And We are back....

Ok...so the year 2009 is going and I am coming back to the world of blogginng....I am not saying that I was away or anything...but somehow the urge to write had gone...or for that matter the urge to do anything...I have stopped doing all the good (at least I thought so) things I used to do..for absolutely no reason at all... I have stopped blogging, reading, quizzing, chatting and what not...I haven't watched tv for quite some time, neither have I read newspaper....NO ..I haven't been busy at all..in fact my job is as cool as it can get giving me ample time to do whatever I want to ...somehow I have just stopped doing these things...and it's not good...

When I sit back and think about it, most of my fellow college bloggers have stopped blogging... I haven't read a post from Mayuri since ages, Chetna writes a couple of lines once in a month, Rohit's most posts are password protected; so for most of the lesser mortals like me, it is as good as nothing at all. Balanisisred is dead, nobody is concerned about Burinazarwaale, Pradyot last blogged in August, I can't even recall the address of Anuragi's blog, some other blogs I used to follow earlier (and are not in my blog list) are not as active either as they used to be some months back....Wonder what happened to all.... :(

There has been a new development though...Goutam has finally started penning down his thoughts here...I hope he doesn't stop.

New year starts tomorrow....I don't want anything new. Just want to be the old Aviral in this new year....

Happy New Year to all :)

Jerusalem by William Blake

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic mills?

Bring me my bow of burning gold;
Bring me my arrows of desire
Bring me my spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my chariots of fire.

I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.

Mujhe Pyar Hai Tumse

He he ...don't get any ideas from the title of the post. This is another song which I used to love. The song was sung by Pankaj Saraogi some 10-12 years back. I loved the song then, and I love the song now. The song also features Manav Gohil, who acted in some shitty soap operas and is the husband of Shweta Kwatra. The girl who plays the lead role in the song has a tooth missing and whenever she smiles, she tries to cover her face. (This is the actual reason why I am posting it here...he he )

Enjoy...:)

Another List

I wrote my last post some 12 hours back and here I am writing again. Just writing for the heck of it since I don't have anything better to do. Was thinking about all the songs which I used to listen again and again. Here's a list of songs I was very crazy about, so much that sometimes one of them was the only song in my playlist and was played no less than 50-60 times in a day

1. Maahi Ve (Kal Ho Naa Ho)

2. O Humdum Suniyo Re (Saathiya)

3. Maahi Ve (Faakir Mantra)

4. Chandni Raatein (Partners in Rhyme)

5. Dil Jo bhi Kahey (Title song)

6. Kitni Der Tak (Delhi Heights)

7. Kabhi Kabhi Aditi (Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na)

8. Dhoom (Euphoria)

9. Dhani (Strings)

10. Mera Bichchra Yaar (Strings)

11. Phir Dekhiye (Rock On)

Kuchh Angrezi ke Nagme

1. It's my life (Bon Jovi)

2. Learning to Fly (Pink Floyd)

3. Drink Up me Hearties Yo ho(Pirates of Caribbean)

4. We Didn't Start the Fire (Billy Joel)

5. American Pie (Don Mclean)

6. The Man Who Sold The World (Nirvana)

7. Heaven (Bryan Adams)

8. Black or White (Michael Jackson)

9. Tubthumping (Chumbawamba)

Chandni Raatein

Some ages ago when I was still in college and shared a room with Ankush i.e. Mullad aka hamaare hone waale bhateeje ka baap(ya maa :P :)), I was in love with this particular song called Chandni Ratein. I still am, though to a lesser extent. I kept on playing the song on his comp and kept on agonizing him. He was tired of it, once even removed it but somehow I got it back. Recently while visiting a blog, I found this song again. I never knew that this song was a remix version of an old song, done by Bally Sagoo. And and and ....believe it or not, as I write these lines it is playing on my desktop (it's not intentional, it's there in the playlist...funny that it should start playing as I write this post). Here is the original song, sung by the great Noor Jahan herself.

Speaking of Noor Jahan, I am reminded of a story that when she was about to leave for Pakistan, Dileep Kumar tried to persuade her for the whole night to stay in India but in vain. It was after her departure only that Lata Mangeshkar rose to heights that are virtually unscalable now. Here is the Wikipedia link on the Mallika-e-Tarranum.

Two other such songs which forced my sister and my friends to bang their heads against the walls are this and this. Hope you enjoy them both :).

P.S. I came across this song here.

The Difference

Biggest difference in my college life and today: I don't laugh that often....

A Memory and More

Long back I had written a post about India vs Zimbabwe match in 1996 World Cup. This match was the predecessor of a great match, something etched in the memories of all Indian cricket fans alike. I am talking about India vs Pakistan at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. It was only the second time India was meeting Pakistan in World Cup and the atmosphere was intense like never before. Wasim Akram, the captain of Pakistan team in this edition of World Cup pulled out of this knock out match as he had suffered an injury and handed over the captaincy to Aamir Sohail, who at that point of time was one half of the then best opening partnership in the world(with Saeed Anwar). The match started in a dull fashion, with Sachin Tendulkar after a slow start got bowled to a relatively unknown bowler Ata Ur Rahman( I remember that instance distinctly because after that I had gone out to play). Much had happened by the time I came back. Navjot Singh Sidhu had made 93 runs, Azhar and Kambli had chipped in with useful 20s but the greatest blow to Pakistan came from the Man of the Match of the previous match, Ajay Jadeja. He blasted 45 runs off just 25 balls and plundered them mostly off Waqar Younis, who gave away 40 runs in his last two overs. India finished its innings at 287/8. Now the match seemed in India's pocket because such high scores were rarely chased then.

But Saeed Anwar and Aamer Sohail had different plans. They ripped Indian bowling apart in the opening overs scoring 84 runs off the first10. The required run rate was barely above 5 and Saeed Anwar and Aamer Sohail were playing like a T20 match. Then Srinath struck getting Anwar out, but Pakistan were still cruising with Aamir Sohail probably playing the most important innings in his life.

After completing his 50, he came down the track to hit Venkatesh Prasad for a boundary at extra cover. But, then he did something he shouldn't have done. He pointed his bat towards the region mocking Venkatesh Prasad, probably because prior to that delivery, Prasad had moved a fielder from that very point. The very next ball he tried to pull, but this time Prasad got better of him. Sohail was bowled. The house erupted like anything. Never had I seen such jubilation and celebration, be it at the crowd or at my home. Here's the video clip.

