aLL I wanT iS EverYthing

Word Game

2009-04-08T16:27:00.004+05:30

1 board
2-4 players
100 letters
Lots of places to form words
Many nooks and corners to make words
Scores galore
Scrabble - My favorite board game

Random Conversations with Rickshawalas

2009-04-08T16:03:00.006+05:30

Moral Police Rickshawala (RW)
Friend and me wearing saris for "Traditional Day" in college struggling to get into the rickshaw with our saris as it was probably the first time we were wearing saris. We also keep telling him not to start the vehicle unless we sit properly .
RW smiling obviously at our discomfort.
We were quite irritated and asked him why the smile and he says Aaj kal ladkiyan sirf salwar kameez aur jeans pehente hai Aisa hi hoga na - meaning. Translated -
IN a very moral police tone - Nobody wears saris nowadays obviously you will be uncomfortable.

Wonder why he did not wear "traditional" clothes.

True Friend RW
He started shouting at another RW whose wheel was not properly set. He was so interested in that vehicle that he was not even seeing where he was driving.
So I pointed out this to him and he explained that the RW he was shouting at was his good friend and therefore he felt that he should help him.
He then told me his friend's story as to how he was not serious about life and how he wastes money on frivolous things.

Concerned RW
This RW was quite chatty and then went into a social commentator mode. He said Bombay is such a unique city. There are some people who are so rich. They have so much money that the next few generations can live off the wealth. On the other hand pointing out to people living on the footpaths, he said there are these people for whom everyday is a struggle for the basic necessities of life.
This RW was also very concerned bout the slowdown in the market as it was affecting his business as well. He was making less money compared to what he was making last year

Such conversations take your mind away from the potholes on the road, pollution and traffic for sometime at least

Tolerance

2009-02-04T10:33:00.003+05:30

India is supposed to be a tolerant nation. When we got this title it meant that we accepted people of all religions, of all castes, speaking different languages as one country and learned to live together. But now the tolerance seems to have taken a new meaning altogether.

Terrorists come and hold a whole city hostage for week and we have not done anything concrete.

Sena number 1 workers go on a rampage disrupting Republic Day celebrations at a school in Nashik as there were songs in Bhojpuri (an Indian language). It is so ironical that such an incident happened on Republic Day.
They had earlier vandalized a theater in Pune for showing a Kannada movie
Of course everyone knows how they burn greeting card shops damage property and threaten and beat up couples on Valentines Day in the name of protecting Indian culture.
They have been doing such acts since late 1960s and are still at it.
There has never been any serious action taken except for the routine taking them to jail for a day and releasing them on bail the next day.
We are still tolerating their acts and do nothing about it.

Sena number 2 goes one step ahead and beats molests women going to pubs as according to them it is against Indian culture for women to go to pubs. It is a different matter/ post that according to them men going to pubs and drinking is totally within the Indian culture. Goondaism, attacking women are also inline with Indian culture in their books.
What happens to them...the usual they get arrested and get released on bail and are also garlanded and applauded for their ghastly acts. It is more than a week that this has happened and absolutely NOTHING is done about it.

We Indians are carrying this virtue (vice) of tolerance too far.

Listed

2009-01-06T10:49:00.003+05:30

Indians or Persons of Indian Origin have been coming in a lot of "lists" in the last two years or so.
There were four Indians in the top ten of the Forbes’ 2008 World’s Billionaires list-Mr Lakshmi Mittal, Mr Mukesh Ambani, Mr Anil Ambani and Mr K.P. Singh.
Daughters of three Indians - Lakshmi Mittal, Mukesh Ambani and K.P. Singh - have grabbed the top three spots in the Forbes list of 10 women likely to inherit the most from their billionaire fathers (Not very surprising considering the previous list). We are present in lists in other fields as well -Sonia Gandhi, Ratan Tata and Indira Nooyi were present in the TIME's list of World's most influential people in 2008.
Six Indians cricketers - Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma figure in The Guardian newspaper's World Test XI of the Year.
India also holds number one position in the growth in the number of millionaires in 2008. China was in second position followed by South Korea.

Now we have topped another list again but this one is kind of the opposite of most of the other lists that we were proud of topping or being present in.
Anil Ambani who was listed for having added the most wealth in Forbes magazine's annual billionaire rankings and was also named the sixth richest person in the world topped the Forbes' list of the biggest billionaire losers of 2008 (Billionaire Blowups of 2008). He is supposed to have lost more than US$30 billion which is more than 71 per cent, of his net worth.
This is a real life example of - "Life comes a full circle".
Of course he must be hoping that there is a quick 360 degree turn and he tops other lists where the money is in his hand.

Bring an End to This

2008-11-29T01:04:00.002+05:30

I do not want to be resilient
I do not want to bounce back
I do not want to keep my spirits high after every attack
I want the terror to end
I want Bombay to be safe

BTW Where is Mr. Raj T

Just some thoughts

2008-10-17T00:49:00.002+05:30

How do you know the spark is still there in the relationship? How do you know you still want to be in the relation.
You both are busy in different things, meet each other little, speak about your day not about the other person's day and yet do not feel the vaccuum.
It is not like the heady days of the beginning of the relationship where you messaged each other every hour spoke many times during the day, waited to meet the other. It is not like the earlier times, where the tiff began when the other person did not respond, did not call.
Now you don't even have the time, don't feel the need many of the times.
But a human being always yearns for an intimate relationship But when one gets it, the intimacy goes away. Yes i know it is called a matured relationship. An economist would probably call it the law of dimishing marginal utility. I think you just get used to the other person. I do not like it. I would prefer a relation with some sparks rather than a mature understanding relation where everything is understood with little communication. I think you should strive to keep the spark alive else everything will be routine.

