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Clever Girls

2011-09-21T20:21:00.002+05:30

I was sitting on a bench in a park in my society in the evening today and I noticed something that I enjoyed and it made me realize that girls always have the upper hand when playing with boys. Let me narrate the incident to help you understand what exactly I am trying to say.

There was a group of 4 boys and 2 girls playing cricket. To heat up things they decided to have a girls versus boys match. So the 2 girls formed one team and the 4 boys formed the other. Then it was also agreed, rather the girls made the boys agree to the proposition that they should be given the opportunity to bat first. The boys had no option but to agree to them. The girls batted for a couple of overs and scored just 3 runs before both of them got out. When the boys team came out to bat they hit the first ball for a four and they won the match and it was over. The girls gladly accepted their defeat and asked to start a new match. They also said it was their turn to bat as agreed before the matches started. So they batted again and the poor boys had to field and bowl.

I was sitting there watching all this. I felt pity on the poor boys but that also made me realise that girls are clever and they always have a way to express their domination and have things their way. It was a very good moment and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I walked past them smiling and they smiled back.

KBC the new Ramayana

2011-09-20T22:20:00.001+05:30

When I see people watching Kaun Banega Crorepati with such passion and enthsiasm it reminds me of the Ramayan when I was young. I still remember the Sunday mornings when the entire family used to sit together and watch Arun Govil portraying the role of Lord Rama. Today when I was walking across the lane near my house around 9:00 pm I could hear the KBC music playing almost at every house and it reminded me of my childhood memories about Ramayan.

I loved the Ramayan then and I love the KBC now but that shows how things have changed. I love the way Amitabh Bachchan calls out 'Panch Koti Mahamani...Kaun Banega Crorepati'. He is one man who drives the nation crazy and I consider him to be the reason behind the grand success of KBC. I recently heard a news about Sony reaching the 2nd spot in terms of TRP majorly due to the impacts of KBC.

It would not be correct to compare the epic Ramayana with KBC as they are significantly different but the amount of craze that KBC has now was once due to Ramayana. I couldn't stop myself from writing out my feelings after what I noticed tonight. It is just a coincidence but still so true. I so dearly miss being with all my family members and those childhood days.

When Swift performed like Hummer

2011-05-26T22:43:00.003+05:30

In our un-official parking today an event took place where I had to make my Swift perform as if it was a hummer. The parking today was open and the contractors had taken a day off, there was chaos and everyone was worried about the parking space and people were parking their cars wherever the got space to. I was lucky as I was early that I got a proper parking space, parked my car there and felt like a king.

After a couple of hours or so I just peeped out of the window of my recreation room which looks directly into the parking slot to check if my car was ok. I saw there was a car parked right at the tail of my car with a space of just 5 feet. My car was staked against a high heap of mud and the only it could be driven was in back gear. I was shocked to note this and was even wondering how can someone who is so very well educated park his car so insensibly.

I could do anything but to wait for my time to leave and just hope that the car blocking my car's movement go away and i get a through passage. But as time passed, the jungle around my car increased to a level that I was sure I will have to wait till late night to get my car out. We went there at our usually office timings only to find another man facing the same situation, his car was just next to mine. He had an old indica and he made it jump here and there, let it fall and get all bruised up and drove it away. I was watching all this and did not at all want to take the same route.

We waited and tried different options like trying to push the cars in the back lane bit further so that my car gets a passage to move but all that was of no help. We decided that the only way out was to make it jump the lumps of mud which were up to 3 feet high from the ground. There was no way my car could get through it. So we called up a few workers to actually flatten the land around so that the car can have some passage to move. After an hour or so of immense tension and precaution i was able to make my car jump over that lump. This was a experience that I would never want to experience again but never the less it made me feel as if I was driving a hummer rather than a maruti swift. Thank God that everything is good. Thanks Ankush and Abhinandan for helping me out.

Just When I Think I Am Done

2011-05-10T22:06:00.002+05:30

Just When I Think I Am Done, I am reminded very softly that you are not and it is just the start of things. Life gets stuck into things without you even knowing about it and just when you think you are out of it, you realize you are deeper into it. I guess this is how life goes. Just learn to enjoy every moment because one thing is for sure that they are not gonna come back.

A typical customer service call

2011-04-09T17:18:00.002+05:30

I tried calling the Airtel DTH customer service centre to get my DTH shifted to my new residence. They kept me waiting till my patience broke and I decided to drop the call after 20 long minutes. This is the usual experience that we get when we try calling a customer service. Below lines are very true with respect to a customer service call. Read them have a laugh and next time you have to call a customer service make sure you have your retirement plans ready with you.

A typical customer service call comprises of a five minute, cuss-laden punching of numbers to get to the queue, followed by eight minutes of hearing a lyrical voice repetitively assuring you, 'Your wait time will be of five minutes'. Then comes the twenty-five minutes of hearing the horrendous and short music piece over and over till your butt could probably fart out the tune. Finally, the grand finale - a two-minute of actual talk time with a highly accented and sometimes intelligible voice aping to be something they are not.

1983 to 2011

2011-04-09T11:17:00.002+05:30

Someone posted this video link on Facebook, I looked at it, loved it and felt this is the complete compilation and a great video. Sharing it with you guys. Hope you like it as well.

LINK TO VIDEO

And the award goes to...

2011-04-06T21:45:00.012+05:30

No writing, story or comment that includes cricket can be complete without the reference of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, a man who had seen it all and achieved it all at the greatest level of all. The only thing that was missing from this man's wardrobe was the World Cup medal. He had to wait for 6 World Cups to finally achieve this feat and when it came, he called it the best moment of his life.

To quote the little master when asked for his reactions and a possible retirement: "This is a moment to celebrate, not one to think about my future, This is the reason I started playing cricket; to do something for the country. The process has been a long one, and I am still enjoying my game, so I don't see the reason to change anything.". He further added "As a young boy I dreamt of winning this trophy; that's where it all started. This is by far the best moment and it's the one I've been waiting for 24 years. There have been heart-breaking losses; in past campaigns we lost in the semi-finals and finals. I never gave up because this was my dream and now the team has managed to win this cup for the nation."

The modesty of the man was seen at its best when he decided to give all the credit to his team members and not keep any for himself. He has been a great servant of the game and I consider him to be the best batsman ever. There may be criticism about him not delivering in tight matches but I believe that matches in which Sachin has delivered never turned out to be tight matches as more often than not India won the match comfortably.

Mind you we are not talking about just any other cricketer, we are talking about the master of the game, the man who has played more matches than any one else on this planet, the man who has the most number of runs in both forms of the game, the only man in the history of ODI to score a double century, a man with almost 100 International centuries. You should take a bow, sigh, relax, analyze what you are about to say and only then dare to say anything about this GOD of cricket. He is the best and all the records that he had set would not be broken in decades. This is a salutation to the best cricketer that the world has ever seen. Well done SIR.

World Cup : unsung heroes

2011-04-06T21:27:00.004+05:30

There have been some outstanding performances but there have been men in the background that also need a mention in the world cup winning squad. To start with one cannot forget the role of Gary Kirsten, the current coach of the Indian cricket team. He has been excellent through out his tenure and the team has achieved great heights under his able guidance.

We should also give due respect to the physio of the team who has done a great job by keeping all the players fit for the match. In this regard we should also not forget the role of BCCI who let the captain and coach rest the key players in rotation for the last five or six months.

The Indian think tank, which includes many veterans who have played the game which includes people like Anil Kumble, Venkatesh Prasad, Sunil Gavaskar, Sourav Ganguly etc. I would also like to name Robin Singh here who was a brilliant fielder and has transferred his share of knowledge to the team members. There are several other heroes of this victory who have not got the recognition that they deserve so I thought I would thank them all in my own way.

The World Cup Saga

2011-04-06T20:55:00.008+05:30

The cricket world cup has been around for some time and is going to stay a bit longer thanks to Dhoni and his team who made India the champions in this edition of the world cup. Most of the people were expecting India to do well. I remember a day as early as 22nd Feb 2011 when I was talking to Jitender Singh on our way to a friend's marriage and both of us opined that this time it should be India. Though we thought the finals would feature India and South Africa rather than Sri Lanka. So people were anticipating an Indian win.

Home conditions, players in form, a good unit under a cool calm leader, blend of youth and experience etc were the main reasons for people to believe that India has a chance. But I was surprised at the way the team played the last leg of the tournament i.e. the Quarter Final with Australia, Semi with Pakistan and Finals with Sri Lanka. India as we all know were a batting side with only Zaheer and Harbhajan to share the bowling attack, but it was surprising to see people like Yuvraj come up and shoulder the responsibility even when he was out of form.

There were some superb turnarounds in the matches, Sachin was on top of his game, Sehwag was doing his bit by giving us quick starts and then there was a solid middle order to take us to the end. The team was very balanced and even the fielding was good by Indian standards. The best thing was the commitment and the body language was very positive. It was just a case where everything fell in place properly and India made it through. It was a very satisfying victory to say the least.

I am overly impressed by Dhoni and his innings under pressure in the Finals. I love the way he talks, he is so mature and I always find him saying the words I want him to say. He is one person who can do no wrong, he led India to the T20 World Cup and now the ODI world cup. He is very situation aware and does not get carried away. You must watch Harsha Bhogle talking through the World Cup Final .It was a team effort and it underlines the fact that no Individual can win you a World Cup or any other tournament. Sachin can finally add the World Cup medal to his list of awards.

India World Champions 2011

2011-04-03T11:57:00.004+05:30

I am still recovering and the victory still needs to sink in. I was anticipating an India victory since the start of the world cup, but when the moment came I found myself in tears. It is a dream that every Indian has been living and suddenly it has been realized. It is an extraordinary feeling and I am totally lost on words. I will try and sum up my emotions in subsequent posts.

The most satisfying thing was to see India beat the best in business, Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It would have been a different story if we had achieved that feat by beating weaker teams. I am so very exited and happy. The master deserved it and he got it. It was a awesome feeling to see the entire team members carrying the great man on their shoulders. I was overly moved by the comment of Virat when he said that "Sachin has carried the hope of Indians for 21 years" so they carried him along.

India topple Pakistan enter the Finals of World Cup

2011-03-31T10:58:00.007+05:30

In a match full of tension and excitement, India held their nerves to beat Pakistan and enter the World Cup finals. It was a good match which was in the balance right till the last over. The fact that Indians bowled well was the best part of the match for me. I cannot remember the last time, Indians bowled their 50 overs with just 5 bowlers and every one took 2 wickets each.

It was a very professional approach by the Indian team and they never seemed to have hit the panic button. I was overly impressed by the fielding effort of the team, I must say this is the best fielding display the team has had in the tournament. I was also very satisfied by the batting of Suresh Raina, he was simply superb. It is great to have batsmen of his caliber and temperament at the end stages of the innings. Overall it was a great team effort and which landed us on the winning side.

India also rode its luck especially Tendulkar who had 6 escapes in all but still the runs he scored were very important in context of the match. But the job is only half done and the bigger battle awaits India in the finals. Sri Lanka are on top of their game and they have won all their matches very comfortably. They are going to the toughest competitors given the pitch conditions in the Sub Continent.

India would have to play special cricket to break the Lankan wall and conquer the world. Sri Lankan middle order has not been tested as their upper order has been doing the job for them so that can be one thing that the Indians may want to exploit. Also you need to have a good plan to handle the likes of Malinga and Murali. We may also need to play Ashwin and if possible Yusuf as well but I guess Yusuf is not going to get a game. Whatever may be the result, I hope we get to watch a good game of cricket and it would be great if we can get the cup this time.

Build up to the India Pakistan WC Semi Final

2011-03-28T21:11:00.006+05:30

Amongst the number of events that are happening around India and especially mumbai as a build up to the World Cup Semi Final match between India and Pakistan there has been one event that came as a very healthy surprise. Our company has offered the workers leave in the second half. We were anticipating some support from the management, we were trying to get the staff members stay back and watch the match in office itself. But the management decided to give the half day off of its employees just to watch the India - Pakistan semi final.

This is a huge time and a great period for Indian cricket and it is good to know that the company realises the criticality of the situations and helps its employees. After all 'Team aise nahi jeetti hai, jitani padti hai'. This is a great initiative and I am pretty excited about it and wish to see a great match and India victorious. I am also excited about watching the top politicians including the prime ministers from both the countries sitting side by side watching the match, that would be another once in a lifetime achievement.

South Africa choke again, Kiwis in semis

2011-03-25T20:37:00.004+05:30

Who the hell knows how a team brimming with talent manages to stuff up when faced with the simplest of tasks? Who can explain the inexplicable? As I thought that today's match was just a formality and it would be a cake walk for South Africa, I get a call from Nilendu sir, almost shocked he says "sir kya kara rahe ho ?". He is my colleague in office and is responsible for maintaining the health of the systems, I thought one of my modules may have busted out on production. Confused, I asked him what happened, he says "arre SA gayi, lost their 7 wicket".

It was then that I realised that all my predictions about a possible India - SA world cup final has been destroyed. I did not watch the match but when I read the analysis and the fall of wickets I must say that the batsmen rotated themselves through the middle faster than the bowlers had in the first half(considering there were 11 bowling changes made by SA by the 25th over).

Cricket writer Dileep Premachandran surveying the ruins of a simple chase, summed up the collective feeling of the time best when he posted on Twitter:
"This cannot be happening. It simply cannot. I mean, how many times can you be a parody of yourself?". Another comment from ace commentator Harsha Bhogle as he watched the implosion: "Are the South Africans the Karna of cricket? Cursed to lose their skills when they most need them?".

I would have loved to hear Navjot Singh Sidhu blast out at the Proteas. But I feel dejected and a bit surprised at the way the South Africans lost the match. The wicket had nothing to do with it. The bowling was pretty ordinary and the South Africans were one of the contenders for this world Cup.Their misery at the World Cup continues, they are yet to win any knock out match in the world cup. Hope this talented side get the green side some time in future, till then Congrats Kiwis, well done.

India beat Australia, Enter Semi Finals

2011-03-24T23:26:00.003+05:30

In an exciting and tight match India beat Australia to storm into the semi final to meet Pakistan. As anticipated it was a tight match and Indians handled the pressure well to come on top. It was a special feeling to see the Indians ending the run of Aussies in the World Cup and putting an end to the reign that has expanded to over a decade.

In my earlier post I had given India 55 - 45 advantage over Australia and it turned out to be like that in the end. The match was very much in the balance till Yuvraj and Raina got those 2 overs from Tait and Lee where they scored almost 27 runs. The master gave us a good start and it was good to see Raina strike some form as well just at the right time. But there are a few things that needs to be addressed before the semi final. The running was very poor with Gambhir tried to get himself run out a couple of times and finally achieved the feat. Dhoni is still not in batting form and we are still playing with just one bowler(Zaheer Khan).

But there were a few positives that can be taken from this match, India fielded well that was also due to the fact that Raina was on the field and Asish Nehra was not. It was good to see Ashwin bowl nicely and confidently. Also the batting form of the team continues. Indians are looking a better side and their confidence must be high as well after defeating the world number one team. Let us hope they continue the good work in the tournament ahead and give us a couple more positive results. That is all that we want. Isin't it ?

India vs Australia

2011-03-23T21:58:00.006+05:30

India will face Australia in the World Cup Quarter Finals. This is India's biggest chance to defeat the Aussies. I am not a great fan of the Australian cricket but they are the number one side in ODIs and I am forced to respect them. But I firmly believe that if India could ever beat Australia this is the best time. Had this clash been the semi finals or the finals then it would have been that much harder to beat the Aussies as they are big match players. If I were to take a call I would keep it 55 - 45 to India based on the current form of the teams.