Pakistan never recovered from the Prasad jolt. Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam departed early. But the forever nemesis of Indian team, Javed Miandad was still at the crease. My father kept on reminding me of his famous last ball six off Chetan Sharma at Sharjah. With him in the middle, anything was possible. He got run out at a score of 38 and was the 8th wicket to fall. This match turned out to be his last in international cricket and a career spanning 3 decades came to a halt at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. No doubt, one of the best batsmen of world cricket deserved a better goodbye.

All did not get over with the match. Effigies of Wasim Akram were burnt for allegedly throwing away the match and not playing. In Pakistan, a 22 year old first shot his TV and then himself after watching the match. Miandad blamed Akram for handing over the captaincy to a relatively inexperienced player (Aamer Sohail) and not to him. The party for India got over very soon as well. A few days later, India lost in the Semi Finals to Sri Lanka in a match every Indian would like to forget. If this match was the zenith of the '96 World Cup, the semi finals was the nadir for India in this tournament, all symbolised by Vinod Kambli's tears.

Religion

There are questions that have troubled me over the years and I need someone with a sane head who can talk rationally and explain them to me. One of such things is why people change their religion. How do they rate one religion over another, so much so that they convert to it. I am not talking about the villages where allegedly Christian Missionaries spread the name of God and force people to convert to a so called better faith. They do it by giving some incentive...let's not get there, it's a different territory altogether...

I am talking about people who WANT to convert to some other religion. The list includes celebrities like Madonnas, Michael Jacksons, Muhammad Alis, and many others. I assume these people are mature enough to decide what to follow and what not to follow. It's completely a personal opinion and I have absolutely no right to intrude into someone's private life. But I fail to understand the REASON behind it. WHY do they have to do it??? Aren't the teachings of all religions essentially the same. Don't we all know what we need to do and have our conscience to guide us for that. There are people who say that this religion is bad because it dehumanizes women, while this is better because it gives them complete freedom. Bull Crap. Being educated individuals, we absolutely know our positions in society. And how does it matter if we are born in a Hindu family, or a Christian family or a Muslim one. By changing the religion, can we change the people around us, their mentality and their perceptions. I really doubt so. Good people can be found everywhere, so can be said about the bad people. How these converts are able to connect to the Almighty in a better manner by doing so is beyond a mortal like me. And as far as personal freedom goes, it's more about the culture and society in which one is born rather than the religion that one follows. I am a Hindu and proud to be so..but does that make me better or worse than a Christian or a Muslim?? The question answers itself. How can a religion change a man...it's only a road, which one has to follow, and all roads lead to Rome..don't they :)

सबकी एक कहानी

बटोरने चला हूँ साज़ो सामान जिंदगानी का ...
वक़्त मिला तो कभी ढूँढ लाऊंगा खुदको भी

Blessed are those who know what they seek in life.......

PS: The above lines are not mine. Said by a senior colleague in office.....

My Current Job

Hello Hello...Testing Testing ...123...123.....Mobile(Samsung) testing...

A question on Failure

Why do people find it so difficult to acknowledge their failures and give weird reasons for the same?

Home is where the heart is :)

New Life, New Universe, New Everything

Tomorrow afternoon, I will leave Jaipur, my home for the past 23 years.....and I am going to miss each and everything related to it. My life has been great and I have been a really lucky guy so far, I had all the luxuries of life, went to one of the finest schools in Jaipur, studied in a very reputed college (at least in Rajasthan :) :P) ; but most importantly I had a great family and some excellent friends one can only dream of.

I really thank god for all that He has given me. Many people are not so fortunate as I have been. Speaking of friends, I think I am very very lucky. I met some people who were real gems from the heart. Be it joy or misery, they were always there to hold my hand, to support me, to guide me. They laughed with me when I was happy, celebrated my success as if it was their own, supported me when I was down, scolded me when I did something wrong and, even shouted at me when I did not share my sorrows with them. I count myself amongst the blessed ones. Some others, even though they can't be classified as friends, really made a mark upon my life, influenced(positively) it in more than one ways.

From tomorrow onwards, most of it is going to be left behind. I'll begin a new life, meet new people, make new relations, work in new conditions. I hope that I'll meet as good people I have met so far, if not better. I hope that I'll enjoy with them as much as I have enjoyed with my friends from school and college. I hope that I'll be able to fulfill some promises I had made to myself, my family and friends. I hope......

Swades & Shahrukh Khan

There are some movies that over a period of time I have watched over and over again. One factor common among them all is that they all have been really very simple, nothing larger than life in them, have an excellent presentation of a very simple story(one you can relate to) and yes ....none of them have been major blockbuster hits.

Swades is one such movie. I normally don't watch Shahrukh Khan movies, simply because the basic story revolves mostly around his 'lover boy' image. The sole motive of the movie and Shahrukh Khan remains mainly(and quite simply) to earn as much money as it can, making young and not so young girls love him through his mannerism (often wrongly labelled as his charm and charisma). Swades is one big exception.

Shahrukh Khan, portrayed as a scientist working in NASA, comes back to his motherland in search of himself. The movie carries patriotism as the message it is trying to convey(read sell). But it is done in a very subtle manner. No shouting slogans like those in Sunny Deol movies or long emotional dialogues (akin to Manoj Kumar's movies) are there in the movie. He is not fighting terrorism or some corrupt politician (jisne chand chandi ke sikko ke liye apne desh ko bech diya ho). In fact, he tries to counter the basic problems that still plague the society even after 60 years of independence. He comes back to India to fulfil his duties towards Kaveri Amma, his nanny in his childhood. It is here that he realizes what he can do for his country and his people, trying to bring an improvement in society through education and by empowering the lower sections of society.

