Let's Get Started (Again)

A new year; again !! I will begin it by thanking a friend who cared enough to find out and tell me what I had been looking for past many years. A few days back I received a comment on my Sanjay Manjrekar post which had the link for his album Rest Day. I had been searching for this album and had given up all hope that I am ever going to find it.
This is the link for the album.
It is difficult to find people who would do something for you for nothing in return. It really is!! Gaurav is a scientist working at ISRO who loves reading and watching movies. He cared enough to find out the link and post it on my blog. Thank you my dear friend. It means a lot to me. It really does. I treated Fazal and Mitul when I saw the comment and listened to the songs. At 2 am in the night in the library :)!!!. Wanted to write this post there itself but did not do it because of paucity of time (my exams were going on). But better late than never :).

Happy New Year :)

P.S. Had written this post on 1st itself. Don't know why I did not post it

The 3 months

It's been 3 months since I posted something on this blog. I did not have much to share with the rest of the world. A lot happened, but probably it held no relevance to world outside. Life was hectic enough, and was confined to the world inside the IIM. It seemed that I was just sailing through time and things were happening around me. Did horribly bad in academics, did not win any quiz or any other competition, got into Aircel (an ok type company for summers), organised Harmony Cup (for Bhavishya) participated in Index, a disguised marketing research fair organised by IIM L (non MBA junta, if you don't understand it, don't fret too much about it; I don't understand it either :D) and some more.

These were strange three months. They flew by, just like that. When I reflect on what I did in these months, I can hardly think of anything to which I applied myself truly. Oh, by the way, I got selected into Quizzing Commoners (the quizzing club of IIM Lucknow) as well.

I had new experiences wherein I learned more about myself and others. Not all of them can be called pleasant though. They did provide some valuable insights, taught me a few things here and there. I understand a few things I could not fathom earlier.. more on that some other time.

I missed some people, close friends, my room mates at Noida, but somehow was not able to get in touch with people. Life in these three months did not give much time to think, to reflect or even to talk. There was this constant urge to run away to some place where I could not be found.From what, I don't know. But, every time there was some pending task to be done, some deadline to be met, some assignment to be completed. I lost my cool a number of times, shouted at a few batchmates, avoided talking to some friends (for reasons even I am not sure about), hardly replied to non-official mails, and made a lot of friends and family members angry(for which they are totally justified). I am not sure what I was doing, but a lot of that should have been avoided. Maybe, I was trying to do too many things at the same time, and in the process I stopped enjoying my life.

3rd term will begin in a few days from now. I hope to rectify mistakes I committed in these three months, and be a little more sensible. A lot of things need to be done, a lot of decisions need to be taken, a lot is yet to be learned...and a lot of life is yet to be lived...

Kaun Banega Crorepati

KBC, I guess was launched way back in 2000. It's been 11 years now and it's good to see a show that has been going for such a long time . Those who have been following it reminisce about old contestants. They still remember Harshwardhan Nawathe (first person to win 1 crore Rupees). They talk about the guy who had won Rs 50 lakh and came crashing down to Rs 3,20,000 because he attempted the Rs 1 crore question.

They go back in time when Amitabh Bachchan did his Vijay Dinanath Chauhan gig for Vinod Kambli and Sachin Tendulkar (yes!! I can't help but bring him back to this blog again and again :P ).

In between came Shahrukh Khan, who brought his charisma and style to the show. It was said that he won't be able to fill Amitabh Bachchan's shoes and would be soon written off. But he held his own. He was funny, spontaneous, witty and created his own fan following of the show. He got better when contestants tried to undermine him. I remember the episode in which the teacher who tried to insult him ended up making up a fool of herself. Too bad, he did not return as the host and instead did "Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas se Tez hai", a very crappy show indeed.

And I saw the show today after a long long time and disappointment would be a small word to describe my feelings. Amitabh Bachchan is as good as ever, and it's always a delight to listen Hindi in his deep baritone voice. But has he hired Bappi Lahiri as his fashion designer??? or probably his designer is inspired by Mithun Chakraborti and Govinda's movies of the '80s.

