The English Summer

Indian tour of England started with a lot of hype around it. Lot of cricket pundits tagged it as the battle of the year with the number one team in tests and the world champions in the 50 over format meeting the only team which it lost during the world cup campaign. Much beyond the battle of ranks, the contest promised a test of character. The lords test begin with even higher expectations with anticipation of Sachin’s tons of tons, The focus of the test series kept swinging between the game and the personal achievement. It’s been over a month since the series got started and we are back to where it all started, with the dismal performance by India, the only interest left in the final test match is to see the maestro gets to the landmark.

There have been dedicated shows on the reasons of the debacle by the Indian team, eminent cricketers have voiced their opinion on what went wrong and media has repeatedly listed down steps to revive Indian cricket. Quite honestly, with 3-0 bashing and fourth test match which is in progress showing a sign of 4-0 quietly asks for such deep investigations and noises. There have been lot written about the number one slot being taken away by England. While I certainly believe that the former issue is of much importance and concern the latter one can be rested for a while because if we focus on the performance, rankings can be taken care of.

To summarise India’s performance in the current series, it would be fair to say that we have been outplayed in all departments. The beginnings to the debacle begin at Lord’s when Zaheer had to pull out just after first session. The already week Indian bowling attack got exposed and since then we have been struggling to get twenty wickets on tracks where Englishmen had run through the team India. However, what pains is our strength on papers bowing out to the seaming conditions repeatedly, session after session. No batsman except Dravid looks like reaching the three figure mark. Even the likes of VVS seem to be struggling and that is not a good sign. Not a 300 plus score in 6 innings now is a wake up call not just for the players but also for the administrators. It is high time that the BCCI wakes up from the deep slumber of money churning through IPL and other events. I have high regards for the selection committee headed by Mr. Srikkanth and I am sure he is as worried as any body at the moment due to the performance of the team chosen by him. The question he needs to answer is that how many youngsters have been introduced to the longer form of the game in the recent past? Raina has been in and out of the test squad and so has been the case with Virat Kohli.

One of the key reasons been debated is the scheduling of matches and hence the lack of preparation time for the team. Though the international calendar is demanding and requires back to back series, the IPL window definitely looks a misfit. The mandate seems clear either play for your country only or don’t let events like IPL affect your performance. Come to think of it, playing IPL within a week of concluding the world cup asks has take its toll and sadly it has now. Lack of practice matches is another area of concern but with the inability of team India to come to terms even after three test matches, this argument doesn’t hold good at the moment though required exposure to the conditions must be there before the first test begins overseas

The issues are endless and so are the number of excuses and time is running out to settle either of them. We know we have a good team in place; all that we need is better management of the same. No team becomes good or bad overnight and we must not give in or give too easily. Test match series has been lost but the upcoming ODI series is to be looked forward to as Team India will be doning the tri colours as champions of that format when they take the field against Strauss’s men. England was the only team against which Team India lost in their World Cup campaign. The most important challenge for the men in blue will be to shrug off the recent bad past and show confidence in their abilities.

Game of cricket is a great leveller and who else other than Team India would know better. Year 2007 saw team India crashing out of the world cup and winning the inaugural T 20 championship six months later. A lot can change in a matter of few months….cut to 2011, A team that won the world cup six months ago is struggling right now…..Hope the bad run finishes with the test series and we get to see the champion team India that lifted the spirits of billions of people along with the world cup..

The game begins ….Now

It’s been ten days in to the biggest tournament of cricket and it still feels as there is some distance to go as far as the excitement and thrill we usually associate with the game and more so with the World Cup. Talking about my love for the game, which blossomed when the event took stage in India in 1996, I remember those days when everything smelled cricket. Children would run from their tuitions to catch the final 10 overs and; office goers bunked work places to glue to the idiot box or even better get to the stadiums! The iconic win of India against Pakistan in the quarter finals meant neighbours coming to your doorstep with sweet boxes and relatives calling over to congratulate. The sound of crackers and firefly’s would turn the whole environment as if Diwali has arrived a bit too early. Not just the celebrations, but the run up to such do or die matches would involve endless prayer to God. I actually drew the possible fielding combinations during the various stages of the game which to be honest, helped me sit through the mathematics class when some body passed a comment “Kal to Pakistan hi jeetega!”, I gave him an angry look and replied “kal 9^th March hai, mere birthday ke exact one month after wali date, dekh liyo India hi jeetega” My chilidish challenge was almost in danger when Ajay Jadeja played a crucial knock to bail India out and secure the position in the Semis.

Fifteen years later, the tournament is back in the sub continent with another neighbour joining as hosts. Cut to 2011, probably due to the long gasping schedule of the tournament or may be I am no longer a school student, or the sheer dominance of T20, the excitement and enthusiasm seem to bit short of the standards that I have witnessed or been a part of, However things look promising as the news flash on TV that thousands of fans got ‘lathi charged’ in Bangaluru to get the tickets for the India-England encounter which is the first quality match India will play in the tournament after beating Bangladesh. Now that sounds better as in India, we never feel the excitement until it begins to show in the streets!

Every four years, our patriotic heart overtakes the logical mind and India become favourites to win the cup. The images of Kapil Dev lifting the trophy in the Lord’s balcony with thousands of fan cheering in the ground are played endlessly and the final XI who brought the trophy become regular faces conducting debates about how good or bad are India’s chances. For past three editions, India never really looked like getting to repeat the feat even when the Ganguly led team reached the finals in 2003 only to realise that Australia’s dominance had just begin. Last four years have been perhaps the most encouraging for an Indian cricket fan and looking at the teams that have lined up for the tournament, the logical mind is finally seem to be agreeing with the heart. It is easy to ask the question about who is the most favourite to win the world cup however interesting bit in this edition is to ask the other way around i.e. If not India, who else seems to be the strongest contender and answer is much easier than we think!. Australia is no more the team it was during the last three editions and with the fresh defeat in the Ashes, the confidence of the team with out the services of the likes of warne, Mcgrath and gilly is definitely down. Outside the sub continent, one team which can pose a serious threat is South Africa. The proteas have played some outstanding cricket off late and have beaten India in the ODI series just before the World Cup However their in ability to play spin too well can might just be enough for them to not to reach to the final two. Without an iota of doubt that teams from sub continent have great chances of doing well and one team that can truly turn the tables is Sri Lanka which like India has grown from strength to strength and has produced some fine spinners and all rounders. The ‘Smiling Assassin’ a.k.a Muttiah Murlidharan in particular would be keen to be part of the winning team during his last world cup.

