Chak De India

As India, which is virtually another World in itself, celebrates the success parade as an outcome of the victory of the Indian cricket team in the Twenty20 world cup with great pomp and show, I have some tickling doubts for some of these IIT-JEE entrance type questions on cricket, for which I am searching for answers from my child, many a plenty answers that I have been getting did not satiate me. The questioner ...
1) Suppose a player stumbles at the crease, in an attempt to play a ball, and by the time he falls on to the stumps and bails are dislodged, the ball crosses the boundary, is he out or not out as the ball is dead once it crosses the boundary?
2) Suppose that a team makes 200 in its innings, and in the second innings the other team is on 200/9 for 49.5 and the batman is stumped of a wide ball, is the later team the winner? or is it a tie ? ( I know most of us would say team batting second is the winner, now say the answer for this 8-) by how many runs or wickets ? )
3)If ball lands exactly on the rope, according to the rule, what should it be considered, a boundary or a six ? ( from my experience of watching and playing cricket my whole life, I always saw that its declared a six, but I recently read the rules and was stunned - read your selfs - Law 19 says the ball must pitch 'beyond the boundary' for it to be regarded as a six)
4) The other most confusing rule in cricket which has made many teams loose a match is the Duckworth-Lewis method ( a mathematical formula) to work out results in the rain-affected one-day matches. Every one knows that its a conspicuous blunder to declare a team which can easily win the match by taking the "resources at hand" equation in to account which assumes the opener batsman as a equivalent to the no 11 batsman. Well guys ! as you scratch your heads for the answers to these questions, I too savor Team India's victory. Adios Amigos.

Fight against Future

I know that the luxury of squandering money would no more be there from next month.I know that I have set a very tough goal for myself to achieve in the next few months.I would solely lead my career path through hardships leaving behind a cozy job as the Software Engineer after working for two long years in IBM.As the cliché goes, Life is full of risk and there is trepidation at some nook of my mind. But what I am about to decide has paramount proportions in my career and future. Quitting a comfortable and secure job is something that has caused unrest in my mind recently but I have full confidence that things will surely take a positive turnaround in the near future.I have confidence in myself and hope and pray to come out successfully in this MBA venture. I've always fancied studying management and only self and God know how I craved for getting an admission into some decent B School. I know I am going to take the risk of my life but I also understand that I am doing it driven by the deep hatred that I've developed towards this so called S/W engineers job of coding, bragging and fighting against time with mind in solving issues all the time, which I prefer to call as software coolie job and more for the passion to pursue management.That dependable friend of the desperate people,God,has helped me out of predicaments before and I am once again at the mercy of that merciful. Hope time would add glory to me. I only have one option to become a student once again, Study and Study hard once again.

60 years of "FREEdom"

Friendship day Messages

Though being a friend to someone is special, I felt expressing it people that they mean a lot to us on a special day by naming it as Friendship day is not acceptable, but some argue at least its an excuse after all, to remember your dearest friends on this special day and convey wishes. Different people Different opinion, I am not here to hold a debate on that but to post all the messages on my mobile which I received from my friends on this Friendship day. I really felt happy to have one more reason to be happy in this world with all these friends around. There is this refreshing lack of political correctness with friends that you just don’t see elsewhere.You can bay at the moon and they won’t label you insane. You can sing terribly off-key and they’ll sing along note for note. You can rave and rant and shout and break up with them over the smallest reason, and somehow, making up with them becomes the easiest thing to do in the world.They are the ones you can call at unearthly hours when you need a sounding board, even if they scream at you for waking them up (as I did, sorry friends :)), they will still come to your side. They are the ones who will mooch from you at every opportunity and you honestly don’t mind it. Thats the worlds most beautiful relationship that every minuscule craves for. My mobile was
flooded with all those SMSs all through the day here are some of them from my friends.

A friend is sweet when it is new. And it is sweeter when it is true. But you know what? It is sweetest when it is u.Happy friendship day.

True friends are like Diamonds... they are real & rare. False friends r like leaves... they r scattered everywhere. But I found Kohinoor diamond..You are a special friend, happy friendship day ra chichiga.

A good friend is like a computer; me 'enter' ur life, 'save' u in my heart, 'format' ur problems, 'shift' u 2 opportunities & never 'delete' u from my memory!

Never abandon old friends. They r hard 2 replace. Friendships is like wine: it gets BETTER as it grows OLDER. Just like us... i get BETTER, u get OLDER.

I would like to wish you a happy friendship day, thanks for coming in to my life and be my friend. You mean a lot to me !

A B C D E F G H I . . . . . . . . . . . U V W X Y Z.. Dekha I aur U ke beech mein jo bhee aaya sabko tapka diya...

