of rains, vacuum cleaners and tennis

I had an idea to watch a Tennis match in rains, the chances of which seemed high due to frequent downpour in the last few days. Pulled a freind, another fan of the game, flexed everything to reach Cricket Club of India Grounds. Watching the finals of ATP Mumbai Open Final has its own excitement. The weather turned out to be too kind for us. By the time we reached, we were completely drenched. Rains had already played the Spoilsport.



The stadium was beautiful with lush green tarmac, but the ground was soaked with water and was not fit for any play. This led to the postponement of the final match between Tomas Berdych and Dmitry Tursunov and will be played tomorrow, weather permitting. More rain has been forecast for the next 24 hours and if no play is possible, Berdych and Tursunov will both be declared runners-up and each given the finalists' prize money of USD 30,600.

One interesting stuff: The ground staff used vacuum cleaners in an attempt to dry the court. Vacuum Cleaners? And i thought they were a classic example of another piece of invention going down the drain!!

2x2 window shopping [Part-2]

Outside-In View

One of the most lingering side-effects of doing MBA is an undeniable fascination with putting things into 2x2 matrices. This is in continuation to last post where we saw different colours of Professors. Yes it’s the turn of students. Let’s put our house in order. This has again two dimensions: Taking yourself too seriously and Trying too hard. The interaction of the two gives us the following figure.

Phooka are dull, silent creatures, secure and self-righteous. Typically lacking in any sense of humour whatsoever, Phooka are usually content to live their own insular and smug lives, and rarely inflict their opinions on other people. However, they are extremely sensitive to things that they see as attacking their values / beliefs and are quick to take offense at things that are said against them. They have an almost morbid fear of being made to look ridiculous and are unappreciative of jokes at their expense. These fears / hurts express themselves as disengagement rather than confrontation, however - Phooka are the ultimate passive-aggressives. Because they are afraid of being shown up, Phooka will tend not to react openly to negative stimuli, preferring to let a simmering resentment grow within them. Interestingly, Phooka are often pious and 'sincere' though this is a fake sincerity that is based on complacency rather than humility. Because their puny brains are often incapable of dealing with contradiction, Phooka have trouble respecting / considering other people's opinions and prefer a 'simple' if suffocating world view where they are always right.

Goblins are possibly the most annoying of all creatures in this matrix. Opinionated and belligerent, Goblins will seek out views that run contrary to their own without provocation, and proceed to attack them with all the bitterness they can muster. While Goblins may often be full of biting wit, they have no real sense of humour, simply because they will never make (and usually cannot take) jokes at their own expense - humour to them is more a weapon than a toy. Driven by insecurity, Goblins will constantly seek opportunities to assert their own points of view, but will be unwilling to listen to others and will react to opposing positions based more on emotional frenzy than on rational thought. Goblins will never admit to being wrong. Logic is wasted on Goblins because they are selective listeners and will use it only to support conclusions that favour them - never considering how the same argument could be used against them. Goblins are incapable of seeing things from the other point of view. The average Goblin suffers from a strong persecution complex and is extremely self-involved - to the point of assuming that everything in the world is somehow about him/ her.

Pixies are the featherbrains of the world. Generous and good of heart, Pixies are anxious to please and desperate for acceptance. Rather than being self-involved, Pixies are infact almost entirely externally involved - they often have no discernible opinions / talents / personalities of their own, but always seem to be in search of external validation. While they are the most likely to make jokes (including jokes about themselves) their jokes are usually more notable for their quantity rather than their quality. Pixies are wannabes - strivers have no real personality and usually an extremely limited depth of understanding about the things that they talk about - yet silence makes them uncomfortable and they are often uncomfortable being alone. Unlike Goblins, who are convinced that everyone hates them, Pixies cannot stand the thought that anyone could hate them and are therefore almost self-effacing in their desire to please - they arrange away confrontations. While pixies may have little faith in their own worth, they may often be convinced that other people find them charming and intelligent and believe that effort is all it takes to be respected - not realising how silly and cloying they may seem. Pixies can be annoying, but you cannot bring yourself to hate them - you know that they mean well and you often like them, but you cannot begin to take them seriously.

Dwarves are, of course, the most aspirational of all the life-forms in this model. Like Phooka, Dwarves are little concerned with what other people think about them, but unlike Phooka they are secure enough to admit that other people could be right. Dwarves have a great sense of humour and will laugh at themselves as much as they will laugh at others - they are intensely aware of both the world's absurdity and of their own ridiculousness. Frequently clever and talented, Dwarves use these gifts in a whimsical manner, often more interested in the effects / process than in the final meaning of what they come in with. Relativists by nature, Dwarves are uncomfortable with moral absolutes, and tend to take a more contingent view of the world. While they may often be interested in arts and culture, Dwarves seek these out more for their own pleasure than in order to impress others / be accepted by them. Even though they recognise that they might be wrong, Dwarves are not afraid to state their opinions on various issues, though they may be willing to change this opinion if they find a convincing argument that suggests a better one. Open and friendly, Dwarves have strong personalities, but see no reason to inflict them on other people unless asked to.

