hai (he himself is the seth and I know it)

Girahak ko sab maloom rehta hai... (ask about margin) woh tho kabhi kam kabhi zyada ( arre par KITNA mere BAAP!! )

But kehne ki baat yeh hai that I loved it. It was tiring, but I think I will enjoy this

Cheers!

And He just went Round and Round and Round and....

2010-09-08T00:46:00.004+05:30

Well, it was supposed to be a BIG day! I was one of the supposedly lucky few who were selected to attend the NSUI meeting to be chaired by none other than Mr.Charismatic-charming-ehem faffer? - Rahul Gandhi! There were people who were dying to go for the meet, chain mails sent, people getting angry. Amidst all this, I thought, wow, since I have got the opportunity, lets see what happens. Moreover, the media had painted his doings during the election campaign of the Congress so well (he might have done some good work) that even I came to believe that, yes, this is the guy who can be the hope for India as it enters what is supposed to be its acceleration period towards becoming a super power. As much I have warned myself in the past, I still end up doing the same thing. EXPECT! It is THE most dangerous thing to have. When those expectations come crashing down, you feel bitter and to a certain degree I was today.

The worst beginning for any program is for it to get delayed by 3 hours. And to top it off, you have crooners who believe they are the next KKs, Kailash Khers, Kishoredas, crowing off at the top of their voice as the organizers gave them the freedom to express themselves through songs. I mean, in a way, you feel, its ok, its a matter of a few people trying to fulfill their ambition of singing on stage. But when you drag it on mercilessly at the expense of hapless people, it is just NOT ON! Donkeys' braying would have been much more pleasant to the ears than what happened today. People nowadays have really lost their sensitivity towards others. You have the audience shouting at the top of the voice to stop the hungama, but the crooners felt the audience needed more! Oh How I wish there would have been a VJTI Crowd right there!

Anyways, coming to the main topic, Mr. Scion had come here to have a look at the Leaders of the future. He talked about politics being the bridge that would help connect India with the Bharat. I think this statement is pretty valid. Ultimately, it is the government and the people whom we elect at various levels decide policy for us. He also talked about education being a very important tool for taking India to the levels that various pundits have predicted. He also talked about how important it is to have women managers to better this country. After this I fail to remember anything good he said, because after this everything he said was loaded with crap or in MBA jargon what we call as "Faff"

Statement 1: Our political system is a closed one, hence entry into it for a common WILLING Indian is difficult - Point taken. Retirement age is not an issue, it is about how many people come in.

But - What have you done to change this?? You know your average age of the cabinet is 57, which is more than double the average age of India. Companies do well because their chiefs retire after a particular age. Let them be as good as a Narayana Murthy, a Ratan Tata, they retire. But here you have people who have retired coming back to serve some other post!! Bhai mere, if you continue to have Arjun Singhesque people in your cabinet who still want to work, how can others get an entry. This is FAFF. Going round and round about the same point!

Statement2: On the aspect of our policemen not being well-equipped enough to take on the Kasabs of the world. He first got lost in comparison with a Brit Bobby who do not carry weapons and then took the comparison to an American soldier warring in Iraq, where $1mn is spent on him and that India cannot afford to spend that much on our policemen.

But, yeah we can spend Rs.30,c000 crore on the Commonwealth games. And spend another few hundred crores for beautification projects around the games! What is important to us? Security or Hosting games in which among all other countries, only 3 majorly developed nations participate - Australia, Great Britain and Canada and even they do not send their top athletes! What kind of logic does this make??

Statement3: On the lack of quality educational institutes in the country. A point was raised that there is only AIIMS for medical students and in that only 13 seats are for the general category. Rahul Gandhi categorically hooked it back to the questioner - No, you should ask, why are not there more institutes like AIIMS and not just why only 13 seats.

Sir, for your kind information, newer IITs and IIMs have been established, only to see their seats going vacant because of reservation. ( I know this is a touchy issue..but) Even if those seats are going vacant, they are not being offered to the next best general category student, but offered to someone from the reserved category who has not even come close to the lowered cut-offs. Then why are we talking about increasing number of institutes like AIIMS! Get your basics right

I do not remember some of his other comments, because most of the questions got the same kind of responses. They were turned back into rhetorical questions! And more surprisingly, people were clapping for all his comments! I do not want to brag, but I saw my other batchmates silent as the others clapped and I thought I was not alone in thinking like this about the SCION!

So, the next time anyone says MBAs are the only ones who FAFF around, thats utter bull****. We have found someone and he is MILES ahead in competition.

Long Live India!

Life..

2010-08-31T23:13:00.001+05:30

You know it hurts

you give your whole and soul to someone..

but when that someone treats you like an ordinary one..

It hurts

when they mean the world to u..

but ur blood,sweat and tears to them looks too few..

It hurts

When they want us to do things their way

but when it comes to self..it goes no way..

Life has passed, things have gone.

Best message is brother..

love thyself and move on!

Rewinding Time!

2010-08-17T01:05:00.002+05:30

Well, the post comes after a long break. Ideally I do not like myself breaking away from the habit of blogging, but just that I can get lazy big time on a few occasions. Today, I really found a reason to put up a new post. It is for something that has helped every Mumbaikar at some point in his life in some way or the other. The Mumbai Local Train network.

As I travelled in a local train from Dadar to Vikhroli, it was a time for nostalgia. Suddenly, some beautiful moments of the past came rushing out. It was in these very trains that I have travelled for most of my college life and work life.

Although I had earlier been in local trains, my first experience came on the first day of junior college. There I was decked up all and sundry for the first day lecture of the day at 10.30, standing on the railway platform waiting for a train from Mulund station. When I first land up on the platform, there is hardly a person near me. But things are so dynamic that within the next 2 minutes, I have a whole bunch of people and some more around me, positioning themselves accurately, so that they do not have to move when the train arrives and the first step that they take is right inside the compartment. Thats an example of "Practice makes a man perfect"

Coming back to my situation, my Mother had told me that there would be crowd, but I had not anticipated what would happen to me during the next half hour. As the train slowed down, I saw empty compartments, I was wondering, my mother was probably narrating some tale of her time. Then came a few realizations:

a) You do not need to board the train. The Crowd behind you will do all the work.

b) The empty compartments are an illusion. They get filled within a blink of an eye

c) You should never new/freshly ironed clothes for trips like this. Because, when you come out, your shirt might actually get torn.

d) You seem to forget time and again that you have applied a deodorant in the morning. This is because of PROXIMITY to the people around.

e) A Positive realization: If you forget your handkerchief, do not worry. (bajuwale ka shirt hai na!!)

f) You stand in front of people who want to get down at the coming station and you dont move, you are bound to hear some niceties in the form of "ey saale...B^%%$$$, Ma^%$$##$, dikhta nahi kya"/ "Utarnaaaa....ch%%^%$&!"

But, today when I look back at 6 years of travel in the local network, there is a smile on my face. It was on these very trains, we discussed our professors, their antics. We listened to friends' demands of going back a station just to catch an empty train! During exams, these were our last minute reading halls! The handles were our pull-up chains! Standing at the door and taking in the wind (with its various smells) was considered to be cool! and boy, how about during work hours: Client Calls," Order ka kya hua?". Me:"Sir, kya bol rahe hai? Kuch sunaai nahi de raha hai?" (well, these were just one-off cases, so any potential recruiters, I am totally dedicated to my job!)

There were some dark moments as well. The same local network got hung up so badly on one 26th July, that lakhs of commuters got trapped. I was one of the fortunate ones who could catch the second-last local on the western line to Dadar which paved the way for me to a relative's place. The sight of platform no.1 on that day on the central line was a sight to behold. Not even an any could have gotten through! The terror attacks which ripped apart through a few local trains and the attack at the CST were again dampeners. But, as much I hate to say this, the spirit prevailed through!

Nothing more exemplifies the importance of Local trains in Mumbai than the scene from the movie: "A Wednesday" where Naseeruddin Shah greets an unknown person daily. Yes, it is something that brings Mumbai together and it is something that brings Mumbai closer.

I love it! :)

9.30 PM..

2010-05-25T21:29:00.001+05:30

STILL IN OFFICE...life cant get more frustrating than this!

MANNE...TANNE..VIKKAL

2010-05-10T20:04:00.002+05:30

Finally, I got a taste of whats called the most important thing in FMCG marketing. RURAL INDIA!

Finally, I got a chance to move out of my cubicle at Kaushambi and move into the hinterlands of the TAU..and a wonderful experience it was!

The day started off at Ambala from where we had to move to Naraingarh. A ride in the bus for an hour was wonderful. It started off with my joy of watching villages in real time being disrupted with an ugly row between the conductor and a passenger (actually it got so violent that the passenger was kicked out! Welcome to the land of the TAU!). Trees on either side of the road, sunflower fields all around, I felt like I was transported to the DDLJ filmset!

At Naraingarh, I went to meet a stockist of Dabur. Boy the first few minutes I had to just slow down to understand what the guy was saying. These guys have an amazing accent, where they clip off the first couple of letter from a word. I do not remember a lot, but one major word thats stuck to my mind is "VIKKAL". Initially, I had a tough time to decipher what this actually meant!

Hamare paas Vikkal nahi hai na..ab soch riya hoon..ki e vikkal le le

Well, that actually stood for a vehicle! The rest of the conversation involved a lot of "Manne" (ME) "Tanne" (you), "SAABR" (Patience)

The rest of the journey was all on the field: long walks along dusty roads, riding pillion on the bike with dust blowing in your face, riding on a bus where the bus driver goes "TANANANA" even when the road in front of him is clear! More to follow was having some fabulous Kadi-chawal on the streets of Ambala, witnessing almost a lathi-charge at the market area, listening to stories of gunda-giri in some of the villages!

A wonderful day! Probably my moment of NIRVANA.. I just think I found a new passion :)

Cheers!

Cant SET MAX find good presenters??

2010-04-10T23:44:00.002+05:30

I know every April-May, I put in a post which features on commentating, but I just could not help myself after watching a bit of "exxxtrraa innings" tonight!

This Ayushmanji from MTV, he needs to stick to MTV. He probably needs to understand the difference between acting as a cool VJ and presenting cricket on TV. The way he interviewed Rahul Dravid, had I been at Dravid's place I would have slapped him. Asking him nonsensical questions and then adding to it, ambushing him away from the TV screen when the presentation was about to begin, it was atrocious presenting to say the least!! Add to that asking "Sunny Bhai" the same questions. Can someone tell him that here is a person who has scored more than 10,000 runs in test match cricket, he deserves respect

Actually, what took the cake from all that presenting was the questions he asked to Siddhartha Mallya and Deepika Padukone. Well, first of all I did not know that Siddhartha has an accent! :D The best thing was the expression on Deepika's face as he asked her,

" What do you think of the connection between films and cricket, with DILSHAN TILLEKARATNE is writing Scripts? Will you act in a script written by a cricketer?"

Deepika must have been thinking - "Oh, if only you can stop asking questions"!!!

I mean, how does it matter??

The next beauty,

"Does your family discuss cricket Deepika"?

WHAT!!

With so much money being earned over the telecast of the IPL, cant MAX get in some decent presenters. And to think of it, they booted out Mandira Bedi for this BUFFOON!!

@ MAX crew: Whats wrong with you guys? Get this buffoon out and get Mandira in, I am sure the ratings will just get better. Atleast Mandira is eye candy as compared to the idiotic smile of the BUFFOON!

MAYAJAAL...

2010-03-16T02:45:00.003+05:30

Pathetic...Shameful..

The GARLAND OF MONEY..

If Only I had the license to kill.....

MBA reaches the LOO!

2010-03-13T19:47:00.004+05:30

Okay..this was a long time coming! Exams and preparation for L'Oreal have just put me on the back burner as far as blogging is concerned. I do not know whether it is good or bad, but I kind of feel immune to exams now. I will probably tell them, "Yeah..Bring them on". Not because I am in a state of great preparation, but just that I do not bother anymore about exams! Probably this should have been learnt a couple of years earlier. Anyway, Coming to my topic.

This was an interesting conversation we had with an auto-driver. Around 10 days back, I had to goto Hadapsar for some work. (Hadapsar is an hour or so away from Hinjewadi, the place I am put up.. Pune is pretty confusing man! ). While coming back, I and my friends decided that we take a rick to the station and then catching a bus from the station. The auto-driver is somewhere from the north of the country (UP-Bihar, my guesses). While we travel in the rickshaw, we are speaking about some project and this guy manages to understand that we are doing MBA.

AutoDriver (AD): MBA kar rahe ho ka?

I: Haan, kyun kya baat hai?

AD: Kuch nahi, ek sawaal hai, shayad aap uttar de paaye.

Friend1(F1): Haan...poochiye

AD: Agar koi bathroom se baahar nikle tho yeh kaise pata chalega ki usne haath dhoya hai ya nahi?

(First of all, we do not get his lingo, two reasons - auto engine and his speaking with his back facing us plus his accent!)

I: KYA?

AD: (Repeats Question)

(My friends have started analyzing the question. First step in analyzing includes what is he trying to say)

AD: MBA ke interview mein poocha tha ki agar koi bathroom se baahar nikle, tho kaise pata karen ki usne haath dhoya hai ya nahi.

I: Kisko yeh baat pata karni hai??

Friend 2(F2): Arre, use pata karna hai.

I: Arre interviewer ko pata karna hoga yaar!

F1: Interviewer ko yeh kyun pata karna hai ki usne haath dhoya hai ya nahi

(See.. this is called PHAFF! we do not get to the point)

Finally after some deliberation:

F1: Arre, main samjha. Interviewer ne poocha hai, ki, agar koi bathroom jaake aaya tho use pata karna hai ki usne haath dhoya hai ya nahi.

AD: Haan!!! ab jaake samjhe!

(Baap re!)

F2: Haath milaake dekhiye and then............ ( U know what comes next) (Actually this was garish to the core, I mean what if he has not washed his hands!!)

F1: Arre, simple hai.. Uske haath mein kuch khaane ke liye de dijiye. Agar usne mana kiya, tho usne haath nahi dhoye! (Genius!!!)

AD: KYA??

I: (rephrase his answer)

AD: Haan, ho sakta hai. Par uski haath na ho haath dhone ki tho??? ( Intelligent question!!) Jisko nahi dhona hai..woh nahi dhoyega! Tho kaise pata karen

F2: Bathroom ke andar napkin mat rakho, aur use baahar napkin offer karo, agar usne accept kiya tho samaj gaya (Outrightly rejected by myself and F1)

F1: Arre, use khaane ki cheez de do........blah..blah ( I think he didn't hear the driver)

I: (Joining) Arre, woh yeh keh raha hai ki agar uske haath mein samaj lijiye apne "Prasad" de diya.

BINGO!!

His eyes lit up like never before.

AD: Haan! yeh theek kaha aapne. Aapka jawab theek lag raha hai. Aastha ki cheez agar haath mein rakhe tho woh mana kar dega. Hamare bhai ko yehi jawab dena chahiye tha!

WE: KYA??

