Reflections

The India Opportunity

2011-03-03T20:27:00.004+05:30

Over the last 4 or 5 years, we have all heard of the India's incredible growth story. Of roaring growth and booming GDP. This, mostly from newspapers such as TOI. I'm not going to make snide remarks about the media because fact is, they are shite and everyone (with a brain) knows it. That aside, the country has seen incredible growth even though there may be a million sicknesses that the media chooses to gloss over.

Just a couple of cases in point most obvious in an urban context:
1. The spread of mobile phones
2. The rise in number of airline services

The two are effects which principally affect totally different segments of the Indian demographic. The cause for both is broadly the same. Personally, I don't consider either to be real progress. Our definition of progress in based on the concept of hyper consumption and greed. Greed, unfortunately, begets greed and consumerism is an epidemic that is not going to go unless apocalypse strikes (the sheer number of people!). Yet, both these effects have added real value to the lives of people. More people can avail these services today than two decades back so for them it is progress.

Having said that, don't you think that with both, so much can be improved? When I hear cheap phone blaring out 90's Hindi songs in buses, I feel it is a case of great resources in the wrong hands. People with extensive experience of air travel can no doubt tell you what could be better in that industry. Usually, a problem goes through four phases
1. Problem is noticed
2. Someone complains
3. Necessity gives birth to innovation
4. A new benchmark is established and people find new things to complain about

What does this tell you about the Indian context? That problems have been noticed and people (me at least) are complaining. It sets the stage for innovation. Whats even more encouraging is that real growth has been achieved and we are still shite as a nation! We can only improve from here. Unlike countries in the west which look like they have peaked. And once you peak, there is only one way to go: down. Ups and downs can be expected in a global economy but our future looks good. I have some cousins who are based abroad so I get asked sometimes whether I would consider settling abroad. With the gaping opportunity, my answer will be a firm no.

Finding bliss

2011-01-10T00:32:00.003+05:30

Amid all the chaos, the blaring advertisements, the honking cars, the hollering people and a general numbing of the senses, somewhere you realize that its about sharing, about culture, about values.

Getting back

2010-10-16T22:50:00.005+05:30

Melancholy is back. It was on a bit of a vacation. Well, the questions of life never really leave but now that I have a bit of alone time, I decided to write about it.

A lot has been happening in my life lately. There's been a change of job, a change of location, setting of goals, a broadening of vision and a reunion with some good friends. Some things haven't changed. College still remains the benchmark with respect to quality of life. I am convinced that that benchmark will not change. I think I dont want it to change. The journey from school to gaining one year of work experience has been rough. When I think that some of my best memories from college are more than 4 years old, the mind boggles. That there are more than 30 years of professional life to go makes me want to run away to a far off land.

Now there is 5, 10 sometimes 20 year vision. Now there is formal talk and corporate suck up. There is a daily commute and a code of conduct. Back then, we didn't look beyond the next day's football session. Honestly, no one thought it would ever end. All in good time one may say and it would be correct. There is satisfaction in having gained a sense of direction but one essential question still remains. Do I want to work like a dog and achieve something real and meaningful? Or do I want to lead a life of ease and guaranteed returns? It's a matter of principle which is as yet undetermined. I read recently that workaholics are people who work to escape their dull lives. Not very different from gaming or TV addicts. I realize I'm going down that route now. I think I'll figure it out. Hopefully, its just a matter of time.

(October 2010)

One Life

2010-03-23T23:52:00.004+05:30

One Life. Your life. One chance. Your chance. One passion. Your passion. One belief. Your belief.

One family. Your family. One love. Your love.

One vision. Your vision. One path. Your path.

One life. Your life.

Do good.

Clarity

2010-03-19T23:07:00.002+05:30

They say, that immediately after a storm, there is clear weather. I’d like to imply that after a period of fuzziness and confusion comes clarity. I don’t think the confusion is gone yet but clearly, there is some clarity. You could do a million good things in life, earn a lot of money and become highly successful. But in the end the thing that matters most is the relationships you build and friends you make. That’s clarity.

The need for good sense

2010-02-20T12:37:00.010+05:30

With all the recent blunders in its ground breaking report on global warming being admitted by the IPCC, skeptics have got a new voice. I think global warming is a threat. If not in the short term, then definitely in the long term. Unfortunately this series of errors is bad publicity; the IPCC has lost credibility. But as is usually the case with issues of a global nature, the larger picture goes missing. For me, when an issue like this gets endorsed by a mass audience (Copenhagen last year for example), it reeks of gimmickry.

Whether global warming is real or not, shouldn't we continue to do the sensible things? Global warming may not be proved beyond doubt, but there are problems we know are causing considerable damage to the environment and society. One of them, broadly speaking, is pollution. Yes, a lot of it overlaps with the global warming issue (greenhouse gases) but the results are in front of our eyes. Industrial and vehicle pollution spoils the air we breathe and waste is being dumped into the water we drink. With air pollution especially, you know things are not right when your eyes start watering whilst out on the street.

Fossil fuel is being burnt to generate the electricity we use. So are we really running out of fossil fuels (and hence the need to rapidly reduce our dependence on them and start using alternate energy)? Maybe, maybe not. But lets ensure that we use only as much as we need. Lets use better appliances, switch them off when not needed. (Note: While CFLs are a well meaning technology, I'm not sure they are the way forward. The bulbs are filled with mercury which makes them a bio-hazard. Any leak/contact with humans is very dangerous. Disposing them, for the same reason, becomes a problem. I mention CFLs because they are being promoted vigourously.)

Lets not waste water. It is such a precious resource in this day and age. While we in the cities use liters and liters on a daily basis, there are people who have to make do with less than a liter a day. And if not for the aforementioned people, do it because it makes perfectly good sense!

As I said, the larger picture has gone missing. Sooner or later, we will find out about warming and its effects. Now, lets tackle the problems right in front of us. There is a desperate need for sense to prevail.

Drinking Culture

2010-02-07T17:47:00.012+05:30

When Nooria Haveliwala was drinking her last peg on the 29th of January, she probably thought-like most of us-that she would get away. Not even in her worst nightmare would she have seen the horrible consequences of her incredible drunkenness. Two people died and some others got injured. She herself escaped unhurt.

Lots of different things have been reported in the media which is essentially not important. What is important though, is the kind of culture that is being promoted in our metro cities. With swelling population and growing salaries so many people don't really know where to spend all the money. Pubs and bars offering cheap liquor are sprouting across cities. Bangalore has such a high density of pubs it will probably accommodate every software engineer living there. And I'm not sure whether I'm exaggerating or not which is saying something. I myself have often been the pillion rider with a drunk friend. Despite my protestations, the friend in question shrugs and reminds me of India's latest position on the bribery index. I have been fortunate in that I have never been caught. A friend who was caught once was let off without any action whatsoever. People believe they can get away with being drunk. If you can get drunk, you can surely pay your way out of a ticket. That, in my opinion, is the core of the problem. The drinking culture that is being developed is very worrisome.

Advocating caution is just not going to deter people. An offender needs to know that he will be punished if he breaks the law. It is difficult to foresee a future with restrictions on pubs/bars and drinking in general. In fact the right solution for this kind of recklessness would be to nip it in the bud; going the prevention-is-better-than-cure way. Lets not even get to the point where a drunk person takes the wheel. Lets totally avoid needing a policeman to find out if one is drunk or not. For me, a viable solution is the bar arranging a bus for all those drunk over the limit and recovering the money as part of a refundable entry/cover charge. If we can't beat the culture problem then we must join in and find a remedy. The sooner, the better.

Vestigial politics

2010-01-17T14:48:00.005+05:30

Just yesterday, after reading of the appointment of M.K. Narayanan, Shivraj Patil and some other inconsequential politicos to the post of governor of random states, I wondered about what the governor of state actually does. Owing to all the dust that has settled over seven or eight year old memories of Indian civics, all I know is that

Governor:State::President:Nation

Ok. That means that they are mere pawns who are required to carry out token tasks like putting their signature on any new bills introduced. Why exactly then does our country need a president or a state a governor? Wikipedia reveals the following (and I'll only dwell on points I find relevant):

President of India:
Powers
1. President 'appoints' the Prime Minister after a majority (clearly or through coalition) has been demonstrated. Not that he has any decision making to do there.
2. President 'appoints' the Chief Justice of India. On the recommendation of the Cabinet.
3. Power to grant pardon to or reduce the sentence of a convicted person.
4. Money bills can be introduced in the Parliament only on the prior recommendation of the President.
5. A bill that the Parliament has passed, can become a law only after the President gives his/her assent to it. The President can return a bill to the Parliament, if it is not a money bill, for reconsideration. However, if the Parliament sends it back to them for the second time, the President is obliged to assent to it. Note 'obliged'.
6. President is the supreme commander of the armed forces. He can declare war or conclude peace but only if parliament approves.

Salary
The president is paid Rs. 1.5 lakh a month although note this- 'However, almost everything that the President does or wants to do is taken care of by the annual Rs 225 million budget that the Government allots for his or her upkeep'.

The Rashtrapati Bhavan occupies an area of 200,000 square feet undoubtedly employing a large number of people, and incurring mammoth maintenance bills.

And I've kept out a number of other points. The presidents powers list actually starts to get funny after a point with the regular occurrence of 'obliged', 'however', 'subject to', 'on the recommendation of' etc.

A Governor of state has exactly the same powers (or lack thereof) as his superior the President, except for the fact that he/she cannot be impeached. Given whatever paltry responsibility the governor enjoys, one might say there would never be a case for impeachment. Oh, and the governor earns over a lakh of rupees a month and lives in sprawling mansions situated in posh localities in the capital city of the state in question. Like this. Smooth.

So why does our country need to continue with these positions? For our love of symbolism perhaps. Or perhaps the need to appease a bunch of politicians who have become vestigial? Is there any point exasperating myself with all this? Or am I missing something here? Because I'd really like to know.