My First....Tag

2008-09-30T12:31:00.013+05:30

The rules for the tag are:
RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.
RULE #2 Tag 6 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by continue this game by sending it to other people.

1. If your lover betrayed you what would your reaction be?
My first reaction would be to bludgeon him and make him payback bigtime. But after some thinking, I would give him a second chance only after a major interrogation session. But the second chance will be given ONLY ONCE (I don’t want him to read about this second chance by the way)

2. If you have a dream come true, what would it be?
Be the world number one in tennis and then retire to become a hotshot sports journalist/TV presenter (Meanwhile endorse a lot of products and generally have a jet setting lifestyle)

3. If you could, whose butt would you like to kick?
The guy who deceived me to join the company for the lousy pay. All those dirty men who have done some kind of eve teasing on me

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Go on a long trip to Australia.
Invest a lot of the remaining smartly so that I can live off comfortably
Give money to people promoting sports genuinely or to deserving sportsmen/women

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?
Never happened to me but the one I love is my best friend now

6. Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?
I would choose being loved by someone.

7. How long do you intend to wait for someone you love?
Not very long. I hate waiting

8. If the person you secretly like is attached, what will you do?
Forget him.
Find someone else to like. It is a big ocean out there

9. If you could root for one social cause, what would it be?
Equality and Empowerment for Women in the Rural Areas in India

10. Do you lie?
No

11. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Making more money out of writing. Less or no commute to work
Having more time to do different kinds of things

12. What’s your fear?
Being alone and sick in Old Age

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
She is smart and has a sense of humour. She writes well and I would be happy if her book gets published.
I know a lot more about her after reading her blog. I would have taken a long time to know these aspects of her otherwise.

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?
I would like to choose one word from each option – Rich and Married

15. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously who will you pick?
The one who loves me more

16. Would you give all in a relationship?
Yes.

17. Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has done?
I cannot forgive and forget

18. Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?
Being in a Relationship is nice! But I do like being by myself from time to time. And I am really better at the relationship thingie when I get back

19. If you were a movie, which movie would you be and why?
Chak De!
It rocks. It is about women empowerment and it is about sports and in the end, somewhere you feel life will be back to normal for them

Well I tag (I do not know if they read my blogs but well!)
Tarun Chandel
Samrat Sengupta
CeeKay
Meghna
Random Traveller
Rada

Oktoberfest

2008-09-29T22:03:00.008+05:30

Well, Priya has given me a wake up call and I better listen to it.
I am in Munich just in time for the Oktoberfest. Definitely a good time to be here. It was a fascinating experience to watch the Oktoberfest.
First of all I have never seen so many people together in one place in this part of the world.
I caught the train to go to the Oktoberfest and there was no need to ask directions as everyone around was going there. You just needed to follow the crowd.
Imagine Dadar station in Mumbai and an escalator in the station and then imagine the number of people that would be there. I can say there were so many people in the train station of the Oktoberfest arena

Many people were dressed in their traditional gear i.e the women wear the Dirndl a and the men wear lederhosen which are special three quarter length panths with special cotton shirts, long socks and boots. It is basically a huge carnival with lots of crazy rides, games, shops and ofcourse the beer tents. I did go inside a couple of tents. The tents have a huge huge party going on in there. There are many many tables and people are having beer in the special 1 litre oktoberfest mugs and eating the typical specialities. There are bands playing in the tents. People are singing along, dancing and generally having a blast.
It is on till October 5th. So if you are around, do visit the fest. Cheers!

I need some quiet

2008-09-08T17:44:00.003+05:30

They tried to take away our right to play music in our cars indicating loss of concentration during driving. But there is no noise about us being subject to loudpeakers of varying decible levels during festivals and processions. Now there are so many processions for different festivals (I dont want to name them. I might be subject to lynching by the "religious" people). Each tries to outdo the other leading to more noise, bigger and never ending processions. Are these not disturbing? It not only disturbs the traffic but also your mental frame of mind. Their is so much noise all around that you just want to run away somewhere far where there is no noise. To top that your friendly rickshawala will put on his dhinchak music on his music system.The rate at which noise pollution is increasing everyday in the city, Bombay will soon be a city of deaf people.
Processions have the loudest radios and bands during these processions and traffic comes to a standstill and there is honking adding to the chaos
Maybe like the West, we should have the concept of celebrating festivals during long weekends when everyone is given a holiday. This way you can escape many of these things by staying put in your house.

Bombay is considered the financial captital, the city where dreams come true (though now there are more cities where you can make your dreams come true, if your aspiration is not Bollywood). But the city is not livable. The basic infrastructure should be in place. It should not be a struggle to live, work, travel or maintain sanity. We should have a right to these things.

Stuttgart is More

2008-08-07T20:24:00.003+05:30

First Impressions of Stuttgart -

It is quite a small town when compared to Big Bombay but definitely has a charm of its own.

- Quaint little lanes to walk
- There is greenery all around.
- Very Picturesque
- Cyclists from the age of 6 to 60 whiz past you
- Amazing cars - You see a variety of cars from the Porsche, Mercedes and Audi stables
- Houses with gardens. The gardens have flowers and vegetables growing which are then used by the owners
- The people here are quite friendly. I have not yet seen the intimidating German one has in the mind.