2x2 window shopping

As I step into second year of my course, I look back to the value addition in me after having completed one year. The major difference between an MBA and non-MBA is that when faced with a problem, former always strives to do things in an organised way whereas latter’s mind is cluttered with many ideas. No sooner has a problem presented itself; an MBA will always try to separate the essentials from the non-essentials and then give structure to his thoughts. But the irony is, this structured problem solving skill doesn’t guarantee positive results and vice-versa.

MBA is like preparing yourself for war, a corporate warfare. The more tools you know, the more equipped you are for the battle. The problem is, there is no Brahmastra (one pill for all ills) and one should know when to use which tools. After having gone through the countless physical and mental exercises in brain-washing OB classes etc. one of the foremost tool (remedy for all in-campus ills) that we learnt is the art of using 2x2 matrix or 2-d axes (or nxn matrix depending on the number of variables affecting the problem). There's something strangely comforting about being able to fit everything into those four little squares - as if the world were at once controllable and interesting.

This is not about trying to be clever - it's just how some of us naturally think. Gone are the engineering days when he waited for the rose-day with 1-d mindset when he spent time plucking petals from rose saying 'she loves me / she loves me not'. Now he tries this seemingly difficult problem in a methodical way by casting a 2x2 matrix with 'She loves me' one axis and 'I love her' on the other and classify all the women he knows along those two dimensions! Let’s not talk about the outcome as I already mentioned the irony.

A class forms of two essentials entities, Professors and Students. It’s like a game of kathputli where in order to run the show its prerogative to have the five fingers unequal. i am thankful to my classmates and professors for their heterogeneity. One learns to sit hours after hours, in those endless lectures, killing time in the hope of some enlightenment, that the Prof would rub-off of their intellectual prowess.

Inside-Out View

Let’s understand the situation with a 2x2 matrix. The Professors. Essentially this elegantly simple classification scheme has two dimensions: Knowledge Quotient and Tyrant Quotient. Both these parameters are further classified as high and low and the interaction of the two gives us the following figure.

Sepia are self-righteous and rigid till the students confuse them. They have their viewpoints and seem to be oblivious of uncalled subjectivity. Although they pretend to hold their ground till the end, external validation is crucial to keep themselves motivated. Its not that they don’t harbour the desire of changing their image from frivolous to tyrant but their desire is clipped by their insufficient knowledge and the morbid fear of getting cornered themselves if they go hunting. They are the most hated ones but nonetheless given artificial respect by the students as the grades depend on their whims and fancies. This makes student’s reactions all the more interesting. Typically, students tend to show a lot of ‘after-class’ and ‘before-class’ participation, to get marks for ‘in-class’ participation. For their subjects, entire learning boils down to quizzes, presentations, assignments etc. as the involvement of the Profs are minimal/zero. All the students sit absent-minded and dull whereas the Prof feels that student are mentally alert.

Eastman are respected by the students and cared by the administration, not because of their treasure of knowledge but because they are endangered species. They have all the ingredients what it takes to become ‘God level Profs’. Like Sepia, Eastmen craves for the superiority but unlike Sepia, they can turn their dreams to reality, so what if that turns out to be a nightmare for the students. But it’s sad that the students don’t take the advantage from them. It’s not all their mistake because they have become irrcorrigible as greater number of Profs belongs to other categories. Mostly these Demigods frequent the college in the late evening or on Sundays, when the students have already run out of their steam or are busy calculating the opportunity cost of missing out on the extra-curricular activities in the weekends.

Tints are possibly the most liked among all the types. They don’t waste single minute of class in negative energy and don’t crave for external validation of their hard work either. They have unique style of delivery and students love to imitate them. Generally they have a smiling face and they connect with the students so well that the students don’t feel the pressure. So the premise that they are less tyrant may not be entirely true. They are respected and remembered for a long time. Having said that, the students can get carried away and the possibility of the Prof being taken for a ride is not totally ruled out in some cases.

B&W are also hated but not to the extent of Sepia. On the contrary, students love to reciprocate the mercy shown by them. Often, they are amazing speakers (because often that’s the only highlighting factor) who can speak for hours without making sense. Unlike Sepia they don’t crave for external validation as deep down inside they know that students are aware of their quality and admire them for their patience. They don’t mind humour at their expense and seldom force themselves on the students. If the subjects delivered by them are compulsory for the course, we curse the administration and if it’s optional we curse ourselves, but the Prof almost always gets away unscathed.

