Sportsperson of the year 2006

"In 2006, Roger Federer played tennis better than anyone else played any other sport."

Here's the full article.

Too random to have a title

This has been quite a long break from blogging. I can think of quite a few reasons ranging from absolute dearth of ideas to blogger spoiling my mood a couple of days back by taking infinite time to migrate to the new version. Anyway, here I am, posting after almost a month.

I changed to this enhanced version of blogger and started tagging my previous posts. But then decided to stop when almost all of them had just one tag: Joblessness. Actually, I think bloggers blogging out of sheer joblessness comprise the majority.

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Dire Straits has a very dominant presence on my playlist these days. To say that I particularly like the live version of 'Brothers in Arms' would be a gross understatement. I feel like kneeling down and bowing my head in respect for God Knopfler every time it is played. The only other song which evokes such feelings is 'Comfortably Numb' by Gods Waters and Gilmour. I actually rate it a notch higher. I've recently started listening to a little bit of Pearl Jam too. 'Last Kiss' is good, 'Alive' is better.

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I pity our poor juniors who're being forced to stay back during the winter break to attend a conference. Is the institute is trying to conceal the lack of participants by using them as bakras? To not let them go home is autocratic. Threatening to drop their grades if they disobey, is downright cheap. What is most ironic is that all this comes from the person who talks about developing a culture of sensitivity. I hope he doesn't make me stay as punishment after reading this.

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A multitude of emotions can be observed on people's faces during an hour long bus journey. It was a pleasant surprise to see that many of them were happy ones. The number of smiles and relaxed expressions outnumbered the frowns and worried faces. The satisfaction on the thirsty kid's face as he sucks water from a pouch, the relief on the smoker's face as he exhales the first puff, the sense of achievement visible on the clerk's face as he manages to board the bus after running behind it for a distance, the pride on the young fellow's face as he offers his place to an old man.

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Joseph Barbera died. I don't think anyone else has had such a great impact on the childhood of our generation. I am a huge fan of Tom & Jerry. A fan to the extent of joining the Orkut community dedicated to them. I know that's a lame argument. But how else do I prove my fan-hood? I liked Flintstones and Johnny Quest also. For a brief period, I was crazy about Scooby Doo Adventures and one of those boring afternoons of the summer vacation when your mother won't let you go out to play, I didn't mind watching Whacky Races. I'm sure he'll rest in peace after making so many kids and grown ups laugh their brains out with his creations.

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Let me end this post with a link to the song currently playing....

TP

We were whiling our time away in Smiley's room last evening when this brilliant idea of translating band names into Hindi came.

Here are the Hindi translations, try guessing:

Mrutyu Par Bhugtaan
Yantra ke viruddh krodh
Youn Bandookein
Sapnaa Taakeej (this is pure genius!)
Bhagwaan ka Tamaachaa
Judaa ka Pujaari (sounds like some Ramsey Brothers movie?)
Badhai
Laal Garam Mirch Kaali-Mirch
Awaaz ke Ghulaam
Lohe ki Kanya
Keede
Bandookein aur Gulaab


and now the actual names:

Payable On Death (P.O.D.) -- Mrutyu Par Bhugtaan
Rage Against The Machine -- Yantra ke viruddh krodh
Sex Pistols -- Youn Bandookein
Dream Theatre -- Sapnaa Taakeej
Godsmack -- Bhagwaan ka Tamaachaa
Judas Priest -- Judaa ka Pujaari
The Carpenters -- Badhai
RHCP -- Laal Garam Mirch Kaali-Mirch
Audioslave -- Awaaz ke Ghulaam
Iron Maiden -- Lohe ki Kanya
Beatles -- Keede (Don't know what those insects are called in Hindi)
Eagles -- Baaz
Guns n Roses -- Bandookein aur Gulaab

Yawn...

There's a layer of dust on top of the monitor. The keyboard's dirty again. I just cleaned it last week. Or was it last month? The two glasses I used a fortnight ago, for the raita that came with the biryani are still liying on top of the dabba. There's a full fledged spider web on the window, around the Rin-bar. The calendar still shows October. The body of the moth that died last week is still lying under the table. I should return Jimmy's bottle of Colin and his teaching board. They've been here for quite a long time now.

The previous occupant of my room has left a poster on the wall. People would classify it as cute. I don't quite like it. Black and white, a little kid, not more than 5-6 years old, on his knee, offering a red rose to a little girl. Why don't these people let kids just be kids? But the poster doesn't hurt. I don't even notice it. There's no reason to remove it.

I can feel the air so full of lethargy. It's almost like it'll solidify and fall on my head. Even the clock hands seems to be moving slowly.

Reminds me of a Garfield quote, "Anybody can exercise. But this kind of lethargy, takes discipline." Also reminds me of Agastya Sen from 'English, August'. That was a good book. Very weird, though.

The only thing adding a little cheer to all this is the cover of 'Ruskin Bond's Book of Nature'. It has a butterfly on a grass green coloured background. I love his writings. I think I've said this at least a dozen times in the previous posts. Let me say it again.

The spider on the ceiling is not dead after all. The cleaning fellow removed all the webs a few days back and destroyed this little spider's family. There were five of them. Now he is alone. I didn't mind their presence in my room. It was peaceful co-existence barring the incident when one of them fell on my face one night when I had just fallen asleep. People prefer the lizards in their room. Say they eat the insects and keep it clean. I'd rather have the insects.

Why did I type all this into this post? Don't know.

Alright, good night.

Tears....

meri bezabaaN aaNkhoN se gire haiN chand katre,
wo samajh sakeiN to aaNsoo...
na samajh sake to paani

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jo aake ruke daaman pe 'sabaa' wo ashq nahiN hai paani hai
jo ashq na chhalke aankhoN se us ashq ki keemat hoti hai

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I'm not writing this in a sad mood. These two ghazals happened to occur consecutively in the playlist and I was wondering at the brilliant lyrics.

God's in His heaven and all's right with the world!

I've shamelessly copied the title from one of Bertie Wooster's lines, but I don't think anobody will mind. Well, I say so because everything in the past week has turned out as I had wished. The Brazilian GP went smoothly for Alonso and the Renault team who secured the driver and constructors' crowns yet again, Federer won the Madrid Masters and Sharapova won the Zurich Open, India won its first match in the Champions Trophy. What more can I ask for?

Schumacher ended his career in style. He was unlucky not being able to make it to the podium, but it was a brilliant performance nevertheless. His hunger to win remained insatiable till the end in spite of 7 world titles. It was slightly ironic that his streak ended at the hands of a Renault driver (Renault was formed by taking over Benetton, the team with whom Schumacher won his first title).

On a different note, 'Seven Years in Tibet' is turning out to be a very good book. A must read for any travel-book lover. This is my second book about Tibet. The first one was Vikram Seth's 'From Heaven Lake'. This one presents a different picture of Tibet, before being taken over by China, when the Dalai Lama was still the God-King in the Potala palace. Some day, I wish to visit the forbidden city of Lhasa.

Anyway, enough daydreaming.

Kal chaudhvin ki raat thi...

Shab bhar raha charcha tera,
Kuchh ne kaha ye chand hai,
Kuchh ne kaha...
Chehra tera

The moon looks really beautiful tonight. I find it a little hard to believe that it is nothing but a normal celestial body. It can't be just another pebble in the debris that makes up our universe. The moon is special. Every night, I crane my neck, force my head out through the gap in the grill to take a look and it never disappoints me. All its forms, be it the slender curve or the full moon, have a beauty of their own. Even when you can't see it, because it is covered by the clouds, its soft glow lights up a part of the sky. Though hidden it may be, but it is always going to be there. Nothing can change that.

