Abeldy Gabeldy

Tennis - A beautiful game

2011-02-07T01:45:00.010+05:30

Pete Sampras's serve, Roger Federer's forehand, Richard Gasquet's backhand - all three had one thing in common - grace. Infact almost all pros have that poise just before contact. Even Marat Safin's booming serves had that quality; it is that quality that separates the wheat from the chaff. By grace, I mean looking unrushed which means getting into a position early. Federer at his peak looked the most unrushed player on the circuit, yet his court coverage was on par with the best. How? Because he could anticipate the ball so well, his first step gave him the extra time.

It makes sense to do better than to do more.

As an amateur tennis player, I remember our coach shouting at us to make the groundstrokes look effortless. Two years on, i feel it is the single most important thing in tennis. Ofcourse you would need a sound technique to make it look "effortless" whether its a serve, or a groundstroke or a volley.

It really is a beautiful game. Tennis with its subtleties can sound too complicated, I find it fascinating. There is biomechanics intertwined with a feel for the ball. Andy Murray with a "drop shot here, a drop shot there" has an amazing feel for the ball. It is scary the control the pros possess. They can virtually place the ball on a coin.

Its a real shame that tennis in this country is an elitist's game. I mean for proper coaching and membership of a club, you have to pay through your nose. The last few years have seen many academies opening up trying to bridge this demand -supply gap. With greater awareness through media, rising disposable incomes and most importantly increased emphasis on fitness, tennis is only going to grow here. As with just about everything in this country, pricing will be the key.

Indian Cricket: Way Ahead

2011-01-04T01:50:00.008+05:30

If you are an Indian you are bound to have views about the Indian cricket team, here are mine -

Tendulkar to stop playing ODIs after 2011 World Cup
Am a staunch Tendulkar fan, but cant see how this wont work for him. With less travelling as a result, he can give rest to his body and focus on Test cricket

Pujara bats at No. 3 and Rahul at 6
Not because Rahul is not playing well but because there has to be a smooth transition or India is going to meet the same fate as Australia where the new guys look lost without the experience of seniors to fall back on.

Sreesanth to play only Test matches
His natural ball is the outswinger inviting the batsmen to drive. In ODIs which are often played on placid pitches the length required is just short of a good length most of the time meaning he has to adjust and bowl a much shorter length than his normal full length. Swing bowlers are rare and they need to be handled with care. Story of one Irfan Pathan. Sound familiar?

Play lesser ODIs and more test matches
BCCI has made enough money to design and send a space shuttle to Jupiter! It is test cricket that will harden your cricketers and find you your future stars. Sachin, Saurav, Rahul, Kumble, VVS, Zaheer, Sehwag - you name them, all of them established themselves in Test cricket first.

Rahul, Sachin, VVS - they must not retire in the same year
The transition has to be smooth. These three heavyweights when they retire they will leave a hole in any side. By having a phased exit, the youngsters can be groomed when one/two of the trio is still around.

Sehwag to bat in the middle order when one of the trio retires
Agreed Viru has been very successful at the top opening the innings, but I believe he would have scored more runs had he batted in the middle order when the shine of the ball has been removed.

Preparing sporty wickets for first class matches
Self explanatory

2010: The year that was

2011-01-01T14:14:00.005+05:30

Ten Memorable moments/events of 2010 (not in order)

Spending new year's eve and the new year with family
3000+ kms ride from IMT Ghz to Vikramgarh and back(RMX)
Sachin Tendukar's 50th Test ton
Nadal winning at Roland Garros and Wimbledon
Me hitting 25 runs in an over!
A week long sojourn at Bangalore and another one at Hyderabad - two places I love
Bro getting final offer from Bain & Co
Saying no to Infi and IT
The prospect of me having a career in automobiles
Winning the Tennis leg of LoT

PS: Wishing everyone a very happy and successful 2011

Theory of random randomness

2010-12-13T22:49:00.008+05:30

Axiom: Everything is not random

The converse holds true viz. random is not everything.

Theorem: Everything is randomly random.

Corollary to the theorem:

Good fortune, bad fortune are nothing but illusions to appease oneself. If one is around for a while, there will be instances of the other side of fortune;good/bad thus cancelling the earlier bad/good side.

Ever wondered why the most successful men/women have had to come through "difficult" times?

The earth is flat indeed!

League of Titans: Tennis Final

2010-12-02T23:12:00.017+05:30

"You could cut the tension with a knife"

Apropos the LOT Tennis final 2010, the above statement best describes the final.

We, B1, were pitted against A(junior section). The format of the tie -three singles( 2 men's and one ladies' singles) followed by men's doubles and mixed doubles. Team winning first three rubbers would win the tie. Each rubber was a best-of-7 -games with a minimum difference of 2 and a tie breaker at 4-4.

Match 1: Akash(A) vs me(B1)

I won the toss and chose to serve. The start was a lousy one for me with a barrage of unforced errors. Akash for his part played well. No errors while I kept making them. Serving too disintegrated and in no time I was 3-0 down staring down the barrel. That is when I decided to chuck plan A and adopt plan B. Plan A was to play my natural game which was just not flowing that day. So, over to plan B which meant I went with the top spin serve for both the serves and deeper ground strokes without going for the lines (which I was missing anyway), even if it meant longer rallies. The ploy worked and I managed to bring the score to 3-3. It was 4-4 and a tiebreaker ensued. The nerves were jangling alright. I got behind in the tie breaker too and had to fight my way back. Serving to save a match point in the tie breaker, my first serve went long. Return error from Akash on my second serve levelled the score and I somehow managed to eke out a couple more points giving me the match. What a relief! Personally for me, the win provides some succour after last year's agonizing loss in the final. That said my game was way below par for best part of the match. Just hung in there and got lucky to scrape through. Phew! Talk about getting out of jail.(i was 3-0 down after a lousy start). It was more of a grinding match, not the free flowing game with winners that you associate in a final. In that sense, I guess I would have disappointed my classmates/friends with a "slow match" interspersed with very few winners(none on the backhand side). Having said that its still a win and I ll take it. Hard luck Akash. You were almost there.

Match 2: Himanshu(B1) and Akarsh(A)

Himanshu was in great form in the semi-finals. However this match presented a different challenge to deal with Akarsh who was adept at chopping and coming to the net very intelligently. Himanshu tried his best to adjust to the lack of pace but could n't. Akarsh's movement to the net and the finishing was too good. Akarsh won this rubber 4-2 and levelled the tie at 1-1.

Match 3: Bhanu(B1) vs Deepti(A)

This was a crucial match for both the sides as the tie was poised at 1-1. Bhanu took the initiative early with penetrating shots and romped to an early lead. Deepti actually played well, quite well. It was just that Bhanu had discovered her A-game (no pun intended). 4-1 the scoreline in favour of Bhanu at the end of this match.

B1 in the lead at 2-1

Match 4: Devesh/Himanshu(B1) vs Akash/Akarsh(A)

Devesh got his booming serves going but returns kept coming from the other end. The unforced errors were coming from B1. A took the lead 3-2 after it was 2-2. Playing with confidence the duo Akash and Akarsh took the match 4-2.

It was level pegging at 2-2 now and the tie would go down to the last rubber - mixed doubles.

Match 5: Devesh/Bhanu (B1) vs Abhishek/Deepti (A)

It would be fair to say that B1 clearly had the edge in this match. Bhanu was playing her best tennis and matching Abhishek shot for shot and even managed to win a few rallies prompting one of the supporters of A to shout out to "target the man". The B1 supporters went delirious with laughter at this interjection. Devesh was solid as ever and we won the match 4-0 and with it the tie and the tournament. It was one humdinger of a tie. It was 4 AM by the time the match finished.

Huge relief after losing last year's match. Well played team - Himanshu, Bhanu, Devesh. The win was a complete team effort.

To my team mates:

Bhanu: You were overconfident in the semis and justifiably so given the dearth of competition in the previous rounds but you bounced back to win from 3-1 down. In the finals you surpassed yourself and took your game to a new level.

HSM: Fabulous show. Strong consistent performance throughout tournament. Your game in the semifinal in particular was excellent and it was a critical win given that the next match(of Bhanu) turned out to be really close

Devesh: It was great to have you in the finals. Your involvement mattered a lot in the final result.

To B1 supporters:

Thanks a ton for showing up, braving the cold. Your support made the difference in what was a pulsating final.

To my juniors - Akash, Akarsh,Abhishek and Deepti- you folks will win next year. Hard luck this time around. Well played!

To the chair umpire Baiju and the line judges good job done.

Last and not the least, SportsCom, well you guys rock!

Gajiabad Diaries-Part 1

2010-12-01T11:35:00.010+05:30

11 AM, 1 Dec 2010

This is the conversation I had with the shopkeeper when I went to a sports shop to get my strings done

Me: Bhaiya, racquet gutting karna hai jaldi. Urgent hai. Tournament chal raha hai

Shopkeeper(smiling): Ho jaega ek ghante mein.

Me: Theek hai mai ek ghante mein aata hoon phir

Shopkeeper(smiles and asks): Chakravyuh chal raha hai kya.....

Me(taken by surprise): Woh hoga Feb mein.

I leave my racquet behind, give the specifications and come out of the shop chuckling.

12 PM: I call up shopkeeper and check if the stringing is done and true to his word its ready to be collected

PS: Ghajiabad is not that bad after all :)

There is no such thing as a good product...

2010-11-20T04:37:00.007+05:30

There is no such thing as a good product, its all consumer perception - Al Ries and Jack Trout

I find it fascinating how this seemingly tepid statement appears relevant to our society as well and not just confined to the realms of marketing.

What if i said -

There is no such thing as a good/bad person.

There is no such thing as a good/bad job.

There is no such thing as a good/bad city.

If only we were not as judgmental as a society as we are and learn to appreciate and live with different perspectives, life would be so much easier. No?

Ambush Marketing

2010-11-10T21:56:00.009+05:30

On 23rd July Mumbai woke up to hoardings that screamed ‘A Mystery Shampoo!!80% women say is better than anything else’. P&G, it was later found, was planning to unveil the new Pantene on August 1. HUL saw an opportunity to score a point. Five days later, Mumbai woke up to a new hoarding that said "There is no mystery. Dove is the No.1 shampoo." The repartee achieved two objectives. First, it took the sheen off the P&G teaser campaign. Second, the shock and awe grabbed consumer attention and generated a buzz in favour of Dove.