***

You would be curious to know how this works for the students. That would be more interesting and relevant. But that’s coming in the next post.

2x2 window shopping Part-2 follows.

the deluge

the disorder...

the scare...

the ecstasy...

picture says thousands words...

of dogs and raining cats and dogs

"aee dil, ye mushkil hai jeena yahan

jara hatke, jara bachke, ye hai bombay meri jaan"

Scene-1:
How true! Only the reason changes. Flashback…Last year i was fortunate to experience the incessant and heavy downpour which lashed Mumbai city and its Suburbs. i say fortunate because i have seldom come across an event in recent times to which i can associate hordes of adjectives at the same time. Awesome, Relief, Thrilling, Surprising, Chilling, Heart rending, Heart breaking, Sorrowful, Awful. And on that fateful day, emotions followed exactly the same order.

In 12 hours i experienced it all. After scorching heat and humidity, getting wet in the rains had never been so refreshing. New college, new friends, new course only eased the initial reluctance and pushed the crescendo to the next level. The atmosphere was eclectic. It seemed everybody was celebrating others birthday one-by-one on the same date in the naughtiest possible way and surprisingly getting bumps made one got more energetic. Friends started making others bakra in the quadrangle of the college and then after becoming one, the person joined the herd only to find other bakras. It was all fun and frolic. Then a chain of events takes place in the next 12 hours difficult to describe here. Next day the tide disappeared, the sea looked silent again but the Juhu beach, which was so beautiful just the other day, looked devastated with dead bodies of small and big animals scattered all around and the air filled with decaying smell.

3/7 /2005

26/7 /2006

26/7 got revisited today and whole Mumbai is in waters and tatters again. It was once in a life time opportunity to be present at the thick of the things last year, but it never occurred to me that it would happen so soon, within a year. Everybody is worried about the well-being of their near and dear ones. But has any one thought about the stray dogs on the streets.

Scene-2:
i admire Mumbai because it’s a place where we can see the Raja and Rank (Hindi phrase for king and minister) walking side-by-side sometimes arguing, sometimes helping each other, but seldom showing false egos or diffidence. i always believed that i possess the rare quality of knowing a person in the first meeting but soon found out in untested waters where it was required the most. It’s almost impossible to predict how a dog will behave, even after meeting the same again & again. This unassuming friend is the most mysterious, unpredictable terrestrial creatures with the potential of giving a 'girl' complex in this aspect.

Now some would say it’s not true with the domestic dogs. With due apologies to all the pet lovers, i beg to differ. The situation is more dangerous with them. Remember the last time you saw a “Beware of Dog” signboard and your body becoming the best conductor of electricity within a second. Even after you are guided inside you are left to the mercy of the pet-lover and you are no more your own-self and imagine all tricks to rush back to see the same signboard again. The point is you can’t arm yourself and the anxiety period only gets extended.

i have never seen so many dogs living in the one lane, (where my room is) and mind you all of them are stray dogs, in healthy conditions. This picture was in complete contrast to a documentary shown one year back on TV. The program said that the dogs in Mumbai are in awful condition and a young MBA donned the mantle of taking this as a full time job of caring them under some banner.

There are two kinds of charity one that is done as anonymous and one that is done for popularity, though it’s damn difficult to demystify the distinction between them in practical life.

This is the regular feature at six in the evening in the lane leading to my room.

All the dogs assemble at one place as if all of them had sensed a single cat, at the same time. Before i get a clue, a car stops, a complete family alights, and also some of their relatives come out. They have a number of bags of food, biscuits and milk-packs. They play with them while the dogs are enjoying the sumptous meal. Both the parties involved are busy while this unoccupied soul is trying to figure out the reason for this chemistry. Is it because of pure love for the dogs or just a show-off? If it’s the former, in that case why don’t they keep one or two or more dogs in their house? Also if the case is latter, then why not in their own colony as i am sure they come from some far off place. Or is it that they are already popular where they live in some other way and wanted to increase the domain of popularity. So discovered some new reason and fitting the examples in my colony to justify that reason. Hail Peter and his principles!!!

Before i can figure out mental peace, the car leaves and i am left to bear their high energy levels. Slowly i start taking my feet back but i am dead sure that they can’t do anything as it's still not 12 midnight. Yes, we Indians know the significance of 12 and how it affects whom in what way. But Brethren! this is no joke. If i return before 12 they give me a warm welcome by wagging their tails and making hissing sounds with gloomy eyes. i also reciprocate with confident steps towards my room. But if it’s after 12, then my reaction is completely contrast as they greet me in the most forgettable way and all of a sudden my room seems a long mile. And their love-hate relation with me had a bearing on other important things but as a good boy, i am neutral.

