Lost in the wilderness of mind

Taxonomy of Facebook Users - Which Type are you?

2010-03-20T23:29:00.009-04:00

Sometimes I think there are just two types of facebook users. Those who play Mafia Wars and the rest of us who have still preserved their own sanity.

But observing a little more closely, you can categorize almost every user in a fixed category. Here is my first cut at the list.

1. The Chirpy

They are generally happy people on Facebook. They share their smiles when it rains. Or the joy of a cup of tea on a Sunday morning. They want the world to know if they are humming a tune from 1960s. These people are annoyance but only a little. Many a time their status updates make me smile. So no hostile feelings to them.

2. The Braggers

These people primarily do only one thing on Facebook. Brag. If they did a world tour, they want to brag about it by sharing about a couple hundred photographs. If they ran a marathon, they want everyone to appreciate. They also show the symptoms of the first category by trying very hard to make the world notice them and their achievements. Which makes them a little more annoying than those above.

3. The Grumpy Whiners

This category really pisses me off. These are the people who think only they have all the problems in the world. If their professor gave them a tough assignment on which they had to spend the night, they would be complaining on Facebook at 4 in the morning. If they had to work on a weekend, they would spend more time on Facebook complaining about it than actually working. I have just two questions for them. Why are you seeking the entire world's sympathy everytime you run into a little problem? And second, do you really think anybody gives a f**k about your problems? Grow up.

4. The Habitual App'ers

These guys live on Facebook only for one reason. To try out Apps. Some freaking psychic named Tara or Zelda or whatever the hell. Some Farmville little people. Gangsters in Mafia War. Crazy cabbies running amok in the city. You name it. And they have tried those apps. The best thing is that you can hide these games once and for all. This makes them a little less dangerous and annoying than the other categories.

5. The Wise Guys

These are not the 'wise guys' from De Niro's movie. They are the people who come up with wise thoughts and update their status messages. Most of those status messages are good and entertaining. So no complaints here.

6. The Attention Seekers

These people update their status message with lines that you can never understand without context. For example 'Why does it have to be that way?' 'Can you believe it?' 'I am so sad' and so on and so forth. And that's their strategy. They deliberately keep the context out of their first updates. And then when people start asking questions, they start revealing bit by bit. They are plain attention seekers who want the world to ask them about themselves.

7. The Occults

These people update their status messages with bizarre messages. Sometimes messages in some exotic languages which they know nobody else knows. I just have one request to them. If you want to do it, fine. But please just translate it in plain English as well so that we don't have to ask you everytime what it means.

8. The Knowledge Sharers

They love to stick interesting links into their status updates. I am sort of one of these people. So I show an obvious bias towards this category and will refrain from bashing these. However, comments are welcome.

Which Facebook User are you?

P.S. All the sarcasm and pun in this post are intended. But please do not take it personally. It's just friggin' Facebook. Who cares?

Snow Storm New York/New Jersey - 9th and 10th Feb 2010

2010-02-11T20:36:00.013-05:00

Snow storm ravaged NJ/NY and much of east coast over the last two days. Here are some pics.

Disclaimer: Poor light has affected the quality of the pictures. And I took them with a phone camera with not-so-good resolution.

My Toyota buried under snow.

Anderson Avenue

Snow covered trees always remind me of Christmas

The snow on the sidewalks was almost 3 feet high in some places

My Apartment signboard

The biggest brand ambassador you can imagine !

2010-01-15T21:49:00.006-05:00

Mr President, Commander in Chief of USA, the most powerful man on the planet is (unwittingly) promoting Weatherproof Jacket company ! Who could be a better brand ambassador for a company?

Place: Time Square, New York

Clicked with my phone on my way home at night

Story about the controversy: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/business/media/07garment.html

Fresh cakes?

2010-01-06T21:48:00.001-05:00

Boy! I wonder how they would have made such cakes back then which are still fresh since 1934

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

'The Destroyer' in action

2009-12-04T04:41:00.004-05:00

Amidst all the things happening these days, I could not resist the temptation of jotting down a few words for Sehwag for his batting performance yesterday. He literally butchered the Sri Lankan bowling attack with a ton of runs. With 40 boundaries and 7 6's, Sehwag played shots all across the ground. He made strokes at will. Whenever he wanted and wherever he wanted. The runs kept on flowing. Though he missed the world record of highest 300s in Test Cricket, he scripted a special place for himself in the history of Test Cricket. Hats off !

Festive Times

2009-11-25T19:18:00.002-05:00

The Good Ol' Christmas Tree is back for the season in Bloomberg compound

Time 23rd Nov, 17:30
Place Bloomberg Tower, NY

The Colbert Report - A Sampler (11/10/09)

2009-11-22T00:13:00.004-05:00

For those who don't watch this show, this is a good place to start. One of the best episodes in a couple of weeks.

Another absurdity of Manhattan

2009-11-21T15:06:00.003-05:00

Gratuity: something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service; especially tip.

This is how Webster dictionary defines the word gratuity. And this is the most common sense meaning of a tip or a gratuity. It has to be volunary. Now I agree that there are gratuity etiquette. You normally give 15% or more as a tip in restaurant or any such service that you receive. But New York city has a way with twisting definitions and meanings.

I went to The Olive Garden restaurant at Times Square in midtown Manhattan a couple of days ago with a friend who was visiting US for the first time. Olive Garden is famous for its overly courteous (read nosy and interfering) waiters and high end (read unnecessarily expensive) dining experience. But what got me the most this time was the bill we got at the end. The restaurant had already added 15% mandatory 'gratuity' to the total. And if this was not enough to piss of customers, there was an additional blank field for 'Extra gratuity' !! My friend was taken aback by these crazy customs of the NY city. And there was just one thing I could say to him. 'Welcome to The City, my friend'.

A Dangerous Trend

2009-11-21T10:22:00.003-05:00

Continuing the dangerous trend of narrow minded regionalism, Maharashtra CM Ashok Chavan said that more importance should be given to Marathis in employment in Maharashtra.
This is extremely disturbing. I was not much worried about comments made by Shiv Sena leaders or MNS party workers. But when the Chief Minister of a state starts making such remarks from his official post, it is indeed time to start getting anxious.

Any great economy is founded on basis of multi cultural meritocracy. Take any great city. Like New York or even our own Mumbai. What made them great? Was it some extra ordinary governance? Or some political party? No. what made them great were the people living and working in them. It was the talent that built the economy of such great mega cities. Cultural diversity, tolerance, respect, secularism and above all pure talent act like bricks and mortars of an economically viable city. If a couple of centuries ago, politicians of New York city had started throwing tantrums that 'we won't allow any non-americans to work in New York', would it be the financial capital of the world today? Similar argument can be made about Mumbai or any other city as well.

This trend is even more dangerous than caste system and reservations. Because here, politicians are trying to divide the country in even narrower factions. The day the politicians successfully bring such legislation in any state or city, it will be the death knell for meritocracy in India. The politicians have been driving long nails into coffin already. It's just a matter of time. Unless the citizens of the country wake up from the slumber, rise above the narrow mindedness of regionalism, and say 'No' to such politically motivate moves, India is on its way down.

To Sing or Not to Sing: That is the Question

2009-11-15T18:18:00.004-05:00

Jamiat-e Ulama Hind passed a 'fatwa' banning Indian Muslims from singing Vande Mataram - India's national song. I don't know what provoked Jamiat after more than 50 years since Vande Mataram was designated as national song. Were they deliberating whether it was against Islam to praise your Motherland all these years? Or it dawned as a divine message upon their leaders one fine morning and they decided to release a fatwa. I don't know.

However, the recent controversy made me curious and I revisited the song to find out its meaning. And here is what I found.

1.
Vande Mataram
Sujalam Suphalam
Malayaja Seetalam
Sasya Shamalaam Mataram
Vande Mataram

Translation:
Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Dark fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.

2.
Shubra Jyotsnaa
Pulakita Yaminim
Pullakusumita
Drumadala Shobhinim
Subhashinim
Sumadhura Bhashinim
Sukhadaam Varadaam
Mataram
Vande Mataram

Translation:
Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease
Laughing low and sweet!
Mother I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low!
Mother, to thee I bow.

These are the stanzas we normally sing. It's a no brainer to think that there is anything Un-Islamic in these.

However, later on in the song, the following stanza appears.

6.
Tvam Hi Durgaa
Dasha Prahara Nadhaarini
Kamala Kamaladala Viharini
Vani Vidhyadayini Namaami Tvam
Namaami Kamalaam,
Amalaam, Atulaam
Sujalaam Suphalaam Mataram
Vande Mataram

Translation:
Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her
swords of sheen,
Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned,
And the Muse a hundred-toned,
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleams,
Dark of hue O candid-fair

And I think this is what got onto the nerves of the leaders of Jamiat and other Muslim leaders in the past. And even at the time of adoption of this song as National Song there were same controversial voices of protest. And that is what prompted Congress at that time to adopt only first two stanzas as National Song.

Anyway, controversy surrounding Vande Mataram is not new. It has been under attack for a long time. Jamiat just added a spark to ignite it again.

What is your opinion?

[Translation above is by Shree Aurbindo taken from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vande_Mataram]

Downward Spiral

2009-11-09T20:23:00.004-05:00

Every time I open a news website, I am welcomed by some macabre headline staring at me. And it is not that I frequent just one or two sites. Sites ranging from Indian news to CNN and Time have only sad stories to tell.

Some of the latest headlines:

- 4 MNS legislators suspended for attacking Azmi
- UPA ministers' travel expenses: Rs 300cr in 3 yrs
- Pak daily passes 'death sentence' on US journalist
- Naxals could hit investment climate, warns FICCI
- Speeding car mows down 3 in Noida
- Suicide bomb attack kills 3 in Pakistan
- India is world's No.1 in retail theft: Survey

All these are just from Times of India site for today. And these are not all. Such news occupy pretty much 80% of the site.

Here in US, the papers are flooded with Fort Hood killings, Cleveland rapes and murders, Legalizing marijuana (This has surprisingly become such a hot topic these days. What a waste!), Tropical Storm Ida, Hateful radical preaching outside the mosque in NY and on and on and on.

Sometimes I wonder, is the entire world degenerating into misery, woes and sadness at an accelerating pace? Deterioration of everything over time is inevitable. Home towns becoming inhabitable due to pollution and traffic, weather becoming more and more hostile, terrorism eating the society alive, widespread epidemics of diseases increasing and so on. But in recent times, the pace of that seems to have accelerated.

Like the God is in a hurry to fold the game on our little planet earth and maybe start afresh.

Empire State of Mind

2009-11-08T15:00:00.003-05:00

Continuing the mood.. Turn up the volume ! Enjoy.

"Empire State of Mind" by Jay Z and Alicia Keys

The City I Love

2009-10-30T23:28:00.011-04:00

Clicked some shots while walking back from office yesterday. Boy, I love the city.

Place: Around Times Square, New York City
Time: 9:00pm, Wednesday, 29 Oct 2009
Camera: iPhone [explains low resolution!]

"A Cricketer's life is very challenging" - Yuvraj Singh

2009-08-05T08:08:00.001-04:00

Humorous Quote by Yuvraj Singh - "A cricketer's life is very challenging'

Yeah sure. Driving a Crore Rs. worth Hummers in India. Dating Bollywood Actresses. Appearing on front covers of fashion magazines. Wearing Tag and Rolex. Contracting with companies for a few million bucks for posing in front of television. Flying business class to coutries. Living in five star hotels. Having one billion people as fan base.

Boy, it sounds so challenging and tough. I am jealous as hell. Are you?

Joy of the first bicycle ride

2009-08-01T22:25:00.003-04:00

Do you remember the feeling of your first bicycle ride all by yourself ? Your parents pushed your bicycle from behind, ran with it and then eventually let you go on your own. A moment of fear then a delicate balance, then surge of self confidence and finally the feeling of liberation! Your bicycle sailing on the road. Your first ride.

I was in a park jogging today and I saw a little kid on a bicycle with his father. I saw him ride on his own after a while and I saw his face. That triumphant and jubilant face reminded me of the days when I was learning the bicycle. Though the memories were very hazy, I could still feel it myself after all these years. And although I can't recollect who it was that taught me, I do remember the place. It was in the playground of my uncle's vacation home in the suburbs of Sihor town. It was a very old Atlas cycle of red color with handles bent inward as it was the style in its days. It was a bike almost a generation old at that time. Nevertheless, it did the job!

CFA Level 1

2009-07-28T19:35:00.004-04:00

Today I got my result of CFA Level 1 exam that I took last month. I passed. Hard work of six months paid off in good! Feeling happy and proud :)

Edit: CFA = Chartered Financial Analyst [http://cfainstitute.org/]

'Legally Gay' in India !

2009-07-02T20:58:00.003-04:00

Today Indian society took a giant leap forward. The Delhi High Court ruled today in favor of decriminalizing the gay sex between consenting adults. This is an extremely bold ruling considering the nature of Indian society and prevailing orthodoxy of Indian culture.