Whenever I look at my palm, I wonder which of those tiny cute crisscross lines made me so lucky to have a sweet & nice friend like U.

The one who likes you most, sometimes hurts you, but again she is the only one who feels your pain.

When does a friend become a best friend?
When his dialouge, "I care for you" converts into "I will kill you if you don't care for me"

6 rules to be HAPPY: Free ur heart from hatred; Free ur mind from worries; Live simply; Expect less; Give more & Always have ME as UR FRIEND

Dont write your name on sand, waves will wash it. Don't write your name on sky, wind may blow it. Write your name on hearts of your friends, thats where it will stay.happy friendship day.

1 Advice- Don’t change, 1 request- take care, 1 wish- Don't forget me, 1 Lie- I hate U, 1 truth- I Miss U, 1 hope- We'll always be Gud Friends.

Friends r like stars. u can't always see them, But u know they are always there 4 you...

God apun se pucha,
Kidhar jana mangta ?
SWARG YA NARAK ?
Apun bola NARAK !
Apun ko malum,
Tum sala dost log udharich milega,
Bole to Jidhar tum, Woich apun ka SWARAG!!

Friendship is vast like Universe, deep like Ocean, high like Sky, strong like Iron, kind like Mother, cute like Me, and sweet like U!Happy Friendship day.

A friend is a push when you have stopped, a chat when u r lonely, a guide when u r searching, a smile when u r sad, a song when u r glad.

My favourite quotes

I have a collection of every thing that I love,from the Mp3 songs and Movie websites to My favorite shayiris, touching quotes, Huge collection of pics of Aishwarya,Sachin,Rehman,Taj mahal,Hrithik,Federer (both hard copies and Soft ;P).I wish to make a chronic dossier of each of them to feel prod of in the future, thats a distant dream, but here are some of the quotes that I use some times and the Quotes that I really like and even get inspiration from sometimes.

- If everything in life is going too smooth, then you are probably going too slow.

- If you aren't living on the edge, you are wasting too much space.

- Life's like a lamp post, Sometimes its bright.When its not, even dogs piss on you
(This was a reply to Anvi's comment on my profile picture on Orkut)

- A soldier never backs out.
- I'm ready when you are.
(I use both of the ABOVE as a reply to accepting new responsibilities or challenges)

- Keep your friendship with books all the time - the only friend who doesn't complain !

- God loves to play fair games with us & I like his company.

- I don't know what will happen tomorrow but I'm sure together we can make it beautiful

- You don't love the Times (good or bad).. but you fall in love with someone you want to spend those times with.

- The worst part about life is waiting, The best part about it is finding someone worth waiting for.

OTHER'S QUOTES THAT I LIKE

Dance like no-one is watching
Love like you'll never be hurt
Sing like no-one is listening
Live like its heaven on earth
-- William Purkey

-- I don't miss you and you alone... I miss you and me together...

Dream as you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.
-- James Dean

You'll know that you are in love when you see the world in her eyes and her eyes everywhere in the world.
-- David Levesque

When I'm with you, we stay up all night.
When you're not with me I can't go to sleep
Thank God for these two insomnias, and the difference between them
-- Rumi

No matter how happily a woman may be married, it always pleases her to discover that there is a nice man who wishes that she were not.
-- H. L. Mencken

The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.
-- Theodore Roosevelt

I was nauseous and tingly all over... I realized that I'm either in love or I had Smallpox

The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.
-- Thomas Merton

“Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.”

"A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened."
- Albert Camus

Some people see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not?

And my all time favorite

My dream
"To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget. "

- Arundhati Roy

thanks for reading :) cheers, and don't for get to post in your favorites

I look back and I wish.....

Just pondering over my life right now, It was inevitable to think about my teens (read 4 years of college) and early teens (meaning school). I also read an article in the news magazine section about “wise” childhood. I just had a pit stop on the early life and wondered how it would like to be in the teens again- just this time with the benefit of hindsight. Here's my list of things, in no particular order (random), I would keep in mind if in the teens again

Things I wish had known more clearly during my early teens

* The wannabe groups in school were actually not very cool people to hang out with. They would always stupid issues of the third kind.
* No matter how much you diet and how hard you exercise, you will never be that thin again.
* Nothing outside of who I am in God can make me cool.
* 2nd most important decision I would make is, who my friends were.
* People who invest in mutual funds are not losers.
* Eat all the desserts to satisfy your “sweet tooth”. Very soon even a spoonful of chocolate delight would travel straight to add to the paunch.
* If you keep looking at the phone, it would never ring.
* There is a reason why you lose touch with so many school friends. You simply have nothing in common except for the fact that you were once in a class together. Don't feel guilty.
* Don't bother fighting it, eventually you'll turn into your father. By the time a man realizes that his father was right, he'll have a son who thinks that he's wrong.
* A man who doesn't read good books has NO advantage over a man who doesn't read at all
* You can only really make friends when you are young. After that, you’re stuck with chance acquaintances and work contacts whom you also socialize with.
* Nothing is as important as you think.
* Friends are way more important than lovers – and nearly always outlast them.
* If you want something, don’t be afraid to ask.
* Never throw a party if you will be the most interesting man in the party.
* You can’t change the world – but don’t let it change you either.
* Exercise is something you do to keep fit not to get thin.
* Ultimately, love remains out of necessity.
* Never mistake Knowledge for wisdom, one helps make a living, other helps you ,make a life.