Then came this day. Its 12 midnight and its dark everywhere because of the power cut. Its raining cats and dogs from the morning and cats are safer than the dogs. Everywhere there is knee deep water. Even being stranded in my room for whole day feels a better position to be in when i see these moist friends strolling here and there to find a dry place. i m returning with an umbrella in my hand after buying pav and eggs. When i am closing the compound gates, in the torchlight i see this wet friend looking at me wagging his tail and looking straight into my eyes with the gloomy eyes. i m a little surprised to see this reaction? Had his body clock failed!! i open the gates and guide him in the car shade which is still dry. And smile sheepishly,

Har kutte ka din aata hai!
Someone said " Rain is a great equaliser" How true!

phobia weds mania

Although its close to two months that i started blogging but i wasn't able to measure my love for it. To me this was very important as i am still to figure out the rationale behind writing blog. But the Indian government helped me in this endeavor, albiet unknowingly, when it blocked the blog sites, after the Bombay serial blast in local trains. i am still at sea to understand the wisdom behind this step of the government and i don’t think this would help in any way to achieve the objective it intended to.

But it has helped me in two ways. Now i know why the feeling of just visiting my blog is so irresistible. That i was deriving some kind of cardinal pleasure which was absent when i was not able to see my own blog. Someone has rightly said that the essence of something dear to you is realised when u loose it.

Let’s see the two faces of the government decision of the ban on blogs.

Negatives:

We may have the apprehension that some of the culprits behind the blast are still hiding in Mumbai. Given the situation, a silly but easiest decision would be to nuke Bombay to destroy the hidden terrorist? Even the side-effect would be a boon as it would give us the excuse of opening the floodgates towards our neighbour. But isn’t this adventure no more than child’s play. Do we see here some kind of parallelism behind this fiction and the government decision of banning blogs? We are fully aware who are targeted behind the ban, but the argument is does this step affect them. Do blogs really make difference to these fanatics??

Now some would argue that it will save the good soul from bad reading. But just by seeing a blog article won’t change an innocent and well meaning guy into a terrorist. Will it?? If i come across an article expressing anti-India stand will it change my conscience and i start planting bombs in local trains or destroying public places?? The only people who are inspired by these writings are those who already believe what the post was saying. The blog can certainly make their dormant thoughts active but unless we are willing to take out all means of communication we can’t ensure the objective yet.

Even if we assume the extreme case, that by blocking all internet access (like shutting down all ISP), is the communication going to be truly hampered? Can we assume that in the days before the internet/blogs no one was ever to send messages to his fellow terrorist or express anti-national sentiments? The answer is obvious. Or is the GOI is planning to take down all forms of communication? Ban newspapers, disrupt phone-lines, stop postal services, perhaps even call the military to shoot down flying pigeons because some of them might be carrying anti-national messages tied to their legs across the border.

It’s human tendency to deal with fear through contact with others. So, in this sense as a society we are not only vulnerable but also weaker. Isolate us in a crisis situation and we become more vulnerable. The first decision that the Government took after the blast was blocking the phone lines and this proved to be a blunder as it threw people in chaos. Many things have been written about the great work done right after the serial blasts by the folks at Mumbai. That’s just one example of how communication makes us stronger in crisis. The only people who are not going to be affected by them are the terrorist, who after sowing the seed of terror, have already planned in advance for any such eventuality. So the decision smacks logic and only aids in pressing the panic button, as situation is rife for rumours causing more fear. That’s exactly the government should be trying to avoid in such situations.

Also do i see a trend building here after a chain of events occurring in recent times. It started with Fanaa being banned in Gujarat, lawyers not able to defend the accused, Da Vinci code wasn’t released in some parts of the country. And now this blogophobia. I know I am exaggerating things and our democracy is full-proof as the events underlining the opposite ideas are also happening side-by-side. But it surely doesn’t do good to our image outside where most see things with bespectacled eyes.