A challenge this edition of the World Cup will face is of survival of ODI’s amidst huge popularity of T20’s. The success of the shorter version has in a way dented a bit of reputation of the ODI’s and right from a cricket fan to a marketer seem to be glued more towards the three hour encounter. The recent case is of Volkswagen India announcing that they are going to put all their sponsorship money in IPL in stead of the World Cup indicating the popularity this format has achieved. If ODI’s have to survive, then World Cup should ideally set example with some thrilling and good quality encounters

How it charts out will finally be seen on the field during the next few weeks and as I mentioned earlier, this time the mind and heart both feel that the trophy should be in Dhoni’s hands on April 2 ‘ 2011 and Sachin would then be able to retire in peace whenever his heart and body allows him to.

Matches involving serious contenders have kicked off since yesterday with Australia beating New Zealand and Pakistan getting better of Sri Lanka however as far as India is concerned with the match against England coming up in few hours, the game begins…..Now!!

The New Alto K 10 Launch: A threat to Spark and Santro?

The New Alto K 10 Launch: A threat to Spark and Santro?


· Price: Considering the foremost priority in this segment’s consumer’s mind, The new Alto K 10 is by far the cheapest car with the high end version (Vxi) available at 3.16 lakhs (Ex show room , Delhi). At this price range, the new Alto K 10 poses some serious threat to most successful models of Chevrolet and Hyundai

· Mileage: The brand name Alto has become synonymous with the most fuel efficient car in India and going by the ARAI claim, The new Alto K 10 is out to make a kill!. It’s 20.2 km/ltr is way ahead of Spark and Santro.


· Weight: Though not on the top priority list of the buyers, it demands a special mention as the new engine has added just 50 kg to its existent model ensuring that it is at least 55 kg lighter than Spark and 69 kg lighter than Spark, The light weight is sure to add the zip and the fuel economy

· Engine: This is the talking point of the new Alto K 10, the engine has been upgraded from 800 cc to 998 cc K 10 series engine bringing it in the much crowded B segment market and it competes directly with Spark which has a 995 cc engine

· Power: Now this is a real surprise at the first look, 68 PS power is whooping 45% increase from its existing model’s power of 47 PS, What more, this new light weight zippy car produces more power than Spark and Santro (63 PS both)

· Others: Needless to say that with above advantages, this new car has the most trustworthy automotive brand in this country to back it up

Overall, the prospects of the new Maruti Suzuki Alto K 10 excelling and taking over the competition in terms of Spark and Santro are very high. The Chevrolet and Hyundai India boardrooms have now some serious thinking to do on how to tackle this small yet powerful and highly affordable entrant in the already crowded B segment market , So when everyone thought that the race to fit a new segment in the entry level is over, the veteran of the industry comes with a bang but will the move help grow the segment or will it cannibalise the sales its own models, only the time will tell till then it is a time to rejoice for the increasing middle class as their dream to have a car which has power and economy both is being realized, Way to go Maruti....Dhantenaan !!

Back to the basics!

You can plan to do it, you may almost do it but you can never actually do it and what I mean here is ‘destroying’ the ‘Wall’; The inclusion of Rahul Dravid in the ODI’s is a prime example of how life brings everyone at par ,as they say back to the basics; No one in the BCCI administration left a stone unturned in proving an innocent a victim and sending him off from an arena which truely belonged to him; It is surprising how unforgiving and thankless one can become at times, We loved him for his exclusive timing and gorgeous cover drives; We celebrated when he single handedly brought victory to India on countless occasions but unlike other ‘Heroes’ he always stood in silence, playing a sheet anchor role providing solidarity to the much needed partnership or playing a second fiddle when a ‘Superhero’ needed someone to rotate strike at the other end, he quietly clapped and congratulated batsman around for sending the ball all over the park

Then came in the young brigade who did fantastically well to deserve a spot in the final XI however selectors somewhere erred in their judgement when they almost replicated the T20 team for ODI’s, while the former version allows a lot of youngsters to go all out against the attack and where a score of 30+ is considered a top performance, the later version requires much more stability and perseverance and that is where a player of Dravid’s calibre is a dire need; The exclusion of Dravid after October 2007 did make a strong case as the young brigade had been doing exceptionally well and just 80 runs from 10 innings didn’t help Dravid’s cause
However soon after his exclusion, the foundation for his comeback was getting laid; Middle order couldn’t bear the pressure and despite of young talent present in the form of Raina and Sharma, the consistency was always an issue; In the recently concluded T20 world cup, the middle level surrendered meekly to bouncy deliveries from West Indies, a weakness which was further explored and exposed by England. Lack of stability in the middle order forced the captain Dhoni to deviate from his usual explosive style of batting and adopt the style which usually is not associated with him, Sehwag’s injury also worked as a catalyst for Dravid’s comeback however credit must be given to the selection committee headed by Srikkanth for taking a sincere decision which may well be put to use for short term though a lot will depend on Dravid’s performance in the upcoming tri series and champions trophy about his prospects to be a part of 2011 World Cup XI
Knowing Dravid, he would grab this opportunity with both hands and with Sachin back in to the team, Indian cricket lovers will once again get to see the legends back in to the action for we may never know when do we get to witness it again
Welcome back Rahul, and make sure for all the bowlers around the world, the writing is on the wall!

Surviving the last innings of bachelorhood

It’s summer time and seemingly the most active time of the year with every body from Soft drink manufacturers to cricket administrators (IPL) getting ready for the action to begin and to add to the heat, we have General Elections coming up followed by T 20 World Cup; I hope amidst the recession blues, this summer provides the platform for economic recovery so that market comes back on track and so does our increments J
I too have my task cut out this summer and that is to stay bachelor till the next one! However the attack promises me to keep me on the back foot as most of the factors are not favoring the stroke play and that brings me to the topic that keeps me busy all the time especially when I am at home on weekends
I must admit that I have become kind of an expert tackling the most complex question of my life these days and the credit goes to all my so called relatives who have now one point agenda in their life and that is to get me married! Well I don’t blame them as they all have reached there 60’s and more importantly they have got their children tie the knot so until they get to the point where they are changing nappies of their grand children or probably making them listen to the Ramayana they have pretty much nothing to do but to find the next target and become a little busy in their routine life, mind you finding a girl or a boy is much more than just fun for them as they get to do the whole lot of gossip and debates
No matter wherever I go, thanks again to my cousins both maternal paternal (they have made sure that I am the last man standing with all bachelors in my family are at least 20 years older than me), I get to face every body with one question in their eyes I have classified all such people in to various categories, read carefully as you never know you might just be the one fairing in one of those!