Rain Rain here it comes

2008-07-04T17:28:00.003+05:30

The sea lashing at you in Chowpatty
The waves going over your head in Worli
The cool breeze in Marine Drive
The lush green trees in Aarey
Pleasant Evenings for a walk
The bhuttas at Bandstand
Enjoy the monsoons in Bombay

Bridge Slithering

2008-07-04T11:07:00.000+05:30

Bridge Slithering - Saw this on the schedule given to us by the organizers.
The name made me wonder what I will be doing next in my 9 day adventure trip to Uttaranchal.
I was done with rappelling, trekking, river rafting, body surfing, camping 1000 ft above sea level in a remote place with only the stars and the moon for company.
My question was answered on the 5th day of my trip
I was taken to a bridge which was about 50-60 metres above sea level. It was across the Ganges. The Ganges was roaring and flowing across with zest.
I wore a life jacket strapped on the ropes and climbed over the bridge to stand on the outside of the bridge. It is adrenalin pumping to cross over the bridge and stand just above the water…More so if you have no idea about swimming or even floating.
Then I start my descent by applying friction to the rope using the carbiners and descenders. As I approached the gushing river below I let go off the rope and jump in the river and catch hold of a kayak which will take me to land.
It is a thrilling experience. Hanging onto the rope and looking at the beautiful scenery around is a wonderful feeling. I am waiting for another chance to do it.

West and East

2008-05-07T14:44:00.003+05:30

So now Bush wants us Indians to eat less. I am sure all of you heard/ read his remarks that the food prices are rising because of increasing demand for food from the growing middle class in India. He has conveniently ignored the fact that agri produce being used as bio-fuels and given as food to animals for producing meat in the developed countries.

I feel the West particularly United States is getting a little resentful and edgy of the development pace of India and China. They are nervous that they cannot keep pace with the rapid development happening in these countries.

Consider the following –

Condoleeza Rice remarked that the “improvement” in diets of people in China and India is one of the main causes for current global food crisis.
EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural development Mariann Fischer Boel has also pointed out to the increasing demand for food from India and China for the food crisis.
Rising oil prices have also been attributed to increasing demand from India and China.
The Department of Health in Britian tried to introduce regulations to restrict non European Union doctors (a majority being Indians) from being employed in health services.
Orient-Express in a letter to the Tatas, said that its customers do not associate an Indian company with luxury. So, a full-fledged Tata takeover would cause Orient-Express to lose its deluxe edge. This is despite the fact that the Tatas are the largest shareholders in the company. They just cannot digest the fact that an Indian company can take over them.

The West has double standards. They believe that their success is good and our success is not good. Do they always want the developing countries to have the status ‘developing’? Do they always want us to be poor and have ‘begging bowls’ in our hands? Well considering the growth rate of the “developing” countries and the crises that the West is facing, it will be difficult for them to have the upper hand always.

No Honking

2008-04-10T10:03:00.003+05:30

So it was No Honking day on April 7 in Bombay. Did it work? It was not a success because people who drive in Bombay are absolutely short of patience. They also have this ingrained in their system to honk when the traffic is standstill as if honking will magically make the vehicles move again.
However, we should look at it from a different perspective - I do not think they should be blamed entirely. Take a look at the way traffic moves. There are rickshaws and trucks that never seem to be in one lane. They never go straight; you are never sure, when they will decide to come to the lane that you are driving on that to without any indication.
Then there are jaywalkers who take pride in running across the road when the vehicle is really close to them. They think of themselves as stunt masters. They walk slowly when the vehicle is far and the driver thinks, "Ok this guy is going to wait till I drive past him". However, as soon as the vehicle nears him, he starts running giving a victorious look at the driver.
Then there are various animals- dogs, cows and others that take a leisurely walk on the roads. You need to intimate them to move on else, you will face the wrath of Maneka Gandhi and party.
Of late, a new menace has been growing. People drive in the opposite lanes, when the traffic in their side of the lane gets very messy. This leads to traffic on both sides; and ultimately traffic comes to a standstill, and the old habit of honking gets into action. Drivers continue to do this in spite of knowing that ultimately a traffic jam will be caused. Nevertheless, nobody really cares.
I guess the policy is – “If I suffer a traffic jam so shalt thou (in the opposite lane)”

New Career Option

2008-03-10T14:41:00.011+05:30

Circa 1985
Parent : Rahul..Stop playing cricket. Get your books and start studying. Don't you know exams are starting next week?

Circa 2007
Parent: Hrithik.. can you please put your books away and go for some cricket sessions? Do you just want a 9 to 5 job with meagre salary?

Cricket which already is a national obsession and a religion has become even bigger now. A person wanted to be a cricketer earlier for the game, the fame, a secure job in the public sector and yes the money was good.
But today there is no limit to the money you can make; the fame you can get. Who does not like that? You get to act, pose, preen in all kinds of advertisements. You get to come on television. You can act in the movies. Oh yes and you get to play cricket.
Now cricket comes in different flavours - 5 day matches, 3 day matches, one day matches and T20 type. Therefore more options for more players. You also get to play for city, state country, different age groups and all the possible leagues. It does not matter whether you are retired; do not play well; or you were dumped by the national team because of your bad performance. There are so many teams today that you will definitely find some team to play for. If by a remote possibility you do not get this chance, you can always do commentary on the game or be a cricket expert doing analysis for any of the countless channels. You can further improve your economic and social status by writing a book ,a blog or even writing 'expert' columns for newspapers (all related to cricket of course). Earlier you had to join one of the "Ixx" to get a jump start in life like IIT, IIM, IAS. Now you can add ICL and IPL to this list.
So do you want to consider joining the nearest cricket camp?