The greatness of the movie lies in its simplicity. No extrovert display of patriotism (or love for the girl) is used by Ashutosh Govarikar to deliver the message. Music is amazing as is expected of A R Rahman (Udit Narayan actually won National Award for Ye Tara! Vo tara!)The hero does not need to do dhishum dhishum with any villain, does not dance in the rain (or for that matter otherwise as well) doing stupid moves with his girl. He is a very common and simple man, a young guy who went abroad to study, worked there and in his adulthood realized his love for his motherland. Unlike other patriotic movies, he does not come back to village and takes farming as his occupation, rather becomes a project manager at Vikram Sarabhai Space Research Center.

Shahrukh Khan is undoubtedly the most popular man in India. But, unfortunately he is NOT a great actor. He is a good actor alright, but not in the league of Dileep Kumar, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Amitabh Bachchan and among his contemporaries Irrfan Khan. But that is how he is. In the past decade or so, Shahrukh Khan the businessman has taken precedence over Shahrukh Khan, the actor. He does not experiment with his roles, works with the directors/production houses of his choice, in the process makes crores of rupees strengthening the image of Lover Boy that he carries and now even runs an IPL team full of stars but unfortunately is a bunch of losers.

In Swades, he tries to achieve the greatness that eludes him. But regrettably, falls back to a pathetic movie like Om Shanti Om which, to the misfortune of Indian Cinema, is the biggest money making movie ever (I actually became a huge fan of SRK after this movie. Jo aadmi aisi movie ko super hit kara sakta hai, vo desh me kuchh bhi kar sakta hai). It is really disappointing that Swades did not become a block buster hit. But Indian cinema goers still love Masala more than the main ingredient. The generation ahead of us will probably remember Shahrukh Khan as the most popular man(and definitely not as a great actor) India saw in the two decade of '90s and '2000s. I would like to remember him for Swades and Chak De! India...

HUMILITY

People sometimes call me humble...I know I am not...People confuse 'not bragging' with humility and probably that's where I think people make a major mistake. I know my limitations and many a time I get irritated when people think I am better than what I actually am. But does 'not bragging' make one humble..I don't think so...

I have failed many times in many things that I have tried. Biggest among them have been not getting through JEE and CAT as of now. There can be many reasons why I failed and probably the most important one is not preparing well enough. Putting in long hours is way different from hard work.

Some time back I met a friend of mine who had scored better than me in CAT. I know that he was not as passionate and enthusiastic about CAT as I had been, neither had he put in as much effort. But the end result for both of us was pretty much same. 'Not Selected'. We laughed about it when me met. I remember his exact words....'Dekh yaar! prepare tune bhi nahi kiya aur maine bhi nahi!!! ye to hona hi tha...agli baar prepare karke denge to badhiya hoga aur call bhi aa jayegi".

To him it did not make much of a difference since it was not something he had seriously tried. But to me it did. And that was precisely the time when my ego took a hit. Had he said the same thing again or had repeated it in some other way, I would have definitely told him..."Mujhe tera nahi pata...maine to bahut mehnat ki thi". I did not say that but I would have for sure. That would have satisfied my ego even if it was for a very short moment. But probably he had said a bitter truth I had refused to accept. Had I been well prepared, I would have got through at least one entrance exam among many that I wrote. It was not him that I was trying to convince. It was me all the way.

I know people who would not utter a word about their achievements. Humility reflects in their attitude and behaviour. They don't need the world to know who/what they are. Humility is about being brave and accepting the truth. More importantly it is definitely not about self deprecation. To me, Shahrukh Khan is more humble than Amitabh Bachchan. It may appear otherwise, but that is what I feel.

Random Bakwaas

Sometimes in life, when we try to get too close to some people, we push them far away...

Pyar Wyar and All That

There are people who want to let the world know that they are committed, that they are in love. They'll put up weird status msgs on social networking sites. They'll pen poems about love and write them in the "Notes" section of Facebook inviting everybody to read. Some even upload their pics together, not one or two pics but a whole album of just the two of them (sadly in the backgrounds, generally there is nothing else to see). I wonder if they really are in love or it is the feeling of insecurity that drives them into doing such things. Can't they be discreet???I may be wrong. But, is love for display??

A debate and some disagreement

Recently Ricky Ponting crossed Allan Border as the highest test run scorer for Australia. My congratulations to him. He has been a prolific run scorer for his team and has won a lot of matches single handedly for his team. Undoubtedly he stands alongwith Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Jacques Kallis as one of the best batsmen of this era.

A nice article was written about him on Cricinfo. You can read it here. However, what followed was a nasty debate between the australian and Indian cricket fans as to who has been a better batsman over the past years. Heated arguments flowed from both sides. Some Australians and to my shock some Indians as well went on to say that Ponting is the greatest batsman of this era and Sachin Tendulkar is the most over rated batsman world cricket has seen. He has been hyped by media and is no more than a flat track bully making runs against the weakest of opposition like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

I'm not going to provide any statistics, neither am I going to compare the three. But I just want to ask these people how can they be such poor judges of batmanship. Even if we agree that Sachin has been hyped by media, he would not have been lauded by the greatest batsman of all time, Sir Don himself; by the greatest spinner of all time, Shane Warne; by some of the greatest fast bowlers of modern era, including Allan Donald and Wasim Akram. It is one thing to sit in commentary or press boxes to scribble articles heaping praise/criticism on a batsman and it is another to have a first hand experience being out there in the field playing alongside/against him. People may have difference of opinion regarding who was the best, was it the maestro from Mumbai or was it the prince from Trinidad& Tobago and it is appropriate as well. But to label him as a flat track bully makes one wonder if these people really follow cricket or are fully loaded with prejudice.

Again, it is not his records or centuries that make him the greatest batsman (he is for me, if not for anybody else), it is the humility and the grace with which he has carried himself over the past 20 years or so. To live under the eyes of media, carrying the expectations of millions and still be able to maintain the composure is something which is quite unheard of in the sporting world.

Honestly, after Tendulkar, it is only Brian Lara and Mark Waugh whose batting I have enjoyed watching on TV. Ponting may have won more matches than Sachin or Lara did for their respective teams. He may go on to make most centuries and become the highest test run scorer. Ponting is undoubtedly one of the best batsmen of this generation. Nobody can take that away from him.But he failed to win one important thing which both Tendulkar and Lara won in plenty.....hearts of spectators all over the world.