A tale of two faces

2010-01-10T21:06:00.006+05:30

For some reason, I did not want to post this on the blog but I just could not resist. So here it is.

On the left is...well, if you don't know then there isn't any point in telling you who he is. And on the right is upcoming Indian tennis player Somdev Devvarman

Putting reality TV to good use

2009-12-25T18:52:00.007+05:30

I've made my peace with reality shows. How? By simply ignoring them. Completely. In fact I've sort of been working on a filter that keeps out all the shit from life. I understand that reality TV is probably the lowest (yet) to which humanity can stoop in its greed for money and fame. It can be clubbed with other shit like modern politics, bollywood and its antics, contemporary news channels, the wannabe generation...well, the list is endless. So basically I'm done with the ranting (though I've experienced that rants are often associated with peaked frustration levels).

Yet, I cant help thinking of the amount of good that come out of something that has mass outreach. Staying with reality TV, here is what I think can be done to improve society and still make as much money off it without producing a generation of dumbass reality TV celebs.

1. Crime. Parade criminals on TV. We've a number of high profile criminals in our country. Make them appear on TV, ask them to talk shit about morality and repentance. Some scripted advice as well. In return, offer to pay their families. Get a cheap slut to host the shows. I'm sure it can be arranged.

2. Highlight social evils. Feature people caught in the net of societal backwardness. More modern phenomenons like children harassing parents..you know. How do you find such people? Why invite applications of course. Scrutinize and select the most worthy. Get a sensitive type person to host this show.

3. Seek justice. Like a person wrongly fired from a job. Sensationalize it big time and make it clear to all wrong doers that such mischief will lead to humiliation on national television. Any of the former two genres of people could be a host here.

Just a few of the top of my head. I know all these would be immoral, cheap and rating-hungry shows but its not like we have anything any different on TV these days.

What do you think? I'm pretty sure you can come up with some ideas. Lets make some constructive use of the space given by Google.

Tomfoolery

2009-12-15T14:19:00.006+05:30

On Google News search, type 'Vikram Buddhi' and in every result you will find the following keywords- "jailed", "convicted", "US", "sentence", "courts" etc. But what will strike you most-if you think, think at all and do not get drawn in by the humongous mess that is the Indian media-is "IIT alumnus". It is a concerted effort although I am confused about its objective. I can see two possible reasons for tagging 'IIT' along with every article that is being typed and printed.

Lets face it. The IITs are an obsession in India. Nothing stops a parent from dreaming of 'sending' their child to an IIT, not even the child's own ambitions. Getting into the IITs itself is a multi-crore rupee industry. People spend valuable years of their lives trying to get into one of these prestigious institutes. In a sense, it is the one thing a nation, hungry for recognition by the west (*quivers with rage*) can cling on to as the best in the field. A whole blog could be dedicated to this perplexing phenomenon.

As I said, I can think of two reasons for this utterly irritating infatuation in the media. The first is to-in a way-pass a hint that, "Hey! This guy is an IITian. He couldn't possibly be involved in a crime!" and follow that up with, "Come on all you dullards reading this article, show some solidarity and line up at the Gateway with candles and demand his release because he is obviously a wronged man!". We can be sure that most of the dullards will actually lap it up.

The second-and I'll tread with caution here-is to try and mitti-mein-milaofy the reputation of the IITs. It is generally quite clear what type of game our haloed media try to play. Shower fame upon someone or something and raise it to a pedestal till that thing becomes unrecognizable from its original self. And then, like a leopard stalking its prey, pounce upon the tiniest chance to run it down and defame it. That is what I suspect may be happening here. Telling us that the IITs you worship are the breeding ground for people like Vikram Buddhi. Given that the nations reputations is on the line-and the media being the upholder of our collective pride (*snorts*)-this is unlikely to be the case. Especially when the Most Advanced Country in the World (TM) is involved. Yet with the clowns sitting atop the media circus, nothing can be ruled out.

P.S- This post has very little to do with Vikram Buddhi. I (like the buffoons I refer to), from my position of irrelevance cannot decide whether the man is innocent or not. He is an accused in a foreign country. The law will take its course. For my part, I can only hope that justice is served and no amount of racial prejudice is involved in deciding the fate of Buddhi.

Beauty and the Beast

2009-11-25T22:20:00.004+05:30

Beautiful simplicity-
Along the rail tracks in the open air, a couple of girls in frilly white frocks, hair tied into pony tails, wearing flimsy little slippers, playing badminton with cheap rackets and a torn shuttle cock. Smiles on their faces, joy in their hearts, and not a care in their minds.

Unfathomable complexity-
Me, on polished badminton courts with high ceilings, wearing a Reebok jersey, Nike shorts, and Adidas shoes using a Yonex racket and a Yonex shuttle cock complaining about the inadequate ventilation in my jersey, about the slight rip in my shoes, about the wayward flight of the shuttle, and about the poor lighting in the hall.

Appreciate what is around you and be grateful for what you have.

Close shave

2009-11-23T22:28:00.006+05:30

Today as I was walking back home from my photography class, a big white car came head on out of nowhere with the intention to turn left (my right of course) onto a perpendicular lane. I-as any other person in my position would have-was taken aback, rooted to the spot. The driver just about controlled the car leaving me with what is known as a 'close shave'. As the car went by, I noticed that behind the wheel was a girl. And well, guess what? She was hot. A really hot girl wearing a tank top, driving a big car...what do you expect? Trained as my eyes are at picking up the slightest details on really good looking women, I noticed a stunned sort of expression on her face. Something like :O. Not stunned enough for an apology though. She sped off.

Now the funny thing is that I would have pardoned her with a cheeky smile had she got off and apologised. Maybe even said a few kind words. Why? Oh, you know why. And you know whats even funnier? The though that came to me later. That being knocked down by a car with a hot girl in it could be just the sort of thing that my eerie woman-less life needs. For obvious reasons. Eerie indeed. I smiled, closed my eyes and walked on.

One for the Future

2009-11-13T12:27:00.012+05:30

The 'Good Parenting in the 21st century' debate rages on every day. And I decided to write this post after I was party to some crap radio show my Mom was listening to. It dealt with said issue and it was obviously presented from a parents perspective (no self respecting youngster would be listening to Marathi radio at 12:30 on a Friday or so I feel). Now, a background would go some way towards understanding what the author goes through at home. For starters, my Mom feels I am a no gooder. I waste time on useless things, have no ambition, and I dont speak to her (and Dad) openly about my thoughts blaaaa. That's just cutting the long story short. Well, most of these things are true but there are reasons. Grave, weighty reasons.

Without delving into them, I'll hazard a guess: something similar happens in most homes today. And I'm sure (not a guess this time) that most of the children in those homes would agree that the 'generation gap' is a major cause. Our parents were brought up on a wholesome diet of censorship, self control, conservatism, rigidity and above all obedience. They did not have the money to splurge, they did not know what staying out till late in the night meant, and God, they never came close to getting 'high'; the word in its true sense. And there in lies the problem. When todays children have money to blow, stay out till obscene times partying and getting high is no big deal (some would say mandatory to gain 'acceptance' amongst peers), it is justifiable that a parent feels flabbergasted. And these are just a few examples.

The upbringing of our generation has been pretty liberal. So, the question is can we be better parents with the experience we have without having the desperate need to command and control?

Priceless

2009-10-14T00:59:00.003+05:30

Its amazing how you can write impulsively about something that is close to you. I have a dozen other ideas for future posts and I've come to this one without even a thought.

A small storm of sorts has been kicked up by CBSE's decision to grade the attitude and values of a student. Its not my place to pass judgment but for what its worth, I'd say any new idea is as good as its implementation. No different with this one. Well implemented, this could be very good for our pathetic education system but badly executed, it would just make a disastrous system even more disastrous. Do I need to defend the claim that our education system is shite? From my own little experience, if so many people in the engineering field are disillusioned with their own stream (chosen as a career choice) then surely something isn't working. Lets not even start a discussion about our schools.

All I want really is for educators to inculcate the spirit of independent thinking into children's minds. I am probably being paradoxical when I use inculcate and independent in the same sentence but its something we (and I'm sure many of my friends will agree) lacked as kids. In fact we were always instructed to follow peoples footsteps and stay out of danger. They said we should always ask 'why' but that why could only apply to questions in chemistry, biology and physics. Now that I see so much shit around me, I realize I never asked 'Why science?' or 'Why engineering?', 'Why masters?' or 'Why MBA?'. 'Why to put up with all this shit?', 'Why accept anything without thinking about it first?'. Whether or not I would have got a satisfactory answer is another matter. Nothing is as powerful as a free mind. Few will claim they were mature enough to decide what they wanted their career option to be at the age of 12 or 15 or even 18 for that matter.

Delicate little minds need a gentle nudge.What happens in our schools and colleges (and don't forget homes) is akin to a rugby tackle. The CBSE is probably moving in the right direction and I hold out hope that something good will come out of this new aspect of evaluation. India's education desperately needs a revolution.

Hypocrisy I

2009-09-25T21:29:00.005+05:30

Interviewer to celeb-

Q1- What do you feel about homosexuals?
A- I believe homosexuals are human beings who deserve to be treated equally. Their sexuality is something straight people will not understand. Its not a choice and its not for anyone to judge.

Q2- Are you gay?
A- What!! Are you f***ing insane? How dare you ask me something like that? Who the f*** gave you the f***ing right to ask me something like that? Whom do you work for? Tell me, I'll have you sacked right this moment you little c***!!!

Alienated

2009-09-22T23:06:00.004+05:30

While in Pune recently I watched the movie District 9. It was an 11:30 pm show and admittedly all three of us at the theatre were slightly tired and would have taken to the bed if presented with one. It was made worse because the bloody hall wasn’t opened until 11:45 pm. As it turned out, the movie was awesome. I had naught idea about the movie beforehand; I thought it would be a regular Hollywood dhadam-dhudum movie. The start took me absolutely by surprise and the rest of it was fascinating if not riveting. In case you don’t know it is an alien movie.