Things I'm glad I knew

* Outdoors sports were as much fun (or more) than the en vogue Video and PC games
* Quizzing is great fun and not a nerdy game
* Succumbing to Peer Pressure is not Manly no matter what real men don't cry.
* Not to be jazzy in my looks,be myself. you'll have to do that as a monthly chore if not,don't be artificial.
* That I was not a loser reading all the literature that I did during early years.
* Its very hard to be alone for a mear minute, if you knew you are going to be alone and missing someone really close.
* Life is never going to be the same, happy moments are for sure, but the only thing is the Time you have to wait.


But Overall, I think what we did in the early teens was out of innocence. It was awesome because thats how we learn and most of our lives we learn the hard way.
I think our teens was the best of both the worlds – conventional, radical and adoption to advancements (socially and technologically). So we played the Nintendo games listened to the music & read the teen novels yet - loved life, listened to Indian soul music, read classic literature, enjoyed the lap of nature and played outdoors conventionally. As it is I love my life and have NO REGRETS.

So I look back in glory and just thank everyone for it....

Birthday Bumps

"Happy bumping day" was the message most of my friends conveyed even before happy birthday as I turned one more year older to stay at, "male 24" :) But baring all the brunt of my roomies in the night was one horrendous task I have never ever experienced in my entire 24 years of life; the physical endurance that I had to display for the Bumps session was very very hectic and tiresome. Every one was taking their vengeance for all the birthday bumps that they had taken on their bdays, it was giveback time, and sadly for me, every one was at their best of forms. Absence of a few more people in the room was some sought of relief in one way, but never the less I got enough of beating to die down with those pain staking blows on my rump. Some entertainment section followed the cake cutting and bumps ceremony where I was made to narrate an innovative love story, recommend some LP* tips that every one knew already :p and some expressive dialogues to show how to propose a girl to win her love. It was fun really! I could not sleep or sit on my butt all day, it was like swollen lumps hanging, I would have to book an ambulance in advance if Vinil,Seeku,Dattu and Bunny were also present in the night, thank God for that! It was wishes, wishes and more wishes all day flooding from my friends. A few unexpected pals have called me which made me happy and at the same time felt sad for my mobile not to have rung on some expected numbers. The trivia that I had to face on every call was to recognize the caller as I lost most of the phone numbers with my old handset. Man that was real quizzing time, every time! i have to admit that it ended in a bash, thanks for all the love you showered on me dear friends ( am I sounding too much senti? ), the thought of each of you itself makes me stronger and fills the blank of the purpose to live! You are wonderfully sweet :)

* ladki pataanaa :)

Things, I am ashamed of

I have been thinking ! Well that’s what I do when I save a lot of time and end up am doing nothing with what I saved.One thought, what are the things that I am really ashamed of having done and will never do again, the things that keep lurking with skepticism in my mind?

a) Cheating in my exams? well I am not all that ashamed of it in the first place, so the second part does not arise at all :p b) The lies I told to my parents/family? Hey get real dude! are you joking. Consider the lies I did not tell. Ashamed, no way! c) Picking on those weaker than me? Of course not, that’s what every one does. In History books they call it war and in present day it changed name to politics. d) Infidelity, well I have not yet got the opportunity and when I do, believe me that It would be a proud moment for me. e) Being dishonest, Now that’s a tough one, but considering that we have already got lies and infidelity out of the way, that takes away most of the dishonesty part with it, does it not? I think it does. Believe me its my honest opinion :)

This confession isn’t working; let’s try to turn it around (it is at this point that the lawyer will dramatically turn to the Judge and say, “My lord, please note my client’s sincerity”).I have beaten up others. But then, I have got beaten up a lot more, so it should cancel itself out and there’s no reason for me to be ashamed of it. having said everything, I guess I can proudly stand up and say that I have done nothing that I am ashamed of entire life, or will not do it again. Then do I need such a lengthy rant to boast of :p. For a change, let us see, what are the things I cannot tell my mom or my child in future do I see the list forming? unfortunately yes,and its growing. Huh! now let’s cut this crap, and do something for a change. This thinking stuff puts me to shame.