Confusion Confusion

In a few days from now, I will be embarking upon a new journey. The long awaited 'joining date' as arrived. It had been postponed from July 14 to January 4 and now it has been preponed. When I got the news I was not sure if I should be happy. I am still not sure. If there is one thing that I have dreaded in my engineering, it has been coding and this is precisely the thing that I am going to do as job. Unlike my some other friends, I was not highly affected by the delay in joining because somewhere deep in my heart I never wanted to be a software engineer.

Being the lazy person I am, how am I going to survive in the competitive environment, remains to be seen. I am not sure if I am going to last long in this job, even if they increase my salary significantly. 23 years have passed and I still don't know what I want from my life. Money is important but so is the time needed to enjoy it. Money is important but so is ego. Money is important but so is peace of mind. I wanted to do MBA from a good college as soon as I graduated from my college. But it was more of peer pressure I guess and more importantly a long cherished dream of studying in an elite institution. Why MBA, and why me??? I am still searching for answers. I don't think many people know the answers either but they 'Just Do It'. Because this is what we're supposed to do. This is what leads to high paying jobs, isn't it?? And in our present society money means both success and security. kya karte ho ye chhodo, kitna kama rahe ho????

A friend of mine did only what she wanted to do. Undeterred by everybody(including me) who told her otherwise. Amongst all my friends, she is the only one who always seems to be enjoying, always with a smile on her face. She was the topper of her college, won gold medal for the best allrounder, but chose to go in a field which is full of struggle, in which money and recognition comes very late(If it comes, that is) until and unless you are very lucky or have loads of money or have great contacts. It's not money that she's after, nor recognition either. It is the satisfaction that she gets from her work that always leads to a smile on her face. Lot of times, I read and heard that it is the fear of failure that is the biggest hindrance in a man's success. I realise now what that means. We are too afraid to break away from the well trodden path, too afraid to come out of our comfort zones. I wish I had my friend's guts.....

Fact for the Day 10

In our childhood the boys mostly used to read Hardy Boys by Franklin W Dixon while the girls used to read Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene. However, no person by the name of Franklin W Dixon or Carolyn Keene ever existed. There were a number of authors who used these as pen names, both for Stratemeyer Syndicate. Read more here and here.

ek chhoti si list....aur bahut saari yaadein...

Walkman/Xerox

Cosco

Bisleri

Maggi

Luna

Good knight

Flotters

Aspirin

Scooty

Ranger Cycle

Surf

Rin

Kachhua Chhap

Pilot pen

Rasna

Vim

No explanations for whatever is written above. This list was compiled by Ankush, Chetna, Mayuri and yours truly in canteen with a single but highly valuable input from Anirudh Jain (Gujju).

Much hue and cry was raised when this list was lost because it was written on a very important piece of paper. Reminds of the good old times, actually the best days of engineering while working(read not working) on project. Missing all the friends today.

Happy Friendship Day

Tolerance and Success

Our will of not tolerating Rakhi Sawant is far outweighed by her will of making us tolerate her.

Isn't this the secret of success....."To have your way, come what may"

Useless Fact for the Day 9

Just came across something..As usual ..it is a useless trivia but interesting nevertheless...

I hope the readers recognise Chetan Hansraj..the actor who appeared in good for nothing Ekta Kapoor serials and some other shitty soap operas...He appeared as a child artist in the greatest TV serial in India, Mahabharat as Balram, the elder brother of Lord Krishna...

Here are the two pics...

Liar Liar

I lie...a lot. No hypocrisy there. But mostly I try not to get caught. I mean, what is the point of lying if you are getting caught and what can be worse than getting caught immediately.

People mostly lie to escape from uncomfortable situations and sometimes to satisfy their self bloated egos. Just the other day I met an acquaintance from school who happened to be preparing for CAT as I am. A mock test had taken place and the results had been declared only a couple of days ago. However, this time the results were not put up on the notice board. I asked this guy what his result was. He replied 'just as a matter of fact' that his percentile had been 99.58. Now this is something I was never able to achieve and needless to say I was impressed; not surprised though, since the guy was a really brilliant student even in school days. The guy complained though, said that had he got the marks that he had calculated for himself, he would have scored 100 percentile. After exchanging a few pleasantries, the guy left while I stayed at the institute for some work.

A few minutes later, the results were put up on the notice board. This guy had in fact scored some 96 percentile in the test. Now come on man, what on earth was there to lie about. Throughout he carried this "I am so intelligent yet so down to earth" attitude.You are not going to lose an admission in any bschool on account of performance in a mock test. And if you are so much obsessed with proving your brilliance and intelligence to the world, at least lie with some conviction, where the person you are trying to bluff may not catch you red handed. I don't know if this brilliant student was trying to impress me or intimidate me, he only ended up losing his credibility and respect.

Please don't lie to me, unless you are absolutely sure I'll never find out the truth.

Fact for the Day 8

Some years back in 1978, a couple went out to eat in a Japanese restaurant. The man liked the sound of steak that they ordered so much that he decided it would be the name of their son.

A few months later, on 23rd August,1978, the legendary basketball player 'Kobe' Bryant was born.

Fact for the Day 7

Antarctic was named so because it was opposite to the Arctic....

Anti-Arctic or rather just ANTARCTIC.

Fact for the Day 6

Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar are inarguably the two best male singers Indian Cinema has seen and the debate about which one of them was better has been going on for ages now.

However, one interesting fact that gives Mohd. Rafi an edge over Kishore Kumar is that Mohd. Rafi gave his voice as many as 6 times to the songs which were performed on the screen by Kishore Kumar. You can read more here.

P.S. I have grown up listening to the songs of both these maestros and adore both of them equally.

Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar

Long long ago a war took place in which Pandavas emerged victorious. The greatest warriors of the age, Bhishma, Drona, Karna and Duryodhan were all killed by treachery on the battlefield.

Isn't it possible that just the war took place and all that happened before it was shown in a different light than it actually was.

After all, isn't HISTORY ALWAYS WRITTEN IN FAVOUR OF THE VICTOR?????

Fact for the Day 5

Martina Hingis, was named after the legendary tennis player Martina Navratilova. Her parents, both from Czechoslovakia(the original country of Navratilova before she defected to USA), were professional tennis players. She would have achieved far more, had the injuries not affected her career....

30 games in a set!!!!!