I am reminded of the full moon night a few years back. It was a night trek. We had started from Maheshwar at about 10pm and the plan was to reach Sahastradhara, where the Narmada breaks into a thousand little streams, by daybreak. When we came close to the river, we stopped and lay down on the ground.

The view of the sky in all its grandeur with a full moon and millions of stars with the faint music of the river falling on our ears is unforgettable. A little distance away was the river, its waters shining in the moonlight. There were stars above and stars below me, and I felt like I was floating in between.

If space travel becomes cheap in the coming few decades, and if people start going to space for vacations, I don't think I'd like to go to the moon. I'm afraid that it'll be a let down. Only grey dust and barren land. From here, it is an object of beauty. On the other hand maybe I'll find out how beautiful our earth looks from space. I've only heard of the blue and green ball seen by astronauts. I'm sure it'll be a sight worth a thousand moons.

Sounds I Hate

1. The sound of the tt ball whe it does not hit the table.
2. The sound of nails or any sharp object on a metalic surface.
3. A child crying.
4. Himesh Reshammiya's songs.
5. The ding when an error message is shown in windows.
6. The sound when your car hits some tiny little thing at the end of a drift and you lose all the n-thousand points earned. NFS can be very frustrating at times.
7. The sound created when I move the bow across the strings of Smiley's violin.

There are many more which I can't recall.

Well, there's good news, Neon is back to blogging and there's bad news, I'm going to take a break. In the past week I clicked the new post button 2-3 times. But when this screen appeared I couldn't think of anything to write.

On a different note, the F1 season is nearing a very exciting end. With Alonso and Schumacher tied with maximum points, the last 2 races promise a lot of action.

Sharapova won the US Open! So did Federer. Yet another time. It was good that he didn't have to face Nadal in the final. He brings in that little window of uncertainty. But Roddick has shown some real improvement. I think Connors is the right coach for him. Hopfeully Roddick will show the hunger and competetiveness that his coach was known for in his playing days.

The title to this post is quite inappropriate. But I'm too lazy to change it to something better. 'Yet another update post' would've been more correct. I was trying to avoid writing such posts. Anyway, who cares? I'll be back when I actually have something to write.

Small things that can make a day

I was wondering the other day as I stepped out of the bed with my sprits higher than usual, about what makes a day happy. I figured out that all it takes are few moments of joy, moments when you're at peace with yourself.

It could be the sight of raindrops accumulating on the edge of a leaf or the soft sunlight on your face when you open the door in the morning. The familiar black butterfly with large white spots or the lemon yellow and orange one, or that little squirrel which follows you for a while before running up a tree can have the magical effect of turning a lousy day into a bright one. The smile on a kid's face or his laughter can help you shrug off that bad mood. Nothing like music to make a day. It could be one of your favourites or something you've never heard before, with the power to provide you those moments of bliss. It could be a poem, a quote or a small story. Even that tiny comic strip in the newspaper can do the trick. The memory of a loved one, an old friend or someone special. A phone call, an email or that rare letter, or just a look at that photograph which is right there in front of you, but which you hadn't really noticed for a long time.

I hope you find that little thing today to make you happy. It is out there, just keep your eyes open.

Forgive my sin

I know I'll have to repay for this sin when the account of my life is settled. It will be written in big bold red letters in the debit column: "inf", particulars: "DISLOYALTY". But I am helpless. My dedication as a Fed fan has failed the test. I have jumped the line.

Before you start forming any opinions, let me clarify that I've not joined the Nadal fanclub. I'd rather commit suicide, or better, kill him.

But for this year's US Open, I'm on Agassi's side. I sincerely hope it doesn't turn out like the Wimbledon where he was shown the door a day after I wrote a post wishing him luck.

As he takes on opponents almost half his age the only things he'll have in his favour are his will-power and the crowd. The question is, can he defeat his age, his chronic back problem and focus in spite of the emotions surrounding his last tournament before retirement and emerge truimphant against the likes of Federer and Nadal?

If he does, it'll be a fairytale ending to a fascinating career which saw him change from the long-haired, denim shorts clad, defiant and wild teenager who preferred his style of clothing over the Wimbledon to a meticulous and valiant fighter. He became tennis's first true glamour boy.

He resurrected himself from 142 ATP ranking to the top 10, toiling through tier 2 tournaments where there are no ballboys, leave alone any other facility. He pushed himself to the limits in the last year's US open quarter final to overcome James Blake. He sadly lost in the semifinal to Federer.

If he wins, it would be an effort greater than Jimmy Connors's run to the semi-final in 1991 at the age of 38. More than anything, it will be a fitting farewell to a great tennis player. I just wish he does.

Things to do....

...when you have an exam on the next morning and just one night to slog through the syllabus:

1) Go to the library. Take a paper and pen and make a list of all the books you want to read. Don't leave out any section... fiction(English, Hindi, etc.), politics, philosophy, history...

2) Organise all the music on your computer. Dont forget to provide shortcuts to songs which fall in two categories(there should be a shortcut for 'Comfortably Numb' -- residing in 'Pink Floyd' folder -- in the 'Best guitar solos ever' folder).

3) Pick your favourite TV serial(pick Coupling if you don't have a favourite). Watch at least one season.

4) Assume that the food in the mess is simply inedible. Then walk leisurely to Indra Nagar for food and come back at an even more leisurely pace.

5) Log on to orkut. Count your fans(Do drop a comment if you have more than 52). Then count your fans/friends ratio. Then count how many people you are a fan of.

6) Surf Wikipedia reading articles about all the weirdest things in the world.

7) Download music, movies and stuff from the LAN. Surf through filelists of all users. Don't forget to consume all the downloaded stuff.

8) Reply to every single mail in your inbox telling friends and family how burdened you are with studies and exams.

9) Gather other jobless souls like yourself in the corridor and bc about the futility of exams and studies.

10) Blog.

Do comment if you have more innovative ideas. I'm falling short of things to do.

Too many things, too little time

No. this post is not about how overloaded I am with assignments with very little time left to finish them. This post is about how there are so many things that I want to do in the coming few years and how time is running out very fast.

This thought first came to my mind when I was going through the books on the library shelves. I've been going to the library quite frequently for the past few days. For the first time I spent some time in the sections other than English fiction. To my surprise, I found many books in the Mathematics section, which I would like to read. I have this habit of making many lists (Smiley thinks it is quite feminine. Well, he knows best about the female psyche). But it does help me reduce the number of things I forget. So, I thought I'll make a list of books I want to read before I leave IIIT. I dropped the idea for some reason. I think I'll just put my last sem away to read books.

An year ago, I'd read in some magazine, National Geographic I recall, about a man who had made a list of more than 100 things he wanted to do in life which included brilliant things like climbing Mt. Everest etc. and actually managed to put a 'done' mark against every entry in that list!

I had made a list of 7 things I want to do in a previous post (which was a historic post, for the number of comments it got). But it was too short and too unthoughtful. But now I have ample time to think of such arbit stuff in the Social Entrepreneurship class.

I think we need to keep reminding ourselves of what we want to do, or else we get caught in the unending cycles of our routine. I strongly believe that if our desire is strong enough, then opportunities appear out of nowhere. We just have to grab them. Which means being alert, flexible and ready for taking big risks.

But now I'm wondering, will the things that I want to do, remain the same as time passes? Maybe they won't, but then I'll edit my plans. But wait, I don't have any plans! What am I doing? Why am I wasting time blogging? Being the author of a highly popular blog isn't on my to-do list. Or do I see something scratched off it very violently?

Off I go. I need to chalk out a few plans tonight.

Wish you were here

"How I wish, how I wish you were here."

4th year in a row.

Damn the postal service.