Passwords, Passwords Passwords !

You idiot Dumbo, "your password should have a least count of 8 alphanumerics sequence with a minimum of three numbers in it, which is not similar to your login and does not start with a number and which was not used for the past three times and also which is not so very obvious string for others to guess with at least two upper case letters and with out three consecutive alphabets or numbers as part of the string". this is what my PC yells out every time I give a password or change it when ever I forget one on my computer. This has become a very strict norm to be followed and keep in mind for hell a lot of things that I come across every day which requires a password to access it. There was one last chance to do it right. Else, my gadget would inevitably self-destruct. Sure, the password cue was easily remembered. My mother's maiden name was an easy one. But for heaven's sake, what was the answer to the back-up question? Already, the previous test had ended in failure,Leave alone computers, unfortunately, everything needs a password these days; from opening my own mail account on Gmail,lotusnotes,Yahoo,Hotmail etc to pages on transactions in trading accounts, ATM cards, Airtel site,Bank accounts,Secured sites in my projects, and even entry in to my own cubicle at office. Why, do we need to enter those secret digits on the cell phone to make a local call [8-)] It is a hell to remember the login names and passwords for every petty thing these days. Forgot one! and you are dead. Be ready to face the more tougher challenge of retrieving it by answering some irritating security questions which you are not even sure what you gave when you created the password! I don't know how many times I clicked the "Forgot Password?" link on the login pages, I even ended up loosing access to one of my mail accounts since I forgot the password and could not retrieve it.What I found as a very useful technique to handle these challenges is by jotting all the logins and passwords for everything and meticulously updating it in a single Word file and protecting it again with a password :p to deny access to this file and ensuring the information is safe from the prying eyes of the world. I just have to remember the password of the word file alone, this has made my life much easier.The threat of loosing the file is always there but putting multiple copies online as well as on my local system ensures it is accessible anytime. No more emoticons with their eye blinking posers threatening to deny access inside :)

King on Court "Roger Federer"

The Lion Roared, and made his Opponent shiver with a whine.The shock trembled through the back bone and Nadal submitted himself for the definitive dialect of the King Roger Federer,and now Federer has made it a habit to win Wimbledon. His win on Sunday was, however, something special. He has now equaled fellow country man legendary Bjorn Borg's 27-year-old record of five consecutive Wimbledon titles. He has also taken his Grand Slam tally to 11, now eying on Sampras's 14.The expression on Rogers face after the match spoke it all, though it was not new of winning titles for him, he felt a great relief after rendering Nadal to submission in the 5th and final set, Federer knew he was facing a hard task in the final against Nadal who beat him at the Rolland Garros. He was in the center court for vengeance and to defend his Wimbledon title. There is already talk of Federer being a candidate for the best tennis player ever.Sampras for one has backed Federer to emulate his long period of domination.That prediction might well come true. But on current form is Federer the best all-time tennis player? That is a question that could keep tennis fans occupied for hours. There can, however, be no clear answer to such hypothetical questions. For instance, how do you compare Federer to Rod Laver or Boris becker?,The playing conditions, fitness levels of the former players and the topical players are so completely different.The problem of comparing different eras is common to most games. In cricket, the perennial question of who is the greatest batsman runs into similar problems. How do you compare Don Bradman, who played a majority of his 52 Test matches against England over a span of 20 years with Sachin Tendulkar, who has played 137 matches in 17 years against nine countries? As of now in this era, with their sheer talent, showmanship and cool temperament I feel Roger Federer and Sachin Tendulkar are two divas in their respective games. There will be players who may takeover the regime of these players at some point of time in the future, (for that matter Roger himself said Nadal has lot of potential talent and the age for him to be a dominant player in the coming years) but as of now the King is a King and the others have to pay him his due respects !

My Dad, my Hero

Dad,

Every time I faltered and made mistakes, you understood, and you made sure I learned from those mistakes to become a better person. You fostered a strong sense of pride in me from the day as far as I can remember. You instilled wisdom in me my entire life, You taught me that character cannot be developed in ease and quiet, Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved. I am what I am today, only because of you, I know you would be a proud dad right now for your son, a Software professional at age 23, writing his own checks, signing documents, making a living on own. You have been an apt definition for a Dad, you truly are !
You taught me to think big. You taught me to take care of everyone around me like you always did, to protect and give from the heart. You taught me that life is tough but with laughter and love anything can be surmounted. Things were never easy between us, but what is easy is the love I feel for you. I am so sorry Dad, I didn’t get to tell you how I feel and how much I love you. You have become my strength and I everyday realize how many lives you have touched and transformed. I hope one day to be even half or even a quarter of the Father you've been to me. I hope that when my kids need something, I'm there for them as you have been for me. I hope that when my kids have questions, I'm there for them as you have been for me. I hope that when they are going through good times or bad, I'm there for them, just as you have always been for me. Dad, I never had to search for a hero, The hero in my life was you. Happy Father’s day.

