Weekend 2

Almost like a week, ever since I wrote something...My work and the daily routine has been keepin me busy but that's only an excuse. Last weekend was quite a busy weekend as a number of things happened. Saturday started a bit late as there was nothing much to do early in the morning. Plan was to get ready and head towards the unexplored areas in the city. We headed towards Piccadilly Circus around noon, one of the most famous tourist places in the city which is close to Trafalgar Square (as crowded as the Times Square at New York).

The place looked quite happening, with shops and stores of various brands all around, huge hoardings, big hotels, and all other luxurious things that one can think of. While walking down we entered a huge store (i cannot recollect the name) which had lots and lots of fancy stuff. I sometimes can't believe how people get attracted into buying such fancy stuff at sky high prices. A piece of chocolate was over a pound (GBP) in value. Clearly, it wasn't the place for an average human. It had variety of stuff for different needs but all out of reach for common man. Oh! I believe common man concept exists only in India, because here I find everyone to be quite uncommon in everything. Lifestyle, spending, standard of living, talking, approach, thinking, everything else that anyone can think of, is different from any other common man that I have seen over last many years in India. And I may be wrong in generalizing, but I have certainly observed a lot of difference ever since I came here. I think I would be wrong if I compare too much, actually, I shouldn't.

Kept walking down the lane, looking at things here and there when suddenly the weather changed and it started drizzling. Weather here changes like the chameleon changes its colors. Thankfully, it wasn't very heavy and dried out in a little while and we continued with window shopping. There was a band (I don't know what else to call them, as they dint look like a recognized group, but they were all playing musical instruments) which was playing some nice music, all dressed in very elegant suits and playing quite beautifully and were enjoying what they were doing. I guess they do it everyday, I am not sure. Some of these things just create the mood even when you are tired walking or tired of doing things. Every passerby tends to get attracted, stops by for sometime, listens to that for a while and then continues walking up or down.

It was late and time for lunch after which we entered another store which had all the possible gifts, souvenirs, and everything else that anyone can think of other than food and grocery. So, now I know where to go when I need too buy things for anyone before I head home. After all this I saw a small group of  "Krishna Bhakts" dancing and singing "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" on the Piccadilly Street. It was another surprise. People from everywhere kept coming in, joining them, danced, sang and moved out. Such a beautiful thing to see and think of. I am another enthusiast and joined them. It is sometimes so much fun to do different things. I am not sure if I would have ever done such things back home, but here it was different. The "London's monthly Harinama" as they call it, went on for over an hour and I was part of it all through until it came to an end when they distributed "Prasaad" to everyone who was part of the group at that time. People from diverse backgrounds (not just Indians) were part of this group. Polish, Dutch, Russian, English, Irish, Asians, etc. a number of different castes, sects, creed, religion formed part of this wonderful group who became Krishna followers and joined this Bhakti Vedanta group (GaudiMath) and were promoting its awareness across the world. Its wonderful to see how people dedicate their lives to different things based on what they like and what enthralls them. Most of them in the group had quit their high paying jobs, family, etc to be part of this group and form a separate family and culture which promotes brotherhood, happiness and love for all.

Start to the weekend was quite interesting and so would be the end as the India vs England match is scheduled for Sunday and I was going to witness that LIVE at Lord's Cricket Ground, London. The ground where cricket was born and holds the name of the most prestigious cricket ground in the world. Some pictures from Saturday:

     

Week 2

The days during the week happened to be similar at work, but this week, had a bit more of work to do. In fact I was given some report to prepare and the deadline for which was End of Week (EoW). After understanding the process from one of the colleagues, it was time to do it by self and come up with questions or suggestions that I may have. I could successfully build the report by the timeline given and then was asked to add few more things to improve the report so that it looks more meaningful to the one who reads it.

On Tuesday it was one of my office colleague’s pre-wedding drink party which was organised at a close by pub, about 10 minutes walking from office. Most of us went there to congratulate her and wish her successful married life. Its so different out here, the culture that people follow. Both, the bride to be and the groom were present for the occasion, and everything was so casual all around the place. It was only drinks and no food and the drinks were limited to 2-3 per person. Quite different and organised from what I have seen in the past, in India. Generally, we do not have these types of parties as well before we get married, at least from what I have seen. Ya, there is some concept called a bachelor’s party and stuff, but it is not all that much prevalent.

Anyway, so as we approached towards the end of the week, there was lot of discussions around the ongoing cricket series between India and England. Ever since I knew about my possible plans of coming to London, I always wanted to watch the match between India and England at the Lord’s Cricket Ground, London. The head of my department (CFO) happens to be a cricket freak, and not just him, many more around me here in the UK have been cricket freaks for many years.  So, during a general conversation with the CFO regarding cricket, we expressed our desire to watch the match LIVE at the Lord’s to which he responded that he will try to get some tickets for us. He happens to be the Member of the same club which owns the Lord’s Cricket Ground. Just about a few hours later, he informed us that he could arrange the tickets for us and we can join in for the match on Sunday. Quite an exciting opportunity, of a lifetime, I must say to watch the teams play cricket at the Mecca of cricket, where Cricket was born several years ago.

The week came to an end with not much happening except for the couple of key things that were different. Looking forward to the cricket match on the weekend and also something more exciting, may be.

New Week...