My First Testimonial

Received my first orkut testimonial yesterday written by a Neon, a dear friend. It was both surprising and revealing. So, I thought I'll put it here:

I do hereby testify that:

Sankalp is NOT
- A good person by heart, nature, character, and whatever else should/could/would be the criteria.

Hey! What the hell? And I always thought that I'm the nicest person on earth.

- A person you should be looking for help/suggestions/condolence when you're heartbroken or depressed. If you ever commit such insanity, he would probably urge you to commit suicide or 'find your damn solace in dope, not me!'

Alright, I do find it a little difficult to come up with the exact soothing words to symmpathise with people. But this point is greatly exxagerated. So, if I ever respond coldly when you come to me in such a situation, then please know that it doesn't mean I don't understand your feelings.

- A Fat Admirer.

Come on! I have so many friends with that extra pound of fat. Neon himself is an example. I don't admire fat, but I have nothing against fat fellows. I think they are the most cheerful bunch around.

- An occasional smoker, drunkard and liar.

True. I don't lie often, I don't like smoking, and I just took my first step on the 3rd front, a few days back.

- A "Ok-your-blog-is-better-than-mine" acceptor.

I will never accept that Neon's blog is better than mine. Because it isn't.

- A drug addict, homosexual, Bisexual, or anything-that-you-should-be-afraid-of-sexual.

True again. No drugs and I'm perfectly heterosexual.

And;

Sankalp is:
- An intelligent geek.

I would love believe that I'm intelligent. But I'm not a geek. No way.

- A mature person with very high IQ (just 4 points ahead of me).

Mature? Dont know. Maybe I am. But I don't think so.
The IQ, well, I think he changed 'average' to 'very high' because I was 4 points ahead of him.

- An honest, and considerably modest, sane soul who believes in being himself.

Honest, quite true.
I shouldn't comment on the modest part.
Sane? Nah!
Staunch supporter of the 'Be Yourself' philosophy and the greatest fan of the song by the same title.

- An optimum and live proof of the hypothesis "some distinct variety of babes prefer bald heads to khaandani tummies."

No comments.

Sealed and Signed
***** ******.
(Neon Zamboski)

Music

Just came back from the library after spending a couple of hours reading 'City of Djinns'. But as you must have guessed from the title, this post isn't about Darlymple or Delhi or Djinns. So, as I sat reading the book, Smiley was reading an article in a magazine about A.R. Rahman. Then he started talking about how nice Rahman's music is and that they are beautiful in spite of being very simple. I observed the glow on his face as he talked, probably, he had a tune playing his mind.

Last night, we were sitting in his room urging him to play something on his violin. He did play after his usual nakhras. If you look around when he's playing, you can see a faint smile or some expression of joy on everybody's face.

After he finished, my thoughts came back to one of the usual topics, "I should learn to play some musical instrument". I'm not particularly blessed with musical talent and I feel quite like a bum with people like Smiley (violin), Billu (tabla), Gas (guitar, mandolin) and Badri (who thought Carnatic singing wasn't worth it because he preferred to waste time wasting time rather than strain his vocal chords).

My only stint with music has been a fortnight of harmonium lessons at a neighbour's place. Now the harmonium is not a very glamorous instrument like the guitar. But believe me, if you have had a chance to listen to Pu. La. playing the instrument, you're bound to like it. In spite of such great inspiration in front of me, I gave up the when the teacher asked me to identify the notes without looking at the keys he was pressing.

I had a pretty much uncaring attitude about music before I came to IIIT. But now I think I can at least distingiush good music from bad (I can tell, for example that Himmesh stuff is unalderated cacophonic torture). My choice has diversified from Hindi film music to rock, instrumentals, ghazals, and I feel even the Carnatic stuff Smiley listens to, is good. So the next step should be to be learning to play some instrument. Singing isn't my piece of cake unless I'm alone. There are other reasons also. Aai always wanted me to learn. She used to say I'm becoming like Aurangzeb, with no appreciation for any art. Also, they say, girls tend to like guys with some musical ability.

So, any suggestions about how to get started and what instrument to choose would be welcome. Please do not suggest flute or santoor or sarod (as if harmonium wasn't tricky enough).

A Unique Outing

Yesterday was well spent amid books, infinitely many books. Classics, old ones, new ones, ones I always wanted to read but never found in the library. 4 hours just whisked past in the bookstores looking at them, flipping through pages, suggesting, selecting, discarding. I like spending time like this in the library too, but the collection there remains the same. Here, they were all new, fresh books.

It's weird, but I love the smell of a fresh book. I loved it right from the time I went to buy my textbooks in 1st standard. I remember having bought He-Man name labels also. It used to be very exciting, buying new books, uniforms, lunchbox, water bottle and all before the new year began in school. The excitement of the first day always remained, though the cause behind the feeling changed over the years. When we were kids, it used to be the excitement of carrying new things, new classroom, new partner to share the desk. As years passed, it turned into the excitement of reuniting with friends, resuming the masti routine in school, finding new bakras to pick on in the school bus and that of having a newcomer in the class.

Having studied in the same school from Kg1 to 12th, I never had to face a first day in some new school, answering all sorts of questions to a bunch of curious people. Though I would've liked such an experience.

This reminds me of my first day in IIIT. I came a day before the scheduled registration date and was allotted a room on OBH, 3rd floor. Yes, I was lucky not to be thrown into NBH or GHEB. They remind of a morgue for some reason. I've never been to one, but I'm quite sure it won't be too different. I didn't shift my stuff on the same day. My father and I went back to the place where we were staying in the city. I remember having been very quiet that day. It had suddenly hit me that I won't be having anyone familiar with me from the next day. It was a kind of a mild shock.

This has turned out like any other post on this blog. Arbitrary, incoherent, drifting from topic to another, and I like it this way. This isn't a place to rant about serious issues. So, why bother?

Blah

I had written this post on my defunct wordpress blog due to the absolute lack of things to do. Ok, not exactly. It was actually the complete lack of the desire and enthusiasm to do the things at hand.

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I had abandoned this blog long ago, but the extremely intelligent directive from the Indian govenment to block blogspot has left no other easier option for a desperate blogger like me. Sad it is, that I can’t celebrate The Don’s Blog’s first anniversary, by writing a post there. My dear blog, has completed its first year in June.

I’m not really desperate, just that it’s been a long time since I last blogged. This is going to be a list post, an update about what’s going on in my life.

1. Was there at home for Aai’s birthday after a gap of 3 years, had a nice time.

2. I was puzzled by the number of people asking me for advice about which college and branch to take. Cousins, younger siblings of my friends, children of my parents’ colleagues, neighbours etc. Come on! I’m not some career counselling baba. I don't even have clue about myself and people want me to help them?

3. Finished reading ‘Freakonomics’ and ‘From Heaven Lake’. I particularly liked Heaven Lake. An excellent account of Vikram Seth’s hitchiking journey through Tibet. A must read for people who like travel books.

4. Came back to IIIT on 14th. 10 days at home are not sufficient at all.

5. I’ve shifted to room 132. Thanks to Billu, Smiley, Gas, Badri who were here to get the allotment done from MBG.

6. Shifting your room is a real pain.

7. Course selection and stuff has been a source of major confusion for the past few days.I feel a little more clear about things right now. Lets see what happens.

8. Oh! I forgot the most important point, Fed won the Wimbledon! That just made my stay at home perfect. All I did for those 10 days was eating, sleeping and watching Wimbledon on TV. I even watched many of the doubles and mixed doubles matches. Agassi’s early exit was sad. The only move I saw at home was also Wimbledon.

9. I don’t hate Nadal anymore. I’m not a fan, but his tennis and his behaviour off the court, in press conferences and interviews has left a good impression on me.

10. Sharapova losing in the semifinal was a major heartbreak. But the tournament was full of new and better--in every sense of the word--female players. Vaidisova, Bremond captured my attention. Na Li also surprised many by upsetting some big names.