Son.

World Telecom day Celebrations

The jinx of my second birth in this AT&T account at IBM after my graduation had taken its vengeance on me yet again. The "Not so uncommon" thing that life has screwed me up with, through out these two years of staying late night at office and waking up late has cast its spell once again and stood as a hurdle to vault over before I realized that I already fell down. This has deprived me from participating in this blog contest held as part of world telecom day in my AT&T account. The request for Blogging in the contest (which I always loved) on any Telecom topic had to be sent by 11 AM , so that we would be entitled for participation and would be authorized to access the blog space where the topic has to be posted. but It was 11.30 by the time I woke up. :( It was sheer bad luck that I could not participate. Skimming the wide variety of the posts that were posted at the IBM blogging contest and the quality of its content, I felt, I stood a fair chance of making a podium finish :p, This Post which was declared to be the best and given the First prize had made quite a few eyebrows raising as people found that It has been plagiarized from some other document online (In fact It was me who found it out and wrote a rotten comment at his post) I could not have taken part in this contest which saw quite a few highs and lows and ended dramatically with some sour comments at the winning post, but, that would not stop me from posting my post written for the contest on my own blog. So here comes my endeavor.

After the Trojan War, Nestor had to travel back home for few hundred years to convey the Greeks victory over the Trojans (poor fellows! didn’t have Mobile phones then :p) but now, practically witnessing a drastic transformation and an exceeding growth par or thoughts, during the past one decade in technology specially the communication sector which has telecom flavor attached to it is remarkably a stunning experience. The history kindles nostalgic memories of the efforts made by pioneers in the past to help people communicate with each other through telegraph and telephone. The trends had fast paced up, the Electronics and Telecommunications, together in conjuncture revolutionized the entire world, and are changing at an astounding speed driven by the convergence of technologies, especially in this span of bygone ten years. The Phrases like VOIP, SIP based services, Wi-Fi, IP-VPN,WAN are about to sweep the international markets leaving people stunned over. This is the time when the words like cell phone, internet etc which only a countable number of people used some time back, have become passé. There is nothing that you cannot buy on Internet literally or learn about anything that you are not aware of today, and Cell phones Huh! They were only devices to communicate when they initially evolved, now it is no more what it was. They have grown to unreachable expectations and every thing is incorporated in to this mobile device from cameras, organizers, Juke music boxes and what not! They have become portable computers with Wi-Fi to access fast speed Internet services and stay in touch with the rapid growing world all the time. This rise in telecom has changed our lives prodigiously. Now we cannot imagine a life with out our mobile phone for one single day. I am going through that now, as I lost my mobile for the second time :( in one year.
That’s enough of blogging, now get back to work and some serious stuff ! public static void main(String[] args) { ...

Learnings from the journey of Life

I have decided not to let my laziness get the better of me, I am going share my painstakingly accumulated gyan for all these years of birth. So here goes:

Ten things I wish I knew before entering the real world:

1. Life is unfair: The good guys sometimes do end up last. Things don’t always turn sunny side up.
2. love is not about champagne and roses but learning to stand each others farts too.
3. Nobody is perfect: No one is perfectly happy or miserable. There is no such thing as perfect, just an adjective, nothing else.
4. Everything that goes up comes down: Only make sure that you don’t land on your ass but on your feet.
5. Once you’ve hit rock bottom rejoice, you can only go up from there: It’s the ride down, which is the worst.
6. Ultimately it is inner peace that matters: If I spend the rest of my life making money and end up unhappy anyway I have wasted a lifetime.
7. It’s the journey that matter’s not the destination: Tell that to me when I am stuck in traffic jam!!
8. You can stop pretending, coz no one is watching and no one cares anyway. The ones who do care know that you are pretending and play along.
9. The baby fat that your mom said would melt away, doesn’t: It’s no longer baby fat, the truth is that you are just plain, adult fat. you have to be what you are and not try to be someone else.
10. Not everyone will like you. It’s ok! it really is!

Mobile talk

I really liked my new Nokia 6030 Mobile. So much, that I keep staring at it for hours together :) So as I was exploring my mobile world, I got to know that I had 187 contacts in the sim memory and 32 contacts in the phone memory.
Thought of dedicating one sentence that is right now going through my mind, to a lucky few in the address book. No names, give a try if you can, in spotting whats for whom ! its great if you feel and find your sentence in here and relate it to either you or whoever :p. Browsing my phone book starting from 'A' ....