There's too much emotional drama that goes on the show. It looks more like the irritating Indian Idol minus the voting. Probably they will introduce that too...who knows?? Why the hell should I care if the person sitting on hot seat earns only Rs 115 per day, or that he lost his limbs in an accident, or that there is only Rs 100 in the savings account of the contestant. The number of questions have reduced, their quality deteriorated, and strange life lines have been introduced. Worse, they have introduced the fake laughter and applause from the audience. Similar to the kind that we used to have in crappy comedy shows of the yore. That was the last thing one could have done to the game show.

Today, Ranbeer Kapoor came on the show for the promotion of his movie and for some shitty charity campaign which basically aimed at endorsing Pepsi...PEPSI for Charity???? Sounds like an oxymoron or an irony...which ever way you want to look at it.The 45 second clock that keeps ticking has hardly succeeded in making the show exciting. And who designed the sets of the show???? I am losing respect for Siddhartha Basu with each passing episode.....

Watching TV, especially Indian entertainment channels like Sony, Zee etc. has become an ordeal now. Where are the great quiz shows like (BQC, India Child Genius, University Challenge etc.), programmes like Chitrahaar, a decent half an hour news bulletin like Aaj Tak (remember Surendra Pratap Singh...Ye thi khabrein aaj tak; Intezaar kijiye kal tak?????).Males comprises at least 50% of Indian population.Have these entertainment channels (Sony, Zee, Star Plus)stopped making shows for them???? I seriously hope that some day I'll enjoy watching a TV show with family. I look forward to that day...And my heart keeps on singing the song..

Aaj bhi hai baandhe ummeed ki dori...don't lose hope is the moral of the story... :)

Say 'Friend'....

and enter......

---From LOTR

Why do people in relationships think they are unique...more or less they face the same kind of problems...same issues regarding family/ religion/ ego/ past/ present/ future....only the names and contexts change... and yet they look at me with condescending eyes .....and that I won't understand since I have never been in one....

To me they all appear same...who more often than not, confuse affection /lust /infatuation /crush/ pleasure with love...and they talk big about it...had it not been the case, most of them would not have faced break ups...for if you are in love...do you ever "break up"?????

Game, Set and Match :)

So eventually, it has come to this....a close friend of mine is expected to get married sometime in February....can't spill the beans because I have been asked not to...but I can't help myself from writing this post....for I know the couple and feel extremely happy for them....

I still am not the marriage and commitment types...still very much happily single and no plans to change either, but to some extent I realize what a good partner means for people. Maybe, because in past few days I have seen people suffering because they are not able to be with their loved ones, for one reason or the other, some because of their family pressures, some because the other person does not feel the same and a few because of the ego hassles...

I wonder, sometimes, how great it must be to find someone with whom you can spend your life, with whom you can share a good talk, with whom you'd like to have your food, someone who would care for you and your feelings, someone who would stand by you....and very importantly, someone who would respect your family as well....can love be more than that??? I don't know what love is, but for me that suffices..

and thus I feel happy for my friend, who will be married to someone he loves...who fulfills the criteria mentioned above, and probably some more...

So dear friend, I know you will read this...and I pity the girl who fell for you...girls are dumb after all, this marriage reaffirms my beliefs :D ...don't let her go because you are the lucky one, and even though I haven't been in one, I have seen relationships fall because of stupid reasons... you are wise enough to know that :)

My best wishes for both of you :D

A different Independence day....

All my life, almost, I cribbed mostly about situations and conditions around, I was unhappy with my surroundings, with the opportunities, with my failures etc. etc....and when I look back, it was definitely not bad, in fact even good...one learns to appreciate one's life a lot when one realises what others haven't got...

We visited Rajkiya Bal Griha, an orphanage where mostly juvenile kids stay and it was a reality check, at least for me....we have lived in such comfort all our lives that we fail to appreciate our fortunes, the people around us...

It was raining cats and dogs on 15th August....and the situation was as bad inside the rooms at Rajkiya Bal Griha as outside...it was difficult to find a place where you could hide from dripping water from the roofs...the kids there sleep on wooden planks...most of them don't even know where they are from...many of them retarded mentally...with no one to accept them...wearing torn clothes...it was difficult not to get overwhelmed with emotions....

And they were happy...to see us...to find people who at least for one day in their lives cared for them...brought them good food, toys to play and most importantly time to spend...many of them cried when we were leaving.....