Feel Their presence

2008-02-14T11:38:00.006+05:30

Yearly agenda of a political party in our country to make their presence felt

Event 1- Violent actions against people not from the state originally or people speaking a language different from the one spoken by people in the state.
Event 2 - Violent Protests against Valentine Day thus protecting India's cultural identity
Event 3 - Create disturbances in factories of big industrial houses.
Event 4 - Slip a remark or two about one of the religions being practiced in the country and take advantage of the rising emotions of the public.
Event 5 - Protest against a big star in Bollywood or some scene in a highly publicised eagerly awaited Bollywood movie.
Event 6 - Criticise an action of a sportsperson and/ or corporate bigwig saying that it hurt the nation's sentiments.
Event 7 - Raise issues about court cases/allegations present against opposition leaders/members.
Event 8 - Create brouhaha when State and Country awards are announced and broadcast their own opinions (without anyone asking) about who should be awards' recipients.

She

2008-02-02T17:00:00.000+05:30

She treads ever so softly on the ground
Lest she hurt the little beings on her path
She never plucked the flowers
She knew that they wanted to be in their beds
She scared children away from catching butterflies and set them free
She came home to a life of slavery
Hard work, insults and misery
She tasted freedom never at all
But knew how much it mattered to all

Jhulan

2007-09-18T11:50:00.000+05:30

Jhulan Goswami- feels good to know that an Indian fast bowler can scare off a batting side. I can't remember the last time this happened.
A typical story for a sportsperson in India. Comes from a small village, parents/ society try to supress the sporting talent, but luckily finds a good coach and manages to make it big and get into the national side (which is not so typical).
Ofcourse the difference is that she performed well when it mattered and also got the ICC woman cricketer of the year award. When I hear such stories I always think of all those stories that I don't know, all those sportswomen who have the talent but could not make it big either because of financial or societal pressures or plain ill luck.
Hopefully her next stellar performance will be splashed on the front pages of all newspapers just like our male cricketers were praised to the skies for defeating Bangladesh (!!) after the disastrous world cup.
Point to Ponder- The Bangladesh tournament was immediately after the world cup. There were some matches with Scotland around the time of the England tour. Why is there a tournament with minnows after every tournament with the non-minnows? Face saving technique!

Chick Talk

2007-08-24T14:22:00.000+05:30

Chandu: Hey dhondu did you see the news we are in showbiz again...
Dhondu: What are you saying chandu? Is it the bird flu again?
Chandu: Noo not that. Not even that chickungunya business which had nothing to do with us
Dhondu: Then?
Chandu: It is about us being headless.
Dhondu: What are you saying? These humans are always trying to put us down if not on the table then by disrespecting our feelings. What is this new controversy?
Chandu: Well apparently some bigshot Indian said publicly that some Indians are headless chickens. This was in reference to the Ndeal that India is having with US. Here read this entire report.
Anyways I am excited. We are in the news, the jokes and the talkshows. It feels good that we are featured more on television apart from the usual culinary programmes.
There are features on our HERO Mike as well and how he valiantly survived without a head for 18 months.
Dhondu (after reading the paper): Mike carried on for 18 months. let us see how much time the government survives after this headless controversy.

2007-03-27T17:08:00.002+05:30

He was walking on his way back to the hotel room after his late dinner. It was already past 11.00. In small towns like this one, the streets are empty as soon as the sun sets.

He had come to the town on an official visit. It was part of his job- travelling for about 20 days in a month to small towns and cities. But he never complained. In fact he used to enjoy the travel, see new places, meet new people, observe the ways of life in the different places he visited.

There in front of him lying on the road was a 100 rupee note. He was surprised. He went near it but did not pick it up. He looked around to see if there was anything unusual. Absolutely Nothing.

Decided to pick up the note and see what happens. But nothing happened. There was the same stillness as earlier.

He walked ahead...another 100 rupee note..picked it again and walked ahead..This happened 4-5 times... He was feeling like a sleuth all excited about the event. He kept looking around for anything out of the normal. There was nothing...He continued walking ahead looking to his left right behind...secretly hoping there might be some adventure...at the same time concerned about his safety..

The picking of notes continued..As he went ahead there were 4-5 notes lying in many places. He reached his hotel..Went to his room quickly.. It was a small dingy room with just one tiny window and a creaky old fan.

He sat on his bed and counted the cash..4500 rupees. A big sum.

He kept it in his suitcase and locked it. He tried to sleep. But he could not. He was almost waiting for someone to come and demand the money from him. He imagined someone might have followed him and would now attack him for the money. He was almost ready for a fight. His imagination went wild thinking about plots of various movies and novels. His throat was dry, he went sweaty and hardly managed to sleep.

It was dawn, a pleasant cool morning. He got up with a start and immediately checked his suitcase. Maybe it was all a dream.

The money was there as he had kept it. But the strange discomfort caught up again.

He had to leave for home that day. He decided to donate the money to the old age home near his house. He started feeling better already.

Stood Up...