I call this the victory of 'Modern India'. The rational side of the Indian society won this long and hard fought battle. Not surprisingly, all religious leaders came out, bashing the high court's decision.
Ironically, for them, it is OK to kill, burn, rape, plunder in the name of religion. But it is not OK to have a loving relationship between two consenting adults who happen to be of the same gender. I would just like to tell them one thing. It is the victory of love over hate.

http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/delhi_hc_legalises_consensual_gay_sex.php
http://ibnlive.in.com/pdf/gay-judgement.pdf

No Angels. Only Demons.

2009-06-24T17:44:00.007-04:00

A valuable lesson was reaffirmed when I came out of the theater after tolerating Angels and Demons for more than 90 minutes (And the movie was still going on). The lesson was 'Garbage In, Garbage Out'. A trashy book can only give birth to a trashy movie if not worse. The demons of this movie are going to haunt me. For a long time to come.

Ron Howard's Angels and Demons had the honor of becoming the third movie I left half way in the theater. The same thing had happened with the book. There are few books I have left unfinished. This was one of them. The movie is a complete waste of time, money and energy. Just within half an hour, it will leave you exhausted with its unbearably haphazard screenplay and a camera work that trivializes the art of movie making. The actors will leave you breathless, not with their stunning acting, but with expressionless faces and senseless dialogue deliveries. There are so many problems with this movie that this can be taught in a course like 'How not to make a movie'.

The entire movie is about some insane man who poses as a follower of some imaginary bizarre ancient cult 'Illuminati', taking the Vatican hostage with a stolen 'Anti-matter' from CERN. I know it sounds ridiculously funny. God knows what I was thinking when I decided to go for it!

In this agonizingly long movie, Robert Langdon, the Harvard professor runs around the Vatican churches, following some directional clues given by the statues of saints. A big problem with the movie is lighting. It seems that the entire movie was shot in twilight without the camera lights. How can a director be so ignorant about visual look of a movie escapes my reasoning. I am not claiming that I am very attentive in listening to dialogues. But I have a reasonable ability of understanding dialogues of a movie without much effort. However, dialogues in this movie are hardly more than whispers. And the background score (which by the way is completely out of place), adds to the inaudibility of those whispers.

The size of this post would have been five fold if I had stayed till the end of the movie. Fortunately for you and me, I did not. So you won't have to bear with me and my stinging attacks on the movie anymore and I preserved my own sanity as well.

One Year

2009-06-16T21:06:00.004-04:00

It has been one hack of a ride! Sometimes smooth like a sail. Sometimes rough like a storm. I complete one year at job in Bloomberg LP today!

Optimism, Delusion or Propaganda

2009-06-04T22:52:00.003-04:00

First they projected Congress as the winner in all of their opinion and exit polls to create a positive aura around Congress party and their leaders. And now once that task is done (helping them win election), media is now all praise for the newly elected government even before they start doing anything.

Sure the results were an eye opener. Initially, I thought, maybe I was wrong. It is possible that the media rightfully projected the winner with support of a good fundamental analysis. But now after all these days, when I constantly see articles showering optimism, praise and appreciation on the new government, day after day, I sit back and think - something is fishy here.

Every single day, IBNLive.com is full of news regarding how the government is dedicated to make India a better place. Be it their 100 day education scheme or their plans for divesting the ailing Government business entities.

Today's headlines on IBNLive
- Promises to keep: UPA govt has its task
- How the govt plans education for all
- How the govt plans to shelter homeless
- How the govt plans to fight terrorism
- How the govt plans to feed the poor
- Why India Voted for Congress (Rajdeep Sardesai)
- Voting For the Nation (Sagrika Ghose)

Today's headlines on NDTV
- Divestment back
- IPO market to get a divestment boost?
- Divestment, sops likely for steel sector
- Blog: BJP: Against the tide

To be very honest, after the initial shock of the defeat for BJP, I recovered relatively quickly as compared to last general elections. Because I believed in what the news sites were saying. I thought maybe this is the change people voted for. Maybe this government is what people wanted at the center. And I still don't deny the fact that I have highest respect for Dr Singh.

But then every day media got louder and louder. Praising the government even before the parliament session was in place. Publishing opinions, blogs which were full of 'mud-throwing' on BJP and attributing fragrant flowery bouquets to Congress. All of a sudden people like S. M. Krishna, Sharad Pawar, Pranab Mukharjee, A K Antony were turned into heroes. Like the 'Ultimate Saviors' of the nation. Who in next five years will change the face of the nation.

Once again, people will call me a religious fanatic! They will call me 'A moron, stuck in the past'. But those people who oppose my posts are so narrow minded that they have forgotten the concept of freedom of expression. People here proudly call themselves 'Democrats' or 'Republicans'. They don't have to pretend that they are neutral. Then why should I be shy of openly supporting a party like BJP?

I realize that my ramblings here in this blog are useless and pretty much irrelevant at this time. But the media sure as hell sounds not only fishy but repatitive and boring now. I hope they stop running marketing campaign for Congress and go back to business of journalism.

Eric Cartman - Interview

2009-06-03T21:32:00.001-04:00

Respect Mah Authorita !

David Gilmour - Royal Albert Hall

2009-06-03T19:29:00.002-04:00

I watched the telecast of this concert in a movie theater in Phoenix, AZ. I hope I can attend one of Gilmour's concerts in person someday. However, we will miss Rick Wright forever. May his soul rest in peace.

Wot's uh the deal

Comfortably Numb

Coming Back to Life

The Blue

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Speech

2009-05-17T21:10:00.001-04:00

It's the Graduation season. Here is one of the best Commencement speeches.

Singh is indeed King

2009-05-16T16:52:00.003-04:00

It's a sad day for us who believed that BJP would come to power. There were two kinds among the supporters of BJP. One, like me, who did believe in the Exit polls but still had a ray of hope for a miracle. And two, those who thought exit polls were all wrong and BJP would sweep the polls. Both the kinds were proved wrong today.

I was really shocked to see this huge swing in favor of UPA and Congress in particular. A change of +78 seats from 2004 for Congress ! Something definitely went wrong for BJP. Or something went unexpectedly right with Congress. I genuinely want to understand the rationale behind voting for Congress. Why did people give a huge landslide victory to UPA?

1) Is it Rahul Gandhi's charm?
2) Is it the clean image of Manmohan Singh?
3) Is it the wave of sympathy towards Singh who was under bitter attack from BJP? Or because he has to follow orders from the high command?
4) Did people really believe that UPA government did a good job of leading the nation in last five years?
5) Did people forget all the terror attacks including Mumbai massacre?
6) Did Modi repel the voters away from BJP?
7) Did people underestimate UPA's failures in economic policies? (For whatever it is worth now, go through this article on WSJ. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124109098695372847.html
8) Did people forget the row created a few years ago by Arjun Singh for reservation?

Or it's just that people are too infatuated by the Gandhi dynesty to have any discretion. A servile, mindless fascination towards anyone and everyone who enters politics from that family. That family seems to have some sort of invisible grip on the psyche of the people of India.

I can find some comfort in the fact that now the regional parties and their rogue leaders will not hold the central government hostage. A clear majority is always good for democracy. It shows a clear mandate by the people. (God knows what people where thinking when they gave this mandate! But anyway...)

Mr Advani's hopes are dashed. Now the history books will never have his name as one of the Prime Ministers of India. He had come so close so often. And yet destiny deliverd a blow everytime.
Modi is in a very delicate position now. And a very unenviable one for that matter. He could not even gain seats in his own Gujarat. And his campaigning was supposed to be a major factor in BJP's success. The party leaders joined the band wagon and pronounced him as the next PM candiate. Now they are swallowing their words and are feeling like kicking their own butts.
BJP's stratagists must be feeling completely flabbergasted. They failed to see the red signs. If at all there were any! Many people in the party are going to face the heat in near future. They need to do some serious introspection.

The Left too was caught on the wrong side. May be finally the people of West Bengal are realizing that Communism is probably not the best governance system in 21st century.

Rahul Gandhi is 'The Blue Eyed Boy' for Congress and a natural successor of Singh. Mr. Singh himself has given several not-so-suble indications of that. I won't be surprised if he is elevated to the most coveted position in the world's largest democracy soon.

Whatever happens, one thing is for sure. This is going to be a stable government for next five years. And all I can do is hope that they have a little more to offer to the people of India than just stability.

The D-Day arrives

2009-05-15T08:34:00.002-04:00

It's time now. Only a few hours to go. The fate of the politicians and the country is sealed in the boxes. And tomorrow it is going to open up. Some will give pleasant surprises, some will get dejection and despair. If we are to go by the exit polls, most likely scenario is a Govt formed by Congress with support of almost all the rest anti-BJP parties and someone like Sharad Pawar becoming PM. It is to be seen if such a government will be any more successful than past governments like Deve Gowda or I.K. Gujaral. If Congress indeed is able to gather up a larger chunk of seats, we might see repeatation of 2004 with UPA government coming to power under Manmohan Singh's leadership. In any case, the chances of NDA forming government look bleak to me. However, deep down inside my heart, I still have the hope that people of India have made the right decision and chosen L K Advani as the leader of the nation for next five years.

So what will be the expression on your face tomorrow? A smile, a grimace, a frown or complete apathy? (Provivded, you even know what I am talking about tomorrow!)

Finally Feed on my blog !

2009-04-24T22:41:00.002-04:00

After much insistence of my good old friend Dr. Asav Patel, I finally activated feed and email subscription to my blog. If you care to read what I blog, subscribe via this feed. You will get a notification whenever I post something on my blog.

Thanks for your suggestion Doctor.

Take me back in time! - Samajwadi Party's horrifying manifesto

2009-04-11T18:18:00.009-04:00

The future. If we don't act now.

No English medium schools. No computers at your desk in office. No technology on the farms. Only minimum wage for each and every person regardless of merit. No more malls in urban communities. Alliance with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

This is not a plot of some sci-fi movie which predicts the end of the world as we know it. Neither are these pages from history books describing 18th or 19th century. These are the main themes of Samajwadi Party's manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections.

"The use of computers in offices is creating unemployment problems. Our party feels that if work can be done by a person using hands there is no need to deploy machines" proclaims the SP chief Mulayamsingh Yadav. There is not one person I know who has more grossly underestimated the role of technology in human civilization. I thought he was being funny when he said this. But I realized he is no Lalu. He does not joke. He was actually serious.

"A harvesting season brings employment for the labour class for at least six months but these harvesters (machines and technology on the farm) will snatch their earnings." So now I know. Studying those stupid subjects like Science and Technology was all a waste of time. The human progress from the stone age to the technology age was all in vain. People just didn't get it right! Alas.

"The salaries provided by private firms should be in sync with the minimum wages that have been set by the government. This is only the way to build up a strong national capital" - Classic, classic Socialism. Need I say more?

The SP will ensure stronger ties with Pakistan and Bangladesh. "The basic cause of terrorism lies in regional differences. The forums across the world which deal with the issue of terrorism work at the behest of America. If a government comes to power with our support, we will ensure that action is taken against communal powers (Read BJP, RSS and largely all Hindus in the country) and attack terrorism at its roots,"
Regional differences! Yeah, right. When a group of terrorist travel all the way from "distant lands" to attack your financial capital, bomb the trains, murder innocent people, it is all because of some 'Regional Differences'. Perfect interpretation of terrorism I must say! He should be acting as senior adviser to the Department of Homeland Security in US.

These are the ideas that can take a nation 50 years backward. Minority appeasement has taken such a dangerous form that now politicians are actually ready to be in bed with Pakistan and Bangladesh. Nothing can be more terrifying than such ideologies of politicians.

I wish this was all a belated April fool's prank. But unfortunately it is not. It is as real as it can get. And it will become a eternally lasting nightmare if the citizens of the country don't wake up and vote for making India a strong, developed and forward looking nation.

Different Colors of Manhattan

2009-04-05T21:16:00.003-04:00

There are only two feelings you can have for this city. Either you love it or hate it. But it is very difficult to have the consistency in your feelings towards it. One day you hate it because of its narrow streets, ruthless cab drivers, noisy and dirty subways. But there are days when you just love the city for the very same reasons. The busy and happening streets, fast moving traffic, efficient subways and so on. The city has so many different colors and shades to itself. It's like a living organism. Breathing and thriving.

Out of all the boroughs of the city, I am most familiar with Manhattan. What makes Manhattan interesting is not only the skyscrapers that talk to the clouds. It is the people that make it fascinating. Just like I mentioned in one of my previous posts about the city, during the weekdays you get very typical views on the streets and sidewalks. The city is flooded with black suits and beautiful faces. Neat looks with fashionable looking accessories like leather bags and expensive watches. Busy executives who talk, walk and breath money. Aspirations and optimism floating in the air. Tense nervousness seen on the faces.

And as soon as the weekends come, the city is rid off black suits. And you see totally different scenes around you. Now the city is taken over by the tourists. Leather bags are replaced by Nikons or Sonys or Samsungs. Tense faces are replaced by relaxed ones wearing a variety of funky sun-glasses and hats. Dark suits are replaced by colorful tops and jeans. Leather shoes give way to sneakers. You can feel the change in the air. You can breath the relaxed atmosphere. Aspirations and anxiety take shelter in a moment of surrender. Surrender to sheer bliss of enjoying the beauty of the city. But you need eyes that can be soothed by this kind of beauty.