Positives:

i am definitely affected by this irresponsible step of the government but the reason is very different than how it has affected others. But does it really matter as longs as the outcome is same. i say this because unlike others i don’t have many readers and hence technically it didn’t affect me like others, who have large following. But i am not that monkey who will throw the cap back if wearing it makes me famous. On the contrary i feel blessed that the government considers me somebody so important that they want to block my blog from being read. This is really exciting. After living a life of a coward all these years, i am finally dangerous. Suddenly i am the most wanted as government considers me an anti-India radical, a public enemy. Look at me everyone, I'm BAD. So no more being shoved aside in the local trains, no more stammering in panic before breaking a civic law. Watch out people- i may not look like much, but i'll have you know that the world’s largest democracy is scared of me. That’s right; hot-shot one billion people are all scared of me for what i write in my blog. So now i can freely move at 2 am on the road without feeling insecure, no one would dare to take the fist on my face. The possibilities are endless. All those beautiful bees who rejected me thinking as a chocolate-boy, too harmless and good for nothing might be kicking themselves badly now.

ifs, buts and headbutts

The World Cup is over and it lived up to its fanfare, with the best in the business not able to predict the unpredictable and still the cup was able to throw up mouth-watering contests throughout the knock-out stage. But nothing is well that doesn’t end well, and Zidane's head butt was fitting tribute to the Cup and his career.

It was about 111 minutes into the grand finale, the midfield maestro playing last match of his career, got into a little contretemps with an Italian player Materazzi, a verbal scuffle, a bit of unpleasant repartee, and decided to, as they say in France, open up a can of whup-ass on the lad. Since then lots of stories are going around why he went into uncontrollable mode, what would have been the result of the match had he not got sucked into the issue etc. The way the media especially electronic media has hyped this incident, it seems that he did not headbutt once but went into headbutting mode and stopped only when he was red-carded. At least this would seem to be true for a person who did not see the live-telecast of the match and later on saw the footage.

i think Zidane was just the right person present at the right time and right place. Incidence like this inspires writers like Shiv Khera to come up with infamous "Winners dont do different things, they do it differently". Zidane surely didn't prove the statement wrong, since he did different thing (mind you not things), instead of doing it differently, as he ended up in the loosing side. But, he still went on to become hero of the Cup with the golden-ball, for the best player award in his kitty. He was very innovative. How can one find a more sensible way to end one’s glorious career, guiding the team in the run up to the finals and leaving them in the dying minutes having played the part in the final game? The team definitely needed to prove that they can win without Zidane. Of course it wasn't planned, but if it deserved the Cup, this was needed. What was planned was the headbutt. It’s a win-win situation for both. Now Zidane could be remembered for a long time like Maradona’s hand of God goal and some day Materazzi may make tons of money by writing autobiography or telling a reporter what exactly he said to Zidane.

I am not very surprised by the head butt incident per se, but what surprises me is the reaction of the people both inside and outside France. The French are defending Zidane tooth and nail and believe that he was provoked. They are also speculating what would have happened only if he lasted till full time. Also how Materazzi was wrong in provoking him with the racial words. Materazzi has a well-earned reputation as nasty player in Italy's tough Series A, and his role in the ugly drama was nowhere near as surprising as Zidane's. Whatever they say doesn’t absolve the behavior shown on the field by a player of Zidane’s stature. He is respected for his skill world wide and so many children emulate him. If they really try out his extra-curricular ‘headbutt’ skills, it would be termed as a "childish" skill in the true sense of the word.

Also it’s difficult to understand how he could have won the cup for the Les Blues even if he lasted till the final hooter. i mean the only difference between victory and defeat was the penalty kick of Trezeguet and his shot was similar to what Zidane took in the same match earlier. Just Zidane got lucky and Trezeguet wasn’t. The incidence only gave to the French, a golden excuse on a platter. Outside France the comments are basically divided equally some people approving and some not. But mostly they are not speculating on the outcome of the match with different sets of inputs.

Also we don't know what exactly was said by Materazzi to Zidane. Of course Zidane can come up with his comment on the episode but that doesn’t force us to believe him and if yes we need to give Materazzi equal chance for his side on the issue. The argument is, outside Shiv Sean head quarters, inside the boxing ring and Sunny Deol movies, this behavior looks completely offcolour. The argument applies as much to Zidane as it does to the rioters protesting against Danish cartoons and desecration of Mrs. Thackeray statue. The only other incidence in sports that comes close to this was Tyson biting off a piece of Holyfield's ear. But we can’t equate the two as both the players have different image and the rules of the two games are poles apart.

Now i am tempted to relate the incident to Indians and cricket. Only David Shepherd could have saved the face of FIFA had they appointed him as the official as he could see the coming Nelson. Take Rooney's case, after he was red-carded, English fans went berserk and the coach himslef had to make a statement to prevent spoiling career of their poster-boy. Similar incident happened with David Beckham in the last edition of the tournament. Now Britishers invaded India and imparted some of the bad qualities too (not denying the fact that good qualities outnumbered the bad ones by a big margin) and certainly this is one among them. How else can one explain the crowd booing their God in its own den at the Wankhede Stadium at Mumbai, when Tendulkar failed to perform. But it amazes me how a player enjoying similar stature (nickname Zizou means a person close to heart) gets a different treatment. It only tells the underlying influence of the culture, also how two European countries behave differently when faced with similar situation.