A classic case of ambush marketing; a company (HUL) feeding off its competitor's campaign (P&G).

It comes with the territory, says Jagdeep Kapoor, managing director, Samsika Marketing Consultants, a leading strategic marketing consultancy. “Teaser campaigns are vulnerable to such attacks,” he says. “Companies should focus on consumers rather than the competition. Eventually, consumers will decide based on the brand’s performance and image.”

Heightened competition to capture the relatively small share of the customer’s wallet allocated for discretionary purchase, on account of food inflation, is stoking the companies to resort to such tactics.

The growth rate in the shampoo category has come down from 17% in 2008 to 11% in 2009 and 9% in 2010. One reason

Definition

A term coined by marketing guru Jeffery Welsh, ambush marketing refers to means by which companies, not associated(officially or otherwise) with an event/campaign ride on its popularity and get themselves associated with it in the consumer's mind.

“Nothing official about it”

In 1996, Coke paid a fortune for the right to call itself the official sponsor of the World Cup. Pepsi promptly launched a massive advertising blitz, based on the catch-line: "Nothing Official About It". The Pepsi campaign captured the public imagination while Coke, the official sponsor, lost out. It was a masterstroke that made Pepsi younger, and reinforced its maverick brand attitude.

“No need for visa to travel to Norway”

During the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway, credit card maker Visa, one of the official sponsors, broadcast advertisements that highlighted the message that only Visa cards will be accepted in the Olympic Village. American Express responded by creating an advertisement with the slogan “If you are travelling to Norway, you will need a passport but you don’t need a visa.” This was an improved version of their 1992 attack on Visa. Visa had invested over $20 million to become the official sponsor of the 1992 Olympic Winter and Summer Games and at that time also American Express purchased substantial advertising time on the major media networks and made advertisements that showed the French Alps with the caption “Winter Fun and Games”. In the same year the Olympic Games in Barcelona, American Express ran an advertisement with the slogan ‘And remember to visit Spain, you don’t need to be a visa”. It is worth noting that the word ‘Olympics’ was never used in any of these advertisements from American Express. As an event organizer who is conscious of the sponsorship value, the IOC got disturbed by the frequent ambush marketing attempts from this company and threatened to sue it for repeatedly trying to create an impression that it was an Olympic sponsor. But it was too late and those advertisements had really gained the attention of the world. Many people still consider American Express the official sponsor of the game at the time. The novel approaches from American Express made its marketing story enter the books and articles on marketing and is still considered as an inspirational theme for ambush marketers.

“Nike does it again and again”

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, instead of paying US$ 50 million that the official sponsorship would have cost, Nike chose a different approach, one that would create an impact at significantly lower cost. Nike got itself into the city’s billboard space, handed out swoosh banners to wave inside the stadiums and erected an enormous Nike centre overlooking the stadium.

The result of these measures paid off for Nike. Many people felt that Nike was the official sponsor of the games. In the 2002 Football World Cup sponsored by Adidas, by sponsoring top teams like Brazil, Nike got its logo on the jerseys of the players who were the cynosure of the millions following the game on television. Nike was able to ride on the wave of excitement created by the tournament, turning the positive sentiment into its favour and enhancing its brand franchise. Nike as a brand always had an iconoclastic element in its brand personality which gets reflected by such actions.

“2012 Olympic Games Organizing Committee chary of getting ambushed”

The organizers of tournaments have become wary of ambush attacks and have taken a slew of measures to ensure their sponsor’s interests are protected. The organizers of 2012 Olympics in a preemptive move to ward off the threat booked the entire city’s billboard space during the games.

The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006 created the London Olympic Association Right (LOAR), which gives the games' organizers the power to grant licenses to authorized sponsors to use the symbols, words and logos of the event.

It also prevents any advert or merchandise with the combination of words and symbols which could create an unauthorized association with the games.

There are two lists of prohibited expressions, with marketers falling foul if they use any two words in list A, or any word in list A with one or more of the words in list B.

Companies deemed to have broken the rules could face fines of up to £20,000.

B-LIST WORDS

London

Medals

Sponsor

Gold

Silver

Bronze

RESTRICTED 2012 A-LIST WORDS

Games

Two Thousand and Twelve

2012

Twenty Twelve

Source: BBC Website

It will be increasingly difficult for firms on the prowl waiting to strike at the opportune moment. Offering an explanation for the strong measures taken, the spokesman for the London Organizing Committee insisted that the Games could not go ahead without sponsorship and that it had a duty to protect those brands that were shelling out. That notwithstanding one can’t put it past a Machiavellian mind to come with well thought out ambush plan.

“Pitfalls of ambush marketing”

Cynics of ambush marketing contend that customer is not necessarily the focus in ambush marketing. They also argue that when a brand ambushes - the well preached theorems of marketing take a backseat. Every brand has a distinct meaning and direction vis-à-vis the competition. By indulging in potshots the signals start to merge. In the case of Dove’s ambush of Pantene discussed earlier in the article, the skeptics contend that Dove, which stands for realism, is sending conflicting signals to its target audience by linking itself to an element of mystery.

There is increased overlapping of the two brands (meaning and direction)

The distinct brand meaning and direction of brand Dove got lost to some extent, claims one school of thought. The critics go on to state that ambush marketing creates diversions driving the long term plans awry.

In conclusion it would be fair to say that while ambush marketing offers companies high ROI in terms of immediate surge in sales, companies need to understand that it’s a tactical move. An ambush/guerilla attack is not an attack but should be seen as a preparation for a bigger attack.

Ghajiabad: 10 Things NOT to do

2010-08-02T01:44:00.002+05:30

1. Go hungry but avoid eating out at Soniya's(if the food wont kill you the goons will)

2. Endure some pain but avoid visiting the local dentist(personal experience)

3. Avoid a flat after dark especially. Knives and daggers are more common than cell phones in these parts

4. Injections are painless right!Yeah right. Once you get one you ll know the syringe aint too different from a knife in #3

5. Avoid going out in the night unless you have to.

6. Avoid drinking water in these parts

7. If offered mineral water, good chance it is not genuine

8. Being run over while crossing the road cant be ruled out

9. In trying to get to IMT, do not follow the sign board, it will lead you into the drain(no pun intended)

10. ................(open to suggestions)

PS: A haphazardly post written without much thought

Trip Log: RMX: The Mother Of All Rides

2010-05-18T20:23:00.012+05:30

Lead up to the ride

Usually trip logs are penned down within a week or two of culmination of the trip, but then this wasnt just another ride. I am referring to Rider Mania- an annual pilgrimage that we crazy riders embark on :) (That said each ride is special and I fondly remember each and everyone of them.) The week long ride that I was going to embark on would start from Delhi

Pay a visit to the mechanic-thorough check up of my Std 350

Saddle bag packed- some spares(tube,sparkplug,chain link,throttle and clutch cables), documents,woolens and some trivial stuff.

By late evening, the excitement levels had reached a crescendo. Never before had I set out on a ride of this magnitude in terms of the sheer distance. Add to it the possibility of riding in the fog. A cursory glance from my window at 5 in the morning confirmed that(heavy fog).

Day 1: Ghaziabad-Gurgaon-Manesar-Jaipur-Bhilwara

Got ready, saddled my steed, called up Saurabh from Royal Beasts. (I was riding with the Beasters, the Bullet club of Delhi). The assembly point was Iffco Chowk off the Gurgaon Delhi expressway.The poor visibility slowed the progress and I caught up with Karan(Beaster) around Manesar(rather he caught me up :D, he does 100-110+ consistently). Even at eight there was no letting up - be it the fog or the cold. Despite the gear and woolens' inside, we were all cold. Stopped for a late breakfast at a dhaba and we were off again. The roads were in great shape as one would expect from the Golden Quadrilateral.

By the time we had reached Jaipur the fog had lifted and the sun was out. The group's speed picked up and we were crusing at 80-100 clicks.

Crossed Udaipur, Ajmer. The plan was to do a night halt at Bhilwara. By the time we checked in the hotel at Bhilwara, it was past 8.

A sumptuous dinner followed by deep slumber- a good riding day given the fog and cold. Covered distance of 400 odd kms.

Day 2: Bhilwara-Udaipur-Ajmer-Ahmedabad-WIMWI

Got up early in the morning, had breakfast; by eight we were on the highway. As the day got on and with the mercury rising,we could no longer do 200kms at a stretch. Had to break at every 100 kms or so to cool the engines down. The plan was to be in Vadodora by nightfall. By evening, we were close to entering Gujrat. The searing afternoon sun had taken a toll on my contact lens and my progress was hampered. Not wanting to slow the group down, I asked them to go ahead. Then it struck me that I could meet my brother at his IIM-A campus. At 7, we were sitting in his hostel dorm chatting away animatedly. (Ofcourse, my folks back in Doon didnt know a word. I was supposedly in my campus at IMT then!!). Was super spending quality time with my bro; we were lucky that his next day was relaxed which is an exception there for the 'fucchas' and my eyes got the much needed rest.

Day 3: WIMWI-Vadodara- Dahanu

To catch up with the group, I left the campus at six. With the heat of Rajasthan behind me, I caught up with the group after Vadodora around eight or so.

As we got closer to Maharashta the arid landscape gave way to denser vegetation with the occasional coconut tree popping up in the eyeline. The plan was to be in Dahanu by nightfall. Its a village some 30 odd kms from our destination-Vikramgarh. The evening was beautiful.

The ride off the NH-8 towards Dahanu was kickass- plenty of curves - a rider's road. We reached the hotel before it got dark without any incident or so we thought. Just as we were unsaddling, a police constable walks up and demands- who are we, where are we headed and why were we "riding so fast" . Apparently a few villagers got "scared" hearing the high decibels levels and had tipped off the police. The constable maintains he had blown his whistle to stop us , but we didnt( who would hear a whistle when you have a horde of 20 enfields thumping away :) After a half an hour long explanation, the constable let us off after verifying our documents. We werent terrorists afterall :) Dont blame them for being vigilant. Republic day was around the corner. Anyway, we checked in, relaxed, gorged on good food and hit the sack.