But it is going to be one tough match for India and we must confess that India will have to play out of its skin if it has to win this one. I am strictly against people who have started talking about a India - Pakistan semi final or even a India - South Africa final. It is time we concentrate on the job at hand and not get too much driven by the situation. We need to be calm and composed and we do not want to let the atmosphere get into us and repeat what happened in 2003 finals.

Now we can expect (or at least hope for) a turning pitch in Ahmedabad, perhaps similar to the one where India beat Australia in the warm-up game. If we play on a flat pitch Australia will have the advantage, we should make sure that we prepare pitch to assist the Indian spinners, I personally would not even mind a pitch that turns square. India has to reply on the batsman to deliver the goods as their bowling is pretty ordinary if you take out Zaheer Khan from the equation. India would also have to keep in mind that Aussies are a great fielding side and they are gonna make India score 30 more than the actual score.

It is not going to be an easy match for either of the teams, whosoever handles the pressure better should come out on top. Tough it is hard to believe but still I am all in with India and I believe that we will defeat the Aussies. So with crossed fingers and in anticipation of a good close match I await the match to start and hope we see an Indian win.

ALL THE BEST !!!

PS: Watch out for Sachin he may score his 100th International Century in tomorrow's match.

Sore Back and Stiff Legs

2011-03-19T08:55:00.002+05:30

This is a story of a man who has just reached his hometown some 9 hours after the scheduled time. Let me take you back some frames and re-run the story for you. It all started when this guy forgot to get his Holi tickets done as late as the 1st of January 2011, for a journey that was on 18th of March 2011. When he actually got the tickets he could only get tickets for the RJPB Garibrath and that too in the AC Chair Car as all other seats were already booked. The man was a bit shocked but relieved that atleast he has the tickets and would be able to make it to his home in time for Holi. Though at the back of his mind he knew it is not going to be an easy task. The trains departs from Anand Vihar Ternimal @ 17:00 hrs, which means he has to leave office as early as 14:00 hrs to reach the place in time. Also the fact that the chair car is not very comfortable he thought he can afford to spend 5 hours on that and then can rest when he reaches home around midnight. Plan well thought after.

The day arrives, 18th March 2011, the man leaves the Holi celebration that the office had scheduled for 15:00 hrs and rushes to Station from Gurgaon in a metro to Anand Vihar which is a run of around 90 minutes in the Metro itself. He reaches the station well in advance so that he can get his seat and feel comfortable. As he enters the station he gets to know that his train has been delayed by 5 hrs and 40 mins and will now start @ 22:40 hrs. Dejected, he walks back, calls his sister who lives near by and goes to her.

Suddenly the man is faced with a situation where he is going to spend the whole night on a chair with no respite and has no other option. He has seen trains around his getting cancelled and people either not going to their hometown or making desperate efforts to be there. He is still satisfied that he will actually reach home for Holi. But when he has reached, he has a stiff and sore back and very tired legs. You must have already guessed this is my story and I thank God that I have reached home in time.

Yogesh Marriage Trip

2011-03-19T00:38:00.005+05:30

One of the most significant event that has happened off late is the marriage of Yogesh, it was something we have been waiting for and it finally happened on the 22nd of February 2011. It was one hell of an evening with the mercury suddenly dropping and leaving us all in a bit of bother. It was a pleasant week to lead up to the marriage with some thunder showers but it all changed just in time for the wedding and it left all of us shivering as we were unprepared for the chill that hit us.

What ever may have happened it did not lessen the enthusiasm and we enjoyed every moment of the function. It was a hectic trip though as we had to travel for more than 20 hours in the space of two and a half days but it was all worth it. I will post a few pictures here to give you guys a sense of what you people missed by not being at the event.

We also got a chance to visit Chuka, a forest nearby Pilibhit. Though it was a very ordinary place but still we enjoyed our ride. The roads there were very confusing and the greatest challenge was to find a way out once you have entered the jungle. We remember coming back to the exact same point we started after running for around 20 - 25 mins in our taxi. We could some how relate things to the movie Kaal and feel excited about it. It was fun in the end. Another exciting aspect of the trip was we experienced International roaming, Nepal was just round the corner and we got messages from Airtel confirming the call rates which were all around 100 Rs per min or so.

Let the fun continue...

2011-03-19T00:27:00.003+05:30

It has been a while since I have blogged, I have been busy with so many things that I have not got the time for any of this. I was in a sort of hibernation where the only two things allowed were going to office, taking care of business and getting ready for the next assignments. I have missed you guys and the conversations we used to have. I have missed the critical analysis of my posts judiciously done by Mr Jitender Singh. But I will try to be more consistent now.

Presently I am on my way to my hometown for Holi holidays and have the time to write things. I have been questioned by several people around me regarding the lean period and it was good to know that people actually like your way of writing and some even wait for your new posts to come.

This is just a post to ensure all my colleagues that I am gonna try and make up for the time and will try my level best to come up with posts more often. Of late you must have noticed me becoming a critical analyzer of the Hindi movies but that is not going to be the trend anymore. Having said that I must add that Yamla Pagla Deewana was one movie that I liked and would request all you people to have a peek into the movie if you have not done that already.

I also take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a very cheerful, colorful and happy Holi. We will be in touch, take care.

Don't Be Late

2010-10-15T00:32:00.003+05:30

10th Class:
As I sat in english class, I stared at the girl next to me.
She was my so called best friend,
I started at her long silky hair and wished she was mine.
but she didn't know it and I knew that.
After class she walked upto me and asked me for the notes, she had missed the day before.
I handed them to her she said thanks
and gave me a kiss on the cheek,
I want to tell her, I want her to know
that I dont want to be just friends,
I love her but I am just too shy
and I dont know why.

11th Class:
The phone rang on the other end,
it was her, she was in tears mumbling on and on about how her love had broke her heart
she asked me to come over
because she didnt want to be alone so I did
as I sat next to her on the sofa,
I stared at her soft eyes,
wishing she was mine,
after 2 hours one Drew Barrymore movie and 3 bags of chips
she decided to go home,
she looked at me and said thanks
and gave me a kiss on the cheek,
I want to tell her, I want her to know
that I dont want to be just friends,
I love her but I am just too shy
and I dont know why.

12th Class: Senior Year
One fine day she walked to my locker
"my state is sick" she said,
"he is not gonna go well"
I didnt have a date ,

and in the class 7th we made a promise
that if neither of us had dates, we would go together
just as best friends, so we did
that night after everything was over
I was standing at her front door step
stared at her and she smiled at me and stared at me with her crystal eye
then she said I had the best time, thanks
and gave me a kiss on the cheek,
I want to tell her, I want her to know
that I dont want to be just friends,
I love her but i am just too shy
and I dont know why.

Graduation:
A day passed then a week and then a month
before i could blink it was graduation day
I watched at her perfect body floated like an angel
up on stage to get her diploma
I wanted her to be mine
but she didnt notice me like that and I knew it
before everyone went home she came to me in her smock and hat
and cried as I hugged her
then she lifted her head from my shoulder and said
you are my best friend thanks
and gave me a kiss on the cheek,
I want to tell her, I want her to know
that I dont want to be just friends,
I love her but I am just too shy
and I dont know why.

Marriage:
Now I sit in the pews of church
that girl is getting married now
and drive her to her new life,
married to another man
I wanted her to be mine
but she didnt see me like that and I knew it.
but before she drove away she came to me and said
"you came!" she said thanks
and gave me a kiss on the cheek,
I want to tell her, I want her to know
that I dont want to be just friends,
I love her but i am just too shy
and I dont know why.

Death:
Years passed, I look down at the coffin of a girl who used to my best friend
at the service they read a diary
she had wriiten in her high school years
this is what it read
"I STARED AT HIM WISHING HE WAS MINE

BUT HE NEVER NOTICED ME LIKED THAT AND I KNOW IT
I WANT TO TELL HIM, I WANT HIM TO KNOW
THAT I DONT WANT TO BE JUST FRIENDS,
I LOVE HIM BUT I AM JUST TOO SHY
AND I DONT KNOW WHY.
I WISH HE WOULD TELL ME HE LOVED ME!"

'I wish I did it too............'
I thought to myself and cried.

Yogesh Kumar is Engaged

2010-10-15T00:05:00.006+05:30

I had written a blogpost on 31st July 2010 which I never published. I have published it now, it was the day when it all started and day before yesterday Yogesh got engaged. It has been a thing that is long awaited and finally it happened. It was a very pleasant moment for all us and we all are so very happy for him. He was the most eligible bachelor in our friend cirlce and he got what he deserved.

We all are very happy for him and wish him continued success throughout his life. We all are eagerly awaiting for the marriage date to get finalized. It is such a amazing feeling when your dear friend get all the happiness in the world. The couple looks good together and I wish they have a very happy married life ahead.

I have tried to spread the news as much as possible but if I could not reach anyone of you consider this a way that I chose to make you aware of the news. You may want to wish him. We all are eagerly awaiting a big party :)

Common Wealth Games 2010

2010-10-14T22:42:00.008+05:30

The much talked about and discussed about event for the last few months is over and I can very easily say that it has been a great event. It has made us all feel proud of ourselves. It was one spectacular event and it is sure to change India's reputation at the world level.

It started in the grandest way of all with an amazing opening ceremony and continued for a period of almost 2 weeks and then ended in style as well. It saw some really good performances from Indians and some really shocking results. The Indian athletes winning the 4X100 mts race was a revelation and no one expected it. We had some sound performances in Wrestling, Shooting and Archery. Badminton got us gold as expected, we won in the men's single tennis tournament. The final medal tally saw India on the second spot.

It has been a great event, it may have got criticism and all but it has been successful and let us accept it. We have just witnessed a great event and we should feel proud about it. The closing ceremony, featuring martial arts and then the massed pipe and drum bands of the Indian military, was very different in tone from the opening one, which had emphasised religious and artistic heritage. Children danced in the colours of the national flag and huge images of horseman carrying the Indian tricolour played across the £5m giant blimp floating above the stadium. Officials are now talking about India launching its own Olympic bid. However, the current event has cost up to £6bn and many say India could not afford an investment of the scale needed to prepare its poor infrastructure for an even larger sporting event. Nor, according to analysts, does the developing country yet have the organisational resources required

I am very proud with the way we hosted the event and I am really happy that we pulled it off so beautifully. It is an incredible feeling to be a part of this wonderful event. I would have volunteered to help but my professional obligations did not allow me to. I thoroughly enjoyed the games and for me it is a life time experience that is here to stay forever.

Test Cricket at its Best

2010-10-14T22:29:00.004+05:30

I am talking about the recently concluded India - Australia Test Cricket series. I am sure this was the most closely fought test series that I have ever seen. It had some real good performances from both the sides some real close games. India won both the matches making the series even more memorable. Also I hate the Aussies for their attitude so it was good to see them bite the dust. Sachin once again showed his true character and proved himself on the biggest stage of all. I am still in awe and so hung up in the series.

Test cricket has always excited me, it is according to me the best test of your cricketing abilities and is still the best and the toughest form of cricket played. It shows the true character of the players and their mental strengths. It allows the players to plan things and then execute it to perfection. Dhoni is blessed with a great batting line up and for a change some good bowlers. India has always struggled to find good fast bowlers. I loved the comment of Dhoni when he was speaking after being named the Captain of the Test Team of the Year in ICC Awards. He said that he would love to play 5 bowlers as that is something you cannot do being the captain of India.

The innings of Laxman, Raina, Sachin and even the cameo played by Ishant Sharma will remain in our hearts for long. It has been one hell of a series. The last day of the second test match saw a full house in Bangalore and I guess it is not often that you see a full house for a test match. Both the matches were very close and the atmosphere was electric. The game was so evenly balanced that it could have gone either ways, but the Indians held their nerves and came on top. Well done guys we are proud of you.

The Husband Store

2010-08-28T12:28:00.004+05:30

A brand new store has just opened in New York City that sells Husbands.
When women go to choose a husband, they have to follow the instructions at the entrance:

You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are 6 floors and the value of
the products increase as you ascend the flights. You may choose any item
from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you
CANNOT go back down except to exit the building.

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband.
The 1st floor sign on the door reads:
Floor 1: These men have jobs.
The 2nd floor sign reads:
Floor 2: These men have Jobs and Love Kids.
The 3rd floor sign reads:
Floor 3: These men have Jobs, Love Kids and are extremely good looking. "Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.
She goes to the 4th floor and the sign reads:
Floor 4: These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and help with Housework. "Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"
Still, she goes to the 5th floor and sign reads:
Floor 5: These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, help with Housework and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.
She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the 6th floor and the sign reads:
Floor 6: You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor.
There are no men on this floor.
This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please.
Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.

To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner opens a New Wives store just across the street.
The 1st first floor has wives that love sex.
The 2nd floor has wives that love sex and have money.
The 3rd,4th, 5th and 6th floors have never been visited.

Tri Series Final : Is India Ready ?

2010-08-28T12:05:00.004+05:30

India finally managed to reach the finals thanks to the brilliant batting effort by Virendra Sehwag and some really positive bowling by the seamers. But the question is whether this team is ready for the Finals that will start in some time from now. I am afraid the answer is no. Team India is not at all in form specially in batting they have not done anything so far and that for me is the major concern. If you take out Sehwag from the equation then all the others are struggling for form. Even the opening slot is missing the sting with Dinesh having a very ordinary series with the bat. Overall the batting looks bad inspite of it being very good on paper.

If we talk about the bowling then also we don't have much to boost about but for the impressive show in the last match against New Zealand. On the other hand I find Sri Lankan's having a better and in form team for the finals with the likes of Sangakara, Malinga and company. They have had a consistent run through the series and are sure more prepared for the finals. But having said that we can never predict the Indian team and what they may do on a given day.

So I am waiting with my fingers crossed and hoping that things turn out good for us. Although we have started winning some finals recently but our record in finals has been bad and we have that tag of loosing the big games. I hope that today we win and for that we will need the team to perform as a team. I am also worried about the form of Yuvraj, it has been a while since he has played properly. I hope today is his day and he hits himself into form and also helps India win. He is a match winner and Indians will need his services if they had to perform well in the upcoming World Cup. Let us hope that our team wins today.

Vaishno Devi Trip

2010-08-25T20:00:00.004+05:30

I am just back from an amazing trip to the Mata Vaishno Devi, it was a trip that was planned a few months back and it all went according to plan and I thank god for making that possible. This was my first time at the Vaishno devi and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. Although I must confess that after visiting the Holy Amarnath, I didn't find this trip very hectic and tiring, in fact I have been through so much that I actually enjoyed the trek of 14 odd kilometers. I also did not find the scenes around as beautiful as others did because I had witnessed more scenes that any one can possibly do unless they visit the Holy Amarnath.

The weather was hot and it was raining heavily which made the way a lot messy but still we were lucky enough as we had rain coats and umbrellas with us. I completed the entire path on foot while others with me took ponies. It was a very satisfying trip and I enjoyed the yatra as well the actual mandir. I also enjoyed the Atka Aarti that happens twice daily and you to register for it. I found myself completely lost in the aarti and I was singing the bhajans and aarti that the pandits there were telling. I could feel myself in another world and it was a devine feeling. I also enjoyed being on television, yes I was the Atka aarti is covered live on MH1 channel and my parents and relatives saw me and others there.