Now only thing left to be explored is why only head butt and no other butt when so many parts are protruded from the human body. Is it also related in any way to cultural? Has it got to do anything with the culture of France or the culture of Algeria from where he comes? We know why Lance Klusenor could hit such powerful sixes as he played some tribal sports before playing cricket. Before i delve into history what seems logical now is, Zidane knew very well not to use his hand as Italians would have appealed even before he could raise it, and leg wouldn’t have given the force to put a giant like Materazzi on ground. So Zidane was actually very sensible in his head to put it into multitasking.

Adieu World Cup 2006!

***

Some one has said "The head contains the brain, in most people" And most athletes, who believe this, wear helmets to protect the precious and vulnerable part.

Couldn't the sentence be corrected to "In women, the head contains the brain; physical placement in men varies. Regardless, men apparently have removable brains, and frequently leave them at home on the dresser when dealing with women or sports."

Just somehow seems more accurate that way.

a vicarious tryst with classic love

"tere dil mein mere saanson ko panaah mil jaye

tere ishq mein meri jaan fanaa ho jaye"

Recently i saw Fanaa. What excited me the most, was the scene where Rehan comes to see-off Zooni at the New Delhi Railway station, which according to me is also the crucial part of the film. i was very moved by this scene and i assume the director was equally moved to discover it as the sole reason why the film should continue after the intermission. Rehan saw-off the train and everyone else except Zooni and as they say rest is history although they didn’t live happily ever after.

This theme was very hard to digest for the Indian movie-buffs few years ago to see their beloved hero or heroine or both dying. (The exceptions were of course the ones where they died for each other purely out of love, like Laila Majnu which were always appreciated). i still remember how a bomb explodes Shahrukh Khan and Manisha Koirala in Dil Se and the movie bombing at the box-office. i leave this topic for some other day as i don’t want to disturb my romantic mood.

Today we are confronting a new problem, having grave consequences be it in, marriages, jobs, group discussions, interviews and what not. If you are an eligible bachelor from a B-school, you would have guessed correctly. Poor ratio of girls to boys. It has invented a kind of competition never imagined before. Remember cramming one test after the other to enter the hallowed premises, only to find a different kind of competition which is stiffer to say the least, looking straight into your eyes. And believe me; here all the tangibles are not in your control. What intrigues me the most is the comfortable position in which the girls are :-)

But Pune is different in so many ways as it defies many ugly natural equations and this is one of them. Having said that it still maintains the rare beautiful equation of beauty x brains = Positive Constant. No surprise that all the boys are the happiest, including yours truly. More girls per boys and less effort per boys per girls or whatever biased way you want to interpret, you would be right. You can feel the romance in the air.

Scene: Railway Station, Pune

Train: Deccan Queen, Pune to Mumbai

Platform no: 1 although not as beautiful as platforms of New Bombay but still vastly different from platform nos. 2, 3, 4 etc of Pune. All in all a perfect Yash Chopra movie setting

Still there are 10 minutes to go before the train leaves. He hands her the backpack that he has was carrying. She slings it over her right shoulder. She also has a large shopping bag in the other hand cutting her left arm and her purse. Weighed down by all this, she looks like some sort of pack animal with bags bulging out on both sides. When he reaches to hug her goodbye for the last time, he cannot get her arms around her. Nor she can raise her arms to hug him. Still they hug, awkwardly like crabs scuttling together with shells coming in their way.

This will not do. She goes inside to offload herself. Still seven minutes left. His impatience only grows stronger. She comes back to the door. He helps her down. She comes forward to embrace him again. This time his arms encircle her waists easily, her arms slides around his neck. They Kiss.

Two minutes later still they are kissing, oblivious to the passer by. Later, she is drawing back putting her hair in place. Still there are four minutes for the train to start rolling. He still couldn't relax as he sees the signal turning yellow from red. She goes back to stand on the door, pressed on one side to let the other passengers in. She waits patiently while he touches his fingers to her cheeks, then nods a hasty goodbye and she vanishes. He checks his watch, still two minutes left. He thinks why she has gone so early. She could have stood at the door for the next minute. And what is she doing inside anyways?

For a moment he thought that he would go inside the coach and surprise her, but that would seem too needy and besides that entering the train feels like an intrusion. May be he can walk along the train, peering into the window till he spots her. But that would be absurd. He draws back, backs up against the nearest pillar. He will just wait until the train leaves. He whistles softly to himself, trying not to wonder why she doesn't come out again.