Day 4: Dhanu-Manor-Vikramgarh

The morning sun was bright and this was the day we were riding for - RMX was to kick off and as we zeroed in on the destination, stopped for one last time for breakfast. The breakfast talk centred on the entry strategy. The newbies of the club(Royal Beasters) were shown how to get the beat right 1-2. 1-2-3-4 Beasters' style. I missed my club here and just watched the guys do their rhythm opening their throttles all in sync. And thereafter we entered Vikramgarh.

By the time we got there, we were a little late and most of the clubs had already made their entry. It was nice to meet folks from RTMC upon reaching the venue. We were all staying in a dorm and it was fun to listen to the stories of the riders. There was a gamut of events spread across the two days(Saturday and Sunday). Events need to be read as motorcycling events and anything else would amount to slander! From assembly wars to dirt track race, from beer drinking competitions to arm wrestling, it was one carnival atmosphere that can be found only in an RM. The last night had the club presentations(basically its what the club is about) and it was good fun participating in the RTMC skit. Great script and acting Deep $hit, Anubami & Co. The message was clear- Caman the Enjaiment all the way.

Day 5: Vikramgarh - Manor - Vadodara -Ahmedabad -Udaipur

Monday morning and it was time time to bid adieu. (I had to get back as soon as possible to avoid grade losses for being absent during classes) I set off early morning with with a couple of Beasters who had to get resume office duties earlier than others. The plan was to cover the entire distance(Vikramgarh - Delhi) in two days with the night halt at Udaipur. That meant we had to do 700+ kms on each of the two days. Being a small group, there were fewer stops and we did good consistent speeds and I say we with a hint of pride. Here I was riding with the two Thunderbirds and my Std 350 kept up throughout and sometimes even setting the pace. It was only when Amy decided to open the throttle after crossing Ahmedabad and went patrang at over 120 clicks did I fall behind. The late evening ride on NH 8 was fantastic. By the time we checked in a hotel at Udaipur it was past 10. We had done over 850 kms in he day. Personally I prefer riding in smaller groups. The bonding that develops is great The discussions over meals at dhabas; you have to be part of a ride to experience it.

Day 6: Udaipur- Ajmer- Jaipur- Fog(40 kms off Gurgaon)

Day 2 of the return leg was another long riding day. There was a stretch on NH-8 that was under construction enroute to Ajmer. We missed the NH 79 turn (which would have been faster) and average speeds dropped because we were no longer on a six lane highway. We reduced the stoppages and we were nearing Jaipur by 4 in the evening. We stopped by for a bite and cup of tea at a dhaba. We could almost smell Delhi from here -250 odd kms to go. We were back on the highway and as the evening gave way to darkness, we still did good speeds though traffic was considerably more given the proximity to Delhi.

As we got closer to Manesar, we encountered fog on our way and that slowed down our speeds to below 40. It was too thick to see the vehicle in front of me. There were traffic jams.(Incidentally that evening had more fog than any of the nights in that week when I find out later). Jaypreet, my fellow rider was going to halt at Gurgaon at a friend's but I had to go all the way to Ghaziabad (additional 70 kms from Gurgaon). I decided to call it a night and stopped by at a dhaba. Told Jaypreet about my decision and he asked me to stay with him at his friend's place. But I didnt want to continue in the fog and he had to be in office the next day, so we parted here. It was super riding with both of you-JP and Amy. Had dinner at the dhaba and the dhaba owner was nice enough to give me a bed behind his counter where I could crash.

Day 7: 40 kms off Gurgaon- IMT Ghaziabad

Next morning when I offered to pay him for the bed, he refused to accept the payment. All the skeptics who talk at length about missing Indian culture, egalitarian values, need to look beyond the cities to get a wider perspective. They will find that the virtues still remain, people are still warm; kindness is not totally gone yet. Anyway, while leaving, the fog was still there at eight in the morning but much lower in intensity. I thanked the dhaba owner for his warmth and saddled my steed and I was off. Reached my hostel at 10 in the morning. Felt surreal to get back to reality.

3000+ kms of hardcore riding.

By far the craziest week of my life!

Six months at IMT G: Haan Ji

2009-12-09T20:31:00.016+05:30

Its been almost six months since we wannabe managers entered the portals of a certain insti called IMT G. Notice that I didnt use the adjective 'hallowed'. That said please bear in mind that the 'un-hallowed' is only in comparison with the IIMs :) The six months have been a roller-coaster ride right from day one when we lined up before SAC office, backpacks slung across the shoulder, form in one hand on a hot June afternoon.

That seems to be a long long time ago. What with staying up till the wee hours of morning and then making up for the sleep or the lack of it, in the classes the next day, to running around looking for Chanakya, Abhimanyu, Arjun, Chandragupta and the like in the first couple of weeks for various committee/club interviews( these are the rooms in the acad block which by the way i still cant figure out which one is where) to late night strolls inside the campus with friends agenda being bhasad - it is an experience of a different kind.

Ten things that one cannot miss here -

1. The Amphi-

This circular structure at the centre of the campus surrounded by trees is very much the heartland of IMT. Informal corporate interactions happen here.The official venue for class parties, this place has a nice cosy feel to it -not too big and not too small the diameter is just right.

2. The BBC -

Being midway between the mess and the hostel, BBC is most the frequented place and tells you the mood in the campus. If the exams are on then its a deserted whiteland, else this place is teeming with vella folks - some sitting on the sidewalk under the trees, some just strolling along aimlessly, some playing cricket on the cement under the floodlights

3. The maddening rush at the mess entrance adjacent to Block A when its ice cream time after dinner- There is a saying that talks about no-free-lunch. Trust me you have to 'earn' your choco-chip ice cream in the ensuing near-stampede

4. 'Haan Ji! Password type kijiye'

5. Gera Curve if you are taught by one Rajat Gera

6. PlaceCom Openhouse cant be missed.

7. The air-conditioned library - just for the summer season ;)

8. Tennis Court - This should have been #1

9. The lush green ground claimed by the footballers and cricketers alike; actually its neither going by the dimensions but its still fun playing.

10. (Edited) J Lobby - From project discussions to birthday bashes read GPL, from booze parties to exams, the square has a buzz about it, even at 3 in the morning, with its proximity to DLP and sutta stall outside the campus

PS: The best part of hostel life is the time spent with friends. This was a first for me in and I am throughly enjoying it :)

Disclaimer: The views are all in good jest and not to be taken seriously.

Rishikesh Ride: Trip Log

2009-10-27T23:50:00.016+05:30

24th October,2009

----------------------

1030 hrs: Our Ops class done, we headed back to the hostel to pack for the ride, woolens and all with winter setting in gradually

1300 hrs: After a quick lunch, we were off. There was just the one motorcycle- my Std 350. Aravinthan, my friend and classmate riding pillion.

1330 hrs: We hit the canal road off the Delhi-Meerut road. (I love this stretch of the road.) Its a narrow road flanked by the countryside on one side and the canal on the other. The fern-like wild shrubs fluttering in the wind made for an awesome sight! We stopped by to take a few shots http://picasaweb.google.com/atmdeo/GTownRishikeshTrip#

With hardly any traffic, we zipped by at 90+ clocking 100 on a few stretches. With the sun on its way down, the temperature dropped gradually and the vegetation got thicker giving way to dense trees as we approached Roorkee.

After hitting Roorkee we took the highway to Haridwar. We stopped for a snack near College of Engineering, watching the sun go down for the day as we sipped tea and savoured the steaming pakodas- paneer was lovely. There is something about food during a ride -it tastes better than it would do otherwise! Maybe its the local cuisine that is unique to the place.

Break over, we hit the highway for the last leg of the ride. We encountered more traffic and the average speed dropped considerably. We were in Haridwar around seven in the evening.

With the temples all lit, the town of Haridwar looked spectacular. We rode on to Rishikesh without stopping. It was decided after reaching Rishikesh that we would crash for the night in the heart of Rishikesh - Ram Jhula. We checked in a cottage closeby (Krishna Cottage)

Brr it was cold- time to get the old mufflers and jackets out. Had dinner at Chotiwala. If at all you happen to be anywhere near, make sure you stop by here. After gorging on the different kinds of paranthas, palak paneer, we decided to take a walk on Ram Jhula. With peak season over, there were hardly any people there.The silver waters of the Ganges lit up by the crescent shaped moon looked poetic. Add to it ,the lovely breeze blowing. It was magical. We walked around for a good hour and a half after which we decided to head back and catch up on sleep.

Next day it was time for some white water rafting. We took a cab to Marine Drive- 26kms off Rishikesh. The rafting was fun. There was no untoward incident ;such as the raft overturning although Aravinthan managed to fall off the raft in the one of the rapids (the bugger wanted to fall off ). We crossed ShivPuri downstream and finally we were at Ram Jhula. It was four in the evening already. After a quick lunch at Chotiwala, we checked out and by 5 30 we were on the highway riding back.

Night riding has its own charm, although I prefer day riding. Roorkee onwards, we took the highway instead of the canal road.(Just a caveat, the canal road has had incidents of robbery in the night )

The moonlit night ride was fun. After covering majority of the 220 km ride, we took a break at eleven at Bikanerwala which was some 40 kms off Ghaziabad. The next stop was IMT.

All in all, a super ride and a super weekend. Aravinthan, thanks for coming along!