And Federer won 5-7 7-6 7-6 6-3 16-14. Clearly, it went down one of the best finals in the history of Wimbledon. It's amazing that Federer, who was hardly challenged in the whole championship was pushed to such limits in the final. My heart goes out for Roddick and at the end of match, I was unable to decide whether to feel elated for Federer or sorry for Roddick. It was probably one of the times when one understands what "Mixed emotions" actually mean.

However, last year's final still stands as the best in the history. This year's did stretch for a long period of time, but somewhat lacked in the quality. Service was broken only thrice in the match. That is fine, but even otherwise there were hardly any games which were stretched to 'deuce'. It was a match which tested to limits the service of both the players. None of the players seemed to have answer to the other's. Federer hit more than 50 aces in the match while Roddick hit around 30. It would have been more, because most of the time Federer either barely managed to touch the serve or took it on his body. In the second set Federer conceded ony 5 points on serve, with Roddick not far behind with seven. Just goes to show, how powerful both of them are at their services.

Make no mistakes, I totally enjoyed the match. It was a fitting end to the best championship on earth. If last year's final was the longest final in terms of time, this one saw the longest 5th set in the history of the championship.After last year's final, I had not thought that I would witness another such action packed and exciting match again. I was wrong!!! Next year, I would like to be proven wrong again....

Fact for the Day 4

The word Google comes from the word "googol" which means 10 to the power 100 i.e. 10¹⁰⁰ .

Googleplex is the name for the corporate headquarters of Google in California. The word Googleplex also comes from the word "Googolplex" which means 10 to the power of a googol i.e. 10¹⁰¹⁰⁰, or 10^googol

Fact of the Day 3

Chaminda Vaas's full name is WPUJC Vaas.

Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas.

Certainly can give complex to any south indian... :)

BOYS vs GIRLS

I recently read the book 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by Khaled Hosseini, also the author of 'The Kite Runner'. It's a good book, but somehow I didn't enjoy it as much as I had enjoyed The Kite Runner. The author has written the book on somewhat similar lines, and if one has read The Kite Runner, I wouldn't recommend it to him. For me, it was a let down. However, I did enjoy it in bits and pieces, especially a quote on friendship, something I have felt over the years and very aptly put by the author.

"How many times had she, Hasina and Giti had said the same three words to each other, Laila wondered, said it without hesitation, after only two or three days of not seeing each other? I missed you, Hasina, Oh, I missed you too. In Tariq's grimace, Laila learned that boys differed from girls in this regard. They didn't make a show of their friendship. They felt no urge, no need for this kind of talk. Laila imagined it had been this way for her brothers too. Boys, Laila came to see, treated friendship the way they treated the sun; its existence undisputed, its radiance enjoyed, not beheld directly. "

A Random Thought

Who says Gods are immortal??? If for some reason, someday, people who believe in Him cease to exist, or vanish from the face of earth altogether, will it not cause His death as well??

Fact for the Day 2

Werner Heisenberg's epitaph reads

"He lies somewhere here..".

So much for the Uncertainty Principle :)

RANDOM FACT/THOUGHT/GYAN FOR THE DAY

As I don't have much to write and I have been posting pathetically boring stuff on my blog, I am now going to start posting here whatever interesting piece of fact/thought/gyan I come across. It will be very short and won't take more than a minute to read. Needless to say, I am doing this to increase the number of hits on my blog :)

Fact for the Day: Amitabh Bachchan was originally christened as Inquilab Rai Shrivastava as he was born at the time when Quit India Movement was in full swing. Inspired by the slogan 'Inquilab Zindabad', the legendary poet, Harivansh Rai Bachchan gave him the name.

A Joke

India beat Bangladesh in its first match in T20 WC. As was expected, the news channels loyally devoted their whole day showing the highlights of the match. The footages of Yuvraj Singh hitting his sixes and Pragyan Ojha scalping 4 wickets were shown so many times that it seems as if news channels are gearing up to give Star Cricket a run for their money. After all, who else can make a superstar out of someone who played his first match and was awarded Man of the Match for the same?

On the same day, a little earlier, the doubles team of Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy won the French Open Title. This was Leander Paes’ 9^th Grandslam Title. I’m afraid to say that the news channels and newspapers did not care to devote even a fifth of the time they dedicated to this cricket match. The media always blames the government for showing lack of interest in sports other than cricket. But isn’t it doing the same? The fact of the matter is that Government does not show interest in any sport. It only spoils whatever goes into its hands. The media, sadly, comes to the fore only when it finds cases which would increase the TRPs and all the blame can be put upon the government. These hypocrites dedicate a full page of newspapers to cricket, while other sports have to console themselves with a few headlines.

For me, and for probably any other sports enthusiast, the French Open title is far much bigger than a match where India beats a minnow and which is being given so much coverage as if India has won a world cup itself. Spare a thought for the likes of Leander Paes (9 Grandslams), Mahesh Bhupathy (11 Grandslams) and Vishwanathan Anand (multiple times world champion) who have brought more laurels to Indian sport than cricket. Unfortunately, Indian tennis has become synonymous with Sania Mirza, who makes more headlines because of the controversies surrounding the length of her skirts as compared to her performances. No wonder, the future of Indian tennis looks bleak once the two torchbearers (Paes & Bhupathy) of the sport retire. Government killed Hockey; media is doing the same to other sports, albeit in a different manner.

Animal Farm

I recently finished reading the book “Animal Farm” by George Orwell and it gave me some sense of satisfaction of having done something significant after finishing off with college.

Anyways, the book is excellent and it feels really good to know that one has read a book that has been highly acclaimed by critics world over (at number 31 in the Time magazine’s list of 100 best English language novels from 1923 to 2005). The book is a satire showcasing how the ideals of socialism and communism were distorted by its leaders and for this purpose the author has chosen the animals of a farm (the Animal Farm) to depict the proletariat class. A little knowledge about the rise of communism and its prevalence in USSR greatly helps. One can actually relate to the animals in a sense that how leaders (represented by pigs in the book) are corrupted by greed and power, how they manipulate public (the other animals on the farm) and how they justify all their wrongdoings by either refuting their earlier promises and ideals or by crushing any voices that are raised against them. Like Panchtantra, the book does not need a particular period of time or the race/nationality to convey its message. Probably that is what makes it stand out.