AD: Haan, uske interview mein poocha gaya tha.

Phew, never in my wildest dreams would I have realized that something like this would happen. I mean in a way, it is a brilliant idea to put the candidate off guard since he would be prepared to answer a certain of questions. But this was ultimate creativity. And the best thing was... he was satisfied by our answer!!!

Any takers for further discussion?? :)

Cheers!

The Silent Bulwark...

2010-02-17T00:48:00.004+05:30

The Very Very Special Player showed his class all over again today at the Eden Gardens. India did badly miss him in the first test match at Nagpur where they were "Steyn"ed, but what a comeback it has been so far!! Mind you, even today things could have gone wrong and India could have well been just about 100 runs ahead, but Laxman did it again and in some style! The shy Hyderabadi has been a pillar in a star studded Indian batting line-up in the millennium, but he seldom has got his due. It would be impossible to forget the contribution of this man to Indian cricket. In many ways, he has been the renaissance man. The 2001 series against Australia was definitely a turning point in Indian cricket history.

Many a times, I have felt that VVS has been wronged. Right from the start of his career, he has been pushed. Coming from the Gundappa Vishwanath and Mohammad Azharuddin school of batsmanship, VVS scored heavily before he made his cut at the international level against South Africa when he made a polished 50. Today, life has come a full circle. A hundred against the same opponent at his very favorite ground, it couldn't have been sweeter!

When the Indian middle order was packed to capacity, VVS was made to open the innings. Reluctant he was, but to stay in the Indian team, he had to make that sacrifice. But doing a thing with reluctance seldom makes u successful, (unless you are a maverick like Sehwag!). His career went downhill. Although he came up with an absolute gem of 167 at Sydney in 2000 against a quality attack, it was just a flash in the pan. Laxman was never comfortable as an opener and it showed. But 2001 changed that and the rest as they say has been history. Call it fate, but Rahul Dravid's loss of form was Laxman's gain and for some time he had made the no.3 spot his very own. No one can ever forget that innings of 281 and no one will probably get tired of watching that innings! Following on with the backs to the wall, trailing 1-0 in the series and then to come up with such an astonishing knock! Hitting a beleaguered Shane Warne out from the rough and against the turn with those supple wrists!! Those were some wow moments! Also, finally someone had managed to upstage SMG's then highest score of 236. People found a new unassuming and a simple hero, someone who did his job silently but very very effectively!

However, things were not as rosy after that series. He would show flashes of brilliance but would never carry on, which got Rahul Dravid back to the no.3 position. People said that he has become overconfident, but not one to be deterred, he went back to domestic cricket and scored heavily. More importantly, he translated those performances in first class cricket to international cricket. Laxman took out all his ire on his favorite opponents, Australia, time & again. A few more gems followed. The 148 at Adelaide and 178 at Sydney, absolute masterpieces.

I for one have believed that Laxman has faced the wrong end of the stick on more than once. During the disastrous New Zealand tour of 2002, every batsman had failed, but VVS was singled out and dropped from the 2003 world cup squad. The world would have come crashing for him, and till this day he regrets not being a part of a world cup team. He came back in the One-day team on the back of some strong performances in Australia, but then again due to the selectors' "youth policy", he was again overlooked. During all this, he always maintained a stoic silence and was very dignified in his behavior, but Harare 2004 changed all that, when he spoke on TV on how someone had asked him to stay out of the team for a test match!

But now with all negativity behind, VVS is rightfully earning his place in Indian cricket history as one if its finest willow wielders. He has been a consistent run machine and India wants him to continue. He bats in an unenviable position of no.5 where half the times, the top order scores heavily and you need to consolidate or when the top order fails and you have to bat with the tail. But Laxman has been upto the job and donned the role manfully. He accepts all challenges with a smile and his greatest strength is his humility. A never ending appetite for big runs, one hopes that he carries on for some time to come!

He may not have the brutality of a Sehwag, the solidity of a Dravid, the charisma of a Ganguly or the completeness of a Tendulkar, but he his certainly very very Special. He is the Silent BULWARK of Indian Cricket!

Cheers!

Where is India??

2010-02-03T19:42:00.004+05:30

It was on the 23rd of December, as a part of the college street play team, we had been to the beautiful Lavale Campus in Pune for SIMC's street play competition. We saw a play about India. The corruption, the politics, the lack of any apathy, the cribbing, the bickering. All of us thought that, yeah, so what about it? It is so cliched!! And you actually know what? After seeing the last few days' events unfolding in the media, this play came to my mind and I thought, yeah, actually we still haven't learnt anything from our (in)glorious past! Actually the only word that comes to mind after seeing all this is the one I learnt from Ishqiya - "Ch%$$^msulphate! "

I have never been a fan of the RAJ and the Uddhavs, (jesus, help me if they see this blog and send hooligans to beat me up). I mean, apart from making the usual big claims of "Aamchi Mumbai" for the Marathi Manoos, what have they done? Have they at anytime talked about developmental politics? Have they at anytime talked about growth of Maharashtra?? If they are so passionate for the cause of the Marathi speaking people, let them show it the correct way. Why are they taking it out on poor taxi drivers? Pray, what they have done? And in first place, aren't they Indians?

The entire issue started off with the Reliance baron, Mr. Mukesh Ambani stating:

We are all Indians first. Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi belong to all Indians. That is the reality

I do not think that is wrong at all. People from other linguistic backgrounds live in different cities of India. If local parties from those places block entry of people who do not speak the local dialect, what would happen then? What would then happen to the "great Indian diversity". I actually want to ask one question to the Senas: Had Mukesh Ambani not set up anything in Mumbai, had there been Maharashtrians working for him??

So, to again highlight the plight of the Marathi Manoos and trying to play vote bank politics, the sena quoted:

Marathi people have as much right over Mumbai as Mukesh Ambani has over Reliance companies. Mumbai is Maharashtra’s capital and will remain its capital. Don’t meddle in the path of Mumbai and Marathi manoos

I mean, what kind of sense does that make? And then, we had Rahul Gandhi. I had expected at least the Gandhi scion to be a little sensible. And he comes up with this gem:

In Maharashtra, MNS leader Raj Thackeray keeps saying ‘throw out people of Bihar and U.P’. But, who killed the terrorists who had attacked Mumbai? They were the NSG guys from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and from the rest of the country. At that time they did not say throw away Biharis

Weren't they Indians in first place? Why drag the martyrs and the heroes of a National disaster into petty politics! Not to be undone, even the Sena dragged the slain heroes of Mumbai police like Ashok Kamte, Hemant Karkare into this! There is a Bihari, there is a Marathi, there is a Malayali and there are others. Its cliched, but where is India??

I would like to quote the song that the team at Lavale sang in their street play, it still plays in my mind and now all the more...

Socho Socho Socho...........Socho Sochi Socho
Kab tak chalega desh mein aisa...sangi saathi Socho..
Socho Socho Socho...........Socho Sochi Socho

Yeah, we do need to think...

A frustrating end ....to an Exciting week..

2010-01-21T23:16:00.005+05:30

Its been an eventful week alright..if I start from last thursday, i.e. the 14th of January 2010, the first thing to spice up the week was the start of a barrage of Financial management tests!! The first one a 45 minute on Thursday. Meanwhile we needed to start working on L'oreal's Brandstorm event. Plus I received a call from IIM-Indore to be a part of their flagship event - Cult Icon. Probably this was the most challenging week of my entire MBA schedule!

So where was I...yeah..thursday morning - the first of the FA bouncers! After the test, we also had a discussion on the paper wit faculty, boy did he give some wonderful insights. I dont mind getting tested like this as long as there is learning. After that I finally decided that I would be going to IIM-I just to experience some different campus life. But before that I had to counter another FCQ! Nights before FCQs are awesome, people discuss endlessly as to which paper would be next. Lo and behold, it was FA again and this time a 2 hr paper. Fortunately for some of us, we did prepare and it went off well. After the test, I left for Mumbai and by night in Indore. How quickly things change!!

Experience at IIM-I was good. Met up with a few interesting people - an all in-one drummer, an all in one entertainer - many takeaways. Lots of talent out there in India, if only they are not engineers or MBAs :). Finally I managed a prize for myself in vocals - it was a burden - people used to praise me, but prizes eluded for me so long, so it was good :). Cult Icon was not meant for me and I returned home with a certificate and much richer in experience. IIM-I also made me meet up with my old classmate at VJTI and it was interesting to know that their lifestyle is not much different from ours - only thing being they can wear casuals in class,they have only 4 hrs of classes everyday, permanent rooms...err..I guess there are quite a few differences, but the one thing that I realized that there was no need to get overawed by the IIM-ites. Even those guys are like us :) (pardon to any of the IIM-guys if they feel Ive hurt their pride )

Monday - back I was in Pune. A whirlwind trip to Indore made me sleep for only 3-4 hrs for each of the past two days since I was preparing for the first of my outside class management presentations - L'oreal Brandstorm. Credit to Nikhil and Adish for supporting me when I went to Indore and working their asses off. Well, even I did my bit from Indore. Can't thank technology enough, can we!! :) Fortunately for us, we made it to the top three from the institute albeit in the midst of some drama :). Next day we needed to show our ppt to our assigned student mentor - Ms. Priti Rajput. We cannot thank her enough for her analysis of our ppt. She was brutally honest about "how good" our presentation was! And for the first time we worked for 12 hours on one presentation. And just then realized that how casual we have been while dealing with presentations for classes :) ..well..things are better learnt than never :). Oh, and how can I forget, we had another FM test on monday evening. I actually wonder why, because barring a few, no one could answer the paper :)...well..but my mind was solely on Brandstorm.

Wednesday was a day of anticipation for good things. But little did we know that there are murkier things to happen during the day. When we reached Mumbai, we heard news about the terrible things to happening to students at the SIC campus. Possible cases of food-poisoning were reported, but yet no one could confirm what happened exactly. People were reportedly showing symptoms of nausea, vomiting, motions, high fever. Even one of our fellow competitors at Mumbai was in a bad shape. But hats off to the girl for showing guts :). The "just" girl was fabulous and she truly deserves an applause. Bravo Girl! :)

But coming to the serious issue, it was not a good sight to watch my fellow classmates in hospital beds. Some of them were looking totally worn out, fatigued. I would really like to thank god because I could have very well been in that situation. It pained to see my mates in pain and I just hope and pray that they recover well. But what was most irritating was the response of our MAIN Doctor who said that students might have eaten food outside!! How insensitive can that be! Have the faculty and one of the insti directors also eaten from outside??? Why play the blame game when there is no one else but self to blame! Why is it so difficult to accept the fact they we have made a mistake and work towards rectifying it! Why is it so difficult to provide the students who have not been affected a briefing, an assurance as to what should be done so that there is no relapse of this! Why is it so difficult to put students up with decent facilities, so that they can atleast rest peacefully when their bodies are in trouble!! It is totally frustrating. Hearing that statement from the MAIN Doc, one felt a cringe! Are we stupid buggers to hear all this crap?? Doc, you are accountable for this and the students demand an explanation. More, our parents demand an explanation as to what has been done so far on this matter.

To all my fellow mates - I hope you get the strength and emerge out of this a lot stronger. Life is full of troughs and peaks and this is just one of the many troughs that we may have to face. Let us show the world as to what stuff we are made of. Rather we show a FEW PEOPLE as to what stuff we are made of. (Sorry if I got too philosophical :D)

Cheers!

Amar Singh in a Malayalam Movie!

2010-01-04T20:00:00.002+05:30

Wow.. this is mind blowing news!!

Well, actually the first shock was that he has a blog of his own!! Here

Its in english!! Well, Amar Singhji I thought after your manifesto, you would probably type in Hindi. Oh well, did I mention type??? Where did the computers come from??

Arre yaar, ek point pe sthir raho... yeh cheating hai :D

Oh well, coming to the topic.. ende mallu brothers and sisters are going to see a dynamic new star in their filmdom! Check this

Messrs, Mohanlal, Mammotty, gone are ye years!! Take a bow Chetta Amar Singh mole!!

The blogger's back :)

2010-01-02T00:46:00.004+05:30

Hey folks!! Well...its been a long time since I did this..but am not sure..feeling pretty excited about it. Let's see how long does the excitement last :D .. I have decided that starting from this year, I would make blogging a regular habit, so a sort of a resolution. A few other things that I want to do starting from this year...shrug off laziness to start off with :) ..laziness from all fronts.. and read more.. for an MBA grad...I dont think ive been doing the required amount of reading, and no better time to start off other than now ;)

So, its been almost 6 months since I last blogged. Back then it was the frenzy of the IPL and the excitement of getting back to school. I was ready to kiss goodbye to the world of elevators and get ready to get into a college where the director advises "ruthless competition". Competition there is, haven't seen the ruthless side of it yet.

2009 was a pretty good year of sorts. Started off with my first contract in professional life. Although it turned out be pretty messy, (ouch I still remember the guy bashing me up on the phone and I getting some bad dreams) it was good. Real world is tough and it was a good lesson to start off with. I realized the importance of being patient and being a good listener does help :). February-March was spent in a few more orders and the whole dilly-dally of whether I should join MBA or work for another year. After working out all the pros and the cons, I finally decided to move into what one of friends describe this as "A Martinet of a B-school' :)

There were a lot of people saying that B-school life is tough, but hey its fun. As long as you enjoy it, life does get a lill easier. One of my profs said this in class,

"U should say this in b-school. Kya maari, par jo maari usme mazaa zaroor aaya"

First sem as promised by our beloved director was madness. There were quizzes and there were some more :). Couple that with compulsory attendance during non-academic sessions (ahem...that was some time back..wasnt it!! ) and sprinkle a few "vedanta" sessions with a twinkling of the "oh-so wunderbahr" mess(y) food, what you had was a group of grumbling students. But we learnt...learnt it well. And as i mentioned, it wasnt bad at all.... first sem exams bought me back to engineering days. Only difference was this was engineering exam^10. We guys also learnt a new word (well my vocab was enhanced courtesy my friends from the north) "phaaff". Anything and everything that is not related to the topic you have been assigned to write/speak about, yet you include them. Thats "Phaaff". My favourite word learnt from the northies was "vella" - Now that I use it pretty frequently, one of my southie school friend asked me today "what!!!" :D. Our batch also got a few really good names - "the goti batch!!".. the other one.. (the more EAR-catching) - "c ******* ka baarat" :D. There is a lot more to tell, I guess each and everything would gradually come out when I hit the blogging zone with a little more vengeance :)

Lots to tell, lots to do, lots of things to catch up on, lots of dreams to fulfill and oh so little time. My motto continues to be "try to enjoy everything that you do". 3 Idiots does give a good tagline - "All izz well" - I think I'd use it when I feel I am cribbing too much ;)

Hopefully, the next post wont be after another hiatus :) .. I would try to be here and as frequently as possible. Sowmya Nagarajan - you are my inspiration (hehehehe.....)

Wish you all a very and a prosperous 2010! :)

Cheers!!