Now the point of this post is what came casually to my mind at the end of the movie. We as humans and supposedly the most superior race can’t imagine any other race being superior to us. We just can’t. Why for example shouldn’t ‘aliens’ be better looking, smarter and wiser than us? It seems we like to think of them as smarter, which is why they are way ahead of us in their technology. But they always look absolutely hideous. From ET to Independence Day to the ‘prawns’ in District 9, aliens have always been picturised as being so ugly that this fellow would probably have to be called pretty. And of course they know zilch about relationships, their language is not developed and wisdom is the last characteristic you would attribute to them. Now if there were other living beings out there in the universe which were better than us in said respects, we would lose our self-imposed title of most superior race in the universe. That would be terrible, no?

In a way such an alien would be close to the God we all revere. Maybe for us it’s intolerable to think of God as a race. I’m no psycho analyst so I can just speculate as to what gives humans this superiority complex. I only hope we can open our minds to the possibility and that there is a movie in the future which shows superior aliens who land on our blessed planet and teach us a thing or two about living.

Missing football

2009-09-20T23:05:00.004+05:30

Receive the ball. Take a touch. Accelerate. Flex your thighs. Stretch your hamstring. Strain your calves. Tighten your biceps. Feel the exhilaration. Sense the speed. Battle it out. Do a trick. Score a goal. See the beauty all around.

I miss doing this. Playing the beautiful game. Every time I see people playing- on TV, on a field- I realize what I am missing. I always knew I wouldn’t get to play much after college, at least not as much as I played on campus but I didn't know it would be so bad. I’ve played twice in the last four months and it is really agonising now. It hurts the most when they show close ups of footballers running with all their might. For me there is no better enjoyment than that. The little plus I can take from my misery is that the next time I play I will play like there is going to be no next time. I just hope that next time comes soon. Till then though there is badminton which is similarly hard on the body but for me football takes the cake, always.

Random II

2009-08-28T18:21:00.010+05:30

I have recently come to the conclusion that as one ages, one starts to understand what ones best look is. Facially. Now that I've put forward my conclusion with the first line of the post, let me start deconstructing the argument. In essence, working backwards or what geeks would call 'reverse engineering' and all that. There are two premises to my hypothesis.

1. That with everything you go uphill and eventually go downhill
2. That the older you are, the more mature you get.

So when you combine the two premises, what you get is (in your 20's) a more mature you pretty far up the hill. Of course everybody is different. My case of reference is my own.

As a kid, there was nothing notable about my look. Back then I thought I looked pretty decent. That was when the 'mushroom' cut, just as ridiculous as it sounds, was a fad and games such as 'follow the leader' on cycles were being played.

As I hit puberty, I thought I had it in me to be a real hunk what with all the extra hormonal activity. It was either that or the desire to not look like a fool in front of the girls. Of course every adolescent thought that way and that resulted in extra hours spent in front of the mirror, in toilets in between classes (again in front of the mirror), that slight tucking-out of the school shirt, revolutionary hairstyles (one of which was 'spikes'), and increased non casual activity around girls (read wooing).

Then came college when I no longer thought I could be a hit among the girls but the confidence in my own looks was enough to think (audaciously) that if a girl liked me, she would come to me. Obviously, nothing of that sort ever happened. For me, the lush beard you might have seen me with was an epitome of handsomeness. I wanted to experiment with my looks. Be a little bold. I tried tweaking things a couple of times (those sideburns and once completely taking off my moush) but the incredibly unflattering reaction I received each time was enough to convince me that experimenting was for after college.

Now that I'm out of college, I've trimmed my hair and moush to the bare minimum of a visible layer. And believe me, I've never looked better. Not that it will drive any girl towards me but I like it. It feels really good (I dont have to comb my hair anymore).

The funny part is that when I look back I see really bad photos. My kid photos-dont even ask. My beard-well it may have been alright but it looked out of place on me.

So can my hypothesis become a theory? Post your thoughts..

PS-This is a ridiculous post. It is pure mumbo-jumbo. Idle mind = devils workshop and all that. Please dont take the contents seriously. If you wish, you could add to the non sense and have some fun..

Just for a moment

2009-08-27T22:09:00.008+05:30

Just for a moment close your eyes, just for a moment forget everything around you, just for a moment remove all the turmoil from your mind, just for a moment dont think about money, just for a moment forget religion, just for a moment detach yourself from your daily grind.

And now see how many people are out there who struggle to get one meal a day, who dont get to go to schools, who get beaten up for no fault of theirs, who spend their evenings in darkness, who cant take care of their children if they get sick, who will never get to read this blog and who will never know what it is to dream.

And you know what? They are happy. They have problems, they fight, they cry but they are happy. Us? We have problems, we fight, we cry but it stops there. We are always frustrated, angry and depressed. We cant bear to accept that there are things out of our control.

That is not to say not to dream, not to fight, and not to cry but if only we learnt to be happy, our lives would be much better. Try it and you will be a different person

Shah Rukh Khan isnt the only one

2009-08-22T11:03:00.009+05:30

Shah Rukh Khans questioning at Newark airport has thrown up some questions. 'People' are asking why (more to the tune of 'how the hell') an Indian multi billionaire superstar (super superlatives) was stopped by the US authorities. 'Some' say whenever someone as 'important' as SRK travels abroad, there should be communication from the Indian government. 'Others' are screaming racial profiling. 'Still others' say it was a publicity stunt which if true would have to be applauded for the elaborateness of the whole thing. I would have said Indian cinema has come a long way. Anyway, amidst all the hoopla one forgets the awesome regularity with which this happens to Asians out there in the blessed west. The 'random' checks that happen are embarrassing and make the traveler feel unwanted in the country-something SRK himself said.

I'll recount not anyone elses but my own story. I went to the US in June (2009) to visit my Dad. He works there (San Francisco). The visit was to be of three weeks duration. The culmination of my visit was to be my cousin brothers wedding in Boston. My stop over was at Paris. There was no trouble until then. At Paris my hand-bag was 'random' checked. At San Fran airport came the rude shock. My dad had warned me about trouble. I'm 22, have just finished my engineering, am looking for a job and my dad is settled in the US. That makes me the ideal Indian-who-comes-in-with-visitor-visa-and-settles-down type of person. I had had trouble getting my visa so I had an idea what I was dealing with. Immigration let me go without any trouble. Merrily, I collected my bags and was looking forward to seeing my Dad. I had no idea what was coming. Up ahead, a large, fat immigration official stopped me. He asked me where I was coming from, where I was going and the purpose of my visit. I obliged. He asked me for my documents. I obliged. He waited. I waited. He then told me move to a place where he could check my bags. I obliged. On an elevated platform, he asked me to open my bags. I obliged. He then went through everything from papers to underwears. There was stuff my mom had put in that I had no idea about. The problem arose when he found my resume and college certificates. This being my college bag had all sorts of stuff which I never bothered to take out. I told him as much to which his reply was,
'You know how many times I hear that?' and
'Is that your official reply?'. As if he wanted me to manufacture something.
Now I am no wit and nothing else came to my mind so I said
'Yes, it is the truth' which it was.

Presently another fellow joined him. He looked through my other bag. He found a gift-wrapped box in it. It was a gift for my cousins wedding, given by a family friend. I didnt know what was in it. My ignorance was a complication. Thankfully, all he did was pass it through an x-ray machine. It turned out be a 'statue' which my cousin later told me was a Ganesha idol. Back to my resume, the guy wanted to know what my future plans were. I told him about an MBA course that I would take up in August right after I finished this trip. For a moment he seemed convinced. Then, he started punching something into the computer screen by his side. He was typing stuff into it for almost 20 minutes. He then told me he was calling immigration, it turned out they were busy and he kept the phone down. Finally he let me go saying
'You are lucky the immigration guys are busy. If you try and change your status while in the US, you will be flagged.'

This is not all. I have left out some details. Just to give an idea, he looked through my wallet to find a sim card and he asked me what was in it. When I told him its a sim card and there isnt anything in it, he looked surprised. I realised later that sim cards arent used in the US. What struck me is that all through this rubbish, the guy was never rude, was only slightly intimidating and never insulted me. It helped me keep my cool all the way. I dont think I was 'lucky', I just think he wanted to warn me in the sternest way possible that settling down wasnt an option for me. I knew I wasnt going to use that option anyway. I saw the same thing happening to other young orientals in other aisles. The whole thing lasted almost two hours, my dad was worried sick by the time I came out of the terminal and I seriously felt like taking a plane back to India had I not been through the horrible 20 hour journey that got me there in the first place. It took me a couple of days to get over the 'unwanted' feeling.

Moral of the story-
1. SRK wasnt the only one who was troubled.
2. Take care while going to the US. Dont leave any stone unturned. Account for all the stuff in your bags.

Being absolutely barbaric

2009-06-20T22:14:00.008+05:30

Lots of such incidents happen in our land. Quite regularly in fact. Every time, I think from the point of view of the victim, to try and understand the horror of it all. This time though I thought of it all through the victimisers eyes. This time I thought of how it would be to be absolutely barbaric.

TOI carries this article on 20th June 2009.

Cops push pregnant woman off train

Lucknow: In a barbaric incident, two constables of the Government Railway Police pushed a pregnant woman, who was holding her 3-year-old daughter in her lap, from a moving train in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday. The woman was swept under the wheels of the coach and killed on the spot but her daughter providentially managed to escape unhurt as she landed some distance from the tracks.
The trigger for the GRP cops’ ire: The victim had failed to pay them a bribe of Rs 100.
Enraged over the shocking act of the cops, hundreds of locals stormed the Tikuniya railway halt and manhandled the cops. They were rescued by their senior officials who reached the site to restore order. The two constables who have been suspended were formally arrested on Friday.
At around 1.45 pm on Thursday, Dinesh Kumar Lodh and his wife Kavita along with their 3-year-old daughter, residents of Majhrapurab village, boarded the Mailani-Gonda passenger train at Tikuniya. Dinesh, who was carrying his bicycle, reportedly tied it to the window grille of the toilet of the coach before getting on board.
The train had barely began moving when the two constables of Mailani GRP station deployed on board the train allegedly demanded Rs 100 from the couple for travelling with their bicycle. However, since the couple was not carrying enough money, Kavita offered a 5-rupee note. This so upset the cops that they pushed her off the train. In an attempt to grab hold of the rod of the door, Kavita was swept under the coach and run over. Dinesh jumped from the moving train to save his wife and daughter only to discover that Kavita had been killed on the spot.