Characteristics define people and also their attitude..."Lazy" is what defines me and "Laid Back" is what my attitude is, and I call myself these adjectives is purely because I haven't been writing for the last 2-3 days. I was supposed to be behind schedule just by a day but its 4 days behind now. I can have excuses like being busy or not getting time, etc. but I guess they will remain excuses always. If the attitude is right it is not difficult to find our a bit of time to scribble down things that run through your mind. So, I choose to get up early in the morning everyday and think of writing a bit of something but something or the other kept me busy here and there and left me with just enough time to get ready for work and leave for office. In fact, I reached office 15 minutes after the ETA on the last 2 days out of 4..Sad!

Monday started with not much, just regular getting ready and walking down to work, which is a good walk. Not too much had happened on the work front in the first week so there were expectations that something extra will be put in front of me and that should keep me busy for rest of the week, at least partially if not extremely busy. Had couple of meetings, highlighting certain core things within the business, met new team members whom I would be working with in the time to come, and few more things here and there. Day was pretty much relaxed with nothing much, just an overview of certain things within the organisation and the team. I guess English people are not as aggressive as their American counterparts. Americans tend to be jumping around all the time for things here and there and are too involved in things from the very start. Not that it is bad or something, but it's just a kind of stark difference that I have observed in the working culture of people in both the continents. Good for me!

My manager here, happens to be a very simple and quiet man, extremely soft spoken, because of which I have to ask him to repeat what he said, most of the times. Just getting used to it. Office environment is also pretty relaxed, people working religiously, not looking too worried or too relaxed at anytime, unlike what I have seen at other places and to be specific in my very own country. Lots of learning actually. Lots of them!

After office it was usual walk down towards home, grabbing something to eat on our way and then enjoying the sudden change in London weather. It rained, it shone and it rained again, lot of wind and extreme sudden cold by the "Summer Standards" here in London and supposedly the coldest summer in last 18 years. Huh! Enjoyed all of that on my way back. Some pictures taken at the start of the week.

Much more to write and share as usual...Will do that this evening again when I am back from work...Until then, take care!

The weekend trip!

Sunday Sept 04, 2011 –                                                                      First Trip outside London


As planned, Sunday morning we had to visit Oxford, one of the most famous places in the world for its world class education. As usual, we dint leave on time which we had decided the previous night because of laziness, I guess. I sometimes realise that I hardly end up doing most of the things on time, which is so ridiculous. It needs to change, and it certainly needs to because I have seen the level of punctuality that people follow here in the UK. It really sets the tone for all other things during the day. I would dare not miss a timeline at office if I want to be safe! Ya..so anyway, we finally got ready and left for Oxford at about 9 from our apartment. We had taken a fair bit of idea from office colleagues as to what could be the best way to reach the city. We took a bus to Victoria terminus, which is supposed to be the centre for all possible conveyances for any and every possible city within the United Kingdom. We reached there and saw the Oxford Tube waiting at their respective location. We took a return ticket and checked with the driver on how long is it, before we left. 2 minutes is what he said, and before we could go to the upper deck of the bus and settle down, the bus moved. Another classic example of how punctual these people are just makes you respect them more and more every time.

A wonderful and well maintained double Decker, extremely comfortable bus makes your journey just half tiring as it could possibly be and the feeling comes right as the journey starts. That is exactly what happened to me. London to Oxford is supposed to be an hour long journey and approximately 15 minutes after we started it started drizzling. I was in serious thought if it will be worth going there, if it actually starts raining heavily, and to clarify my doubts, half way through the journey it started raining cats and dogs. If that’s not the correct way to define “extremely heavy rainfall” then whatever may be the superlative can be used at that place. 3 miles to Oxford and the rain slowed down and by the time we reached the city it was all dried up...Good Luck to me! We got off the bus at the last bus stop which was Oxford City Centre as suggested by some ex-resident, who happens to be a friend of mine. Well, things become easier when some guidance is there, especially when you travel to distant places, completely new and unknown world.

The city looked pretty small when we entered but as we started walking, it looked like it would never end. Colleges on the left, colleges on the right, Libraries, Book Shops, Souvenir Shops, Art and Craft and what not. Almost all the things which could possible attract any tourist was there, and it is surprising that I entered almost every possible shop that I crossed. I wasn’t behaving the way I usually behave...Haha, complete shock for me as well. Multitude of things, each of them worth a look and many of them worth taking home, but then pockets have to be really deep in order to fulfil such desires. This is the city where the famous “Harry Potter” series was apparently shot and that makes it a even bigger attraction amongst the tourists in the UK. I haven’t seen anything of Harry Potter ever, so I choose not to comment on it, however, from a bit of what I know about it, the concept behind Harry Potter or the theme has always sounded ridiculous to me. Sounds like a completely atrocious story only aimed to fool kids, but the unfortunate part is that a number of grownups have liked it and so on...Anyway, why am I discussing something which is ridiculous to me? So, saw “Christchurch College” where the “famous HP” series was shot and then moved towards another marvellous architecture named the “Bodleian Library” which happens to be one of the oldest Libraries in entire European Continent and second largest by size, just after the British Library. Fabulous work inside, and known to be the most famous library for all research scholars studying at the “Oxford University”. I visited the Bodleian Shop as well and liked a number of “costly” stuff which, of course, I left as it is and bought a few lighter ones which are good to have and will be good to remember the place. The next wonderful stop was at a chocolate store which was selling about more than 1000 varieties of handmade chocolates. I spent about more than half an hour checking out various varieties and ended up buying some lose handmade chocolates. They said there won’t be a problem carrying it for up to 2-3 months, so I am guessing, I will be able to give everyone back home a chance to taste handmade chocolates

The walk around the city continued until the clock struck 5, which is when we reached bang opposite the “University of St. Mary the Virgin Church”. I am utterly religious person and anything that comes in my vicinity gets to see me. That’s what happened with this wonderful church, and as I entered I was perplexed to see the silence and that too on a Sunday just before the “Sunday Mass”. Big Church, quite well maintained as all other Churches and enough space to sit and pray. Since, we had to rush to London before it got dark; we just stood there, prayed for a while, lit up the holy candle and moved out of the Church premises. The Oxford City trip came to an end with a good deed.