I was a bit disappointed with the way things were being managed, it was all in a mess with no proper arrangements for the devotees who have come there to pay their heritage. The management of things and how the officials there treat public was disheartening. I also don't like people throwing wastes into the valley and I could see so many things thrown that were all plastics and other non bio degradable items. A bit of common sense should prevail. It was a great trip to say the least. I went there with my sister, brother-in-law and the family of a friend, we were 6 people altogether and we enjoyed ourselves.

Peepli [Live]

2010-08-14T22:13:00.004+05:30

The best part about the movie is that it is a short movie of around 1 hour 40 mins which means that no sequences in the movie look like they have been dragged. I would say it is a movie that tries at highlighting the condition of our farmers and the corrupt government officials and the politicians who always try to get benefit from such events. The movie evolves around the main character 'Natha' and his suicide and the story is very well paced, it moves constantly and there are some real good punches to add humor and also to reveal the secrets of the Media industry. There is a sequence in the movie where the reporters analyse the excreta of Natha and link it to Psychology and try to infer what the man had in his mind while he was excreting.

There are some brilliant performances in the movie with the lady playing the mother of Natha standing tall. Naseeruddin Shah has done superbly in the small role that he had. I always like the acting of Raghuvir who plays 'Budhiya' in the movie and he proves his worth yet again. The songs in the movie are scarce but are good. I personally liked the desi song 'Mahangayi Dayan Kahye Jaat Hai.'. Overall an OK movie, I expected the movie to be better just because it was an Aamir Khan production. The movie is well researched, well written but I felt something was missing. But still it is a watch worthy film which has some heart touching sequences and praise worthy performances.

Once Upon a time in Mumbai

2010-08-07T17:03:00.003+05:30

I had seen this movie last weekend but did not get time to write about it. I guess you need 2 basic things to be on your side before you can write a review about a movie, first obviously is that you should have the time to write a review and second that the movie should be worth a review. But today both the conditions are fulfilled and so here I am writing a review for this movie. The movie got mixed reactions from the crowd, here is my side of things and my reaction to this movie.

It is a good movie and I thoroughly enjoyed it, Ajay Devgan stands out and his performance leaves the audience in awe. He has reached a point where he can do no wrong and whatever the role may be he simply stands out. He has simply overshadowed all the others in the movie and the only thing that people take out of the movie was the brilliant performance of Ajay Devgan.

We all know that the movie showcases the don and the underworld concepts as they were earlier in Mumbai. But the story is pretty clear and it conveys so many good things to the audience who want to take them. The character of Sultan Mirza is the one which keeps you attached to the movie and you feel so very connected to this character. I specially liked the concept of helping others and requesting them to remember him in their prayers. "बस दुआओ में याद रखना ". I liked the movie and it is definitely a one time watch and worth the 200 odd rupees that you may have to pay for it. The ladies don't have important roles and they are more or less there to add glamour to the movie. The songs are beautiful and lovely with great music and lyrics. The song Pee Loon and Tum Jo Aaye Zindagi mein are the best 2 songs and you are sure to like them. Overall a good movie which deserves to be watched, attest it will not let you down.

Very Very Special (Laxman) Win

2010-08-07T16:38:00.004+05:30

India won the 3rd and final cricket test match against Sri Lanka thanks to a very very special innings by the very very special Laxman. It is as good a win as we see in test matches. It feels good when your team wins under difficult situations, today was no different and Indians won when almost everybody had written them off. On a crumbling pitch Indians showed their metal and it took a brilliant innings from VVS Laxman and solid support from Sachin Tendulkar for them to pull this victory.

After a humiliating loss in the first test match, Indians came back strongly to draw the second test match and then they took the momentum forward in the third test match and won it to draw the series. Well this is what we expect from the No 1 test team which boosts of the worlds most formidable batting line up that includes the likes of Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Raina and Dhoni. The bowling department was the weak link with the likes of Zaheer and Nehra missing from it. But the end result was satisfactory. Well Done guys.

This win can easily be attributed to the valiant batting efforts of VVS Laxman, the way he played was simply superb and it looked like he was tailor made for the situation and every shot was measured and executed to perfection. He had a back ache and scores almost 50 runs with a runner. But this was one of the better innings I have seen under pressure, the innings he played against Australia while India was following on still remains his best innings ever. I guess the Lankans missed the experience of Murali in the spin department but nevertheless it was a superb batting effort from the Indians to pull it off.

Today will be remembered in History as ...

2010-07-31T23:00:00.004+05:30

... the day I got a great news from one of my friends. Things are still not clear but by the looks of it I am pretty sure my friend is going to achieve the feat that he has been nominated for. If things shape up as I expect them to then today the 31st of July 2010 shall certainly go into my history books as the day one of my best friends gor the gift of his life, If I can say so, and God what an achievement. I am really happy for my friend and wish he gets to his target. He has been working hard for this and now he is almost there.

I have always wanted that all of my friends and relatives should get what they want and what they deserve. I am very very happy at the ways things have shaped up. I can actually feel myself dancing and literally I feel like dancing and more over dancing in the rain outside. Luckily for me it has been raining pretty heavily throught the day here in Delhi and the atmosphere is electric and this good news has come just at the correct time.

May God bless him and help him cross the final hurdle. I am very very happy and hope to celebrate it in style. But till things finally shape up and he actually gets the thing I am waiting in anticipation.

Khatta Meetha Experience

2010-07-31T21:33:00.004+05:30

I had watched this movie with my parents in Allahabad. I was excited to know that PVR cinemas had opened in Allahabad and I wanted to take my parents to the theatre. It is the first mall in Allahabad and draws lots of people. I got the tickets to this movie which had released just a day earlier. My mother hates action movies so I thought this is the best option as generally you tend to associate good humor when a movie involves Akshay Kumar. Also the promos had suggested so. So we finally went to see the movie.

The movie was overall OK but I was clearly disappointed, the acting of Akshay was the saving grace but that was the only thing. All other aspects be it story, supporting characters were all disappointing. There were some good punches here and there that made us laugh but overall I would rate it is a 2.5 star movie. The movie also does not have lovely songs. Although I liked the role of Rajpal yadav but some actors seemed to have over done their roles, The tractor sequence was also dragged a bit too much for my liking.

But overall experience was good, I was satisfied that finally there is some visible modernization in Allahabad and personally I liked the atmosphere all around the cineplex. There is a food court that has lots of things to offer to is customers at a fairly reasonable price. Overall a good experience and a good sign for my Hometown and I wish the same continues.

Story of a Tree

2010-07-31T13:12:00.004+05:30

Once upon a time there was a tree. Most stories start like this so I thought let me start it this way as well. There was this tree near the IBM building in Gurgaon just by the side of NH 8. It was comfortably placed at one end of the road and was living happily. Until one day the government decided to create a new passage for people who want to turn left and decided they will cut a road through the empty grounds. Doing this the tree suddenly came under the spot light as it came right in the center of the newly laid road. The tree was happy and enjoying the popularity, everyone who passed by had a word or two for the tree.

The officials could not cut down the tree as that was against Go Green slogan that we are following. So the tree was left there. As time passed by the tree started feeling the trouble as every day or two a new vehicle would come and crash into it giving the tree bruises. At first the tree did not consider it as a threat and smiled at every person that hit it and asked if the person was ok. As more days passed more people got attracted to the tree and started kissing it. Some even ran directly into it with the intention to hug it. Every time I passed by I thought why has this tree been left in the center of the road.

Finally one day the government officials decided that the accident rate on that road has increased significantly and they ordered that the tree be cut down in order to save human lives. When the tree was in its last leg of life, it could clearly hear the words that each passer by said for it. The tree felt sad and surprised at the comments that were made and excepted its end gleefully.

What I am trying to emphasize here is that when the road was being planned should not have anybody thought about the tree and how to handle it. It is a very bad practice to just leave it in the centre of a turning road where there is not even adequate lighting. It was very easy to predict that the tree would cause several accidents. There should have been proper thinking before the implementation itself. If there was no other option available, then the tree should have been cut down even before the start of the road. Eventually the tree was cut down but not before it got involved in several accidents many of which were serious. I leave the question to you, What would you have done if you were the decision maker here ?

Purani Jeans

2010-07-17T12:59:00.005+05:30

Remember that song by Ali Haider, purani jeans aur guitar, (watch it here) which was so hit at that time. I still remember the year 1998 when this song was released and I was in school and how crazy I was about this song. But now when I hear this song, I can actually understand and connect to each and every line of the song. It is so true and makes me feel as if this was written keeping me in mind and I am sure you will feel the same if you listen to this song.

I was cleaning my cupboard when I hit upon a bag that was full of my old clothes and therein I found a pair of Jeans that I had purchased with my first salary. It is a Killer blue monkey wash jeans and it took me back 5 years and refreshed all the memories. It is so refreshing to walk the memory lane and remember so many beautiful things that had happened then and which are still fresh in my memory.

One of my favourite past time is watching photographs and that for this very reason that they take me back in time and then I can live in my dreams and that enlightens me and makes me happy. I want that phase to return but alas that is not possible. Nevertheless it is a good dream to live. I will share one such photograph with you which takes me down the memory lane and rejuvenates me. This is a pic taken in 2000 when I was in class 12th and features my friends and batch mates. I am no more in touch with most of them. I am connected to them virtually through Facebook/Orkut but I miss each one of them and the times that spent with them.

Indian Idol Top 5

2010-07-13T22:02:00.005+05:30

So we finally have the top 5 contestants in Indian Idol, the name that is missing is Naushad I was really shocked last week when he was eliminated. I believed and still maintain that he should be there in top 5. For me he was in the third place after Sreeram and Rakesh. I also would have loved to see Shashi in top 5 that was not to be. But I was satisfied with the elimination of Tia, I personally believe that she was the weakest amongst the 6 contestants.

I also liked the comment that Bhoomi made that the real competition starts now. It is not going to be easy for any of the contestants and it is going to be an exciting event from here on. If I was asked to pick the Indian Idol I would be confused but my top 2 will certainly have Sreeram and Rakesh. Rakesh is the person who has improved the most with time and Sreeram has been really consistent. Let us hope for the best and may the best and most deserving person win the Idol.

I Hate Luv Storys

2010-07-12T21:32:00.005+05:30

I had heard so many bad things about the movie which I could not digest. My conception was that the movie may not be a superhit but it would surely be an entertainer. I was very excited about watching the movie but could not get time to watch it. I liked the tangy title specially 'Luv' and 'Storys' and was interested to see what the movie wanted to show. I had seen the promos hence I was sure it was a romantic film but with a different flavour.

I must say that I believe in Love Stories and that made me more inclined to watch the movie. So last Sunday I watched the movie and I liked it. Well it is a OK movie with the first half being far far far more enjoyable than the second. I thought the movie was dragged and stretched a bit in the second half. I loved the songs and really liked the cool T-Shirts that were presented. I also enjoyed the pairing of Imran and Sonam. Imran, I believe has now matured as an actor and this was evident from the movie. I somehow don't seem to agree with the concept that a boy and girl cannot remain just friends but then I had no other choice than to swallow it.

The movie could have been more enjoyable had the second half been a bit more precise. The songs are really superb and I loved almost all of them. Overall I was not disappointed at the movie but I was not thrilled as well. As a matter of fact even after hearing so many criticism, I still thought that the movie was worth a try. Remember I also had the option to watch Milenge Milenge but I went for this movie because I wanted to see it from the very first day the promos were aired on television. The concept was the same as all other love stories (even the fact that Sonam was reading Love Stories by Erich Segal) but still there was something different, New Zealand for instance (pun intended). I enjoyed myself and had fun what about you ?

Amarnathji Yatra : the experience

2010-07-06T22:55:00.002+05:30

I have had several experience in this trip that I had never experienced before. To start with I boarded a flight for the first time in my life and it was a great experience to fly for the first time. I actually felt what I used to imagine when I saw people fly. It was a good experience. Although the journey was almost an hour long but still I enjoyed it. The other experience that was first time for me was we spent a whole night on the glacier, tried to pee on a mountain that was completely covered with ice and also excreted on a glacier. I could still not believe that fact that we actually slept on a glacier with a layer of thermocol and a thin bedding between us and the ice. It was a great experience.

Another thing that needs a special mention is the barefoot walk that we took for around an hour just before entering the holy cave. Barely a few meters before the actual shiv ling we were asked to take off our shoes and walk barefoot. The temperature was close to 0 and there was water flowing down the steps that originated because of the melting of ice on the same hill. The water was freezing and it was running under our bare foot. Within a matter of seconds, we could not feel our leg. I felt some pointed thing on my foot and when I looked down I found a person had his walking stick completely stationed on my foot and my foot was bleeding.

We also witnessed some tension in SriNagar when some people started pelting stones on the vehicles and the car just in front of us lost its glasses. We also witnessed tension in Anantnag and hence we crossed it in very early hours of the morning approx 4 am. I also had the experience of riding a horse in the worst paths that one could imagine. I rode my horse through a very dense layer of ice where the horse's legs went deep inside and we almost fell down. We also rode through passage that were as narrow as about a feet and half and water was flowing through them which made the rocks slippery and it was a very horrifying ride.

We also walked through a 7 km long stretch of ice which was a completely new experience for me. This was the first time I had witnessed so much snow in my life and it was a great experience. But after the Darshan everything seemed so justified and true. Every effort that we made and every hurdle that we crossed seemed justified. The amount of satisfaction that we had once we had the holy darshan was beyond comparison. It was a complete feeling and a very good one. It was a once in a lifetime and a life changing experience. It had everything, it was a great experience.

Amarnathji Yatra : the scenic beauty

2010-07-06T21:05:00.007+05:30

The entire way from Pahalgam to the Holy Cave is full of beautiful and picturesque scenes. At every point you can see something so pretty that makes you feel as if you are actually in heaven. I actually came to know why people call Kashmir the heaven on Earth. There are mountain peaks covered by snow and when sun's ray fall on them they glow like anything.

A points we even walked alongside clouds and we could actually see helicopters flying under us as we were on the top of mountains and the helicopters were flying just over the valley. We saw glaciers, mountains that looked likes figures, shashenag mountains are prime examples. We experienced snow fall, we experienced direct rays of sun that completely destroyed our skins. The cold water flowing between the valleys, the lovely sound they were making when they hit the rocks and other resistances in their way sounded like jingle.

We also saw some really good flowers though they were really sparse but still in Panchtarni we saw some flowers. It was lovely to see the sheep grazing on top of mountains, standing on slides which looks stunning. Even the road trip from SriNagar to Baltal and from Chandanwari to Pahalgam was awesome. There were such beautiful scenes on both sides of the road that we were glued to the windows. The beautiful Dull Lake of Srinagar and the Betab Park in Pahalgam were really awesome. Although the lake in Srinagar is very polluted and needs to be cleaned. The entire trip is full of scenes that are sure to blow your mind and have an everlasting impression on you.

Amarnathji Yatra : the arrangements

2010-07-06T11:42:00.003+05:30

I was really shocked at the arrangements made by the government for the most difficult yatra to the holy Amarnath cave. We reached the holy cave on the very first day of the start of yatra but still we found things were in mess. The arrangements at Baltal were really bad, all the tents and other shelters that were there were just trying to earn money without providing any services to the yatris. There was no adequate arrangement for satisfying the basic needs of the people there. There was no clear cut communication from the security staff and personals regarding the start time etc of the yatra, everybody had a different answer. The major emphasis was on making money through ponies and helpers.

I was although impresses by the services that the Indian army officers were providing to the yatris, they were working out of their skin to help the yatris in all possible ways. They were even willing to carry your child for some distance if they found that the person/child was having trouble walking the difficult paths leading to the holy cave. The arrangement just near the holy cave was absolutely stunning and I was really surprised at the level of sophistication that the military maintained at the holy cave and the way they performed their duties was unparalleled.