She tries to locate him from the window, but he wasn’t to be seen in the crowd. He could see her and also tries to help her by waving hands, vigorously. But from her expression it seems still she was lost. The train blows the siren and he starts taking his feet back. She comes to the door desperately to have a last glance, only to see his back moving on the way up the platform stairs. She tries to yell to attract his attention but thought otherwise not to make a scene at the last moment. After few steps he turns back to reassure if she is still there. May be she has come to the door. The train starts rolling out. She was no longer visible only he could see some hands saying bye to their beloved ones. He also waives his hand thinking if she can still see him. The train had already gained momentum.

People are so silly. People are so beautiful.

teetotalers' two pence

It is difficult to be a teetotaler and all the more difficult to advice a doper to become one. This unsavoury situation has its own fun and all my like minded friends (although in minority) will vouch for it. Nevertheless being a teetotaler, it’s always an interesting experience to be with a person who is on a high. Though, i don’t know if the situation would be same if i swap positions.

i have known people who are considered as the pillars of rectitude and moral uprightness in the day and can become craziness personified Romeo in the moon-light. God, how they manage both the extremities with such finesse is a management lesson in itself. Hats off! to all my pals, for whom no Rasa in life is better than Somrasa, or only Somrasa leads them to other kinds of Rasas.

A guy, sitting outside his home about to be evicted from his house, was contemplating how the future would be after he had divorced his wife, lost his children and lost his job. He notices a crate of beer bottles and walks up to it.

He takes out an empty bottle, smashing it into the concrete wall swearing,

Doper : "You are the reason I don't have a wife",

Empty bottle-1 : Friend, why do u blame me. i was always there when u needed me. You always curse me at the end of each month and hug me few days after. Don’t u realise we are made for each other. Even Vijay Mallya calls me King of Good Times.

then he takes out second bottle, same situation same result,

Doper : "You are the reason I don't have my children"

Empty bottle-2 : I was there when u needed me desperately, in bad times. Now you want to forget me simply as a bad episode in life. i always stood by your side when no body was there. Friend this is the time when u need me the most.

then the third and to his dismay, bad luck continued,

Doper : "You are the reason I lost my job".

Empty bottle-3 : But friend, i was the only also the reason, when you got the job. And i assure u tough times never last, but tough people do. We make a healthy combo.

he notices the fourth bottle is sealed and still full of beer. He takes the bottle, puts it aside and says,

Doper : "Stand aside my dear friend; I know you were not involved"
Full bottle : A friend in need is a friend indeed. Subah ka bhula, shyam ko ghar aajaye to usey bhula nahi kehate.

The moral of the story:

Beer makes u smarter......It made Bud wiser.

i raise the toast for all my 'yo' friends.

CHEERS !

nothing succeeds like a failure

Failure is a stepping stone to success

i have understood the veracity of this statement a number of times in my life and sometimes its extremely difficult to pull oneself when one is down or out for some reasons. As we know this is easier said than done, but the character of the man is always determined by how quickly he recovers and stands straight after stooping low.

And there are so many role models exempifying this fact of life and one of the greatest of all times is Michael Jordan.

***

P.S. i love this picture for two reasons. Yesterday i saw 'The Green Mile'. Anyone who has seen would relate why. Made me thinking if only everyone has to walk the green mile...and the life thereafter...interesting...huh.

six days to forget cricket

Football would be the religion ...and who would be God?

Well, the search would be on till the last second.

Sounds awkward? Not any more, not to many people, not atleast in the coming month! Soccer mania is leaving no corner in the world uncornered. And Indians have been caught and bowled like never before. Even as football fervour reaches fever pitch, Indians have already padded up for the Cup, waiting anxioulsy for the biggest sporting "mela" to kick-off. Here is the list of some of the uncanny dissimilarities between soccer and cricket. With Indian team touring the Caribbean, it would be worth listening cricket with closed ears and watching soccer with open eyes.

Six- the most exciting phenomenon in cricket and it continues to create mass hysteria like no other feat. Right from lean, Ravi Shastri's 6*6 to stud Mahendra Dhoni, all have weilded the power of six. But does 'six' have some other connotations? Lets see from the six conversations that i overheard.

1) Kumble and Beckham

Kumble: Cricket is a gentlemans game. See the colour of dress, white stands for purity.

Beckham: Being from England i know the attitude of cricketers. Football can be played in shorts. Airy ones. When its hot and muggy, airy clothing is a must. Long boring cricket pants are a complete no-no... Sure they hide ugly, hairy legs but hey, its time and age of the metrosexual. Bring on the bare clean shaven look.

2) Ganguly and Owen

Ganguly: You can take off your shirt and fling it around but that won't be remembered as the defining moment of your career. I did once but had to the face music. I guess i am right man in a wrong a sport. Soccer had always been my first love. how dearly i wish Chappel had come earlier!