We went back to the city centre to board the bus back to London which just about left the moment after we boarded the bus. The overall experience was wonderful as the place was quite quiet and beautiful. After reaching London it was time to get back home, get some dinner and take a nap as next morning was the start of the week at work and the coming week was expected to be tiring as new work and trainings will replace the sad and dried out no-work days which we had during the last week, as part of our settling down program. Rest of the story and experiences I will share when I write tomorrow. Until then, it’s Good Bye!

The First weekend ...

September 03, 2011 Think-LongLane Apartments

Quite an interesting Saturday, I must say. Had gotten up with the plan of packing things up from the hotel and moving to the apartment before noon, but the irony was that the hotel wanted me to check out by noon and the apartment did not allow check-in before 3pm. Hence, my colleague and I decided to pack things up, take the taxi and move to apartment. Keep the luggage there and walk down to see places and have lunch until the rooms are ready for check-in. As soon as I started packing, I realised how many things I have with me and how much of it is kept all around the hotel room from the bathroom to the cupboard to fridge, everywhere. Somehow, collected all of them and packed them all decently. Suddenly, someone opened my door, and it was a middle aged woman with her house-keeping attire on. She was shocked to see me inside the room, as she had assumed that no one is there at about 10:00am local time which was the case for over last few days as I used to leave for work. She immediately apologised and started moving out when I stopped her and made her feel comfortable by saying it was all fine. She must be in her mid 40s and was extremely courteous. I spoke for a few minutes to her about where she is from and other general things. It is sometimes surprising to know what people do in life to serve their home and family. She told me that she is from “Latvia” and she was here to earn for her family, and has 2 children including a 15 year old daughter. God, it is such a tough thing to do in life, to leave your children and stay miles away from them just to keep them happy and fulfil all their basic needs. On the other hand, what was more captivating was the way she spoke. I sometimes wonder if there are actually such people who speak so softly and sweetly in general with loads and loads of courtesy in every word that comes out of their mouth. I wish to learn this etiquette and would love to see everyone doing that always.

Done with all the packing and got ready, it was time to say good bye to the hotel and move to the new apartment which was about a mile away from the current location or from my office precisely, which means that I will have to leave about half an hour before to reach office by 9am sharp. The receptionist called for the taxi, settled our bills and before we left, we clicked a few snaps with the front desk execs. They were courteous enough to get the snaps clicked and I also promised to send those snaps to them over email which I am yet to do. I am never on time I guess whether it is writing emails, blogging, or doing anything else and that makes me feel that people like me may never be appreciated in a country where people like to be extremely punctual in everything that they do.

Another thing worth noting about this city or the country is the cost of living. It is supposed to be one of the costliest places in the world and it indeed is by far the costliest. Water, which forms 75% of our planet, is also extremely costly here, but there is nothing that can really be done about it. People in general prefer to walk, take a bike (bicycle) or prefer a tube train or local bus instead of taking a taxi or private car to any place or to work. But that is also something good about this place, which makes everyone respect the value of hard earned money. I paid a bomb to travel less than one mile in the taxi from the hotel to the apartment and then I decided not to take taxi until the life and death kind of scenario comes in. As expected, we (my colleague and I) had to store our luggage at the apartment reception and go out walking around the unexplored areas of the city.

Ever since I came to this city, it feels as if you can keep on walking all around the city and it will never finish...So was the case with us as well. We kept on walking looking for couple of important things. One of them being buying a phone and the other was finding out desi (Indian) food joints. I was lucky to have found a Bangladeshi guy working at one of the local supermarkets in London who gave a fair idea that, at a certain distance from the store, there is an area which has a lot of Asian, especially Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi stuff. It sometimes helps to know local languages and I am saying this because I started conversing with this Bangladeshi fellow in Bengali and he looked visibly happy that there was someone who was speaking to him in his local dialect and I guess that made him help me with directions and places. Otherwise, in a city like London, I don’t think anyone would care. I thanked him and walked down the street as directed by him and finally reached a junction which was cordoned off by London Police. My colleague and I immediately held our steps back and re-thought on our idea of going towards that area. I managed to go speak to one of the officer amongst the thousands standing there regarding the issue, to which he said, it’s just because of some protest, which will last a couple of hours and there is nothing to worry. That’s when the story started unfolding; when I came to know that it was some anti-Islamic protest, hence the situation was as grim as it looked like. There were London police helicopters patrolling in the air, roughly about 1000 ft from the ground level, about a 1000 police vans around the area from all directions, more than 10000 policemen and policewomen dressed in black, looking dapper, all in sync, extremely well trained and organised. Wow, it was like some motion picture running live in front of my eyes. I wish, if we had such wonderful and dedicated officers all around the world, it would make life so much more peaceful. Law and order is what is the backbone of any country and its progress and it was clearly visible why London and entire UK is so well maintained and peaceful. People wouldn’t mind paying taxes and charges to a government which respects the hard earned money of each individual in the country. Many of the Asian countries really need to learn from them.