I. Right arm fast: It is hard to escape them, they don’t allow you to settle on the crease and their sole purpose is to send you back to the pavilion immediately as according to them my innings of bachelorhood is long due for retirement and since I am not in a mood to declare, their one and whole purpose of survival is to steal my freedom away, these are your very own close one’s and includes your parents and sisters or brothers. Their deliveries are unbelievably most of the time unplayable pitches on the off and if I make even a slight mistake rest assured that you will see the stumps uprooted for a picture perfect shot for a bowler. There have been a lot close LBW appeals so far however some factor or the other such as “height”, “color”, “kundli” etc have given me the benefit of doubt and luckily I have survived to face another one

II. Right arm medium: These are your close relatives like your masi, mami, bhua, chachi etc., the best part about them is that they can only bowl a limited number of overs depending upon when the fast bowlers decide to take rest and bring them on. They are not that ferocious in their approach and can only bowl with gentle pace which allows you to get your eye in and play shots accordingly but I must say few of their deliveries are very nagging as they will tempt you with half volleys and slow bouncers to which I generally play well by avoiding to have a go at them, Pretty safe but irritating as they don’t give too many runs away

III. Right arm slow orthodox: Under estimate them at your own risk, they look absolutely harmless and when you least expect, their deliveries turn from no where and you get in to the saving act, these are your very own close group of friends who most likely are in the same boat and experiencing similar tough batting conditions and hence they need a venting, they will slowly almost casually alarm your parents about a relationship which does not exist and while they laugh away on your condition, things turn from ugly to worse and suddenly the pressure to leave the crease becomes immense; Deliveries like ‘Aunty ab to is ki shaadi kara do, kitni ladkiyo ke saath aur ghoomega?’ are surely goanna put you on back foot


While I continue to survive the battle, the umpire (read God) seems to be in my favor and understands that my innings is far from over and I am quite hopeful that factors such as above will not withstand in my way to remain unbeaten till the appropriate time and than I shall declare the innings gracefully getting ready for the next one!

Osama Un Plugged : Letter from Osama Bin Laden to its army

Letter from Osama Bin Laden to its army:

My greetings to all fellow warriors and many congratulations on achieving success against our most favored nation, there is something about this land which invites us again and treats us with utmost importance; the recent attack is even more critical as it is an answer from our side to the so called “emerging superpower” that we can come, have a good time (over 3 days) and ensure that the so called growth slows down, In more ways than one, our success is a great confidence booster for carrying out attacks of even more vigor and proves that we can bring down the nation of billion plus people to its knees in a matter of half an hour. Don’t take me wrong, it is not that this is the only nation I am smitten over, In fact our list of distinguished targets include U.S.A, U.K, Israel to name the few most important but there is something about India which makes me revisit this land with so much freedom that I have always felt welcomed and I am not saying it with out any merit. The land is so diverse in terms of demographics that half of our work gets easily done by their internal communal conflicts; The politician in western part burns the street of its own state in order to get its fellow northern state people out (mind you, both belong to the same nation) and the northern politician in turn run rallies, abuses his counterpart in west art to rage anger amongst people resulting in conflict between the two states and the most funny part is that few months down the line, you see party workers of both states exchanging places for few bucks; This land also provides us with an impeccable platform in terms of triggering off any communal violence with again Politicians helping us in a great deal. The great work done by our esteemed martyrs is often seen as a responsibility of either of the community and politicians leave no stone unturned in politicizing the issue and gain votes from the “other” community, The nation can always easily be seen in a state of instability be it ‘Gujjars’ trying to regain their rights, or some government associate being chased after for corruption and even soothing sight these days has been the top army officials names appearing in local blasts at a place called “Malegaon” making our job even easier, thousands get burnt over the name of religion and yes you guessed it right!, Politicians again at work with finding opportunities to gain votes

As you see, all the above-mentioned stuff provides us with an excellent framework to carry out strikes at our own will These are golden days for us, the year 2008 has been extremely successful with an average of almost one strike every month and we have been able to reach beyond metros and hit the common man in Jaipur, Gujarat, Ahmer and U.P and not to forget exceptional series blasts carried out beautifully in Delhi, Bangalore by our local partners residing in those areas Poor investigating officers keep running from one to the other locations in hope of finding any clue and often declares success when they calmingly catch one of our friends , I can just laugh at such moments as I only wish if these guys knew about our real intentions, we are not here to live on but to terrorize their citizens, carry out maximum destruction and become a martyr.

The security in side is of sub standard and that proves as the catalyst for us to kill at will with our men roaming in the streets under the nose of police and getting trained on their own geography learning about the loop holes and ways to strike them hard.

Other day I was wondering about the way to enter in Mumbai and strike and much to my pleasure, another friend from their side, named “Dawood Ibahim” proved to be of great help providing his smuggling route through to be used and rest is all history.

The NSG commandos have no doubt given us some rough time but by we did achieve our objectives again thanks to the lazy politicians who took as long as 4 hours to decide that they need special force to tackle our brave commandos who have been trained on their own land

So friends to summarize, when ever you feel difficulty in spreading your wings in difficult western states, always remember there is one nation which will always welcome you with red carpet, In fact it can be used as a pilot for testing all our latest weapons, strategies while we have already begun to give final shape to our next strike, I see on T.V a half bald, old politician on T.V from India asking for votes blaming the current government lead to these attacks, This politician is apparently is set to become chief of the nation early next year, Need I say more?

With Love,

Osama

Aussies in wonderland !

You see blood in eyes, you feel the power in your palms, you see standards going beyond all levels; you see history being made and often written by your own hands, You see the whole world taking notice; you feel the force with you and you see only and only win as losing is not an option when you face mighty Australia

Aussies are in India for all important test series and ODI’s, not for the first time but this series certainly is going to be the most important one for both sides as we have already seen the buildup when Indians went to the Island and gave a tough fight and even clinched the ODI trophy, Ponting will surely have those scars open and fresh. The challenge this time is not just to return the favor but also to prove the supremacy, which has become the talking point since when India beat Australia in the famous 2001 series in their own backyard but with both teams ageing especially in the longer version of the game, we have a contest on our hands. Players like Laxman & Dravid who single handedly showed the way out to Kangaroos are today more worried about saving their own place in the team while the Oz have come with quite an inexperienced side especially in the bowling department, Experts say that the current Australian squad will have to do beyond what the had been doing to re establish their dominance, So will India be able to match up!