IMT Open - Finals- Amit(senior) vs Me

2009-09-19T04:43:00.002+05:30

MadBulls 7A Kodaikanal Ride

2009-05-07T03:01:00.010+05:30

With the memories of RM 09 RTMCishstyle refusing to fade away (quite literally the RM parking sticker on my Std is still there!) the prospect of one more ride, this time to Kodaikanal for Madbulls 7A was too good to be true. Got the registration done in the first week of opening. Before I knew it,I was up at 3 in the morning on the 1st of May and an hour later was riding towards Shell petrol pump, Silk Board the starting point of the ride. There were about 25 of us riding from Bangalore. Met a few old hands and some new ones too. 4 30 and we were off creating quite a din in the early morning hours ;)

The route for 480-km-ride was Bangalore-Krishanagiri-Salem-Nammekal-Dindigul-Kodaikanal. The idea behind the early morning start was to offset the traveling in scorching mid day sun as much as possible.The ride on the straights of NH-7 was uneventful till Salem. Did decent speeds at 80-90 consistently. Post-Salem there was this comic 'trench' episode in which there were three falls while walking, yes while walking and these guys werent even drunk ;) - Deep,Gokul and Sukrit. To be fair, the pits were small and deep, easily camouflaged with the colour of the soil. Though Gokul did sprain his ankle but it wasnt as bad as we feared initially and he could ride with a little bit of discomfort. The other two were lucky to get away without any injury. Infact Sukrit's fall was funny. Picture this - Gokul is lying on the ground after spraining his ankle and we are debating if someone could ride Gokul's bike. Thats when Goop with his pillion(Sukrit) stops by to have a look. Deep asks Sukrit if he can ride Gokul's bike. And Sukrit walking towards us, says 'Yes I ca...' and before he could even finish, he is in the pit too! Even as we were trying to help him out, we burst out laughing. It was terribly funny!!

Lunch was at Dendigul's Venu Biryani (guess it was Mamada's idea, who else!). Awesome place. The mutton biryani, mutton sukka and the mutton balls were just out of this world. If at all you happen to be crossing Dindigul ,whatever you do make sure you stop by at Venu Biryani for the mutton delicacies. Trust me, you wont regret it ;).

So after a sumptuous lunch we set off for the final stretch -the ghats. As we started to ascend, the coconut trees gave way to thicker vegetation and the temperature started to drop. There was a smattering of rain welcoming us making the ride even more worthwhile. As we got closer to Kodaikanal, we came across a group of MadBull riders,a few solo riders all on their way to Kodaikanal . It seemed all roads led to CliffTop Resort(the venue for MBMC 7A).

Met the MadBulls on reaching the place - Gunfight, Sim and Co. Got our rooms and must say the acco and other arrangements were great. Took a quick shower and then it was 'chill time'. Was wonderful listening to Prashi and his tales from the Raid. Loved the 'we-have-come-all-the-way-here-for-chai' bit ;) . Also got to know that Goop's M.B.A insignia on his number plate is not 'Mad Bull Ahead' but an MBA after all. There were several other such 'intellectual' discussions over the course of the two days. We slept, gorged on rich food, danced around the evening-bonfire with half-empty Old Monks in one hand (needless to say I was a spectator!) Great party all the way ,the two days. Nicely done MadBulls thankyou!

The ride back was the icing on the cake (no offence to the 7A cake we had :P). Took a different route this time. Kodai-Palani-Bhavani-Mettur-Thoppur-Krishanagiri -Bangalore. The entire ride was simply mind-blowing. Started at 4 30 from Kodai and doing the ghats early in the morning with almost no traffic was a super idea. Enjoyed every moment of the descent. Just awesome riding at dawn. As you get out of a curve, watching the tiny speck of flash coming from your fellow rider is one of the many things that makes group riding so much fun. Ok i got carried away. Where was I ? I had to give a break midway to cool down my bull's drums which were getting heated up. We stopped for breakfast after hitting the plains of Palini. Just when we were starting back, Ratish's kicker fell off. We let the group go ahead as Ratish and I put the lever in its place. Then we clipped to catch up with the group. Super riding that was too as we didnt know the route and had to stop for directions. It was a pleasant surprise to see my Std clocking 100 consistently. We caught up with the group after Bhavani. The countryside was wonderful all the way making even the heat bearable.

We had a final stop after hitting Hosur, where we said our goodbyes and went in our own directions.

All in all, a kickass ride. Thanks to the organizers for a smooth event and ofcourse the riders who made the ride possible.

PS: This will be my last ride for a while. Packing my bags for Delhi.

Breaking News

2009-04-22T14:44:00.001+05:30

It doesn't matter which day of the week it is - it could be a mundane Monday morning or a lazy Saturday morning, the front page of the morning newspaper is bound to have a scandal of some sort displayed on its front page in bold letters and to go along with it a sleazy picture no matter how irrelevant.

Is it just me or do you feel it too that our media, both print and electronic considers negative publicity as the way to grab eyeballs and keep them glued to the tele or paper, whichever the case may be? Sure there are scandals and need to be brought out to the public, but in between there are some 'not-so-scandalous' news which deserve attention too. For example India's foray into space with the indigenously developed Chandrayaan hardly created any ripples in the media; or for that matter how many of you recollect the names of our Olympic medalists at Beijing 2008.

Why? Simply because it does not fall into the 'Breaking News' category. But if Dhoni happens to take a haircut in Ranchi that seems to grab the headlines for a day at least. Talking of examples we could even talk at length of the 26/11 carnage, where the media became the eyes of the terrorists by airing live the positions taken by the NSG commandos!!

We keep blaming the politicians for inflaming communal tensions, which is absolutely spot on by the way. But what about the role of the media? The moment there is an incident, no matter how trivial, there would be a reporter there on the spot interviewing the victim, almost egging him/her on to malign a certain person or a community. One thing leads to another and lo behold we have a '9 PM ka tamasha' which is aired across all the news channels each trying to take credit for the 'Breaking News'.

I would rather go back to the old Doordharshan /AIR days . The lady anchors draped in silk sarees for me, thankyou :P

PS: After a long time, posted two posts within a week :)

Cheers,
toejam

Winds Of Change

2009-04-18T15:27:00.015+05:30

The first rays of the crimson morning sun entering through the window,

through the cracks between the curtains right into your sleep-filled eyes.

You drag the curtains closer, flip over to other side, eyes shut. This is one memory that lingers whenever I think of the holidays in the good old school days.

With my last working day fast approaching - 6th May, I can look ahead to a month of masti before I am back to school :D. Yes, school, B-school, yours truly converted the call from IMT Ghaziabad. Got Marketing , the course I wanted. (Link at http://imt.edu/) . Looking forward to meet some great minds and er... pretty faces ;). That is not to say pretty faces dont have great minds :P

Anyway, its goodbye IT and good riddance too :). Its a relief I can tell you. So its now time to pack my bags and head north. Will miss my friends here. Also will miss riding with RTMC. That said there will be one last ride to Kodaikanal on 1st May. Its the MadBulls 7A ride. Will come up with travel log once I am back.

PS: The campus at IMT G has flood-lit tennis court so wont miss out on tennis ;)

Those joining IMT -G 2009 Batch please join this community http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Community.aspx?cmm=60677574.

Cheers,

Ride Safe

What Ails Our Society

2009-03-02T21:35:00.014+05:30

It takes an Oscar winning movie, which delineates India's poverty, to make us sit up and take notice. The poignant scenes depicted are quite heart-rending. The point is not whether you liked or did not like the movie , the point is given an option we like to be in a self denial mode all the time. When I say self denial, I mean indifference, having a laid back attitude to life in general. It takes a jolt to stir us up. The motive behind the 1991 reforms was not so much a great vision ,as a last ditch effort to save our country from plunging into a financial crisis - we had a burgeoning fiscal deficit and were on the brink of defaulting on our international debt. Thankfully, that never came to pass, thanks to the then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh. Just goes to show that we are capable, but only when our backs are against the wall. On a lighter note, our cricket team over the years too seems to get its act together after a sluggish start. But why play catch up in the first place?

It must be an inherent trait we all share. I can certainly relate to it and can think of many others too. One reason lies in our upbringing. As kids we do we as we are told(to avoid being spanked), not often are we encouraged to take decisions. At best we come of age by 17-18, when I say of age, I mean in taking decisions. Compare this with an American kid. From about five or six onwards, the kid can take care of himself/herself(another kid too as a news report goes to show :D).

It can be argued that with India opening up to liberalisation, the younger generation of today is more independent with exposure to better standards of living. True, parents enrolling their kids in swimming or guitar lessons is not uncommon anymore. But this phenomenon applies only to the upper echelons of our society. We are still not a liberalised society. How else can we explain the several bandhs that hold the nation to ransom or the histrionics of the Ram Sena and Raj Thackeray! No, far from being a liberalised society,we have become a polarised society, with each side feeding off the other and thereby growing farther apart. Raj Thackeray , by swearing to weed out the competition emanating from north Indian states, has brought out anti-Maharastra sentiments in the youth from the North. The shooting case involving the youth from Bihar is testimony to this fact. Such incidents have political undertones and in no time the situation gets exacerbated, inflaming passions in our society and further fragmenting it.

With all this hoo-haa, does it mean we have finally woken up from our deep slumber? Yes and No. Yes because tolerance as a forte has been replaced with a sheer contempt for differing views. No because when it comes to real issues be it from fighting terrorism to development agendas, we are still dormant.

Here is a great chance with looming global financial crisis and deteriorating political system, to push for reforms - labour reforms, police reforms, judicial reforms, health, education - you name it, for the country needs it badly.

Its 1991 revisited again!

IMT-G Interview : A knotty Experience :)

2009-02-15T23:07:00.011+05:30

Venue : BIT, Bangalore

Date : 15th Feb, 12 30 slot

CAT 97.43(DI - 89.45, Quant - 93.9, Verbal - 95.22)

X: 89.4

XII: 86.1

BE(Electronics and Communication): 73.27

Decent extra circulars

Work Ex in IT(19 months - Accenture)

1030 hrs: me and a fellow puy(now a good friend) take a cab to BIT.

1115 hrs : Reach venue.

1200 hrs: Have a quick coffee knowing that registerations will take a while

1345 hrs: Registerations finally done. Told GDs would start from 1415hrs.

1450 hrs: My name called for GD.

************************************************

TOPIC : Consumer is God in today's market.

Group: 14 guys and a pretty lady :P (turned out that many of us , correction all of us :), let her speak even in the close-to-fish-market GD that followed; )

Ground Rules: 5 mins to think. 8 mins to discuss and 1 min for an oral summary from each in random order. '2 min'(for sure it was less than 80 secs) to write down summary before the papers were submitted.

Overall GD Quality: 4/10(lots of good points, but too noisy to hear them )

Moi: 5/10 (came in three times with examples)

********************************************

1530: GD over. Wait for PI begins.

1645: My name called for interview.