I wish I could spend a day playing cricket with all you guys, Missing you every moment :(
Your finance is a real gem. Lucky you, take care of both of you.
I guess, the person you love , really likes you; take a chance, take your time.
You are a definite character, have a lot to learn from you, I can say you are Mr.Perfect.
I know, the person you really like needs time; take your time.
I care for you you. Hence, I have to be a pessimist. But will always be happy for you.
I wish you are reading this, it is hard being me.
I liked you for what you were more than anything, don't know If I loath you now.
I really liked you once. Wish you good luck.
I hope there is hope, I don't feel it is infatuation.
I am loving each and every bit of you. Can't say why I do not love you.
You are 93% perfect, would have married you if I wrote 100%
I am getting to know more about you, you are a smart one.
I am getting to know you, I wish you had more time.
I hate what you do to yourself. I love what you are.
You have this uncanny ability to act, and also have the intuitive recognition as to when to act.
I miss the insanity in you. I miss you.
I miss you too. I miss the fun and those blade jokes.
I wish you succeed. I will see you soon.

For the rest plenty, I do care, not in a traditional way and I thank you for being in my mobile :)
p.s. each line is for a different person.

Happy Mother's day

Got up on the wrong side of my bed , snuggled out of my blankets with the cramps in my neck still refusing to abate, got grouched at the paper boy for waking me up, to collect his monthly bill at this odd hour, It was no time to wake up on a clumsy Sunday morning, as early as 9.30 huh!. I then Realized that this was a day that I had bookmarked in my mind to wish my Mom a very happy Mothers day. Called her up after scolding at myself for being so unfortunate not to be with her this time around as well, like on her Birthday the last time. The routine thoughts that normally aroused on weekends, to do something useful in life, disappeared as soon as they sparkled, and by the time I realized that its 5 PM already. Talked to a few of my good friends, Played caroms, solved some enigmatic puzzles and sudoku, watched some routine stupid stuff on TV. I thought what better way to spend Mother’s Day than learning something new about the lady of the hour, So I came up with some fill-in-the-blanks to ask my Mom.

Mom ...
I’m giving up my name and nicknames, so from now on I’d like you all to call me ________
What’s the longest stretch I’ve ever gone without sleeping, in hours?
I may not be perfect, but everyone knows I’m excellent at ________
The strangest thing I’ve ever eaten is ________
Next year is the year I’m going to learn how to ________
The day you felt proud of me (if at all) is _________
The day you felt bad about me (if at all) is _________
I used to hate ________, but now I love it.
I would have been a ________ , If I were a born baby girl.
You want me to get rid of ________

May be I would be asked the same questions on some father's day in future, by my children :D

Are you searching for a reason to be kind ?

Its pleasant to hear. Its alleviation of pains in the heart. Its a soothing solace. Its charmingly simple and serene. It's a pastoral legends striking tune. Rehman has proved himself time and again that there is no match to his strings.
This time it has a reason attached, A.R. Rehman sung this esthetically exquisite song for Nokia India's charity project 'Pray for me, brother' which is the UN Theme song for poverty alleviation mission. This tune definitely creates magic in the hearts of any music lover.

Pray For Me Brother
Composed by A.R.Rehman
Lyrics by Blaaze
Singers: A.R.Rehman and Blaaze

Pray for me brother
Pray for me brother
Pray for me sister
Are you searchin’….
Pray for me brother

Lookin’ for the answers, To all the questions in my life
Will I be alone, Will you be there, by my side
Is it something he said, Is it something he did,I wonder why
He is searchin’ For the answers
To stay alive

Could you ever listen could you ever care to speak your mind
Only for a minute for only one moment,in time
The joy is around us but show me the love,That we must find
Are you searchin’ For a reason...
to be kind, to be kind…
He said Pray for me brother
Pray for me brother
Pray for me sister
Pray for me brother

Say what you wanna say now,But keep your hearts open
Be what you wanna be now,Let’s heal the confusion
Pray for me brother

Don’t let me take When you don’t wanna give
Don’t be afraid Just let me live
Don’t let me take when you don’t wanna give
Don’t be afraid
Say what you wanna say now But keep your hearts open
Be what you wanna be now Let’s heal the confusion
Pray for me brother
Pray for me brother
I’m ashamed ah, brother be dying of poverty
when he down on his knees its only then he prays
And it’s a shame ah, brother be dying of ignorance
cos the world is a trip and everybody’s a hypocrite
Need to stop ah , taking a look at the other
I’m not ashamed of poverty
need to be making his life better
So think about it, think about it once more
coz life is a blessing and it’s not just a show, ah

Round and round the world is spinning around
We need to be singing a prayer, we need to be singing it now
Round and round the world is turning around
We need to be singing a prayer, we need to be singing it now
Need to be feeling the power, need to be feeling the faith
We need to coming together just to win this race
Need to be feeling the power, need to be feeling the faith
We need to coming together just to win this race

Are you searching for a reason to be kind?