Rivalry Quotient

World champions have proved their mettle to their world and have dominated every team but if one team has repeatedly come in their path of victory, it is Team India, No other team has challenged Australia as often as the T 20 champions have and that too on different playing conditions, be it home or neutral, Many of us might argue the point that India has still a lot to do to match the levels of kangaroos in the longer version of the game but no denying to the fact that in the past few years especially in the last series, India has proved that it can give Aussies a good run for their money. Whenever two teams battle it out in whites there is a sudden increase in adrenaline of players and you can see even an average player touching new highs, In short it’s the clash of two titans that brings out the best from the players

Owing to the factors mentioned above, even God (Read: Sachin Tendulkar) did comment that India vs. Australia is now a bigger rivalry than India vs. Pakistan, so come October 9, don’t be surprised if you see few curfews and leaves in your office, after all it’s best vs. better than the best contest

Players Form

It is not a surprise that experts all round the world are looking at Australia with a different eye today, According to Ian Chappell, Australia’s primacy can be challenged since half of their team have hung up their boots. Clearly with the absence of Mc Grath & Warne, the attack looks little toothless; It will be up to Brett Lee & co. to carry the responsibility on its shoulders, The aussies look quite ok in batting department with one causality of Symonds who could have made a huge difference to the team’s balance, Not just he is a good player of spin, his aggression can turn around the match at any given point. The home team too looks wary with the all time great middle order facing the surprising identity crisis and must be under huge pressure to deliver. Saurav’s exclusion from Irani trophy could translate to non-inclusion in to national side, which in my opinion handing over too much in terms of hospitality to the visitors, Yuvraj Singh too is under pressure with his poor form, though the opening pair looks formidable which is good news as Indians have struggled for quite some time to find answers to the opening woes. Ishant in particular would be seeing blood after his successful debut against visitors and less said would be better for Bhajji who would be raring to go against Oz more so for emotional reasons! This series is perhaps the last chance for seniors to save their falling grace and much deserved fitting farewell which looks not too far and I hope Kumble realizes the fact as his captaincy has also been under scanner since he has been asked to take up the role after Dravid resigned from the position

Playing conditions

Though Australians will be starting their tour at the outset of autumn, considering the temperature they are used to in their home It will still be pretty hot for them and with almost half the team playing first time on Asian soil, things can go beyond just being “hot” humidity and turning tracks are nothing new on Indian pitches however it should give a lot of peace to the like of Lee that last time SA beat India with pacers taking 19 of 20 wickets which establishes the fact that Indians are shaky against swing & bounce irrespective of surface. From India’s perspective, weapons of mass destruction in the form of Kumble & Harbhajan must fire in order to make any impact….

Cricket Controversies
India vs. Australia has become a synonym with controversies. Last tour down under was no less than a disaster in terms of un fair play and personal fights and Harbhajan must be missing Symonds most for the same reason however his other aides will be there and you can expect a lot more verbal volleys than googley if things go out of control, hope fully both teams have learnt their lesson and we will get to see pure cricket with no malice however knowing the Australian style of playing the game, it would be hard to expect no action!

Watch out for players who have been under scanner for some time especially Sachin & Laxman and I am sure they will have few surprises up their sleeves for the visitors and if that happens, nothing can stop India from displacing Aussies from no. 1 position……Go India Go!!

Blow the dust ...away..!

It was 6:10 pm I just took a u turn in front of Lifestyle mall in Raja Garden and was headed towards Dwarka to celebrate birthday of one of our friends. Just then my friend received a call, the person on the other side was another friend of ours; She told her to reach to the safest possible location ASAP. I was anxious due to her replies to the person on the other side and her face too looked full of tension. Soon she informed me that there has been a blast in Gopaldas building in C.P. My first reaction was “It was coming” Though the tragedy’s news was shocking but to be honest it was not surprising at all considering the recent blasts in Jaipur & Ahmedabad. Even at the time when I heard the news of blasts in those places, I felt bad but couldn’t feel the impact; however this time when it happened right outside the building in which I started my career, I just didn’t feel bad, there was a wave of endless emotions and before I could react my phone ranged “Calling Dad”, I could understand his reason of call. He is otherwise less spoken and hardly ever talks in an authoritative tone but in the conversation of about 3 minutes, I could hardly speak and received orders to come back home immediately. I was more closer to my original destination and after numerous discussions, I finally decided to head towards Dwarka as safety of my female friend was equally important and I couldn’t have left her alone in these troubled times. We shortly received confirmed news of 5 blasts across Delhi, Karol Bagh, CP and GK; All the places where we could have easily been; In fact we changed the location to meet Raja Garden from CP to buy gift at the very last moment!

But quite a few others were not lucky enough and could not escape the terror strike. Official numbers say 30 people have lost their lives while 100 odd people were injured. News channels were carrying the disturbing pictures of blast victims and distorted looking blast sites, I was curious to watch the news but we decided to not to watch TV, The mood had mellowed down to a large extent but still we carried on with our reduced gathering while numerous calls poured in from all possible corners of the nation and we were glad to answer them and reply anxious messages ensuring we were safe.