G1-gentleman1

L-Lady

G2-gentleman2(not so gentle as i found out!)

G1: Gestures at me to enter.

L: Sit down(stares down at my imt form for a good min . Now i start feeling like a criminal applying for a parole )

L: So you did engineering from Hyderabad?

me: Yes(kuch galat kar diya kya!)

G1: Which entrance exam?

me: told AP state board's EAMCET.

G1: So why not MBA right after engg?

me: answered, G1 seemed satisfied.

G2: But you did waste two years in IT then!

me: Countered that statement with some gyan about exposure to corporate culture....being a team player...blah blah

G2: Whats your job profile?

me: Told.

G2: Asked me a ques about a customer having multiple credit cards, in different banks. How would I handle the data operations for our client( my profile being data transferring)

me: Told something about customer having one account in our bank and multiple credit card numbers associated with the same account and only one of which is active. Gave some funda of front end and back end and how data moves from the customer to database and vice versa. Mission accomplished !! got G2 confused or was he?

G1: (looking at my form) So you are a son of a Brigadier. Army ah! How has that impacted your life?

me: (jumped with joy hearing this..was waiting to talk about this..) Told abt my schooling across ten diff schools all over India. Got in some well choosen words adaptable, versatile ...blah blah

L: So bullet is your hobby? (she thought i was into guns, lol)

me:I own an Enfield Bullet and enjoy going on long group rides...

L: Do you read books

Me:Used to read sometime back

L: Read newspapers?

me: every now and then

L(smiling and for some reason looking at my tie): Which brand is your tie?

me:(you cant be serious....arre yaar tie mere dost ki hai...brand tho maine dheka nahi !)

me: smile back and say I dont know, feeling foolish

L(smiling): Ok you can leave. Send the next guy after 30 secs.

edit : Converted this call. Got PGDM-FT the course i wanted :gm:

Rider Mania 09 RTMC Ishstyle - An Unforgettable Experience

2009-01-27T23:28:00.010+05:30

The much awaited RM 09 RTMC Ishtlye is now finally over. For those who are not aware, Rider Mania is an annual get-together of Bulleters from all over the country. This year, RTMC(Rolling Thunder Motorcycle club) had taken the mantle to host the gala event. The venue chosen was Sterling Fern Hill, Ooty.

The overwhelming response in terms of sheer numbers( 600 plus), meant that the event bookings were closed inside a week- yes a week(to think a day or two late and i would have missed out on the booking!). The organisers from RTMC had worked their backsides off to ensure this mega event took off. From roping in sponsors - Castrol, Kingfisher, Lee, Cramster and several others ,to arranging the logistics, be it accommodation or food or parking or security for six hundred fifty hungry bikers to running the whole show single handedly( i mean just as a bunch of individuals without any help from the self-patronising Royal Enfield)
deserves nothing short of a standing ovation.

Coming back to the Rider Mania, for once I will not talk about the ride to Ooty. This being my first RM, it was one kick ass experience or a get off ur ass experience as one of our sponsors would like to put it (no pun intended). I could write on and on about the beautiful landscape around the venue or the invigorating ,cool mountain air. I will just quickly list the down the things I liked about the event -

As mentioned above ,the choice of venue. I ,for one, have a fetish for the hills .The weather was great, not too cold, not too hot, just right. The accommodation was great. Great view from the window overlooking the valley.

Participating in the bikers' parade was one of the highlights of the event for me. 600 plus bikes thumping up and down the valley was a sight to behold ! The memory will remain etched in my mind for years together.

Got an opportunity to make new friends and also to catch up with some old ones.

To sum up , it was the indomitable spirit of the Riders that made the event a smash hit that it was.

< RM participants, please feel free to add/edit points >

Again hats off to all the Riders, organizers , sponsors and everyone for making the event possible.

Cheers,

Atmdeo

PS: Deluge of snaps and videos below :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jilmil/3233806108/in/set-72157613036825927/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jilmil/3233806240/in/set-72157613036825927/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/naveenroy/sets/72157613060330078/

http://picasaweb.google.com/sushil.siddesh/RiderMania09?authkey=VTmpEFDGHDo&feat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/prateek.sadhukhan/RM09?authkey=D2FXB1Iv_gk#

http://www.flickr.com/photos/70642088@N00/sets/72157613038047570/ http://picasaweb/. google.com/ sushesh/RM09RTMC Ishtyle# http://picasaweb.google.com/manan.sureka/RM09#http://picasaweb.google.com/arunn316/RM09?feat=directlink#http://picasaweb.google.com/jishnu.c/20090124RTMCISHTYLERIDERMANIA09
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixHTWZAyrUE&feature=email

2)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iNc2mWJgmk&feature=email

3)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX5cBmObhZw&feature=email4)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q89XYu5v4Q&feature=email5)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xXwwm97-NU&feature=email
1) TV9 interviews Saamanhttp://in.youtube.com/watch?v=G4tone7ohis

2) Saaman as a doodwalahttp://in.youtube.com/watch?v=12LAYljbB9k

3) Inddiethumpers "make an impression"http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=CSZNaS0UO9o

TV Show:http://www.worldsgreatestbusinessmind.com/20090128-RM%20%2709%20RTMC%20Ishtyle-Organ~~risers-create.html&WT.mc_id=WGBM%7CCreate

Bangalore-Ooty Ride

2008-09-20T12:59:00.005+05:30

This was second longish ride for me. We started off from at Bangalore University at 7AM. Six bikes -Deep on his TB ,me on my Std, Gokul R15,Prasad TB, Kalyan with Phani Electra and ofcourse Jay on his LB 500, (he got rechristened to Bindu Rani will come to that later :). Jishnu and Nai Roast were going to starting late. So was Manas and Adrian.

The initial stretch was the Mysore highway SH17. Long four lane straights meant we could have clipped at 80+ but the cross winds made the going a little tricky. Deep did a good job of keeping the group together. After riding 70 odd kms, we stopped at Inderdhanush for Poori Sabji breakfast. It was decided that Deep would point and Bindu Rani(correction he was still Jaygay then) would sweep.

On reaching Mysore we took the bypass to Ooty. Close to Bandipur , there was 15 km stretch where the roads were littered with potholes. We enjoyed the bumpy ride, atleast I did- woke me up from the morning slumber :). We stopped for lunch at PugMark restaurant. Adrian on his RD350 was already there. Wonder how long it took it him to get there- Probably a couple of hours for 200 kms :). We had Manas, Jishnu and Nai Roast joining us there.

After a sumptuous lunch of phulkas, sabji and chicken we were on the road again. Twenty kms on and we were going through Madumalai forest. This section had some nice curves(no pun intended, what do you except in a jungle afterall amdist a horde of elephants:)). Finally after crossing the jungle, it was the hairpin bends. As we made the ascent, the temperature dropped gradually and before you knew it was the mountain air atlast. There is just something about the hills, probably its to do with the altitude and the greenery around, which is so refreshing. Been a while since I last took to the hills. Had done my class 1 in Wellington, 1990 it was. Brought a lot of nice memories gushing back. Wellington is a few kms from Conoor- swell place I must say.

Ooty was just a few kms now.Deep had organized our stay some 4kms off Ooty. The view was just something else. Do have a squint at the photographs if you can. We reached the place around 3 30. It was about 310 kms from Bangalore from my odometer. The weather was great. The spitting rain gave way to some sunshine and we had a beautiful evening ahead of us, the chilly air notwithstanding.

Must say the arrangements were great. Around eight, there was a bonfire lit where we all congregated. Jay was given the name Bindu Rani as he kept saying 'bindu' in his kannada for -thats the point. Then we had snacks followed by dinner. Great food rounded off the day.

I hit the sack early as I had to reach Bangalore in the afternoon, for which I had to make an early start the next day. Next morning at 8 we were off- Kalyan and Phani too joined in. The descent was a little tricky, given the light drizzle made the roads slippery at some places. Consequently, we went slow downhill, stopping in between to give the heated-up brakes some much needed break.

The ride back was uneventful as far as breakdowns go, thankfully. We maintained a decent pace after breakfast at Pugmark. We hit Mysore by noon. Here we split up. Was nice riding with Kalyan and Phani on the way back.

From Mysore it was steady riding, uneventful except for getting chased by the rain. Managed to elude the rain till the outskirts of Bangalore. Was back home by 4: 10 ish, a little damp, but content.

The ride was just out of this world. Great gang to ride along with. Thanks Deep and everyone else for making the ride happen. Had a blast.

PS: Snaps at http://picasaweb.google.com/atmdeo
Videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/atmdeo

The Ten Commandments of A Bulleteer

2008-08-10T21:53:00.010+05:30

The heartbeat of a Bulleteer lies in the beat of the bull.
Riding is NOT meant to just traverse places. Its the sheer delight in riding that keeps us going for more and more. Would like to draw an analogy here -as they say for sailors its the wind in their sails,that keeps them going, for us its the thump at the back that drives us on :)
When it comes to taking decisions, a Bulleteer is more inclined to listen to the heart than use his grey cells ,albeit sometimes with disastrous consequences :)
One of the hobbies is collecting fuses and spark plugs :)
A Bulleteer stops by to help a stranded Bulleteer, or for that matter anyone (in this case its more out of of sympathy than empathy :)
A Bulleteer ALWAYS enjoys a good laugh, at times even if he/she has a flat tyre :).
'Ate' nine and ten :D (couldnt think of the last four, will edit when i do)

Any suggestions for the last four slots??

PS: Today happens to be my lil bro's Birthday! Bhai if you are reading this, have a blast!
This post was long overdue. All going well have a ride to Rameshwaram coming up this weekend. Will update when i get back. Cheers!

A Good Year

2008-07-19T13:07:00.004+05:30

Yes, that was one swell movie-Good Year. Now wouldn't it be nice if one could inherit chateaus and have the stunning Fanny Chenal waiting in the porch . Too good to be true, sigh. Well actually its been a year, a little over a year since I started blogging, so thought would do a post er commemorating the grand occasion :). Incidentally its also been a year since I started 'working'.