I was also disappointed by the Langers that we encountered and the services that were provided there. Generally we associate great service and respect with each Langar but this time the Langers looked more like they were doing their job more than anything else. The best Langar that I found where the service was really like I have seen at different places was the Langer by some Delhi Association at the Mahagun Top which is about 14800 feet above sea level. There were a few other that really felt as if they wanted to serve the Yatris but most of them were disappointing.

Overall I would say that the arrangements were not as one expects them to be in such pious and auspicious environment. Even the people were not helping the cause due to their silly activities which included throwing crap on the main path of the Yatra. We could even see so many poly bags and plastic bottles being thrown into the valley and thus disrupting the nature and atmosphere out there. But the treatment we got from the civilians was exceptional, every one was so very calm and full of respect, they actually treated us as their guests and gave us a very warm welcome. Still I expected more specially from the Governments side to assist the Yatris who have come there.

Amarnathji Yatra : a lifetime achievement

2010-07-05T22:52:00.003+05:30

It has been the best 4 days of my life. I have lived a entirely different life in the last few days and I am sure that I will remember each part of this trip my entire life. In such a short time I have witnessed so many things that most people don't see in their entire life. We went through a highly tensed Srinagar and saw stone pelting, we ran over several rivers, climbed various mountains, felt scorching sun at 14800 feet(Mahagun/Ganesha Top), walked over 7 kms on snow, found a Delhi sewa samiti langar on a snow peek at about 14500 feet over sea level which served 56 items(bhog), Walked down 3 kms on a single hill(Pissu Top), visited the the most holy place, the holy Amarnathji and came back safe and sound to Delhi.

This has been the best trip of my life so far and all the colleagues who were with me on the trip would agree with me on this. It was full of tension, excitement and dedication. It was a tough trip that took everything we had from us and in return gave us a memorable trip. After the holy darshan it felt like we had reached the top of the world and everything else seemed small. We could not believe that we had actually achieved what many people can only wish for. I am still in awe of the great yatra and trek that we are just back from.

There were so many events and situations that I want to share with you that it is virtually impossible for me to compile them into a single post, so I will be posting few posts to actually describe the whole trip.

Just as we start...

2010-06-30T07:06:00.003+05:30

It has been a well planned and thought after trip. You should be well aware of it as I have posted several posts on the build up to the holy amarnathji yatra. Today is the day we have been planning for since the last few weeks. Everything seems to be in place, we are all ready and packed to go. The excitement has made me start my day early and I wish that the trip goes well. We will miss Ritesh who could not join us due to some family issues so finally we are 9 people who are going the distance.

We have been in touch with people who are well aware of the yatra and we have taken advice from all of them, compiled them and then finalized upon a plan. We have planned to start the journey from Baltal and end it at the Pahalgam. Generally people do it from Pahalgam, but that total distance from Pahalgam to the Holy Cave is approx 40 kms and that from Baltal to the Holy Cave is approx 14 kms. So we have decided to take the shorter root to reach the Holy Cave and then we will take the long distance to be back. The Pahalgam route is more picturesque and beautiful in terms of the scenic beauty. The total trekking is approx 55 kms which we have to cover in 3 days so understandably it is going to be a very tiring and strenuous trip but nevertheless we are prepared for it and we believe that when God has opened all the gates for us to reach that place, he will also guide us through.

JAI BHOLE NATH !!!

Finally we win a Final: Asia Cup

2010-06-25T22:09:00.003+05:30

Finally India won a tournament final, it was not expected as they were totally outclassed by Sri Lanka in the league match which was basically a dress rehearsal of the final. But to every body's surprise India played great cricket to beat Sri Lanka. In fact the win was important because the bowlers won it for India and there are not many occasions in the Indian cricketting history when the bowlers have won a match for the country. I was amazed to see the likes of Zaheer and Ashish being almost unplayable. It was a satisfying victory to say the least. India won the Asia cup after 6 long years so it was a victory that was awaited for long now.

Even though India won the match comprehensively but there are a few things that we need to work on if we want to do well in the upcoming world cup. We still need our batsmen to carry on after they get starts, getting out after scoring 30-40 will not help the team at all. Also we seriously need to look at our bowling attack specially the fast bowling. We need more consistency from our bowlers and need them to perform better during the powerplays. One more thing that baffles me is the inclusion of Ravindra Jadeja in the team. Why the hell is he there in the team. Please if someone can justify please let me know.

I am also worried about the form of Yuvraj Singh and the fitness of Sehwag. I would love to be in a situation where I have a hard time picking my final 15 and this can be done only if all the players are fit and in form. I would like to see Yusuf Pathan performing more consistently as he can be very handy when chasing big totals. Hope things shape up well and we have a full star studded in form players before the World Cup.

Good Bye Rohit Madhok

2010-06-25T21:21:00.005+05:30

In a major change in FirstRain engineering team, the evergreen and ever ready Rohit bid adieu and moved to the Royal Bank of Scotland. His move has left us all in awe and we cannot believe that Rohit would not be working with us any more. I have been working closely with Rohit for the last year or so and I owe him a lot. He has taught me how to handle complex problems related to Databases. Query writing, optimizations and even designing better modules. He always kept pushing me and I some times even got frustrated but still I learnt a lot from him. The amount of knowledge and experience that he had, he would be hard to replace. When I was questioned by our VP Technology about my reactions on Rohit's departure, I just said that you can replace the talent but you cannot replace the experience. But we all are very happy for Rohit and we honor his decision and wish him continued success.

He was the one who was always ready for party and used to party hard. He was our party planner and he had so many restaurants menu card in his memory. His favourite cuisine was Chinese and he remembered all the dishes that were served by Golden Dragon, Bercos and Yo China and also knew the prices for most of them. He had this special talent where he just had to be told how many people are vegetarian and how many are Non vegetarian and he would order food for all. He was really fast and mostly he ordered brilliant food. He deserved a good Farewell party so we decided to take him to a disco and treat him to some really good food. We wanted to treat him with Chinese but then we could get a combination of Chinese and Disc together so we decided to go for disc and compromise on Chinese and go for Mughlai.

We booked the Last Chance in Sahara Mall Gurgaon and we had a great party. We drank, danced and drank again. It was a Monday night but we enjoyed ourselves like hell. It was so satisfying when Rohit labelled that party as one of the best official parties he has been to. That statement made our day and we were satisfied that the treat we gave Rohit has been effective and he has enjoyed it. It was a great time and we will cherish the memories for long. We are still to believe that Rohit is not there working with us and we miss him. He has been a great leader and definitely a great Engineer. He has debugging skills second to none and we will sure miss his services. We also gave him a small gift as our token of love and admiration that we had for him. Having said so much it is still hard to imagine that Rohit has moved on. He would have been my last guess if I were to guess the name of the person who will leave FR. But I guess this is life which is always full of surprises and keeps you on your feet always.

Build up to Holy Amarnath Yatra Phase 5

2010-06-25T21:04:00.002+05:30

We are into the last few days before we start our Holy Yatra. Everything has been planned. We have submitted our forms and got them stamped from the Jammu and Kashmir Bank. To our surprise the stamp has used URDU as a language. We have our list of items ready, we are going to do the shopping for common things this weekend. We have also talked and booked a Tata Winger to take us to Baltal from Srinagar and also bring us back. We have also talked to several hotels in Srinagar and we will be finalizing one of them. So everything is ready and we all are set to go to this pious and adventurous trip to the holy Amarnathji.

It is going to be a great trip and I can already feel my feet paining for walking long distances, my body shivering with cold. I could imagine myself in a tent on top of a hill with temperature touching almost Zero degree. It is going to be a great trip especially with 10 people we are sure to have a good time. I can also feel more connected to the Yatra and I have been reading over Google and other sites regarding what to do and what not to during the course of Yatra. I hope to see the Holy Shiv Ling soon and also take blessings of the almighty and satisfy myself.

We have been planning to go to Amarnath since last year but things did not shape us properly for us and now when we are all set for the holy Yatra I just pray and wish that we accomplish what we have wished for and have a great time. May God bless us all and be with us always.

JAI BHOLE NATH!!!

Build up to Holy Amarnath Yatra Phase 4

2010-06-20T23:23:00.002+05:30

Finally there is good news we have got the Yatra passes for the 1st of July and now our plan to travel is confirmed and we are almost sure that we will indeed be visiting the holy cave and we will be blessed by the darshan of the eternal Amarnath ji. There were lots of if and buts but now things are resolved and we are all set to go. For this we must thank Ajay and his brother-in-law who has arranged the passes for us.

This was not expected but it happened. It is a result of the trust we had in the almighty and his wishes. We wish that as he has helped us climb the first rock, he continues to guide us through the trip and ever after. May God shower his blessings on us always.

So the final plan is we will leave Delhi around 13:30 on Wednesday 30th June and proceed to Srinagar. From there we will reach Baltal and start our Yatra early on the 1st of July. We plan to be back latest by 3rd afternoon so we will have half of 3rd and half of 4th if we want to go around in Srinagar somewhere. We have our return flight somewhere around 16:00 hrs on the 4th July.

JAI BHOLE NATH !!!

Asia Cup : India beat Pakistan

2010-06-19T23:53:00.002+05:30

India, Pakistan cricket matches are always very intensive and today's match was no different. It was a thrilling encounter and finally India emerged victorious. The match was keenly contested and went down to the wire before it was decided. The match swung both sides before Harbhajan shot India to a victory. Pakistan won a very good toss and decided to bat, they scored a good decent total of 267 which meant India would need to bat really well to chase down the total which by God they did and did that in style.

The match was nicely poised with both teams having equal opportunities. It was a thriller and the last over was a sort of repeat of history of what Javed Miadad did when he hit the last ball for six and won the game for Pakistan. Similarly Harbhajan Singh hit a six of the penultimate delivery and took India to victory. I am really impressed by the way the team performed. The most important thing was beating Pakistan which is always a special thing to do.

I have not watched any match of this Asia cup, the cup has been eclipsed by the FIFA World Cup but still I decided to watch the India Pakistan encounter and I must say that it was worth the time I invested and I was satisfied with the result. But keeping in mind the future of Indian cricket I am not sure why does Ravindra Jadeja play in the Indian team. Dhoni in the post match presentation said that he bowled well, if we are playing him as a bowler then I am sorry we have better bowlers and if we are playing him as a batsman then also I am sorry because we have better option than him. It is really hard to understand what role and responsibility Jadeja has in the team. With very little time left before the world cup we should find a balanced team else this will hurt us badly in the World Cup. The team selection confuses me like hell.

My Top 5 contestants of Indian Idol 5

2010-06-15T23:11:00.002+05:30

Indian Idol 5 has already matured and reached a level where almost every contestant is equally good and it is a tough job to choose from the top 9 that are there at this moment. I would certainly not like to be in a position where I have to choose the top 5 as I would really have nothing against the contestants that I do not choose. But still on my personal selection criteria and what I have made after watching so many episodes my top 5 will have Rakesh Maini, Naushad Ali, Shashi Suman, Sreeram Chandra and Shivam Pathak in random order. I actually tried to order them but failed I have lots of confusion. I also like Bhumi Trivedi specially the 'rap' but I guess she will not be in my top 5.

If things have to shape up as I am expecting them to, then here are my eliminations for the next few weeks. This is just my guess and I am sorry if you people think otherwise. So for me the next candidate to be eliminated should be Arpita Khan followed by Tia, Swaroop Khan and Bhumi. But looking at the past results that the people give I am sure that this is not going to happen. Having taken the names of these 4 contestant I do not mean to say that they are bad it is just that the other 5 are stronger contestants than these.

I truly believe that Rakesh is the best singer from the 9 remaining today and he is my choice for the Indian Idol 5. The way he has improved and the stunning back to back performances that he has been giving is really appreciable and he deserves to win. Let us hope that the best singer wins. I would also request the people who are voting to vote sensibly I was really shocked to see Shashi standing in the danger zone yesterday. I mean, come on, how can a person of the caliber of Shashi be there when visibly he is better than atleast 3 contestants if not more. Let us wait and watch how things unfold and who is crowned the Indian Idol.

Indian Idol 5

2010-06-15T22:10:00.003+05:30

I have been following Indian Idol 5 from the very first day and I must say that I have really loved the show. I am really impressed by the singing of the contestants and I thoroughly enjoy each and every moment of the show. I actually wait for Monday and specially Tuesday to watch this beautiful program. This post was long due but somehow I could not compile enough facts and situations to write here. I personally am a great fan of songs and good singers although I do not enough knowledge of music but can make out music from noise. So finally I have decided to summarize my experience with the Indian Idol so far.

I am a great fan of Sunidhi Chauhan, I really like the coolness of Salim and seriously hate Annu Malik. So now you see the combination of judges itself is a good combination for me to enjoy. I also appreciate the concept of bringing music legends to the show, the likes of Preetam and the great Pyarelal ji. I was filled with Awe when Mr. Pyarelal ji ran his band of musicians, I really felt that was the best episode of Indian Idol till date. I also have my personal favourites from amongst the contestants and have secretly voted for 2 of them. This is the first time ever that I have voted for any such show.

I really liked the way the show treated Meghna(who was partially blind) and it made me feel proud. The variety of singer that the show has also speaks volume about the talents. Also the fact that there are contestants from small cities like Lakhimpur emphasises that the talent hunts are no more limited to the main cities and the metros, it has now taken almost all of the country into contention. I really appreciate the show. I would also like to congratulate Hussain for being a superb host I really admire the way he presents the show. The cool atmosphere that the show creates is simply admirable. I really love this show. Thanks Sony for providing us with such a lovely show.

Build up to the Holy Amarnath Yatra - Phase 3

2010-06-14T12:35:00.003+05:30

Finally we have some good news. We have got Yatra passes for 3rd July for 5 people. This may not be enough but atleast this comes a spark and it shows that God is with us. It has also given our confidence a boost and we have again started believing that we will go the distance. We are still hoping to get the passes for the 1st or 2nd of July and we may actually get it in couple of days. I must say that Ajay deserves a big pat on the back for arranging the Yatra passes through his contacts and family members.

Today we have atleast something in our hand and I guess this is a signal by the almighty to us that he is with us and is helping us along. It would be great if we can actually get passes for the first two days for the Yatra. Rest is upon God and we firmly believe that he will help us as he has been doing upto now. My mother said that these things come to you naturally and they all need to be stamped by the almighty and without his wishes and blessing nothing happens. So looking forward for the Yatra with folded hands.

JAI BHOLE NATH !!!

35 Priceless Minutes

2010-06-12T15:45:00.007+05:30

I was in my office just back from lunch when my cell phone buzzed and I saw a unknown number calling. I am sick and tired of these people calling me from banks, funds and other things that I have no interest in. I thought it would be one of those calls so I thought not to pick it up at all. My cell sang the Summer of 69 which I have as ring tone and then went quite but within a matter of seconds it started again, this time I picked it up and took it close to my ears. Even before I could say hello, I heard a voice so familiar and so pleasant that I trembled. Within a split second I ran down my entire life to match this beautiful voice with the person and finally I did. I said hello with my eyes almost filled with tears and a sweet little smile on face.

I couldn't feel anything around me, I left my seat and walked into a meeting room, closed the door and made myself comfortable on the chair. I could almost feel that the chair has engulfed me and I am on its lap. I talked for about 35 mins and then I had to cut the line as I had a meeting scheduled at 14:30 pm. But those 35 odd minutes made yesterday a very memorable day for me. That call came as a surprise to me and I heard that voice after a period of at least 9 - 10 months.