My Fav Commentators

2009-05-04T16:11:00.006+05:30

Well, the IPL fever is back again and so is setmax's cast and crew. A few refreshing changes though from the past. Out goes Shiv Pandit ( he is better sticking to jhalak dikhla jaa...but words around that he has signed a movie!!! mere mein kya buraai hai!! ) and in comes Meiyang Chang ( I didn't know Indian Idol organizers were looking for a cricket host as well, why wasnt I given a chance...hmph!) Mandira's back!! ( though shes better off in her noodle straps..hehehe)

But the so-called experts are still at it again. Here are my favourites..

1) Ranjit Fernando - aka - "the hoarse cryer"
Man, this guy is one piece. Take him to an IPL match, and he still roots for Sri Lankan players (can someone make him understand that the players are playing for the franchisees). His pronounciation skills.. SUBHAAN ALLAH! Mahela Jayawardene will be called "maayla jaya-waar-dna". (chyaala gaali deta hai!! )
Kumar Sangakkara - "kumaara sanga-kaaara"
He certainly "neeeds" some help in that respect. Calling his own "Sree-langan" players names! RF, you are in for some trouble mait!!
Only a few things that I need to ask him, "when did Mohd. Asif start bowling really quick!!"and "when will he start talking some cricketing sense".... hmm..tough questions both of them
He has a few other fans as well... I managed to catch up on one of them, boy he loves Ranjit!

http://ranjitfernandosucks.blogspot.com/

2) Raavi Shastri - aka -Kishan Kanhaiya (fake ipl player rulez!..lol)

He is my personal favourite and is an all time favourite of Wanderer :D
Folks! Are u ready!! Dont go by his size... He is a tall man you see and he can hit the (deck) mic hard! He is a big, strapping lad. Dont go by his deceptive looks, he can rattle(quite literally with the same dialogues) you with some serious ....... (boredom)

When there is an LBW shout, you know what would be sounding on the TV..no no..it is not the ball CRASHING into the pads, it would be " Rapped on the pads.... up goes the finger!!!" and when there is an edge, you won't hear the "tiniest of edges", you will hear a big "EDGED!!.. TAKEN!" and then at the post-match presentation, after you have seen the match you will get to know whether the side has been COMPREHENSIVELY beaten or whether the match was a "HUMDINGER" which went "right upto the wire" (Gawd!!)

But, dont you dare say anything against these commenting greats. They are made for this job and we are made (sigh) to hear them.

Garv se kaho हम समाजवादी हैं !

2009-04-12T22:34:00.003+05:30

Sunday mornings are usually pretty lazy for me ( and for a lot of people), so while having the "chaai ki chuski" and reading TOI, the headline was quite staggering। Talking about the election manifesto of our very own pyaare bhaiya, "Mulayam Singh Yadav". Wow, this guy is THE LEADER that India wants and Samajwadi party is truly SAMAJWADI, ओह, क्षमा करें, यह पार्टी सचमुच समाजवादी हैं |

They say they would need to cut down on the English medium schools, absolutely right! We need to go to the other countries and teach them hindi & our regional languages. After all, aren't we supposed to be the second most powerful developing nation in the world? (now, that is truly a wonderful epithet for our country). The likes of Obama & Gordon Brown need to be taught Hindi, and it shouldn't be difficult. If our film channels (Max,Star Gold etc.) can make the likes of Nicholas Cage, Tom Cruise speak in Hindi, then why not the leaders. But then SP would face opposition from the likes of AAPLA RAJ as to why not "aapli rashtrabaasha". I guess that would be solved with the after-poll alliances.

Next, Computers should be banned, since they cut down jobs. Actually, yes they should be banned. If they are, then I won't be able to convey these thoughts to people (if at all they read). Apart from that, we would be isolated from the world, भाड़ में जाए दुनिया, मुझे उससे क्या? मुलायम जी, मैं यह आशा रखता हूँ, की मेरी हिंदी ठीक है | And moreover, people, all that word processing, calculation would be done by people! There would be jobs! Imagine jobs in times of recession! Congress, BJP take a cue! This is the way forward for economic growth!

And how wonderful it would be. We would be back to the "मैंने प्यार किया" times! Kabootars & postmen would be back in the fray! The old typewrites would be back! Imagine all R&D people going back to the actual experiments, no more virtual simulation! We would be back by another 20 years!...err...did i mention back?

Hmmm... so the writing is pretty clear on the wall. You know, you vote them & where will our country go, forward or back. I hope we don't get back to milking cows & buffaloes as our main source of income. Please vote carefully.

P.S. No offence meant to our languages. I love them, I still communicate in them. I guess, these people are making a fun of it. Grow up people. Lets talk about development & not going back to giving rice at Rs. 2 per kg or speaking in Hindi..

2009..the year of the elephant??

2009-04-07T23:17:00.002+05:30

Come April 2009, the largest democracy in the world will vote for a new government. New people, (the same old hats with refined promises), new ideas (ideas in a new different way....still a far cry from being implemented). From all the various analysis, it is pretty clear that there will not be a single majority party coming to power. Regional powers would bargain and would bargain hard with either the Congress or the BJP whoever has the chance to form the majority.

There also has been this talk about the third front. RLD,RJD,SP,BSP,CPI(M),CPI,AIADMK...(oh well..I am getting confused in this flood of alphabets).. in short the A-Z of Indian Politics except for the big C and B ruling roost for smaller regions & states. This has compelled even the wise Prannoy Roy ( OH WHY!) to conduct a "contest" on NDTV as to who will become the next PM of the country. This election thing is hotting up as the next big thriller in Bollywood except that after seeing the bollywood movie, it does not affect our everyday lives, but this will decide our fates for the next five years.

All this talk of the third front is actually giving me the creeps. What with the likes of Mulayam,Jaya Amma, Lalu, Sharad Pawar trying to pitch in as the PM. Apart from these people, the one which is giving the most creeps is the thought of the big elephant head of MAYA coming to power. She has made no bones of the fact that she wants the PM's chair.

Come to think of it. Mayawati being the next prime minister for India! It is a huge possibility with the dalit folk being in big support. But the image just doesn't fit right. India, touted as the next big thing needs someone able enough to handle international issues competently. And for all her claims of being an able administrator at the state level, imagining her shaking hands with Obama for tea at the White house, or hugging the queen (that is not allowed!)...hmmm.. I just feel like starting to apply for my MS right now

People, please vote and please vote well. In many ways, I just believe a single majority is required at the centre wherein then the majority party would not be held at gunpoint for sharing of seats and ministerial positions, but that is not going to happen. But then, I urge, vote carefully. 2009..year of the elephant...well..I for one just hope, it does not happen. I wish Urbane India does not let it happen.

Jaago re!

The childhood hero.. is still a HERO!

2009-03-20T23:40:00.002+05:30

SACH is LIFE! A very cliched line (probably used the most by TOI :D ), but the guy just goes on and on! Now, in his 20th year in international cricket, it doesnt look like he is going to stop in some time :) ( oh god, let him continue). I am sure I am going to be heartbroken when he retires from cricket, but thats for another day..

Today, as Tendlya stroked a masterful 160, memories came flooding back. The first time, I really took this guy seriously was in 1994 ( kya karega.. tab tak sirf 8 saal ka tha). Till then, Azhar was my favourite player, but then when my Dad helped me listen to commentary to a match in NZ when Sachin was opening the batting for the first time and what I heard of was only fours and sixes, boy I stood up. Ever since, I have watched his batting with a certain deliriousness which probably a lot of people would have done. By that time, probably the entire nation had come to terms with the fact that here we have a boy who has superhuman capabilities.

I had a new hero to look upto! In Vaishali Nagar, where we had inter-building matches, all guys would take a stance like him ( I still don't understand why does he have to fiddle his ahem... anyways). I remember getting crest-fallen when he got out every time. Everytime I wanted him to score a hundred ( and another 100 million would have hoped for the same). I still fondly remember his first 15 hundreds in one-day cricket ( dont know why the buck stops at 15! ) I guess he is THE reason why we are seeing the Sehwags, the Dhonis, the Rainas & the Rohits.

Sach, please go on! You are the best and will always be! Ponting, Lara, Inzy, Kallis ek taraf, Tendlya ek Taraf. I don't care if I'm partial. I am sure many would agree that they started watching the game because of him, ( I seriously started watching it only because of him).

Sachin, YOU ARE OUR HERO!

Rah..Rah..Rahman!

2009-02-23T22:38:00.003+05:30

Raise a Toast! Allah Rakha Rahman has done it!! 2 oscars on the same magical night for the smiling magician from India! Rahman saab..Tussi thop ho!

No one deserved it more than this humble maestro from Chennai. A genius in the truest sense, he deserves every bit of the praise and the attention that he is getting now. He should have got that a long time back. I take the opportunity to thank Danny Boyle to give a chance for ARR to show to the world what he is made up of.

Frankly, as an ardent fan of his work, I really haven't found "Jai Ho" to be his best. It is a good number, but let the jury listen to "Yeh haseen vadiyan" from Roja, or the magic of the saxophone in Duet ( a tamil Movie) they would goto a different planet. From the pulsating "Vande Mataram" to the soulful sufi melodies, he has created magic in every genre of music. I don't think the oscar jury heard Lagaan that well, coz that would have surely won an Oscar if "Jai Ho" has won one :) (well..actually 2 )

But this is not the time to talk about what has happened, it is about soaking upto this wonderful achievement by a wonderfully grounded, humble and god-loving genius :)

We LOVE YOU Rahman Sir!

You are the best... JAI HO!

I am back...so.....what?

2009-02-18T23:17:00.002+05:30

Oh well...seems like a long time since I did this ...laziness has definitely crept into me..cant believe that I havent touched this in the last 3 months!!! That is seriously lazy :) So excuse moi for the long hiatus. Thing is that work pressures do get to you in the end :)

So,things happening at my end...well..quite a mix..realty has slowed down and impacting my side of business big time!! On one side you have a frustrated Boss (poor guy probably pressurized by his boss) telling me, " Bala! I want 8 units from you this month!" 18th Feb is about to end, no. of units booked - NIL. At the other end you have customer who have only one thing in their mind, price, price, price. Ab jaayen tho jaayen kahan!

Now, one of the other parts of my life. The continual pursuance of the COVETED MBA! This time its actually been a lot more frustrating than last year, missing by 2 questions/3marks/4marks and so on and so forth, failing to make the cut! Sometimes I genuinely feel to leave everything and go to the Himalayas for a vacation. Don't get me wrong, I am not frustrated, just taking a vacation isnt a bad idea! :)

Music wise, I just heard Delhi - 6. My reaction was just WOW! I know again I'm pretty late in the review, but the music is just too good! It would probably rank as one of his best works. Even though Slumdog has taken a lot of the spotlight in recent times, personally I feel Delhi-6 is much better :). Lot of soul and a lot of thought in the music. Mohit Chauhan stands out with Masakkali. The title song definitely is thumbs up, just that it made me jealous that he hasn't done a song similar for Mumbai :). "Rehna Tu" & "Dil Giraftan" are other songs which sound different, although my pick for the album is "Arziyan". Javed Ali and Kailash Kher with the sufism of Rahman is pure MAGIK!! ;)

Have put out a lot even after a 3 month hiatus. Feels good.

On a leaving note, just want to know how people would interpret to this interesting thought,

" Fools jump in where angels fear to tread"

Till next time,
Adios!

Mumbai - Bruised and Burnt

2008-11-27T22:23:00.003+05:30

The emotions started yesterday, i.e. 26/11/08 at 10.30 pm. Sitting in my drawing room and enjoying another Indian victory, suddenly the breaking news flashing down the screen surprised me. My first reaction was, some madcap would have let loose and would have got a gun with which he is creating havoc, but then surprise turned to shock, then horror, grief, despair, helplessness and then anger. Twenty-five hours later, after what has been the most devastating, meticulously planned brutal terrorist attacks in the country, there is still no end to the nightmare. Almost 125 people killed, more than 300 injured and the battle still rages on so as we speak. Disgusting and Cowardly can be the only words used to describe this horrific night.

Terrorists have hit Mumbai where it will probably hurt the most. Heritage sites like the Taj, the Trident ( a week back i was there on the rooftop of this very Hotel), the CST plus other places like Vile Parle ( I go by this suburb everyday), Wadi Bunder, Nariman House, Leopold Cafe. Yesterday night, probably for the first time in my life, i was afraid. The cold night outside my house window painted a very eerie picture, one in which i was visualizing a bomb blast right in my face. I was fearing for my family and was visualizing all sorts of things that no one would have remotely thought of had these attacks not taken place. Such planning, Such havoc...UNPRECEDENTED.

The terrorists this time have come up with the guts," We are here to create havoc, stop us if you can!!" The intelligence was badly found wanting. How does one explain a group of terrorists coming to mumbai via the sea, armed with explosives and ammo and no one having any information about it?? How does one explain the lackdasical approach of the government when it was expected that Mumbai would be on the hit-list given the recent spate of attacks at Jaipur and Delhi? Why do we still get the same assurances that the terrorists would be taken to task and still no action has been taken?? There are reports that some of the terrorists are still wandering around in the streets of Mumbai. Do we have the werewithal to withstand anything that happens due to that group??

I think Mumbaikars have seen enough. If they can come out with guns blazing, I think we need to knock their bloody heads off. Get into the internal tribal areas of Pakistan and knock these terrorist habitats down. We have had enough of condemnations, enough of assurances, its time to take matters into our hands and shove it up their a*****. We need to show you can't hold up our country for ransom. It is not only an attack on Mumbai but on the entire country and this time ...ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

P.S. -I

To,
Arnab Goswami,
Editor-in-chief, Times Now.

I had great respect for you as a journalist, but today you shamed me. Constantly trying to earn brownie points for our god-damned channel even in times of such strife left a poor taste. Today, Aaj-tak, whom I constantly criticize was notches above your pathetic coverage. God-damn loser, Arnab, you are pathetic!

P.S. - II

To,
Rajat Sharma,
Editor, India TV

Will you please take off your channel?? It DISGUSTS me. Where on earth did you get a call from a militant who was also fighting a battle at the same time?? After all the Tantriks, you do this. Get a life man!

Uske the JO sapne

2008-10-11T23:27:00.003+05:30

Just as I am listening to the song from the movie "Rock On" - "Sindbad the Sailor", the thought that probably troubles most of the youngsters goes through my minds. Pursuing your dreams, is it really possible? "His dreams were his only property", the song goes and his passion to achieve them drove him to facing dangers.

While most of my engineering buddies who read this might agree (silently) that they ended up in this field primarily because of the following reasons :
1) Really good scores in PCM in standard XII
2) Thinking that those who dont take up engineering are dullheads.
3) Engineering karke MBA karna hai..thats the IN thing!