Now imagine. To walk in to a train. To safeguard others. And then to do this. THIS.

Kavita offered a 5-rupee note. This so upset the cops that they pushed her off the train.

No, I just cant get over it. I can almost imagine the anger on their intimidating faces, the sheepish smile that followed and the absolute ignorance until they were later beaten up by a bunch of villagers. The distress on Kavitas face. The confused fear on her 3 year old daughters face and the despair on her poor husbands face.

If this does not deserve vigilante justice, nothing does. What does it take to be so completely brutal?

Edit- Well, when I think of it now, I realize nothing actually does deserve vigilante justice. It is not in the hands of the people to mete out verdicts. I suppose vigilante justice is just another form of barbarism.

Picasa Albums

2009-06-15T13:41:00.007+05:30

Hey everyone,

Check out my picasa web albums here . The link is also on the right side of the page under other links. I suppose I'm an amateur still but I'm trying to improve as I have great interest in photography. Your comments and suggestions are most welcome. I'll need it.

Thanks,
Neeraj

Edit- Another link has been added on the top right corner as well. Please feel free to go through the pictures.

Bangalore snippets

2009-06-01T10:56:00.006+05:30

Some things I've noticed and experienced in Bangalore:

1. The rains welcomed me into Bangalore. This place has a lengthy pre-monsoon period.

2. Bangalore has some gazillion bus services and apparently there is a lack of awareness among the common folk regarding these services. Some even think the newer, fancier buses are private and not supposed to be used!

3. Bangalore buses have around 2/5ths of the bus seats reserved for ladies. As in Thane buses, it does not make sense. Especially in off peak hours when there arent enough ladies to fill those seats.

4. Many buses don’t have conductors; the driver serves as the conductor. Wonder how much extra he gets paid for that. Also, lady conductors are pretty common which is a good thing.

5. Bangalore is a huge city and many names are weird. But still, nothing can beat Chinchpokli and Chunabhatti.

6. Rickshawalas are, well, rickshawalas. The meters here start at 14 and change at 50 paisa intervals which is bizarre. Why can’t there be a common tariff standard all across India?

7. The new Bangalore airport is, as the chief air hostess said, spanking. That description would have suited her too. It is some 1.5 hours away from the city and the road leading up to it is awesome. Fun for a one time traveler but I imagine it will hardly be the case for a regular traveler.

8. Deepika Padukone is on 7 out of 10 bill boards. She is lovely.

9. As with every other big city, there is nothing to do in Bangalore except go to the malls and 'chill out'/ogle at micro-mini skirts/eat fatty foods/buy overpriced items. Bangalore also credits itself with having the ‘biggest mall in Asia’. Wow, we really have developed.

10.Koramangala is the place where all the well-paid IT slaves are holed up. They can be seen either at work or at the aforementioned malls doing the aforementioned things.

11. Of all places, IISC has a football ground among other sports facilities. They are top notch. Lots of geeky people play there regularly which is not saying much about the people mentioned in point no. 10.

12. Traffic in Bangalore is mad. Oh and that’s because the people are mad. They never slow down, ever. I haven’t yet come across a subway for crossing the road.

13. My friend told me that near M.G. Road the police fine pedestrians for breaking the zebra crossing signal.

14. Vijay Mallyas Company is building a town-ship sort of thing called UB City somewhere near where I stay. It will contain plenty of-yes, you guessed it-malls apart from residences etc. Funny how we call the market a free market when people like Mallya and the Ambanis get into every possible money making avenue that exists.

15. A metro rail line is being built in Bangalore most of which is apparently above ground level.

16. Bangalore is littered with Chinki people. They are everywhere. I think for them the idea of a big city is too much to resist. Invariably you’ll find one working in a McDonalds or a CCD.

17. The Tollywood film posters are in a word, hideous.

18. The weather is generally speaking, awesome.

19. Bakery shops and butter milk parlours are as common here as vada-pav carts and Energy milk stalls are in Mumbai.

20. The other day, I had Hyderabadi chicken biryani which tasted like sambar.

I think I've come across as if I don’t like Bangalore. That’s untrue. Bangalore is nice place and some would say it is the place to be.

I've been too harsh on the IT people. No offence, it is bread and butter for a lot of people. I just don’t like the work and I think its slavery.

I heard this dialogue in the movie Full Metal Jacket- ‘You are so ugly, you could become a piece of modern art’. Hilarious.

In passing I’d also like to mention that if you haven’t read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, then get your hands on a copy and read it. It’s a brilliant book.

No donation goes unnoticed

2009-05-17T23:54:00.006+05:30

The IPL has come in for a lot of negative press of late. I for one just dont like the excessive commercialization of the sport. Lots of fellow bloggers have pointed out the DLF maximums and CITI moments of success etc that are a real irritation. Not that I watch the matches but they really stand out when I do. There is too much advertising and the games themselves are not entertaining. I could go on and on.

Apart from all the bashing one thing that does stand out magnificently is the money being donated to schools based in the South African cities where the matches are being played. Its an awesome initiative by the IPL. It may for all practical purposes be just a token gesture but the amount of money is definitely not. 100,000 Rands to the schools that have been picked. And in the Indian style of conversion of foreign currency the amount is Rupees 570,000! Thats five lack seventy thousand for each school. Thats simply amazing. I firmly believe that education is the way forward to solve all world issues. You cant put a value on education and this kind of initiative really stands out. I mean seeing those young kids on TV with their ear to ear smiles is just great. Now they'll have much more to smile about. How the money is utilized is, of course the school's look out but the IPL people are definitely doing something wonderful.

Adios!

2009-05-11T00:30:00.004+05:30

It is kind of fitting that after my first post from the campus (and indeed my first post ever) was on why I chose BITS, my last post from the campus should be one saying goodbye to it. I hate this time. I hate saying goodbye. To leave friends, alliances, aspirations and a lot more behind. That said, I realize this is the best time to 'purge' myself of all the bad memories that lodged themselves in my mind like super-glue. That invariably is the tough part. To take the good stuff and leave back all the bad stuff. And most of the time, the goods were intertwined with the bad which makes things so much more tough. The highs and lows, the ups and downs are all etched in my memory. All this is not to say that I havent enjoyed my time here. I have. I have enjoyed it tremendously. In fact its tough to find a good enough superlative for it. For one, I can take my 'awakening' from a naive, stupid, mumbling kid into a more mature person with rational thoughts as a big big plus. It might have happened anyway, but it happened here, in the midst of a lot of intellectual superiors- an experience which probably cannot be substituted. I had one last reflection with my old corridor mates on our four years here and even though we spoke a lot about the state of engineering, this college, our degrees, our professors and even our decision to take this up 4 years ago, we came to the conclusion that we had a lot of fun, that the 4 years were a breeze- sometimes hot and sometimes cool, smooth.

It is said that in your graduation years you should find out who you really are. I dont think I have found myself yet but I definitely have come very close. There were times when I thought I had found me but it was a false dawn each time. There were things I tried and things I failed at. Some things I succeeded at. But every time I came closer. Key experiences that I will take forward somehow trying to weed out the bad ones among those.

I want to start on a clean slate now. I dont have much time to rub the grime off. Maybe new experiences will overwrite the old ones and all will be good again. Heres to that hope anyway. Part of me just doesnt want to leave this place but the other part tells me its high time and that I have to get out for my own good. I leave with the conviction that all good things come to an end and that this is indeed not the end but just the end of a beginning.

Goodbye BITS Pilani Goa Campus!

Aspirations

2009-05-05T19:14:00.003+05:30

You know, the prospect of living in Bangalore for a considerable period of time has got me thinking. In fact after having been there for almost a week recently, I realized Bangalore is a fun place. It is a lot of things I desire in a city. But I dont want to live in Bangalore. It is very crowded, the language is unknown, traffic is maddening...I could go on.

After this, I dreamt of what I want. I want to live in an uncrowded place with acres of open land. I want to be able to get daily exercise. I want to be able to play football everyday and do good work and not stare at a computer screen everyday (this has always been a criteria). In fact my dream took me to the point where I saw myself riding a bicycle on a cool morning on an uphill path with greenery everywhere. I could go to work on my bicycle and get my daily excercise in that way. And you which place suits this dream of mine most? Goa.

Oh well...

Conform

2009-05-04T21:23:00.008+05:30

I think the human minds need to conform and 'do what others are doing' is brought out nicely through this-

1. Mess cooler-stainless steel glass-Not One Person drinks with their lips touching it

2. Mess juice center just a few feet away-plastic glasses-Everyone drinks with their lips touching it

Thank You

2009-05-01T02:23:00.008+05:30

To all those concerned,

Before anyone comes to any conclusions I'll make it clear. This is a vote of thanks. A vote of thanks for all those who have made the last 4 years memorable for me. Even for those who have made it forgettable because from everyone I learnt something. Thanks to all my friends whether they made me feel happy, sad or miserable because from you I learnt never to take anyone for granted. Thanks to all the faculty whether you made me love, despise or ridicule you because from you I learnt the power of respect.

Thank you to all those who played football with me. I had an amazing time playing with you guys. Thanks also for refusing to play at times because the more you refused, the more determined I grew to make you play. A big thank you to all those who were part of the football team. I am thankful because without you I would have been very ordinary. It was a dream come true for me to just be in the team. Being the captain- an honour. It is a part of my life I will never forget. Thank you to my team members of SUDO-Q for making the event very memorable. Hope you gained just as much from it as I did.