While somethings haven't changed, quite a few have.For one, we do have a new Wimbledon champion in Rafael Nadal dethroning the five time champion , Roger Federer in an epic final . For another, finally the government has rid itself of the leftward tilt, risking its survival nevertheless. Never mind the Left's frivolous stance on the nuclear deal, which has the potential to solve our nation's energy crisis to a large extent , our dear left comrades still hold the view that the 1962 Indo-China war was not an act of aggression on the part of China!Worse still, Chinese claims on Arunachal Pradesh have never been repudiated by these gentlemen. The question has to be asked -How are the Communists no different from the terrorists, when their allegiance is clearly towards China and not India ? Courtesy the Left, the reform process, which could have equipped us to handle the rising inflation and food crisis better, had been under the back-burner. Air India is one such one example, which badly needs a complete overhaul. It took one flight for our Aviation minister to register this fact. Everyone knows that the services of our national carrier,still grappling under the babus culture, are pathetic. With the Left no longer around to throw a spanner in the works, lets see if any corrective measures are going to be taken. Privatization with due emphasis on accountability, is one way out to save the floundering carrier.

Too much space for politics i guess. On a personal front, the last year has been nothing short of a roller coaster ride as the earlier posts would have told you. From dragging myself to office on weekends to doing longish group rides to making the semifinals of a corporate tennis tournament and then losing it , its been quite a year.

Cheers!

A Few Good Men

2008-06-28T16:11:00.013+05:30

In Wellington , for us Fauji kids having just learnt to ride the bicycle , words like 'Manekshaw Marg' , meant another lane, another 'little world' to be explored on our little bicycles(I say little because I have a 'not-so-little' set of wheels now ;)). Vaguely, but nevertheless fondly remember the pentagon shaped, white washed landmark reading in red the 'Manekshaw Marg'.We would merrily ride down down the undulating slope and then puff uphill till we could go no further. That was sometime back.

With the news of passing of Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw trickling in, couldnt help feeling a little somber. If at all you didnt know, a quick glance at the Times paper would tell you that he was the chief architect of our glorious '71 victory over Pakistan. For a man who was the first ever Field Marshall, you would have thought this should have been the frontline news in the television media. Instead, just a mention was made . More' important' was ofcourse the match between India and Bangladesh, or what did a certain actress wear at a certain function. Even though a state funeral was arranged, our Defence Minster found reasons to not attend the great man's funeral. We are talking about a man here who orchestrated the nation's finest hour-1971 war. Why, he took 18 bullets from an LMG in the stomach and told the doctor -' i was kicked by a mule'. That was in the Second world war. His unparalleled skill in strategm in synergizing the army, the airforce and the navy was the decisive factor in our routing the Pakistanis inside two weeks. Just before retiring in '73, he was given the rank of Field Marshall. Post retirement he settled down in Wellington.

The general was truly the nation's soldier. This is saluting him and all the martyrs of this nation.

Restive in Bangalore

2008-06-01T22:01:00.001+05:30

" Move you , ******. The signal has turned green", the motorist bellows at the car in front, amidst a lot of honking. The poor old man at the wheel can't get his car started. Happens all the time dont you think. Too often actually.There is a feeling gaining ground that we as a society have got less and less considerate of others. What with the tight schedules that everyone seems to be on , such incidents are not suprising. You and I would have probably done no different from what the motorist did, maybe would have got in a few more colourful expletives :)

Things are no different elsewhere -be it the microcosm of a train, or at the workplace. How many of us actually engage in a conversation with the person sitting adjacent? You would think as neighbours things would be different, but no. Infact there are people,who have never spoken to those in staying in the same apartment!

Just when you mutter to yourself- it's a cold, indifferent world, you would be surprised how quickly you can be proven wrong. Just the other day I had a blown fuse on my Bullet, courtesy some 'great' work done by the mechanic(turned out that a wire was getting grounded). Luckily I did have a replacement and started to change the fuse when a guy stopped by to help -had to be another Bulleter ofcourse :). I politely declined his help as I had a spare. But such gestures do tell you that all is not wrong with this society. Anyway went back to work feeling surprisingly lighter and I hardly honked that day!

Hmm...

2008-03-20T21:27:00.006+05:30

Gee...Its been long. Too long i know. Its getting ten in the night and its raining outside-more of a steady drizzle now and here I am in office sitting at my desk waiting for the rain to abate. Reason enough to do something useful at work ;).

So what I do write about. Things are so different these days since I moved from Hyd.Its been close to six months and time has just slipped by. Life here in Bangalore is ..whats the word ...frenetic! Mornings start at six in the morning with the tennis and by the time I am back from work its almost time to hit the bed. Miss the laid back city of Hyd, but Bangalore has a charm of its own. The maddening traffic notwithstanding. Whether its the juicewalas beside the footpath(get plenty of them here and they are good trust me) . A walk down the streets at Cunningham Road with the wind in your face takes you back to the Queen's, literally(actually there is a Queen's road nearby) . The old yellowish British lamps illuminating the driveways of the scattered houses does have a distinct aura of its own. Somehow get the feeling, most of the cities are losing out on their identity with the mall culture permeating through.

Speaking of identity, must confess( for the umpteenth time, I know) am absolutely in love with the thump of my RE. Went out on a longish ride with the RTMC-that is the Bangalore bullet club better known as Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club. Went to this place called Anthargange close to Kolar Town,about 70 kms from city. It was one swell experience, 40 bulls roaring on the highway. The countryside was a pleasant change from the chaos that reigns in Bangalore. Will try and upload some snaps.

(Now, I can barely hear the rain pattering on the window) Time to sign out :)

Cheers!!

Living a dream

2008-01-01T16:17:00.000+05:30

First of all, a very happy new year folks! Gee, its been close to a couple of months since the last post. A lot can happen in two months, right. Um well yes and no. Yes because it is the turn of the year :). No, because I am still clinging on to my job, thankfully.

For someone who is not egregiously gregarious or for that matter, never even having sampled a beer, this sprawling city can be quite a bore if you are all by yourself. In that aspect I am lucky to have some company with me. When I say company, I mean my Bullet ofcourse!(nothing on you, my dear roomies). Must say, riding a Bullet is a dream come true. Even, office is not such a dreaded destination anymore.

Weekends is usually the time to catch up on tennis,weather permitting. And oh yes, time to work on my culinary skills. My roomates(both can cook) are desperately trying to get me to cook. Well all I can say is a new year does bring hope :).

Of pebbles and stones

2007-11-08T21:24:00.000+05:30

So a post finally after a two month long hiatus. Needless to say, a lot has happened. A month has already passed since I touched ground at Bangalore. Before I go any further must say Bangalore rocks. Lots of exploring to be done. If all goes well should be getting an Enfield soon. Guess I should be on the lookout for a pillion. Err did I mention, Bangalore rocks :P. More about Bangalore some other time.

I am on leave right now. Got a week off for Diwali. And here I am at my parents' place(Dad is posted here in Rajasthan place called Ganganagar) As it turns out, was here when I was one. That was more than twenty years back :). Cant remember a thing now. By the way this place is quite close to Pak border,26 kms. You get typical desert climate here - freezing winters and simmering summers. Right now its chilly.

My mornings usually start at ten here(am on leave remember:)). The peace and quiet that you associate with a cantonment is very much there. For someone to come from the maddening rush of a metro , it is a heavenly feeling to just grab a chair and bask in the winter sun hours on end.. Wonder why I am going on and on about this place. Guess its nostalgia. Blue sky, green grass and boss miles away, life couldnt be any better :).

Moving on...

2007-09-15T16:27:00.000+05:30

No, its not about Dravid, relinquishing the captaincy,nor is it about the Left-UPA differences(like they are going to end ever). And its certainly not about Ram Gopal Verma's Aag. No, its actually about yours truly getting transferred to Bangalore on a business assignment read project. I leave Hyderabad tomorrow. It happened rather quickly for my liking, getting just a three-day notice and all. Would have liked to have had the opportunity to catch up with friends before leaving. After the initial high fives with colleagues on getting the call, there are mixed feelings- on the one hand there is the excitement of venturing out into the unknown and living on my own in a new city (was with parents till now) . On the other, there is some trepidation, about my assignment;this being my first. Oh and I guess my culinary skills will have to extend beyond getting a toast from the toaster :) Please tell me that counts.

I am told there are a couple of things one can expect from Bangalore- traffic jams and rains. Heard a friend there took four hours to reach office. Phew.Like Hyderabad isnt bad enough. Looks like my dream of getting a Bullet will remain grounded for a while , given the traffic there. Hope to continue playing tennis there, without burning a hole in my pocket. Heard the city is expensive.

Am almost packed.In less than 24 hours, I will be off and I dont know how often I will be able to blog, if it all, given that I wont be having a system.

Cheers!!

Prison Break: A preview

2007-08-28T15:40:00.001+05:30

Tattooist: Most guys, you know, for the first time, they start with something small— mom, girlfriend’s initials, something like that. Not you. You got a full set of sleeves, all in a couple of months. Takes guys a few years to get the ink you got.

Michael: I don’t have a few years. Wish the hell I did.

Michael: [referring to the vault] I’m not playing games. Open it.

Bank clerk: Sir, you have a half a million dollars cash in your bag, don’t you think it would be better... [Sound of police sirens gets louder]
[Michael fires his gun at the ceiling]

Judge: Rarely in a case of armed robbery do we hear a plea of no contest. Are you sure about this, Mr. Scofield?

Michael: I’m sure, Your Honor.

Judge: Given your lack of prior criminal conduct, I am inclined to a probation. However, the fact that you discharged a deadly weapon during the commission of the crime suggests malice to me. For that reason, I find it incumbent that you see the inside of a prison cell, Mr. Scofield.

Judge: The closest level one facility would be Fox River State Penitentiary. As for the term of your sentence, I’m setting it at five years. You’ll be eligible for parole in half that time. Sentence to be carried out immediately.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

These lines form the backdrop of the TV series 'Prison break'. Created by Paul Scheuring in the action/thriller/drama genre, the series spans across two seasons. The story revolves around the genius of Michael Scofield(played by Wentworth Miller), a design engineer whose brother Lincoln Burrows is incarcerated and facing execution for a crime he didnt commit. Once convinced of his brother's innocence, Scofield connives a plan to get his brother out. As the above quotes would tell you, Michael, of his own volition, gets himself arrested at Fox River cell. What follows thereafter is sheer entertainment . For those who havent seen the two seasons, I am not going to spill the entire story here, as much as I like it; dont have the patience to type thaat much :).Besides, you have to see it to experience it. Here are a few more quotes .