I think i am a mix of the first and the third reason. There might be many more. Parental pressure for one. It was drilled into my mind that I have to become an engineer from a very young age and giving utmost importance to studies was essential. Not that I am complaining, I took up engineering because at that time I felt, I couldn't do Arts nor take up Medicine. Commerce never came to my mind (But doing an MBA means handling finance!! IRONIES!)
Maths & Physics were interesting and it lead me to take up engineering for graduation. But over the course of four years, things have changed so much. Your thinking changes, your attitude changes. Seeing my sister doing her BMM, I feel there is so much more to do, so much more to experience. There are thousands of engineers like me, some pursuing their PG either in a top MBA institute, or a US university or working at a top MNC. But is life only about degrees, good money or in short the safe route!

Why can't I create another MAGIK or be a television presenter for sports? Tough one. As i write, one of my cousins is attempting to be an RJ. My grandparents are not too happy with that. But I feel, let him be. Of course, completing one's graduation is important, but academics is not the be-all, end-all.

So, to all my dear friends who read this. Do dream...and let those dreams come true. For the moment, I am still in the safe mode, but I do want to get out it and move into the realm of my dreams. There are lots to fulfill!

Cheers!

The final performance of the MAHARAJ

2008-10-10T23:13:00.003+05:30

I know its a little late on my part (work pressures u see!) and please also note that I am not here to write an obituary to one of the finest cricketers of India from recent times and the greatest captain from India, Sourav "Dada" Ganguly.

When the news first came out that Dada is goint to retire from the game, it evinced a mixed response. One part of me said that, yes he is too old and rather than making a mockery of himself on the field, he should make way for the others. Yet, the other part (emotional Indian!! ) was very sad (genuinely). Just felt that he has been wronged and that he deserves a grand farewell. Just felt that we have been ungrateful to a person who has brought a smile to millions all over the country with his God-like off side play and who showed nerves of steel as captain of the Indian cricket team.

Its truly been a colourful career (well 4 more test matches are in the pipeline) for the man from Behala. From being dropped after playing one match in the 1991-92 tour of Australia to coming back in 1996 and scoring a sublime century on test debut at Lords. From being dropped from the team after his altercation with Guru Greg to staging one of the most amazing comebacks in international cricket, his has been an absolute roller-coaster of a career. He has seen everything, the zeniths of success and the lowly depths of failure. And the most glaring aspect of his personality that comes across is his never-say-die attitude. Mental toughness is thy second name and for that we salute u DADA!

One can never forget the towering sixes hit off the spinners or those glorious drives off the fast bowlers. One can never forget the twirling of the shirt at the Lords' balcony in 2002 after the Natwest series nor can we forget the triumphant punch in the air when he scored that magnificent 144 at the Gabba in the epic 03-04 series down under. Of course, his greatest contributions to Indian cricket have been the series win against the Aussies in 2001 (oh! what a series), taking India to the world cup final, winning series in Pakistan. He was the person who instilled self-belief in this Indian team. The team started believeing that YES, we can beat the best in their own backyard, and what followed was a string of good consistent performances abroad. Players like Sehwag, Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Zaheer prospered under his leadership. It was during his tenure that we saw the FAB FOUR emerging as truly the best batting line-up in the world. In many ways, he surely is the renaissance man of Indian cricket.

Of course, there are the lows. The argument with Greg Chappell that led to his ouster from the team. His failure to come to terms with the short stuff, getting penalized by match refrees. Personally, I think his lowest moment came at Nagpur 2004 when he sat out from a match against Australia citing the pitch not being prepared according to his will. That was totally unlike Sourav. There he was not the fighter that we all know him as.

But few would doubt his position as a legend in Indian cricket. I too feel that he has been wronged many times. He has always performed with a gun at his head. Perform or perish and over the last year, he was phenomenal except for the series against Sri Lanka. But, good things come to an end, and heres just hoping that Dada does an encore of England 1996 and says goodbye to the game in a truly MAHARAJ way!!

We will MISS YOU!!

A great day at the Games

2008-08-20T23:01:00.002+05:30

11th August, 2008 was a red letter day for Indian sports for that was the day when Abhinav Bhindra struck gold in shooting. 20th August, 2008 was not a bad day either. India are assured of 2 more medals. A bronze in wrestling from sushil kumar (oye..patak diya dhobi pachaad). The man from Haryana ( who resembles a "TAAU" ) fought 4 bouts in a single day and came out with the bronze in the 66kg category. The last medal in wrestling which incidentally also was the first individual medal for India came in 1952, Helsinki when K.D. Jadhav (sadly, no more) won the bronze. A truly remarkable achievement.

To cap off a perfect day, Vijendra Kumar won his quarter-final in the 75-kg boxing and assured India of atleast another bronze. (No, Vijendra, go for GOLD!!) The Indian lad punched his way through a 9-4 victory over his opponent. All this has resulted in the best ever performance by an Indian contingent at any Olympics. 3 medals for the first time! Are we going overboard with our achievements ? No, I certainly don't think so. Beijing should be celebrated and in Bindra's words should act as a catalyst to this cricket-crazy nation of ours to do well in Olympic related sports. India has been matching China in all aspects except for Sports. China has been outstanding in producing world class athletes and has become the sporting power of the world. India has some catching up to do, and the time to start is NOW!!

P.S. The name should be Insane Bolt and not Usain Bolt. The man is a madcap! He broke the world record in the 200m event as well and simply ran away with the gold. All this with his antics on the track. The world needs characters like him. A truly worthy and deserving champion. Hail BOLT!!

BOLT from Jamaica

2008-08-16T22:59:00.003+05:30

It was supposed to be the much talked about event at the Beijing Olympics- the 100m dash - the race to decide the fastest man on earth. The contenders: Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay and one Mr. Usain Bolt. Tyson Gay was left high and dry as he dint make it to the finals. So it was left to the two Jamaicans to settle it between them, but Bolt was just unstoppable.

The man ran an unbelivable 9.69 secs to win the gold and to break his ow world record of 9.72 seconds to emerge as the fastest man on earth. He would cracked the 9.6 barrier had he not eased up during the end of the race to celebrate his victory. But boy, what a performance. Just the way he demolished his opponents was a treat to watch. And all was over in 9.69 seconds

HAIL USAIN! THE BOLT FROM JAMAICA!

Movies that make u cringe

2008-08-15T22:57:00.002+05:30

There are movies.. Movies that make u feel good, movies that entertain and movies that make u cringe and u start asking yourself, why would anyone put in crores of rupees and make such a dud.. and what am I doing watching this movie!! I had an experience tonight. On my father's insistence, we went to watch "God tussi gr8 ho". God has always been great, but watching this great god was quite a pain. But actually, I have seen worse movies than this. Probably since I didn't have any expectations from the movie, it turned out to be atleast bearable. Here is the list of movies that I have made a mistake of watching on the big screen.

Disclaimer: This is purely based on my likes and dislikes, so anyone having a disagreement are free to air their views, but in no way i would change my opinion.

1) Jhoom Barabar Jhoom: The one film that invariably comes to mind when I sit down with this list is JBJ. One of the crappiest movies ever made. Two strangers meet at an airport, try to show that they are not interested in each other by lying about their to-be spouses and fall in love. Mix this with a lot of hitting colour and loud music, and you get JBJ. Quite a pain!

2) Kyun..ho Gaya Na: Atleast in JBJ, you had good looking sets. This had nothing. Story-zilch, acting-zilch. A happy go lucky guy who believes in arranged marriages and who loves car rallies, a girl who believes in eternal love (aaahhh..what a feeling!!!) and who is supposed to write some exam (who knows which one!!). So they say yes, then no, and finally we say , JUST GO!!

3) Aa Ab Laut Chalen: What a movie!! A guy comes to the US, gets cheated by his friend, gets help from a complete toli of Indians ( deshvaasi, bro), tries to get hooked up by a bitchy looking female, finds true love and father and then returns back home. Utne paise mujhe deta yaar, business shuru kar deta main

4) Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani: Over-acting, no storyline and endless dragging towards the end gave such a movie. I was crying at the end ( not because of emotion, but because of sore bumbs)

5) Mohabbatein: I know a lot of people who see this on the list would be shocked, but seeing Sharukh say "Mohabbat" over a 100 times ( I still have a bet on this with my sister) and more than that seeing the speeches made my AB and SRK towards the end to students of some "gurukul" on mohabbat ( I wonder which institute is such, Mr. Vijay Khole, pls take note) made me cringe.

6) Sivaji- The Boss: Rajni fans would beat me up on seeing this. But hold on, I myself am a big fan. I love to see Arunachalam, Padayappa again and again. Sivaji was good, but it could have been so much more better without those garish looking songs and unbearably long fight sequences

7) Chal Mere Bhai: When i see this movie on setmax nowadays, I can't believe that I actually saw this in a theatre. One of the crap coming out of David Dhawan's factory of comedies ( or so called comedies). The only thing that left me intrigued was the dancing troupe that came everywhere with the family and would break out in a group dance on every silly reason. Strange are the ways of bollywood!

8) K3G: Possibly another movie that can get me beaten up (esp by my female friends). But the movie was too much to handle, with the amount of glycerine spent. Whew!

9) KANK: Sorry KJo mate! Really couldn't fathom this movie. They separate from spouses, yet they still live separately! It was too complicated in short.

10) Mangal Pandey: One of the biggest disappointments from Aamir Khan. After 4 years of waiting, he gave such a movie! You had Mangal Pandey dancing with Banjarans and Heera applying tilak to her boyfriend b4 he is hanged ( sheesh, so typical of bollywood). The second half was just about bearable. It would have been really good had it not been 3 hours long.

Hmmm, I can't think of any more movies. So it seems like my taste for movies is really good or that I am not too much of a watcher and I guess I am the later. But sometimes it is good to see such movies. You can atleast laugh at their behest ( sorry film-makers, but atleast we are entertained, which is your primary reason to make films :) )

Cheers!

Not a fine Sunday

2008-07-27T23:10:00.002+05:30

I have been thinking of what to blog about all these days. The election drama unfolded over the week with money being splashed all around, MPs being traded like horses, and after all that, the UPA government still managing to hang on. Though of blogging about that, but well, I just thought it was too oft discussed on all news channels ( what with loksabha TV garnering great TRPs), so I left it there. I was thinking of getting back to my favourite topic of cricket, but I guess all those who do read my blog would have beaten me up.

I finally decided to blog. This also has been in the news over the past couple of days, but sights and stories of this news almost brought tears to my eyes. The bomb blasts at Bangalore and Ahmedabad, one of the many instances of terrorist attacks on India in the recent past was too strong a topic to miss out.

India has been a soft target for terrorists for a long time now. In 2008, itself Jaipur, Bangalore and now Ahmedabad. And who can forget the tragic 7/11 blasts at Mumbai. But this recent one at Ahmedabad left me really shook. 17 blasts in 70 minutes and in those 2 of them at hospitals! How cruel can men get? The videos that they showed on TV, they were really painful. A 10 year old boy in undescribable pain and alongside his 12 year old brother who has no hope to live. A woman who has lost her only son. How hard it would be for her? What wrong did she do or his son did that they had to see such a day? How much pain would a father have gone through when he was asked to identify his son through a room of corpses? It was really painful to see those footages on TV.

Dont the people who do this have a heart? a conscience? And what is their ultimate motive? freedom? Which bloody freedom are they fighting for? They call it Jihad and they say it is written in their holy texts. But does the teaching of God include killing of innocent people? Which god has believed in giving pain to a 10 year old? And our bloody politicians, they still play party politics.

The bombings have taken place in BJP ruled states

I mean does all this matter?? Isnt it a question of the security of the country, why to include petty politics in between! With the parliament issue and they way the "netas" have reacted to this is a shame. All that people can say is "We condemn this heinous act". Boss you have condemned several acts like this over the past few years, but what next? When are u taking these people to task? And what about security measures. I know its easy to say India is a vast country and keeping a close eye on each and every detail is not feasible, but one can't have a Diwali like this in the middle of July for god's sake and not a diwali where there are corpses all around.

Its time that we stop saying, "

"The spirit continues to live and people get back to their normal routine even after the blasts saying how strong the city is"

It is utter bull****. People cant help but get back to work because its a matter of survival and not because of some spirit. It is time to revamp our intelligence system and it is time that the people who we entrust responsibility for the well-being of the country stop playing petty games and do some work.

To all the people who made their way to heaven..... R.I.P.

" Ek tu hi bharosa, ek tu hi sahara,
Is tere jahan mein, nahi koi hamara,

ISHWAR YA ALLAH, YE PUKAR SUN LE,
ISHWAR YA ALLAH, HEY DAATA "

Yet another Indo-Pak game..

2008-06-26T22:28:00.000+05:30

Never in my life did I imagine that someday I would have a blog and that too having a post in it with such a heading. Yet another India-Pakistan One-day game. yaawwn!!! It is getting boring. The Asia Cup match between the two "arch-rivals" is going on and Sehwag is thrashing Pakistan again. One might have seen this over and over again in the recent past, especially in the last 4 years. Is it an overdose of cricket between the two countries?? Seems like it. Earlier, when these two sides met, shops would get closed, people would fake illness to reach home from office, people will have superstitions and suppose India was doing well in a particular phase, you werent allowed to move from the place where you were sitting ( I experienced that during the 96 world cup quarter final at my mama's house, when I wasnt allowed to visit the loo!!)

India-Pakistan matches have always had that intensity about them. My first tryst with these matches was in the 92 world cup, when India beat Pakistan at Sydney. I still have those images of running arnd in my chaddis thinking that India had won the world cup, only to later come to know that India just beat Pakistan and that Pakistan then went onto win the World cup. But I'm sure even fans from Pakistan would have been disappointed to lose to India, even though they ended up as world champions, because Indo-Pak cricket was like that. You always heard the message, " World cup jeeto ya na jeeto, Pakistan se mat haarna" and a similar one on the other side of the border. Whenever these two sides met, it was war!! And even though India were beaten pretty soundly in the 90's, you still wanted to watch those matches, just because you loved a fight!!

You also had these personal rivalries between players which spiced up contests. Whether it was Imran-Kapil, Gavaskar-Imran, Sachin-Wasim, Sachin-Shoaib. I for one loved these contests and everyone else did as well. How can anyone forget Wasim at the '99 world cup match at the toss saying, " It is a practice game for us" and Azhars India beat them soundly. And of course, Shoaib Akhtar's announcement that he would destroy India at Centurion in the world cup of 2003, but as everyone knows, Sachin put him to sword. And how can one forget the painful yet decisive moment in Indo-Pak cricket history when Javed Miandad smashed the last ball for a six of Chetan Sharma in 1986!! Poor, Chetan Sharma is not remembered for his hat-trick in the world cup or his fastest hundred, he is remembered for the six he conceded. It was for moments like these that one saw Indo-Pak games

But nowadays, one cant find that zing in these matches. Looks like the bonhomie created by the IPL has made players forget that they are playing an Indo-Pak game. Or it is just the plain simple case of too much cricket between the two sides. I am not hinting that players should bay for each other's blood, but there has to be competition, after all thats what crowds come to see! And seriously speaking, this Pakistan side just doesn't have the aura of previous teams. It looks jaded and it looks intimidated when it plays India. And it seems like India-Australia is the new rivalry to look forward to since even the Aussies have realized that the Poms cant beat them!