It was wonderful feeling but now it is over and life is back to normal, I spent the rest of the day pondering over the call but now I do not even know if yesterday was the last time I heard that voice or will there be any other day when I will get a call that will shake me and make me feel like GOD. It was a very pleasant surprise and I thank GOD from the bottom of my heart for this wonderful moment. I will preserve and cherish it for a very very long time.

Build up to the Holy Amarnath Yatra - Phase 2

2010-06-12T15:03:00.005+05:30

We got ourselves registered for the Amarnath Yatra on the day the registrations began. But we have been faced with a problem, we have got the Yatra date as the 11th of July as opposed to the 1st or 2nd July which we wanted. This has shaken us a bit. It also made us think that we might not be able to go ahead with the plan of the Yatra. We are dejected. This has actually spoiled the enthusiasm that we had.

We called up a few people who have been to Amarnath lately and they opined that the date should not be a problem, it is there just to control excessive amount of devotees. The government officials give dates in order to distribute the crowd of devotees but they do not stop any person who has a registration and reaches before the given date. The same words were voiced by a couple of other people who are either directly or indirectly associated with the Holy Yatra. This gave us a big relief and we all welcomed it.

But still we are not very sure that we would be able to visit the holy cave of Amarnath. We are waiting with fingers crossed and I guess this will be our situation till the time we actually reach Srinagar as till then we can only speculate things but cannot conclude. We have a meeting planned to discuss the next steps on Monday morning. Let us pray and hope that we can go ahead with our program and visit the holy Amarnath. Let Bhole Baba decide our fate.

JAI BHOLE NATH !!!

Raajneeti : Review

2010-06-08T19:51:00.009+05:30

The movie is a compilation of brilliant individual performances with Manoj Bajpai standing out. Nana Patekar has the best role in the movie and he portrayed it with grace. His brilliance once again gave the moving a new dimension. Manoj Bajpai once again proves his worth with a stunning performance. He is one character that would move out with you from the movie. Ajay Devgan is good as always and deserves a mention whenever we talk about this movie. Katrina and Sarah complete the icing on the cake. Overall a good film. Having said so I would like to point out that Ranbeer is the lead actor in the movie but his role and his acting is overshadowed by some brilliant performances around him.

The movie does not have a very clear message that it wants to convey. It keeps the audience swinging between the different possible motives for creating the movie. One remarkable thing about the movie is that it keeps you glued to it with some complicated though interesting story. I enjoyed the movie though the general opinion was against me. I had walked into this movie having heard really bad reviews so I was not expecting anything from the movie but the movie did not dissappoint me a bit.

The movie is very intense and takes a bit of concentration to throughly enjoy the movie. It is not a light hearted movie that you can watch you tickle your funny bone. Prakash Jha very cleverly introduces action, sex and drama just to provide that masala touch to the movie which at times looked unnecassary and uncalled for. But overall it is a good movie if you take my personal call. I really enjoyed the role of Nana Patekar and really appreciated the role of Manoj Bajpai. I would say you should watch this movie and you may like it.

Criticism ...

2010-06-02T23:06:00.009+05:30

...is the easiest thing to do in this world today. It does not require you be a genius to criticise anybody after all it is just a statement that you need to make. It is very easy to criticise a person for the steps that he has taken to come out of a difficult situation or maybe handle a difficult situation but when you are actually faced with the same situation that you realise how difficult it is to manage things at that point of time.

Let me tell you a little story that my Grand Father used to tell me when I was dejected or displeased by some criticism that was targeted at me. The story is about a painter. There was this person who was a very good painter and wanted to improve his painting and drawing skills. He also wanted people to point out his mistakes in order to learn more. After he completed any painting he used to put it up on display and ask people for their comments. When he used to return to his painting he would find thousands of comments on his paintings and the flaws that people noticed in it. He used to correct his mistakes as much as possible and then again put the painting on display only to come back and see several more comments on it. This thing went on for over a week and that literally disheartened the painter and he thought that painting was not his cup of tea. With these thoughts in mind he went to his master and told him his story and his master gave him some tips. He followed what the master had said and again put his painting on display. That day when he came back he was shocked to see no comments were made on his painting. He thought that people may have not seen the painting or may be there was some sort of holiday so he decided to let the painting be there as is for another day. Eventually after a week or so he could still not see any comments on his paintings. He went to his master and thanked him.

Wondering what the master told his student. The master asked the painter to put up his painting and ask people for their comments. He also asked the painter to put a plain paper alongside the painting and ask the commenter to rectify the mistake in the painting on the paper attached along side. Moral of the story is it is easy to criticise the act of a person but if you are faced with the same situation you may behave even badly. So next time before you criticise a person look at yourself first.

Build up to the Holy Amarnath Yatra - Phase 1

2010-05-26T20:59:00.006+05:30

I along with some office colleagues have decided to visit the Holy Amarnath this season. We are total 10 people and few more probable candidates. We had planned this trip few months earlier and we have our flight tickets booked to Srinagar. We had sensed that the holy yatra would start by the end of June so we had booked our tickets accordingly. We leave Delhi on the 30th of June for Srinagar and then head for the holy Amarnath and hope to get a sneak at the holy shrine.

Yes I know that there is still over a months time before we start our yatra, but yesterday we had our first meeting to decide and discuss about the yatra. The prime objective was to make sure that we get the forms for the yatra filled and get our insurances done as that is mandatory. We also discussed that we would need a passport size photograph of each of the member. This may sound funny but without naming naming anybody I can say that there are people who do not have a passport photograph and they need to get it done in about a weeks time. Deepak don't feel bad I have not taken your name.

We also discussed the amount and type of luggage that we should carry with us as we understand that whatever we take with us, we will have to carry it along with us the entire way. So we do not want to overburden ourselves in the same time we also do not want to miss anything that would make us feel miserable out there. I have been given the duty to pen down every single update on my blog. So you will find a series of posts with the same title in days to come. To conclude I would like to list down the names of the people who have already confirmed their participation in the yatra and also those who may join us.

Ajay Sharma

Binay Mohanty

Deepak Kumar

Gaurav Khera

Kushagra Deep

Pratyush Nath

Ritesh Srivastava

Saurabh Juneja

Vipin Gupta

Yogesh Kumar

Amrit Kumar - a probable participant

JAI BHOLE NATH !!!

How many times do you laugh at a joke ?

2010-05-26T20:32:00.004+05:30

This may sound weird but is true and you may even find that this has happened to you as well. So coming to the point straight away I would like to say that are two types of people in the audience when you crack a joke or something. You will always find the audience divided on your jokes i.e. some of them laugh immediately and others after a while and some never laugh at all. I have analyzed the same and found two basic reasons behind the same. One is that your joke is so bad that people don't feel like laughing at it rather laugh at you. Other reason could be that they did not get your joke.

I am assuming that my jokes are worth the laugh so I am eliminating the first reason. So that leaves me with just the option that people do not understand the jokes that I crack. The point to be noted here is that everyone laughs at the jokes that I crack. Only difference being that some laugh once and some laugh thrice. Confused ?

When I crack a joke, those who understand it laugh instantly. Others who do not understand also laugh just to show that they have understood and nobody makes fool of them. Then later sometimes when they actually understand what the joke was all about they laugh again. They laugh once again only that this time they laugh upon themselves that they could not understand this joke at the first instance. So next time when you hear a joke or something, count the number of times you laughed.

Kites : Review

2010-05-22T19:03:00.004+05:30

The woman is hot, that's pretty much about it. This would be a one sentence to sum up Kites. The movie is a hard core romance thing and you do not get to see anything new. The only change that you will notice is Spanish being used in a Bollywood movie (pun intended). The movie runs at a very slow pace and is pretty predictable. The story is also no different so overall an o.k. movie.

But I personally enjoyed the movie though I did not like it as much. The movie had set high expectation levels which it failed to achieve and thus disappointed the viewers. The good part about the movie is the good job done by Hrithik and team. I liked the acting of most of the stars in the movie and also liked the emotional touch they provided to the movie. I some how enjoyed the way they kept on unfolding the story although it was very obvious.

The story is ok and so is the plot and cinematography. The foreign locations, beautiful cars, casino do not seem to excite the audiences and they have seen enough of these. We wanted to see something different which we did not get. But still I liked the concept and the movie. It is short and sweet love story that lasts for something over 2 hours and I guess there is enough *masala* in the movie to keep you happy for 2 hours.

Don't Be Serious, Be Sincere : Chetan Bhagat

2010-05-17T23:28:00.003+05:30

So true... Click on the picture to view a enlarged version of it.

My Team won the T20 World Cup

2010-05-17T23:03:00.002+05:30

Yes I am a die hard Indian supporter and no matter how the team plays I would support my team in the next series that they feature. Does my saying this add to the mystery that how come my team won the T20 World Cup ? when it was England who won the World Cup. So let me explain, I support India and any team that plays against Australia hence the victory of England was the victory of my team.

I have this thing against Australia and it keeps on growing with every match that I see them play. I find the Australian players snobbish and egoistic, but then I am told that they have worked for it and they deserve all the pride that they show. But I think otherwise, there are a selected few that are down to earth even after achieving great heights the likes of Shane Warne and Gilchrist are examples. I simply hate the shrewdness of the Pontings, the Symonds, the Clarks and above all the filth of Shane Watson. I find these people really disgusting and opposed to the spirit of any game. They may be excellent players but I hate them and this hatred keeps me in opposition to Australia always.

I really enjoyed the semi final match between Australia and Pakistan and I must say that it was the best T20 match I have seen in some time. I was really shocked by the amazing run chase but disappointed as well as Australia won. I do not like Pakistan at all even then I wanted them to win just because they were playing against Australia. You may call me a maniac or whatever but this is exactly how it is with me when it comes to Australia and Australian players.

T20 World Cup 2010

2010-05-09T23:27:00.002+05:30

There is just nothing about the T20 world cup this year for us to remember. It has been a dreadful journey to say the least. We are almost done in this years world cup and if they do not improve substantially they will be good on paper only. I was shocked at the team selection for today's match, how can you go into a match with just 3 proper bowlers and 4 part time spinners on a juicy and bouncy pitch when you have been taken to the cleaners a couple of days earlier by the Australians. How does the Indian team selection justify playing Ravindra Jadeja shouldn't he have been replaced with another fast bowler preferably Praveen Kumar if he was fit to play.

I was shocked at the team they selected for the World cup in the first place. They left out Robin Uthappa, Ojha and even Amit Mishra who were the inform players in the recently concluded IPL. I guess cricket was all about form wasn't it ? then what made you select Piyush Chawla specially when you are not going to play him. Even if I leave all these selection issues, still if a team who boosts of players like Yuvraj, Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina with 8 batsman and cannot chase 170 odd then my friend there is some serious problem.

I am really depressed and shocked at the dismal performance of the Indian team and seriously I didn't want to waste my time in writing anything about this subject but my very dear friend and room mate who has to watch all the matches even when he is least interested because of me asked me to write something on this subject. Believe me he was also pissed off at the show that our team put up so when he said I should write I could not say no and I honestly believe that I owe him this post for all the times he has had to watch a cricket match just because I do. Yogesh, this one is for you mate.

Movie Review : Badmash Company

2010-05-09T21:07:00.003+05:30

I had not watched a movie in months and when I was asked out to watch a movie I agreed. The choice was obvious and we went to watch Badmash Company. Mark my words when I say that you need to be in good company when you are watching badmash company otherwise you are sure to suffer. The movie has nothing new to offer, it is the same old story where a person chases money and in due courses loses touch of his family and friends and then one bright day when he is convicted and jailed that he realises the importance of friend and family and then comes back to them and they live happily ever after. The only difference that is obvious in this movie is the role of Anushka Sharma which is starkly different from what we saw in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi.

The movie showcases a bunch of dudes planning on going against the system and making quick money. The story is very predictable, full of good for nothing plans that keep on giving results. These 4 people go all around the world fooling people and nobody seems to catch them. There are a few punches here and there that bring a smile to your face but most of the time you will be reciting the next scene. Yes it is that predictable. The movie boosts of good foreign locations and some good music but then that is not enough to make a movie work.

So my final verdict would be that the movie is really bad and it is a crime if you decide to waste your money and time watching this movie. I leave you with an interesting line on one of reviews to this movie and it read "Insulting audiences with 'Housefull' and 'Badmash Company' on consecutive weekends threatens to split the lucrative, undiscriminating dumb-ass demographic. "

Jai Ho !

2010-05-08T11:34:00.003+05:30

Each one of us remember the track Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire that got A.R. Rahman the Oscar and did us all proud. Yes it has been time since that has happened but the memories are still fresh in our minds. The song Jai Ho suddenly has gained impetus and is known to and loved by everybody. If you have seen the IPL closing ceremony just before the finals in Mumbai, you must have seen Rahman performing live and he selected Jai Ho. I really liked Rahul's status message on Facebook which read "A.R. Rahman needs to be reminded that Jai Ho isn't the only song he's composed.. there are many more.. better ones, I dare say.." I completely agree with Rahul, but the fact that this song has achieved what no other song could makes it better than the rest.

Today I witnessed something that I had never witnessed ever before. I watched a video on YouTube that has some Spanish singers singing Jai Ho in Hindi somewhere in Spain. This is just amazing and I don't remember the last time a Hindi song was sung in foreign countries and in Hindi itself and this dragged me to write this post. You must watch this video and judge for yourself. It is simply amazing and one could address Gulzar sahib and A.R. Rahman ji and say JAI HO !!! for creating such a lovely song and making India and all the Indians proud.

Click here to watch the video

Lost Generation by Jonathan Reed

2010-05-06T00:51:00.002+05:30

I am part of a lost generation
and I refuse to believe that
I can change the world
I realize this may be a shock but
“Happiness comes from within.”
is a lie, and
“Money will make me happy.”
So in 30 years I will tell my children
they are not the most important thing in my life
My employer will know that
I have my priorities straight because
work
is more important than
family
I tell you this
Once upon a time
Families stayed together
but this will not be true in my era
This is a quick fix society
Experts tell me
30 years from now, I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce
I do not concede that
I will live in a country of my own making
In the future
Environmental destruction will be the norm
No longer can it be said that
My peers and I care about this earth
It will be evident that
My generation is apathetic and lethargic
It is foolish to presume that
There is hope.

And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it .

Read the message, then read it again in reverse. This is absolutely brilliant. You can watch the video here. I recommend that you must watch the video.

Salesmanship in this Modern World

2010-05-06T00:00:00.006+05:30

Click on the picture to see it properly

Know yourself

2010-05-02T15:39:00.004+05:30

जो जानता है और जानता है की वो जानता है उससे सीखो,
जो नहीं जानता और जानता है की वो नहीं जानता है उसको सिखाओ,
जो नहीं जानता है और नहीं जानता है की वो नहीं जानता है उससे बचो।

I heard these lines yesterday, at the first go I laughed at it saying is this a puzzle where we have to guess the number of times the word 'जानता' appears in the sentence. My second question was what to do with a person जो जानता है औए नहीं जानता है की वो जानता है। But after reading the lines over again I understood the real meaning of it and then I realised these lines are so true and if followed religiously they would help one succeed in life.

It is amazing how some simple things have a big impact on the life of people and how these simple things could help us make the most out of things in life. It also showed me the sorry fact that people often just laugh at things and let them pass rather than trying to analyse them and give them what they deserve. If you try to match people with the qualities advocated by these lines, you are sure to end up finding people who are exactly as described. I actually did and then when I summarized I found that most people fall in the third category, I somehow also feel sometimes that I know a particular thing when actually I don't. I guess we will be more successful if we can somehow fall in the first or second category (as mentioned in lines). Amazing.