Anyway, we further walked down to reach a locality which was partly commercial partly residential and I am glad to announce that we found lot of Indian stuff including lot of Indian sub-continent people and shops for basically all that I would have wanted at that time. I quickly got all that I needed and we had a nice Indian lunch. We quickly moved out of the restaurant and started moving out of the locality as the Police bandobast was getting tighter and stricter and it would have been difficult for us to move out later as the protests, just about got started. We started walking towards home and were surprised to see that every possible lane in the area was closed and covered by officers who formed a big chain, as they held each others’ hands. We kept asking subsequently kept moving towards the lane which could have taken us home, but the police security was just not ready to get over at any place, anywhere. I can certainly bet on the number to be over 10000 at that stage. Finally, we found some exit point and reached near the London Bridge which was also well guarded by the same batch. We stood there to see the progress of things and how wonderfully they were managing things all around the place, all of them standing on their foot, prepared to take on any situation. The force included Policemen, Policewomen, Dogs, humungous horses (I have never seen horses that are size of an elephant...huh!) and people from all over the city stood over the sidelines/pavements to witness all that was happening.

Since the situation never looked like coming to an end, we decided to move on the London Bridge and see the beauty of another marvel/architecture. I saw the bridge opening up and closing as it let the ship pass through it. It was such an experience, I must say. Extremely beautiful to look at and enjoy. We kept clicking snaps of almost each and every moment of surprise that kept springing up throughout the day, which was quite eventful. Finally, after miles of walking and millions of wonderful moments during the day we marched towards our apartment. Reached the apartment, settled with the luggage and started planning for Sunday. Oxford happens to be the plan, and that is where we go on Sunday. Much more to share, each day and every minute..more in the next post...until then, it’s sayonara!

The weekend begins...

As I continue to explore London...

Day 3... Mercure Hotel 02/Sept/2011

Such a bad luck and it feels so annoying sometimes...Finished writing more than half the blog last night and suddenly all that I wrote disappeared..aaarrgghhhh!!! and then since it was extremely late I decided to delay it by a day and hit the shack immediately. Became quite tired by the time I came back to hotel after lot of walking around the city. Got up pretty early in the morning around 7ish and started with the usual chores for the day and got ready for office, when I suddenly realised I can’t find my comb. Something that I really dint want, especially when the clock was just about touching 9am. Kept looking for it here and there until at just when the clock struck 9, I found it in one of the drawers of the cupboard in my hotel room. I felt like kicking myself for the stupidity of not being able to find the most important thing just before going to work...Anyway, rushed to work, thankfully, the office is just a minute away from the hotel.

As soon as I opened my mailbox, I was happy to see an email from one of the administrators in my org, which said that I can move into an apartment this weekend and need not stay in the hotel any longer than this. It was such a relief, especially when you know that the hotel is no good when it comes to fooding and stuff. Then the day went on, slow and steady with a couple of new things discussed by my manager here. He came along for lunch today, and discussed few things here and there. Right after lunch, there was a planned meeting with my manager to discuss a particular part of work, but within a few minutes he came to inform us that the meeting needs to be postponed as the top bosses of the org are coming for a general walk around. Well, that really happened and I was told that I am lucky to have met such top bosses, as many of them working in my org for many years hadn’t ever seen them. I got the privilege of meeting them personally for a few minutes as he came to meet my manager.
Later in the evening, before leaving from office, met some colleagues to understand about few places within the city and the accessibility options to those places. Quite a number of suggestions came in, so I decided to think over the best possible option and go for it. After leaving from office, went to the hotel, changed to casual attire and started our journey to infinity, not knowing where we were heading towards. On our way (myself and my colleague) decided to move towards the London Eye, Big Ben etc. We started and while on our way clicked innumerable number of pics and then reached the London Eye. On our way we enjoyed few street dances, shows etc.

“London Eye”, I must say is a marvel in itself and the man behind this idea should, in my view, be a champion of sorts who could design something as wonderful and as humungous as it. What an incredible sense of design it is! Then we saw the “Big Ben”, another fabulous structure, though I really need to read about what is the history behind it. Overall, a wonderful piece of work/architecture across most of London City is what I have observed as of now. Art and culture has been prevalent across the lanes of the city in various forms. One thing that I have started doing a lot after coming here is, walking. I have been walking and walking and walking from one place to another to another which in itself speaks how beautiful is the place.

After all the sightseeing, photo sessions etc. It was time to walk back to my abode but not before having to take away something for dinner. Very close to my hotel was this Chinese cuisine restaurant which was serving a vegetarian dish out of the hundreds that it had on the menu, which I quickly ordered for and took it to my room. It was completely a value for money as the quantity was decent enough to be consumed over two meals, and all that for just about 3 sterling pounds. The long day came to an end and it was time to hit the bed again. First weekend in the city, and nothing is planned, except for the fact that I need to buy a local mobile number for ease of communication.

Good Night!

London Diaries...Day 3

As I get used to the place...

It was my second day in a new country, new city, new place altogether....I am just kinda settling down slowly, adapting myself to the current environment, time zone, and to the people around me...Its not all that easy as per many people who have been here and all that, but for me, I guess it hasnt been any tough...I have found this place to be wonderful and extremely beautiful as compared to "you know where I am talking about"...its sad, but its true...and beauty not just by looks but by the overall culture, structure, and many other things....of course every country has different lifestyle as far as fooding, etc is concerned, but what I have seen here over the last couple of days have been exemplary..i have seen the committment with which everything is done here...talk about any work...cleaning the roadside bins to working at a corporate hub or with an MNC, everyone works so hard and with so much accuracy and dedication...i am sure, there is definitely lot to learn here..