2007-03-09T23:04:00.001+05:30

Newton sat under the apple tree scratching his adam's apple. It was over 30 minutes and his date was still not there.. He was considering himself lucky as he the class nerd got a date with the class beauty..nah the school beauty. He was surprised that she herself came and asked him.. He pinched himself twice to find out if he is dreaming..it hurt he was not.
But now he was getting a funny feeling again that he would be stood up. He kept looking at the apples above hoping one of them would fall and he can eat it. He was getting hungry. She said she would get shepherd's pie so he had eaten less lunch at home as well. He was so looking forward to the shepherds pie.
15 minutes..30 minutes..45 minutes.. no she did not come..an apple fell.. he quit thinking about why she stood him up and started thinking as to why the appple fell down and did not fly...The rest is of course history and physics lessons for all of us. Who would have found the law of gravity if he was not stood up?
As they say behind every successful man is a woman.

The procession never began

2006-12-17T12:10:00.000+05:30

Shobhayatra - A hard hitting satire on the current society and how people's values today are totally different from the national leaders who gave us Independence. How people exploit others and certain social situations to turn the tide in their favour. This is the gist of the play Shobhayatra which debuted in the Prithvi Theatre festival.The story is about 5 people who are to play the roles of Gandhiji, Pandit Nehru, Subhashchandra Bose, Lokmanya Tilak and Jhansi Ki Rani. They are dressed up as these leaders and they are to go on a procession to mark the country's fifty years of Independence.

As the play moves forward we learn that the procession is actually organised by a DON and how each is totally different from the character he is playing. The man playing Gandhiji wants a chilled Pepsi and advises his son to stay put in the US. Pandit Nehru's character acts fresh with the Indian girl and acts as if he does not like anything Western though in his mind, he is interested in an American girl (who depicts the irresistible seductions of the affluent west) who is his daughter's age. The man playing the role of Lokmanya Tilak has leaked the exam papers and has got caught and tries to keep promoting regionalism. The actor who has donned the role of Subashchandra Bose is the Don's lawyer. There are other important characters like Jhansi ki Rani, the small boy who delivers tea to the actors, the Don's men etc. It is not like a typical movie where a solution is given but each has realised that he has done something wrong.

All in all a nice play that gives a message and at the same time makes you laugh.

End of an Era

2006-10-10T17:12:00.000+05:30

The US open 2006 was more than just another tournament this time. Aggasi announced that it would be his last tournament. His retirement news got a lot of high profile publicity. I was more saddened that it was Navratilova's last tournament as well but glad that she retired on a winning note.
She is truly a great athlete. She had a superb all round game and a long innings as well. It is difficult to keep going for years together with the same dedication and determination when your health falters (you cannot play at 40 as you can play at 20 and it is difficult for a human to accept that, play with that and Win with that))
Look at some of the statistics that ascertain the fact that Martina is truly a remarkable athlete.

She has -
- Won 167 singles titles
- Won 176 doubles titles
- Won 20 titles at Wimbledon including nine singles
- a WIN -LOSE match record of 1,440-213 !!!

30 cheers for martina...(three is too less a number.)

Mela

2006-08-15T23:52:00.000+05:30

Sutton Fair and Horse Show - An annual event here in Ontario, Canada since the 1850s. We got a chance to visit this country fair.
It was a unique experience.The fair is a perfect blend of the past and the present. There are stalls for smart meters and solar heaters along with a fun farm displaying sheep, cows and ducks.There were rides like the Giant wheel, Bumper Cars along with Pig races and duck races!Yes I witnessed a duck race as well as a pig race. Now I would have never even thought of something like this in Bombay let alone see something like this.The races were over in a jiffy. It was fun to watch the ducks and pigs trying to overtake each other and scramble to the finish line.
The races were just one aspect of this fair. There were lots of events happening like the Horse Carriage Driving competition, a petting zoo, Spelling Bee contest, Scrabble Contest etc.
The fair is not only about entertainment. It is a glimpse into the agricultural heritage of the town and also a look at as to how things have changed since the first fair in 1850s.The fair attracts people in huge numbers. It is a perfect day out for families and friends. People could easily spend a whole day in the fair playing games, looking at the various stalls, looking at horse shows, animal farms etc.
I am glad that I got a chance to witness this one of a kind fair which gives you a peek into the past and at the same time keeps the present in mind and manages to give you a good time.

Severn Falls – The Falls that were never really the falls

2006-08-05T03:54:00.001+05:30

I am in Canada with my colleagues for a project. Canada is extremely picturesque. There is a lot of greenery all around. You can make a picnic basket, find a picnic spot in the countryside and have a great time. That is exactly what we did on a bright sunny day. We saw the map and found two places that sounded exciting - Severn Falls and Swift Rapids.

With dreams of swift rapids in a river and waterfalls, we left for our picnic spot.
It was a 2 hour drive from our hotel. The drive towards the countryside was scenic. Quaint little houses, green farms, tall green trees, fresh flowers, bright blue sky, clouds like cotton stretched and spread across the sky. I have only read about such things in novels. But I saw all this in Ontario, Canada.

As we were driving, we were keeping an eye on the road signs and every time we would see a road sign for Severn Falls, we would all get excited. We were wondering how close we could go to the waterfalls. We were geared up with our cameras to take pictures.