It is Monday tomorrow and I know what I am going to feel while walking towards the subway at 8am in the morning. (For those of you who care to know "Darn, it's Monday!" is what I will have in mind)

Image source: My Sony Cybershot H7 clicked about a month ago

The greatest festival of Indian Democracy - General Elections '09

2009-03-28T09:50:00.013-04:00

I haven't blogged in like what, 3 months! And now there is this irresistible topic which has compelled me to drop a few words here on this platform. The Great Indian Elections of '09.

The greatest event in Indian Democracy, the General Elections are approaching the people of India. I can not say that I am hopeful of an upshot that is favorable to the country's future but at least I am curious.

I am curious to see the fate of the veteran leader L K Advani and what becomes of his final wish in his career - the most coveted position of Prime Minister of India. He has come so close to his dream being materialized and yet it has slipped from his hands. I am curious to see the fate of Manmohan Singh who is only the face of Congress Government and also of Sonia Gandhi who is the brain and brawl behind the government. I am curious to see the role that Mayawati, Lalu Yadav and Mulayam Singh will play in making the king at the center. What will become of the Left front this time which seems to have weakened over the last few years? How will the Third and even the Fourth Front shape the future Government? In the event that these fronts have a say in forming the Government, which is more likely than not, who will defeat the competition and come out a winner as the PM candidate? Will it be the ever manipulative Mayawati, Congress's old headache Mulayam Singh, or the good old Lalu Yadav or some compromise we had in the past like Deve Gowda.

I have been a BJP's staunch supporter all my life. And my belief in BJP being the best party to rule the country is unshakable. It was the biggest shock in last election when despite being everyone's favorite and running the seemingly successful 'Feel Good' campaign, BJP performed miserably and gave way to UPA. Congress was ready to pounce upon the opportunity and it had a bunch of allies waiting. The only common agenda that these parties had was Anti-Saffron and Anti-BJP. Instead of naming themselves UPA, they might have named themselves UABA (United Anti-BJP Alliance). Since then, BJP has strengthened its dominance across the political map of the country. They have won state after state in last few years barring two major debacles of Rajasthan and Delhi. Their one of the biggest victories came in Karnataka when they entered the Southern India which was an alien and distant dream for BJP. The most serious problem BJP is facing again is of alliance. It has failed once again to establish partnerships with influential parties across the states in which it does not have much dominance. The unfortunate break up with Navin Patnaik is certainly going to cost them a major chunk of votes in Orrisa. Shiv Sena has been losing its hold on Maharashtra and BJP is stuck with them. There is virtually no strong alliance for them in Tamilnadu and Andhra.

BJP is facing a severe identity crisis this time. They are reluctant to go back to their raw bare-knuckle Hindutva agenda because they know that they will need allies if they want to form the Government and the allies come from the states in which they can not afford to put a brave Hindu face for the fear of losing minority vote. In last elections they at least had their good governance to talk about. Here, the only thing they can talk about is UPA government's failures which are in plenty. But even then, it is only a negative publicity. They can certainly talk about their good state governance if there is any. I can vouch for Gujarat but not other BJP ruled states. And the last thing they needed this time was a brewing rivalry between their two of the best leaders Jately and Rajnath Singh. Though it seems to have been resolved, it surely sent the shock wave through various layers of the party leadership. BJP's stand for the newly found saffron hero Varun Gandhi has been somewhat unclear. Here again their reluctance to support Hindutva is clearly visible. BJP needs all the help they can get from RSS. There have been news about the new leadership in RSS being favorable to BJP and especially Advani but it is to be seen how RSS and its progeny institutes like VHP and ABVP mobilize their troops during the poll campaign for BJP.

Even though I would love to see BJP at the center, forming the government with absolute majority, it is in most likelihood going to remain an impossibility.

Congress has its own problems. The obvious inclination of Sonia Gandhi is to hand over the reign to the Congress's blue eyed boy - Rahul Gandhi. But she is not sure about the general public's reaction towards such a step. Therefore she is sticking with the old war horse Manmohan Singh. Nobody can say that the calm and gentle Singh is popular with masses, but at the same time, nobody can say that he is unpopular among any faction of the society. That's his biggest strength. He does not have any opposition among the party or the allies. His image is too clean for that. His track record of leadership has been a little too clean. Almost like a clean slate in which the only handwriting you can find are of Sonia Gandhi. Frequently called a puppet in the hands of the high command, Mr. Singh does not have many achievements to boast. Scores of people have died during last five years in terrorist attacks. The Mumbai attacks are the blackest spots on his Government. The government's diplomatic pressure and warnings fell to the deaf ears of Pakistani Government. Failing world economy and India's vulnerability added to his woes. And Arjun Singh's gimmick will be fresh in the minds of the youth. It might have a considerable impact only if the youth cares to vote.

Alliance worries are haunting Congress as well. They have been deserted by most of their allies. Even the old allies like Lalu Yadav have dumped Congress to nurture their ambition for the top position.

However, Congress is in not as bad a position as BJP when it comes to allies. In my opinion, all these pre-poll break-ups are meaningless. Eventually, just like the last time, their hatred for BJP will unite them at the center. But this time around I can see Congress government providing the support to the King maker, whoever it might be. Congress will not be in a position to have their say in PM candidate. They will have to support someone to keep BJP out of position. And in such a situation, BJP is going to be at a major disadvantage. Despite name calling and fighting, I can easily see SP or Left or BSP joining hands with Congress but not with BJP. Thus BJP is most likely on its own here. Like a lone soldier. And it remains to be seen if this lone soldier can turn the tide and finish off the mighty foes.

Next five years are going to be extremely important for India. We have to balance the economic interests with the more important national security concerns. India needs to work hard towards clamping terrorism within her borders and develop more intimate relations with US and other international community. But that is not going to be enough. We ourselves have to be proactive in securing our borders and our nation from falling prey to the terrorism rather than relying on International Diplomacy which has never worked. Next five years are also going to be very important from economy's point of view. When the US and the whole world will be recovering from the mayhem, we do not want to be left behind in the process. Indian economy must continue to grow aggressively.

So once again, the common man is skeptical yet hopeful. There are expectations. Whichever party comes to the power will have to work hard to lead the nation into the new beginning. An era of rising economic and political might of India on the international fronts.

Image Source:
1.http://static.ibnlive.com/pix/sitepix/11_2007/cong_bjp_battle313.jpg
2. http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/00LsdNpase7Cv/610x.jpg
3. http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0887a7o4iy12X/610x.jpg

Audacious Antulay !

2008-12-20T19:01:00.003-05:00

I seriously don't have any other adjective for this man. This was an act of such audacity! Whether it was a political suicide or a political re-incarnation of himself that we shall see in the coming days but he has gone down to the level in politics where no other politician has dared to go.

Every Indian (or at least every patriotic Indian) is aghast, enraged and numb towards his statement about Hemant Karkare's death. How could he even think about speaking such thing when the whole nation is united, Hindus and Muslims alike, against terror. He literally exonerated Pakistan from this whole episode in his opinion. I am glad that people like Javed Akhtar have come forward to express the liberal muslim opinion on this and bashed Antulay for his act. And still there are people like Digvijay Singh who join the bandwagon and support Antulay's remarks. I don't know what to say to such people. But I can say to the common man that please next time when you go to vote, keep this episode, Antulay, his advocates and his party in mind and then decide on your vote.

In this interview, he tries to dodge the salvo from Sardesai and gives some implausible and senseless arguments in his defence.

Watch this videos as Rajdeep Sardesai, visibly agitated and emotional, grills Antulay and gives him every opportunity to apologize in front of the nation. Alas, if he had any consciences....

http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/81029/i-am-proud-of-my-comments-a-r-antulay.html

Size #10

2008-12-14T19:24:00.002-05:00

Quote of the day
"All I can report is it is a size 10." - President Bush, after an Iraqi reporter hurled shoes towards Bush in a press conference today.

Sehwag frustrates the opponents once again

2008-12-14T15:03:00.001-05:00

English Captain Andrew Strauss on Sehwag
"He plays a game most people are unfamiliar with, He almost manipulates the field. You change it, and it's like he says: 'Right, I'm going to hit it somewhere else now'."

Shashi Tharoor on Terror Attacks

2008-12-13T07:09:00.001-05:00

A very interesting interview I grabbed from ibnlive.com

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Former Undersecretary General of the United Nations Shashi Tharoor says the Mumbai attacks have united the world in India’s support. Discussing India’s options, Tharoor said a military option against India would be an utter folly.

CNN-IBN: The international community has come out in a support of India. You said last night the Jehadis have made powerful enemies in the Mumbai attacks. What did you mean?

Tharoor: The fact is that most of the tragedies that have affected us from terror in the recent years had only killed Indians and therefore for the rest of the world was seen as an Indian problem. What happened in Mumbai in addition – to the terrible toll that it has taken in our country and our people – is that it also killed over 20 foreigners and the governments of those countries to which the victims belong are not prepared to take this lightly. Certainly it was the clearest indication to America, Britain, France and Israel that India has now become the theatre for the enactment of a global drama that this is now the same enemy here; that they had there and in all parts of the world became manifestly clear. And for the first time in a real concrete life and death manner these countries became our direct allies.

CNN-IBN: India was able to get UNSC sanctions against the jamaat ud dawa and top terror leaders- you are a un veteran- in real terms what does that mean? can the list be enforced?

Tharoor: We want more than house arrest. We want genuine prosecution. We want them to be brought to account for their triumphs with whatever appropriate court jurisdiction that Pakistan can muster. Pak is also saying to us at a certain level that this is also their problem, they are also victims. And it is true. The Marriot Hotel bombing took Pakistani lives, (so did) Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, so their are people in Pakistan, particularly in the present civilian government who feel that the people who have done this to us could also do it to them and to that degree there is a common enemy. What they are afraid of is that in acting against those forces, they would come up against extreme opposition within their own military ranks. We don’t know how high that goes - is it being orchestrated at the very top of the Pakistani military and the ISI? Or is it merely being condoned? Is it taking place at the middle and senior levels but not at the very top? We don’t know and we don’t even know if Pak’s government knows. But we know that they are being careful not to cross certain red lines of the military so that they don’t end up being overthrown as every single civilian government in Pakistan has been before completing its term in office.

CNN-IBN: Does India still have a military option left? Hot pursuit, surgical strikes?

Tharoor: The military option would be utter folly. It's exactly what the terrorists want us to do. And there is no such thing as a limited or surgical military option. If you conduct an attack and bomb a few sites, you'd achieve very little because these sites can easily be reconstructed. These training camps involve a few barracks, a few ropes for them to climb, a few hurdles for them to jump and a target and rifle range practice. This is not something that takes effort to reconstruct in any open space in Pakistan. Bombing 2-3 of these is not going to solve anything for us. By doing that we will unite both those who are relatively sympathetic to us and those who are hostile to us under the common banner of Pakistani nationalism. Whatever your differences with the military or ISI if India is attacking your country you are going to rally behind the flag, and that’s what the terrorists want.

Bharat Ratna Pt Bhimsen Joshi

2008-11-09T00:04:00.003-05:00

There could not be a happier moment for a classical music lover. Pt Bhimsen Joshi - the maestro of Hindustani Vocal classical music has been selected for Bharat Ratna - India's highest civilian award this year. Even though unfortunately I have never had a chance to listen to his divine vocal performance live, I am extremely proud today to see him honored by the government with this award.

Long live Panditjee. We are proud of you!

Image Source: http://www.outlookindia.com/images/bhimsen_joshi_20060925.jpg

Circular Reasoning

2008-11-08T23:50:00.002-05:00

We sacrifice our present happy times to run after money so that we can be happy in future.
We buckle down under stress and hyper tension and lose healthy living while working hard so that we can earn enough money to be able to afford the cost of our good health in future.
The race is never ending. Like a mad dog trying to grab its own tail, running around in circles.
The chase never ends because there is not static destination. The target keeps moving. And in this process, the ultimate goal of achieving happiness is lost. The motivation behind doing all this is to achieve happiness. And knowingly or unknowingly we give up on that. For a better future. And it always remains 'For the future'. The future never becomes Present. What a bargain that is to make! The target is moving. You are always shooting without precision. Or even worse. You are shooting the wrong target.

What Dhoni needs to look at

2008-11-01T21:31:00.012-04:00

It's too easy to criticize the seniors. They don't play well in one match and the sword is again hanging over their heads. Ganguly got tired of it and decided to retire. Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar are still hanging in there. Nobody knows till what time. Dhoni has always been critical of senior players. Mindless criticism and comments have spewed out of him a lot of times. What he needs to look at is the following record of senior players in last one year.

Test match figures....

	Matches	Runs	Highest	Avg	100s
Tendulkar	13	955	154*	47.75	2
Ganguly	16	1283	239	45.82	3
Laxman	16	1171	200*	58.55	3

Dhoni	12	595	92	35	0

Somebody needs to take a look at some numbers to understand what is going on !

Quantom of Solace

2008-10-25T21:29:00.000-04:00

I am so very looking forward to it!