I wonder why we went there...probably most of us would forget the day...when we did some CSR...to put it in b-school terms...a CV point maybe..or a story to tell...but I hope that we will find some reason to reach out to them...not for just one day....

I don't pity them...honestly...because I found them with smiles on their faces, with a lot of enthusiasm....I rather pity myself and people like me around...who choose to forget them, and crib because their pay packages are only 15 lakhs per annum and not 20...who are not able to appreciate simple gifts in life...which are luxury to many...

It's important to be grateful...and love life...

Something worth Thinking About

Why I am an Atheist?

--By Bhagat Singh

Hoping and Waiting

India will play England today at Lord's in the 2000th Test Match. Some 4 years ago, when India toured England, India drew with England at Lord's in the first test match and went on the win the test series. Sachin Tendulkar, then 34, was just beginning to emerge from one of the worst patches that he had seen.

He got out cheaply in that test match. I remember saying to my friend, "He missed a century at the Mecca once again....and he won't get another chance since this is his last test match at Lord's...even Agarkar has one there".My friend, a little less enthusiastic about cricket asked me.."Why is this his last test match...he can obviously score a century later.." I chose not to answer the question....It would have been difficult to explain to him that Sachin was almost at the end of his career and probably touring England for the last time. And the next tour was in 2011. Now, here we are in 2011, at Lord's again, Sachin continues to play and defy the odds at the age of 38. I am hoping and eagerly waiting for the 100th century...and the occasion can only be second to scoring the 100th one at the World Cup finals...My fingers are crossed....

A walk to remember...and some more..

Sachin Tendulkar walked...finally....and as expected people hailed the great man for the gentleman gesture of his...But did they forget that he never "walked" earlier, even when he knew he was out and always waited for umpire's decision. The only reason I believe is the presence of UDRS. He probably knew that West Indies will challenge the decision and instead of embarrassing himself the way Ricky Ponting did the other day, decided not to waste time on the field. But we Indians have to eulogize anything and everything associated with the "GOD". Can we please let him be human and, for a change, give other players their due credit...

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Saw "The Bridge on the River Kwai". I am on a "IMDB Top 250 movies" watching spree, you see...:)..It's an excellent movie, though it appears absurd at times. I got confused by the actions of the protagonist a number of times but understood the concept by the time movie ended (have to admit that the reviews helped a great deal as well :)). The highlight of the movie is the cinematography and the acting of Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) who deservedly won an oscar for his performance. The pace of the movie is excellent, even though it was made around 50 years back (I can definitely vouch for that, especially after watching "Seven Samurai"). Though based on World War II, it is not a usual war film. The movie revolves around the conflict between Colonel Saito and Colonel Nicholson. The greatness of the movie lies in the fact that the director makes the viewer understand the predicament of Colonel Saito who, though on the wrong side is not the devil as portrayed by Ralph Fiennes(playing the character of Amon Goeth) in Schindler's List.
I wonder why such movies are not made in Bollywood. I don't even need fingers to count good Hindi movies released in the past two years.

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I was recently reading a blog, a post on which criticized men for everything that is wrong with women in the world. It smelled both of hatred and a "female" chauvinism...And I wondered, isn't this the way of life?? That the powerful will always dominate and the weak will always suffer. We see this everywhere...don't we ?? Politicians make the common man suffer, big bully always has his way in school and BCCI twists the arm of every cricket playing nation to have its way...Instead of generalizing and hating them, can we try to make ourselves stronger, to face the difficulties in a better manner??? Too idealistic and too theoretical, I agree, but won't the world be a better place if such were to happen...

A book, a world cup and some movies

Kungfu Panda is one of the best movies that I have seen and I keep watching it over and over again. The beauty of the movie lies in the eternal and yet so easily forgotten message that it conveys. That of believing in oneself....



Probably that is the reason we find children so happy. They are not bothered about what happened a few days back and are not concerned about what future has in store for them. They look forward to the evenings when they can go out and play....everyday....two month summer vacations or the festivals like Holi, Sankranti etc is the maximum they look forward to. And don't we get the same message from self help books and religious teachers. To live in the present and enjoy moments that we so often consider insignificant.