Owen: Absolutely right! Remembered for taking your shirt off? Footballers do it all the time. Fine, they get the yellow for it, but who cares...

3) Dravid and Lara

Dravid: Brian, why not have a game of soccer. Afterall world cup fever is catching everyone. (Even the Indian cricket captain is silently praying that his team have a game of football with Brian Lara. Atleast, Lara can't score runs then).

Lara: Mr Dravid, lest you forgot, Trinidad and Tobago have qualified for the World Cup. Dwight Yorke is my close pal. And like old buddies, we'll beat you at the football too, Unless you decide to give Saurav Ganguly a call. Remember the Kolkata footie connection?

4) Yuvraj and Rooney

Yuvraj: Hmm...it's been ages since I last scored a century. i understand that form is temporary and class is permanent. But how long i can convince them.i m finding hard to convince myself now. How about changing by shirt no. from 32 to 17? Thats my last girlfriend's birth date. She will be impressed.

Rooney: You can't keep changing numbers at whims. If its six, then six it is for rest of the career. i too have a girlfreind so what?? Lady luck cannt make u lucky all the time. How about changing the sport you play, then. Gilli danda?

5) Sehwag and Ronaldo

Sehwag: So many times i have felt that we are one step away from winning and the rain god played the spoilsport. i dont fear Shoib Akhtar but weather ...uff.

Ronaldo: You can play football in the rains. Au Contraire in cricket- a few drizzles and bring on the covers, please. Didn't anybody teach you in school: "The human body is insoluble in water "? You can play football in the rain, in snow, at the beach, on the mountains, in the kitchen. In the bathroom. Yup. You can.

6) Sachin and Zidane

Sachin: i have to wear protection at awkward places. And then settle it in full public view, disracting everybody. Its so embarassing. You know what i mean. My 'lunge' is as famous as my cover drive.

Zidane: In football, we keep it simple. When i prepare for the free kick, the wall members cover their most important part with their hand.

of sex, rainbow and a taxi

A Bird's eye view from my apartment

A trademark taxi, colorful umbrella and the relatively serene Juhu road. A Picture Perfect for Mumbai, may be a rainy Mumbai, may be a colorful rainy Mumbai.

Can you help me with this syndrome of sex determination. Is umbrella a she or a he?? Assuming it to be a she; does a she always goes with she or can go with a he and vice-versa. Scratched my head for a long long time this afternoon to decipher the inner beauty inside the rainbow. Said to myself "Can't i be a cabbie atleast for one day in life" or "is it a hangover of yesterday's Taxi No 9-2-11?"

ice-breaker

Hey all

so here i am and here comes the D-day
here is MY blog! my very first, concious attempt to becoming famous

my life mantra always has been - Whatever you do, do it well.

This is an attempt to decipher simple things happening around us which go unnoticed or they are simply not understood or worst even misunderstood. This is an attempt to weave a nexus around these loose pieces to carve a meaningful insight and yes, this attempt is by trail and error method, so freinds, no hard feelings please.

Not long ago, While I was enjoying life of a Dog, day-dreaming night-in & day-out about the Cat, Pagalguy was my second home. I guess it was here that i came across this phenomenon called "blogs" for the first time. Credit should go to some of the pagals who, in those days were afflicted with new pagalpan called - "blogomania". Although i used to enjoy reading these studs glorifying their humiliating experiences, i never myself took writing seriously, just because i thought, its not my cup of tea and even otherwise who would like to be cursed free.

But then i asked myself, ehh maan, who is asking you to send the nominations for the Booker's Prize. And why waste such a precious right given to you by your beloved country. Thats the time i made up my mind to start writing or blogging.

Now the title, Well it may sound weird to some but believe me, more often then not weirdity also has a logic if not initially then in the hindsight. Man is a harmless animal, isn't it? Agreed, but does that stop him from committing sins?? (no pun intended). And for those morons who think they don't they also do it, albeit unconsiously and everyone, at some point of time (if not addicted), has to confess or repent or do both if not done in order :)

This sacred space is dedicated to me by the God himself to confess my juvenile delinquencies, my karma. So this makes this spirit absolutely free to blabber, rumble, grumble, bark, do anything under the sun without bothering about its consequences as i know i would confess sooner than later. And you may totally ignore my advice in the first para and blame this cerebral hemisphere whenever in disagreement and dismiss my ideas as sound bytes from a dumb guy, but remember to ponder, introspect and if found wrong, CONFESS!!!

One more thing - i don't know if i am going to be seriously blogging - this may be a passing fad like several other things in my life - so do not have very high expectations, atleast just by reading this one solitary post :)

i wish myself best luck from u all.
Good day !