A story called ORKUT

"Orkut". My first meeting with this word was in 2nd year of graduation, when one of my friends from Pilani exclaimed saying " You are still not on Orkut ?" with a pitying look usually reserved for endangered animals. I wondered if I was missing something in life! Strange thoughts arose in my brain asking myself if I was so lame not to have known about some thing that is so very obvious for every one else or was I an educated nescient not to have known if he was speaking English, when he said "Orkut". "How ancient can you get?" said my conscience. Later, I was sent an invite to create a profile in this "about to become famous community". Stung by his critical tone I went online that very day and fashioned a new identity for myself on a site whose meaning I still don't know. It took me a while to study and know something about what actually Orkut was. Though I had a profile created, I was playing a spectator instead of a full-fledged addicted Orkut user for 2 years, attributed to the availability of internet facilities at college those days and the minuscule number of friends I had online to interact with. The saga of the journey of Orkut accompanied by cyber-silliness actually started when I forayed in to this IT sector. Since then Orkuting has become the verb used daily. At office you see the ubiquitous Orkut windows open all the time, no wonder the RDC att communications reported the Orkut site as the second most visited site only after Google mail. The gradual transformation of the "stages of orkutting" as I call, have left me with an opinion of useful-nonsense on orkut as I jot. The qualitative changes as I observed in myself on a retrospect varied from a mere visitor to orkut my passion to addicted to orkut to stingy orkut to utterly useless orkut to waste of time on orkut to I hate orkuting. No doubt orkut has helped me meet a lot of my old pals from my school and college days with whom I lost connection, but means of communication with them, through orkut I thought is not a very good medium. On Orkut, it's your calling card. And failure to leave one elicits responses like 'How dare you visit my profile and not leave a scrap?' and land you in trouble. Agree that it is more convenient than a mail. But it is also much less private. You can be as prolific as you want and portray your self as next to any Hollywood star or a President of country or what ever, on your orkut profile. This is one thing that I didn’t like, since a person cannot be judged of his identity based on his profile. You may end up anywhere, I mean anywhere! I also feel that the Dictionaries have the right time arrived for them to update the meanings of words. No longer is a 'scrap' something a dog gets after dinner [:p]. The dollar dreams of the persons who got this innovative idea to implement, have been fulfilled but after-effects are ignored by mere sentence "Conditions apply" with a * mark at some place in the agreement where we click I AGREE button when we create a profile on this "Now famous Orkut" I am sure! So be ware buddies its as addictive as a Rehman's tune.

Happy Birthday my Blog

It all started exactly an year back.The zeal to rescue a passion which was slowly thawing away, From that came the thought to blog, blog and blog more !! result: My blog was born on this same day, exactly 1 year back when I hosted my first post on the blogosphere in this same city Bangalore but at a different place at my office at 2.52 PM. Ever since then, I really loved my posts as much as I enjoyed writing them for all the comments I got on my posts, and especially for all those complete strangers I happened to befriend in this blogging world to grow so intimate that they even called me as soon as they knew, to wish on almost every occasion that I cherished and celebrated in my life.I really wished to blog more often but never to be, these days it has plummeted to very small numbers like 2,3,4 a month.All attributed to the crunch time at work and busy office schedules.Though I don't have a stunning number of posts on my blog, I cherished every post that meandered through my mind and came out materialistic. I want to Thank you too for coming along on the ride! I still feel the thrill I felt on the day when the count meter crossed 150 strikes in one single day, and the day when I received comments from some one unknown all the way from New Jersy !

So here We go, Wishes my one year little blog " Happy Blogiversary " [:)] Rock on !

Brag Brag Brag, Nonsense !

There is so much to say, Yet words don't flow.There is so much to feel, yet the heart does not melt.There is so much to do, yet my limbs are numb. Boredom, I don't know how many philosophies have evolved to beat this syndrome. But not with any specific output and always in vain. Its boring today ! I have been going through all those websites to just pass the time as I have nothing much creative to do at work today.So I keep thinking. Boredom brings out all the questions that I normally try to distract my brain from asking!! So generally my head gets more messed up! My inner soul just drives me towards reading some useful docs, but the other lazy guy in me stops him.If mans very existence has some meaning then why in the world do we feel bored? Wouldn’t living by itself make it worth while? Being bored implies I have nothing meaningful or fun to do at that time. Being lazy implies that I don’t want to do anything meaningful and fun at that time.
Boredom also puts the responsibility of self entertainment squarely on my shoulders,and that essentially points to the failure of my mind in coming up with things to do! Right now I am so bored that even thinking of doing something to do is boring.I did read all the labels on the back of my laptop and skimmed through some stupid sites which are of no use, read long back bookmarked blogs of few of my friends, checked my Rediff and Hotmail inboxes today after a long long time, and even took some online tests to know how nerd I am !! yeh you heard it right its "Nerd".Ok, here are some totally useless facts that only bored people like me read. Enjoy, I am too bored to be original enough to continue writing this piece.