Commented

2008-10-19T21:07:00.002-04:00

http://xkcd.com/156/

The Difference

2008-10-19T20:53:00.001-04:00

xkcd: http://xkcd.com/242/

Say 'Nuclear'

2008-10-18T19:03:00.001-04:00

Those of you who have heard Palin say this word will get the joke.

see Sarah Palin pictures

Cricket on Digg!

2008-10-17T16:47:00.001-04:00

Cricket appeared on digg for the first time since I have started following it. Here's the pic. Sachin fans must be happy!

McCain's stand up comedy !

2008-10-17T09:51:00.002-04:00

McCain is hilarious in this speech. At least there is one thing that I can appreciate in McCain. His talent for stand-up comedy!

*Updated:
And here comes Obama - the stand-up comedian !!

Socialism at its best

2008-10-17T09:33:00.004-04:00

Jet reinstates all the employees that it laid off. This move has not come out of philanthropic nature of Naresh Goyal. Neither has it dawned upon him by some divination to take these employees back. He was threatened by Praful Patel as shown here in this article (http://www.ibnlive.com/news/patel-refutes-goyal-claim-says-he-asked-jet-to-act/76057-7.html)

I have nothing against the employees who were fired and I sympathize with them. But think of this. Such a step is definitely a step backwards. This clearly shows how Indian government is still regulating the economy with a clenched fist. Otherwise how can a government official order a private company to reverse its decision which was purely a HR issue. If the company is not doing well in such tough times, it will lay people off. That is how private sector is supposed to work. How can government interfere in HR policies of a private company is something I am not able to digest. Whatever happened to the free economy! Capitalism? Not for us Indians....

Spammed ... This time it's my blog ...

2008-10-17T09:10:00.004-04:00

Yesterday my blog page was attacked by a spam-bot. See below the spike of 126 hits! My blog can not become so famous overnight :P (Unless I decide to make it a porn-blog which I am not going to!) I also received about 6-7 bot generated comments, interestingly with not-so-random words. I had to turn on anti-bot mechanisms for comments posting.

Date	Page Views
Fri, October 17, 2008	5
Thu, October 16, 2008	126
Wed, October 15, 2008	22
Tue, October 14, 2008	10
Mon, October 13, 2008	29
Sun, October 12, 2008	21
Sat, October 11, 2008	13
Average: 32	Total: 226

Conversation with a cabbie

2008-10-16T20:58:00.003-04:00

"Did you watch last night's debate?" Thus started my conversation with a cabbie who was referring to the VP debate that took place a couple of weeks ago. It was a very interesting conversation as the cabbie was a white male in his 50s who was very passionate about American politics and a life long Democrat supporter. We talked for almost 45 minutes while driving to La Guardia Airport from my place. This conversation brought about quite a few notable points which make a lot of sense in the context of current political scenario in US.

He began by ridiculing Palin and calling her the most foolish politician he had come across in his entire life. "If a person can not name the newspapers she reads, how can she become the VP of United States?" He said McCain was even a bigger fool to select this lady as his VP pick.

And he confessed, as an American, that America is still largely, though not openly, racist. He said what else could explain a very narrow lead of Obama over McCain? If Obama had been white, he would be leading McCain by a huge margin. He said Americans are still racists and that's why the Republican party can get away with such weak candidates as McCain and Palin. He said Republicans are largely the party of folks who are stinking rich with tie-ups with huge corporations and influential churches.

He also said American people will vote for whoever looks smart on TV. I said then what went wrong last two times with John Kerry and Al Gore? He said both of them were horribly unfriendly on TV and they could never appeal the American public. And that is also one of the reasons that Obama has managed to stay ahead in the polls as he is very presentable on camera.

And the conversation went on. The most important point I could take from this was his confession as an American about prevailing racism in the country. The post is in response to Soham's comment on my previous post here.

P.S. The conversation happened for real and the views expressed here are the cabbie's own.

Painted by the greatest artist of the universe - Mother Nature

2008-10-16T20:08:00.013-04:00

I visited Franconia and North Conway in New Hampshire with my parents. Here are a few pictures I took.

Travelling Salesman Problem

2008-10-13T23:16:00.003-04:00

Source: http://xkcd.com/399/

Can virtue be taught?

2008-10-12T20:37:00.004-04:00

Menon asks Socrates, "Can virtue be taught?" in one of the famous dialogues presented by Plato about Socrates. Socrates and Menon proceed to first define what a virtue is and then they investigate if it can be taught.

Here is a very good summary of the dialogue. The complete text can be found in the book 'Great dialogues of Plato'.

http://myweb.wvnet.edu/~jelkins/pmpl99/fragments/platovirtue.html

Orkut says ....

2008-10-11T10:48:00.001-04:00

Today my orkut says
Today's fortune: You will make a profitable investment

Sure! I just bought a new mattress and I am going to stuff my money under that. It sure is going to be more profitable than investing anywhere else these days. The profit will be, not losing money!

Once more !

2008-10-01T21:07:00.001-04:00

I can't help put these videos of Palin here! She has no idea in the world what she is talking about! Putin raising his head and entering America's air space through Alaska! Wow ... Putin knows better than that for sure

"I have some news for you, John McCain" - Obama

2008-10-01T20:16:00.001-04:00

And it's McCain's turn now

2008-10-01T20:09:00.001-04:00

So I figured, it's not only Indian politicians who are masters of flip-flops!

Sarah Palin at one of her best !

2008-10-01T19:46:00.002-04:00

This is freakin' hilarious!

Some of my favorite XKCDs

2008-09-27T20:01:00.003-04:00

Source: http://www.xkcd.com/

A shining star departs. R.I.P. Rick Wright

2008-09-19T19:16:00.004-04:00

September 15, '08. It was one of the saddest days in the history of Rock music. The legendary keyboardist and vocalist Rick Wright of the Pink Floyd left this world and drifted to the other divine world to enlighten the gods with his music.

Founding member of Pink Floyd, Wright was known for his humility and genius keyboard playing skills. In one of his interviews, he explains how he shaped the music of the song 'Us and Them' in the album 'Dark side of the moon', taking it away from a conventional soothing music to a bold and creative master piece.

Here is the video.

In the show-down of who is bigger, Waters or Gilmour, Wright was put in the background. His contribution to Pink Floyd, though as great as Waters or Gilmour, has always been undermined.

It's amazing how music and a musician touch one's life. I will never be able to hear him again. I had always dreamed of watching Pink Floyd play live in concert someday. I guess my dream will never come true. I will have to seek solace in watching the legendary band perform only in videos.

Rest In Peace, Rick. You will be remembered. Till the time people have a sense of appreciation for the best of music. And respect for the best of musicians like you.

I wish I could

2008-09-13T12:20:00.003-04:00

I've been away from my blog for far too long to even remember. Every once in a while I visit my blog with a half-hearted intention to write something and I fail. Things have changed so much. I have so much to tell and yet nothing. Ideas about writing something form in my mind like water bubbles and then burst immediately in absence of treatment. Sad but true.

If I could, what I would have written in all this time?

- My rage on Ahmedabad blasts a while ago and now Delhi
- My motley experiences during training here in Bloomberg
- My reaction to Indo-US nuclear deal
- Leander Paes' achievement at US Open
- Barack Obama's speech at National Demorcatic Convention
- Movie reviews of 'The Dark Knight (Duhh !!), A Beautiful Mind (Thumbs Up), A Time To Kill (5 stars), Rock On (Can I give it 6 stars?)
- Book review of The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins (Book that has made me think the most in all this time and threatened my faith quite formidably), The Fifth Vial by Michael Palmer (Interesting!), The Law of Second Chances by James Sheehan (Typical Courtroom drama) and so on
- Music review of Rock On (Creative, Peppy and Rocking !!)
- Comment on others' blogs on my blog-roll, especially Soham's.

The list keeps growing ...

Movie Review: X-Files: I Want To Believe

2008-08-03T19:48:00.003-04:00

So do I. I want to believe that Chris Carter could actually make an inane movie like this and spoil the reputation of a series as brilliant as X Files. I want to believe that David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson agreed to play the roles of Mulder and Scully again for this movie. I want to believe that a sequel can be as bad as this. But I find all this quite unbelievable. Though unfortunately everything is true.

At the risk of sounding overly critical, I must say that the movie is extremely banal, predictable and lacking what makes a movie successful - substance. For those who are fans of the series X-files, including me, know that it is about supernatural and paranormal activities. The two FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully unravel the mysteries of the inexplicable phenomena including UFOs etc. This movie is nowhere near the original theme. It goes down the path of a psycho thriller movie which is as lowly and teen-like as 'I know what you did last summer' and others in the same category.

** Potential spoiler warning **

Several people end up missing and a priest who is a convicted pedophile, has divine visions about these missing people. This is the only so called paranormal phenomenon involved in the movie. And the whole issue is treated with so much banality that it remains neither a Christian-movie (like Christian rock music) nor does it become a supernatural thriller. The dialogues are some of the worst I have ever heard in a Hollywood or a Bollywood movie. Some of the scenes are so annoying that you feel like leaving your seat and going back to office on a Saturday evening.

Some of the infantile scenes include,

1. Agent Scully is now a doctor and is treating a boy who is terminally ill. All of a sudden, one fine morning she comes up with an idea of applying Stem Cell therapy on that kid. And guess what she does! She opens her internet browser and opens our good old google and literally types 'Stem Cell Research'. Then she randomly clicks on some of the links and she prints out a report out of it in a few minutes with title 'Stem Cell Research' and the next day she goes into the hospital, prepares the operation theater for the surgery and operates upon that boy!

Way to go, Google !!!!

2. Scully and Mulder are standing outside the FBI office (For no apparent reason) and they look at the portraits of G.W. Bush and Edgar Hoover besides the entrance and without any relevance, the X-Files theme music starts playing (For those who are not aware of that, X-Files theme music is a pretty spooky one). If the attempt was made to make us laugh with a completely childish Bush-joke, it failed miserably.

3. Mulder's car (The director is apparently a huge fan of Ford cars as they are all over in the movie) is pushed off a hill by the bad guy and falls several feet in a trench. And yet, like a superhero, Mulder emerges after a few hours from the car and goes on to finish the villains in their own home ground.

4. Mulder's jokes and particularly one dialogue - a degenerated, crude and offensive joke are annoying. I wish the script writer did not attempt to show off his own humor. Or the lack of it.

5. What is with this pretending to solve moral issues pleaguing Christianity? Is the director trying to convince Christian community that Stem cell research is good after all? Is he trying to showcase the divine God-granted powers of priests who have visions and hear voices of God? Even those priets who are convicted pedophiles? I don't understand. What has it got to do with X-Files for God's sake? Why? Why?

And the list goes on and on. The movie was so bad that I would write this director off my movie watch-list for years to come. I beg anyone who has any plans to watch this movie not to do so. Do yourselves a favor. Stay home. Go out for a walk. Read Washington Post or NY Times but do not watch this movie.

"Driving is driving me crazy" - New Jersey and a driver's woes

2008-07-14T19:31:00.008-04:00

Blaring sounds of horns is not something you experience on US roads. But hey, we live in New York-New Jersey. Everything is fair in love and war and driving here. According to a recent survey, New Jersey drivers have been crowned the most rude drivers in US. I wonder if this is bad habit inherent in New Jersey people or they have been infected by the neighboring menaces - the evil influence of New York city drivers on the other side of the river! I don't know who is worse. But I have seen and experienced both the kinds. The ever-so-rushing New York city drivers and ever-so-rude and impatient New Jersey drivers. They give each other tough competition to prove who is worse.

The drivers here are unforgiving. It is assumed that even though there is no fault of yours, you will be honked at from behind when red signal turns green and your car is the first at the crossroads. You will be honked at, no matter what. Though your only fault is that you don't own a Ferrari and so you can not accelerate to 125mph in under 4 seconds and therefore they had to wait for that fraction of a second behind you. Yes, there are some real busy people around here. And there are some implicit rules of driving around here too.

My first experience of driving in New Jersey has been the most horrific of driving experiences I have ever had in my life. I was a newbie in driving here in US when I came to NJ for the first time and rented a car. It had been only a few days I had got my Arizona driving license and started driving here. Though people say that if you have driven in a place like Ahmedabad (Ahmedabad traffic is notorious and I have heard non-Ahmedabadis complain about it all the time) you are safe anywhere in the world, that is not true here! I remember renting a car from Newark airport, a fine Pontiac Grand Prix, and driving it down to NJ Turnpike. I had never driven on a freeway before and to be honest, I was initially dumbstruck and then totally panicked by the monstrosity of the traffic on NJ turnpike. And that was the first time I was using a GPS. Despite having GPS with me, I missed an exit three times consecutively. And I lost my way and got onto a road which was leading to the Newark port and the entire road was only flooded with heavy duty trucks. Mine was the only car on that road! As my favorite expression goes, "I was as scared as a wet kitten on a rainy night in a dark forest full of wolves" It can be called a result of my incompetence in driving or just the heinous NJ traffic, but I will never forget that experience!

As if the torture of driving amidst such drivers is not enough, another plaguing problem is parking in NJ. Even if you own a BMW worth 50 grand, you might have to park your car on the street near your home. Most of the apartment complexes in North Jersey area (once again, the pay off of being close to NY city) do not have alloted parking garages. So you have to find a place on a near by street. And for parking on a street, you have to get a parking permit from the authorities (Plead with them, show them a gazillions of proof documents and so on). And that too does not guarantee a place for you. If someone grabs your parking spot while you are happily watching a movie in a theater on a Saturday night, you might have to scuttle around the neighborhood to find a parking space for your car at midnight.

