Festival of Colors : Holi

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.