1.Albert Einstein was dead, So did his final words with him. The nurse by his side didn't understand German !

2.It is illegal to be a prostitute in Siena, Italy, if your name is Mary!!!! (I mean if her name is :p )

3.In Ancient Peru, when a woman found an 'ugly' potato, it was a custom for her to splash it into the face of the nearest man. ( Poor beings, I wonder who went to market to fetch them !).

4.In Michigan, a woman isn't allowed to cut her own hair without her husband's permission.

5.The fastest growing nail is on the middle finger. (is it because it is tallest? )

6.A vulture will never attack a human or animal that is moving

7.Al Capone's business card said he was a furniture dealer.(Now who the hell is he !)

8.6% of men propose over the telephone! (60 % reject may be)

9.It is now possible to print human skin with an ink jet printer! (but why do we want to print the human skin?)

10.There are 23 doctors in the U.S. called Dr. Doctor, and one called Dr. Surgeon!

BTW, I dint say you what my nerd score is right? 98%, They say I am a Nerd God :)

Do you really think I am that nerd? well you just need to be smart enough to show up that nerd, Adios!

Mr. Narayana Murthy for president ?

Its hectic, Its damn disgusting to stay late if I had to jot in my blog now at office on this subject with all these project delivery tensions, issues and stuff ! but I am here to vent out all the anger and aroused belligerence from the dribbling blood in my nerves on this much hyped protagonist and proclaimed next president of INDIA Mr.Narayana Murthy, The founder and chief mentor of Infosys.

After reading this news article on the Deccan herald this morning, I really felt mortified on why the people of India are striking a common tune to nominate a person, whom I think do not rightfully deserve the most revered and honored name " the First Person of India "
Do you think that Mr. Narayana Murthy depicts the fast rebelling, slowly emerging, brightly Shining, seriously growing INDIA, with an epaulet of an Indian flag on his shoulder where ever he go and portrays the true face of India, and his hair stand stiff on listening to our national anthem ? Well think again !

Your Highness Mr president Abdul Kalam, was in town on Sunday and Monday at the Mysore Infosys campus, and what greeted him at the stunning campus was not the mellifluous rendition of Rabindranath Tagore’s poem sung by humans, but the electronic version of crappy mis tuned version of notes which sounded more like some polyphonic ring tone than a National Anthem.

Reason? well, this is what the host himself has to connote,

"We had arranged for five people to sing the anthem. But then we canceled it as we have foreigners on board here. They should not be embarrassed while we sing the anthem," - Narayana Murthy.

Infosys said last year it had some 1,800 foreigners on its rolls. But there are no precise figures on how many foreigners were at the Infosys Mysore campus, which is designed to seat 6,400 students, yesterday. But it is on record that it had offered jobs to 126 students from 82 foreign universities last year.But still, Even if that figure of foreigners is ten times greater, does it mean Mr Murthy’s company is willing to slavishly mute his nation’s anthem for their sake?
The national anthem of the winning team and the national anthem of the two competing teams are played at all the Football games and other games like rugby etc even at the Olympics which is witnessed by global television audience, which is always foreign.If that is OK, why is it difficult for Infosys professionals who also happened to be foreigners to listen to a 52-second, five-stanza number? Or for their faculty to make them listen to it? I don't really understand what is the precise embarrassment that foreigners feel by listening to their host-country’s national anthem as was averred by Mr.Murthy. But, above all, coming to a foreign country, to a foreign city, to a foreign company is all about learning, appreciating, assimilating, understanding, and respecting that country’s, that city’s, that company’s culture.
If Infosys’ foreigners—all the 126 or whatever multiples of them—are not doing that, then they have missed a vital ingredient of their education and even more vital ingredient of their excursion I suppose.I don't think they might have neither objected to listen to our national anthem nor be embarrassed with it. Narayana Murthy is being spoken as the “fantastic” next President. Hopefully, the would be Rashtrapati will not have similar views on the National Anthem being sung in the presence of foreigners.

On the same Discussion which I had with my friends at office, I came to know that a local kannada news paper Praja Vani alleges that 90 per cent of the 5,000 employees who had assembled for the Kalam function yesterday at the Infosys campus didn’t know the lyrics of the national anthem by heart.I don't have any feeling to reveal, either to pity them or feel ashamed of them or what ever, Only thing I can do is to show these lyrics of JANA GANA MANA for those ignorant Infoscions. Let go what ever, hope India would be in better hands !