My bad experiences did not stop at me getting bitter towards all the NJ drivers. I had to suffer in the hands of authority as well. Like I always do. Or at least most of the times (I have heard complains about being so grumpy all the time in my blogs that I choose my words carefully now)
So this time the encounter was with the DMV in New Jersey. I had to transfer my license from Arizona state to NJ state and even though supposedly it was just a matter of a couple of hours on a Saturday, I chose a day long before my office was to start. I was very hopeful and almost certain that it will be a piece of cake as it is just a formality. Sometimes I feel like laughing on myself as to how naive I can become! It was indeed an absolutely wrong assumption.

The story goes like this. I went to the nearby DMV and stood in their one of queues which are chronically long in nature but were a lot shorter that day. Glad that after all it might turn out to be a good day, I went to one of the counters and confidently showed them all the proof documents necessary for transfer. A lady pretending to be very particular (and actually trying to avoid giving anyone a driving license in NJ) scrutinized my documents. And somehow she became convinced that I was a clear and present danger and a grave threat to the pedestrians and fellow drivers alike. Thus she decided to thwart my attempts of transferring my license to NJ state. The reason was given to me - bizarre, something I don't want to discuss here. They sent me to another office to amend some other documents and there I stood for 4 hours in queue. And the most ironical part is that these documents had hardly anything to do with my driving license. As if not giving me a license was going to cause a slide in NJ's top ranking of rude drivers. Ultimately that day, I could not get anything done. Neither the driving license, nor the other document.

Undeterred by the hindrances, I decided to try again at the same place, with the same document but with the hope of encountering a different person at the counter. But as goes with my luck, I got stuck with the same lady and was told to go back and correct the documents. Only difference was that this time she was referring to some other documents. So I understood clearly that she just wants to stop me from moving forward in the procedure. So this time I remained there, unyielding, fighting her with my own arguments mixed with pleading. Finally she got tired of listening to me and asked me to meet her supervisor. The supervisor was no different. She was also bent on not letting me walk out of the building with NJ license. She asked me several questions about my studies, University of Arizona, why I came here in New Jersey and so on. She just wanted to make one thing clear, 'Try as hard as you can, it is entirely up to me whether I will permit you or not!'. Some of her demands were, 'Get me a letter from the registrar of University of Arizona saying I am working here in New York city as part of my OPT' - as if UofA registrar was absolutely jobless and had nothing better to do than writing recommendation letters to people all around the world who wanted to obtain their driving licenses. Another suggestion came, 'Then why don't you go to New York and get a driving license from there instead of coming here?'. ( I wanted to slap her face and tell her 'Because I do not live in my office building. I live here in New Jersey. But looking at the delicacy of situation, I did not indulge in any such tempting activities.) To cut a long story short, after countless arguments, she finally took pity on me and allowed me the transfer of the license.

I restrict myself and remain short in my narration. Otherwise they will quickly turn from boring to unbearable and that will turn away my readers who are already few in numbers and certainly not increasing!

I will end the post by paraphrasing my friend Karthik's one of the quotes.

Referring to Banglore traffic, he once said to me, "I tried to survive them initially, but eventually I had to become one of them". I think I will also have to become 'one of them' !

[Image Source: http://blog.wired.com/cars/images/2007/08/14/nyc_traffic.jpg]

Contradictions

2008-06-27T19:52:00.006-04:00

New York City. A city of many dreams. Some blooming, some shattered. A city loved by rich and poor alike. A city where life is in the fast lane. A city full of contradictions.

I am back in the city. With mixed feelings once again. Just like last year. Initially brimming with enthusiasm and then gradually disillusioned and then emotionless about it. Indifferent as if the people on the subway train or NJ Transit bus or on the crosswalks don't even exist. I guess this is what makes the city different from any other 'American' experience. Good or bad. Does it even matter?

Contradictions. Talk about them in New York City! A hawker selling $5 purse just outside the Macy's that sells the 'more reputable' and perhaps more reliable version of it in $50. A homeless man and an Investment Banker sitting next to each other in a Subway train. Tourists who have nothing else to do but kill time and executives for whom every lost second means lost deals and eventually lost money, walking the streets side by side. And the best of all. Saint Peter's Cathedral hiding under the massive and monstrous 'temple of capitalism and materialism' - The Citigroup building on Lexington Ave and 53rd street. People worship wealth. The mammoth structure of Citigroup building trying to prove its superiority.

For a second, I want to contradict what I implied about selfishness of people. One evening, I was showing my parents around in NY city and we decided to hop onto a bus instead of walking. I was unaware of the fact that you can't pay the driver for the ticket on MTA buses with cash and you need to have a metro card. The driver allowed us in but asked me to give him change worth $6 (3 tickets). $6 means 24 quarter coins. How am I supposed to carry 24 coins in my wallet? But that was the only way. 'You can ask the other passengers, if anybody is willing to help you', says the driver. And I felt like I was one of those people who are looking to get some pity money from passengers showing some fake reasons of lost wallets! But I didn't have to embarrass myself doing that. An african-american lady with a rough accent gave her Metrocard to the driver and said 'Swipe this for him'. I was a little taken aback by this generosity. The driver swiped and the card had exactly $6! I fumbled to give her $6 cash from my wallet. She said 'No' sharply and I still insisted. She shot back, 'Just say thanks and keep it as a gift'. The humanity is not dead yet in this city.

Contradiction. Not only is the city full of it but so are my emotions towards the city. I love it sometimes. I hate it at others. And yet some other times, I am indifferent. I love the feeling of being in the heart of world's financial activities. I love to stand on the terrace of the Bloomberg building and look around and see the towering buildings. It gives me satisfaction. A sense of achieving something. I love to work for the company that is owned by the New York City's most important man - the mayor Michael Bloomberg. And knowing that the work we do, and the products we make move millions of dollars in the market everyday (though individually, I form a very tiny part of that!) makes me feel good about my job. At other times, standing in a Subway train amid magnitudes of human bodies, or standing on the platform, wrapped in humid and polluted air of the stations, commuting for a couple of hours in a day makes me wonder if it is really worth it. There are times when I am surrounded by such feelings of doubt and frustration. But I think, with time, these feelings will be hardened into those of indifference. After all the routine soothes pain over time. Though only sometimes.

I have many stories to tell. But time is not my friend these days. I will come back to normalcy hopefully in near future. Hopefully foreseeable one.

Music Review: Viva La Vida / Death And All His Friends - Coldplay

2008-06-21T22:29:00.005-04:00

Coldplay is back. After three years of gap, they are back with their new album Viva La Vida or Death and all his friends. And I am back too. After a gap of almost one month, I am limping back to Blogosphere. I moved out of Arizona and settled in New Jersey and the entire process drained me out completely and took a toll on my blogging. But nevertheless, I am back to writing.

The album was released in USA on 17th June and though as an ardent Coldplay fan, I should have pre-ordered it, I have it within the first week of release now. Now coming to the main point of review of the album. The album is a classic experimental piece. It is a typical Coldplay work. Unusual and different from anything else you have heard. It is undoubtedly more experimental and exotic than their previous albums.

The first song "Life in Technicolor" is exactly what it says. It's an instrumental piece which invokes colorful and upbeat feelings. Beginning slowly, soon the music erupts in euphoric sounds of piano and guitar, familiar to Coldplay fans.

"Cemeteries of London" invokes mixed feelings dominated by sadness. 'Lost!' and the bonus track 'Lost?' both are pretty good. The 'Lost!' is better in my opinion as the other one lacks beats and the second half flaunts some real good guitar sounds. '42' and 'Lovers in Japan' both are typical Alternative Rock songs.

'Yes' is a brilliant experiment. It features some classic Violin tunes. 'Viva La Vida' features some pretty enigmatic lyrical genius and the lines are wide open to your own interpretation. The song is one of the more accessible ones in this album.

'Violet Hill' is one of my most favorite ones from the album. The vocals are the main highlight of the song along with guitar in the latter half of the song. 'Strawberry swing' is not very attractive but a good piece to listen to in idle time and it is catchy too for humming the tune. 'Death and all his friends' is a mixture of lot of different sounds, tunes and beats. It feels as if they have composed 3-4 songs in one and still made it sound beautiful.

So all-in-all, the album is worth the wait of 3 years and the price I paid for it. In fact more than that. A zillion thanks to Coldplay for maintaining their standards and even improving every time. Thumbs up to Viva La Vida!

The wait begins for the next Coldplay release!

Book Review: Such a Long Journey, Rohinton Mistry

2008-05-24T15:39:00.003-04:00

It always amazes me how despite my dislike for tragic novels, I end up reading Rohinton Mistry's works again and again. Thus you can imagine how interesting his work must be. This time I came across the book called 'Such a Long Journey' when I was browsing the books at Crossword, Ahmedabad. I would describe the book as slow but fluid, sad but with traces of happiness round the corner and above all, displaying Mistry's typical style of weaving a story with historical background.

Like 'Fine Balance', this book is also set in the backdrop of early 1970s when India was gripped in the war with Pakistan and the emergency times. The story revolves around a family, their friends, and neighbors living in a Parsi colony in Mumbai. As always, Mistry gives us glimpses of Parsi family customs, their language, their interactions with each other and their place in the Indian history.

I call this novel 'A collection of mini-biographies of various characters'. He depicts individuals in such color and variety! He never fails to draw a picture of a personality with the most complete details. And therefore, parts of the book concerning individual characters look like their own biographies. The characters in this book are by far the most interesting of his novels. A middle class Parsi family fighting various household problems surrounding their children, A retired major working for RAW (Intelligence wing of Indian Armed Forces) and tangled in a national level conspiracy, a superstitious woman who performs black magic, a mentally challenged begger, a street worker who earns his bread by drawing all deities on footpath and wall and so on.

Like his other novels, this novel also has a steady background which plays historical events, dimly interacting with the characters in the frames. In Fine Balance, the background was the Emergency time in India under Indira Gandhi's rule. In this book, the background is the war years with Pakistan and creation of Bangladesh. Through indirect references, Mistry conveys a lot about powerful and shrewd personality of Ms. Gandhi. And such historical references make this book very interesting to read.

If you can't tolerate tragedy, don't read this book. If you want a novel which ties all the loose ends at the end and finishes with a climax, look somewhere else. This book is for those who enjoy immersing into the characters' lives. It is for those who live the lives of characters while reading. If you are such a reader, don't miss this book.

[Image Source:
http://whatamireading.files.wordpress.com/
2007/12/suchalongjourney.jpg]

8 Types Of Annoying People You’ll Find Inside Starbucks

2008-05-22T12:04:00.002-04:00

Hilarious. Check it out... You will surely remember encountering at least one of them while your visit to Starbucks!

read more | digg story

A new beginning

2008-05-17T17:41:00.007-04:00

Today was the 138th Commencement Ceremony of University of Arizona, class of 2008. The ceremony started at around 8:30 today morning with a walk from Main Library building to the McKale center.

The entry into the stadium was magnificent. I felt like I was in a state of trance. The whole crowd was cheering us - the graduates, from the stadium and as we entered, we could hear the loud roaring sound from all around. That sound of applause will surely remain etched into my memories for a long time. We felt like celebrities! Or even better, like soldiers coming home, victorious.

And above all, I felt even more proud as I knew that among thousands of spectators were my parents. Cheering for me. With a smile of satisfaction and pride.
All the caffeine stimulated nights, hours of study, anxiety over grades, daily walks under bright hot sun to the department, effort put into reading unintelligible hand-writings of undergraduate students while grading as TA, sleeping hungry due to lack of energy to cook, disappointments over low grades and all difficult times seemed like a dull memory of past, faded in the glory of the moment at present. It was the climactic culmination of all this. A composition ending on a high note. Like a sunset that is optimistic with the coming day's new hopes.

[Image source:
http://www.redelephants.com/acatalog/96013t.jpg]

Computer Science: Class of 2008, University of Arizona

2008-05-17T17:21:00.006-04:00

Parag, Me and Karthik

(From Left) Me, Karthik, Parag, Poorna, Sheshu, Manish

(From Left) Rachita, Pallavi, Lopa, Natasha, Me, Parag, Sheshu, Karthik

I am somewhere in the crowd. Don't bother to spot me. Even I am not able to locate myself

A Proud Moment

2008-05-16T20:15:00.002-04:00

Time to say goodbye

2008-05-16T19:42:00.005-04:00

Goodbye red brick buildings,
I will hold you in my memories.
Goodbye green yellow cactus,
I will miss you on my way.

My time has come and I must go,
With a heavy heart I will depart.
A tear rolls down my eye,
Questioning me, 'Should I?'

The new horizon calls on me,
Enticing me with new promises.
I am happy but I am sad,
Is there a way I can stay?

Fruits of hard work

2008-05-16T19:36:00.003-04:00

I achieved a clean 4.0 in second consecutive semester! But alas, I ended up with a not so clean CGPA of 3.8 in my MS degree. But I am happy I am done with this finally! Err... well, not so happy maybe. I am going to miss this place, people and this routine.