I just wish that Indo-Pak cricket gets back to where it was. I wish that the zing which is missing gets back. It is proclaimed to be the "mother" of all rivalries and I wish it to live upto that name! A request to PCB and BCCI, dont milk the cash-cow too much, it wont give milk always.

Free mein ek advice deta hoon....

Dont make them play for 4 years...and then see the match.

got doubts?? Just rewind back to the 2003 world cup match!

Reservations about reservations..

2008-06-18T20:18:00.002+05:30

I needed to write on this. I know it has been discussed left, right and centre on all news channels, but when u face it straight on, it hurts. My sister topped her college in the arts section of the HSC exam, so one expects that whatever she wants, she should be able to get it with relative ease. She wants to pursue a BMM degree, but when the first merit lists were out, her hopes came crashing down. The college that she had first preference for, their cut-offs for the general category were so high, that she couldnt make it. To all the people who are reading this, it is certainly not my sister, but a host of other bright students who suffer at this, what more should a student do to get to the college of her choice after topping her college?

The BMM course has 60 seats in all colleges. 50% is reserved for the minority quota of the college (50% is minority quota, then whats the majority???), so 30 seats are gone. 25% reserved for the SC/ST/OBC, so another 15 go there, u are left with 15 seats. 3% is reserved for the special category and 22% for the general category , which is 13 seats.i.e. 13 seats on merit. Now for these 13 seats, you have students from all the branches, viz. Arts, Science and Commerce fighting it out and plus you have students coming from other boards. What chance does a student have to get a seat in these reputed colleges then? If you have the arts section closing in on 89.6%, no one from Mumbai can get admission to that college, since the topper from Mumbai has scored 87%!!!

The reservation about reservations is the number of seats reserved. 50% reservation for the minorities is a bit too much. I agree, that the particular community is looking to give back something to its students by reserving seats for them, but it is not doing any service to them by giving them assurance that if you score above 50% marks, you are guaranteed a seat in the college. Laziness creeps into them for they know that they dont have to work hard to get that seat. Case in point was a discussion that I heard at Jai Hind, when i accompanied my sister to submit the forms, when a girl in the queue said, " I have got 70%, but with sindhi quota, I will make it". Doesn't make any sense at all to me. The root cause of all these problems are there are a lot of students who have scored well, and there aren't enough quality institutions to take all these students. Add reservations to this mix, it just compounds the misery. And then the government talks about 'Brain Drain' and that the students don't give it back to India after awailing good education. But if the rat-race for seats continue like this, why wouldn't students like to go abroad to pursue better oppurtunities!!

I have always maintained that reservations should be done at the grass-root level. Giving opportunities to people at the lower-levels and making them competitive enough for the higher challenges sounds more logical as compared to giving them the golden spoon at the graduation stage, where they find it tough to chew more than their capacity. You always hear about students in the IITs dropping out since they don't cope up with the stress of the curriculum and most of them are from the reserved category. Isn't this good enough for the government to start reservations at the primary and secondary levels rather than at the graduate level??? About reservations for the minority, as i said earlier, reserving seats for the people who started the college is not wrong at all, but 50% is just too much. If others are fighting for that coveted seat, why should they be relaxed about it. Even they should be made to go through the grind. And this, in the end will benefit the students themselves.

Seems like I have made a lot of "gyaan-pitaara", but I couldn't help it. I had to direct the frustration of seeing my sister dejected through some medium. And I'm sorry if the title looks like one which is taken straight off a TOI article ..lol!

care to learn something.???

2008-05-26T12:11:00.002+05:30

Wonder if we will get to see this in India....
seekho India...SEEKHO!!!

The pain continues.....

2008-05-23T17:24:00.003+05:30

Well, I can't leave cricket for long, can I? This is just taking off from where I left off for the cricket which was shown on doordarshan (man , i fear what will happen during the Olympics! messrs Raman Bhanot and co. will be back...sheesh!) This post is about the IPL coverage on MAX (manu and ranjan ka baap...what a pathetic ad!). After seeing the extraaa ( Ive lost the count of the number of 'a's in this) innings, I just want to say one thing which will probably sum up my feelings..

MANDIRA....I MISS U....PLEASE COME BACK!!

Never in my life would I have thought that I would say those words, but , yeah its come true. The three stooges or the three faces of MAX, i.e. Ajay Jadeja( NDTV is the place for him) , Samir Kochchar( the decent fella) and Shiv Pandit (dude, this is not your cup of "sprite") make up quite a team of hosts. MAX had appointed these men with the hope that more women and girls would join in to watch cricket, (hello, the women are running away seeing the cheer-girls...well..of course..I am not complaining). Frankly speaking, Harsha Bhogle has set the bar for any presenter and I was not expecting these guys to come anywhere close to him. But they arent close enough to Mandira Bedi, who did a pretty good job (and along with those noodle straps..not bad at all). Sample these.

Match 1: KKR v/s RCB

Ajay Jadeja: " Now its time for a commercial break, and we will be back...ummm....shortly on NDTV...no..sorry..on...uhhh...( the camera man yelling at him..say its MAX..)...yeah..MAX. ( and then with his stupid smile), seems like I am used to NDTV. take a break.

call that TV presenting!!

Samir Kochchar is actually pretty decent. He comes across as someone who has done his homework on the game . But you put Mr. Ranjit 'Srilanka' Fernando to the mix, you can expect mayhem.

Match : RCB v/s Daredevils.

Samir: So, Ranjit, Mohd. Asif is important to Delhi Daredevils fortunes.
Ranjit: Yeah, hes quick. Hes got the aggression, and he had a great series in India (err...Asif and quick? series in India?..)

Just then everyone realize that he was talking about Dale Steyn!! And this happened when the clipping shown was also of Mohd. Asif. No wonder everyone from Sri Lanka hated this man's commentary during the 2007 world cup. News says that all from Sri Lanka believed that he was a curse for the team because whenever he came on for commentary, Srilanka lost a wicket or their bowlers were hammered. He is partial to the Sri Lankans even in the IPL!! He doesn't know the names of cricketers and even if he knows them, he cant pronounce them properly and last but not the least, hes got that irritating habit of saying "eees" instead of 'is'. It is still a wonder as to how still is a commentator! MAX, are you listening!!!!

The third stooge of the lot, Mr. Sprite, the less said about him, the better. Why on earth did MAX select him is something that i havent figured out. Hes hopeless. Here are some wonderful excerpts:

Match : KKR v/s Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens
He just din't know what to speak and he repeated the fact of the great crowd at the Eden Gardens about 6 times (trust me, thats correct, even my sister counted it). Probably, he was too excited about the crowd. But 6 times!!! and that too the same statement," This is an amazing crowd". Poor Arun Lal, i pity him. He had to agree to him on all the six occasions.

Some match:
He explains about the godrej Eon contest, and then turns blank on camera. Then, he starts talking about the contest to Pommie Mbangwa, who was probably taken aback. But he too joins in the discussion of getting the fully decorated house. (aaarrgghh!!). Later Mr.Shiv joins in saying that since they are a part of the broadcasting team, they can't participate. Wow, that is some gyaan.

Less said about the ads, the better. I know, MAX has paid 10 billion dollars for the broadcasting rights, but 4 ads in between overs for a T-20 match is just not acceptable and I still haven't figured out when they show the highlights. I had peace when I managed to catch some matches at Mauritius, but I guess it would be back to the drudgery now. Have to see the vodafone dog and girl everytime a wicket falls or an over ends (the ad is pretty cute, but an overdoes always makes u hate it). I do believe that the passionate Indian cricket loving public deserves more than this. For the moment, can we watch some cricket in between ads and Extraaa innings??

Changes for the better

2008-04-29T22:47:00.003+05:30

The past week has been pretty good for Indian sport. Not in terms of any great results, but the manner in which the whip was cracked in two different sports and that too for the right reasons. The big news dominating channels was the suspension of IHF( what a relief) by the IOA and Bhajji's suspension for slapping (later it has been changed to 'slugfest', 'brawl' and what not). Definitely changes for the better of Indian sport and its image.

The IHF bubble finally burst when Jothikumaran, the (dis)honourable secretary of IHF was stung (pun intended) by AAJ TAK! Finally some sensible breaking news fellas, well done! Adding more fuel to the fire was FIH's statement that they might scrap the 2010 hockey world cup from India. Like it has been said in Bhagat Singh movies.

Beheron ko sunanane ke liye dhamaake ki zaroorat hai

After 14 years of bureaucracy and running the game at its own behest, the IHF was suspended and Mr. K.P.S.Gill was finally shown the door ( and I mean finally!!) The appointment of an ad-hoc committee by the IOA(which finally did some work) headed by aslam sher khan and which contains some of the biggest names of Indian hockey only augurs well for the future of Indian hockey. Players like Dhanraj Pillay, Ajit Pal Singh, Zafar Iqbal, Mukesh Kumar have toiled hard over the years and have become legends in their own right. The appointment of such a committee definitely gives hope to the Indian hockey fan. The last time, the IHF was suspended in 1974 and voila, the next year we won the world cup in Kuala Lampur. Lets hope for an encore this time as well.

The second issue was of course the slapgate controversy. Bhajji plonked a fist on the face of Mr. crybaby Sreesanth after their match in the IPL and the Kerala speedster broke down at the ground in front of all cameras. Apparently Bhajji had warned Sreesanth that he shoudn't cross the line which he always does. After getting Mumbai's tailender Mussavir Khote, he went up to him and abused him (what are u thinking Sree bhai!!). Even earlier, he was warned by the umpired as to not to cross the line, but when has Sreesanth not crossed the line. But after the match, when the players met to shake hands, Sreesanth couldn't cross the boundary line since Bhajji took him to task.

What provoked Harbhajan is a different thing because physically assaulting a player is just not right. And that too when the player is of the same country and when they know that they have to play together for a number of years to come. Harbhajan had been walking on a tight rope for a long time. The whole of India got behind him in the "maa-mon-key" controversy in Australia, but this time 'Harby' was a lonely man. Not even Tendulkar, who saved him in Australia was there to support him and why would he? The BCCI finally had enough of Harbhajan and slapped him with a 11 match ban with which he will miss the IPL unless his team plays the semi-finals ( and at the rate at which Mumbai Indians are going.....ciao Harbhajan next season).

What BCCI did with Harbhajan was absolutely right and it will serve as a notice to all players to watch their behaviour. But letting Sreesanth off lightly was not the best decision. He has constantly got into the face of players (opposition and team-mates) with his irritating behaviour. Sometimes one just gets the feeling that he likes to do showmanship with all his antics specifically targetted at the camera. He talks about being a passionate cricketer. Ask Rahul Dravid, ask Sachin Tendulkar. If they din't have the passion, they wouldn't have survived in this game for long. It is time that Sreesanth takes a leaf out of their book. If he doesn't mend his ways, probably the next ban is kept ready for him.

That concluded a very good week for Indian sports. Not in terms of results, (the women's hockey team crashed out of Olympic qualifiers, taking a leaf out of the men..eh!!) but in terms of the associations' attitude of not taking things lying down, even if the defaulter is one of your own. Kudos to BCCI and IOA!

The LIYA LIYA phenomenon!

2008-03-26T18:59:00.007+05:30

Hang on a minute before you get any fancy ideas as to what the topic is!! It is just the latest mantra for tronicals'08. A sort of a revolution. I don't really know who started this thing, but whoever started it, everyone has started using this phenomenon. In many ways, it is probably a way to show that one is really modest about his/her achievements to the point of being self-effacing and the person standing in front of you is great. This expression causes some real embarrassment to the people who face it for no real mistake of theirs. Their only mistake probably is making a harmless comment :). After a lot of deliberation and thought, I came to this topic. Here are a few juicy examples of how this expressions has changed the face of tronicals'08.

1)
Alexander,Myself and Wanderer discussing the placements at IMT, Ghaziabad.
A: Mera kuch nahi honewaala (as usual), main watchman banoonga IMT mein
W: Abbey kya ro raha hai, you will get the highest paid job from placements, mazaak mat uda (guy wit 6 IIM calls, can you believe what my condition is at this moment)
A:Abbey, tu kya bol raha hai, saale. Isne (pointing to me) bola tho theek hai, tu bolke mera mazaak mat uda. ( the world and friends can be cruel)
M: LIYA BOSS LIYA!!!

It was probably a comment that Mr.Alexander dint mean ( i hope), but I just got an oppurtunity to nail it in . Not that I am having an idle mind which is working overtime trying to get in some needling comments, but to see Alexander's face after this was plain hilarious. The poor guy couldn't speak for the next 15 minutes.

2) Mr. Ninad(another 6 calls candidate..I wonder how I land up with such guys) and myself outside the class.
Me:Hey Ninad, kaisa gaya sab interviews ab tak?
N: Mera kuch nahi honewaala, Im going to work in Tata Elxsi as a chaprasi ( sheesh!!, hes got jobs in LB,Schulmberger and he makes fun of me with my job and my meagre salary!!)
Me: Kaisa LIYA be!!! ( I think i was justified in saying this! )

3a) Online chat with Mr.Omkar (aka Mr.Germany)
The situation is that this guy has got another internship oppurtunity at Siemens, Germany for this summer and he didn't tell me (of course, bade log! ) so i decided to take a potshot at him.

M: So, sir, bade ho gaye aap, Germany jaake hamein bhool na jaana.
O: liya be, 40,000 saal ka ek saath liya ( the number adds an extra zip to the expression, doesn't it!)
I just told the fact, and he shot back with this. We all know what happened after this, I couldn't chat with him again that night
3b) His project group partner has just got selected in XLRI, Jamshedpur and I say, All people from ur project group are DONs(another college coinage, for one who has excelled in some area) in their own right. Following is the conversationOmkar: jhaveri got into XLRI

me: yeah

he told me

don hai

tumhara grp full don log se bhara hai

Omkar: all but one

me: kekin ko aisa mat bol

bhadak jaayega

Omkar: bas kya

bachpan mein odd man out nahi khela?

me: ohhhh

ab samjha

nilesh ko bol raha tha

bajayega woh tujhe

Omkar: kyu izzat utar raha hai don logon ki

mere muh pe bol de

main odd man out hun

me: vaibhav ko kaise bolega tu

woh tho don hai

Omkar: i have to face the reality

me: bacha jhaveri...

woh tho bachpan se don hai

tu tho pichle janam se don hai

Omkar: 2 janam ka LIYA

me: (what do u expect me to say.. this guy just forces me to be quiet)

How modest can people get!!! Ask us...Ask us. We are the DONs in this area. So, the next time before you talk to me or any of my classmates and try to praise us...Beware.. and BE VERY AFRAID!! You just might get yourself tongue-tied and hear the now famous---LIYA BE LIYA!!!