My second day in London was my first working day here...the day started very very early for me...like at 4:00am London time...i was yet to settle down into the new time zone which is almost 5 hours behind IST. I managed to spend few more hours rotating and rolling over my extremely cosy bed...and then started getting ready at around 7. Then came the time for some quickfire breakfast...took out all the home made stuff which I had carried all the way from home and started to satiate myself...aah, wat a relief after almost 24 hours, got something home made. I am staying at a decent hotel (Hotel Mercure) which happens to be bang opposite my office, and makes my work easier by cutting down my travel time to zero...and knowing that London travel is extremely costly and tiring job, it does give a lot of relief to the mind and the body and of course my pocket :)

We reached the workplace well before the scheduled 9'o clock timeline and met our boss here, who looks to be a very very soft spoken and extremely hard working man...He introduced us to all extended team members and others who are inderctly working for our team...Office is quite well maintained, and peaceful place, with 99% of them working throughout the day...the rest 1% being myself and my friend who have come here to learn... :D Slowly it got boring as we entered the lunch time...Needless to say, lunch was all breads, sandwiches, etc...and since it was a Wednesday there was some Indian food as well, that was being served...had our lunch and walked down for a stroll for good half an hour...Post lunch, went for couple of meetings and left from office arnd 5:30pm....

Evening went off in walking down, from Hotel Room to the London Bridge over river Thames...it was beautiful all around in a very pleasent climate...saw couple of places here and there, clicked snapns and walked down to our hotel room, after having light dinner on the streets of London...

Will post more pictures soon...till then its good nite, sleep tight!

Some More Pics...

London Dreams...

August 30, 2011 – Airborne (Flying over Berlin) 8:35pm IST

So, the first international trip of my life has begun. After many years of planning, thinking, praying and many other thing(s) finally it’s time for something different. Almost 7 hours into the flight and I haven’t yet felt anything boring except for the first hour, which went thinking, how to spend the rest 8 hours in the flight. Thanks to this wonderful new friend, an NRI, who has made the journey quite engaging with lots and lots of discussion around topics ranging from India to US, Horoscopes, Astrology etc that have taken up all the time, and there is still more to come. I excused myself and settled myself into my upper class seat, which converts into a bed. I must say, the first international travel experience has been quite exciting till now.

The day started with mixed emotions of leaving friends, family and my real close ones back for almost 2 months. I cannot complain, as it has been my decision in my own best interest. Had completed packing and stuff by late yesterday night, hence there wasn’t too much tension that I carried early in the morning. Quickly got ready and went for breakfast with the most wonderful person of my life. A special someone who holds a special place in my life for all the special things that we have done to each other over the years ever since we have known each other so closely. It is always so wonderful to be with people who matter so much. I wasn’t speaking too much as I dint know how things would be couple of hours later. The unknown and unwanted stuff kept running at the back of my mind, and I couldn’t stop myself from thinking all that I dint want to. Its exasperating, how sometimes, emotion takes a toll on you even when you are heading for something good. And the fact of the matter is that you don’t necessarily get all that you want in life always. Thankfully, for me, someone close to me provides a lot of strength and support which helps me wade past the toughest of situations.

After having a lavish breakfast it was time to leave for the airport before which I cross checked all the things that were “must have” per my list. Calls kept me busy during my journey to the airport. The check-in wasn’t all that smooth, even though I held a business class ticket, as I had to wait for a long time before I was handed over the boarding pass. It was due to some technical glitch and I guess that is how system works at most of these places. Generally, a person who pays a bomb (not that I paid from my pocket, still) holds some advantage to him/her but it was no different than the regular economy class passengers for me. Huh! Look at me, I am talking as if I have always travelled first class... I along with my friend/colleague reached the VIP Lounge as there was still sometime before boarding started. Calls kept pouring in from friends and family wishing luck for my new endeavour, and more so because it was my first international trip. Everyone was seemingly excited knowing about the fact that I am going to do something great...haha..well things and mindset of people and families are so different I feel, in urban and not so urban cultures. Anyway, I guess it makes me feel happier to know that there are so many more people who are so happy knowing about the progress in my life. I feel lucky to have such supportive family, friends and colleagues during these times.

All the discussions and talking that we did in the flight with this new friend was quite interesting, with each of us sharing our views and beliefs with each other at a bar, (where alcoholic drinks are served) 35,000 feet above the ground in the middle of nowhere. The most important fact that I learnt was that I am doing better that 98% people in the world in terms of the family, life and work, and that is enough a reason not to brood over trivial things. This guy is pretty young but the fact that he highlighted, definitely had an impact on my mind. I immediately thought that I am proud to be what I am today as I have been honest all my life (at all possible junctures), with all the people who matter to me and in my relationships as a brother, friend, partner, everywhere and then to add to it, I am doing better than 98% of the world population only adds to my happiness and mental strength. Do I really need to regret about anything in life now? Well I guess not.

The hospitality so far as has been quite good and the crew has been extremely courteous all through the journey, since the time I checked-in at the airport. My colleague, who is travelling with me, and I have clicked few pictures ever since we started our journey from Delhi. I will be putting them up along with the blog. Presently, I am just an hour or even lesser, away from my final destination (Heathrow, London), however, I will be posting my blog only when I land there and check-in to the hotel as the flight doesn’t have the wi-fi facility . The interactive map (personal screen) on my seat shows that we are flying above Amsterdam, and with the looks of it London isn’t too far from here, as the crew members have suddenly become quite active, moving with stuff from here to there and vice-versa.