11. Schumacher is doing well, I hope Alonso bounces back soon.

12. One major target was achieved before I left for home. The final result was a little disappointing though. An enriching experience nonetheless.

13. Kill Bill is a series of really good movies, in spite of all the blood and gore, I found them to be a good watch.

14. Anti ragging action by IIIT faculty and anti-blogging action by the govt. are both, quite pointless and autocratic, more pointless than Jeevan Vidya. Blocking blogspot does not serve any purpose. Nor does completely disallowing free interaction with the freshers, who’ve already been fed a fear of their seniors.

IIIT administration has become more despotic and money hungry over the years since I joined. Charging inexplicable amount of money for sheets of paper with the Institute’s stamp is beyond my understanding.

15. I’m waiting for Pirates, Dead Man’s Chest to hit the theatres in India. Expecting a movie as good as the first part, if not better.

16. Saw very few movies in the past week. Ice Age 2 was good, Fargo wasn’t. I don’t know how it got a respectable IMDB rating.

17. Also need to catch up with the spat of Hindi comedy flicks that has come out recently.

18. Life is peaceful as of now. Is this the silence before a storm?

Done.

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Wimbledon

The greatest, oldest and most eagerly awaited Grand Slam of the year is here. Wimbledon with its special charm and great respect for tradition always promises fantastic tennis and entertainment.

This year's tournament has something new with the ball boys and ball girls changing to blue and cream coloured Ralph Lauren uniforms, giving up the traditional dark green and mauve. But the prize money issue is still hot. I think female players deserve equal amount. True that they play fewer sets, but then, we don't watch the ladies just for the tennis.

I'm confused about whom to support in this year's championship. It isn't as easy a question to answer as it was last year, or the year before that. There is a long queue of gentlemen vying for my moral and vocal support for their campaign this year.

The God

Federer. Even after his loss (at Nadal's hands yet again) at the Roland Garros, my heart refuses to give up on his neat serve-vollyeing and classy gameplay. Federer is poised to win his 4th consecutive Wimbledon and equal Sampras's and Bjorn Borg's feat. Only something extraordinary, rather supernatural can prevent him from becoming 'The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Champion of the World' yet again.

The Underdog


My natural tendency to favour underdogs is what has landed me in this problem. When I was fully for Goran Ivanesevic in 2003, it wasn't soo difficult to choose. He was my favourite in his two previous final clashes with Sampras also.

With Andre Agassi announcing that this will be his last Wimbledon, I'm undergoing an emotional turmoil. Should I give up my loyalty for Fed and switch sides to Agassi? From his days of denim-shorts and long hair to the present, mature avatar, he has been a great player, fighter and icon. Bouncing back from world ranking of 142, toiling through tier 2 tennis circuits, isn't a piece of cake for anybody. Also he is my all time favourite Steffi's husband. Anything for Steffi!

The Brit

Tiger Tim can be called the 'Semi-final man'. It is incredible how he has managed to keep on fighting in spite of the semi-final exits against the eventual winners. I seriously feel pity for him. But, in spite of being unseeded this year, he is still a contender. Can he shock everyone and be the first Brit after Fred Perry to be kissing the cup on the Centre court?

The Others

Tennis has become quite unpredictable in recent years because of the rise of many young players who keep causing major upsets in many tournaments. Likes of Andy Murray, Ljubicic, Fernando Gonzalez, James Blake have the potential to show the exit to some of the best in the game on their day. I just pray it happens to Nadal, who is another force to reckon in spite of being only a shadow of his clay-invincible self on grass. I hate him, for being Federer's nemesis. Not to forget Roddick, who is very much capable of ending his drought of major titles.

The Ladies!




The ladies competetion is also a source of worry. The problem is even more difficult with too many pairs of beautiful legs and attractive faces to choose from. There's Sharapova(my current favourite) with her no-sweat Nike outfit, Hingis making a comeback, Daniela Hantuchova and Nicole Vaidisova (who suffered a painful loss against Kuznetsova in French open semi), supposed to be the one of the Maria tradition. If we disregard the X-factor (why would anyone do that?), there's Justin Henin, Amelie Mauresmo, Venus Williams and many more.

I think the I'll just wait and watch. A hard-fought Federer v/s Agassi final would be a feast as good as a ladies final between Sharapova and Vaidisova.

May the best gentleman and the loveliest lady win!

Sunday!

A great Sunday deserves a post. What makes a Sunday great?

Wake up at one in the afternoon, after a satisfying sleep. Finish daily chores, eat. Call home, talk, joke and laugh. Write mails to friends who've been out of contact for a long time. Listen to some good music as you read the latest posts on your favourite blogs. Go for a walk in the evening with your friends to explore some new spot. Spend some time absorbing the peace and quiet of the place. Meet the friend who has come back after a longish break. Eat and go for a walk again. BC about everything under the sun during the walk and continue the session later. More BC and more music. Surf and find a really nice picture of your favourite actress. Set it as your wallpaper. Then write a post to record the day on your blog.


While I was surfing around for a picture to adorn my desktop, I felt that black and white pictures capture the beauty of things much better than coloured ones, they somehow communicate more. They are much more effective than coloured pictures. As if the essence of things gets lost in the noise of too many colours. Maybe the reason is the simplicity of b&w photographs. Beautiful women appear more beautiful, expressions on people's faces appear more honest, more pure. Is it just me or do others feel the same?

Does it happen to you?

That you catch yourself humming a song which you despised when you heard it for the first time?

That you say you hate orkut and scrapping, but end up checking it 10-12 times a day?

That on a day when you wake up with the feeling that I'll do kickass work today, you sleep throughout the day?

That you delete bulk mails everyday on yahoo in spite of knowing that they don't add to your quota?

That you realise you've been blowing up too much money but spend much more that very day?

That you decide to give up your nocturnal habits but stay awake watching movies till 5 in the morning?

That you think you too should watch the FIFA WC, but don't feel interested enough to actually move your lazy ass out of your room?

That you dismiss Linkin Park songs as bloody loserish, but scream along when someone is playing Faint?

That you think you should try new music which is slightly lower on the decibel value and the only songs running in a loop on your playlist are by Metallica and Rammstein?

That you label so many blogs as undiluted crap but do nothing to prevent your own from being labeled as one by others?

That you demand a ban on all romantic/senti movies, but end up not only downloading movies like Casablanca, Shall we dance, Pretty Woman etc., but actually watching them?

That you decide to watch every ball of the last 2 days of India-WI test thinking that it's a win-win situation for India, only to be denied the chance by rain in St. Lucia?

That you predict Fed's win at Roland Garros and the dumbass loses yet again to Nadal?

That you tell yourself that you better do some work and then spend all the time reading Freakonomics?

That you sit down to write a post about something and after you're done, it turns out to be about something completely different?

I Hate Tragic Endings

Just finished watching the movie 'One flew over the cuckoo's nest'. I got the book from the library a few days back. But saw Jack Nicholson's picture on the cover and thought I'll watch the movie first.

The movie is great. Jack Nicholson is fantastic in R.P.McMurphy's character, fighting Nurse Ratched's dictatorship in the ward, in spite of being fully aware, that he's fighting a losing battle for the patients. I was half expecting a tragic end, though I didn't want it.

But somehow, tragic endings always leave a greater impact, isn't it? They make people think, make them look at their own lives. Maybe suffering and tragedy are too common in this world. So common that people have become insensitive? So common that it doesn't move us anymore? And then we sit down to watch a movie, trying to get away from reality and it hits us with such endings. Hits us when we don't expect it, when we are vulnerable.

There is something sad, something painful about life. And discovering that something, the source of ultimate joy?