Our talks endlessly digressed to the tragedy and we helplessly vented our anger out. I reached home early morning and on my way I saw signage written “India Gate” & “ Karol Bagh” while I was crossing Dhaula Kuan, For once my heartbeat became faster knowing the fact that I was quite close to all blast sites. Following the tragic event, one would expect heavy security; however to my utter surprise, I did not encounter even a single men in Khakhi and drove with out any checking till my house despite crossing sensitive places like dehli Cantt & Airport on the way. On reaching home I encountered another bad news of Cricket Australia giving a second thought about the upcoming tour against India due to security concerns

It is just a small illustration of how important is a citizen’s safety is to government authorities. India has always been subject to terror attacks and quite surprisingly, every attack has given boost to the evil powers and no learning to people in power, Be it Akshardham attack, Mumbai, serial blasts or Parliament attack, we don’t seem to have any system in place which can prevent repeat of such inhuman incidents in future, London for instance post blasts in underground stations has developed a system for preventing such attacks in future. The system includes a dedicated team including Dogs who are expert in tunnel activities. The CCTV’s have a wide range and work 24*7, In fact these cameras led to cracking the case; Govt. is equally concerned about people privacy and hence the cameras automatically blurs the image in case any building comes in its range but captures every single movement in public place. There is a team of experts set up who diligently watch movement of individuals These experts are responsible for pre empting any unlike event by studying body science 7 visual language of people. I know all of this can still not gurantee safety but says a lot about concern and efforts took to ensure it

We on the other hand are more bothered about Maharashtra’s Marathi and Up’s Hindi language barriers. Politicians have unmistakingly repeated similar comments and tirelessly given same assurances but to no result. The fact remains that common people are still burning. Every citizen has lost faith in security and does not feel safe while going out. Police on the other hand seems helpless, despite of early warnings; forces did not act to prevent such a heinous crime. Militant groups are openly mocking the security and challenging the administration to stop them. The recent e-mail from Indian Mujaheddin (IM) group who took responsibility for attacks declared, “the dust will never settle down”. Does that mean that thousands of lives will continue to get buried under that dust with no hopes of any one clearing it? I believe that with government, people are responsible too for the safety however the fundamentals of the current government looks very weak and any involvement from public might not get results that ideally should be expected. We don’t want Nuclear deal, not even strong monetary policy to control inflation, even eco friendly fuel is of least importance to us IF you can not guarantee or at least make effort to guarantee our survival, We don’t want tall buildings of rock and concrete All we need is a strong foundation which can blow the dust away and never allows to settle again

A bond called friendship

I woke up this Saturday morning with quite a handful of troubles surrounding my mind (It does exist!). Starting from the regular household chores which wait even more eagerly for the weekends than actually I do coz they pile on me the moment I hit my bed on Friday night (If at all I do!), However this Saturday morning, there were more guests along with the usual ones, For the first time since 2000, I actually let my phone become a victim of an accident, In fact a very bad one…My Motorocker has been accompanying me since November 07 and I proudly owned it hence announcing my entry in to the league of “high end mobile phones”. This lad has been witness to all emotions and knows even the best-kept secrets as all of them pass through him. So after spending such a quality time together, catching each other’s habits is not uncommon.

And I guess after preventing his temptation for GOD knows how long, and getting motivated by the “talli” song which I made him play for me countless times. He decided to take things in his own hands and at a traffic light; He wisely slipped out of my hand and went in for a quick swim session in the glass of vodka kept near the gear knob. Though my friend sitting besides me took him out that very moment, but alas, being his first time possibly, he got a hit and a bad one! The condition is not stable as yet and hangovers seem to have no end. So all those of you who might be wondering that I might have become rude, not replying to messages know now why as I am dependent on a stand by cousin of his who seem to be even a bigger talli, He will not show you who is calling making you receive all crap. Forget about messages, they don’t have any existence here!!

So while getting it to a repair was some task for me, my printer’s cartridge finally decided to not show up for work despite of being ink full! Hang on…there is this cordless land line phone at my home which is not working and badly needs my attention since it’s repair been pending for last month or so.

The fact that I some how stole time to get back home on Friday early to get a new grip on our team Bat and get two balls, brought a smile that at least I will be playing cricket. (My first and only love of life…Female’s are still invited with applications). My fantasy of pitching the ball outside the off stump and ball swinging in the last moment to up root the off stump suddenly brought whole lot world of excitement and suddenly world was a better place despite of all mechanical faults all around me…. Then I looked at the watch it was 5:00 am, the match was supposed to start by 6 in Gurgaon, I called up “George” but to my utter disgust, he didn’t pick up and hence ended my dream of celebrating wicket on the pitch.

As the day progressed, things started becoming little better with most of the jobs done and my phone calmly resting in coma. The match was arranged in the evening and I some how managed to rush to Gurgaon where we all (5 of my friends) were supposed to spend the night at Sam’s place celebrating Friendship Day. The match was better than our expectations as we managed to beat a local Gurgaon team on the last ball. The fact that they have thrashed us in last three occasions when we met made the celebrations even bigger.

It was followed by another round of celebrations with a gala dinner celebrating George’s appraisal and then DJ Sam entertaining us at his place through the night. As the dawn broke, we all started moving to our respective locations.

While all this happened; I some how felt the excitement and thrill all of the sudden dying as I came back home; feeling of loneliness is not strange to me; In fact at times I would read books, learn about things on internet and do other stuff which I usually don’t indulge in to. Still nothing brought solace to me. I kept wondering about this situation and did a lot of soul searching to find the answers but couldn’t. What made things worse is that one of my very close friends (“Vinay” alias “Victor”) is leaving India day after tomorrow for at least 2 years. Victor and I have spent almost every weekend together along with John (“Jeevesh” alias “John”) and believing that he would no longer be meeting and irritating me with his “Honey Singh” song is quite hard. We both know each other since 2000; the first day of our graduation and since then we have been each other’s agony aunt on numerous occasions. In fact we have been so close that My ex girl friend declared publicly once that she would have no issues with another girl in my life but she has serious issues with Victor’s association with me! (No I am not a gay!)

My mind is numb at the moment, it doesn’t know whether to be happy, sad, excited, or be neutral, as all emotions have taken a back seat at the moment. I don’t have any reason for this phenomenon happening to me.

But yes one thing, which is crystal clear, coming out of this situation, is that I am blessed, yes I truly am. I probably wouldn’t have been what I am today had my friends not been around. Each one of them has made a special mark on my life. Origin of my life has been due to my parents and every credit goes to them for what I am today, however credit for adding life in to every breath goes to all my friends, Be it a cricket game or a career discussion, from the long chats on how to propose that girl to deciding on which company to sit for in the campus interview; motivating for taking the right decision and then consoling when things go wrong; In short anything and everything which happens in my life is some where a result of one of my friend’s genuine effort to see me happy.

So here thanking all of them for making this world a better place…you rock guys!!

Happy Friendship Day!

Kyon ki Zindagi .... abhi baaki hai mere dost..!

“Brilliance lies not in the result but in the act which produces the result,” said one of my colleagues, He was right but that forced my mind to think hard that is it not the result we focus most on? Off course when the expected result is clear, then we are more focused on the actions to achieve it so, which is more important, goal or the journey to achieve it?