Shifted

2010-05-01T23:46:00.011+05:30

Finally I have shifted to my new rented apartment and I guess this should be the last one as my house is almost ready and I should have the possession by end of this year. Everything that looked in place was first messed up, stuffed into cartons, bags etc. and then again set straight. It has been a hectic day and it has taken a lot out of me. I am hardly able to move and am feeling very comfortable at this point on my bed.

I would also like to thank the WiFi guys for creating such a great thing, it would take another 2 days or so to get my Internet connection shifted to my new residence and I was almost sure to be deprived of the Internet access for the next few days but thanks to this friend of mine who also lives in the same apartment and also the WiFi I am now connected using his Internet connection and it feels great.

But the job is not done as yet, I have some things still lying in my older house that I have to move tomorrow. I also have to prepare for my presentation in office on Monday and then I also need to rest a bit to relax my muscles. But it is sad to note that after a days work even the sleep seems like an alien and is afraid to come near. But I am satisfied with the efforts throughout the day and that is the most important thing amongst all. Good Night.

A Spark at the End of the Tunnel

2010-04-25T01:21:00.003+05:30

I will not call this as a light at the end of the tunnel, I would rather call this a spark considering the complexities surrounding me these days. I had a discussion with the owner of a flat in the same society where I am presently living and it seems that we are almost through the deal and I will end up shifting from the 9th floor to the 4th floor in the same society. This possibility has got a great welcome as this basically allows me to let go of atleast one big tension that I have been in. Although I will have to pay a big amount as rent to keep things cool but then that is a price that we room mates have decided is worth paying for.

When I read my last post it somehow made me feel that I have not done full justice to my dearest friend just by writing that he is moving to Chennai. I appologize mate and I am sure he will understand. So here is the complete story, my dearest friend Yashpal has decided to move on in his life and is joining CSC Chennai as a Senior Software Engineer. I am very happy for him and wish him all the success in his future ventures. But the fact that he will move away from us also instills the fear of loosing him. I did not intend to take any credit away from him. I hope this is the inset of the good things, still my fingers crossed.

Head over Heels

2010-04-25T00:25:00.004+05:30

This has been my situation for the last 2 weeks, I have been so occupied with things that I have made a mess out of my life. I have not witnessed sunset for long now, it has been a terrible 10 days of my life. As I sit down now to write this post, I am feeling broken and drenched. I have been exhausted and I badly need a good long break to come back to my normal self but then things don't go the way you wish them to.

To add assault to my injuries, my landlord gave me a visit last Friday evening and asked me to vacate the house within a period of 40 days or so. This made my life more complicated and my mind started another process and that has taken the shape of daemon thread (running in the background) and troubling me continuously. If this was not enough I also got the news that one of my closet friend is moving to Chennai in about a months time. I am not able to take all this and it has shaken my confidence and moral and I do not know what to do.

I have left it all to the almighty with the perception that he will fix all the problems. I also am a firm believer of that fact that whatever happens happens for good. I wish this was a bad dream and would vanish as soon as I wake up but I am afraid that is not how life treats you. To motivate myself I would like to conclude with a little story that my mother told me several times and I have told the same to one of my best friend when she was very depressed. The story is called FOOT PRINTS IN THE SAND and it really helps.

Cricket and Mahabharata

2010-04-17T16:44:00.006+05:30

You must be wondering what could be the connection between the Mahabharata and Cricket. But trust me they are very similar to each other and only have a slight difference. You will be convinced by the time you read through this post. There was a time when test cricket was played timelessly and the match would continue till it got over. It was in March 1934 when a match started on the 3rd of March and ended on the 14th of March and it only ended because the English cricketers had to go from Durban to Capetown which was a 2 hours train journey to catch a ship that left on the 17th and there were no ships in a long time. So the match was ended in between and one of the English batsman said, you know what another half an hour and we would have won.

But the incident mentioned above made India fall in love with cricket because we had about the same pace of life. The Mahabharata was like this wasn't it? fought by the day and then it was sunset so every one went home. Then they made few more strategies, came back to fight the next day and went back again. The only difference between Mahabharata and cricket was that in cricket every one was alive to come back and fight the next day whereas this does not hold true for Mahabharata.

Things have changed with time and every thing has gained pace, everyone is running, people have almost forgotten to walk and so the face of cricket has also changed. The advent and popularity of the T20 cricket.

Those Three Hours..

2010-04-17T03:03:00.003+05:30

It is about 3 in the morning and I am just back after meeting a very dear friend of mine. I had planned to meet this person from the time he had shifted to Gurgaon but somehow I could find the time to co-ordinate with him and meet him. Just yesterday I got a call from him and he asked me if we can meet tomorrow. I wanted to meet him but the problem is he has office hours from 5 in the evening to 2 in the morning and that makes it difficult for us to meet. But today as I was about to leave my office at around 11 pm, I gave him a call to tell him that I am now moving, to my surprise he was also free and we decided to meet up.

I went to his office in Cyber City Gurgaon and we met, he has not changed a bit and we had a great time. I then also dropped him to his home and then came back home. I am so happy to have met him after such a long time and it was a great feeling. So what I have done tonight is I have actually stretched myself to meet the deadline that I have set for myself which says before the end of this month, I have to catch up with all my close friends. I was not sure if I would be able to achieve this but the start that I have got makes me feel confident about it. Someone please read my fortune and let me know if I will succeed.

It is so strange that when you meet a person after a long time gap, you have so many things on your mind that you want to talk about but when you actually meet the person all that goes off the window and whatever you wanted to talk does not even get a mention in the entire meeting. Same thing has happened to me, I had to ask him certain things which I forgot when I met him and I remember them now. I guess it the excitement that makes you do funny things. But these 3 hours or so have been a great 3 hours in my life.

Achievers of Excellence

2010-04-16T01:52:00.004+05:30

Achievers of Excellence was the title of a seminar held at the IIM Ahmedabad and Harsha Bhogle who has also been a student of this institute was invited to address the students of IIM-A on how to achieve success in life and what is the best way to do it. Harsha presented a 70 minutes long presentation and I must say that I agree to every word he said and I enjoyed the entire 70 mins. It gave me my life a new dimension and really has inspired me.

I have always admired Harsha Bhogle but this presentation made me his follower. I recommend you all to please watch this video and try to absorb what he is saying and what is it that he is trying to communicate. This is the best motivational presentation I have ever heard. It is a long video but you will never even feel that you have spent over and hour watching a video as it will keep you attached to it.

The Video is available here..

Note: if your net connection is slow, I would recommend you to buffer it completely before you play it because you will get frustrated when you get involved with his words and anxiously wait his next word when the video starts to buffer.

... but I Love You

2010-04-16T01:28:00.004+05:30

"I have so many reasons to fight with you and to hate you ..... but I love you". Yes you read it correctly this the most beautiful and romantic line that has ever been said to me. It just happened that I was talking to a very dear friend of mine and as usual I was at my humorous best when I heard these lines. These lines sparked me and really made me happy. It is good to note that people still love you specially when I do not give them anything in return. But then this is what true love and friendship is all about.

Trust me I am the most lazy person in this world when it comes to typing and sending out text messages and I hardly text people. Nobody even bothers to send me messages and I can see two basic reason for this. One that I don't reply so people get frustrated and stop messaging and secondly I believe that this is the price that you have to pay when you don't have a girl friend and not many girls as friend.

But the words that I mentioned above may sound filmy but they just ran deep down my heart and literally tickled each romantic bone of mine. It has been ages since I have met some of my old friends, every now and then we plan a re-union and then the plans just get deflated. So I am also bad at maintaining relationships. By the way it is not me who thinks this way but it is the other way round. People believe that I am non social. So here is the news guys, I am very social but I am a bit conservative when it comes to making close friends and relations. But I promise you one thing before this month ends, I will give you the chance to tell me all the reasons that you have to fight with me and hate me. In the end I know that you guys still love me and that is very important for me. I do not want to part away with the selected few that I have left. Love you too.

ये बात वही समझेगा जिसके लिए लिख रहा हूँ। हमे तो अपनों ने लूटा गैरों में कहा दम था, हमारी कश्ती वहां डूबी जहा पानी कम था.

Love Your Work

2010-04-16T00:32:00.006+05:30

I read this very interesting quote somewhere and found it very real and true. The quote was "Love your job but never love your company you never know when your company stops loving you". After reading this I gave it a good thought and felt proud that I am actually satisfied with the job in hand and I am enjoying my work. It has been hardly a fortnight to this incidence and today I find myself so occupied with official work that I hardly get time for myself.

It is strange how things change with time, but then I always wanted it to be this way and now when I have achieved it I feel proud but also tired. I really love it when things are complicated to the worst level and I am left alone to fight against time and situations to pull it off. Sometimes I get buried under the excessive load but some times I come out of it. It has become a part of my life and now I feel isolated without such things.

I would like to share a thought that has inspired me and gives me the push to go ahead. The job of an engineer is to face challenges, you should have a different type of work to do almost everyday so that when you enter the office you come prepared for a challenge. If you accomplish the task that day it would give you immense satisfaction and will do your confidence a world of good but if somehow you cannot taste success, the next day you will come more prepared and that will make you competent enough to face such situations and would certainly make you mentally strong. In any case it is you who benefits. With this thought in mind I spend each day in office and believe me I learn atleast one new thing daily.

Don't Judge Too Quickly

2010-04-06T23:49:00.003+05:30

I have been witness to situations where a person has jumped to a conclusion even before understanding the entire scenario. I would like to quote something before I proceed with this post.

A girl wanted a ring but his boyfriend gave her a teddy bear instead. In anger the girl threw the teddy bear on the road. The boy went to take the teddy back and was hit by a speeding car and died. At his funeral, the girl took the teddy bear as the last sign of his boyfriend and hugged it tightly. On being pressed the machine within the teddy bear spoke : Will you marry me ? the ring is in my pocket.

I quoted this little story just to emphasize the point that I was making. It so happened that I recieved a call from this person and due to some network problem, the line got disconnected and then due to some unavoidable circumstances I could not answer the phone. The person who was trying to call me immediately jumped to the conclusion that I was trying to avoid the call and messaged me some strong words. I was really shocked upon recieving such a message. It is my request to all to please analyze the situation before jumping to any conclusion. Sometimes we jump to a conclusion hastly and then we are left with nothing else but regrets.

Gucchu Pani Dehradun

2010-04-04T21:49:00.010+05:30

In a recent trip to Dehradun and Massoorie I visited a very unique and a bit isolated place by the name of 'Gucchu Pani' just around Dehradun. It is a place which is not very popular and is known only to the people living near by. The roads leading to the place are also not proper and you have to travel through several bad turns and roads to reach the place. When we reached the place we noticed that there was a person who was in charge of the parking, on enquiry we found that from that day itself the parking has been placed and an entry fee of Rs 10 has also been charged.

When we entered the place it was awesome, it was totally worth the efforts that we had put in to actually reach that place. The place is a sort of a cave which has water flowing through it and you have to walk and at times crawl through it. The water is absolutely chilly at some parts and surprisingly warm at other places. There is no specific route defined within the cave and you have to find/make your own way. It is a great experience to keep on jumping over rocks and crawling through flowing water. The rocks at some places are very slippery and it takes a lot of courage to climb on them. There is a point where the water falls from a height of around 10 feet but the flow and current is very fast, also the water is close to freezing cold. We had a shower there and it was a once in lifetime experience.

The fact that the place is yet to be explored has left it clean so it feels that much good. The water is clean and so is the area surrounding it. There are a few shops just at the entry to the caves which serves tea, coffee and some snacks. Fried Maggi is a hit snack in that part of the country and almost every shops sells it. We also had tea and a bit of snacks at one of these shops and that was also a great experience. We had our feet under cold water and sipping hot tea. Overall it was a great experience and a great place to be in. I highly recommend it to any one who is planning a outing to Dehradun, Massoorie or around.

Height Of Confidence

2010-04-04T20:14:00.005+05:30

I have been receiving a good number of messages emphasising the statement 'Height of Confidence' and I was amused at the level of innovations these messages convey. Some messages were awfully bad but at the first reading they brought smile to my face. Let me share a few you here.

1. Once ten boys decided to propose to a girl. Nine of them came with a rose and one came with honeymoon tickets
2. A teacher asks a student what is the Height of Confidence ?. The student answers: A 99 years old woman buying a mobile Sim card with life time validity.

These are the selected few that I can post in here but I salute the brilliance of people who originate such messages. I know these are old Internet jokes but then they must have been written by someone and that is sheer brilliance. If you go and search the net you will find several more messasges of the same type. I am a fan of such writers, I literally worship some of the guys that screened in the Laughter Challenge: Sunil Pal, Rauf Lala and the evergreen Raju Shrivastava are example of such brilliant writers.

Memories Relived

2010-04-04T19:35:00.003+05:30

Just yesterday I hit upon a few old pictures of mine and that took me down the memory lane, they were pictures of my school functions and I spent a good hour and half strolling down the beautiful memories. It feels so good to relive such memories. It re-emphasises the fact the school days are the best and we miss them the entire life.

I wish we could have understood the importance of the age that we were running through and had more pictures and videos to capture so that today we had more memories to cherish. I guess that at that point of time we were too casual to care about such things, it was more about living freely not thinking much and living moments as they came. Today as we are matured and we have a plan in place for the things to come.

Having said that I would love to re-live those beautiful days once more as they were the best days of my life. It has been over a decade since I have passed out from St. Joseph's College but the memories are as fresh as new. I remember each and every activity that I was involved in and all the lovely friends whom I now have no contact with. It is unbelievable how a look at a few pictures take you back a decade in your life and make you feel good again. I really miss those days.

A New Experience

2010-03-30T22:33:00.003+05:30

I had always wondered how would it be like to drive in hills. I had never been lucky enough to get a chance to drive on hills. But the last weekend I got the chance to drive on the Dehradun - Mussoorie road and it was a great experience. I must confess that it is a entirely different experience driving in hills as compared to driving in plains. You seem to get tired soon both mentally and physically. You have to be very alert all of the time, even a blink of the eye may be expensive. But it was a good experience.

I enjoyed the entire drive, although some part of it when I was driving through the city of Mussoorie was really scary with some really stiff uphill roads. The road was so narrow at places that only one vehicle could pass at a time and that was a bit of concern. I was also a bit nervous as it was the first time I was driving there and also the car was not mine so I also had to adjust to the car and its whereabouts.

I must say that it was a learning curve for me and I would love to experience the same again if I get a chance to do so. Now I feel more confident, I have also learnt few tips and tricks about driving uphill or downhill. Overall it was a great experience and I am looking forward for another trip soon.

The IPL Confusion

2010-03-21T08:25:00.006+05:30

I like cricket and follow it closely and like every Indian I want India to win every match. Whenever India is playing a match against any country it goes without saying that India gets the support of the Indians and everyone is following their favourite team. But this statement does not hold true for the IPL matches. I find myself very confused as to which team I am supporting. I worship Sachin and love the way he plays so I have to support Mumbai Indians. I also like Dhoni's passion and the way he handles things, his tactics and his ability to stay calm under pressure situations. I then have to support him and hence the Chennai Superkings. I love the way Yuvraj bats, the elegance with which he plays is second to none, I also like Preity Zinta and don't want to see her upset so I have to support Kings XI Punjab. This is what I call the IPL Confusion i.e. you cannot exactly decide which team to follow and support.