Thank you to all my acquaintances because from you I learnt humility. Thank you to all those who I couldn’t get to know because I always observed you and gained valuable insights on people in general. Thank you to so many girls on whom I had huge crushes. You made looking at you and talking about you very pleasant.

Off course I cant forget Goa, this dreamy land of dreamy people as from you I learned that life isn’t always serious or hectic or both. Thank you to all those waiters at different restaurants who often showed us that everything is not as you expect it to be or the way you see it in movies. Thank you to all those taxi drivers who taught us a thing or two about negotiations while getting us drunkards safely back to campus.

And finally thanks to those who have made a difference in a not so obvious way-the mess workers who stand there all day and are given the tough job of saying 'no' to spiteful students, people in the IC who saw their popularity skyrocket and yet never forgot me, the monginis people in a strange yet grateful way, the people in the library for their constant service, the watchmen who always kept an eye out, the medical centre folks from whom I learnt how medical folk should not be, the maintenance staff without whom there would never have been a football ground in college, the hostel assistants without whom it wouldn’t even have been half as fun, the eco-clean people for cleaning all the filth from the hostels and making them livable for everyone, the idiots at shop C for showing me how not to do business, the laundry for cleaning my dirty clothes, the smiling saloon guy for cutting my hair and watching cheap 90's movies at the same time, Higginbothams for supplying books at a discount, the stationary aunty (I just know that deep down she is very nice), Zakir at SAC for being so good to me always, Mr. Atish for giving us all rubbish food and making me realize the value of homemade maa ka khana while making me more adaptable, and all those working day and night on the lawns and fields to keep the beauty quotient of this campus intact at all times.

It will be hard to leave this place behind forever but I'm sure bigger and better things lie ahead. I hope I have thanked everyone who has had an impact on me. If I missed out on anyone please forgive me.

Again,
Thanking you
Neeraj

Weird dream

2009-04-25T01:21:00.004+05:30

They lay there for days…the giant lizards. Giant lizards the size of my forearms. I'm calling them giant lizards for the lack of any other proper name and the fact that they actually looked like magnified lizards. So well, there they lay without moving much. I wanted to shoo them away but I couldn't because 1- of procrastination 2- they were too friggin scary to even look at. And because they weren't much trouble, I let them lay around. They were two of them by the way. I should have known that they were a couple.

I continued ignoring them. Until they had sex and a little giant lizard was born. The little one was already the size of a regular lizard-enough to scare the shit out of many. Interestingly it had a small tinge of red in its eyes. That gave it a demon look. I was shocked into my senses. I had to do something or they would colonize my pad with families of giant lizards. I tried using the jhadu, poured water, stomped the floor near them-hopelessly timid techniques that would only get regular lizards to barely move their asses.

In the meantime, the little critter was growing-physically and mentally. Its parents were growing old and tired of my constant interference in their peaceful static life. The child sensing it had to take stock of the situation decided to act against the oppression. And then it came. One fine morning when the little fella looked at its mightiest, rose-literally, it did-like a phoenix or more like a Godzilla and started walking towards me with T-rex arms and tail. And as it approached I saw the red tinge in its eyes become a full blooded red. Now it was in full march, its target was locked on……..

A twitch in my body, eyes open and I look around. Darkness. No giant lizards. No little giant lizards. And no red eyes. As weird as it gets!

What do you want?

2009-04-06T19:33:00.002+05:30

What do you want?

1. Peace
2. Food
3. Friends
4. Shelter
5. Money
6. Water
7. Pride
8. Fame
9. Satisfaction
10. Love

You cant get all. What is the perfect compromise? I wish this could be treated as an optimization problem.

April Fools Day Eve

2009-03-31T20:33:00.005+05:30

Today is April Fools day eve...if there was ever anything like that. I find the whole april fools jokes/pranks rather tedious now. Genuine pranks are rare and they will obviously make you laugh. So to find out a little bit more I googled April fools day and wikipedias page on it says the origins are obscure. If it werent, I would really start doubting the intellect of man. It also lists some famous pranks which are pretty dull (have I lost my sense of humour?). Tomorrow, Bombay Times will come up with its customary April Fools article about how Chinese hackers hacked into White House systems-it has to be the White House-and found out that Osama is actually Indian and that Washington is now preparing to launch pre-emptive strikes on India. And the last line will say that its April Fools day. That was a figment of my imagination and as you can see, its utterly dull.

Something more imaginative would be say a list of April Fools Day resolutions. And mine would be thus-
1. Stop ogling :P
2. Ask a girl out :P :P
3. Stop typing :P after every foolish comment
4. Bla Bla

In case you didnt get it, its meant to be foolish. The jokes in school used to be quite good though. Wonder where the good days went!
My severe lack of imagination stops me from going any further and I have to take leave now. I also have to sleep. Happy April Foolsing!

-None-

2009-03-31T20:13:00.005+05:30

Remember the time your parents used to tell you to stay away from some kid and become friends with some other? Yes, turns out they had some basis. They wanted you to top every exam. The topper guy who everyone detested is now in an IIT (or BITS?) and probably on his way to a top university in the US having topped his way through the IIT (or BITS?). The other guy, Mr Popular (who successfully wooed girls among other things), who you were told to stay away from has by now dropped out of college (having got there through a donation anyway) and his future is generally bleak. But he has his parents to back him for a while at least (then they'll probably get bored). You meanwhile are stuck in the middle. Its not so bad. Why, the 'middle' is a huge place full of could-have-beens and might-have-beens. What happens to all these 'middle' men? I think I'll be able to give you an answer in a few years time. If you have some insights please share, I'd love some ideas.

Peer group influence

2009-03-31T20:12:00.002+05:30

Your peer group can affect you in wonderous ways. No, its not a finding of some US based 'research team' from some 'ivy league' college that was published in the science page (yeah, right!) of TOI. It doesnt take any research to find it out actually. This thought plays on my mind regularly and if you think a lot, I'm sure it plays on yours too. This 'finding' doesnt mean anything, you will go on with our lives just the way you do...oh only you might get further influenced by your peers into doing what you never thought you would do.

Beauty pageants insult women

2009-03-31T20:10:00.003+05:30

Yes they do. Its almost a legalised form of eve teasing (where you dont see the "teasers"). What is the need for an event to showcase female beauty anyway? Its like saying physical beauty is most important (that is at least the central theme of pageants isnt it?). Little girls watch that and grow up wanting to be one of those models. Badly skewed thinking. There is more to a woman than her face and body. Period.

Club Cricket

2009-03-31T19:39:00.007+05:30

A thought I thought recently. In professional football, there are clubs playing matches round the year. Internationals happen once in a while and the only real international tournaments happen every 4 years. So why is cricket so different? Playing for your country should be the highest honour for any player or so it is said. So they should be played once in a while where you are fired up/want to prove a point/want to do your best. Not playing five-six-seven games in the space of three weeks! Club cricket would almost entirely have to be T20 like the IPL(the purists off course, wont be amused with that. I respect the purists, those who have been part of a glorious past and all that but they're on their way towards being flushed out...by time) but I'm sure fan following would increase leading to more people taking up cricket as a career. Just a thought.

Making an Impact

2009-03-19T19:55:00.009+05:30

This post has been long overdue. It has been a draft for about 5 months now. I suppose this is a good time to bring it out. Read on...

What do I want to do most? What am I passionate about? What do I care about most? These are the questions I have been asking myself for the last year-couple of years actually. There are few things I am really passionate about. But I've never been able to put a finger on it. Off course the nature of competition in our country means that it has to be something that you can make a career out of, make a decent living. I have had ideas before-mostly those of turning hobbies into a career but I've realized I would be better off doing something like that only on a part-time basis. So when I saw an E4SI poster at the Monginis stall on campus, I thought it would be a good idea to apply. Apply I did, and got selected.

E4SI stands for Engineers for Social Impact. It is a fellowship program. It has 10 partner companies. All 10 companies work in the social/development sector. Off course what those two(three) words mean to you are totally your interpretation. All companies mind you are for profit which is the way to go now. The companies offer summer internships to students from top colleges in the country- the IITs, BITS, and some NITs. The fellow ship was founded by Nitin Rao an alumnus of NIT Surathkal. The companies work in different social spaces-microfinance, education, healthcare, and rural lighting and energy. Do check out the website for details of the companies.

I did my E4SI internship at Vaatsalya healthcare. My work was in the field of energy efficiency and I carried out energy audits at the company run hospitals in rural areas of Karnataka like Bijapur, Mysore and Mandya. These cities arent rural in the strictest sense, they can be called semi-urban. Definitely so with Mysore. The experience was enriching. Vaatsalya is doing a great job of providing quality healthcare to people who previously didnt have access to it. The internship was concluded with a workshop in Bangalore which brought together some distinguished personalities in the social space. The workshop consisted of talks by these people and presentations by the fellows on the work they had done at their companies.

My advice is that if you are from one of the said colleges and are even remotely interested in doing good for society then apply for the E4SI internship next term. It is a fledgling fellowship but it has grown leaps and bounds in its two years of existence. Not only will it give you an amazing experience, it will add very well to your profile.

Hide and Seek

2009-02-11T20:12:00.004+05:30

On one of our regular eating trips to Vasco, I saw something that brought back lots of memories. In one of the gullies of the incredible mesh that is Vasco, the sight of a young kid leaning against the wall covering his eyes with his forearm and shouting out '10 20 30 40 50 …100..ready or not!' made not only me but all of us nostalgic. All the stories and recollections started rushing out. The calls of 'ready?' and 'not ready' and the final 'raaeddy' came to mind quickest. I remembered how we were clever enough to listen to where the sound came from and rush in that direction. We were even clever enough to apply reverse psychology and shout out 'ready' from one place and actually be hiding in another. Then we also had strategies to gang whoever it was that was coming out to get us…he'd be there counting and as soon as he opened his eyes, BLAM, there we were spoiling all the fun of hide and seek. Off course, the more justice seeking among us would always want this 'ganging up' to not be allowed. Then there were other games like 'pakda pakdi' where the skill was sheer running power, 'chor-police' where tact also had a part to play, 'post-post' (:D) which was quite simply the most awesome game I've played and 'lock and key' which was chor-police confined to a smaller area. I also recollect 'follow-the-leader' (on bikes)…howz that for innovation?