What we get in the end may not truly justify our actions for it as the success may not be ours after putting in all the efforts, Lets assume that you love a person and you make all efforts to convince him/her for your feelings, to make that person believe that no one else can love her/him as much as you do; and in the pursuit you encounter some beautiful feelings in your heart, all those small things which made you love that person even more and inexplicable happiness for being in love! You write your heart out on paper, you plant that perfect song in your heart and my experience (as told by my friends who are in love) tells me that love makes you a better person. Finally after listening to your heart, you decide to ‘express’ it in the expectation of reciprocation; Now further assume two possible scenarios, One where things work out well in your favor and other where you do not receive the expected response and you enter in to the heart break (again told by my friends who have been through it) which makes you feel sad and disappointed and lonely believing that you have lost everything.

The other scenario is a tricky one where I doubt that the statement made by my colleague actually stands true or not for the journey till that point was no doubt fabulous however the result was way off from what expected, so can peace be achieved thinking that path was great and the whole episode made you a better person and so on?

Well the answer may vary from person to person but who kehte hai na..jo hota hai , ache ke liye hota hai….Sahi kehte hai!, So trusting the supreme power and your instinct, probably the road to where you have reached today was not that bad; you may have achieved some of things from your list and lost on the others but that experience made you what you are today but hey hang on, does it mean that we should not aim for we may not get it at the end and hence enjoy present and be absolutely unconcerned about future? Well I wish if it had been that way; however what life has taught me so far tells me that no matter what ever happens; you got to stand up and take aim despite of the difficulties you know you might well face and enjoy every moment you spend in making an effort to achieve it as those moments will turn in to memories of life time

As a sportsman, you cant pad up and take guard thinking about the mammoth total set by the opposition all the time but what you can definitely do is to face ‘every’ delivery bowled at you with confidence and with a belief of scoring and hence enjoying every moment spent on crease

Now even if you lose the match, you know you gave your best shot and are ready to raise the bar next time you go out and play and hence I believe journey has a lot more significance than the result

If you still haven’t made it then probably have to try even harder (read enjoy even more) to make it large kyon ki zindagi…abhi baaki hai mere dost

A tale of three wandering souls

10:15 PM Robin joins Sam & George in the famous Zaika at IFFCO chowk, gurgaon, After listening to all abuses for joining this late, All three got down to business and what better deal could be to enjoy each other’s company with Fosters (I love Australians for it!).; George as usual had his list of grievances against his boss “Subbu”; Sam had just shifted to an internet media company and hence showed no sign of bad honeymoon; Robin as usual is a victim of wrong person at wrong place, He shifted from ever demanding hours of retail industry to Market research giant in hope of better work life balance and he found his entire life crunched only to weekends with normal working hours stretching beyond 12-14 hours on daily basis. Talks digressed from office to more personal. All three are bachelors so talking about girls is an obvious choice; Common point of frustration all are nearing or reached 25 and still are virgin! Robin in the middle of drinks suggested to go on a drive to which both agreed

1:30 am, Gurgaon-Faridabad highway, three bachelors lying down on grass on a small cut out from the main road, the hustle bustle of trucks crossing by adding to the environmental bliss. Thanks to the remote location from town, the area has no element of electricity and whatever these three can see is due to their mobile phones light. Chatting and reliving their college days when they were together under one roof for two years…. and blessing the maker of Fosters after every sip, for a change appreciating Australians didn’t hurt especially outside the cricket ground.

George – a perfectionist, one who believes in detailing even the minutes spent in attending nature’s call be it early morning must do activity or pissing his way to glory in the huge dug out area right at the corner of IFFCO chowk, see his mail before organizing any trip and you will realize that he can give any travel agent a run for his money and not to forget the way he pumps everybody and literally wakes dead souls to join the party. Better known for his tragedies, which he innocently admits as “Hadsa”. Be with him and you are in for a big surprise and more often than not, his acts will tear your ass apart before normalizing the effect. His list of tragedies is huge but what stands out is an incident where he was running away from another friend of ours in college cafeteria when this soul decided to take quickest way to exit…not from window! Not from pipe or any other remote location, but from the most obvious exit that is the door, but in the most unusual manner where he decided to go “through” the glass door; before we could realize, this guy was down on the floor with glass broken. Always wearing his signature smile, ask him how does he feel after such a stunt? And he would sum it up precisely for you by saying “SKB” and before you run your mind in guessing what abbreviation means…at the cost of being indecent on public platform, let me reveal it…It means S** Ka Bacha!

Since the time he has originated this term, SKB generally gets associated with every good experience; Not that we all are not but he for sure is one SKB who believes in “Live life King Size” and he actually does

Sam – Once GOD decided to give all the raw material to one person to make it large in life; He created Sam and since then, both GOD and Sam are confused about what to do with it! He is one soul whose emotional pendulum knows no midway; He can beat SRK when it comes to romance and showering love on others but beware! Once you are in his bad books, your link disappears from his homepage forever; as he would say what ever he does “Had se zyada”! His skills of flooring girls is a well known fact amongst friends and even today college echoes his songs; hot property in the early days of college, he soon became a craze with his majestic voice and almost anybody & everybody would stop him on road and would listen to “Bheege Honth” on demand. Such was his aura that even director couldn’t help but call the guy who sings that famous song despite of his zero attendance and no assignments submission. Till now, he has managed to indulge in umpteen affairs (contact George for exact number) and even more heart breaks; As his life progressed, he added more and more females in his “cntrl + shift+del” list. A true sportsman who doesn’t believe in declaring his innings except small “breaks” in between when he decided to go in to his most favorite activity of sleep! This human turned “aloo ki bori” is then no contest no matter how hard you try to wake him up an the rule applies irrespective of location or occasion! Being from a small town, despite of all his talent, he has his feet firmly on ground; A real gutsy customer and would never shy from saying truth on face; only piece of advice with this heart of gold creature is Handle with care!