After some time we realized that the signposts no more pointed to Severn Falls. We were a tad disappointed. Unlike in India, you really cannot just stop your car on the road or honk at another vehicle and ask for directions. You have to park 'properly' and then ask only if you manage to find people standing or walking which is a little unusual here. Since the signposts stopped showing the way to Severn falls we decided to turn back...

On our way back, we stopped at a tourist spot, parked our car and asked one person about Severn falls...This is what he said - It is just a waterfall during spring. It forms when the snow melts and falls down from a higher altitude. We were disappointed. Our trip to find the waterfall ended in finding out it was never really a waterfall.

We did manage to find other picnic spots around the place and did have fun that day. But the Severn falls were the falls that were not really the waterfalls we thought they will be.

Letter to PM

2006-05-26T15:37:00.000+05:30

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

I remember I had been happy when you got elected as the Prime Minister of our country. I had been glad that a politician of high intellect, capability and a clean image could lead our country and represent us in the World.

But your rigid stance on the reservation issue saddens me. Do you really think reservations are going to help the underprivileged? Do you really think reservations in graduation and post graduation levels will help the cause of education in our country?

Though I do not want to believe this, but this stand merely seems to be for vote collection.

The pro-reservation stand will only cause more divisions in our society. Rampant printing of certificates to prove that one is from the reserved sections will become/has already become a big business. There will soon be a situation where one would feel that there is no harm in getting a certificate. One would think one can use it just in case he/she does not make the merit list (with more and more reservations, it is more likely that getting a seat via a 'reserved category' certificate will be easier than getting one on merit).
It makes the sections that are banking on getting into colleges through merit truly "weak".
If you really want to reserve seats, why disallow the creamy layer from getting their right to reservation. Is it their fault that they made money and their brethren did not? So I can make either money or remain poor and get a seat in college of my choice???

Please reconsider your decision

Regards,
Vidz

Going Backwards..

2006-05-18T09:24:00.000+05:30

Every section of the society is hell bent on making our country as regressive as possible. You disagree with me... Take a look at the recent incidents-

Jaggu and Tarana on radio have gone Hindi all the way. It is not that I am anti-Hindi but they just don't sound like the original Jaggu and Tarana. Why can't we have a healthy mix of everything?

Certain groups are asking for a ban on the Da Vinci Code movie. Why cannot people just treat it as a piece of fiction and take a decision for themselves whether they want to see or not see it??

Reservations - There is no better way than this to go back in time, No better way than this to divide our country. I am glad that there are protests against this.

Ban westernwear from colleges. - This is going on for quite sometime. . Give me a break. Is western wear really gonna harm our Culture?? Is our culture so fragile that clothes will be able to destroy it?? Are miscreants going to stop their acts if our women wear only Indian clothes?? I really do not think so.

The PC speaketh...

2006-03-08T15:58:00.000+05:30

Oh! My slave has come and he has turned me on already. He is late to work by 19 minutes and 23 seconds. Maybe because he was working till late last night.

Well there he goes to check his mails. I know his routine so well...
He will first open Microsoft Outlook to check mails. Then he will log on to the IM and reply to a couple of offline messages.
Then he will open his personal mailbox and check them. Forward a couple of silly forwards.
Next he gets up to get some coffee for himself. He better be careful. He spilt it on my keyboard yesterday. That thing is so hot.
Okay. There comes his Manager. Now he gets to work. He does less of typing and more of control+ C and control +V

Chief!! Don’t abuse me...you don’t code properly then abuse me.
This is another thing I detest. When anything does not work he has to abuse me, bang my keyboard and the mouse. The intensity increases as the day passes.

I am just a dumb machine you are supposed to be the most intelligent creature in the world. So it is your job to make stuff work and not abuse me.
I know a lot about him from the websites he keeps visiting.
I know his interests, likes, questions in his life, his taste in music

Of course he is not the only slave that I have had. I had slaves before him also.
Oh yes..I forgot, today is a Friday. Most of these guys have a five day week. I can rest for the next two weeks and get a break from this guy banging my keyboard.

Why do I call him my slave?? He will have no work if it was not for me and therefore no money.
He seems so lost and just does not know what to do when I breakdown or refuse to obey to his commands. He gets so restless HA! HA! I feel so good then. It always feels nice to see that one is so important. Hey we machines have feelings and egos too.

I better get back to some processing now...Bye

Counting Sheep

2006-02-08T12:16:00.000+05:30

I am sure most of you have heard of the old tale, that when you can't get sleep in the night, one of the methods is to count sheep jumping over the fence. I tried it yesterday. But it was not really working.
I decided to make this a little interesting. I replaced each sheep's face with a Bollywood actor's face and imagined how the jump would be.

Shahrukh Sheep - It went and jumped landed on the fence. Did a little jig came back on this side and jumped again to land on the other side.

Hritik Sheep - Flexed its leg muscles and jumped. It was the farthest and most graceful leap

Vivek Sheep - Came with a mike in its mouth and with lots of bleating about it jumped. But its leg hit the fence and hurt itself. One leg had to be bandaged.

Salman Sheep - Came in full force and jumped landed on Vivek Sheep and punched the daylights out of him

Aamir Sheep - Came towards the fence slowly. Took a long look at the fence. Went back. Thought for sometime. Calculated the height of the fence length of run-up etc. etc. and finally jumped. It was considered the most perfect jump. All the other sheep were sleeping by then.

Sunny Sheep - Came towards the fence broke it, walked past it.

Good Night!

In 2006....