A shining star departs

2008-05-05T04:51:00.005-04:00

Today is a terribly sad day for Hindustani Classical Music community. The legend, venerable Pt. Kishan Maharaj passed away after a paralytic attack from which he could not recover. He was 84.

Padma Vibhushan, the maestro from Banaras Gharana was country's finest Tabla player. I have been extremely lucky to have heard him live on quite a few occasions. Many considerd him a far better Tabla player than even some one as famous as Zakeer Hussain. Always dedicated to his art, he considered Hindustani Classical music as his religion and his Tabla, a prayer.

Panditjee, you will be awfully missed. But your fame will live forever. May God bless your soul. Rest In Peace.

[Image Source:
http://www.tablaineurope.com/grafica/kishan_1.jpg]

Starbucks profits down

2008-05-01T16:23:00.002-04:00

Starbucks reported that their profits sank by 28% for the last quarter.

Starbucks, you discontinued my favorite drink 'Orange Mocha' and now you suffer. *evil grin*

Pigs on the wing. Literally!

2008-05-01T15:11:00.004-04:00

For those of you who care, Pink Floyd's giant two storey tall Piggie has returned home, though not safe and sound.

Roger Waters of Pink Floyd has been using this giant inflatable pig in his concerts as a prop since their success of the album Animals in 1977. Last Sunday in a concert in southern California, the pig broke free from the tethers. Organizers had announced a reward of $10,000 to anyone who brings the pig back. And today the news is out that a couple from a desert town in California has found the pig and returned. Though it is in tatters, finally it is home!

This Pig really had wings it seems :D

[P.S. - Pigs on the wing is a song from the album Animals.]

Michael Bloomberg on The Time 100

2008-05-01T05:15:00.003-04:00

And here is another personality I admire, Michael Bloomberg featuring on Time 100 most influential personalities list under the category 'Scientists and Thinkers'. And apparently he fits into both of these categories! Many of you might know he founded the firm Bloomberg LLP by creating the revolutionary software for financial analysis which reveals his Scientist side. He has been widely applauded as one of the most effective Mayors of New York who puts constant efforts for improving the city of NY.

Link to Michael Bloomberg on Time 100 here

As a future employee of Bloomberg LLP, it feels great to see him here !

Ratan Tata on The Time 100

2008-05-01T04:58:00.003-04:00

Time magazine released their list of 100 most influential personalities of last year (2007). And as I was expecting, Ratan Tata is featuring under the category 'Builders and Titans'. This category features 22 people from all over the world and includes the likes of Steve Jobs, Steve Ballmer, Jeff Bezos and so on. And I felt extremely proud to see the 'Ever so smiling' face of our own good old Ratan Tata.

Tetley, Daewoo, Corus, Jaguar and Land Rover....... He is the victorious emperor on a mission!

Link to Time's Link featuring Ratan Tata here

As an ex-Tata employee, it feels great to see him here!

Tagged!

2008-04-23T14:00:00.006-04:00

1. Last movie you saw in a theater?
'The Race' starring Saif, Akshay Khanna, Bipasha and Katerina. Hot cars, babes and action. Style mixed with somewhat complex plot. Good watch

2. What book are you reading
'Peanuts' comics if that counts as a book! Last one I finished was 'The Street Lawyer' - A classic by John Grisham.

3. Favorite board game?
No Games. Only Sports ;)

4. Favorite magazine?
None

5. Favorite smells?

The smell of wet earth after rain

6. Favorite sounds?
David Gilmour's Guitar and Ustad Sultan Khan's Sarangi

7. Worst feeling in the world?
Betrayed by someone I trust

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
Darn, the day begins. Where's my coffee!

9. Favorite fast food place?
Honest Pau-Bhaji center in Ahmedabad. Any fast food you name and they have it. My favorite there, of course 'Pau-Bhaji' and also 'Chhole Bhature'.

10. Future child’s name?
Boy : Bhavin Mankad Jr ;)

Girl : '........' Jr (Blank to be filled in later :D)

11. Finish this statement. “If I had lot of money I’d….?”
Not have time to do such blogging ... alas :(

12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Naah!

13. Storms - cool or scary?
Absolutely cool !

14. Favorite drink?
Coffee and Buttermilk

15. Finish this statement, “If I had the time I would….”?
Read all the books in my 'To read' list.

16. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
Broccoli !! Yikes ... Hate it.

17. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?
Brown

18. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in?
Ahmedabad, Tucson, New Jersey, Sacramento, Chennai

19. Favorite sports to watch?
Cricket, Boxing, Soccer, Tennis

20. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?
Natasha - A sweet friend, interesting personality, South Park fan and Garfield admirer just like me!

21. What’s under your bed?
My iPhone

22. Would you like to be born as yourself again?
I would like to be born as my parents' son again. Couldn't thank God more for that.

23. Morning person, or night owl?
Well, it keeps changing. One semester I am a night owl, the other I am an energetic Morning person!

24. Over easy, or sunny side up?
No Idea what this means :P Can I say 'Pass' ?

25. Favorite place to relax?
My Sofa

26. Favorite pie?
None

27. Favorite ice cream flavor?
Chocolate, Butter-scotch and almost anything that has dry fruits or choco-chips in it.

28. Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?
Tapasya or Soham

Why doesn't Bangladesh Cricket Team call it quits?

2008-04-19T23:12:00.004-04:00

"Try and try, one day you will succeed" Unfortunately, the saying doesn't seem to apply to Bangladesh Cricket Team. After recent white wash by Pakistan (5-0) in One Day series, I seriously wonder how long it will go on! Bangladesh has been playing International cricket since 2000. In seven years, they have consistently lost again and again. The test record is pathetic.

In seven years, Bangladesh has played 53 tests. They have lost 47, won 1 and drawn 5. That is about 2% success rate.

The one day record is slightly better though. They have played 177 matches, won 39 and lost 136. Success rate of about 22%. But looking closer, out of these victories, 15 have come against Zimbabwe, 8 against Kenya, 4 against Ireland, 3 against Scotland and 2 against Bermuda (I had almost forgotten Bermuda played Cricket!)

With all respect to Bangladesh Cricket, I would suggest they should make a call to give it up. 7 years of efforts have led them nowhere. Chances are, they won't lead them anywhere in future either.

[Image Source:
http://www.kaputa.com/sports/cricket/imgx/logo/bangladesh.gif]

Movie Review: Pulp Fiction (1994)

2008-04-16T14:54:00.009-04:00

Style, style and more style. John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Samuel Jackson, Uma Thurman and above all, direction of Quaintain Tarantino. Can you expect anything less than 100% stylish and entertaining movie?

Starting with a pulse racing title music, the entire movie puts an iron grip around you for two and half hours time. I had watched this movie when I was a kid, some time during my school years. And I was totally clueless about why this movie was so famous. I had hardly understood some of the dialogues and those that i understood didn't make sense at that time. After talking to Priyanka a couple of days ago, I decided to give it another try, after all I am a huge fan of John Travolta! And I am glad I watched it again!

The movie is full of 'four letter words', crude humor, intermittent action scenes, closely knit storyline and a display of class acting. The underlying plot is about three men's lives (Travolta, Willis and Jackson) who work for a gangster (Rhames). The characters of these men are portrayed in a wonderful fashion and detail. They act differently in different situations and yet they have a common belief of loyalty and conviction.

[Spoiler Warning: Following contains details about suspense. So if you plan to watch the movie (which you should if you are a movie buff), don't read it till you watch the movie.]

Things I loved about the movie

-The scene in which Bruce Willis bursts into outrage over his lost watch which was a gift from his father.

- Bruce Willis going back to the cellar where Wallace was being tortured. Even though he himself wanted to kill Wallace, his conscience forced him to go back and save Wallace.

- Samuel Jackson reciting a verse from Bible every time before he was going to kill someone.

- Travolta and Thurman's dance on their date.

- Travolta's hair style and his on screen persona

- Samuel Jackson handling the robbery situation in the restaurant.

Things I hated about the movie

- Why on earth Travolta had to die?
Except for that one scene in which Bruce Willis kills Travolta, I enjoyed every moment of the movie!

Some of the memorable dialogues

Vincent (Travolta): Jules, did you ever hear the philosophy that once a man admits that he's wrong that he is immediately forgiven for all wrongdoings? Have you ever heard that?

Butch(Willis): [beating up Wallace (Rhames)] You feel that sting, big boy, huh? That's pride F***' with you! You gotta fight through that s***!

Wallace (Rhames): Yeah, we cool. Two things. Don't tell nobody about this. This s*** is between me, you, and Mr. Soon-To-Be-Living-The-Rest-of-His-Short-***-Life-In-Agonizing-Pain Rapist here. It ain't nobody else's business.

Wallace (Rhames): You leave town tonight, right now. And when you're gone, you stay gone, or you be gone. You lost all your L.A. privileges. Deal? [This one is a classic :D]

The Wolf(Keitel): Jimmie, lead the way. Boys, get to work.
Vincent(Travolta): A please would be nice.
The Wolf(Keitel): Come again?
Vincent(Travolta): I said a please would be nice.
The Wolf(Keitel): Get it straight buster - I'm not here to say please, I'm here to tell you what to do and if self-preservation is an instinct you possess you'd better f***ing do it and do it quick! I'm here to help - if my help's not appreciated then lotsa luck, gentlemen.

[Image Sources: http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/PYR/NECA0003~Pulp-Fiction-Posters.jpg
http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/061006/17191__pulp_fiction_l.jpg
http://youretime.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/pulp-fiction.jpg]

The Magic of Quota - Part II

2008-04-12T13:26:00.004-04:00

While the advocates of equality, fairness and justice were recovering from the blow delivered by Supreme Court, jubilant 'venerable' Mr. Arjun Singh could not suppress his happiness.

Excerpts taken from his interview with IBNLive.

"As far as creamy layer is concerned, we will discuss the matter at the apt forum and try and find a way out. We are not going to shove it under the carpet. We are going to do whatever we can"

“Increasing the slab of Rs 2.5 lakh per annum is one way out. The concerns of the allies will be taken into account—we will try to have a consensus on how to sort this out,”

Sure Mr. Singh, (more people = more vote). It's very simple. We understand that. You are a generous man and you are worried about the concerns of the allies. But what about the concerns of the general public?

"I have been wanting this ever since I was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. We won 40 seats then".

Yes dear Mr. Singh. We are aware of your desires to become Prime Minister of this country since ages. And you have been playing one political card after another ever since then. And this one was an ingenious trick indeed.

And here is the statement that says it all. Coming straight from his own mouth, in his own words.

"this reservation should benefit us politically"

Aah! Glad you told us Mr. Singh. We thought you were doing all this out of a sense of sheer philanthropy and general public good. How humble of you to confess it.

[News Source: IBN Live
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/
more-cream-more-people-to-get-quota-profit-singh/63177-3.html]

The magic of Quota!

2008-04-10T15:13:00.004-04:00

The Supreme Court upheld the OBC quota in educational institutes supported by the Government. Only consolation for the supporters of Merit over Caste was that the 'Creamy layer' was kept out of the quota system.

Congratulations Mr. Arjun Singh. You successfully carried out your agenda. In the world that is moving at lightening pace and values nothing but intellect and hard work, the quota system in my opinion is a step backward. But for UPA government, the corroboration from SC could not have come at a better time. With 6 states going to polls in coming months, UPA government will be hailed by the people who will reap the quota benefits as 'The saviors'. Well, not exactly saviors. More like deal makers for them. After all, the government has cut a good deal. 'We will give you quota in jobs and education, you give us vote and bring us to power.'

As someone with a keen interest in Political scenario in India, I must confess that UPA has some of the most cunning and crafty political brains. Starting from Sonia's so called sacrifice of the Prime Minister's post, Chidambaram's thousands of crores of loan waivers to farmers, 'venerable' Mr. Arjun Singh's recent attempts in quota system; all these events are cold bloodedly calculated to pull votes. And my hunch is that they will succeed in their attempts to get back in power. In the general assembly elections to come, I can see UPA reaping the sweet fruits of their labor and winning the elections once again.

As if the division of people based on the religion was not enough, now the UPA is bent on creating a rift between people based on their castes. I wonder why other countries which are economically more successful than India never had the necessity to impose such affirmative actions. Why in US we see no discrimination based on race?

-Is merit really secondary to your caste?
-If an economically middle class or lower class bright young student who can't afford to pay for the NRI or payment seats is deprived of higher education and at the same time if someone from quota system is allowed, is this fair?
- If you can waive farmers' loans, why can't you give economic incentives to the OBC or other castes if you feel they have been wronged in the past.

These questions are age old and many anti-quota activists, a lot more vocal than me, have tried their best to avert this rule. But I felt it a moral responsibility to give this issue a space on my blog.

Thanks UPA for leading us back to the past. Your definitions of progress are indeed unique.

P.S. No hard feelings for any one based on any caste. I DO NOT believe in caste system and that is why I feel there should not be a divide based on it.

A millionair orphan wants me to be his guardian. Thanks Yahoo Mail !