The PANGA with the PIGEONS

2008-03-22T21:16:00.002+05:30

This was certainly what I had not planned to write about once i got back from Chennai, but on coming back home, I couldn't help but write about this thing which was hilarious at one end and frustrating at the other end of the spectrum. I had actually warned my mother about this thing happening right at the onset when we left for chennai, but she said, we can't do much about it anyways. So here comes the topic.... the pigeons left our clean and dry balcony full of their sh**!!!

So when we come back and think of unpacking things taking our time, mom sounds perturbed and asks me to get a bucket to the balcony. I was surprised at the request and it was only when i saw the sight of the balcony, I got to know the reason of her strange request. In simple words, the balcony was full of "sh**".Those guys and girls had made our balcony their bathroom and had done their stuff for 4 days without any hassles since no one was at home and I (why me!!) had to bear the brunt, pouring vessel after vessel of water to try and clean the place and bloody it was so difficult getting that thing off, my back is still aching !!!

Now i understand the concept behind scarecrows positioned at fields in villages!!
(uff my back!!!)

Indian Hockey.....err....what???

2008-03-13T19:13:00.003+05:30

I wanted to write an article for my college magazine titled "The great Indian hockey circus",at a time when they were doing pretty good in their hockey assignments. In fact when the editors took a look at the article, India even won the Asia cup defeating South Korea 7-2. Probably my article was too honest and too brutal and hence dint get through the final selection, but I guess now is the time to put it back on my blog at least. Actually what prompted me more to write about this was an interview given by our friendly neighbourhood sardar, Mr.K.P.S.Gill(yea, the same white bearded DUDE, who has been in the hot seat since 1994). I couldnt help but be angry about the way he was answering questions.

Till now, everyone would have guessed it, why I am writing this. India have been knocked out of contention for a berth at the Beijing Olympics. Its a first time in 80 years that this has ever happened (well, theres a first time for everything , isnt it?). The rut had started at the Doha Asian games in 2006, when India lost to China (gosh, this was a terrible low point) and had to play qualifying matches for Beijing. Even having said that, a team like India which has a rich history and tradition and where hockey is the national sport (well..sorry if its cliched, but have to harp on those points) should have made it to the top 12 for the Olympics (India finished 11th in the last world cup so atleast they could have made it in the top-12!!!). Its truly shameful and I think we should stop saying that we have won 8 gold medals in hockey at the Olympics, it would bring more shame.

So, where does the buck flow now? Mr.Gill has made it clear that he wants to continue as the chief of the IHF. This would make for an interesting read. He was asked, what does the future gold for Indian hockey, and he replies
Mr.Gill:

Do you know that India is the only country that is the champion in Asia at all age group levels.

(what the f*** was that all about!!!)
What point was he trying to drive home by saying that only he knows (well, half of the time, only he understands what he says). He says that India won 10 titles between 1998 and uptil now, but can he tell us why India hasnt won a world cup after 1975 or why India hasnt won a gold medal at the Olympics since the 1980 Moscow Olympics!! He says that the government hasn't done anything for the sport (well, he is right to an extent) but what has the IHF done to help Indian hockey. Well it has only changed 150 players in the last 10 years and also has changed 15 coaches( which includes an unknown Gerhard Rach). And now, when the FIH wants Ric Charlesworth to work with the Indian team, Mr.Gill is still in no mood to mend his ways. Now, coming to the government, why has it not interfered with the autocratic ways of the IHF chief is only something that Mr.Mani Shankar Aiyar or his predecessors can answer. India still doesnt have proper training centres with astro turfs. Kids still play hockey (well ...some of them do) on grass. Talk about the fitness of our players, its better not to talk about it. You compare the fitness level of the Indian players with the Aussies or the Dutch, there is no match. India has forever played hockey with flair and skill but with too many coaches, they havent been able to settle in any one format and the players keep getting confused. IHF people should go back to school where we learnt the moral :" Too many cooks spoil the broth". There is no professionalism in the way in which the IHF functions and no one is held accountable for the debacles that Indian hockey is facing. There is the talk of the game being engulfed by the madness of cricket but I find that theory bull****. South Africa's national game is rugby and cricket comes 3rd or 4th on the list and yet look at the way, they perform!

Looking into the future is possibly the only way to look now for India. Something has to be done for the national game before the wave of cricket completely sweeps it off. Gill talked about the 2010 commonwealth games (fortunately we don't have to qualify as we are the hosts) and the world cup. First of all, a step in the right direction would be to continue with this core group of young players that they had picked and also to continue with Carvalho. The man has been forthright and also has been impressive in lifting this Indian team after the 2006 Doha Asiad. The changes have to be implemented at the grassroots and not at the top. Sometimes, I think we underestimate the basic things that we learnt at school. Its time I guess for the people of IHF (read Gill) to go back to school.

AND thus...I Danced!!!

2008-03-05T18:37:00.005+05:30

A while back, I had mentioned in my previous post that jan-feb was a hectic period for various reasons and one of the reasons was a first for me i.e.dance. Although in my whole life, i had danced on 3 occasions before Pratibimb'08.
1. First standard at Auxilium Convent in Lonavala, I dont remember the song, but I have a photograph in which i have beard and moustache. Probably it was a carol song.
2. 7th standard, this was actually at ganesh chaturthi at my grandma's place in matunga for a competition and i had decided that i would take part in it 20 mins before it actually started. (call it foolhardy or bravado, i guess i can take a little credit at that age..lol) and guess the song...
STOP THAT from Gambler (govinda movie with shilpa shetty---one of the worst)
3. 10th standard at Vani Vidyalaya for Teachers' day. I seriously don't know why my class teacher selected me for group dance, but there i was shaking a leg to "rama rama" from "love ke liye saala kuch bhi karega".. (agen, sorry for the movie guys, but it was forced..lol)

After these 3 episodes came this one, Feb 3rd,2008 at Pratibimb. I guess i had decided this year that i wanted to do something different apart from my usual singing and walking the ramp. I had actually toyed with the idea of dancing even in the previous years and had told my class girls that if need arises, Im game for a guest appearance (boy, arent I an attention seeker!!). But it never happened with the girls. Somehow they took initiative this time around. Once again, i constantly reminded them that if they want, I could do a small role ( actually it was me wanting more). So after our girls group qualified for the finals of group dance, Ms.Mayuri( the morni of the group) told me that I would be a part of one song out of four, "Beedi jalai le" (yesss, finally a good song). I was quite thrilled.

Practice began earnestly the next day at the choreographer's place (Vallari, a classmate's cousin). Actually, I did better than i expected while learning the steps but at the same time, as it was an impromptu, i was given the liberty to do anything on stage. But the steps were pretty simple and I actually enjoyed doing the latkas,jhatkas ..ala langda tyaagi. But it was definitely tiring and I really admire the girls for putting up through the entire 4 songs, dance is tough man!! By the end of the session, my knees were swollen because of a particular step and I actually felt the pain only later.

The finals were scheduled for the next day and tragedy struck, since one of the girls, aparna had a bandage on her foot and swelling ( somehow in every endeavor of mine, some or the other disaster strikes) and so Ms.Rucha Datar had to fill in. ( I have to really give her credit for the way she performed on stage, 24 hours withing learning the dance she dint show any nerves at all). Well, mistakes did happen and they were comical. In the first song, (a track from hum dil de chuke sanam) some of the girls stood up earlier than what was expected, rucha forgot a formation and appu had to pull her back in a circle..lol... In the second song, (barso re), Gruhita forgot to bring her friends back onto stage. In beedi, I danced with a bottle right till the end, when i was supposed to throw it away earlier and then finally towards the last song(aaja nachle), Sonali was looking somewhere else as opposed to the crowd(sheesh). In the middle, we also had Mudassar running around trying the create a rainy atmosphere for barso re!!!

All said and done, the crowd reaction was amazing. JO seetiyan baji for beedi, was something that i had never anticipated and the roars just got bigger when i flirted on-stage with 2 of the girls (rucha and minali, museebat ke waqt gadhe ko bhi baap banana padta hai..lol..no offense). In two words, MAZAA AAYA! I probably would have lost 2-3 kilos (no harm whatsoever in that) and add to that, i discovered, that i was better than ajay devgan and sunny deol at dancing!! Mother started her rant again, "See how well u dance, I had told you to join Bharatnatyam and you dint listen"... (ohh..mothers!!). Other than that, it was personal satisfaction that i took a challenge and stuck at it and also proved to some of my friends, boss, the stage isnt that weak, i could jump on it..lol. I would like to thank Vallari again, my classmates who were a constant source of encouragement and of course the 8 gopiyans on stage between whom i was kishan kanhaiya...or for that matter... LANGDA TYAAGI, BAHUBALI ..!!!

THE GROUP:
APARNA KUMAR, APARNA PAWAR, RUCHA DESHMUKH, RUCHA DATAR, MINALI,GRUHITA,MAYURI,SONALI, KOMAL,MUDASSAR AND LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST...

URS TRULY!

Breaking NEWS!!

2008-02-14T23:22:00.003+05:30

Hello folks! I am back after a small hiatus. It was a hectic month,(middle of jan- to middle of feb)..college fests,sports,cultural,dance,trad show,singing, mock interview sessions, online research, and then finally the interview ( a bad bad experience !! Anyways, Ill go with what my placement director says if someone doesnt select you, the company (or the college in this case) is not fit for you!) COOL... so I am back ( but my mid terms are on the anvil, so there could be another hiatus,)
Boy, am i speaking as if there are hundreds of people waiting to read my blog ( sorry for my vanity)

There have been a spate of news stories making the rounds these days, but in between one can see some red flashes across the television screen---BREAKING NEWS . Well , some are truly earth shattering. The first one which comes to mind is Mr.Bachchan getting a cold (awwwww, Im so sorry Mr.B, take a chill pill man). Probably the news guys saved us by not consulting a doctor in their studio as to which medicines should Mr.B take for his recovery else "kal tak" we could have news as to which pill he takes and it wont be a surprise if he comes on TV advertising "saridon" the next time.

Another favourite of mine in this category is during India's cricket matches. Every time India lose a wicket, we suffer a "jhatka" and everytime we take a wicket, we obtain a "safalta", and this is breaking news on National TV. Well, even this can be considered ok. News about Yuvraj failing to score runs due to his alleged affair wit Ms.Padukone (SITARA GIRA ZAMEEN PAR,gosh, thats creativity) , its just plain hilarious. I have a friend of mine who in his orkut profile has mentioned that one should see Ekta Kapoors serials to see the depths to which human creativity can go. I bet on my bottom dollar, no one beats this. ( Add to this, my father loves this particular news channels' "visheshs"...aargh!)

Today, well I shifted loyalties and moved onto another news channel ( started by the same, aapki adalat man). For the life of me, I cudnt understand what were they showing at 9pm this evening and more importantly, why were they showing it. The breaking news was " SUBAH PITHAI, SHAAM KO SAGAI" (this is possibly the lowest rung of creativity). It was the love story of Ms.cry baby (wit assets fixed, then removed, then fixed....ohhh...forget it) who wailed her way through "Nach Baliye" and her loser boyfriend. Supposedly, they had an argument, so Ms.Cry baby kicked her boyfriend out ( thats SUBAH PITHAI) and then in the evening, he proposes to her (in the age old style, ring in the drink) and she melts and they dance the night together ( thats SHAAM KO SAGAI). For the life of me, can anyone please tell me , why was this news channel so interested in this couple!!!! I cant even comprehend why her shows get breaking news status ( possibly for her so called fans!). I would have probably understood had it been Abhi-Ash, but why these two!!!!

Can NEWS channels please stand up and give us some REAL NEWS and by REAL, i mean some of the real issues that need address. Why cant they possibly bring stories about the farmers in rural India. We are all talking about the Indian economy growing, but it is growing with unequal distribution of wealth. Can't they break the news of farmers committing suicides or people struggling to make ends meet!!!

JAAGO INDIA JAAGO!

P.S. : About all the ruckus created by the recent "mee marathi, mee bihari" thing, I can say only one thing (fully agreeing with Mr.Rajdeep Sardesai) everyone had their share of the pie. SP has no footing in its own state of UP, it got political mileage. Raj, for all his prowess as a inspirational orator, is such a big let-down. How does one justify attacking hapless hawkers and cab-men saying that they are eating into their jobs!!! Well, he again got his 30 seconds of fame on all news channels and newspapers. And the central government and the police, " baatein badi aur kaam chote", they arrested the leaders with such hue and cry, only to let them on bail and thus showing ... YES, WE DID OUR JOB!!! And, What did we gain?????

A MUMBAI WITH ITS IMAGE OF A COSMOPOLITAN CITY LYING IN ONE OF ITS FAMOUS GUTTERS!

Are IIMs worth the hype?

2008-01-24T22:37:00.000+05:30

I dont want to pull down any of these pretigious institutions, even i wanted to get there (which obviously i CAnT this year), but reading this blog and a few more articles has really gotten me thinking.. Is it really worth the hype?

Heres, the article which i read from a blogger franktalker

Reading this article, well it has made me think (not that i was not thinking all this while). But fact of the matter is, as my friend Srikanth has pointed out in his blog, most of the guys are going in for an MBA just by reading all the hype and the hoopla of the newspapers of the salaries being offered at the IIMs. Newspapers (esp. TOI) do mention those salaries but they dont mention that these are offered to guys in a ratio of probably of a 1:50. Seriously speaking, I havent figured out a reason as to why to do an MBA and the reason which I have at the moment is too flimsy to even call it as a reason. To all those friends who wanna do an MBA...think! ( and if possible help me with your thoughts). Its just not another 2 years at an institute, it is 2 yrs of your sweat and blood and you are paying money to become an MBA. Time to think!!!

THE APPRENTICE!!

2008-01-17T23:29:00.000+05:30

Well..as some of the folks have complained, its time to move away from cricket and go onto something different. This is really different or rather MAGGI KETCHUP (as some of classmates wd call it). The Apprentice was an event at the recently concluded TECHNOVANZA'08 (the most thanda one of all the 4 that ive been a part of). This event came as a pleasant surprise to me as it involved management and business. The first round had a 20 question quiz, which myself and moi team mate Mr.Tejas (bachcha) Mankar completed and got thru to the second round.