We have now graduated to bigger and more 'mindful' activities. How I miss those stupid games! Clichéd? I don't care, I would love to go back in time and not think about things like jobs, money, egos and generally the world. I never thought I could miss childhood so much. The aloofness, the afternoon cartoon network, the howling in the school bus, the first crush and subsequent crushes, the 'present miss!' it just seems soo long ago. But alas, bloody adulthood is upon us!

Boiling over

2009-01-30T19:03:00.006+05:30

Sometimes even when you've made up your mind that you'll stay happy, it happens that you completely lose it. It happened to me today. My team lost in the futsal tournament in college. It was a must win for us and we didnt play particularly well. We not only didnt win, we lost. To a bunch of noobs. I lost it when we conceded the first goal. We werent concentrating at all. We werent taking enough shots on goal. As soon as the final whistle blew, I stormed out and was back in my hostel room in minutes. At that point all that I had managed to keep at the back of my mind came rushing out. My jobless state, the helplessness at the current all-round scenario, Salgaocar club for wanting to relay the pitch in this last semester of mine and this awful college for all the suffering everyone here has gone through. Heck, I even cursed those who either had jobs or had secured their immediate future. I tried to call someone and the bastard had his phone off..I cursed him endlessly.(I later realized later, his number had changed and the changed number was on his gtalk status all the time). The best thing to do in such circumstances is to avoid speaking to anyone.

I've calmed down even as I am writing this post. Its easy to get mad. Doubly difficult to keep your head at such times. Here it really did boil over though. But I realized I had been thinking just about myself. My team, my situation, my defeat bla bla. Thats not who I am. I admit, Im a serious type of person, not one who likes to fool around when Im doing something I like. But I was betraying myself with all that anger. I am not one to think just about myself. I do care about others, the people who I deal with now and then. Maybe, just maybe thats the cause of my current predicament. Maybe my anger reveals the insecurities I harbour, maybe I do things to appease people or maybe Im just too defensive a person. I then stumbled into this. It made me see that great people can lose it too. It had a calming effect. I suppose it will take a while before Im myself again. But what is the point of this post? There is none. Not all posts need to make a point. I have merely let out my frustration and I feel good about it.

Laydees and Laydaas II

2009-01-23T23:48:00.003+05:30

Recently, Sanjay Dutt said that a wife must necessarily take up her husband's last name. With all that has been happening in and around the Dutt family, the media got another opportunity to bash him in public. Frankly, the man has gone through a lot and he should be left alone. I for one am all for filmwalas getting into politics but like all high profile jobs, you will be judged on how responsible you are. What these people bring to the job though is their immense popularity and powerful contacts. If used well, a lot can be done. And as far as political dynasties go, it's just bullshit. I am happy Sanjay Dutt has stepped away from the congress. But I am digressing. I wanted to discuss Mr. Dutts comments.

Here is where I must distance myself from him (not that it matters off course but still to sound all journalisty :D). We live in a free society and such stuff as last names should not make any difference what so ever. Everyone has the right to make his/her decisions. If a man wants to impose his last name-which in my view is symbolic-then it's wrong. It's not as easy as that though. In our country respect for traditions means you have pressure from family and in-laws. Most decisions are made to appease others. Mind you, I hold our traditions in high regard. It is like a backbone-all be it weakening-that keeps this country from becoming the US of A. Yet, we must embrace what is good and in this case it is personal freedom. Last names as I said are just symbolic and if there is love, then what else is needed? If a woman accepts her husband's last name in keeping with the tradition, I respect her. If she decides not to keep the last name because she is not comfortable with it, I still respect her. If she decides to scrap the last name because she doesn't give a shit about traditions and she hates her in-laws then you know what I think about her. But still it is a choice one has to make although the symbolic nature of the subject at hand makes it controversial. It is not as trivial as say, the wedding dress because unlike the wedding dress you have to live with your last name all your life.

So what do you think? Comments are most welcome. After all, it is your choice but you must choose carefully.

The week that was

2009-01-14T19:06:00.012+05:30

I am back at college and I really cant express it in words...the joy. The last semester away from it was, well, not very enjoyable-lets keep it at that. Thats partly why I havent written a post about it. Anyway the point is that it feels great to be back. Back to the place which is hugely responsible for what I am today. Oddly its my first post from within the campus since Jan 2007.There was real immaturity in that post. 2 years have passed and I can safely say I have undergone a massive change. Plus its my final semester in BITS. With the system as it is here, I will do fewer courses than I normally would. So lots more free time (has it ever matter how much free time I had?). With the recession and all of 15 companies having registered for placements, ive realized its friggin easy to lose my head. So ive decided to keep myself occupied and happy. I think you'll find me smiling a lot more this semester :).
Football- All week, all semester. Again I cant express how much I have missed regular football in the past 6 months. The outside(working) world offered me a glimpse of how depressing life is without this crucial aspect of my life. So this will be FOOTBALL semester. A lot has happened with the college team since I left (lets say moi was in an influential position). Im gonna have to start from scratch. Bring it on!
The awesome CAT result came out. I didnt do well. Not that I expected to. Neither did a friend of mine but he scored a cool 99.76 and got calls from 4 IIMs. This after he had said just a few days back that MBA is crap or something to that effect. And he is not just the only 'anomaly'. Nothing personal off course. But what does this say about CAT or about me? Shouldnt aptitude and passion have any correlation? Come to think of it, CAT and GRE are pretty similar. So a person with an aptitude for management also has an aptitude for science. Wierd. And about me? Well, im still gonna stay happy :D
Israel continue to pound Gaza with bombs and kill civilians. I decided to read up a little bit on the issue and found out that its like the Indo-Pak of the middle east. Only Gaza is probably the size of Thane and Israel is backed by the US. Not an even contest that. The hypocrisy of the west continues. What is the solution to this kind of crazy problem? Why should nationalities and national interest take precedence over humanitarian issues in what we call todays progressive society?
As if the recession and all the gloom wasnt enough, Satyam revealed its botched books. Mr Raju has surrendered and created a hole within a hole. But I said im gonna stay happy so thats it about Satyam.
Slumdog Millionaire- Hollywood movie made in Mumbai bagged 4 golden globe awards. A.R Rahman wins the award for best original score. I watched the movie, loved it and its music though Anil Kapoors performance was unflattering. Kudos to Rahman. You have made a nation proud. Great follow up comments too by the way.
Chelsea got beaten comprehensively by Manchester United. It wasnt a great performance by the Mancs but they took their chances. I cant help thinking how great a club Man United are and how much that club is indebted to Sir Alex. The greatness of Sir Alex himself is unquestioned and he keeps growing in stature everyday. (and no this part is not meant to flatter anyone)

Thats about it I guess. Nothing else really caught my attention. Oh I also read two books in this time. The White Tiger by Arvind Adiga and Riot by Shashi Tharoor. Must-reads both of them. I'll sign off on that note.

The endless goodbyes

2009-01-02T22:04:00.006+05:30

Its that time again when I have to say goodbye. Endless goodbyes. To family and friends. For me, this particular time will be especially difficult. My mom and dad being away, I grew almost dependent on my friends. Dangerous thing this dependency. Every evening of these holidays, I was one call or one message away from them. Those nights at home, those evenings in the park or just aimlessly roaming around talking of anything and everything under the sun or rather the moon. The cursing of the taporis on their bikes and dhinchak-boom-boom cars and ogling at wannabe hotties (and the subsequent shot-baithra-hai). The bhel-puri and dahi-puri at the chat wala. The stories of unending sleep (and the guilt that follows it) or of unending energy (and the hernia-ho-jayega shake of the heads), the trips to CST. The wada-pav and energy drink at fort and the breeze at marine drive. It will all be sorely missed. I hate saying goodbye.

On the other hand, there are things to look forward to. Getting back to college after one whole semester. Getting back to football (oh I have missed it so much) after a long time. The ashram, the night walks, the movies, the unmentionable things. Sucking at exams, getting frustrated mid-sem and putting it on your Gtalk status and hanging out in friends rooms for hours on end. The fests-juniors scampering around (after all we are now the most senior)- the idiotic participants and the be-all and end-all organizing committees selected by strange politics (and their bashing on DC).....

Goodbye then to Thane and its free-sleeping and ever-traveling (Thane-Sanpada-Nerul/Belapur), wada-pav eating folk. I'll always miss you, wherever I am. Thats all I can bring myself to write. Aur likhunga to ro padunga.

The Carnage and the Hysteria

2008-12-31T02:19:00.004+05:30

In the weeks following the events in Mumbai on 26th November, many have aired their views and feelings on what really has become a national debate par no other since Independence. The anger is understandable. Then, it was instinctive. It came out of a sense of helplessness that all of us felt. A bunch of terrorists waltzed in from boats and attacked major landmarks in the financial capital of our country and killed a lot of people.