Sara: Here’s what I think. I think you are scared and you wouldn’t be human if you weren’t scared in a place like this.

Michael: When I was young, I couldn’t sleep at night because I thought there was a monster in the closet. But my brother told me there wasn’t anything in the closet but fear. And fear wasn’t real. He said it wasn’t made of anything just…air. Not even that. He said you just have to face it. You just have to open that closet and the monster would disappear.

Sara: Brother sounds like a smart man.

Michael: He is. In here though, you face your fear, you open that door and there’s a hundred more doors behind it. And the monsters that are hiding behind them are all real.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Scofield: You kept it.

Dr. Sara Tancredi: Kept what?

Michael Scofield: The flower.

Dr. Sara Tancredi: Well, I'm a packrat. I never throw anything out.

Michael Scofield: [looks around the spotless infirmary] Yeah, well this clutter. It's... overwhelming.

Dr. Sara Tancredi: You should see my apartment.

Michael Scofield: Woah. We haven't even had our first date yet and you're already inviting me in. I thought you were a nice girl.
Dr. Sara Tancredi: Oh Michael, we all know nice girls finish last.
[motions for Michael to lift up his shirt]
Michael Scofield: So where do you finish?
Dr. Sara Tancredi: Depends on where I start. Deep breath.
[uses stethoscope to listen to Michael's heart beat, and looks up at him. Michael gives her the blue steel and forgets to continue breathing deeply]
Angela West: [suddenly walking in] Sara, we're backing up out here.
Dr. Sara Tancredi: Right, sorry.
[to Michael]
Dr. Sara Tancredi: I'll go get your shot.

--------------------------------------------------------

If you like suspense/drama then this is something you wouldnt want to miss. The third season is scheduled to go on air on 17th Sep.The promos sure looked good. Cant wait to see the likes of T-Bag, Agent Mahone, Belleck working in tandem with Scofield, who doesnt have the design of the cell this time.This season looks all set to live up to its billing. Here is to the third- Just bring it on :)

Cheers!

Musings on a late sunday afternoon

2007-08-12T14:29:00.001+05:30

A month into the realms of corporate world, and you tend to look at weekends in a whole new light altogether. Atleast I do. Now I am not going to grumble about the rigorous training. No, I think its pretty ok as long as you can manage to clear the tests . Another fortnight and the training should be over.

Anyway it was the weekends that I wanted to bring up here. This weekend was one of the better ones I had. Managed to eke out time for tennis and rather content with it. Must say the synthetic courts at LB stadium rock. It was also a nice change to see the Indian cricket team on the brink of clinching an away series after 1986, not counting series wins in WI and Bangladesh. The much vaunted Indian batting line up is beginning to show some steel. Whether this steely resolve will be sustained remains to be seen. The forthcoming series in Australia later this year should give us a fair picture.

Oh and by the way, the other day on my way to office saw a bizarre incident. There was some sort of contact between a Qualis and a guy on a motor-cycle. What actually transpired leading to the accident I am not aware but saw the motorcyclist literally hitting,yes hitting the qualis driver with his helmet through the half open driver's window- glass. Infact such incidents have become passe. The way I see it much of the problem stems from the fact that people seem to have little or no patience and a complete disregard for driving ethics. Try explaining lane driving to an auto-wallah :)

Cheers!

Still Alive

2007-08-04T22:47:00.001+05:30

Been rather long since the last post. Quite a few things have happened since. Its been a month since I joined Accenture and also a month since I last wielded a tennis racquet :((going to change that, rain gods permitting). Just finished the first half of training and now another month remains. It has been a good learning curve(learning how to sit and listen in a class again after four years of engineering ;)) .

The training is demanding, what with tests happening just about every week. In between all that, pocketed my first salary a couple of days back. The feeling is yet to sink in.

Will update once I am through with training.

PS: Missed the college convocation .This is wishing my friends all the best wherever you go.

Night at Coimbatore Bus terminal!

2007-06-19T18:28:00.000+05:30

It is 2 AM in the morning and we(my four friends and me) are stranded at the Coimbatore bus stop trying to hop onto to a bus that will take us to Palini en route to Kodaikanal. There were buses on that route, but for some reason we couldnt fathom, they were choc-a-bloc full, yes in the wee hours of morning. We had been at the terminal for well over a couple of hours. Some of us were a little bleary eyed. I wasn't. Feeling a little hot(it was still and humid) I get up and walk to this shop in my purview. It was more of a shack. Nope, I wasnt getting pot :). This is the conversation , if you could call it one

Me: " Jara ek mineral water bottle dena. Thanda hai kya?"

Shopkeeper(old man): Gives me a bewildered stare like I have really asked for weed.

Then I point in the direction of the bottles. The old man nods and smiles and gets me a one- litre bottle

Me:"Issey bara hai kya, two litres wala".
Seeing the look on his face, I put my left palm at the top of the bottle and the right at the base, and feeling rather foolish(well more foolish than I usually feel:)) I raise my left hand to show a bigger a bottle. It works :). He flashes a big smile, and I do the same.He then shakes his head to tell me that he doesnt have a two-litre one.So I take the one litre one and take out a Boomer from the bottle in front of me. The old man then mutters something and this time its my turn to give him one of his blank stares. He then scribbles 14 on an old Tamil newspaper lying around. I see it and we smile and I pay the money and head off to my friends.

0230hrs: We are told the next bus is at 3 20AM, and we decide to barge in, no matter how crowded it was.

0320hrs: As the bus pulls in, there is frenzied running everywhere and taking the cue from others I rush towards the bus as fast as my suitcase and ruck sack would allow. There is chaos already at the sole entrance with all sorts of all people trying to get in. We somehow manage to get in, luggage and all. I grab the only seat that was left, beside the driver. As I sit there, the driver tells me it is the conductor's. I tell him I will move once he comes. The conductor does show up after a couple of minutes and I start to get up, but he asks me to sit. Damn decent of him. So there I was, in the first seat. Couldnt help remembering how as kids we used to fight over this very seat in our school bus.

0330hrs: The bus pulls out of the terminal, and even though it was dark outside, I was feeling really chuffed with the view through the windshield. Empty roads and just the drone of the engine. We reached Palini around six and got a bus from there to Kodaikanal, needless to say without the kind of fun we had that night :)

The Final at Roland Garros That Was

2007-06-12T22:22:00.001+05:30

The second grand slam of the calendar year is the Roland Garros. It is truly unique and poses different challenges to the players. One reason could be attributed to the surface- the red clay. It is slow, meaning you just cant peel off winners straight away, you have to earn that right by working hard in the rallies, moving the opponent around the court with heavy top spin and pulling the trigger at the right moment. A case in point is Sharapova's semi final exit, at the hands of a lesser player. Well most players appear lesser to some guys when we are talking about Maria ;)

So what I am trying to say is that at some stage in the tournament, no matter what your seed is, you will have to battle through find that something extra , your fitness levels will be tested. Not that the other surfaces are not demanding, but here your movements are tested to the hilt.

Coming to the men's final, it was what the organisers must have hoped for. Number one and two going at each other, hammer and tongs. After a shaky start from both players, which is understandable given the occasion, the pace picked up and it was Federer who was making the play initially, and had several break point opportunities. But credit to Nadal, he hung in there, and played the big points well, going to Federer's backhand with his characteristic top spin meaning that Roger had to play his single handed backhand at his shoulder level, which is a very difficult thing to do. This pattern became the norm for the entire match,Nadal forehand to Federer's backhand. So after a good start, the number one seed lost his last two service games and with it the set 6-3.

With the first set in his pocket, Nadal had a firm grip on the match or so one thought. But Federer is Federer, and he changed the pattern in the second set, mixing his top spin backhand with the slice , and even serving and volleying as a surprise weapon. It paid off, and Nadal wasn't dictating the play anymore. Sometimes you wonder why he couldnt have tried the same thing in the first set, where he got into baseline wrangling match with Nadal, where there can be only one winner. Second set went to Federer. With the match well into its second hour, both players started showing the first signs of weariness. Here is where the fitness levels comes in . Now make no mistake, Roger Federer is a truly great player, a great anticipator of the ball, glides through the court, an artist at work.But grinding his opponent isnt his forte, which is a pre requisite here and his fitness levels arent the greatest. Usually he doesnt need to play long matches on other surfaces. His artistry coupled with sublime touch at the net ensures that the match is wrapped up without breaking too much of a sweat. Nadal ,on the other hand, isnt nearly as gifted as Federer but his game is built on grinding the opponent into submission with heavy top spin. Not as elegant as Roger, but mighty effective especially here. Plays a high intensity game and can run down almost any ball. A backhand winner on the run at full stretch frow way behind the baseline is testimony to the fact. His war- like demeanour on court may seem off-putting to some, but I must confess I rather like it. He plays hard, but fair.

I appear to have digressed again. Coming to the third and fourth sets, it was Nadal calling the shots. For whatever reason, fatigue or otherwise, Federer just couldnt find his rhythm. An early break in both the sets was enough for Nadal to close out the match, and close out he did, with the Federer forehand going long. It was the third consecutive championship win at the French for Rafa, emulating the legendary Borg who did it 1978-80. It was a special moment for someone so young at 21. For Federer, it was obviously disappointing. Like he said at the post match conference, he had the chances but couldnt take them. Next up, in a little over week's time, is the grass of Wimbledon, considered the mecca of all slams by some. The recent turn of events not withstanding, Federer will still be the man to beat. As the saying goes "Competitors come and go but the Champion remains."
Waiting with bated breath for the matches to begin. Till then cheers!!

PS: I have put the stats off my memory. Will be glad if you can point out any discrepancies.