French Open, British GP, FIFA World Cup

Lot of sporting action is coming up this weekend, with the French open's final showdown, the world cup's ties and the GP at Silverstone.

The French Open final between 'Fantastic Federer' and Nadal promises a lot of excitement and great tennis. I've been looking forward to this since the beginning of the tournament and all my prayers would be answered when Federer brings Nadal's clay court juggernaut to a halt. I've a gut feeling that this time it won't be another disappointment for his fans. I was favouring Ljubicic in today's semi-final. Ljubicic was good today, it's just that Nadal, I have to admit, is exceptional on clay. Exceptional, not unbeatable, as we'll see this Sunday. I missed the other semi-final where Fed turned the match on its head with a stroke of his genius. Too bad that the spectators were deprived of the action with Nalbandian pulling out.

I'm not really interested in the FIFA world cup, at least till the initial stages are on. I'll keep myself updated using Google news and Footiefox. I'm not supporting any side, not knowing much about any of them. More about the "Which Team to support?" dilemma by Apoc.

With these high profile events, Formula One has taken a backseat. Lets hope that Alonso widens his gap over Schumacher.

So, stock up all your junk food, get down on that couch, carpet, bed, floor or whatever in front of your TV and enjoy all the action.

Superhero test

Followed the link on Siddarth's blog to take this test.

Turns out that I am Green Lantern! Never heard of him... have you? What a stupid name for a superhero. The high % of Supergirl and Wonderwoman content is also surprising and of course, annoying.

If you take this test, don't forget to leave a comment telling me your result.
Shameless I am, using such excuses for comments.

Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern 85% Spider-Man 70% Superman 70% Supergirl 62% Robin 59% Wonder Woman 57% The Flash 55% Hulk 50% Iron Man 45% Batman 40% Catwoman 25%

Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Ice cream

There's some secret power in ice-cream. One moment the thought of ice-cream occurs and the very next moment it becomes an overpowering desire and I'll go to any extent to fulfill it.

There are so many images that come to my mind when I think of it, the sundae, the cone full of nuts and chocochips, the simple good old cup, the softy, the bucket, the stick with the solid chocolate at the core hidden under a layer of chocolate icecream and then the family pack which I plan to have one day, all for myself (just to see whether I can consume a litre of ice cream single-handedly). I bet no one can resist the temptation if such vivid pictures start dancing in front of your eyes at the mere mention of the word.

Another thing I have observed is that you can never have enough of ice-cream. After devouring numerous scoops, even if the stomach is full, there is always room for another one, and another one and infinitely many more. Almost as if the stomach is a black hole for ice-cream.

Some people have favourite flavours, black currant, butter scotch etc etc. In my opinion chocolate and its various forms are the best. But a true ice-cream lover isn't bothered by petty concerns like flavour. Bring on anyone and I'll eat it with utmost delight. Yes, even plain vanilla is welcome.

An equally alluring alternative for ice-cream is its desi counterpart, Kulfi. But it really takes a master to make kulfi which will sweep you off your feet. One such master has blessed the cantonment town called Mhow. Few years back, to meet the insatiable demand of the gourmet in Indore, he shifted his base to my hometown! Another alternative is Falooda, but it is more like milkshake and nowhere close to ice-cream and kulfi in its charm.

Ice-cream is especially wonderful during winter. People who refuse it because of the cold absolutely baffle me. If hot tea in summer is alright, then why this discrimination against ice-cream? It is the all-season, all-occasion dessert, God's gift to the human race.

To end this post, here is the ultimate tourist destination for the month of August.

Lara or Tendulkar?

This question comes up again and again and people argue with fervour and passion. After all their heroics on the field and careers studded with records, what matters is how high an opinion their countrymen have of them.

Tendulkar is still called Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar in India, while cricket lovers in Lara's home (Trinidad) refer to him as Brian 'Jesus' Lara.

Need I say anything more?

A New Look!

I spent the last evening making a few changes to the template. The blog doesn't look plain and minimal anymore. I had this template altering idea in mind for a long time. I decided against shifting to wordpress solely because they don't allow any changes to their template.

Also changed the title of the blog(as you might have already noticed). I think it perfectly describes my approach to blogging. I don't make any special efforts to organise, refine and then write. Some arbit idea suddenly strikes and I turn it into a post.

Any suggestions, criticism and creative ideas about the new look and title are most welcome.

Cricket Commentary

I had mentioned in the previous post about the India-Pakistan cricket series in Abu Dhabi. The broadcast was only on DD and Sahara. Needless to say, the quality was pathetic. It was almost like watching glimpses of the match between commercials. The sound of the last ball of the over hitting the bat was immediately followed by some dumb DLF commercial. The commercials would go on and on you would invariably miss the first ball of the next over also. So, you had to be happy watching 4-ball overs.

That reminded me of the days when ESPN and Star Sports had the rights for most of the major cricket tournaments going on all over the globe. World Cup 1999, Champions Trophies, India's tour of Australia etc. They at least used to make sure that people don't miss out on the cricket. Their commentary and analysis team, made the cricket all the more enjoyable. Harsha Bhogle was great with all the numbers and statistics and used to raise really good points during the post match and lunch discussions. He was my personal favourite among the Indian lot. John Dykes and Alan Wilkins were also good at anchoring the analysis sessions. Among the former cricketers commentating for these channels, Boycott was the best, as many would agree. He was ruthless and precise but interesting and funny at the same time. He was entertaining without being ridiculous like Sidhu. Gavaskar was also good, though a little biased towards India. Tony Greig and Ian Chappell were good too. I can still recall Tony Greig shouting himself hoarse during the Sandstorm innings by Tendulkar at Sharjah in 1997. I never liked Ravi Shastri, Rameez Raja and Richie Benaud. Shastri's analysis and commentary had no substance, Rameez Raja was too biased towards Pakistan. He was almost like their agent. Richie Benaud is quite popular and respected as a commentator.I hear he was a star commentator for Channel 9. But I personally think, he is plain boring.

The happy ESPN Star days came to an end with Setmax winning the rights for the 2003 World Cup broadcast in India. Charu Sharma was absolutely dumb. I would've had no problems with Mandira Bedi, had she kept quiet. But thanks to the mute button, Extraa Innings was a bearable show. As if these two were not enough to drive people away from the discussions, they hired lots of former cricketers with no brains for commentary and analysis.

Today, we have Srikkanth, Manjrekar, Arun Lal, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan. All of them, bad beyond words. DD dropped lower with people like Atul Wassan and Maninder Singh. Their analysis show was called Fair and Lovely ......... (yuck! Fair & Lovely?!*#$@*), their female host knew nothing about cricket and she was not even worth watching with the TV on mute.

Hindi commentary is the ultimate torture. "Bahut hi powerful shot maraa hai, mid wicket ke upar se, bowler shocked. Behtareen shot tha, fielder ke paas koi chance nahi. Bahut hi unorthodox player hain, bowler ko poori tarah se dominate karte hain, yahi unke game ki speciality hai". If you want Hindi commentary, my advise is to put the TV on mute and switch the radio on. It is true that there are no Hindi equivalents for cricketing terms like mid wicket or gully or slip etc, but they can at least do better than this khichdi.

But with Nimbus having won the bid for TV rights for the coming years, there appears to be no light at the end of this tunnel.

I'm alive: Dead blog != Dead author

What do you do when you are back after playing TT for a long time? You are tired, your clothes are stinking of the sweat flowing out of every single pore of your body and you are feeling as clean as a pig having a great time in the slimy surroundings of the filthiest drain.

You go wash yourself?

WHAT? NO! NEVER! What you do, is to take a look at your keyboard to find that it is already dirty since you haven't cleaned it for the past few months and then settle down in your chair to make it dirtier by typing in a bunch of random words and call the result which appears on the screen, a post on your blog which is all but dead.