We were joined by our other team mates in the second round. Jaysurya Deb(deb babu),Ketan (HONDYA!), and the PJ king, Alok(pendu). The second round was really the one which was probably really exciting. We had to decide on a marketing strategy for Indiagames.com and that too in 2 odd hours. It was a challenge and our group responded to it. I think the major difference between our team and the others was here was our grp which had 5 guys really motivated to do management in the future and that did make a difference. We went searching through their site, brought up new ideas, made an AD(tejas...gr8 job and to an extent pendu), created a one-liner (yours truly) and the result was tshirts and a bag for everyone (obviously getting selected for the finals as well)

The next day was a bigger challenge. A BUSINESS PROPOSAL!!. Ideas flew thick and fast. From YACHTS to SKYBUSES, from bio-fuels to shopping carts for retailers and finally landed on MAINTENANCE OF PARKS (ketan..nice job). Green-up services was born, albeit one hour before the final presentation. (man, im proud of our ability to work under serious pressure!!). Two guys did the presentation, three did the report and when we were done, we ran to the DEP seminar hall. The first thing that caught my sight was how the judges were pushing the finalists into the corner with questions ( in engg lingo...rape). We soon formed a huddle and started discussing the various aspects on which we might get quizzed. We all were tensed up and somehow the financial aspect wasnt clear to anyone, except for one great man, Mr.Alok Pendse (he is truly an eccentric genius). The way he racked up figures about our proposal was just fantastic. After all, when we managed to get our breath back, disaster struck! My pendrive got infected and our ppt was gone! (messrs Mhatre and nirmal stores). We were the only team giving our presentation without a presentation ..lol

I think the guys handled the situation brilliantly(esp deb babu, who did most of the talking). To not have the ppt and then garnering all thoughts and giving the presentation was credit-worthy. We were convincing in our presentation and somehow escaped the judges firing line. Our project was maintaining parks and gardens and garnering revenue from advertising ( BCCI does it..why not us..sorry for cricket again guys) . Somehow, the judges felt that our idea was not innovative enough and we had to be contented with the 3rd prize (something is better than nothing..cliched but true). Actually speaking, the prize dint really matter, but the effort that we put in as a team and the experience that we garnered was one which can never be forgotten. Personally speaking, it has given me confidence that ,yeah..im here to stay as far as being a manager goes (yes!nov 18,2007 was a bad day at the office). This was real team work and I for one, really enjoyed the experience.

THE APPRENTICES
------------------------
KETAN BARSAINYA
ALOK PENDSE
TEJAS MANKAR
JAYSURYA DEB
urs truly!! :)

JUST NOT ON..

2008-01-06T19:19:00.000+05:30

Yeah, the whole world will be talking about it and even im gonna blog about it.

SUNIL GAVASKAR: " This is utter nonsense"

ANIL KUMBLE: " There was only one team which played in the right spirit"

You must have guessed it by now. It was shameful, pathetic and disgusting. Nope, I am not talking about the Indian batting display,it is the umpiring and the Aussie behaviour. It was sheer disappointment to see a champion team to behave the way they did. I would refrain using that word again. Yes, they are certainly not champions. There were talks that this particular team wanted to emulate the record set by Steve Waugh's team. Emulate they did, but not the way any sports fan would be proud of. We all know that this team wants to win matches at any cost, but to goto such depths to eke out a victory is JUST NOT ON!!

Less said about the umpiring, the better. Ravi Shastri rightly pointed out, Steve Bucknor is past his prime. There is a shelf life for every person, and he is way beyond it. He should have retired at the end of the world cup.( we all know the goof-up of the world cup final ). Somehow he has got this special "affinity" for the Indians. If one can count, there have to be atleast 7 decisions that went against the Indian team. Probably, the most important one was of Symonds. 3 reprieves and a 162, he totally turned the match on its head. Had he been given out caught behind when he was 30-odd, India would have easily won this game. One can also be a little soft for the caught behind decision ( and im being very very kind), but the 2 stumping chances, which even the third umpire goofed up with all the various angles available, it left me speechless. The guy needs mental help. And coming to messer no.2 : Mr. Marc Benson, well he certainly left a mark on this test match. First he does not give Ponting out when he clearly edges one down the leg-side when on 14, then he gives him out leg-before when he inside-edged the ball and finally nails India's hopes when he asks Ponting for confirmation whether Clarke caught the ball clearly or not. What was Benson thinking!!!!!! Why the hell is ICC keeping a third umpire when umpires can ask opposition players when in doubt?? Was he totally out of his head??? India have lost the match, but I think they were not playing against 11 players , they were playing against 13.

Coming to the Aussies, as I had mentioned earlier, it was deplorable to see their behaviour. Claming a catch when the whole world has seen the ball being grassed and then Mr. Ponting speaks about his INTEGRITY!!!. I had the utmost respect for him, but now Ive lost it. He may be a great batsman, but he is a poor sportsman. And which integrity was he talking about? Does cheating gets included in his moral values?. Now i rate Sachin Tendulkar much much more higher than him. And what with Micheal Clarke, he stands his ground when its clear that he has nicked the ball to first slip and then he claims the catch when he grasses it. He is certainly a PUP. ( We know how we have played gully cricket, Clarke seems to be in the same mood)

With all this, my heart goes out to Jumbo. He is a terrific role model for any aspiring sportsperson. The dignity that he showed after the match at the post-match press conference was indeed laudable. India definitely did not deserve to lose this test match and Kumble shouldnt have been the losing captain. ( We all know the who the "loser" captain was). I just hope that if India lose the series( which in all probability, they will even though im a die hard optimist), the selectors dont remove him as captain as a knee-jerk reaction. Kumble deserves the captaincy like no one else does and i just hope that JUMBO gets unflinching support from his team mates and the board.

Taare Zameen Par

2008-01-01T21:15:00.000+05:30

Movies dont really fascinate me. Im not an avid watcher but i do manage to watch some movies. There have been good movies,bad movies and then there is a "Taare Zameen Par". I had seen its reviews in newspapers and was mightily impressed , but watching the movie itself had me spellbound. DOFF UR HATS OFF , to Mr.Perfectionist ala Aamir Khan.

I am no film critic. Viewing movies equals 3 hours of entertainment to me and if it carries a message, well it is just the icing on the cake then. This film really had me moved. It shows the story of a kid who has learning problems (dyslexia). We have had movies in the past talking about kids, but the simplicity and the way in which this problem has been put forward is laudable. It was not over-the-top. It had a clear message all the way: LET KIDS BE!! The performances of the lead actors (Darsheel Safary, Vipin Sharma, Tisca Chopra, Aamir Khan) were extremely realistic and one has to acknowledge the courage shown by Aamir to pull off such a film as his directorial debut. I have never really cried at the movies, but this film did bring a tear to my eye. Adding to the screen effect was the stirring and soulful music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy ( the song "Maa" is fabulous) .

It really bought me to the point, "what should we do in life"!. We do have an unhealthy obsession with the typical courses offered in our educational system and MARKS. The obsession with grades is particularly distressing and it really shudders me to think what will happen 20 years down the line, when competition would be fiercer. This film is really an eye-opener for all those parents who are huffing and puffing over their kids' grades. There is a life beyond grades and marks and its time we realize it. Yes, every child is special. Im an Aamir fan, but hes not paying me for this blog ..lol. So, if you still not watched it, watch it! It is SPECIAL.

somethings that wud never change

2008-01-01T12:17:00.000+05:30

Well..folks..heres wishing everyone a very happy and a prosperous new year... We all want things to change for the new year, but there are certain things that wont. Lets take a look :)

1. Confusion in the BCCI- right from the Graham Ford fiasco to team selections to settling the issue with Vengsarkar, the Board has never ever been clear in its ways. I dont think ther would be any change in that

2. Narendra Modi- boy,this man never looks like he will be out of Gujarat for years to come

3. Confusion over the N-deal- hmmm..less said the better, the deadlock refuses to be resolved.

4. Breaking news- News channels breaking news like who slept with whom, why did Mika kiss Rakhi , which soap does Dhoni use for bathing and washing his clothes.. we still watch them with eyes wide open

5. Reality music shows- Anu-malik idol, Himess re ga ma, aadesh of India, (cmon give me a break)

6. Olympics- Well its the olympic year and hopes will rise for a country which has been starved of medals. The hockey team, lee-hesh, shooters, athletics,boxers (well...to hope for a win is fine, but.....well...lets be realistic)

7. The Aussie juggernaut- Cricket is getting boring now with them. They just keep on winning, (doosron ko bhi chance do naa yaar)

8. Roger Federer- The equivalent of the Aussie cricket team, he just knows one thing-dominating tennis, another 3 grand slams this year and Pete Sampras' record bites the dust ( Nadal will win the french open as usual)

Have a great year folks!!

INDIA BOXed out....R.I.P.

2007-12-29T22:21:00.000+05:30

Well, today was another day when the famed Indian batting line up collapsed like a pack of cards. Its not the first time and wont be the last either. India with its middle order having an experience of more than 30,000 runs caved in and dint even score more than 200 in each innings of the boxing day test match. India did all the talking before the series( harbhajan had famously pointed out Brad Hogg, ask Yuvraj Singh!!) but the marauding Aussies had their way yet again. In such cases, India have been there done that ( by that i mean, caving under pressure in the 4th innings). The other (non)famous ones have been
1.5th test against the West Indies in 2002 at Jamaica, when India threw away their last few wickets only for it to start raining for 5 days a little later
2. 3rd test against Pakistan at Bangalore in the 2005 series at home, India collapsed on the last day to help Pakistan level the series.
3. 3rd test against Pakistan at Karachi in the 2006 series, again India collapsed on the last day and Pakistan won the series.
4. 2nd and 3rd tests against South Africa in 2007, India lost the series 2-1.

All this just brings us to the question, does India really have the batting line-up that should be counted as among the best in the world or are they just mere paper tigers. They cant be the best batting line-up in the world when the cant defend for a day in test cricket where survival is of utmost importance. The excuse which can be given is that they havent had the time to adjust to the Aussie pitches, but this MCG one was more like a "paata" wicket at the local grounds of Mumbai. Truly a time to introspect!!!

TIPS from devang gandhi

2007-12-21T23:08:00.000+05:30

With all this debate of who has to open with Wasim Jaffer against Australia on the 26th of December, I guess all channels would have been doing "vishesh charcha" on it. I happened to see one such discussion on ESPN in Sportscentre.

The discussion started off with Sunil Gavaskar, Ajit Wadekar and then they turned to DEVANG GANDHI...(of all people who have played cricket for India..cudnt u have got some other cricketer for tips). For all those people who dont know Mr.Devang Gandhi, he was a former opener for India (played in 1999-2000) and yeah was a part of the disastrous tour down under in which India won two games (one tour match and one against pakistan at Adelaide). He was giving TIPS to Indian opening batsmen saying that they would have to be positive in their approach, be sure of their footwork, get accustomed to the higher bounce, prepare themselves to face Shaun Tait and Co. ( as if the Indian batsmen dont know it). Phew, wish Mr. Gandhi knew all those tips before he went there in 1999 !!

PS: ESPN...DONT GO THE NEO/DD WAY...we expect better things!

The Sehwag conundrum!

2007-12-12T21:46:00.000+05:30

The Indian team for the tour down under has been selected and news...VIRENDER SEHWAG COMES BACK TO THE INDIAN TEAM..hmm...somehow the indian selectors do surprise us in some way or the other.

Im not a detractor of Sehwag...in fact im a great fan, but on what grounds has he merited a place in the team is definitely questionable at this stage. He is having a torrid time with the bat (66 runs in 3 ranji matches with a best of 32) and you select him instead of an in-form Aakash Chopra or even a Parthiv Patel. No doubt hes got a great record against the aussies in their own backyard(whew no one can forget the 195 at boxing day in 2003), but still that should be not the reason for the selection of any player in the team. It gives wrong signals to players performing at the ranji level (heart goes out to aakash chopra)

3-4 days earlier, we had Ian Chappell writing in his column that sehwag should be picked for the tour and that not selecting him in 24 probables is the worst possible decision to have been made. One wonders whether the Indian selectors pulled out this rabbit out of the hat after reading his column. Seems like the chappells are still having their way in Indian cricket :-)

WATCHING CRICKET ON TV!!

2007-11-29T18:39:00.001+05:30

It has been my wish to write about this topic, a year back steve waugh had mentioned in his columns that watching cricket in INDIA is horrible, with every break between overs, one can see atleast 3 ads(sorry if its more than tht)...i cant help but second that thought of the great australian captain :)

Watching cricket on TV recently has been nothing short of pain in the *** .. The India -Australia series and the ongoing India-Pakistan series has been nothing less than frustrating to watch. Many reasons contribute to that effect. First and foremost, somehow NEO sports has been dumped by my cable operator (maybe i should learn a thing or two frm SRK abt not being "santhusth") (well one of my friends is of the opinion that not having NEO sports is better than having it), so urs truly has to contend with the "Doordarshan" of cricket. So the on the day of the match, things start off with Mr. RAMAN BHANOT( dont blame me if u dont remember the name) and his "experts" which include chetan sharma(why..ohh why!!) , anjum chopra( by far the most articulate and sensible and for guys who dont know, former indian womens cricket team captain) and then u have one of vijay dahiya(yeah, he played against aus in 2001)/rahul sanghvi(yeah, he was in the same series) / a host of other former "experts". Well they "analyze" the game so well , that i cant help but appreciate their knowledge of the game. Their analysis include all that has previously happened at the stadium (believe me, its a ppt format, cmon DD...give me a break, u can have proper animations atleast) and expert comments abt the teams,pitch and yadayada...

Come to the match, u have mixed commentary(usual goof-up by DD)..u have hindi commentators first (sushil doshi,atul waasan, aamir sohail, rameez raja, arun lal) and they are interspersed with the english fellas ( im sorry for this..but... ajay mehra,gurpreet singh,ashok malhotra..english teachers beware,listen to them and ull forget grammar rules for construction of sentences)...even ill do a swot analysis now ..( all indians are experts at the game, ;) )

sushil doshi: You listen to him and u feel that u r listening to some mythological story (ekdum bhaari hindi fekega) . Comments like "younus aur yousuf yuddh k liye tayyar"( i think he was trying an alliteration there) are really "interesting" . Another interesting one is "pakistani ballebaaz aakraman ke liye tayyar" (its cricket all right..not a war)..heaven help!! and hes been commentating from the seventies..gosh..i pity all the regular DD viewers

atul wassan,arun lal : marginally better...juss marginally :)

aamir sohail,rameez raja: With their heavy punjabi accents in their hindi, theirs isnt the ideal commentary to listen to and plus u can easily say that they are biased towards pakistan. I know that commentators are biased towards their countries, but not this much!!

But i must admit hindi is far far better than english...

gurpreet singh,ajay mehra,ashok malhotra:What was DD thinking when they asked these three clowns to commentate, i really dont know (first of all, why does DD need to have english commentators of their own and waste money!!). Their english is downright BAD.period.
and their analysis...whew..mindblowing!!! They speak as if they have been successful captains of national teams ( i dont know whether any of them have played cricket at the highest level and i dont wanna research on them ). Hearing them , i juss get one feeling... mute the TV and watch ( DD, if u want, ill commentate for free, i bet i can be better ....lol )

Commentary is just one facet. What about those ads!!...man oh man...the team gets to a 50 ( THE TEAM i repeat) and u have kailash kher crooning ..MUSKURALE,MUSKURALE ....( i love his voice but not here). IT is THE most irritating thing to take place during the match. No we arent done yet, u have kailash kher again crooning for big bazaar in between overs(why..ohh why!!) Even if by mistake u have the commentators telling the score, the broadcasters feel that the overs complete and they go for a break, jesus, DD manages to pump in 6-7 ads in between overs and so u miss the action of the last ball of the previous over and the first ball of the next over so when it comes to the next over, the ball has already gone to the fielder or the boundary and u have missed it. After the match, when one wants to see the winning moments, again what one gets to see is srk dancing for fair and handsome/chyawanpraash/"santhusth". Im sure when everyone reads this, one cant help but agree it is a pain to watch cricket in India on TV! But its better than a stadium in the general stands where u have to stand in the heat. Well cant help it, so lets continue singing "MUSKURALE MUSKURALE" and " big bazaar" AND analyze the game with FOURTH UMPIRE ...!!

the journey continues..