More once I reach the hotel and settle down, until then, take care!

Can we?

Life without u is like a fish without water...gimme death, i ll take it happily; but dont give me a life like this where I have to die without you every second, every minute and every hour of the day...I am sure I have given u lot of pain and I am gettin all that in return, but this pain is becoming unbearable by the day....every small thing reminds me of u and makes me howl and cry like a baby who has been taken away from his mother...your mails, ur msgs, ur calls, ur talks, ur words, everything reminds me of the love that we share and the life that we led together...and they make me cry for the pain that i gave u during my bad times, unintentionally....my heart is pure and will remain pure forever, as it does not house anyone other than you...My mistakes have pained u unimaginably, but I hope and pray everyday that none of it ever happens to u, and i shd get all the pain that i gave u, unknowingly....i pray that watever happens in this world, god shdnt take me away from u...the love, the emotions and the closeness that we share is impeccable and my love for u will always keep me attached to u and god forbid a scenario tougher than this ever arises for any of us...

Give it a chance to improve and i promise to keep a smile on ur face and in ur heart today, tomorrow and forever, until death does us apart!!

Hope...

With all the shortcomings that one may have or their relationship might have undergone, the most important fact that remains is the never ending love, respect, care and trust for each other. The importance of the years spent together, the love that is shared and the pain that couples undergo together should be enough to understand the value and respect that they have for each other.

Problems, issues, fights, misunderstandings are part and parcel of every relationship...but on the other side happiness, sweet memories, love, care, respect and trust for each other is what overtakes all these petty issues. We make mistakes and we learn from them, so as to accommodate each other well in life. Relationships grow with time and so do people, and I guess people have grown together against a number of odds in life. They have supported each other during the difficult times and shown their attachment towards each other.

Communication plays a major role in developing each and every relation and keeping them intact. Failing to do so, leads to a number of problems. I have undergone similar situation and I regret making the sinful mistake of my life, but I have understood the importance of communicating to the one you are close to. Thus, I have made it a point to change the way I communicate and stop the dear one from forming negative perceptions. But, I sometimes wonder, why do we build perceptions about someone whom we call our dear ones? Would it not be a great idea to just walk down and discuss it right on the face of it and clear the air? What holds us back? And if something does hold us back, does it mean we are not close to each other or do we fear the other person feeling bad or taking it to the heart, or not perceiving the same in right manner? I guess all these can be possible effects, but at the end of it each one will be clear on their part and will stay with a lighter heart.

Not communicating leads to lot of potential results like fighting, getting frustrated, anger and goes on to the extent of being dishonest with the one you love. Does that really solve the problem? I guess it just ends up complicating a lot of other things. It may be a possibility that lieing to other person may be because of respect, fear of hurting them unintentionally or other possible reasons. However, it is devastating feeling for the other person who is at the receiving end of all these.

Any relationship becomes successful with a mixture of certain core ingredients like trust, hope, confidence and honesty. Of course, love plays a major role and that is how everything else comes into picture and is automatically taken care of. I am proud of the fact that in any relationship that I have been (friends/love) I have not been dishonest or lied to them for any reason, that might be hurtful. Of course I don't mean that I have never ever lied about anything, but it does mean that I have never lied to hurt the other, or benefit myself, or take a revenge (tit-for-tat attitude) or whatever.

People might think why do I have to write all this, but it is just that, at this stage I do not have anyone to share these feelings with and I hope it will make some dear ones understand that the attitude to betray or lie, or hurt or agonize or spoil or do any such thing never resided within me. I hope, wish, pray, and believe that things change, and for the better and to where and how it was during the happy times.

Apology

I am returning to this after a long long gap, and I am not sure how many days will I carry this routine...I am not even sure about tomorrow...if I will do this tomorrow...never mind..today it is, so it be...

Negativity has been torturous, not just now, always...I have been an optimist through most part of my life, but suddenly this negative frame of mind has been haunting my mind and soul for quite some time. I know why it is like that, but I am just trying to come out of it, completely...May be only God knows what I am undergoing at this stage and only he can help. I really need your help, your support and your blessings Dear God...

Yes, I have made mistakes; Yes, I know I have hurt you; Yes, I know it was not expected out of me (may be) but trust me I dint know what was happening. And, if I ever knew, I would have never made the mistake. And when I made a mistake, I took time to may be realize it; but it was never that I deliberately wanted to do it. Who would ever want to hurt someone as wonderful as you, who has been by my side for years, supporting me, caring for me, fighting, talking, crying, chatting, laughing, smiling and doing everything else with me? I at least never wanted to...and trust me, people make mistakes, unintentionally. They make mistakes when they love someone. And when they realize they love u more, they respect you more and they trust and care for u more...And I really do that...

I might have been like a villain, during those sad days, when I seemed to care less or even least about your happiness, sadness, your tears, your love, your care, but it wasnt like that ever...my eyes opened in the morning with your face in front of me and your name on my lips, your hand in my hand. I prayed for you, I cried for you, I did all that I could, but it all remained within me...I could never probably show it to you and prove my honesty, my feelings to you...I failed..I failed miserably...it was a test...i wish i could understand the subject well, on time...i would have never hurt you...i wanted to be closer to you; i never knew when u left me far...and when i really came near you; i realised i had made some huge mistakes..which probably have left deep scars in your heart...it was never meant to be that way...trust me!!

the best that I have done in last few years is, love you, trust u, rely on u, understand u and be with u, more n more, as much as i can....the worst that i have done is, not speak to u about what i feel, what i think and what's really going on...but i have learnt it...a little late, but i did...i have kept things in my heart which i could have told u...but now i realise...may b i was thinking too much, or i guess i had lost the power to think right at the right time...now i know...

i respect ur feelings, i respect u and i love u for all that u have been...all that i need from u is a bit of confidence, a little more trust, some understanding and some comfort....All that I need is a chance...just to prove that my mistakes were unintentional, never meant to hurt u, never meant to get away from u...may b all that brought me far more closer to u in life that it could have brought anyone, otherwise....