The book is very short and the vocabulary used is also very simple (two factors which greatly inspired me to read it :) ). Unlike some of my friends who over the years have given me complex over the number and the quality of books read, I am not an avid reader, neither am I able to do the analysis like they do. Wikipedia and Shelfari really help a lot in such cases and this time it was no exception either. Here's the wikipedia link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_farm

The creativity of Orwell and his unique style to portray human nature make it a wonderful book to read. 

Will miss you a lot...

People without whom this journey of 4 years would not have been beautiful...

....

"Aviral!!! Aviral!!!...Baahar aaa saale.."

I woke up with a start. Varun was still sleeping on the mattress on the floor. I ran out of the room to the balcony. Rohit was calling my name, the way he always did, probably to call me for playing cricket, for going to department or for something else. My eyes searched for him. He wasn't there. His room was locked, so was everybody else's.  The lawn was empty. 

Realization dawned upon me. I myself had gone to railway station the other day to see him off.

My little sister's notebook...

We were all made to do strange things in school. Things which did not seem weird in those days but now they certainly do, especially if one is really bad at them. I always had a terrible time in the Art and Craft classes, singing, card making, getting newspaper cuttings and sticking them in a scrapbook, story writing, basically everything that has got anything to do with being creative.To make matters worse, we were also awarded grades for such stuff.

Anyways, very recently I came across something in a notebook of my younger sister. I had been using it as a rough copy since her exams got over.Rohit drew my attention to a page in the notebook on which something had been scribbled by her. This was probably some assignment given by her teacher or some essay kind of thing. What I am posting here is the rough draft which was faired out later by her.

VAMIKA THE GREAT

Vamika Shrivastava is full of wonders. No one can challenge her. She is the type of creature who is full of power. She has a faith in god. She is one of the beautiful and wonderful girl. She is full of miracle. Her goal is to attain the goal. Vamika is great that is my नारा. She only loves god, education and parents. She is full of talent and skills. But her writing is ridiculous (सुभान अल्लाह). But she is full of power and attitude. We all admire her.Because we can't live without admiring her. you don't know anything about her but the fact is that she is full of talent. have you ever seen such a wonderful girl in your life. No so you can see Vamika now. है ना अच्छी?
हिम्मत सिर्फ़ एक इन्सान के पास है। guess करो..अरे यार उसका नाम है Vamika the Great.
She is a general knowledge.You can ask any complex question and she is ready with answer. जब तक सूरज चाँद रहेगा vamika का नाम रहेगा। Be as cool as Vamika. This is also known as अपने मुंह मियां मिट्ठू बनना.

ही ही ही

she is a good joker and makes you laugh. Ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!

I later learned from Chachi that in this assignment one had to praise oneself in such a manner that others may laugh and she didn't disappoint.She even received a "Good" in this assignment of hers. I seriously want to go back to the days when we could have written such stuff and worse, even get it checked by the teacher without feeling embarrassed.I want to go back to my school days again.. I want to be innocent again...

PS. Please don't judge her by the post above. She is an excellent poet who writes at will and is excellent at drawing.Also special thanks to Rohit, Jubin and Puneet Pamecha.

College Farewell....

अलविदा तो अंत है...
और अंत किसने देखा...
ये विदाई तो मिलन है...
जो हमने है देखा...
हम लौट आयेंगे, तुम यूँ ही बुलाते रहना...
कभी अलविदा न कहना...
कभी अलविदा न कहना...

Random Bakwas...kuchh bhi...

ho ho home home home Home TV...

ho ho home home home Home TV...

chic chic chic ..Chiclets

duniya ye duniya Tufan Mail..

HOME TRADE- Life means more!!

mango ka maza asli ye goli mango wali..Mango Bite,Parle Mango Bite..

RAJDOOT-  ek shandar sawari, ek jaandar sawari..

freedom to be...azaadi dil ki...

"I'm cool" chains....

Yakku!!! & Shivdatt ko shaq nahi...

guchchha hai bhai guchchha hai..kahaniyo ka guchchaa hai...

kahani le lo..bin daanto ki daadi amma...---kahani le lo..

guchcha hai bhai guchcha hai....

bhari bharkam ek kahani kele ke chhilke pe fisli,

ek kahani halki fulki ud jaye jo banke titli,

khatti ho to namak laga ke, gale me atke pani le lo..

guchcha hai bhai guchchha hai...

whenever we go for tea on the day of the test match, everybody asks for tea..I ask for TATA Cafe..

bharat hai hamara

hum hai SAHARA

aao milke dekhe aao milke dekhe...

kaun hai kiske next...

yahi hai yahi hai..

ALL THE BEST..ALL THE BEST

Taro: Ek dragon ka beta!!

Take it Take it

bahu khaye to saas na roke 

take it take it

maharani ban ne se koi na roke toke..

take it take it..

homework karo..

take it snappy...

papa beta ..dono happy ..

maar khake villain bole..take it take it..

heroine ke sang dole 

ole ole ole ole ole ole

joote me hai light..

joote me hai light..

la la light ..vo bhi shoe me kaisa hai ye system

Action ka hai ye light system...

PS: I don't drink. 

       Special thanks to Rohit Mishra, Chetna.

आजकल

आजकल हर शाम ऐसा लगता है...

ये दिन इतनी जल्दी क्यों बीत गया!!!

2 Questions about Human Nature...

Is not being bad equivalent to being good??? 

and can vice versa be seen in the same light...???

Sensible Memories...

We all know Sanjay Manjrekar the cricketer, the commentator, the writer and the show host. Does anybody remember Sanjay Manjrekar the singer? Way back in mid 90's ,before the rise of Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, when he was an integral member of Indian side, he came out with an album called 'Rest Day'.


Long long back cricket test matches used to be of 6 days. 5 days were for playing while a day in between these playing days was scheduled as a 'Rest Day'. On this day, no cricket was played and cricketers took rest...(I wonder why they rested!!! Cricket was as it is very slow during those days..)