2007-11-29T17:36:00.000+05:30

Im back after the break . Heres continuing the incomplete story...

After composing our original sound track, i wasnt too convinced abt its working, we had decided to participate in the band competition of K.J.Somaiya college, it wasnt gr8 start. We reached there on time, then we came to know that we have to perform inside a "tambu" and we were made to wait for more than 2 hrs.(precious time considering that i was going to give my GRE in march ), and then the performance wasnt the greatest, plus the crowd...well less said the better..but not blaming them, even VJTI crowds arent very cordial to visitors. The whole band was ripped apart,our OST was ripped apart..and we cudnt make the finals from 14 bands..DISHEARTENING indeed!

Its said... A NEW DAY, A NEW BEGINNING...the next day, it was another competition at KEM medical college at their fest. I wasnt very keen on it, first, i was rather pathetic the previous night,i felt like i let my mates down, two: and very important, getting permissions were getting difficult.. :) . But somehow i managed to go and as we were travelling to the college, sudhir gave me news that gladdened my heart, it was a fusion band competition which meant we had to use indian instruments (atleast 1) which gave me an oppurtunity to sing sayyonee!..but it wasnt easy as sudhir decided to intersperse it with "sultans of swing" with the tabla..after two paragraphs, i had to wait for an agonizing 5 mins standing on the stage in the heat...lol not a pleasant experience, but we completed it, we even got an applause for our OST, which gave me real confidence and more importantly....WE WON!!! :) a good beginning

After that it was down to our home ground, PRATIBIMB'07(THE REFLECTION..LOL)
We were practising hard for it. Almost 2 hrs a day was alotted for it and there was a sneaking feeling that we might go all the way. Disaster struck 2 days before the d-day. We practiced in the auditorium after college hours and horrors of horrors, not a single song came out right. Each and every person (including yours truly) were delivering horrible songs,which resulted in a dressing down for all of us :) (THE REFLECTION ;) ).

On the d-day however, we had our chins up. We were geared up and ready to go, we were the ones to kickstart the competition and we started with "teri deewani", and then we pumped it up with "dhoom pichak dhoom" and our OST. After a long time i enjoyed myself on stage and truly believed that it was the best performace from each and every member of the band. It was like hitting the peak at the right time, but alas, we finished a close 4th to our neighbours , UICT, (no disrespect, but im sure we were better ). Our wonderful journey of three months finally culminated at IMPACT, where we performed for 2 hours and had the crowds appreciation. It was tough to perform knowing that we lost out in the main competition, but credit to all to perform the way all did :).

PICTURE ABHI BAAKI HAI MERE DOST..dont worry guys, it is not an obituary :)
tarang will be there for a long long time to come, and i hope it keeps up its name to entertain people. ...as far as im concerned...hum idhar hi hoon and will be back next time with something else :)

and P.S. : to support my first blog on sampras and federer, the former beat the latter in straight sets in their third exhibition match, hats off to sampras to pull it off at 36!

TARANG:

SUDHIR KOLLAM(LEAD GUITARS)
AMOL SHENDE(PERCUSSION)
LALIT BHAGWAT(LEAD/RHYTHM GUITAR)
RUCHA DATAR(RHYTHM GUITAR)
TANVI KOTIA & APARNA KUMAR (KEYBOARDS AND BASE)

PRANAY KARWA,ABHISHEK SIDDHANTI, VARUNA KAMATH, ASHOK HARIHARAN, AAROOSHI RAI KUMAR AND urs truly :) (VOCALISTS)

TARANG...the journey so far..

2007-10-23T14:41:00.000+05:30

As i had mentioned in my previous blog, i am a part of the college band 'TARANG'. Actually, i hadnt heard of it in my early years at college. In my first year, through a senior i had learnt that there is a college band which plays instumentals and then in the second year, i saw the guys perform, i thought, they have potential and can perform well. I was never a part of the scheme of things until lady luck smiled upon me during technovanza '06 :)(august 2006).. there was no lead vocalist for the band, and the lead guitarist who also happened to be the GS of the tech fest was searching for one. My friend who was supposed to be the tabla player ( but who was also trying his best to keep away from the band giving reasons like " i have not practiced yaar") came running upto me on the first day saying that "dude they want a singer, u try out once". I thought to myself, chalo "isi baat pe chance par dance kar lete hain "

I sang aadat,suban allah and sudhir(the lead guitarist seemed impressed) and i was asked to perform on the final day of the tech fest. It wasnt easy at all, i was managing robolympics (which had the maximum participation) and the performance was to be held in the evening, and when the time came, i was totally tired. The tiredness did show in the performance, plus the lack of practice :D, although friends complimented me, when i saw the video, it was bad.PERIOD. Even sudhir lost confidence in me and said, u would have to come for the auditions again in december.

December: It was audition time. For the first time ever in the history of VJTI, auditions were held for selecting the members of the band, and it was an excercise which dint goto waste. We unearthed talents like lalit,pranay,siddhanti. Just goes to show that VJTI isnt famous only for academics (ahem...pls dont say "what") :)

December 2006 to february 2007 was probably the best time ive ever had in my 4 years of engineering. It had everything. I was the finance head of the sports fest, vocalist of the band(reinstated after i sung 'yeh hausla') and in the meanwhile, my wacky mind decided to give GRE (believe me, i started studying for the exam in march only at december end ).

Coming back to the band. This time sudhir had decided to give all competitions a shot. We started off with the TIMES OF YOUTH festival, it was a great experience to perform b4 all other prominent bands of mumbai, but we fell short. Not having an original score did hurt us badly as we finished 4th. So then it was decided that we should make an original soundtrack, i wasnt too comfortable with the idea, especially since i was entrusted with the responsibility of finding the tune. But as they say, alls well that ends well, my mind raced back to natai ragam and "jeet ki raah" was formed. .......(to be continued)... :)

My experiments with MUSIC

2007-09-24T22:50:00.000+05:30

Ever since i remember, music has always been a great companion for me. Listening to music has always given me a sense of NIRVANA as such.Its been a great journey for me..listening to kishore kumars "chingari koi bhadke" from my dad as a LORI to lull me to sleep to carnatic music, from traditional hindi film music to south indian MASALA, from ghazals to heavy metal, music to me has been a constant soulmate so as to say :D

My mom and dad are avid music lovers and i guess the genes just passed on to me. Both have learnt classical music, so i guess when i was in my mothers womb, i was shaking my head to music . On a serious note, as a TAM-BRAHM boy, i had to learn one or the other art so that i can be a jack of all trades . So there i was learning the TABLA at the age of 5 and carnatic music at the age of 7 (poor old me )..lol.. i still remember i used to think of all kind of excuses to not to go to my classes,but well , moms.... i had to :), i dont know why she thought that i would have an interest in the tabla, probably since my cousin was learning the MRIDANGAM or probably because she caught me playing on the table rhythmically (thats a habit which still hasnt left me )
so there i was learning the two trends, little realizing that they would be so satisfying later in my life :)

Even in my toddler years, i was fascinated by the songs of Kishore da, my father used to sing songs like "chingari koi bhadke", "kuch tho log kahenge" so that i can sleep peacefully...my uncle was an avid mohammad rafi fan, so at an early age, i took to these 2 singing greats. Even now , when i listen to a song like "aanewaala pal" or "abhi naa jaao chodkar", i still marvel at the ease with which these maestros used to sing, truly effortless. The songs look seemingly easy to sing, but thats because these two legends have made it that easy.Kishore da could sing "ek ladki bheegi bhaagi see" and at the same time, he would sing "mere naina saawan bhaadon",such mood contrasts with such depth was something breathtaking. Ditto for RAFI sahab, who could sing any song with consummate ease.

The next fascination for me was in the year 1992 when a young guy burst onto the scene creating magic in the film ROJA, yes A.R.RAHMAN. This man has come a long way from being a curly haired newcomer trying to find his feet, to being the one single inspiration for all youngsters to take up music. When one hears the background score for "Yeh haseen vaadiyan"(the piano piece), or the theme for "bombay", u truly can do nothing but marvel at his genius. I personally feel that his high point was 1997, VANDE MATARAM. The album was a wonder, and even now when i hear the songs from that album, i get goosebumps. And now with RANG DE BASANTI , he has redeemed himself once again.

More personal favourites include shankar mahadevan,hariharan,SPB(not because they are tam-brahms :), but true gifts), sonu nigam, kavita krishnamurthy, shreya goshal( i think shes a superstar), KK(true rockstar). But the one who tops the list is KAILASH KHER. The man has a voice of gold. Simple and yet so powerful,so throbbing. He is a guy who sings from his heart and acc.to a definition for a singer, thats apt :). Among other genres, i dont think rock is such a bad idea. Intially, i had my reservations, but some of the songs are really good. I must actually give credit to my cousins who introduced me to this genre. Metallica, iron maiden ,linkin park definitely deserve an ear when u are frustrated and u juss wanna bang ur head out of frustration ( no offence to rock listeners, they are truly very good )

On a personal note, my highpoint of music was when i composed an original track for my college band . The creative satisfaction that i got after that was great. Even more amazing was, the thing i dint particularly like during my childhood, had actually helped to compose an orginial sound track. When we were struggling for a tune, my mind simply went to the NATAI ragam( one of my favourites) and instantly the tune got in sync with the lyrics. It was an achievement of sorts, since the thing i had learnt was put into use.

My experiments still continue, this is just the beginning, MUSIC still has plenty of pages to fill in my blog :D

K-r-UMBLE goes TON TON-a-TON

2007-08-12T15:21:00.000+05:30

One of the highlights of the 3rd test match between India and England has been the century scored by probably the most hardworking guy that the Indian team has even seen, Anil Kumble.
The game has rarely ever seen a more gentlemanly cricketer and that is why the hundred will be one of the more popular hundreds that the world has ever seen. Everybody loved it and the most amazing part of the hundred was the ecstatic way in which Kumble punched the air with delight when he got to the 3 figure mark. A new child was born again in the frame of a 36 year old. Probably the man lived his entire 18 year old career once again in that one moment.

He has always been a fighter to the core and has always given more than a 100% everytime he has walked onto a cricket field. He has played the game the hard way. On the field, he has been one of the fiercest competitors but has never sweared at the batsman. A fantastic role model for anyone wanting to take up the game. No wonder he has survived for almost two decades and has emerged as the leading Indian wicket-taker. Nobody would have believed that a bespectacled young man, all of 18 years of age in 1990 would go on and play 118 more tests and still go strong. Thats Kumble for you, never one to give up a fight.

We all know about his bowling prowess, the number of wickets he has taken, but at the same time he takes his batting very seriously. He has always put up a price tag on his wicket and has said to the bowler, You have to get me out. In the late 90's he alongwith Srinath gave the lower order of India a decent look. In fact, the two of them helped India to victory at Bangalore against Australia in the titan cup of '96, when India were seriously looking down the barrel. Another of his important contribution came against South Africa in the same year at Kolkata where he alongwith Mohammed Azharuddin gave Lance Klusener and Co. a sound thrashing. Although India lost the match, it was clearly evident that Kumble takes his batting seriously.

But of course, he is a lower order batsman and not always comfortable with short stuff. He got a real snorter from West Indian Mervyn Dillon which broke his jaw, still he came out later and bowled 14 overs on the trot with a bandaged jaw and also picked up the prize wicket of Brian Lara. Truly, a fantastic competitor.

He has been a part of an era when India dominated home matches (of which he was integral part) and lost badly away. But with the Indian batting coming of age, his dream of winning overseas test matches and series (plus contributing in them) is coming true. The hundred he scored would have been personally satisfying as he has sown the seeds of a great series triumph in the land of the Old Blighty after 21 years. Very often in the past, he has been the unsung hero of the Indian team, handsomely contributing but never boasting about his achievements. His contribution to Indian cricket has been monumental and when he leaves the arena, a huge vacuum will be created. But today, it is time to celebrate, celebrate the success of one man called KUMBLE who makes batsmen KRUMBLE!

FEDERER V/S SAMPRAS...will it ever end???

2007-07-06T11:29:00.000+05:30

The one doubt thats lingering on everyones mind in the tennis world ; Who is the greatest?.Pistol Pete Sampras or Roger Federer? For one, no one has been able to come up with any sort of definitives on this debate.

Pete Sampras:rocket serve,fantastic volley, a U-cant-miss overhead smash, precision strokes

Roger Federer: pin point accurate serve, a game which flows like a river , shots which can make the opponent look pedestrian

Sampras had to stave off far more superior competition in his days. Players like andre agassi,boris becker,goran ivanisevic,jim courier,pat rafter and in the beginning of his career, stefan edberg,ivan lendl :all top notch players in their own right. In spite of this and the untimely death of his mentor and coach .Tim Gullikson, Sampras braved on and was the world no.1 for six succesive years between 93-98. His other achievements are of course..the seven wimbledons, where during his reign, the only question posed was who would face sampras in the finals,5 US opens,( the last one is a stuff, legends are made of), 2 Aus opens. Of course, there will always be the fact that the red clay at roland garros wasnt his favourite.His best performance was a semifinal in 1996, where he lost to the eventual champion, yevgeny kafelnikov, but still 14 grandslams and 64 titles in all is indeed a remarkable achievement. ON his day, he wd destroy any player.( he defeated andre agassi in straight sets in wimbledon final of 99,when agassi was no.1)

Roger federer is a tremendous all court player,one might say that the competition hes faced hasnt been the greatest, but on the flip side, his game is such that, he makes the top playes look like nincompoops. He has won an astonishing 10 grandslams in the period between 2003-2007 and that is just an amazing record. Even if one takes away the competition factor, the stamina and the endurance required to win 10 grandslams is laudable enuf. He ,like Sampras , has not won on the red clay of paris, but hes got the game to do the unthinkable. For the moment, he is scratching his heads as to how to get past the raging bull in the form of a rafael nadal. But hes proven his detractors wrong by beating the spaniard at the hamburg masters final, showing that nadal is beatable on clay. With a little bit of fortune, the swiss master can definitely win the only grand slam which has eluded him. There is no doubt that federer would beat the record of Pete Sampras of record number of grand slams, but that alone doesnt put him above pistol pete.

Like the majority of people, my opinion is divided as to who is the greater player of the two. One has retired and the other is still making the top 10 players look like novices. It is a coincidence that sampras' spiral downfall started with the upswing of Roger Federer and maybe thats put an end to this debate. Both are the greatest players of their own era and both will find their places in annals of tennis history. For the moment, the debate will continue. aaaahh..wish the two could have played a wimbledon final at centre court at the peak of their careers, that would have settled it once and for all....but...all wishes cannot come true!