For those who are interested in the happenings of my life, here's an update:

1)End sems over. Worst end sems in 2 years, I don't want to think about the grades.
2)The silver lining:
--Managed a B in Algorithms in spite of scoring less than 1/3rd marks in the end sems.
--I finally got the second PT credit. Thanks to Mohit for dragging me along, every morning in the month of March.
3)Finished NFSU2, actually this happened a very long time back, some time in March.
4)Home:
--Satisfied my appetite for ghar-ka-khana fully.
--Slept like a log for 11-14 hours everyday.
--Attended a cousin's wedding and got very very bored.
--Cooked dinner with my sister one evening. My contribution being the dessert.
--Casually told Aai that I tried to suttofy once. Unfortunately, she didn't take it casually.
--Shantaram: A truly great book. After quite a long time I actually spent time thinking about every single sentence and its meaning. I would recommend it strongly to everyone. Don't be scared of the 936 pages, you'll never feel that it is such a fat book.
--TV:It has dawned upon me that TV is an absolutely useless medium of entertainment without ESPN & Star Sports. Priyanka Chopra looks very cute in the new Pepsi ad.
--Couldn't spend much time with friends, all of them either had exams or some placement lafda.
--Did not read blogs for 20 days! That's an achievement.
5)Back to pavilion:
--Project has started, have to finish some initial work by Monday.
--Finished 'A Fine Balance', hated the ending. Otherwise a good read.
--Canteen is working fine, hope it survives after the vacation also, unlike the previous one.
--Swimming hasn't started, was looking forward to that. Let's hope that it starts in June.
--Started watching the Star Wars series.
--Downloaded loads of photos of Melissa Theuriau. Isn't she gorgeous?

The journey back home deserves special mention. People ask me why I prefer the meter gauge train which crawls slower than a snail over AP express. My answer is, if I go by AP express, I would miss so many things, the quiet little Parbhani station and the sweet hot tea served there at 2 in the morning when two coaches wait there for a few hours, the little farms that are spread out on both sides of the track, the trees with kids playing around them, the orange-red umbrellas of the numerous Gulmohars, the bridge over Narmada at Onkareshwar which provides a breathtaking view of the river, the railway tunnel which is almost a kilometre long, the spooky station at Kalakund with no electricity. I also get loads of time to look out of the window and think and read continuously with no one to disturb me.

Miss all these little joys to reduce the journey time by 3-4 hours? Nah!

Nadal beat Federer again at Monte Carlo, I'm beginning to hate Nadal. Schumacher won a Grand Prix after a long time. This F1 season looks like it's going to be close. India managed to square the Abu Dhabi series. Turned out be a pretty good series.

The police and government reaction to the peaceful protests by Medical students in Delhi was enraging. What kind of an HRD minister is Arjun Singh who refuses to meet the people? And we call it democracy! Why does a numb-brain like him, with his feet hanging in the grave (and a head so high up his ***) get such an important ministry?

This post is long and haphazard. But, a post coming after more than a month has to be long and there are so many things to cover that I can't do anything about its chaotic state. Also, there is nothing better to breathe new life into a dead blog than a post where you just let the words flow without much thinking.

And now, it is time to take a shower!

Campus fauna

I am posting this when I have loads of other things to do. 3 assignments and an exam fast approaching. But, this is the best time to blog.

Woke up today and opened the door to find a sparrow on the floor, right outside my room. I find mornings quite musical if I pay attention to the chirping of these birds. I always wonder what they try to communicate. This particular one was quite busy. It was making frequent trips from the grill to the fuse box, then it would fly off somehwere and reappear in less than a minute.Then I started thinking about all the animals around us on campus. There are so many of them: sparrows, butterflies, bees, dogs, lizards, mosquitoes, frogs, squirrels, dragonflies etc.

Sparows here are pretty brave. They have built their nests at places that are quite risky, they venture into the mess without fear, they disturb classes if the need be.

I think it was after reading 'The Alchemist' that I started observing butterflies. There are the regular orange and pale yellow ones along with the not so commom, bright red or blue coloured ones with wonderful patterns on their wings. The path through the guest house is full of them. It feels quite nice to spot some new pattern while walking to the class.

Then there are bees. This dumb bee which comes into my room every evening when I switch the light on, is particularly annoying. It must one of those residing in the huge hive on the lamp post in front of our wing.

Dogs aren't very comforting when they are barking and you are walking all alone, down a road at night. But otherwise they are okay.

Coming to lizards, I have seen the fattest and ugliest lizards here in IIIT. They have more than enough food here. There is that greyish-yellowish-brown one which is always around the wash basins in the bathroom, there is an exceptionally ugly one which has recently regrown its tail, there are 2-3 more living in the bathroom, and a few more that keep roaming around in the wing. I have no problems until they don't come inside my room. This fear of having a lizard in my room prevented me from opening the back window of my room for many months. But with the current hot weather, I've given up.

Mosquitoes, well as soon as I finish this post and go to bed, they'll be ready for their daily dose of blood. They have spoilt many nights when I could've slept peacefully. But my tendencies against all-out, odomos and mosquito-nets leaves me to their mercy.

Talking about frogs, I have actually seen very few frogs alive. I mostly find their corpses on the road. What a way to die, being crushed to death under a bike, poor things. But they don't seem to be learning from their mistakes. Every single day they lose a few a members of their community.

I'm sure there'll be some snakes also (I found a snake's skin once near the guest house). But at least there is no danger of leopards or anything.

Quite a pointless post, but then what the heck? Who wants to be sensible? At least not me.

Questions

• Why can't I come up with good excuses for being late for the morning PT?


• Why didn't I get a PT credit in the second sem in spite of more than enough attendance?


• Why can't I slog regularly?


• Where do all the lizards go during the day and reappear at night?


• How did South Africa chase 434 runs successfully?


• Why doesn't Supreeth like the nickname 'Billu'?


• Is Ideal an android or is it just flawless discipline?


• Why are some blogs so boring?


• While some others so hilarious?


• Why does my room door bang loudly when I close it and the opposite window is open?


• Why does Lord have such horrible taste when it comes to music?


• How can people like Friends more than Coupling?


• Can we not talk nonsense, once in a while?


• What purpose does having a babaji on campus serve?


• Can politicians stop wasting money on Yatras?


• Why is it so difficult to be honest to yourself?

This gal doesnt just ask a question, she answers it perfectly.

A week full of inactivity

Monday always does this to me. Gives me a new sense of enthusiasm, hope, energy. So after a week full of nothing I am back to normal.

The past week was spent doing absolutely nothing. My frustoo levels reached a new high. I did little except sleeping in classes during the day and random blog surfing in the afternoons. But the evenings were the worst, I would stand in the corridor staring at the sky and muttering 'life sucks' at regular intervals. I don't think I've had a frustooer week. So, I'll just erase it from my memory.

Some important events of the week gone by:

• + South Africa beat Australia chasing 434 runs successfully, this is
  ultra-hyper-super-duper-atibhayankar fodu.


• + Alonso won the Bahrain Grand Prix, Raikonnen displayed his well known fighting skills, finishing third after starting from the back. This is a good start to the F1 season.


• - Federer lost to Nadal yet again, damn it! The fact that Nadal was just back after an injury is even more disturbing.


• + The Blank Noise Blogathon was a success.


• + Saw quite a few movies in an attempt to block out the frustoo thoughts in my mind:
  
  
  
  • Before sunrise, Before sunset: Romantic stuff with a unique plot
  
  
  • 50 First Dates, Jerry McGuire: Usual romantic stuff
  
  
  • Sin City: Comic adapted to a movie, pretty good. The narrator's voice is the main feature of the movie.
  