I was at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium for the Delhi vs Chennai game and I found myself divided on which team to support. I was enjoying the atmosphere out there, the enthusiasm of the people around and the blistering knock of Virender Sehwag. It was actually a great experience to see the likes of Sehwag, Raina, Hayden, Muralidharan, Justin Kemp, Stephen Flemming and many more in person. I am a great fan of Harsha Bhogle and it was a pleasure to see him in flesh and blood. But my support was divided.

I guess in the IPL we end up supporting our superstars and our favourite cricketers and not a particular team. Although when I was in the stadium, I was actually forced to follow the Delhi team just by the amount of cheer each positive approach of the Delhi team was being cheered and every shot by the Chennai batsmen was being greeted with pin drop silence. But it was a great experience to be there and witness the best of players perform.

Future of Hockey in India

2010-03-16T20:46:00.005+05:30

India played host for the Hockey world cup just recently, all the matches were held in Delhi, there were so many promotions for the events, the tickets were priced as low as 100 so that majority of people could afford it. But now the Cup is over and so are the advertisements and promotions. So what is going to be the future of Indian Hockey is a question that comes to my mind and to which I don't have an answer to.

The Hockey World cup has been a real success in India, it gained lots of popularity and the stadium was full atleast on the day India was playing. Even other matches attracted audience. Although the Indian team did not perform that well but still all the matches were cheered by the fans. So what is next ? was this a transition phase or just a one time show. I hope this is a transition and hockey gains more popularity after all it is our National game.

Last Sunday I saw few children in my society actually playing hockey and that too with proper hockey sticks. I was really pleased to see this change. I have been in Delhi for 5 years now and I had not once seen anybody playing hockey. So it was a different experience, it also emphasized the fact that all the promotions by our super models through various media has actually had an impact on the younger generation. I hope and pray that this passion stays and does not fade away with time. Lets us hope for the best of our National game. But having said that I also accept the fact that the Indian hockey has a long way to go before it can gain general popularity.

Superb...

2010-03-15T23:14:00.004+05:30

Superb is the latest model to have hit the roads from Skoda. It is really a superb car. I was with a friend of mine at a Skoda showroom in Delhi to enquire about Fabia when my eyes got stuck on this massive car standing proudly in the centre of the showroom. I was so hit by the appearance of the car that I grabbed the door handle, pulled the door open and sat on the drivers seat. The interiors, the comfort, the feel of luxury, the awesome sun roof, electrifying LED display, the beautiful gear knob.... as I was going through the car interiors I was trying to guess the price of the car. But I was totally unaware of it and was wondering if I could just own one.

It is surprising how sometimes you just get lost into something, you forget the actual reason you went there. That was exactly my condition, I did not want to get out of the car, it was literally Superb. The comfort that I felt as I sat on the driving seat, I could feel that I may even fall asleep on my way to office if I am in this car. Everything was perfect, the finishing was spectacular. It was a superb experience. But like every other dream this one also had to end so I finally got out of it and went to see Fabia.

After we were done with the Fabia thing and were moving out, a thought crossed my mind but I could not decide whether to do it or not. I wanted to get a picture of mine clicked along side this magnificent car but just could not gather the courage to ask for it. As I walked out of the showroom I had the rate list in my hand so I decided to read it to get the price of the model that I just witnessed. To my surprise, well not really, the masterpiece was priced at 28 lakhs approx for the high end model. It was at this point of time that I felt elated and told myself that this has been a day to remember for long. But I must say it was indeed a SUPERB experience.

Review of Ford Figo

2010-03-14T22:25:00.005+05:30

I had heard about it through several people. It has been the talk of town for sometime now so I decided to go and have a hard look at it. I visited the Ford showroom and was surprised to see that I was not the only one who was there to see the newly launched Fego. People were present there in large numbers to take a look at the car. I studied all the facts of the car, went through the minutest details and also took the test drive. Here is what I experienced.

The car looks impressive, the interiors are good, the dashboard is of a dull red color which pinches in your eye, but that can be altered to black if you decide to take the top 2 models otherwise you have to live with that awfully bad dashboard. The car has sufficient leg space and I particularly liked the long leg room for the driver. It was a comfortable position to be in. The indicators switch has been positioned on the left side of the steering and the wiper controls are on right side, which is the exact opposite of the Maruti Swift that I proudly own, so it was confusing and I often hit the wipers when I wanted to hit the indicators but this is just matter of getting comfortable.

While driving it did not feel like I am driving a 1.2l petrol engine, the pick up is just ok, the car runs a bit heavy and you could feel the engine working hard to reach 60 with 4 people in it. The car was not as free as I expected it to be when I hit the top gear. The drive was ok but nothing more than that. I guess if you compare it with Ritz, i10 or so it does not stand a change for the comfort and ease of drive.

The car is heavily loaded with funky features, in a price of about 4.7 lakhs you are getting airbags, ABS, climate control system, rear wiper, a high tech music system with Blue tooth, front power windows and more. But as per my understanding, these things do matter but not as much as the engine performance, riding comfort. So for me this car is not worth the price. I would anytime go for Ritz Vxi (priced at 4.34 lakhs on road) than Fego (Zxi priced at 4.34 lakhs on road). For my personal liking, Fego disappoints.

The Mysteries of Income Tax

2010-03-10T01:19:00.002+05:30

There is one mystery under the Income tax that I am unable to justify. Well there are so many mysteries within the entire concept of Tax that are hard for us to understand but still there are some things that we ought to understand if we want to save tax. Almost everyone who pays tax keeps an eye on the tax brackets, the amount of tax he/she needs to pay and the different ways which could help him save tax. One thing that I cannot understand or which I cannot digest is the Tax exemption range. The current exempted amount is 1.60 Lakhs for men, 1.90 lakhs for women and 2.10 or 2.20 for senior citizens. My concern is regarding the difference in values for men and women.

I am of the opinion that in most cases where a women is employed, her salary is the second salary in the house. This case should hold true for 90-95% cases. So I cannot understand the concept behind keeping the exempted value higher than those for men. Infact if I were to have a say I would have proposed otherwise. I do not know what the tax pundits thought when they put things into shape neither I know what is the take of the people who work in the same domain but I am unable to justify this difference.

I may have crossed the line here and commented on a totally alien subject but this concept of tax has been all over my mind for sometime now and I was unable to find a solution or justification for the same. So if by any chance any one who is reading this blog has any sort of answer that could me help solve the so called mysteries that I see in tax bracket demarcations is welcome to post his answers and help me understand things. Till then I will keep searching for answers.

India and the Hockey World Cup

2010-03-09T21:32:00.004+05:30

I have read and heard so much about the ongoing Hockey World Cup in New Delhi and I really feel sad to hear the way people are talking about the performance of the Indian team. I really appreciate the support that all of us gave to our team and I am equally disappointed that out team did not make it to the semis or finals for that matter but I did not like phrases like 'we are disgraced' or 'we gave them support and they gave us defeat.'

We should accept a few things before we can jump to conclusions and call the Indian hockey team a disgrace. First of all we must accept the fact that the Indian team is not the best team in the world, we did not have any match practice in the last year. I read some where that the Indian team has played just 3 matches in the last year. So we were actually short on match practice. Also the confidence of the Indian team is not 100% and they do not believe that they can win.

I have religiously followed all the matches in which India played and I must say that their performance improved with every match. I also accept the fact that the players looked rusty and missed some real sitters. All the big names were missing from the team. We did beat Pakistan 4-1 and almost beat South Africa. I was there in the stadium to watch the match between India and South Africa and I was really impressed by the way the Indian team played. If you had followed the match religiously, you would have noticed that almost 65% of the time the ball was in South Africa's half and we had more ball possession than South Africa as well.

So I believe that we had set very high expectations, I also felt that this is after a long time that the Indian Hockey team got the support it deserved. The team is still in the re-building phase and should be ready soon for good. I saw it myself in the stadium that even a simple dribble by an Indian player was being cheered like a goal, each penetration into the opposition's area was also cheered like an emphatic win. I think we should just control our emotions and should consider all the facts and numbers before jumping to a conclusion and start bad mouthing. Let us give these guys some time and wish for the best.

End Of Season 'SALE'

2010-03-07T20:59:00.003+05:30

I have a special deal with all the so called End Of Season SALE, I try to catch up on these sales to buy something for myself but somehow I have not been lucky enough to get a great deal. It is a usual story that whatever I choose ends up being the fresh stock that is not on sale. This has happened to me so many times and then I have to make a decision that I still wanna buy it or leave it. The answer generally is just take it. So I can say I fall in a group of persons who buys fresh stocks when the whole of India is on SALE.

I am still searching for the day when I would like something and the company says that yes that is on sale. Due to this talent of mine I do not consider sales which says up to X% off. I prefer flat sales. Reebok being my favourite as it generally gives a flat 40% sale and then all the items in the shop are on sale. I have a good buying experience with Reebok. I also have a liking for brands like 'Giovani' where the collection does not have lots of variety but whatever little they have is good quality decent collection and they also run a flat sale. I have purchased a couple of T Shirts and one of my friends got himself 2 woolen suits and we got a fantastic deal on both occasions.

I personally hate brands that run sale through out the year and the sale is also in the range of 50% + 40% types. I cannot understand the concept behind pricing your items at an extreme rate and then giving 60% to 70% discount on the prices. I guess the buyers these days are mature enough and offers as bad as these do not attract them. I would rather like to go to a shop that is Fixed Rate shop and which offers me a reasonable price. I do not like to bargain, though sometimes you have to, as I believe that you are never satisfied with the price that you end up paying after a bargain. But then there is nothing much that you can do so all I can say is Happy Shopping !!!

Mixed Feelings on Coming Back

2010-03-05T22:22:00.004+05:30

It has been a hectic week to say the least, I was occupied with my family and relatives for the better part of the week and when I returned back to Delhi and walked into office, it was like a torture to see so many mails lined up and so many pending tasks to attend. But then suddenly I realised, that I am back and I have to cover up for a weeks leave that I enjoyed so dearly.

It has been a great last week where I enjoyed each and every minute of the long holiday. It feels so good to be surrounded with parents, relatives and all loved ones. I so very miss all my family and friends there in Allahabad but then again that is the price that I was ready to pay when I choose this career. So no more regrets now.

I have certainly matured as a professional and I can actually feel it. There were situations that made me panic and nervous, they can now be handled easily and confidently. I could sense this change in me and I could feel the confidence as I walk around within the office premises. I guess when you have spent almost 3 years in a company, you feel at home and you are very comfortable and acquainted with the surroundings and atmosphere, and that helps boost your confidence. Even the walls seem to recognize you and never feel alone. It is a good feeling when there are people around you that are all familiar.

I can now understand why people do not want to switch their jobs that often. At a younger age I was of the opinion that you will get a significant increase in your pay when you switch your job so people should change their jobs regularly. But now at the position that I am and whatever little experience I have, my approach has certainly changed and now I think differently. Money is not the most important thing now. I have always wanted to talk about this topic but I guess I will do that in a new post. I do not want to make this post excessively long and out of context.

So I am back and yes I am very awake, I have been itching to write something but I did not get time for the same. But now when I am back, I would try to cover up for the time I have been away and give you people something good to read.

Festival of Colors : Holi

2010-02-25T18:29:00.003+05:30

Holi has been my favourite festival and it was ranked # 1 in my list of festivals that I like and I must say it was way above the rest. There is something about Holi that makes me crazy. I just love playing colors with friends and family members. In Allahabad, we celebrate Holi for two days and play with colors. We also have a ritual of taking out a 'Barat' on the last of Holi. It is specific to Uttar Pradesh where people move together in big groups and visit each others places. This is just a ritual where every house in the society is visited and people offer sweets and 'thandai' to the people in the so called 'Barat'. The best part is that there is one person who is made the bride and he rides on a donkey. So it is real fun and we enjoy being a part of it.

The Barat starts at around 11:00 in the morning and concludes at about 2:00 in the evening. We then have a matka ceremony where we boys form a pyramid and try to break the pot that is hanging from a tree some 15 feet from the ground. It is really amazing how people who are not even known to each other, get together to break that clay pot that hangs in the air. You might have seen this in movies but it is a great feeling to be actually doing it.

After all these activities are over we retire back to our respective houses for lunch and are back in the evening around 4:00 to fly kites. Yes you read it correctly, in Allahabad that there is a tradition of flying kites on Makar Sankranti and Holi. The kite flying is not simple and we actually have challenges and bets to handle. I am a kite lover and love to fly kites so Holi is like a double festival for me.

I am leaving for my home in just about couple of hours to celebrate Holi. This time though we are a bit upset as we lost my Nana Ji last year in April so the festival would not be celebrated like properly but never the less I am excited about going home and spending some quality time with my parents and other friends. So before I leave, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish all of a very colorful Holi. Enjoy you festival and have fun.

Salutations to the best Batsman ever Sachin Tendulkar

2010-02-24T21:10:00.005+05:30

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, one of India's famous son has ruled the entire world. He has demanded respect, he holds all the records in both the longer version and shorter version of the game. People should thank him for not playing T20 else the records books would have had Sachin written all over it. He has achieved it all and the three major records that were not in his name were 'Winning the World Cup', 'The Highest Score in a Test Innings', and the 'Highest score in ODI'. Of this he has achieved the feat for scoring the most runs in an ODI innings. He surpassed the figure of 194 and then went on to score a double century. This is the first time ever in the history of ODI cricket that any batsman has scored 200 runs in an innings. I bow down to him and salute the aura of this living legend and the master. He has aptly been named the 'GOD' of cricket.

He has been the best batsman that I have ever seen and he has just proved his worth. I was not fortunate enough to watch this man perform and score those 200 runs as I was busy in my office but what I read through various sites and now when I have had a look at some of the shots he played today, he looked to me as if he is a man who can do no wrong. Everything that he tried came out good and it has been a great innings to say the least. I heard Robin Jackman who was doing the commentary in the match today said that the best that the bowlers can do now is to not bowl.

Considering over 20 years of cricket that Sachin has played and the amount of success that he had, it was him who actually deserved to get to this magical figure. In the words of Ravi Shastri, Sachin becomes the first man on this planet to score a double century in one day international game. Well done Sir, you have made us all proud.

वक़्त नहीं है...

2010-02-22T23:52:00.002+05:30

हर ख़ुशी है लोगों के दामन में ,
पर एक हंसी के लिए वक़्त नहीं ...
दिन रात दौड़ती दुनिया में ,
ज़िन्दगी के लिय ही वक़्त नहीं ।

माँ की लोरी का एहसास तो है ,
पर माँ को माँ कहने का वक़्त नहीं ।
सारे रिश्तों को तो हम मार चुके ,
अब उन्हें दफ़नाने का भी वक़्त नहीं ।

सारे नाम मोबाइल में हैं ,
पर दोस्ती के लिए वक़्त नहीं ।
गैरों की क्या बात करें ,
जब अपनों के लिए ही वक़्त नहीं ।

आँखों में है नींद बड़ी ,
पर सोने का वक़्त नहीं ।
दिल है गमो से भरा हुआ ,
पर रोने का भी वक़्त नहीं

पैसों की दौड़ में ऐसे दौड़े ,
की थकने का भी वक़्त नहीं ।
पराये एहसासों की क्या कद्र करें ,
जब अपने सपनो के लिए ही वक़्त नहीं ।

तू ही बता ऐ ज़िन्दगी ,
इस ज़िन्दगी का क्या होगा ,
की हर पल मरने वालों को ,
जीने के लिए भी वक़्त नहीं ।

Save Our Tigers

2010-02-21T11:40:00.005+05:30

So I have been hearing about it and wanting to contribute but could understand how to do it. Almost all of us have been hearing about Save Our Tigers and all the brand ambassadors that are actually advocating the same. The phrase only 1411 left has touched almost everyone but most of them including me are not sure if they can contribute or how they can contribute. With the intent to actually contribute I went to this site and that has actually helped me understand that we can contribute and help.