The Southern Odyssey

2007-06-04T22:49:00.000+05:30

Its been a week since I got back and with my joining Accenture still a distant month away, there is plenty of time to put my feet up and keep it that way:). Reason enough to resume blogging. Like I mentioned in the previous post, was out with friends Nadeem,Gopal,Sridhar and Sandeep on a southern tour encompassing Tamil Nadu and Kerela. Did these places

Ooty-Most of Ooty was already familiar as I had visited it on numerous occasions as a child, with Dad being posted at Wellington. But it was still nice to be there with friends. Some of the views atop the hills were really good.For those who read the previous post, yes we did go through Wellington and it felt as if the clock was turned back to the summer of 1990 . It felt surreal to be at a place where you had once grown up almost two decades ago.There was a lump in my throat after we left the place behind. Ok enough of namby pamby stuff. Next up was Kodaikanal. We did a lot of solid viewing there too , of not just the beautiful landscape[wink] . Needless to say, we werent disappointed :) But the icing on the cake was the three hour trekking. Some of the views overlooking the hills were exhilarating.Moving clouds shrouding the valley was a sight to behold. After Kodaikanal it was down south to Kerela, this place called Tekkdi on the Tamil Nadu-Kerela border. Famous for its Periyar lake and Periyar Forest Reserve, we spent half a day at the lake.The lake, meandering its way through the forest was truly magnificent, and the boating was even better. There was a gentle breeze blowing, which was so rejuvenating. Kerela is indeed rightly called God's own country. There is a languid elegance about the place which is unique to this state. Boating in the Alleppi backwaters was an experience to savour- coconut trees on either side, blue sky above and and the glassy still waters below,it was the true definition of tranquility.

Next stop was Kanyakumari-famous for its sunrise and sunset . Come the sunrise,the waters would go golden almost as if the sun were rising from beneath the ocean. We have some great shots of the sunrise. We also visited Swami Vivekanada's Rock Memorial. It is said that the Swami meditated on that rock for three consecutive days- Dec 25,26,27 in 1892 I think it was.

The last leg of our tour concluded at Trivandrum, where we spent an evening at Kovlam beach. The next day,early morning we boarded the train to take us back to Hyderabad. As they say "All good things must come to an end".

P.S: Couldnt figure out how to get the shots arranged. You will have to put up with the garbled medley.

Lady Sridhar, isnt she lovely ;)

Rose gardens

Random Thoughts on a Saturday evening

2007-05-20T18:42:00.000+05:30

With the exam season(yeah season because it felt like one!!) coming to an end, things are looking up once again, the sweltering summer notwithstanding. Well for starters, looking forward to some hard-earned sleep[wink]. The next thirty days, I am practically going to be living out of a suitcase.

First its down south with a bunch of friends. Going to be nice visiting places like Ooty, Kodaikanal again after so many years. The very idea brings a deluge of memories flooding back, memories of yore- did my first standard at this place called Wellington , some sixty kms from Ooty. With the Nilgris as its backdrop ,its a quaint town, sparsely populated, at least it was then. Its a military inhabitation basically. Dad was in Staff college there. As I was saying I did my first standard there, the school was DSSC. What I remember more vividly among other things was rolling down the slope along the largish grassy hillock we had in school and getting all dizzy . It was quite a muse back then during the lunch breaks . Used to ruin my school sweater ;) Also fondly recall the long drives that Dad took us on, in our off- white Fiat. Those were good days. There were many other things which I cant remember now. All this may sound a little quixotic, and it probably is, but then that's me ;)

Again I appear to have gone offtrack, well after the southern odyssey its back to Hyderabad. And then after a fortnight its time to set off for home, my grandparents' place in Bihar, Deoghar. Its been almost a year and a half since I last visited and it will great to be with my grandparents. It will be mango season there shortly and I cant wait to get there.

Seems like an interesting month ahead. Will update once I am back. A couple of things that I would like to discuss here.

This morning, while looking up the Times paper, apart from the shocking bomb carnage, I was trying to read the sports page and thought I will bring this up. Its becoming increasingly difficult to read that page, what with the kind of pictures being splashed around in the pages adjacent :) . I understand that there was some ruckus created, and the issue got dragged in the court with the Times or TOI as they like to call themselves, getting the verdict in their favour some months back. I am not aware of what exactly transpired in the courts, but seem to remember reading that it was 'a victory for freedom of expression' as quoted by the paper. I would hastily add that I am all for freedom of expression, and what happened in Baroda with the art student is the height of bigotry. Sometimes you wonder where are those values of tolerance, of magnanimity that Akshay Kumar proudly professes to the Britishers in Namastey London. Thankfully,there was some support for the student against the perverse behaviour, with demonstrations among the art students all over the country . Lets also give credit to the dean who also stood up for his student . Coming back to the Times paper.Personally, I have no issues with the pictures. However, there is a right place for everything, and somehow, those sleazy pictures don't belong in sports. Not for me anyway. It would be prudent to utilize some other space for them, and just let the sports section be what it is meant to be- sports. This is just an opinion, would like to know what you feel about the whole thing.

Also would like to talk about the movie Tara Rum Pum . Saw it with a couple of friends. You would have probably have heard about the movie, or already seen it like me. Now I am not here to make up your mind for you, that's down to you. I will just tell you what I think. I found the first half slow, the songs were too long for one, and the movie unravelled along expected lines. There were moments where I had to stifle a yawn, partly because the movie was my idea[wink] and partly because its good manners not to yawn, and me being the perfect gentleman that I am, I didn't ;). The second half was a tad better. However having said that the director could have brought more out of Rani Mukherjee. Apart from the odd scene, she was always traipsing behind Saif Ali Khan. Saif in all fairness didnt do a bad job, but don't think he has the ability to carry a film single handed on his shoulders, like Sharukh Khan did in Swades.All in all it was a fairy tale like movie, which was probably targeting young families. I ll say I found it alright, worth a watch once.

Will be away , so wont be blogging for a while.
Cheers!!

A few more tidbits

2007-05-12T06:51:00.000+05:30

Apropos previous two posts, I would like to apologise if I have broken the blogging code. Far too many dots I guess. I could have them removed,but didn't want to tamper with the original posts. As this post succeeds the post 'Confessions', I am grabbing this opportunity to add few more of my thoughts. Before I delve into my interests,which this post is mostly about, I would like to digress a little if you will.

First of all 'passions'. The word has been loosely bandied about and abused to such a degree that is has become a surrogate for the word 'like'. 'Passion' is the emotion of feeling very strongly about a subject. On the other hand,'like' is simply like. You keep hearing people talking about how 'passionate' they are about things such as music, food and the like(no pun intended). While some of them might be connoisseurs, and are indeed passionate, what most actually mean is 'like'. The aim here is not be didactic, just felt passionate(pun intended) about the whole thing.

Since my schooling days, sports has always been a part of my life(playing and watching). Tried my hand at most-cricket,tennis,football(more of watching). Good at cricket and tennis. I just love the single handed backhand, and I take a lot of pride in mine ;)(yeah mine is single too). Grew up watching Pete Sampras, and now follow Federer. Cricket was more of an infatuation some years back. Fortunately(my mom would concur) the interest waned. Used to feign an illness to miss school to watch Sachin bat. Now its more of Football and to an extent Formula One(stopped after Michael retired). Real Madrid and Arsenal are two teams that I like following. Love the flair of a Brazilian side. That much about sports I guess.

Another interest of mine, yes I didn't say passion[wink], is riding bikes. I fell in love with a CBZ some years back and got 'married' to the Pulsar in my first year of engineering . Got rid of it after two years and now ready to fall in love again, not necessarily with a piece of metal ;).

Also dabbled in gaming . PES 3 had become my obsession for a year. Tried my hand at strategy games like Red Alert,AOE 2. Didn't like UT and CS(probably because I lost to my younger brother, the few times I played;)).

Traveling is something that I enjoy. It could be by train,by road, anything as long as the damn thing moves ;).

Confessions(continued)

2007-05-09T18:51:00.000+05:30

Like I told you, we moved around quite a bit, so I did my schooling across eight different schools....it was fun when I look back now....loads of memories....will tell you about those some other time....lets talk about life in coll...initially I didnt get to know people....it was only after three years that i realized that i had to let others into my life and me into theirs...reading helped in changing my perception, actually not just perception but broadening my narrow outlook on life... Chicken soup for the Soul is one book i would recommend.......it(dare i say the evolution) was gradual, but it did happen....i did find ppl with whom i was comfortable with, still got loads of work to do on that front...but its a start all the same...guess i have been lucky to have them as my friends....this post wouldnt be complete if i didnt tell you what i think of girls...do i chase them?...actually half my life i have spent running in the opposite direction ;)....before you get any ideas ,i would like to tell you that i am straight....the first time i came across this err boy-girl thing was when i was reading Asterix when i was i think 12...the lady was pancea i think and it wasnt just obelix who had a crush on her ;)....i would like to confess that I am not a party animal...but enjoy good company, people with a good sense of humour....i am patient,will give you a good hearing...With that i think i would like to wrap up this post ...made an effort to be honest....thanks for putting up with me ...
MY MOTTO: A PENNY EARNED IS BETTER THAN A DOLLAR FOUND(CLICHE)
BUT ITS BEST TO EARN THAT DOLLAR ;)

Confessions

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

Hmm well....These four years have been quite an experience....I will be candid enough to admit that things didnt turn out the way I had expected....whether it was the soporofic nature of classes or just not fitting in the crowd ,I do not know....I would like you to believe it is the boring classes, but that cant be the sole reason....which engineering student gives a damn about classes anyway :)..... no I think it is more to do with not " fitting" in....as a kid I have always been the aloof type... wanted to keep my toys with me at all times....never liked being in a crowd....Being the son of an army officer(proud of you Dad), we didnt stay for more than a couple of years at a given place, so there was never much room for getting to know people....to make matters worse I was an awakward adolescent on the plump side....got teased a lot in school....i was the guy who was lingering in the shadows when a birthday dance party was on...I strongly believe there is a cause and effect mechanism for most things in life....probably now you can understand why yours truly likes to keep a low profile....just because i am not talking to you or do not acknowledge your presence doesnt mean I do not like you...
This is just one side of my initial years.... You would think here is a kid who probably is bitter, someone with a negative mindset....well you are in for a surprise if you thought so....i had a very caring family, both my Mom and Dad and my brother have been pillars of strength for me right through and even now.....thats probably one reason why it didnt bother me that i didnt get along with people