2008-04-10T02:37:00.003-04:00

Another interesting story on my Yahoo Mail. Now Abrahim Musa (Reference: Previous Post) has adopted the guise of an orphan and wants me to be his guardian.

Hello ,

I will like to make myself brief.I am Bile Vesta, the son to
late Mr.Vesta Gilbert who was a wealthy farmer here in Ivory Coast and i
am 15 years old. My mother passed on two years after my father's death
from a protracted illness thereby making me an orphan.
I have been under the care of my uncles ever since these sad events but
things began to be ugly as my uncles are now diverting money meant for
my upkeep and studies to their own personal and selfish desires.

When my father was alive he secured $9.5 Million (nine million five hundred
thousand
U.S.Dollars) with a bank.Presently, this
money is still with the bank.

The fear i have now is that my studies are being threatened and my uncles
are after my father's
property.They have seized most of his estates and business empire.I am
also being threatened of being thrown out because they believe there is
nothing to gain from me.That will mean no roof over me and becoming a
street urchin.

All i want from you is for you to help me receive this fund and
become my guardian,who will in turn help me to invest the fund and also
take care of me.

I await your prompt mail and response.

Thanks,
Bile Vesta

Locked up for smacking son

2008-04-07T00:01:00.002-04:00

How a slap brought police and social services in to tear a family apart...

read more

Five things I would love to own

2008-04-06T18:15:00.009-04:00

Mercedes Benz C Class Sports Sadan

Omega 300M Chronometer

MacBook Air

Kindle : Amazon's e-Book reader

'Oh By The Way' : A complete collection of Pink Floyd studio albums

South Park kills 10 YouTube memes for good

2008-04-04T12:54:00.002-04:00

In last night's episode, Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny asked themselves "How Do We Make Money on the Internet?" and predictably, they find it difficult — just like YouTube. This leads to a South Park scene straight out of Viacom CEO Philippe Daumann's dreams as, one by one, the viral-video sensations that made YouTube so big are destroyed.

These videos that are doing round on YouTube are so lame and retarded that one might ask what the hack is wrong with American audience! How can you be so foolish to make these videos popular? Even the featured videos on YouTube are asinine. Read the story and watch the videos that these guys made fun of. You will realize what I am talking about!

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Yeh Kya Hua, Kaise Hua ....

2008-04-03T18:41:00.003-04:00

Ooops .... !!

Indian Cricket fans and the players both were left with this song at the end of the first day of the second test match against South Africa. Supposedly stellar batting lineup of Indian team got wound up in just 20 overs with 76 runs on board. Four ducks. Only two batsmen in double digits. Extras as second highest runs (19 after Pathan's 21). Six batsmen clean bowled and the harrowing details of Indian collapse continue.

You go in with an extra bowler (Irfan Pathan in place of injured Tendulkar) and when you know that the pitch has slight grass on it and may favor bowlers, what in God's name was Kumble thinking when he decided to bat first?

I was lucky not to be watching that horrifying display of dismal batting by Indian team. It is going to be a tragic and humiliating defeat for India. A defeat that will haunt them for a long time to come. (I wish my words aren't true and some miracle happens and India saves the match. But those kinds of miracles rarely happen.)

[Image Source: http://www.cooqy.com/blog/images/shame.jpg]

Orkut's April Fool Prank ?

2008-04-01T13:52:00.003-04:00

We saw Gmail's custom time april fool prank. I noticed Orkut's prank too this morning. Look at the circled part on top left of this image! Funny :)

P.S. some parts of the page are grayed out for privacy purposes

Is the art greater than the artist?

2008-03-30T20:47:00.005-04:00

I had a long discussion with my uncle yesterday about this. Is the art greater than the artist? Should we neglect personal flaws and evils of an artist and appreciate his/her art?

The discussion/debate started with V. S. Naipaul. As you all know, he is a Nobel laureate for literature. I highly admire his writing skills and have read many of his works. The point of discussion was his confessions in his biography The World Is What It Is, about abusing his wife. He says "I think that consumed her. I think she had all the relapses and everything after that. She suffered. It could be said that I killed her. It could be said. I feel a little bit that way".

His wife Patricia, was suffering from cancer. Naipaul confesses of inflicting mental cruelty on her. Naipaul blatantly boasted of extra-marital affairs and visiting prostitutes in one of his interviews and this humiliation and stress caused severe downfall of Patricia's health.

The question is, 'Is it moral to continue to admire the author once you know how horrible his personal life is?'

I took the stand of placing art higher than an individual. I argued that I would still continue to read his work and admire him because of his literary works and not personal life.

But the crimes that he has committed towards an innocent, suffering woman are really despicable. I wish he were as good a person as a writer.

Down memory lane: Remembering the visit to Kolkata

2008-03-29T01:30:00.015-04:00

I have not written many travelogues. But out of nowhere came the desire to write a few lines about my experience in Kolkata. Some places are like magnets. They compel you to make visits again and again. Kolkata visit has had similar effects on me. I have fallen in love with that place in just one visit. Quite frankly I don't know the reason. It's certainly not the most beautiful place I have visited. Neither do I have any relations there. Yet the strong emotional attachment that I feel towards it and my desire to visit it again is indeed intriguing.

The exact dates that I visited Kolkata fail my memory. I think it was about 5-6 years ago. I remember taking the books along for studies. I still regret spending hours inside my hotel room preparing for the exams and missing the beauty of that foreign land. My sister was to deliver her classical-vocal performance at a contest (which she eventually won) there at Ramkrishna Mission, Kolkata and that was what prompted the visit.

Kolkata is a place full of extremes. It has an aura of its own. It does not have modernity of Mumbai but has its own rich cultural heritage. People are busy just like any other metro city but they have time to appreciate beauty of art and music. I am amazed by the number of artists and musicians come out of this region. It certainly runs in their blood. Despite being a metro city, it does not have the arrogance like Delhi (No offense intended towards Delhites). You can feel the sweetness in nature of people you meet.

My visit coincided with Doorga Pooja, known as just 'Pooja'. It is the biggest festival in Bengal and Kolkata was adorned like a bride for the occasion. All the streets were decorated with lighting and sweet Bengali music and the fragrance of sweets filled the air. The atmosphere was electrifying around us.

I found the city lazy. I am not sure if it was a norm or just an exception but I saw many shops and offices, even private closing strictly at 5 in the evening. The areas I visited had a large population of blue collar workers and thus the road-side eating joints were crowded for the evening tea and supper. You could buy a meal in Rs. 4 (10 cents). At the other end of the city, in areas like Esplanade and Park street, you could see the young upper-middle class people eating in McDonald and shopping in one of the most swanky shopping malls.

The roads are eternally jammed and they look like a sea full of yellow-top taxis. As long as your sight can reach , you can see nothing on the roads but taxis. The traffic jams are so bad in some areas that I remember getting out of taxi in the middle of the road and start walking.

This was the first time I experienced Metro rail (The second time being in NY last summer). I was really impressed by the efficiency with which the metro runs. Also, the underground stations are quite clean and modernized. There are large, fascinating murals on the walls of these stations like those of Tagore at the station named 'Rabindra Sadan'. It is an amazing view while riding when the train emerges from underground to the street level near the Dum-dum airport station. Looks like a gladiator entering the arena!

There are a lot of Victorian style buildings with red bricks. They stand as the reminder of colonialism and Raj. Along the similar lines, I must add that 'Babu' culture (Attitude of bureaucrats as if they are 'the higher living beings') is still prevalent here. You see loads of chauffeur driven Ambessadors on roads. With the 'Sahib' sitting in the back seat.

Other most vivid memories include our visit to Bellur Math. This is an ashram built by Swami Vivekanand, on the banks of the sacred Ganga. The peaceful environment has amazingly refreshing effects on mind. You feel ethereal sacredness floating around you. Eternal bliss. A momentary feeling of Nirvana.

The last memories of Kolkata I have is seeing waves of peasants and workers heading to the railway station. The driver told us that all these people live in nearby rural areas like Howra and they take trains to arrive in Kolkata to work. They start their day at 5 in the morning and when we saw them returning, it was already 8.30 at night.

I know there was no significantly unique experience in this visit. It looked just like another one week trip to an unknown place. But yet it has had lasting impression on my mind. I have fallen in love with that place. After that visit, I have read numerous Bengali authors. Whenever I see a book set in Bengal, I instantly buy it. This includes books by Tagore, Sankar, Amitav Ghosh and so on.

Mysterious, spellbinding, simple and lovely. I would summarize my impression of Kolkata with these four words.

[Image sources:

http://galen-frysinger.com/india/calcutta01.jpg
http://www.clayimage.co.uk/Dasmi.jpg
http://www.urbanrail.net/as/calc/calcutta-tollygunge1.jpg
http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:JxbaRI-Q1xSkxM:http://lh3.google.com/
_MdMP4fNXkng/RpXs5ksQEoI/AAAAAAAABAw/LIdVUim955g/s800/Picture%2B003.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Photobarnaul/Tomsk/P1020358.jpg
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2007/10/15/Kolkata_wideweb__470x304,0.jpg
]

Anatomy of Deception by Lawrence Goldstein: Book Review

2008-03-28T13:48:00.005-04:00

Real characters in history woven in the net of a mysterious fictional plot. That is Anatomy of Deception. Part history, part fiction, this book is an absolute delight to read. This was the first book of its kind I have read.

The book is set in late 19th century in the Medical School, Philadelphia. The characters in the book include legendary doctors like Dr. William Halstead and Dr. William Osler. Their personalities have been depicted just as they were. But the circumstances surrounding them in the novel are fictional. The story revolves around the murders of a doctor and a young girl from an affluent family of Philadelphia. A young successful doctor, Dr. Carrol takes it up to him to solve the mystery of these two deaths and finds himself caught in the net of deception. Should he trust his own colleagues? Should he trust 'The Professor' who has been his guiding light in his professional as well as personal life?

The aura created resembles that present in Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie novels. The places include dark alleys, grave yards, morgue rooms of hospitals, palatial homes and so on. Characters include some legendary doctors, a ruffian immoral medical student, a diligent and committed medical professional, blue blood families of America at that time, some tough-nut mafia dons and so on. A perfect set up for a suspense thriller. Anatomy of Deception has it all.

But what stands out in Lawrence Goldstein's novel is seamlessly woven facts about the early history of medicine in America. Details about various inventions and discoveries, made by accident or otherwise have been integrated as part of the novel. Those related to medical profession or study will indeed find it very informative. And yes, these details are not fiction. They indeed happened the way it has been portrayed.

The novel is written as first person narrative. So those of you who don't prefer to read this kind of style might find it as a put-off. But I assure you, the writing style is indeed flawless. It's gripping and entertaining. A perfect material to arouse your curiosity about history of medical profession in America. If you haven't tried this genre, I would strongly advise you to go to your nearest book store (The nearest being the computer you are reading this blog on - Amazon ) and grab a copy of it. Enjoy.

Links to some characters in the book:
Dr. Osler: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Osler
Dr. Halstead: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Stewart_Halsted

[P.S. Thanks a ton Niki, for such a wonderful gift]

[Image source: http://forum.connpost.com/joe/images/anatomy.gif]

Hushh.. little baby don't you cry, everything is gonna be alright ...

2008-03-26T14:20:00.004-04:00

Flight was about to take off. Lucy was quietly playing with her Penguin toy that I bought her at the airport. I tightened her seat-belt. She looked up suddenly and said, 'Daddy, when will we see Mommy?'.

'Mommy will be at Phoenix airport, sweetheart. You are going to see her as soon as we land', I assured her. She gave a faint smile and got herself engaged in playing with her Penguin again.

'Daddy, when will I see you again?', she asked again looking up. My heart sank at the question. How was I going to explain to her that she was not going to see her parents together ever? 'You will come to see me during the summer, sweety' and I tried to look away, trying to escape the questions in her eyes. She held my hand tight and asked, 'Why?. Why will you not be with me and Mommy in Phoenix?'.

'Because Daddy and Mommy are not going to live together, honey. But you as soon as the summer arrives, you will come to Daddy and we will spend time together. Daddy will take you to the park and you can play on the slides and swings. Daddy will bring you ice cream and chocolates. But first you must be a good girl and spend time with your Mommy.', I said with a heavy heart, trying hard to keep my gaze into her uncertain eyes.

'Will Mommy come with me to see you then?'
'No sweetheart, Mommy will not see Daddy. You will come alone. Daddy and Mommy will not meet each other.'
'But why Daddy? Why?'

And a tear rolled down her left cheek. It has always been like this with her. It is always the left eye which gives way to her tears first. And she started sobbing then. Pressing her head against my chest and curling her little arms around me. I did not know how to comfort her. I did not have logical answers to her 'Whys'. I did not know what went wrong. All I know is Lucy did not deserve this.

I held her tight. Trying to calm her sobbing. The deep humming of the airplane engine went on in the background.

P.S. - Inspired by a little girl and her father, sitting next to me in one of the flights I took once. The conversation didn't take place actually. Just a work of fiction.