2006-01-04T16:28:00.000+05:30

I Wish for

a little more peace
a little more friendship
no natural calamities
no man made calamities
more empathy
less apathy
two square meals for every hungry mouth
two less worry lines on your forehead

a smile on your face when you retire to bed

A HAPPY NEW YEAR

What Kind of Rocker are You?

2005-12-12T14:28:00.000+05:30

You Are an Emo Rocker!

Expressive and deep, lyrics are really your thing.
That doesn't mean you don't rock out...
You just rock out with meaning.
For you, rock is more about connecting than grandstanding.

What Kind of RoCker are yOu

Dance

2005-12-07T15:29:00.000+05:30

Dance - a form of expression, a stress buster, a group activity.
I have often observed in college parties, office parties and other places people and their dance. I can classify people in the following categories-

1) Enthusiastic dancers - These people are just waiting for the music to start. They start moving their feet (two left or right) at the start of the party and continue till the end of the party. If it were not for these dancers, the party would have never kicked off. Here again there are the first movers and the non-first movers. The non-first movers are equally enthusiastic about dancing but do not want to hit the dance floor first. As soon as there is some crowd in the dance floor, they make their move.
2) Good Movers - These dance enthusiastically and well and are the life of the dance party. They might just intimidate the not so good dancers with their cool moves.
3) Not so good movers - They really don’t know the 'Right steps' but are pretty enthusiastic bring life to the party and dance throughout.
4) Wannabe pulled dancers - There are a group of people who do want to dance. They are standing in their place and tapping their feet, but are either too shy to go to the dance floor or need a bit of cajoling and persuasion by the others to hit the dance floor.
5) Stiff feet - They stand far away from the dance floor hoping never to be pulled to the dance floor

So which group do you belong to?

When People become Strangers

2005-11-15T14:37:00.000+05:30

Why is it that so often in our city when a person is murdered in his house; the next door neighbours come to know about it three days later, that too because of the stench of death.
Are we moving towards total isolation?

In today's age of Chat, SMS and virtual gaming, we are losing touch with people in 'real time'.
Chat sure expresses everything but slowly but surely people are going to find real time communication difficult. Surveys have proved that people are increasingly becoming better at non face-to-face communication and avoiding real meetings.
Have you see the offices today? People are there much beyond their working hours. Yes many are really working but many are sitting in office, as they have nothing to do going back to their homes. They surf; they chat they read. Should they not be meeting real people?

People are increasingly using SMS to break up a relation!!!?? How can a relation..something so Real so full of emotions be broken by a text message. Are we scared of facing reality?

Kids are supposed to be playing outside in playgrounds and parks not sitting in front of a PC. Yes it does improve hand eye coordination, it improves logic but this is of no use at the cost of a healthy childhood.

One theory suggests that increased use of the Internet leads to loneliness. Today we are using the Internet so much that it can lead to psychological disorders.

It is said Man is a social animal. I hope we do not get into the trap of too much of technology that this statement becomes irrelevant.

Run

2005-11-07T11:08:00.000+05:30

I ran and ran and ran...Maybe these are too many 'rans' for a 4.5 km marathon. But for someone like me who does not really have the habit of running nor any strict fitness regime, so many 'rans' do qualify.
It was organized by the Rotary club in aid of cancer patients. It was for a good cause and I wanted to see if I was upto a run like this.
I am glad I did something for a good cause and am happy that I was able to complete the race. I was huffing and puffing within 200 m of the race and I thought I will never make it. But with a combination of running and brisk walking, I managed to cross the finish line.

HIGHLIGHTS
There was a lot of participation for a good cause on a SUNDAY morning
There were many participants in the Under 18 category.
Many elders (over 45) had participated and most of them completed the race.
It was pretty well organized.
I completed the race :)

True Story

2005-10-26T19:47:00.000+05:30

Me : Typing username in the application developed by my company. The username I am typing is 'xxxxx' .

Colleague: Wow! How did you encrypt your username ??!!

Smile :-)

2005-10-11T16:35:00.000+05:30

Q. What do you call a mallu kid who sticks his nose into other people's business?

A. Pokemon!!!!!

A mail sent by Dean IIT Madras

2005-10-06T14:26:00.000+05:30

Dear Friends,

Here is a personal experience, as well as a moment of national pride, which I want to share with you. Hope you find it worth the time you put in reading it :"In the middle of 1965 India-Pakistan war, US govt - then a close friend of Pakistan - threatened India with stopping food-aid (remember"PL-480"?).

For a food deficient India this threat was serious and humiliating. So much so that in the middle of war, Prime Minister (Late) Lal Bahadur Shastri went to Ram Leela Grounds in Delhi and appealed to each Indian to observe one-meal-fast every week to answer the American threat. As a school boy, I joined those millions who responded to Shastriji's call. I continued the fast even when the war was over and India became self sufficient in food. Hurt deep by the national humiliation suffered at the hands of the US govt, I had vowed to stop my weekly fast only when India starts giving aid to USA. It took just 40 years. Last week THE day arrived. When Indian ambassador in Washington DC handed over a cheque of US$ 50 million to the US govt, two plane loads of food, medical aid and other relief materials were waiting to fly to the USA. Time to break the fast? With no bad feeling about the USA, and good wishes for the Katrina victims, this humble Indian feels proud of the distance India has covered in 40 years. Let's celebrate a New India!"

iRoNiC

2005-10-04T15:28:00.000+05:30

Ganesh Chaturthi celebrated ardently by all communities
Increasing demand for community based housing colonies

Page 3 parties till wee hours of the morning
People going back to their homes in far flung suburbs after a hard day's work late in the night

People eating and wasting food in squeaky clean 5 * restaurants
Children searching for food in garbage bins

Affluent families having one car for each member
Commuters fighting for every inch of space in local trains

Flooded roads during the rains
Long queues made daily by people to get water.