I really Deserve a Chance!!

Black Monday

Was too tired today after work, to write anything. However, a heart wrecking news forced me to write a couple of lines before I go to bed.

News of an Air France jet, losing connectivity with the Air Traffic Control tower, flying from Brazil to France created chaos in over 100 families across Brazil, France and Germany during the day. The sad news came in by evening that the plane (AF-447) crashed somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with all 228 people feared dead. My sincere condolences to the family of the deceased and I pray to god that may the soul of the departed Rest In Peace.

My heart goes out to that 1 infant and those few children (around 7 of them) on board AF-447 who came to the world and saw nothing in their life and died a tragic death. I wonder sometimes, how god is sometimes so unfair to some people. I fail to understand what mistake did those little ones perpetrate, that they had to pay such a heavy price in form of their life; or was it because those sweet little children were to good to be a part of this acquisitive world. Whatever it be, but it was quite saddening for me and for everyone who knows about this tragic piece of news. At least I feel, these children did not deserve an end like this.

I pray to god that he give enough strength to the families of those who died to bear with the loss and may they garner enough strength to sail past this catastrophe. God Bless!

The day that was Good, Bad and Ugly!

Ah..what a relief. Its end of another week, which wasn't as long as the other weeks, since Monday was a holiday and last 4 days I was head to toe in work. Good actually, it should always be like that. At least I would not kill my precious time doing unnecessary and unwanted things. The day was a mix of good, bad and ugly.

To start with, it started bad because my lost temper on the transport department continued to rule my mind ever since my eyes opened in the morning and so I thought I might as well vent out all my anger on the head of the department, and so I did. I tried to call this transport head all of last nite, but in vain. This lead to further frustration and so the early morning outburst on him. However, I dint mean to hurt him or make him feel bad but I wanted him to know all that has been going on in his department which is leading to unnecessary chaos all the time. I bursted out all that I wanted to and then forgot about it. Haha..I dont know if that was stupid, but then I wasnt able to think about anything else until I did this great deed.

The day turned ugly when the news of an Indian student falling prey to Australian monsters came to my notice. How can these human beings act so dastardly towards fellow humans? Dont they understand that something similar can be done to them when they visit other countries? I fail to understand why do these people do such things and what do they gain out of it. Is it purely because of jealousy or is there some other element involved in the name of 'Racism'? Infact I was shocked to read that this was 4th such instance in a month's time. I had heard about it a few days ago but I dint know this was the fourth such case in less than a month, if Mr. Bachchan wouldnt have mentioned it in his blog. How ridiculous is it? I mean it's completely uncalled for and there needs to be an end to it. I myself do not have a suggestion to this problem, however, the only thing that comes to my mind is punishing the people involved in such cases. They should be treated in such a manner that anyone else thinking of doing it with any other human will think twice before committing such heinous crime. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased student. It was painstaking to see the family members of the guy crying their heart out to a son who will never return. It is completely unruly. And what is our and the Australian government doing? They are continuing to do, what they do best. Manoeuvring a sorry picture from both sides, with the Indian government condemning the attacks and the Australian government regretting over the entire episode. There is no end to it and at least I cannot see how it can be stopped anytime soon. Similar cases were happening in the US not too long ago and the end result was same. No one had an answer. Long debates on this topic are being carried out on all the national news channels, but the blame game continues.

Amidst the bad and the ugly arose a good news of another Indian making a mark for herself. The news is about an American born , Indian origin girl who won the National Spelling Bee competition. Wow, what an achievement for the second consecutive year. It can't get better for the Indian nationals and also for the girl who kept trying for the last 4 years and finally wore the crown. She ended up at the 10th, 6th, and 4th position in the last 3 years and finally the topper in 2009. Hard work pays and it really did for this young girl. I wish all of us learn from this little girl on how not to lose hope even if you lose the battle once, twice or even thrice. I Congratulate her and her family for the recognition.

The day was also good for me because it was end of another long month for me and that meant it was time to be paid for all the hard work done in the entire month. And so it happened. Just checked my account and was happy to see my account been credited with happiness. (That is how I define money sometimes ;-))

Finally, the Indian T20 "defending World Champions" left for the T20 World Cup Cricket in England. The team looks stunning with all the powerful performers and everyone at the peak of their cricketing careers, but the most important thing is to defend the title of "World Champions" which is definitely not going to be a cake walk. They have the capacity and capability, but I hope they do not lose the World Champions tag in over confidence. This has been the weakest point of all the previous Indian teams. After winning a title they become so confident that they continue to lose every other title that follows. I wish them the best, but then its they who need to play and face the uphill task of maintaining the momentum. Someone has rightly said: "Uneasy lies the head that wears the Crown" .

That's all for now. Gudnyte!