  
  • Crash: Well worthy of the Oscar it got
  
  
  • Godfather: Nothing beats this, no matter how many times over you watch it.
  
  
  • Walk the Line: Good performances by Joacquine Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Johnny Cash
    kind of music was a good change for my ears used to rock.
  
  
  
  
• + Bathrooms in the wings now have tubelights!


• - Haven't managed to get a summer project yet.


• + Realised that not getting/doing a summer project might not be a bad idea.


• + My first quiz as quiz master went okay, I guess. Reactions and suggestions are welcome.


• + I'm half way through the book called 'A Fine Balance'. I think I'll finish it in a few days.


• - LAN was bad throughout the week. The 'Connection timed out' message was too damn frequent.

Interesting how so many things cropped up when I was writing about a week with zilch activity.

Blank Noise Project

A blogathon was held as a part of this project on 7th March.

I read quite a few posts. Very disturbing. I completely support this effort against eve-teasing and sexual harrasement. I think I can at least do this little bit to help strengthen the voice.

Here is a link to the official blog: Blank Noise project

It's a beautiful day?

Loud music helps. All the thoughts in my mind get drowned in the ocean of sounds created by Tom Morello's guitar. I have always been absolutely against posting any frustoo stuff. I have made fun of Neon for frustoo posting. But today I am doing just that. I guess it'll help to get rid of the thoughts in my mind. I don't even know whether I'll actually publish this post. If I do, and you happen to read,I suggest you not to read further.

Had my first experience of being rejected today. But it isn't that bad. Till yesterday, I did not know or I was not sure of what I want to do. Today I finally made up my mind, I had to face a quick no as reply. I don't know the reason. But I guess it was beyond my control. At least the confusion is over. There is no turning back. I have seldom turned back after starting something. I will chase this to the end, whatever it may be.

When I got up today and opened the door of my room, I saw the green expanse in front of my eyes. I could hear "It's a beautiful day!" in my mind. The day was really a beautiful one. It rained, rained heavily. Everything looked fresh and happy. The rains in the past 2 days have been a relief from the heat. The weather has been very good. It helps when I don't want to think about things that bother me.

Lets see if tomorrow has something better in store.

Be Yourself

"Be Yourself", the song by Audioslave. As far as I can recall, I think I first heard it in Ganand's room in the 2nd sem. I entered the guest room after dinner and found Sir there, headbanging to it with the lyrics on the screen. Since then, I've played it over and over and over again. I feel that a late night BC session is incomplete without this song.

When I was going home for the 3 month vacation last summer, I was wondering how I'll stay for 3 months without it. We had played it infinitely many times over, so it had become a necessity. Smiley had started worrying that we were killing the song. But Arjun had it on his laptop. He used to drop in every once in a while so that I could listen to it. But sadly, even Arjun didn't really like it. He said that the guitar is too repetetive or something. Why? How can one not like this masterpiece?

These days I play it less frequently, I have to pay some heed to my wingmates who probably stuff cotton in their ears as soon as the playlist reaches this song. I don't understand how people cannot like it. Once I downloaded it on Kesharwani's pc and played it, and to my horror, he didn't like it at all. He put it off immediately.

What do I like about this song? I like the vocals, though Badri thinks that the guy has a bad accent, I like the guitar. A portion in between two stanzas, is absolute GOD stuff. Tom Morello just sweeps you off your feet. I like the drums, I like the bass, the lyrics. The video is also fodu, set in a dark room with a tranquil kind of atmosphere. In short, I like everything about the song.

So, here are the lyrics:

Someone falls to pieces
Sleepin all alone
Someone kills the pain
Spinning in the silence
To finally drift away
Someone gets excited
In a chapel yard
And catches a bouquet
Another lays a dozen
White roses on a grave

To be yourself is all that you can do
To be yourself is all that you can do

Someone finds salvation in everyone
And another only pain
Someone tries to hide himself
Down inside himself he prays
Someone swears his true love
Untill the end of time
Another runs away
Separate or united?
Healthy or insane?

To be yourself is all that you can do
To be yourself is all that you can do
To be yourself is all that you can do
To be yourself is all that you can do

And even when you've paid enough, been pulled apart or been held up
With every single memory of the good or bad faces of luck
don't lose any sleep tonight
I'm sure everything will end up alright

You may win or lose

But to be yourself is all that you can do
To be yourself is all that you can do

Sunrise

The world is still fast asleep, but she is already up. Ready with her pallette, brush and canvas. With her heart brimming with optimism and happiness, she lets her brush dance to a divine rhythm, working magic. Colours start appearing on the canvas, numerous shades of red, orange, yellow on a blue background. The picture appearing like a reflection of her overflowing joy.

Now she is not alone. She has the company of birds, chirping in appreciation of her beautiful painting. Flying from one tree to another, perching on different branches, they break the slumber of the trees. Beckoning them to let the energy flowing out of the canvas like an unending stream, seep in.

The picture is almost complete now, but she is waiting, for him. He, who will come riding his chariot, to deliver the final touch to the picture. Her eyes are fixed on the horizon, in an eternal gaze. How long will she have to wait?

Has he betrayed her?

No.

There he comes, spreading a brilliant red glow on the canvas, completing the masterpiece they have created together, for the world to enjoy and cherish forever.

YES!!

I'm very tired, but I've never been happier.

Time to sleep.

Spontaneous post!

This is a spontaneous post. Zero thinking involved. So here's a list of the songs that are currently on my playlist, which runs all day long:

1) Kryptonite : 3 Doors Down
2) Kryptonite (acoustic version) : 3 Doors Down
3) Live Wire: ACDC
4) The Scientist: Coldplay
5) Spies: Coldplay
6) Layla: Eric Clapton
7) Bring me to life: Evanescence
8) Crystal Planet: Joe Satriani
9) Butterfly; Crazy Town
10) Nothing else matters: Metallica
11) Something stupid : Frank and Nancy Sinatra
12) Time of your life: Greenday
13) Comfortably Numb: Pink Floyd
14) Youth of the nation: P.O.D.
15) Engel(Emglish version) ; Rammstein
16) Vertigo :U2
17) Beautiful Day: U2
18) Riders on the storm: Coleman, Jaz and Kennedy version
19) Riders on the storm: The Doors
20) Riders on the storm: Snoop Dogg version
21) Break on through: The Doors
22) Matrix Soundtrack- Wake up: Rage Against the Machine
23) Hotel California: Eagles
24) Be yourself: Audioslave
25) Jhuki jhuki si nazar: Jagjit Singh
26) Pyar ka pehla khat; Jagjit Singh
27) Kabhi yun bhi to ho: Jagjit Singh
28) Apne hothon par sajana: Jagjit Singh
29) Aadat: Jal
30) Door: Strings

Muddled musings

I am confused.....no, I guess I'm worried. No, I'm sad, or am I just being a little too hyper? Damn! All this is really testing my patience. I hate such situations, neither black nor white. I hate being in a situation where I can do nothing to make it better. I have made my last desperate attempt. I guess the period of beginner's luck is over. The tough part starts here. I think I should just relax and hope for the best.

Mehdi Hasan is really good to listen if you just want to forget about everything:

Ranjishein sahi.....
dil hi dukhane ke liye aa,
Aa fir se mujhe chhod ke jaane ke liye aa...

Ab tak...
dil-e-khushfehmi ko hain, tujhse umeedein,
Ye aakhri shamein bhi bujhane ke liye aa....

Ranjishein sahi...

Kuchh to....
mere bindaar-e-mohabbat ka bharam rakhein,
Tu bhi to kabhi mujhko manane ke liye aa...

Ranjishein sahi...

Maana...
ke mohabbat ka, chhupana hai mohabbat,
Chupke se kisi roz jataane ke liye aa...