I was actually amazed at the small things that the site asks us to do and if we are to believe them it will actually make a lot of difference. So I will be posting a few links that I went through and found helpful.

1. What you can do to lead the change to save tigers
2. Read more articles and be informed

These links are from within the save our tigers website. It is a for a good cause and I want to be a part of it. So if you were also unaware of what you can do to actually help the cause do visit this site. I have contributed my bit and would continue to do so. I would also request you people to the best you can to save our tigers and be part of the revolution.

How To Overcome Nervousness

2010-02-17T23:00:00.006+05:30

There is a important meeting coming up or there is some event that is about to happen which will impact you in a big way and you are nervous. I am faced with a similar situation and I found few ways to keep cool, calm and collected and thought would share with you folks. So here is my therapy.

1. Be Prepared for the possible questions, tasks or topics that you may be asked or you may need to refer. It gives you a good amount of confidence if you are ready and prepared for the situation. For instance if you have a job interview figure out the possible questions that could be asked and then find a way to answer them properly. This will help reduce the nervousness.

2. Ask yourself, what is the worse that can happen and how will it affect you in the long run. Sometimes you can just get the answer and that would reduce the nervousness.

3. Make yourself comfortable and do things that would help you relax and divert your mind away from the topic. This would make you feel lighter and help you forget about nervousness.

4. Visualize in a positive way rather than spending time visualizing what may go wrong. Visualizing in a positive way is definitely a more useful and pleasant way to spend some time with your imagination. Now, you may think that visualizing this way is just unrealistic. But visualizing in a negative way is just as unrealistic. Either way, you are imagining what may happen in a possible future scenario. Doing it in a negative way may just feel more realistic because that’s what people around you are doing or because it’s what you’ve been doing every day for the last few years.

I tried them and felt relaxed, these points have actually helped me a lot to overcome my nervousness and feel relaxed. But these points only have short term impacts and the nervousness may re-appear at a later stage. So this is just a way to cool down feel relaxed and I guess at times to extreme nervousness it is a great relief. Just try it yourself and see the results.

Love Aaj Kal

2010-02-16T22:33:00.005+05:30

No, I am not going to discuss about the movie. I am in general going to talk about the love as it happens these days. I have been amazed at the definition of love that people have modified now. I am used to phrases like "If you love something set it free, if it comes back to you it is yours otherwise it never was." but these days the same has been modified dramatically and the new phrase is "If you love something set it free, if it comes back to you set it on fire." I find it very surprising but at the same time I also feel satisfied that I am not one of the group that believes so.

It is amazing to see things turn around so much in just about 5 years or so. I enjoyed the 'Breakup Party' that was shown in Love Aaj Kal movie and really liked the concept but I was satisfied to see that love overcame all things in the end. I believe that love is the winner and nothing can override it, it may take the back seat for a while but in the end it is true love that bears fruit. Love like never before and keep enjoying.

Confessions on Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T10:43:00.007+05:30

We celebrate so many festivals in India but there is something special in the Valentine's Day. As I use this word I could see a spark in the eyes of so many people. I could see the Archie's gallery flooded with people, every gift shop seems like it is hosting a herd of cattle. The streets are filled with couples and it is such an amazing scene. I guess this is the most important festival for the youths and I still wonder why ?.

Hailed as the day of celebration of love, Valentine's Day is one occasion eagerly awaited not only by lovers of the world but by many people in general. From a "Lover's Only" day, Valentine's Day has come to be known as an occasion for all. But the enthusiasm is still with the youths. They just take it as a platform to prove their love towards their partner or may be to even communicate to their partner that they love him/her so very much. If you are in love or you have been in love trust me that is a really great feeling and it makes you rise over and above your capabilities to help or support your partner.

I remember my days when I was in a relationship, every day was a Valentine's day and I must say even after a period of 4 long isolated years, I still remember each word I said to her and each joke we shared, and everything else each bit of it and I wonder how is this possible but it is. It is all as fresh in my memory as new. But I guess Valentine day is not just for the love of your life it could be celebrated with any one whom you love it could be any friend, relative or a blood relation. I am going out with my friends to enjoy. Well not exactly to enjoy, we have a whole list of items that we need to purchase but yes that would also be fun.

T.R.U.S.T.

2010-02-14T00:36:00.003+05:30

Trust is a word which can be interpreted differently. But I have my own version of Trust. " I trust only 2 people one is me and the other is not you" remember the words of Nicholas Cage in 'Con Air'. I totally agree with this line. There is almost no one in life that you can trust that does not include parents and blood relations. I guess they are the only people whom you can trust and depend upon. As I grow old in Delhi I am confronted with more and more people who break your trust.

But against the odds I still trust so many people but every incident that happens with me or in front of me shakes my confidence and trust. “I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you” It is all part of life and we are sure to get over it.

My Name Is Khan : Review

2010-02-12T14:24:00.004+05:30

I was waiting for this movie since I heard about it and when it came, I was the first one to watch it. Yes I was there for the First Day First Show of My Name is Khan. It is a movie which has a clear message for the audience, "My name is khan and I am not a terrorist." Kajol is looking awesome and Shahrukh is superb in his acting. On my personal scale I would give it a 4/5 it may be even 4.25 just for the special liking I have for Kajol. But overall a good movie with some really good punches in the middle.

This is a bit different than the other Shahrukh - Kajol movies but it is based on a true love story as always. I also liked the URDU used in the movie. The Sufi music is another attraction, you are sure to like the song 'Sajda'. By the way this movie does not have several songs as we generally associate with a Karan Johar movie. It is a very clean movie and a complete family entertainer and is in no way even related to New York or any other 9/11 movie.

I must say that the acting is superb specially for Shahrukh who plays a man who is suffering from Asperger’s syndrome – a disorder which makes it difficult for people to interact socially and he has done full justice to his role. He has actually made up for the small pitfalls that are in the movie. Kajol is looking very fresh and the chemistry between the two is great as ever. The film combines elements of a love story with a message-oriented theme. At 2hrs 45minutes, it’s a bit long, and certain sequences in the first half are welcome only because they give you opportunities for quick toilet breaks. The love story between Mandira and Rizvan, pre-interval, is likable at places but makes it that much longer for the film to settle into its groove eventually. Once that happens, though, the movie is a compelling watch.

Having written so much I would say that if you are emotional and you can link to the on screen characters, it is a must watch movie for you. Please do not set your expectations to see another movie like DDLJ or KKHH, I mean these guys are old enough to be romancing the trees now. The movie will not disappoint and you will be a bigger fan of Shahrukh once you leave the theatre.

Google Buzz

2010-02-10T22:33:00.002+05:30

There is another addition to the already existing Social Networking sites, Google Buzz. It comes as Google's attempt to build yet another social network. Read this really interesting article and find out more about the Buzz. My concern is a little different than Google's what I am worried about is that I may have to join Buzz and also be active on it. I first tried my hands on Orkut and that was ages after my friends were there. I enjoyed it, loved scrapping, sharing videos and pictures and was very addicted to it. Then I heard about this Facebook thing and my inbox was flooded with Facebook invites and then one bright day, I succumbed to it and had an account on Facebook too.

I started using facebook and got interested, suddenly Orkut took a back seat and Facebook was running strong. But I could not get out of Orkut and was faced with a situation where I had to maintain two accounts one on Orkut and the other on Facebook. It is very troublesome to manage so many accounts. Everything that I do I have do it twice once each for Orkut and Facebook and I am fed up of it. There were also smaller sites that did not gain impetus like Hi5 and all but I never joined. But now with the introduction of Buzz I have been made to think again. I am not yet clear if I would join it but one thing is for sure I am not going to maintain 3 accounts so either Orkut or Facebook will have to go and if I have to take a decision Orkut may face the axe but then I am still not clear.

The Buzz has to be something different if it wants to stand the stiff competition. I am going to use it for a couple of days just to check it out and decide accordingly. Although there are some things that I hate about Buzz already. When I logged into my Gmail account, I saw Buzz link in the LHS just under the Inbox and on clicking it I saw a window where it was written "You are automatically following 7 people" and the list of those 7 people was there. I did not like the concept of 'automatically' but having said that I would still give it a chance to prove itself. I guess Google deserves this.

Down the Memory Lane

2010-02-10T19:21:00.004+05:30

It was my Birthday on the 8th of February (it is OK you can wish me now) and I was just thinking about some of my previous birthday and how I celebrated each one of them. I have some really good memories of my previous birthdays. There were times when there were around 20 people celebrating along with me but this time I was all alone and only my roommates accompanied me. I though enjoyed my day and was really happy that so many of my friends whom I am not in touch except virtually (thanks to the Internet) also called me or messaged me. My social networking sites Orkut and Facebook were flooded with birthday wishes and I was really moved.

But there were a few sad moments on the day also. I did not get calls from two of my closest friends, though one of them sent me a birthday card over my mail but the other one didn't even wish me. I was like waiting the entire day and every time my phone rang I thought finally the call has come but it did not. Neither I have regrets nor do I think that it was intentional they might have just forgotten it. I was very disappointed but guess that happens. It was day of mixed emotions there were beautiful moments and there were dull moments.

Overall it was a good day and I enjoyed the feeling and the importance that people gave me was overwhelming. I guess every body enjoys to be in the limelight although I personally know some people who want to be in the background always. I often feel sad being away from my home, parents and friends and so many times I ask myself what am I doing here in alien land and the answer I get is simple It is your destiny and you are living it. But it is a great feeling and I enjoy closing my eyes and strolling down the memory lane.

Worst Impact of Power Cut

2010-02-05T13:04:00.002+05:30

This is an amazing picture which says everything and I don't think I need to write anything to describe it. Enjoy !!!.

From Wrong Side to Overload

2010-02-04T12:52:00.003+05:30

Yesterday has been a really eventful day for me and it was a great experience. I can afford to laugh now when I think about it but yesterday I could hardly breathe. God gives us enough signs but we cannot see them and in the end only God knows what we are doing. So here is what happened yesterday.

We started from Dwarka to our office in Gurgaon around 9:00 in the morning. We had hardly travelled 3-4 kms when we saw a large number of cars returning and the massive traffic jam that was causing it. We were already late and the jam did not look like clearing in 2 hours so we decided to go the wrong side and we shifted to the wrong side and started driving through the ride hand side of the road. Yesterday we were in Ajay's car(which is a 1998 model Maruti Zen) and I must appreciate the way he drove in such tough conditions. We drove almost 5 kms on the wrong side before we can actually get out the jam and reach a cut to the correct side. It sounds heroic and we felt like a smarter lot as we ran past thousands of waiting vehicles but trust me it is a horrifying feeling when you are driving on the wrong side and you see an oil tanker heading straight for you. Thank God we did well and reached office without much problems.

We had almost forgotten what happened in the morning and were busy partying in the night. It was a bachelors hosted by Navneet at Staying Alive (DT Mega Mall). Navneet and Kushagra were to leave by taxi but they did not get a taxi for two major reasons, One they had to go to Ghaziabad and two it was late in the night. The earliest they were to get a taxi was after about an hour or so. They did not have any option, the nearest solution was if somehow they could reach Vasant Kunj, Navneet can take a car from his friend. We were already five people in a Maruti Zen so things were looking awfully bad. Then suddenly there was a spark that we can all get into that Zen and Navneet and Kushagra would get down as soon as we reach a taxi stand or find a taxi mid way some where. All of us were like OK with the idea and still trying digest the fact that 7 people are going to be seated in a Zen. But like champions we did it. People were on top of each other and no body could guess if he was comfortable. I could feel someone trying to crush my stomach and hand but I can do nothing about it. We were playing prank on each other and talking crap just to divert ourselves from thinking about the car. We had to ride the same way from Gurgaon to Vasant Kunj before we could relax. It was one hell of a day but nevertheless it was fun.

Food for Thought: Someone is still feeling the handbrake inside him. Guess Who ?

CHIEF CURIOSITY OFFICER

2010-02-03T14:29:00.003+05:30

This is the latest and most fascinating designation I have ever heard of. I was just googling around when I came across this lady named 'Liz Strauss' and was surprised to see 'CHIEF CURIOSITY OFFICER' as one of the description under the tab 'What Liz Does'. Then the tag line that was written under the heading was self explanatory and gave me my answer and I understood what is the role of a 'CHIEF CURIOSITY OFFICER'. The line read "Peg says, I'm the most curious person she knows. I ask her, "Does that mean I'm strange or I ask a lot of questions? She answers, "See?" " You can visit the page and see it for yourself by clicking here. Strange but a really cool designation to have, isn't it ?

Special Offer for a Rented Apartment

2010-02-02T21:56:00.004+05:30

One of my friends who lives in a rented apartment in New Delhi got a special offer today. His term of 11 months is ending in February and the agreement needs to be re phrased. As a general policy the landlord would increase the rent agreement by a minimum of 10%. Today when this friend of mine went to pay the rent, he was confronted by the broker who has helped him get this apartment. The broker reminded this person about the expiry of the rent agreement and that it needs to be renewed. He also reminded that the rent would be increased. But the guy did not stop here, he went on and gave a terrific offer to my friend. The broker offered that my friend can avoid the hike of rent, he said that my friend could pay him a sum of money and he would talk to the landlord and renew the agreement on the same rent. The other way of course is the traditional way where the rent gets increased and the agreement gets renewed.

After being offered this proposition, my friend gave me a call and asked for help. I was really shocked at the behaviour of the property broker and I did not have a answer right away but then after a good thought I decided to go the traditional way. Well myself being a lawyer may have guided me but still I would go the correct way. I wanted to share this strange step taken by the property broker, I was really shocked. There has been a substantial change in the attitude of the people and the environment. Let us just hope for the best.

Make your salary last longer

2010-01-31T19:49:00.004+05:30

It is official that all the salaried people struggle in the last week of the month and are found with no money at their disposal. I completely agree with the statement but I guess there is nothing much that can be done about it. Times of India has taken the initiative and provided steps that could actually help you in making your salary last longer. You can read the article here. If you read the article you will not find anything new, it is the same thing that you know yourself but just don't seem to follow. In our world major part of the salary is distributed as early as the first week of the month itself in paying out the EMIs for the various things that we have purchased. What is left is used to pay the Credit Card bills and then the daily needs items for your house have to be managed. So it is really hard to actually save money.

Things have changed drastically in the last decade or so, I can hardly remember my parents buying anything on EMI they would rather wait for some more time till the time they had enough money to buy it. The general concept has changed people nowadays take into account the money that is scheduled to come and rely heavily on Credits and Loans and that is the basic cause behind the lack of saving. I strongly believe that we need to think differently and change our opinion if we want to actually save money. The present culture does not allow us to save it is more about spending. The choice is yours.

DOCTORS

2010-01-30T20:44:00.003+05:30

Barney Livingston said :

"We have turned doctors into gods and worship their deity by offering up our bodies and our souls - not to mention our worldly goods.
And yet paradoxically, they are the most vulnerable of human beings. Their suicide rate is eight times the national average. Their percentage of drug addiction is one hundred times higher.
And because they are painfully aware that they cannot live up to our expectations, their anguish is unjustifiably intense. They have aptly been called 'wounded healers'"

These are the opening words of the novel 'Doctors' by Erich Segal. I started reading this novel after hearing several recommendations and must say am already loving it.