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Saw some highly acclaimed movies in the past few days...Seven Samurai, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's nest, The Graduate, Amelie, The Girl in the Cafe, Wall-E and a few more. Of these I enjoyed only Amelie and The Girl in the Cafe. You can laugh at me for my terrible lack of understanding of "good Cinema" , of being a simpleton and not appreciating the rest..but I can't help it....and I can assure you that most of the people don't understand/like them either. But since one would be a fool not to praise them, and it will look odd they will pretend that they thoroughly enjoyed these movies. (yes...I am expecting reactions like "Kya bakwas kar raha hai!!!", "you are an idiot", "you don't have a proper taste","how can you say like that (which basically translates to Kya bakwas kar raha hai!!!)").

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World cup is going on and strangely I am not missing watching matches at all (we don't have tv and we mostly watch matches in which India is playing by live streaming). Sometimes, I miss the old me which used to go crazy over everything and anything related to cricket. All my heroes (except Sachin) have retired and are either sitting in commentary boxes or in news rooms analysing the present world cup. It was so much fun to watch them in action in older days. And then I realise, it was them whom I loved watching and not the game of cricket itself. Don't things of past always look glorious?????

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Completed reading "India After Gandhi" by Ramchandra Guha and thoroughly enjoyed it. For all those who consider Nehru a villain;Indira Gandhi an Iron Lady and Rajiv Gandhi, the maker of modern India should read it. For it will clear most misconceptions by citing the events in a fluent and lucid manner. Though this book won't improve your life in any manner, it will definitely make you more knowledgeable about our very own existence, as to how we managed to survive as a Democracy, how we are still a secular society even when the odds were heavily against us. And probably you will admire the far sightedness and patriotism of the founding fathers of this country as well...

Happy Birthday

This blog completes two years today...:)...
Isn't it amazing that it has survived two complete years and is still alive despite being authored by the laziest person in the world :)
Happy Birthday my dear blog....



P.S. Thank you dear anonymous for reminding me...

Mirror mirror on the wall...

Newspapers are full of stories about scams these days viz Sukna Land Scam, 2-G scam, Commonwealth Games scam, and yes Bofors Scam (now that court has given its verdict on Ram Mandir, BJP has nothing better to do than dig old graves). We just love big numbers,...1.76 lakh crores in 2G scam, 70k crores in CWG...it's difficult to sate this appetite, isn't it. And we criticize, we keep doing that ...all the time.
It's tax time of the year and we just submitted our proofs for tax savings . I form the second lowest rung of hierarchy in my company. Of the total annual salary, I get around Rs 84k as house rent allowance. The tax on this amounts to around Rs 8.4k per annum. How to save this amount??? Simple!!! Just produce fake bills showing a healthy amount as house rent. Nobody cares as long as this amount does not exceed Rs1.5 lakhs. Add to that fake medical bills, fake leave travel allowance bills etc. etc. Recently I learned a new method; just donate the taxable portion of your salary to some charity by cheque and get cash in return. This would serve two purposes:
a) You would save a hell lot of money on taxes.
b)This would make the black money of the charitable institute white.
A classic example of "I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine". You can't even get caught. Because you donated the money with best of your intentions to a charity authorized by government itself.

Now, just imagine the population of the country which earns enough to pay taxes, and we'll come to a figure that would put to shame the likes of A. Raja ,Suresh Kalmadi, Abdul Kareem Telgi and every tom, dick and harry whom we call corrupt.
We don't even feel ashamed about it. It's our hard earned money after all. Why should we pay government for it?? Anyways it's going to end up in a minister's pocket or in some anonymous Swiss bank accounts.
I went to a marriage last year where I saw a lady advising her nephew, a young college student , to prepare for civil services because that is where one can earn the real money. All the pride that I carried in my heart for our 'great' value system evaporated then and there.
Don't get me wrong. I am not writing this to stop anybody from doing this, because I can't. I just want to make one request: Stop criticizing the ministers, the bureaucrats, the officials for siphoning money off the top. Because, deep down we all are as corrupt as any Kalmadi, A Raja , Lalu, Yediurappa, Ramalingam Raju and any other name that one can think of. Because had we been in their places, we would have done the same. Because we do it with all earnestness during the one month in which we get our chances. Because... we can at least try not to be hypocrites....