But dont you think it has all gone over-board? Yes, I condemn the attacks on - more than anything else - our freedom and sovereignty. Yes, I mourn the innocent victims who lost their live in those 3 days of madness. Yes, I am more angry and disgusted then I have been in a while. Yes, I hate Pakistan for doing what they have been doing to my country for years now. Yes, I despise our politicians for being the inept, hardly literate lot of people that run the worlds largest democracy. And finally yes, I whole heartedly salute my countrymen for showing true spirit during this difficult time. It has been over a month now. All I see in newspapers, on news channels and on blogs is 26/11. Huge articles and posts on what can be done with the security setup in the country and hate Pakistan and politician-bashing (they have hardly helped their own cause) articles have dominated ever since. There has not been a single day since the attacks where the editorials havent carried one of those articles. Noted bloggers have gone on the over drive to drive home just how angry we as a people feel as indeed to point out solutions to our current plethora of terror related problems. And the TV media, well, they have just gone bonkers. It has actually become an Indo-Pak media war with both sides flinging allegations and counter allegations. The TRP raking stunts reek of insensitivity and complacency about the knowledge of the psyche of the average Indian. In more ways than one, they have been successful. We Indians just love a good emotional story.

Amidst all the hysteria, everyone seems to have forgotten India's internal problems. They are so many and so huge, they threaten to tear the country and leave it in tatters. The Naxal problem is now big and complicated (I admit to knowing very little)- it kills hundreds every year. Poverty and malnutrition are crippling the nation-more than 50% of India's children are malnourished- yet there is scant mention of that in any form of media. By 2020, India will have the highest number of AIDS affected people in the world. Cancer research seems to lack vital funds. It takes a report from some UN agency for us to realize things like these. The Vidarbha farmer suicide saga is one the current government will never be able to get off their backs. No rescue packages will help unless the money reaches the right hands. Raj Thakerays are allowed to bloom and dirty vote bank politics ultimately win elections. Our diversity as a nation, our very pride in being secularist is threatening to undermine us and break us. And these are just some of the problems. My intention is not so much in highlighting each and every problem as it is in pointing out that our priorities too heavily favour what we are comfortable with. Candle light vigils will never be held in Vidarbha simply because they dont attract the kind of attention the same attracts in a metro like Mumbai. We need to give coverage and footage where it is necessary. The media with the infinite power it has in its hands right now should put it to better use. It has done so pretty well in the case of the recent terror attacks and the efforts are beginning to bear fruit. Its time now to look at other issues too.

Random I

2008-12-29T20:22:00.011+05:30

How many people have lived on our planet since the appearance of man?
Women is pronouned as 'wimen'...''wemen'...'we-men'...'we men'. Try using this in a sentence starting with women
Sodawaterbottleboochopenerwala is a surname
Mai tumhe liquid oxygen mei daal dunga.....liquid tumhe jeene nahi dega, oxygen tumhe marne nahi dega- dialogue from some hindi movie
What exactly happens when a fly sits on food that it is deemed inedible?
Why are robot-men like The Terminator (and his enemy) always clean shaven?
Ultra pest control advert.- "Whenever you see a cockroach, think of us"

Home truths

2008-12-20T21:59:00.011+05:30

Its when you are away from home that you realize how valuable it is. The last 3 years I have spent largely away from home. Every time I return home, I feel an exhilaration that is quite unlike any other time. I still remember the first time I returned from Goa way back in October of 2005. The cool 7 am morning made it all that much better. The train station, the bus stand, the rickshaws and most of all the hustle and bustle. The best part is when home approaches from that auto-rickshaw and you realize that any moment you will be there-the place where a million memories are etched.

It was once when I was thinking on these lines that it struck me how wonderfully lucky I am to have something called a home. A roof. A shelter. Something to come back to, sit down and relax. Something people work all their lives for. Something people dream of from having watched movies and videos. Something some people never get. Yet I had one I could call my own. One my father comes back to from long hours at work, my mother from the hot days in the sun haggling with road-side vendors and-in my case-from several months away from it. A Home.

It never complains. It never frowns upon you for not spending time with it. No. In fact its doors are always open for you. It will always take you in its arms. It laughs with you, cries with you, has fun with you and it is always there to give you that jadu-ki-jhappi when you need it most. Simply put, there will never be a place like home.

Laydees and Laydaas

2008-12-17T18:49:00.007+05:30

What I noticed most strikingly on my most recent trip to my city-Thane-is that the TMT (Thane Municipal Transport) has made all the seats on the left side of their buses reserved for ladies. And this didnt just strike me, it left me amazed. We keep talking about gender discrimination and how it has to be removed. What then is this?
Gender discrimination is being encouraged and promoted here. I think BEST (Mumbai) has done it too and it is just plain bullshit. So in effect whats being said is-and correct me if im wrong-that ladies are the weaker sex and they cant be kept standing on a bus journey. So men are supposed to be the ones standing.
The worst part about all this is now, the women think its their right to occupy those seats! I was on my way back home from some work and this bizzare incident unfolded in front of me. The first left sided seat of the bus is reserved for disabled-fair enough. Two perfectly fit individuals (men) were on those seats. The next seat had a woman and an old man on it. A lady got on at some stop-from the front of the bus, unlawful as it is- and looked around for seats. Now a couple of 'ladies' seats were vacant but Jhansi-ki-rani decides she wants to take on the old man and gives him a who-the-hell-do-you-think-you-are look. The old man (unaware of the presence of other empty ladies seats) prepares to get up but wait. The guy on the disabled seat has made eye contact with the rani and he does not like it. So now both men get up, the lady takes the ladies seat and the old man takes the disabled seat and Mr. Popatlal is left wondering what exactly happened. I share the sentiment. Teesta Setalvad meanwile is beeming with joy upon having displaced a no-gooder loafer-on-the-streets-gets-on-buses-to-harass-women guy. Job well done she says to herself.
Its almost as if men should be made to pay for the centuries of oppression on women...I accept that ladies should get their due but to make others pay is ridiculous. Women today feel that men are vile creatures who should be stomped over and no opportunity should be left to humiliate them- the whole women are looked upon as sex objects thing. Yeah whatever. I got off the bus wondering what would have happened had another of Eves ribs come off...

Correction- Adams ribs is replaced by Eves ribs..hope you get it now..lol

Mangoes, mangoes and more mangoes!

2008-06-28T23:59:00.009+05:30

And finally, the mango season comes to an end. I had my last mango today. It has faded away rather than burned out but thats how its always so no complaints. And to top it all, I can safely say I've eaten more mangoes this summer than in any other summer. Lots of reasons but I wouldnt care. All in my family are BIG mango lovers. Ever since Dads been in the US, we've felt that our love of mangoes should be less celebrated but all that went out of the window this summer. And no, not even inflation could stop me from indulging. It has its side-effects like the occasional pimple on the face. And I have, very obviously, put on weight but that has other reasons too. I love the Frootis and mango bites of this world but I definitely prefer the actual thing. Maybe in the future I will start a mango lovers group and we will all sit down and eat mangoes all day long and leave the place pimple faced and not give a damn about it! Yeah that would be great.

The road side cobbler

2008-06-27T19:08:00.009+05:30

This post is not just about road side cobblers but about every person who earns his rozi-roti by the road side.

The other day, I gave my football studs for repair..the left one had been ripped apart at the sole. Well, believe it or not I played a whole game with that pair! I asked the factory outlet people-from where I had bought it-if they could do anything about it but nothing. Anyway, I went to this road side cobbler near the lok puram temple with my mum (there were some other things to do as well). The guy, surely younger than me, had a look at it and said what it would need. What it needed was quite obvious really, even one who doesnt play footy could have said that. And then he went on to put it at Rs 50 for the pair of them-the right shoe also had minor tears. My mum like every mum haggled and haggled and made sure I was charged Rs. 40 and not Rs. 50

So coming to the point of the post (too much of a build up?), my thoughts passed on to that Rs. 10 when I collected the finished work a couple of days later. He said he'd give it the next day but he didnt even turn up the next day. When I asked him the reason for his absence the day earlier, he said he was ill. He did look ill. Thats when I realized how much of a difference that Rs. 10 could have made to him. It doesnt take long to paint a picture of the guy and his family. Parents (ailing ones perhaps) apart, a sibling or two and all his responsibility. I could be wrong but thats what came to my mind first. Putting two and two together, you will see that that Rs. 10 could have got him- 1. Medicines for whomsoever in the family 2. Those extra couple of vada paos for siblings. These are just two of the possibilities.

What difference does it make to me? My father probably makes that much every minute or even half a minute. Not that im undermining his effort, but that minute can easily be replaced cant it? If ten people like me all paid the guy that Rs. 10 more, just imagine what difference it can make. Try extrapolating this guys life. He can feed his family better so they stay healthy and can buy more medicines to ensure quick(er) recovery. Then he can give his siblings an education and who knows, one of them could be the next Sarath Babu-ex BITSian entrepreneur. Maybe its just wishful thinking but then small contributions make for a big dream. Atleast I'd like to think like that.

Im sure you would have had such an experience (haggling, paying less than quoted). The next time you do, think about this post. The amount of money here is irrelevant. It could be 1 rupee more for the Rickshawala (even though I despise them) or Rs. 10 as in this case. Whats important is that you're not paying someone undeserving. A lot of this is debatable but im ready to face your questions.

I dont look like Gattuso

2008-06-23T01:16:00.007+05:30

Some people-football people- have told me that I look a bit like Gattuso. Clearly from that picture I dont! I have a bigger nose and my hair do will probably never be like that. Mush, goatee and beard, yes but thats it. Ha, I spent some 20 minutes adjusting my face to take that picture. Heights of desperation..wonder whom I want to prove a point to.

New Exam Pattern in India (Revised)

2008-06-22T22:57:00.010+05:30

Received this in a mail (sorry for not mentioning this earlier :D )
1. General students - Answer ALL questions.
2. OBC - Answer only ONE question.
3. SC - ONLY READ questions.
4. ST - THANKS FOR COMING..
5. Gujjars- THANKS FOR ALLOWING OTHERS TO ATTEND THE EXAMINATION .. !!

And that is how caste based reservation is looked at in India. Gujjars..hats off to you now that the government has caved in to your demands. Arjun Singh...take a bow!