Robin – A wandering soul who grew up in a well protected family environment and for whom fun didn’t go beyond watching a movie on cable TV or playing cricket (his first love) in the neighborhood until he joined college and was amazed to see the pace with world moves; being a real adventurer at heart, He embraced almost everything that came his way. Soon the cupid strike and he fell in love and so far his only love in his life; though his cricket scores were always better and that meant little luck with the love game. People describe him as a cricket maniac and he would oblige his judges by saying no to everything in worst circumstances except cricket. His fever for the game actually started with 1996 world cup and when India lost Semis to Sri Lanka and whole India went in to depression with Kambli’s tears, this folk was busy motivating his colony friends to wake up early morning next day to play the game as a part of daily schedule in those days. He is often a confused personality with little clarity and believes in living everyday on its face value. Though he comes close to match the level of Sam in terms of love, He somehow cant be as straightforward and develop hatred for some body; one of his biggest weaknesses

He could be often found giving his all time famous “goli’s” to his parents just to be with his gang. If lying to your parents is a sin, then he for sure has got his seat reserved in hell. His belief in life is that it is too small to be lived on assumptions and ifs and buts, hence “Make it Large”

All three shared passion for sports and hunger for adventure

2:00 am, after trying all possible numbers to get through a call girl fails and all three get up in frustration to move back to Gurgaon. The journey back to gurgaon was a true pleasure with Sam turning Atif Aslam and sang his all-heartfelt songs with all pain his own heart.

Realizing that it might be too late, Robin decides to leave for home after a fantastic start to the weekend…

To be continued....

Love Strikes!

Love has got many definitions, right from the days of its trivial explanations of “aag ka dariya” to today’s quite simplistic one’s of love at first sight, love has strike for every one around us, and every one has experienced those mushy moments; those who disagree have also tasted the waters though unconsciously.

School time love is infatuation people say; college time love is kiddish, be mature! And then think; love in ur post teens is often considered to be most right by the pundits for the simple reason that people around you believe that your mind has matured enough to take the right decision and your final destination isn’t too far hence the journey will most likely have an happy beginning in terms of getting married.

No matter at what age, at which moment love strikes, when it does, you know it has arrived in a big way; it will not make huge sounds in your outer world but will surely plant a beautiful song in your heart; It will not make you crazy in terms of your actions but it will surely make you go crazy about the person with whom you are in love with.

Like any good bollywood flick; it then takes all beautiful twists and turns before facing the test of times and those who pass it and enter in to yet another beautiful phase called marriage (mind you its beautiful only when above situation is true, else God knows!)

However, for those it doesn’t work out well and the partnership comes to an end earlier than expected; it is a different ball game all together.

Life moves on and so does people around you including those who really matter to you and those who really made you fall in love with them. Experts say that if you believe in your love then do not hold on to it, set it free and it will come back; well I am yet to see a live example. Every one in life make mistakes; goes through the learning curve; for few its faster and yet for others it takes eternity to find out what is right or wrong for them; what did they lose; gain and most importantly; what not to do to get in to the same situation again.

Problem with most heartbreak victims out is the battle between past, present and future. Like any other situation in life; if you cling to your past; you will be doing great injustice to your today and at the same time if you are thinking to much about your future; then you are probably losing out on your current time to make things better ahead.

Like any good batsman; one must not be out of practice for too long; hence if you do not find another partner very soon; you might end up being in this mess even before you know it.

It is not that one must format the hard drive and forget about what all happened; It is impossible to do; It is at times equally impossible to hate the other person who is responsible for your today. The best way is to make a small hidden folder and try to forget its location; even if that does not work out; remember; life is too short to be lived on hopes; so bury the past and chin up to face the today as it will lead to your tomorrow which is even important than your past.

Life doesn’t give you many chances; but when it does, you need to grab it with both hands as life is too short to be lived on assumptions and thinking what might happen due to your action might refuse the success from that action and fear of failure will never let you do it and probably you will add few more ‘Kaash’ for your death bed.

Knowing what’s right and still not doing it due to false assumptions like ‘it is not meant to be’ is the biggest sin I believe. Only thing one will ever gain out of it would be a little boost to self-ego, which will take you nowhere. Knowing the point of correction and still looking away from it would simply mean that your learning curve is taking yet another dive

If life doesn’t give you a chance, give life a chance to prove to you. It is not as trivial as it seems but definitely takes an effort, which will come by intent.

Giving up on life and accepting it the way it is taking you is perhaps the easiest thing to do and most dreadful as well. Your fear and assumptions might make the soil infertile forever where it holds a potential to blossom a garden.

Some times it is best to hit a pause button in your life; take a deep breath and you will know what is right for you to do. If you still fail to do so, life might never throw up any chance for you but if you do give it a chance; life will come up with many as the say, journey of thousand miles starts with a single step; so are you ready to take that step to enhance your future or to accept things assuming it the way it is will remain for ever. It is good to hope for a brighter future, however it is even better to make your present beautiful, which will ensure a sun shining tomorrow.

As far as I am concerned; my umbrella is ready in a hope of bright sunshine; even if it rains; I am sure it will be able to protect me!

And if you still find your self on the losing side despite your bets efforts, then remember…

“Shaakh pe nayi pattiyo ke khilne ka mausam hai.

Yun daal pe gire us ashq ko ilzaam na do”

Relationships demystified : Corporate way!

Mass Customization vs. Mass product

Most men tumble here, In search of a partner, they assume themselves as some one who is a single and ever ready to mingle, and hence they fall in the trap called “Mass product”, however it is important to understand a thin line difference and customize yourself according to the party in pursuit; You may look cool while throwing your cool attitude around but to be sell able , you need to provide customer what she wants; and a good product is one which has mass appeal and widely available through all channels and hence mass customization is of key importance here.

Competition exists…for real.

Lets face it, even the best products available in the market face competition; the era of monopoly is gone and the Manufacturer (Read: GOD) to seem to have run out with the distinguishing features to create monopolistic environment. Getting in to a ‘deal’ does not guarantee life long association, In fact even more efforts are required now to not the other party deviate and get in to the trap of competition which will come quietly and destroy the association before you will know. So next time you see your partner giggling looking away from you, turn your antenna on to spot that source!

Investment vs. Expenditure.

Get this one right folks… any penny spent on your partner on stuff like movies, discs, liquor etc is purely an expenditure and not investment, which may look like at that moment. A hot date in return can be seen as a short-term capital gain with huge taxes that will ultimately bring down the valuation.

Word of mouth publicity

This is a strange situation where the person endorsing good things about you wont like others to explore the same, and hence don’t rely on it and always make you case strong by means aggressive marketing like mischievous glares to potential partners and in fact running a parallel pilot run wont hurt either to be on the safer side. However the word of caution here is that both parties should be made to sign NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) to avoid any confusion and hassles in future.