Anyways, I come back to Sanjay Manjrekar the singer. I don't remember much about the album though. The highlight of the album was that Sanjay Manjrekar had sung the favourite songs of all the then Indian Cricket team's players. Only one cricketer apart from him had sung his favourite song in his own voice. That was Indian Cricket's biggest talent lost...Vinod Kambli. I can't recall any songs but two from this album. Anil Kumble's favourite was "Chalte Chalte mere ye geet yaad rakhna", while that of Sanjay Manjrekar was "O Rahi! O Rahi!", both originally sung by legendary Kishore Kumar.

I have searched for this album for quite some time now but in vain. People don't even remember that such an album existed. Many years back I visited Planet M at Ansal Plaza,the then biggest music store in Delhi. I asked the store owner if he had the album.With a puzzled look on his face he asked, "Sanjay Manjrekar को team से निकाल दिया तो उसने गाना शुरू कर दिया क्या???". I couldn't help but smile.

I sincerely request the readers to kindly inform me if they have any idea about the place or website from where I can get the songs of this album. I would be highly grateful.

Have a 'Rest Day'. :)

WHO WON???

11th Standard...one day on way to home while in the bus.....

Vikram: Kinhasa kaha ki capital hai..?

Aviral: yaad nahi aa raha...shayad Zaire ki...

Vikram: oh!!!Theek hai...

after a while...

Vikram: yaad aa gaya...Kinhasa Belgian Congo ki capital hai...history book me padha tha 10th me

Aviral: Nahi yaar...Zaire ki hi hai...7th ya 8th me chapter tha Zaire par...

Adrenaline has started rushing now...

Vikram: Kinhasa Congo ki hi capital hai...shart laga le...

Aviral: Laga le yaar...Kinhasa  Zaire ki hi capital hai...

Next day I get a Manorama Year Book(the Wikipedia of yesteryears...) to prove that I am right...

While flipping through it, we come across a page 

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA...and the laughter continues...

The page had the list of names of cities and countries which were earlier known by some other name...

Zaire was earlier known as Belgian Congo and is now known as Democratic Republic of Congo...

Who won???? :)

Senseless Memories Part 2

March 1996..Two grade 4 kids(that's me and Vikramjit by the way...) talking about a cricket match that took place just the other day. Here's the link for you

http://content.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/engine/match/65184.html

For those who don't want to go into details..

It was India vs Zimbabwe, Group A match. World Cup 1996. India batted first.

Sachin, Manjrekar and Azhar were out very cheaply. Navjot Sidhu scored 80, Vinod Kambli scored 106(his second and last ODI century) and Ajay Jadeja scored 44*. Jadeja was the man of the match eventually. India won the match by 40 runs.

Vikram:   Tune match dekha?

Aviral:     haan dekha tha!!! (with a sad look on my face)Sachin keval 3 run par out ho gaya( ...yes!! I was an avid Sachin fan even in those days..)

Vikram:   (with an air of someone who knows it all)Abey, vo isliye kyoki kal India match haarna chahti thi.

Aviral:      (with an astonished look)  pagal hai kya? Zimbabwe se haarenge?

Vikram:   Abey isiliye to Sachin, Azhar, Manjrekar itni jaldi out ho gaye.

Aviral:      match kyo harna chahenge?

Vikram:  Agar match jeet jate to Pakistan se khelna padta naa Quarter final me...(watching India beat Pakistan was a rare sight in those days....it remained that way for a long time)

Aviral:     Fir jeet kaise gaye?

Vikram:  Abey jab Azhar out ho kar jaa raha tha to usne Sidhu se kaha ki yar Pakistan se haare to koi baat nahi, but Zimbabwe se haarenge to bahut beizzati ho jayegi..Isiliye Sidhu ne 80 aur Kambli ne 106 run banaye..

Aviral:     Oh...aisa tha kya!!!

(I nod in agreement. I got his point. I am convinced, Vikram is  satisfied )

3 days later India went on to meet Pakistan in quarter finals and beat them at Chinnaswamy stadium, Bangalore. That match is a legend, something for the history books. Will write about it some other time.

My first B school interview

I faced my first interview for MBA at IIT D. I was the last ranker called for the interview(lucky me!!)..I was asked to report at 12.30pm. The interview began at some 5.45pm. I was tired as hell, feeling extremely hungry and sleepy at the same time. Here are some excerpts from the interview. Kindly neglect the absence of punctuation marks. It was getting very tedious.

I entered the room. 3 people were sitting on a sofa(selection couch????) I sat on a chair placed in front of the man who seemed to be the leader of the interview panel. He was some big shot, an ex CEO of Emami group and presently the faculty member at IIT D. I could see his legs between the end of his trousers and his socks(do they dress like this all the time). Some Rs 20 notes lied on the floor beside him. My all expectations  of a B School interview being highly sophisticated came down crashing.Another member in the panel was some prof who sat to my left and a very old lady wearing a cap to prevent the cold.

Q. So Aviral, tell us something about your family..

Told them. Said my sister was in Bombay and corrected it to Mumbai. 

"Mumbai! I see."

Q. You are an Electronics and Communication engineer in your final year. Which subject do you like most?

Microprocessors, Sir.

Q. What did you study in Microprocessors?

Told them something.

 "I see."

Q. What is Nano Technology??

(Now where did that come from??? What made him ask about Nano technology when I said I liked Microprocessors.) Anyways, I said some shit any Tom, Dick & Harry would have said. Then I said "That's all I know, Sir."

 "I see!"

Q. What is Six Sigma?

Blurted out something I had heard from a friend and read long back. Gave them the example of Dabbawalas in Mumbai.

Q. So what is the efficiency of six sigma??

Sorry Sir. I don't know.

Q. How many errors are allowed in one million?

(Was he not listening? I said I didn't know.) Sorry sir.I don't know.

Q. Then do you know about 3 Sigma?

(6 Sigma to dhang se pata nahi ...Ab ye 3 Sigma kis chidiya ka naam hai??  ) Sorry Sir. I don't know.

Q. What is the efficiency of 3 Sigma?

(Had ho gayi yaar....) Sorry Sir. I don't know

Q. Ever heard about Paul Krugman?

Yes sir. I have read his articles in The Hindu. Though I must confess that I don't understand them all.He writes for New York Times. He won Nobel prize for Economics for the year 2008.

Q. Did he predict something?

Told them what I knew about his predictions about current recession.