People extending a hand to strangers in adversity
People watching and just walking away from accidents and crimes

India Unbound

2005-09-29T12:09:00.000+05:30

I was not very fond of reading books with economy and/or history as the subject. But this book has opened my mind to that genre of books as well...

India Unbound - Gurcharan Das

It is an interesting mix of his personal life, the country's economic, Social and Political Environment from his boyhood days till he became the chairman of P&G
The book is interspersed with little anecdotes like his meeting with Galbraith, his grandfather's view of the British Raj leaving India, Nehru's charisma, the lady in the village who had an innovative way of using his company's product.
He has given a vivid account of the liberalization process and the people involved in it.
There is also a narrative on the current economic progress of the country and his opinion of the current and future economic environment of the country. He has also written about the IT boom in India and compares it to the Industrial Revolution in Europe.

This book definitely qualifies as a 'Must Read'. Once you have finished the book, you can and would want to glance through the book once in a while.

2005-09-27T17:28:00.000+05:30

My result. Check out your Matrix Persona!!

You are Neo, from "The Matrix." You
display a perfect fusion of heroism and
compassion.

What Matrix Persona Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Skewed Ratio

2005-09-26T11:57:00.000+05:30

India is happening now. The Sensex is soaring..reaching new heights. India is the hot destination be it investments, tourism or Business Outsourcing. Our music, movies, art and culture are being embraced worldwide.Our economy is doing well. People have much more disposable income in their hands. Indians are spending a lot of money.

So is India really shining? I do not think so...Unless the women are treated on par with men in the society, the society has a lot of catching up to do before we can say India shines.India has a dismal sex ratio. The more appalling fact here is that the sex ratio has gone down from 972 to 1000 in 1901 to 941 in 1961 to 933 in 2001. It is sad that this downward trend is taking place in light of all the development and progress in the country.

Recently a movie depicted society with scarcity of women. Some might write off the movie saying it is too unbelievable. But that could be a possibility if we do not stop girl infanticide and foeticideMind you, this does not happen only in the rural areas. It is as rampant among the 'Educated' urbanites.The government has come up with a lot of initiatives in terms of women and girl child development programmes. Many corporate groups have also initiated programmes to elevate the status of the girl child and for empowerment of rural women. But unless there is an awakening among the general public, these programmes will not have the desired effect.
Is education the answer? I am not very sure. Female foeticde is rampant in the metros all over the country. Obviously these people have some level of education. How much can you educate people?? People have to realize from within that she is not a 'curse'. They have to realize that it is a crime to indulge in such cruel activities. There has to be an integrated social awakening to the fact that injustice is meted out to the girl child and that it has to be stopped.
We should change our mindset towards women.

Next time, let us not frown at the birth of a girl in our family (near or far).
Let all the parents give the girl children the same love and affection and take care of her needs just as they would take care of the son.
Let us encourage her to get an education and seek financial independence.
Let us not treat the girl as a burden that has to be passed on in marriage for dowry and marriage expenses.
When a girl is getting married into our family, let us not expect nor accept gifts in cash and kind. These things are definitely not rocket science and can be carried out by all.
But I guess human greed and evil in the garb of tradition ingrained in the society for a long time thwarts the awakening.

Sania Mirza

2005-09-23T17:05:00.000+05:30

SANIA MIRZA - the name is everywhere..she is the topic of discussion. It is nice to know that a sports person who is not a cricketer and a lady is grabbing all the attention from the media in our country.
But she is not getting attention from them for her game of tennis alone.
She is getting attention from the media for her T-shirts (!!), nose ring her not so long skirts and the opinion that her 'Looks' are suited for Bollywood. The more news going around about Sania, the more I realize that these things are given more coverage than her forehand and backhand.

I think we should give her a break. She is 18..and will dress up as normal 18 year olds would.
She cannot be expected to be in sweatshirts and track pants all the time just coz she is a sportsperson.
She cannot be blamed that she looks attractive. Who said good players should be ugly??
Corporate are blamed for giving sponsorship/advertisements ONLY to cricketers. Now that Sania is getting advertisements, the media has concluded that she gets the advertisements because she looks attractive and not because she is a sportsperson. Sportspersons have a short career. They have to make the best use of it as long as they give their game top priority.

I am sure if Sania were a male tennis player, such things would have never come in the picture.
When people talk about male tennis players, most of the discussion is on their tennis, and not on their looks or shorts! Let us allow her to concentrate on her game and do the same from our part.

Hi!

2005-09-05T15:31:00.000+05:30

I am Vidya put up in Mumbai working in the IT industry and enthusiastic about sports like volleyball, tennis, cricket, athletics.
I love travelling, getting to know people, reading, adventure sports, rock music
I am content in taking each moment of life as it comes rather than thinking and/or planning of the future.
I believe in Live and Let Live

First Blog

2005-09-05T14:58:00.000+05:30

Finally I have created my own blog. Have been reading quite a few blogs over the last 3-4 months.I want to write professionally some day..maybe this blog is a start.