Practicality vs Emotions

This one is a deep sea so better wear your life jackets. Any wave called emotions and sentiments can take you along to this horrified sea of pain, sorrow and disbelief. You will be on the top of the world in the initial stages surfing through waves of early euphoria, however in the hindsight these waves are taking you deep to a point of no return, Hence be aware of such waves and always look for small ponds then a huge sea. As the former will give you the pleasure and variety so be Mature and practical; in short “Please read the offer document carefully before investing”

Few golden rules for happy business...ooops happy relationships!...

1. Things do not last for ever

2. And hence do not Expect them to

3. There is more than just meets the eye so always keep updating stuff like 'relationship status' and 'From my past relationships I have learnt:' on your orkut account.

To be continued.... :)

25..What a life!

I remember an advertisement saying that life is all about numbers, so true, I think! For our daily routine itself runs around numbers; few numbers happen to us and others we make them happen; be it our birthdays or 1^st job or day of our first salary. In fact right from the day when we wake up; we keep chasing numbers with every extra number on clock dial makes us feel breathless and rush to work and when we reach office all we do is run after and around numbers (especially if you are in Market research :))

Since my teenage, one number which always haunted my mind was 25. I don’t know why but there was a kind of apprehension attached to this number, may be because of the fact that all the time I used to hear about people getting married at the age of 25; then education revealed to me that 25 also happens to be the age when one’s “Brahamcharya” phase of life comes to end gates to “Grihasthjeevan” opens. But marriage is not the only factor tagged with it. Since early childhood, we all grew up with anxiety and innocence of “teenage” which brought discovery to so many things in life including emotions, liberty, and taking charge of your own life and growing up with no more “Mamma’s boy” tag; that era was of freedom and excitement as anything and everything I did and experienced was for the first time; leaving teens and entering “twenty’s” was again an stimulating experience with some sense inflowing in the system and rise in expectation from all corners to beat the crowd and stand at a position to get ready for the world!, Since then five years have gone and life has turned upside down and within no time, today I have crossed the doors of the number I always dread about, As I turn 25, there are lot of things which cross my mind and top most is responsibility towards parents, career, achieving more to be able to survive for future and getting ready for the next big move in life which is even dreadful to ears that is “Marriage”, though it is still not on cards for some distant future but still the number has definitely brought a sense of acceptance to the fact that D day may not be too far!

No more you are a ‘Mamma’s boy’ the number means that you need to be ready to slog yourself even more to satisfy expectations around you who matters to you. The number also means it is time to pay back, After all, 25 years is long enough time for our parents to feed us, they deserve every moment of love spent with them and every effort which makes them feel that you care about them and every penny if you can add to your dad’s account!

Looking back, I would love to revisit my founding stones which made me who I am today but I know only thing which can be cherished is ‘present’ and hence I am enjoying this moment thoroughly as life has achieved it’s quarter century in such a style that it deserves a celebration worth a half century coz who knows even century would ever knock at our doors or not.

It is a moment to thank the almighty and pray to him for strength for surviving till 50 as the pitch promises to be full of untrue bounce and turns!

So though my age certificate will show the number I always dreaded; My passport might suggest that I am an ‘Adult’ now, deep with in I am and will always remain that growing up child who still gets amused to the discoveries in the world around him, who still believes a home made meal by mom beats all restaurants all around the world, for whom his world revolves around his family and friends, Yes I have turned 25 today for the outer ‘Real World’ but for my all friends and family members, I can assure you that there is a heart of a teenager and a brain of child inside who will never grow up, for adding numbers is for mathematicians, I believe in breaking those blocks of numbers!

We will miss you gilly!

Few do it by compulsion, others do it by passion, and few others do it by obsession and yet others and very few are those who don’t just do it but takes it to the next level and leave behind marks for others to try and follow. In the year 1996, A man walked in to the middle with a traditional baggy green cap signifying pride for playing for Australia and a pair of gloves and the whole stadium welcomed successor of great Ian Healy who still is termed as all time great wicket keeper the game has seen, however what game had not seen before this young man walked in to the middle was a perfect fusion of flawless keeping and aggressive batting, Adam Gilchrist changed the way wicket keepers used to play the game and with in no time, every teamin the world was taking notice and all the coaches have only one thing to tell their keepers, “you keep well, but you have to bat as well as gilly does”. He created a different league of players in his own domain.

Gilly was as devastating in Tests as he was in ODI’s. He is the first player to reach the milestone of hitting..hold your breath…100 sixes …in test matches and any guesses against whom he hit last two sixes of those?..well all time great Muttiah Muralitharan. Ask any new ball bowler and he would describe it to you that how Gilly butchered him almost every time he dared to bowl to him. Ask any batsman about his reaction after edging a ball or missing a ball outside the crease when gilly is behind the stumps, and the answer would be unanimous, you don’t need to look behind coz this man with hands of gold hardly ever missed and executed every dismissal with perfection.

Few of his quotes from his blog characterize his personality

“I am of the opinion that the cricket ball is there to be hit rather than defended, and this sometimes leads to my demise”

“There is no value in looking back at what we have done. We must play for the day, and focus on doing our jobs”

“Returning to India is a pleasure. This is a wonderful country, and cricket fans here are amongst the most knowledgeable in the world”

Unlike most of the Australian players, he stands out in terms of discipline and sportsmanship, in his wonderful journey, he was unbelievably stain less and was never ever involved in any controversies and why would he be, when you can let your gloves and bat talk and that too big time! Gilchrist is renowned for walking when he considers himself to be out, sometimes contrary to the decision of the umpire

Australian Cricket has produced many great cricket players and few of them have proved to be real “Heroes” for the cricketing world and Adam for sure tops the charts. Experts compare d his batting style with great Sir Viv Richards however, I believe, he was in to his own domain and needs no comparison.

Australian cricket for sure will feel the void of such a great player and with Mc grath, Warne and now gilly, Oz would be little worried for the world cup 2011.

Today when this great sportsman takes his final flight with ODI’s, he has surely left few hearts sore and craving for more as he walks in to the sunset. The game has seen many greats and would continue to do so but with players like gilly calling it a day, it would be not just tough but next to be impossible to find a replacement as they have created a structure so great and unspoiled that no one else would ever be able to fit in to it.

As they say that A picture speaks of thousand words. Here’s a video on you tube in tribute to this great player (PS: I found it on you tube, I did not make it J )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDea0Z5urDM

We will miss seeing you in action gilly!