Q. Have you read his book?

Sorry Sir.

Q. What is the name of his book?

(yaar...i am an engineer...). Sorry Sir. I have not read his book.

Q. Ever heard of S%&!?*##... (he was some economist whose name started with an 'S')

Sorry Sir. Never heard of him

Q. What are your other interests in life?

Sir, I like quizzing, and reading Mahabharat. I also like following cricket.

Q. What is the philosophy of Mahabharat?

Some random crap.

Q. Why do you like Mahabharat.?

Some crap again.

Q. Who is your favourite character in Mahabharat?

Karna Sir. blah blah blah.

Q. Is Karna the only person you take inspiration from?

No sir. Blurted out some philosophical stuff  I don't remember.

Q. Did you not learn anything from Gita?

Sir Gita is just a part of Mahabharat. The underlying teachings of Gita are different. It talks about the philosophy of Karma. Karmanya Vadhikaraste Ma Faleshu Kadachan.

The old lady smiled. Said something about Gita & Mahabharat to which I nodded. I don't remember what.

Q. What do you do in your spare time?

Sir , I pursue my hobbies. I like Cricket.

Q. Do you play cricket?

Yes sir. Sometimes.

Q. What do you do?

Sir I bowl.

Q. Is it the fast bowling, or medium pace?

Sir sometimes medium pace, sometimes Off spin.

Q. Have you ever measured the speed of your bowling?

(Abey gully aur chhat par khela hai cricket. Speed gun kaha se aayegi??)Sorry sir.Never measured it.

Q. Who has bowled the fastest ball?

Shoaib Akhtar, Sir. In 2003 World cup.

Q Is it? he looked at the prof sitting on my left. Whom I had forgotten even existed.

The man nodded.

Q. What about the record of Hall & Gilchrist?

(Andrew Hall aur Adam Gilchrist kya?? inka to speed records se door door tak koi naata nahi hai. Ek bar socha poochhoon Peter Gilchrist kya??Then remembered that Peter is a billiards player). Never heard of it, sir.

Q. Have you read any books on Cricket?

yes sir. I read a book on Sachin Tendulkar.

Q. Who was the author?

Sorry Sir. Read it long back. Don't remember the author.(Actually had read only few pages of the book)

Q. Ever heard of someone called Ramchandra....?

Yes sir. Ramchandra Guha. He is a famous cricket historian.

Q. What all books has he written?

Sir, "Wicket in the East". He has also authored some quiz books also.

"I see."

Q. What else do you do in your spare time?

Sir, I like reading novels. I have read some . Told them the names of a few authors whose books I had read.

Q. (Now it was the chance of old lady)Why does a man work?

(kya chahte ho yaar...kya ajeeb ajeeb sawaal poochh rahe ho). Ma'am, he has to fulfil his social responsibilities. He has to support his family. He needs to keep his mind busy.

Q. (Old man again)Suppose a man has a lot of money, has fulfilled all his social responsibilities, has supported his family well. Will he work?

Yes sir. He can't sit idle. Khali dimag shaitan ka ghar hota hai. He needs to do something to keep his mind occupied.

Q. Suppose he writes 3 poems in a month. Is he working??

Sir, if he is doing productive and quality work, and is not doing that just to spend time, he is working.

Q. Another person is writing 10 poems in a month. Is he working more??

(kyo chaat raha hai yaar. chahta kya hai??) Sir that depends on the quality of work. If the quality of work of a man writing 3 poems in a month is better, he is working more.

Q. Don't use so many ifs in your answer. Is he working more or not???

Can't say, Sir.

Q. Suppose there is an ascetic doing meditation in Himalayas thinking about the welfare of human beings and the world. Is he working?

(bahut ho gaya yaar....bas kar ab)Yes sir. If he is satisfied with what he is doing, he is working.

Q. Is there any definition of work, given in a book, which says if a man is working or not?

Sorry Sir. I don't know.

Q. What was the definition of work you studied in your class 10?

Sir Work= Force* Distance(Should have said force*displacement. wanted to correct it. I didn't get a chance.)

Q. What is the unit of work?

Joule, Sir.

Q. What is the unit of heat?

Joule, Sir.

Q. How can they be same? Heat can be converted into work. Then why are their units same?

(ye kya  ajeeb sawal hai). I don't know sir.

Q.What is the unit of force?

Newton, Sir.

Q. That is only one unit. Newton is in MKS system. What is the unit in CGS & FPS system?

Thought for a while. Then said Sorry Sir. I don't remember.

"I see!"

Q. What is Pascal's law?

Said something I remembered. gave example of Hydraulic Lift & Hydraulic Press.

Q.What is Avagadro's Law?

Said something again. Gave value of mole.(i.e. 6.023*10exp23)

Q.I think the value is 10 to the power 24.

No sir. It's 10 to the power 23.

"I see!"

Q. What is the combined form of Chales' Law and Boyle's Law?

Sir PV=nRT. This is ideal gas equation.

Q. What is R?

Sir, R is universal gas constant. Its value is 8.314

Q. Do you have interest in Indian political scenario?

A little bit, yes Sir.

Q. Who was C Subramaniam?

Sorry Sir. I don't know.

Q. Who was the first Finance Minister of India?

Sorry Sir. No idea.

Q. Who was the first president of India?

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Sir.

Q. Who was the second?

Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, Sir.

Q. During which years was he the president?

Sir, 1962 to 1967. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was from 1952 to 1962.

Q. Who wrote Discovery of India?

Jawahar Lal Nehru, Sir.

Q. Which book was written by Mahatma Gandhi?

"My Experiments with Truth", Sir.

Q. Have you read it?

Sorry Sir. I haven't read it.

"I see"

Q. Tell me about your two good qualities and two bad qualities.

Said some shit again. Stereotyped answer. Said procrastination in bad qualities.

Q. (Old lady) So do you procrastinate because you are overconfident.

No Ma'am. blah blah blah...

Q. The old man asked other two panel members if they had anything else to ask.They declined and asked me to leave.

Thank you , Sir. Thank you Ma'am.

At the end of it I realised that I had spoken the word "Sorry" more than I had done in my whole life. My interview had lasted some 40 minutes while everybody else's got over in 7-8 minutes.