Ranjishein sahi...

Jaise...
Tumhe aate hain, na aane ke bahane,
Aise hi kisi roz na jaane ke liye aa.

Ranjishein sahi...

Australian Open, Federer and Baghdatis

I don't know when I started watching tennis. I have faint memories of a few matches I saw on TV when I was very young.

Gabriella Sabatini was a collective favourite of the family. I remember a few of Boris Becker's matches and how he used to fall every now and then. I also recall some matches involving the extremely vocal Monica Seles. Aaji was convinced that she knew Marathi and that she was shouting "Aahey!" or "Nahiye!" while hitting the ball. But I always liked Graf more than Seles. Graf was more graceful.

As with any other sport, even with tennis I have a special liking for the underdogs in the game. I always cheer for Kenya when they are not playing against India, I was cheering right throughtout Wimbledon 2001 for the wildcard entrant Goran Ivanisevic. I was really sad when he lost 2 previous Wimbledon finals to Pete Sampras. Agassi has been one of my favourites after his comeback, maybe because he was being counted as down and out.

Over the past few years, Federer has been my favourite in mens tennis. I don't think I need say anything about Sharapova. Well, she's cute isn't she? And she has beaten the Williams sisters quite regularly, what more can I ask for?

Coming back to Federer, I just love the way he plays tennis, it comes so naturally, so easily to him. It's like he was born to play tennis. Calm, collected and immaculate with his shots.

But now I'm confused. Whom should I cheer for in this year's Australian open final? Not that my prayers really matter, but I have to take somebody's side. On one hand is Federer. On the other, there is the underdog, Baghdatis, who is on a dream run at Melbourne. Having beaten Roddick in the second round and after a brilliant comeback act against David Nalbandian in the semi final, he looks unstoppable.

May the best man win!

Name decoders and Personality tests

Some dumb personality tests I took some days back and a fodu name decoder , which I tried today have given me enough matter to write an utterly useless post. Here it is:

Cyborg name decoder says Sankalp means:



Monster name decoder says:




Sexy Name decoder:




Then there are my Irish, Hawaiian, Japanese, elf and 1920s names:

Your Irish Name Is...

Gill O'Connell

What's your Irish Name?

Your Hawaiian Name is:

Nahele Keahi

What's your Hawaiian Name?

Your Japanese Name Is...

Jiro Matsuki

What's your Japanese Name?

Your Elf Name Is...

Freckles Snowballer

What's Your Elf Name?

Your 1920's Name is:

Wardell Elvis

What's Your 1920's Name?

I couldn't believe my Scary score:

You Are Scary

You even scare scary people sometimes!

How Scary Are You?

or this:

How You Are In Love

You take a while to fall in love with someone. Trust takes time. You give and take equally in relationships. You need your space and privacy. You don't like to be smothered. You love your partner unconditionally and don't try to make them change. You stay in love for a long time, even if you aren't loved back. When you fall, you fall hard.

How Are You In Love?

This made ROFL:

Your Personality Profile

You are pure, moral, and adaptable. You tend to blend into your surroundings. Shy on the outside, you're outspoken to your friends. You believe that you live a virtuous life... And you tend to judge others with a harsh eye. As a result, people tend to crave your approval.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

Don't know what this means:

Your 2005 Song Is

Beverly Hills by Weezer "My automobile is a piece of crap My fashion sense is a little whack And my friends are just as screwy as me" You breezed through 2005 in your own funky style!

What Hit Song of 2005 Are You?

Weird score:

You Are 70% Weird

You're so weird, you think you're *totally* normal. Right? But you wig out even the biggest of circus freaks!

How Weird Are You?

No comments about this!

Personality tests are absolute crap!

Your Personality Is

Rational (NT) You are both logical and creative. You are full of ideas. You are so rational that you analyze everything. This drives people a little crazy! Intelligence is important to you. You always like to be around smart people. In fact, you're often a little short with people who don't impress you mentally. You seem distant to some - but it's usually because you're deep in thought. Those who understand you best are fellow Rationals. In love, you tend to approach things with logic. You seek a compatible mate - who is also very intelligent. At work, you tend to gravitate toward idea building careers - like programming, medicine, or academia. With others, you are very honest and direct. People often can't take your criticism well. As far as your looks go, you're coasting on what you were born with. You think fashion is silly. On weekends, you spend most of your time thinking, experimenting with new ideas, or learning new things.

The Three Question Personality Test

Heart Colour?

Your Heart Is Purple

For you, love is about establishing and developing a deep connection. If it's true love, it brings you more wisdom and inner strength. Your flirting style: Sincere Your lucky first date: An afternoon at a tea house Your dream lover: Is both thoughtful and expressive What you bring to relationships: Understanding

What Color Heart Do You Have?

Your Hidden Talent

You're super sensitive and easily able to understand situations. You tend to solve complex problems in a flash, without needing a lot of facts. Decision making is easy for you. You have killer intuition. The right path is always clear, and you're a bit of a visionary.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

Yeah, right!

I have many more results, but I guess this is enough.

Sidin quits consultancy for freelancing!

I log on to bloglines and what do i find? Sidin has posted again today. Two posts in two days? I click the link and read the post .

So the news is that Sidin, the author of my favourite blog, has chucked his cushy consultancy job to follow his passion. Kudos and good luck to him.

Sidin's profile: here

End of a long hiatus

Life is full of surprises. Things may look bleak, but they can change in no time, it's just a matter of staying positive. I am riding a wave of optimism, thanks to the developments in the past few days.

I had the idea about this post right from the time I came back after the vacation, but I kept postponing it. Maybe because I felt that all that I was writing was getting too self-centred. But since I haven't been able to think of anything better, I'll go ahead with this idea.

So, this is how the story goes. I am sitting in this train on my way back to Hyderabad from Indore. I realise that I have left my room key at home and that I have locked the spare key in my room itself. "No big deal, I can easily break the lock", I think. But then suddenly I feel sad, as if I am going to lose a faithful companion.

Interesting isn't it? How these things become our friends unknowingly. It was the same lock which had been with me in Kota for an year, which had guarded room 334 for another and had sincerely hung on to the door of room 331 for a semester. Almost 3 years, it had been a part of my daily life. The click sound it made as I slid the key in and turned it had been taken for granted, but now I miss it.

This set me thinking about other such friends. I think my best inanimate friend is my cap. It has been the most reliable and faithful friend for almost 4 years now. I have carried it everywhere with me, Indore, Kota, Hyderabad, the HKD trek. I also remember how I happy I had felt when I got it back after I lost it in a classroom at Bansal once.

It is special for another reason too. It reminds me of the innumerable nights we(Samay, Gabbu, Tarun and I) spent at Tarun's place trying to slog in the final few months before the competetives started in 12th. In the morning, while coming back home, Gabbu would always wear the cap. He absolutely loved it. Once, he even drove his bike against heavy traffic to retrieve it, when it blew off his head on the road.

It is not that the cap has been lucky for me. It's just that it has been with me in good times and bad.

I'm sure everyone has such companions, maybe we take them for granted. If this post helps you recognise your 'friends', which I hope it will, do leave a comment.

2006

Another year has passed and has left me with many memories, both bitter and sweet.

The first day in 2006 has taught me a very important lesson. Death is not such a far off possibilty as it seems. Life is short, so live it to the fullest.

In the past 20 years, I have said or done so many things that I should not have. So, today, to start off the new year with something new, something good, I apologise to all those whom I have hurt. I didn't really mean what I said, just forgive me. Who knows? I may die tomorrow and I don't want to die with this burden.

May the new year bring a new ray of hope to the distressed, love and friendship to the lonely, good health to the diseased, success to the persevering and happiness and cheer to one and all.