[Image Source: http://lh4.google.com/ericandamos/RfXMDzT7odI/AAAAAAAAAWE/
_bYT12yy5aE/IMG_2305bw.jpg?imgmax=512]

Why SRK is the King of Bollywood

2008-03-13T13:17:00.002-04:00

I decided to post something lighter on blog today. And it couldn't have been better. I was surfing IBNLive this morning and came across this little chit-chat and taunting between Amir Khan and Shahrukh Khan that is going on these days in Bollywood. Amir had asked SRK 'How it felt to be No. 2'. SRK replied in a press conference saying "I just want to tell you, Aamir is a dear friend of mine and if he has thought that I am second to him, it's a great compliment to me."

War of words boomeranged on Amir himself. Dear Amir, you can't beat SRK in any department, be it acting, humor or personality. So it's about time you stopped attempting! SRK is and will be the 'King Khan'

Article at:
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/
srk-says-thanks-to-aamirs-no-2-remark---aamirs-dig/61097-8.html

Image Source:
http://static.ibnlive.com/pix/sitepix/02_2008/srk_aamir_pic248.jpg

Movie Review - Michael Clayton

2008-03-12T01:52:00.004-04:00

Ever since A Civil Action and Erin Brockovich, if you have been waiting for a good legal drama, your wait is over. Michael Clayton is undoubtedly one of the finest dramas of this year. Written and directed by Tony Gilroy (The screenplay writer of The Bourne movies), MC is gripping, thought provoking and a perfect crime drama.

George Clooney plays a lawyer/deal-maker in a large law-firm in NY city. A case that his firm is handling, involving a corporation, goes awry and he is called in to clean up. Things get nasty as he learns the truth behind the corporation and their tactics. Three fourth of the movie runs in flashback and then in the final piece of drama, the story springs back into present. The climax is one of the best in class and leaves the viewers smiling, amazed.

George Clooney once again proves why he is the boss in hollywood. Calm yet passionate, unpredictable and intense. Clooney literally lives his character. The intensity with which he acts puts him class apart from other actors. The camera work, lighting, motion and sound all remind me of The Bourne series. The only difference is that it is not as fast moving as Bourne yet equally enjoyable, even more so to some extent.

There have been a lot of movies about the 'the evil corporations'. This movie is also similar. But it views the story from a more humane perspective. The 'blind zones' created by the scriptwriter make the movie much more thrilling to watch. Total lack of predictability makes it a perfect thriller.

If it is running in any theater near you, go and watch it. I regret not watching this movie in theater. I am sure it would have been worth every minute and dollar spent on it

My First Rental Car in US

2008-03-10T13:33:00.004-04:00

After two attempts at driving test, a few weeks ago, I finally managed to get the Driver's License here in Arizona. Special thanks to Qadirbhai for his relentless efforts, his time, his guidance and his car. And also Akshay and Samba for taking me for practice!

Unlucky that I am, I flunked the test in first attempt because I was 'under-speeding'. I was going at the speed of 25mph where the limit was 35mph. And the officer who was taking my test, failed me. Aah, felt bad. Then next week again, Akshay and I went to the DMV but it was a holiday. Third week of waiting and again came Saturday. Qadirbhai was back in the instructor's seat and we went for the second attempt. And this time I made it! Perfection eluded me even then and I lost 8 points for using wrong lane. But because it was more than 80% overall, they passed me.

Equipped with the 'License to Drive', I rented a car from Enterprise here for the first time over this weekend. I had asked for a standard sized sedan and what they gave me was this!

On second thought, this was not bad! They upgraded my request from standard to SUV as they didn't have any standard sized cars. And as I had not driven a SUV before, I was a bit hesitant. But looking back, it was fun driving this Jeep for 3 days.

My iPhone was a great help in finding my way to places. The Google Maps and inbuilt GPS like function are fantastic. I realized true value of iPhone now! A funny incident happened when I got stuck at the gas station. I had no clue how to operate the pump so I asked someone who was filling up his bike. He explained to me the operation and then I managed to use it. (Ok, I know it sounds dumb but I tried to handle the pump myself and couldn't do it. So i had to ask !)

Geoffrey Boycott speaks

2008-03-07T23:54:00.004-05:00

In an interview with Cricinfo when asked his choice of best all-rounder of all time.

"....[But] if I had to pick my greatest allrounders, No. 1 would be Sir Garfield Sobers. He is the best batsman I have ever seen. Obviously there have been other [great] batsmen, but I have only seen people in the last 30 or 40 years. He was a fantastic batsman. As a bowler, he could bowl these wrist-spinner chinamen and the orthodox left-arm, but when he bowled seam-up - and he only did that late in his career - as a left arm swing-seamer he was quite sharp. He was much sharper than Kallis is now, at about Kallis's pace when he [Kallis] was at his youngest and best. He [Sobers] swung it alarmingly and he was a fantastic bowler.

If I had to pick another one it would be Imran Khan. If you look at his record, he averages about 37 with the bat and he gets his wickets at about 23. He has been a match-winner for Pakistan and to top that there were his leadership qualities. The Pakistan side were sometimes a rag-tag and bobtail bunch who were either fighting among themselves or there were political things going on. But Imran could pull them all together and make them what they usually are: a very talented, world-beating side. Imran has got to be in there [in my top three allrounders].

The other great allrounder I have seen is Ian Botham. He was a swing bowler at his best. He had a narrow waist, big shoulders, big back side, a lot of power and pace, and he could get right around and bowl outswingers at pace. A very aggressive bowler. He got his wickets cheaply, and then he was an exciting batman. To top that, he could catch at slip - he was brilliant.

I forgot about Sobers: he was a brilliant catcher too.

You've asked me three and I've given you three but I'd like to add one name to that. A man I didn't see but one I've read a lot about would be Keith Miller. Miller was one of the great, exciting cricketers - and I use the word "great" properly - of all time. You ask people who saw him bowl. With [Ray] Lindwall and Miller, it was like lightning. Miller bowled people out with fast, genuinely fast bowling. He was an aggressive, attacking batsman as well as a carefree individual. You ask someone like Richard Benaud and he just rolls his eyes - he thinks Miller was fantastic."

[Article at: http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/talk/content/multimedia/341141.html?view=transcript]

Business or Human Lives? What a no-brainer !

2008-03-06T13:26:00.005-05:00

Sure Southwest Airlines would have thought this when they flew the 'unsafe' planes as shown in the following report and made sure that their business and flight-schedule remained intact .

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/06/southwest.planes/index.html

A befitting reply

2008-03-04T14:31:00.006-05:00

They called Harbhajan Singh 'An obnoxious little weed'. They alleged him of racial abuse. The crowd booed him on the field. Ponting said 'They should look at their own backyard'. The entire Australian team was high on the spirit and ecstasy of arrogance. But the 'Men in Blue' did not lose focus. They were committed to answer the sledging and taunts of Australian in a befitting manner. And they did it yesterday. India won the CB series after defeating Aus in two straight finals. The series and the final was very remarkable in cricketing history for a variety of reasons.

I watched the entire match (Thanks to Sopcast!) after a long long time. And it was worth every minute spent watching it. Some of the highlights of yesterday's match.

- A brilliant, patient and classy knock by Sachin. But once again he became the victim of 'Nervous 90s'
- Sachin toppled Ponting to become No. 1 in ICC ranking
- Praveen Kumar was flawless. Some of his 'Leg break' type deliveries were just marvelous. He uses his wrist brilliantly to swing the ball both ways. He is one of the finds of the series
- Fielding of Indian side was very tight led by athletics of Yuvraj Singh on the field
- Dhoni has proved himself a very calm, composed and calculative captain who knows how to use his bowlers, not to mention his 'Lead by example' style both behind the wicket with his gloves and in front of it with his bat. It looked as if he has more than a decade of captaincy experience
- Despite of Srisanth's total lack of confidence, he held his nerves very well to deliver some very good overs in the slog overs time
- Symonds and Hayden both once again fell victim to Harbhajan. My advice to them, instead of targeting Harbhajan personally, focus more on his bowling and try to get over 'Harbhajanofobia'
- A very hilarious scene when a nude spectator ran down to the middle of the pitch. He approached Symonds with full force and momentum, but strong as a bullock he is, Symonds just stood there and the spectator bumped into him and fell hard flat on the ground. A display of enormous strength!
- A bit unfortunate for Sachin, but Praveen Kumar indeed deserved the Man of the Match award

[Image Source: http://www.ibnlive.com/photogallery/740-0.html#view_start]

The BOSS speaks... with his bat

2008-03-02T12:42:00.003-05:00

I have never been a fan of Sachin myself. But irrespective of that, I consider him the greatest cricketer who has lived the game. Silencing his critics, Sachin tore the Australian defense in the first final and allowed the Indian side to cruise to a much needed victory. Some of his characteristic drives and those cheeky sweeps mark his fabulous innings. Have a look!

Garfield ... The Real One !!

2008-03-01T22:16:00.006-05:00

The cat in my apartment complex. She is so very cute. Whenever I sit outside, she comes and sits besides me. Sweet :)

Elegant Pose, Eh!

Why are you staring at me?

I don't like to be photographed !

Where did you go?

2008-02-25T15:56:00.004-05:00

I remember the times when
You and me were together
Where did you go my beloved
Can I not have you back?

Those parks and those slides
How we used to swing against the winds
Those stories and those songs
All faded in the darkness of past

Time heals so they say
But hurt is what it has given me
I want to halt this speeding life
And go back in time to meet you

I call out to you O' my Childhood
Where did you go?
Was it maturity who defeated you
Or was it you who betrayed me?

My Beloved Ahmedabad

2008-02-24T22:16:00.002-05:00

Alive and Kicking
Rocking and Cheerful
Vibrant and Cozy
Safe and Charming
Rich and Forward looking

This is my city. This is my home.

I love you Ahmedabad ! And miss you too.

Whose fault is it?

2008-02-21T14:36:00.005-05:00

(Indian IT Software and Services Industry US $ Billion)

AT WHAT COST ?

"We are under pressure, we need to push the limits and need to work harder. Guys (including gals), let's make sure we work at least 14 hours a day for sometime."

This is a dialogue from a project manager which should be familiar to all who work in Software Industry in India. The pressure never reduces. Days don't become shorter than 14 hours ever. And in a city as unsafe as Banglore and Delhi, women IT employees are the ones who suffer because of such attitude of management.

In 2005, a female employee working in HP at night shift was raped and murdered. In what can be called an eye opening judgment, the Karnataka High Court gave its verdict against Som Mittal who was HP's CEO then, charging him of negligence under Shops and Establishment act.

People might argue, a meager sum of Rs. 1000 as fine for Mittal as a punishment for a human life? The argument is indeed valid. The punishment is hardly anything in all practicality. But an important underlying issue is that the court recognized this as a problem and decreed that it is indeed a partial responsibility on the part of top bosses.

Many Indian IT companies have what I call pathetic HR practices. And I say this as I have worked in this industry for more than a couple of years and seen it happening. People are forced to work for 12-14 hours a day regularly and sometimes even more. The weekends are virtually non-existent. Woman employees are pressurized to work till late nights and even stay over night in the name of imminent delivery of product.

I have seen some project managers who would peep into an employee's mail box and would comment on personal mails if they see any. A newly wed friend of mine asked for a transfer because her husband was in another city. And the answer she got from the manager was, "You got married is your problem, not mine. I won't let you get a transfer"

Foul language, accusations, loud yells at the subordinates - all this is not a scene in any manufacturing shop floor. These are the scenes in a posh, centrally air conditioned and neat office space in a software company.

Who's to blame in this situation? Employees who are not committed to their work? Project managers who are constantly under pressure to get results? Sloppy hiring practices from recruitment? Senior management?

I see the problem manifold.

1. Top management is too obsessed with profit margins. They are so greedy to grab a deal that to reduce the cost estimates in a proposal, they would literally put half the effort actually required. What does this translate into?

'I will give you only 10 person months even though I know that you will need 20. Motivate your team and make them put a little more effort', says the project manager to a team leader. A little more effort? You are asking the employees to work double time.

I have seen this happen when I was a Project Lead for a project.

2. The top bosses set impossible targets for all the departments. So what do you do? You hire more people. But when you are given a target of hiring almost 4000-5000 employees in a quarter, your recruitment practices become sloppy. The talent level of work-force is compromised. And then you expect a mechanical or a civil engineer to pick up the pace in software development in a month or two. Is this realistic?

3. Middle level managers and team leaders are in a non-enviable position. They are pressurized from the top and even if they empathize with the employees below them, they are helpless. But what they should do is resist the force from above and at least make an attempt to shield the employees beneath them.

My plea to all such companies,
Before it is too late, please wake up and implement employee friendly policies. Don't treat employees as machines or slaves. If you want to spend time on the golf course and five star hotels' swimming pools, give at least a little time for the employees to take their meals with their families once a day.

P.S.
I do not want to mention any company's name here and if someone wants to infer my previous company by other means, I am not responsible. I have tried my best to protect my previous company's identity in this post.

HP Boss Guilty: Article link at
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/hp-bpo-rape-case-exboss-guilty-of-negligence/
59537-3.html

Image Source:
http://www.businessweek.com/adsections/indian/infotech/
2001/software_bar.jpg

Making Over Mumbai

2008-02-12T14:54:00.000-05:00

An Article in Time

Click Here

A Google Horror Story

2008-02-09T19:14:00.000-05:00

A must read
http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2008/02/08/a_google_horror.html