No more Bayer :(

2008-06-18T12:32:00.003+05:30

Alas! Its the end of the Bayer days. The next best field to Tilak(Vasco, Goa) and our very own BITS field and the days on that field are over. Bayer India is the chemical company near Kolshet, not that it matters. Inside the campus was a nice football ground full with nets and poles and grass. But the boss said no more freewheelers on the field. Damn the boss! Patrick and Martin could do nothing about it. Well, I went only around 5 times but with every visit, I wanted to return again. Off course, a lot of other people came to play there. They started playing there way before I did. For them its like heartbreak. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 5pm was like their lifeline. And there was the canteen which was really a mess where we all ate like bhukkads. Well, its not as emotional as im making it out but I will definitely miss playing there.
So the question for me now is, where do I play football?

Federer humbled and how!

2008-06-09T13:16:00.008+05:30

Roger Federer could never have imagined what was coming his way. In fact only a day before the French Open Final, he said he can and will beat his clay court nemesis Rafael Nadal. Nadal though, with the form he was taking into the final, would have relaxed and told himself that he just needs to do what he has been doing. Easier said than done though but his ruthless performance yesterday left me awe struck. He is on another level right now. This defeat of Federer has drawn out a list of the worst Grand Slam Final defeats. 6-1 6-3 6-0 is not the worst. Yet the other finals probably pale in comparison because the others probably never featured a world no. 1 v world no. 2 (no source for this) and that too a world no. 1 who has been there for the best part of 4 years. The last time Federer lost a set 6-0 was way back in 1999. It was Federers worst defeat in a Grand Slam match.

Well there are two stories that this final highlights- one of Nadals supremacy and the other of Federers fall from grace. Even though it would be too early to predict the end of Federer, the story of Nadals rise is too good to ignore. Not that he was not already on a high with 3 consecutive French Open titles before this one but just the way he decimated the player ranked numero uno in the world justifies his billing as "King of Clay". The confidence he will take into Wimbledon will make him a firm favourite there. For Federer though its a time for introspection. 2008 has been a year to forget for him. He has now fallen to the same opponent in the Grand Slam he craves so much three times in a row. For sure, it will not be easy to get over this defeat.

Winners though are made of stern stuff and Roger is one of them. He will come back. Indeed during the second set Federer looked like coming back into the match and I was thinking up a piece quite different from this one. Rafa, though was having none of it. Federer is a player of class, precision and grace. Yesterday, I thought his undoing was his own game. The man, usually so confident in his strokes and volleys just couldnt get his best out. What was most striking throughout the game was how nervous he was. Just shows you how much any sport is based on confidence. So the biggest rivalry of this era is one between totally contrasting individuals and the latest battle has been won by power and perseverance. That said nothing would please me more than Federer going on to win the French Open one day.

Wimbledon, now looks a very interesting prospect with Nadal and Djokovic in the fray apart from Federer himself who I think will have to do much more than he has in his past victories there.

An Encounter with Mr. Jani

2008-06-07T11:24:00.007+05:30

For everybodys information, Mr. Jani better known as Jani Sir was principal of Singhania school where I studied from std 1 to std 12. He lives in the same colony as I do. He off course, left the school when I was in std 6 for the more flamboyant Dr. Vijayam Ravi. Hers is another story all together.

On this cloudy yet hot day, I set out for an evening jog. On my way back I saw him walking in the opposite direction. For more than just a moment though I didnt recognize him. He looked lean and for about a minute I pondered whether to go up to him and speak a word or two. Indeed during the school days, I wonder whether anyone would have had the courage to go up to him what with his huge built and his famed 'palm-on-the-cheek stories'. Such is the change in him that I dared to stop him in his track and say hello. After shaking my hand with his enormous hand, I told him how good I felt to see him. That I did, even though during school most students saw little of him. I guess it was his mysterious yet magnetic persona that made me say that. He broke into a strange smile as if to say it was just as good to meet a student after years. I then told him how thin he looked to which he calmly replied by saying he had a heart condition and his doctors had advised him to watch his diet. He then said he didnt recognize me which was expected. I told him I live close by and passed out of school about 5 years back. Realizing I am a product of ICSE, he jumped to the topic of ICSE and said ICSE was introduced in the school because it provided a fair chance for the students to excel in every field unlike the state board curriculum. Well, that was totally true and no arguments about that whatsoever. At this point, the conversation ebbed. Even though we could have talked for ages about this and that, this just wasnt the time and place. His ending words were,"Drop in sometime" and I said,"In fact Id like you to drop in for lunch sometime." but that was just being hopeful. I felt like asking him what he did all day, you know without a wife and children but that would have been too much. Maybe one day over lunch I will unravel this great personality that is Jani Sir. On that note, he signed off with another hand shake and went on with his walk.

A short but very sweet meeting it was. Even though Jani Sir was never a beloved teacher, he will remain in many peoples hearts for what he was. I guess thats the hallmark of a truly great person.

EURO 2008

2008-06-03T20:33:00.009+05:30

After a spell of 15 boring days at home, EURO 2008 has become an eagerly awaited spectacle. Ive been telling friends on scraps and chats that I cant look beyond EURO 2008 right now. Ive even set my desktop wallpaper to the EURO 2008 logo (above). Much of this eagerness stems from as I said the boredom of the past fortnight and a certain Champions League Final defeat of Chelsea.

That said, after another long season of disappointments and triumphs, it will be difficult for the players to lift themselves for one final push. Whether you are playing in Spain in La Liga or in Switzerland in the god-knows-what-they-call-themselves league, you are bound to be tired, mentally and physically. Your thighs and calves want a rest badly but your mind says you have to go on. After all this is what all players want, a chance on the big stage. Ive often wondered whether tournaments like this would be better after say a 2 month break rather than a 2-3 week break. Ah, who cares as long as we viewers get as much football as possible.

The teams at the championships look strong. In group A and C, there seem to be 2 groups of death.

Group A
Czech Republic
Portugal
Switzerland
Turkey

Group B
Austria
Croatia
Germany
Poland

Group C
France
Netherlands
Italy
Romania

Group D
Greece
Russia
Spain
Sweden

Match timings: 21:30 and 00:15 IST

Group C is obviously THE group of death but I'd categorize Group A in the same league because it has Switzerland, the hosts and Turkey, always tough to beat apart from the two obviously strong nations. I wouldnt call Italy the favourites despite their World Cup win but then thats how Italy always win major tournaments, by starting off as underdogs. Id really like Portugal or Czech republic to win the tournament so you know in which group my loyalties lie. Germany and France as always are starting the tournament with great teams. Spain and the Netherlands are also starting with highly talented teams but without past glory to show for. Whether any of these 4 can or will win the tournament is a big question but nobody would bet against them.

France according to me have a good blend of youth and experience. The likes of Ribery, Benzema and Gomis will strike fear in the oppositions eyes. Experienced campaigners like Henry and Gallas will give them an edge. Whether they do well will depend on whether Domenech can get the best out of them. Likewise, Germany are a strong unit with Ballack at their helm but their success is as doubtful or as probable as France's.

Spain and Netherlands as I said have highly talented squads. They have top players who play in the best leagues in the world. Yet these two have very little in terms of trophies to show for. I really wonder what to make of this. There are two things you can make of this. 1. The best leagues in the world (Spain, England, Italy) are just hype or 2. The best leagues tend to suck you dry through the course of a long season. I tend towards the latter.

As for the remaining teams and also looking at the groups, I can probably see Croatia, Sweden and Turkey win a game each but the rest just make up the numbers really. Even Greece's heroics in the last championships isnt enough to convince experts of the threat posed by teams like them.

Ill be having my friends come over atleast twice during the tournament. Their exams will be over by then. So I hope the tournament is played with flair and there are plenty of goals and then I wouldnt care who wins. Let the party begin!

Indian Premeir League

2008-05-31T01:20:00.001+05:30

Last night I watched the first semi final between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Delhi Daredevils (DD). Yet again RR produced an amazing performance. They off course have just been one of the highlights of an amazing concept that is T20 and the mix of sports and the corporate world have seen the rise of the newest form of cricket. There are several things that could have been better with the IPL but then this is its first time and surely lessons will be learnt.

The concept of a T20 league is not new though. It started in UK I think and then off course Zee started the ICL. ICL was revolutionary in its concept of players from all over the world competing in one country in a league format. The IPL has totally copied the idea but the results are there for all to see. The BCCI has yet again shown its power.

Fan Wars

2008-05-30T12:48:00.002+05:30

The fan war that erupts after every big football match is no less than an online world war. Only here there are no alliances. European football is being followed all over the world with increasing fanaticism. Here in India, the premier league is followed with such passion that you would think it would be better to put all this energy into something more useful. Users on Orkut, India's largest online social networking site, are typical examples of the 'passionate' people im talking about. With status messages like 'Manu for life' and the more extreme 'Manu till death', im sure youre getting an idea of what im talking about. Most fans will not support the Indian cricket team with this fervor and never say a word against 'their' clubs which is honestly shocking.

As a Chelsea fan, I have the displeasure of watching the premier league and champions league matches in an atmosphere of utmost hostility amongst Man Utd fans in my hostel common room. Its excruciating to say the least. 'Our kind' is clearly the minority and 'those guys' tend to gang up on us. Invariably you hear things like f*** off Chelsea/Arsenal/Liverpool. They honestly dont care much for the rest of the league.

What I make of all this.
1. I think each club deserves respect no matter what. So for any fan to say horrible things about another club is inappropriate.
2. The way people support their clubs out here in Asia is nonsensical. If you were out in England, I would understand as club loyalties come through generations and you are obviously much closer to the action but definitely not here.
3. For all those who call Chelsea a club without history/you-started-supporting-them-after-Roman-arrived, here is my answer:
All clubs have a history to it and so does Chelsea. Chelsea are more than a 100 years old. They have won their share of trophies and have had their ups and downs like every other club which is more than a century old.
Roman issue: So when did you start supporting your club? When they were a winning unit right? End of discussion. (Just to make it clear, I started supporting Chelsea in 2001 when they were on the brink of the champs league and not a very big club)