Its half past 2 in the night. Just prepared a couple of omelette's for my hungry stomach and thanking the person who came up with this whole idea of preparing this wonderful edible stuff. Easy to make and equally easy to digest. Did not write anything yesterday as I was too tired with the entire days hard work and wanted to hit the bed asap. The work load today was as good as any other day, however, I am managing to complete the portion that I decide every morning (rather afternoon) when I enter office. I am glad that I am able to manage my time at work these days as compared to how it was a month or a couple of months back. Thankfully, I am also managing to reach home well on time, almost by or before midnight, for the last few days and so I am also happily taking out time to blog and enjoy the newly fitted AC in my room. Though I have decided to enjoy the AC a little less, as the electricity bill at the end of the month is not going to make me any happier if I continue to use it as lavishly as I was using it for the first few days after installation.

I haven't been shaving for the last few days and have ended up keeping a stubble, which was looking bearable for the first couple of days but is looking shabby as of today. I am using adjectives like bearable and shabby because, almost everyone at my work place has questioned me as to why am I coming unshaven to work. I really dont have an answer to this, however, I have told couple of people that I like keeping beard (for a change) and that is the reason why I would not like to shave for few more days. After every few minutes, there was some or the other person asking the same question to which I just had a small answer in form of a SMILE and they leave without asking anything further. Someone has rightly quoted that "a simple Smile can do wonders". I haven't been able to gauge the fact why everyone had a problem with my unshaven look? Was I looking really ugly or was I looking too good, that made every one jealous of my deadly looks? Hehe..Just joking. I know it must be because I am looking shabby, but then I seriously want to keep growing my facial hair for some more time. Of course I will trim it from time to time to make it look less untidy. Let me see what happens tomorrow. If the situation turns grave I might have to do without it from the forthcoming week. :-(

Another annoying thing that happened today was an argument with the transport department while returning from work. I lost my temper today and was almost going to kill that ridiculous chap if he would have stayed in front of me a little longer. They provide transport, as if they are doing some favor to us and talk as if we are at their mercy. I and in-fact most of the people taking transport to ply back home or to work have similar thoughts on this. I was so annoyed today that I really felt like slapping those guys managing things cowardly, but I would better avoid. It might risk my job in that case, so I had to control my wild feelings. But I have made it a point to teach those guys a lesson, the hard way. Never mind, it was not a happy ending at work today.

As soon as I entered home around midnight, I saw my apartment pitch dark. I failed to realise, why my room mate is sacrificing his life to this ghastly humid weather, after working like a dog (this is what he says) the entire day. He is an engineer and there is no doubt he works much much harder than probably what I do, as his work needs lots of applications and involves enormous technicalities as compared to the work that I do. Every time I speak to him, he narrates the same old pain filled story that he faces at his work place, and then promises not to let his kids enter the engineering field. I laugh the very moment he says this, but that is actually the truth. Anyways, I was talking about the darkness in my apartment. When I tried switching on a couple of light emitting wonders in my room, I was surprised to see them not respond to my requests. I was wondering why was it happening to me at this hour of the night and when my mood is already out of normalcy. I tried to turn off and turn on the main switch for the flat, which also failed to respond positively. I felt like breaking all that comes my way. But I thought of checking the main line that comes to my apartment, which is attached with the electric meter situated at the ground floor of my building. I immediately rushed there to see that the main line was switched off. I immediately turned it on and returned to my flat to catch my breath. Thankfully, there was nothing major with the electricity, otherwise, I would have had a tough time tonight.

Well, that is all I have for now. Packing up and hitting the bed in less than couple of minutes. Gudnyte!

Its quarter past 2 in the night. Its been an hour since I returned from work and ever since I have been feeling really hungry. Unfortunately, that is all I can feel at this hour because there is nothing that I have at home which can suffice my hunger at the moment. I am not sure if I will get anything outside or anywhere close to my place. The only choice left with me is to complete writing and hit the bed straight away. Its tough to get sleep when you are hungry but I really dont have a choice at the moment. May be I will get something and stock it in my cupboard as a contingency measure. The problem with me is that, when I have something to eat I will never feel hungry, but when I dont have anything, I start feeling hungry. Huh..what should I do with myself I dont know. Anyways, no point talking about my nonsense. Let me start with something else.

Oh. I forgot to mention that the dream of taking up a course at EMDI has been scrapped as the the timings do not suit my requirements. So I have started looking for something else now and I hope to come up with something good in sometime from now. There are two courses that suit my requirement currently. One being journalism; because I like writing and love reading (of course newspapers / magazines and not Novels) and second thing that I would like to do is may be 'Law'. I like this subject law also but it needs a lot of mugging and somehow I hate it. My dream of doing Civil Services is still on hold. There are no good coaching classes in Mumbai for civil services preparation and I cant shift my base to Delhi currently as I have to continue with my job. I do not have any other source of income (to pay my fee for any course or feed myself in a city like Delhi or Mumbai) if I leave my job and start studying full time. So I think it will still take sometime before I get into the grove of taking up studies as my part time job. It is going to be really good, as I will be utilizing my spare time in gaining some additional knowledge; irrespective of what subject I take up. Its always better to do anything rather than sit and waste time before office or on weekends or any holiday.

There is another sad news that I got at the stroke of dawn. I got a call from my friend in Delhi to inform about her father's accident. I was shocked to hear the news from her. Just few hours before this incident took place, she was here with all of us, enjoying her weekend at Mumbai. Quite an unfortunate news, but I am praying, things take a positive turn for her and god give her and her family enough strength at this hour. She has also had a tough life since the time I have known her, but then that is something that makes her more responsible and keeps her closer to her family. I am sure she will sail through this also sooner than later.

I read this wonderful quote (below) in Mr. Bachchan's blog the other night. Quite a good one. I would like to wrap up for the day/night with this wonderful quote.

"Always be yourself; because the people that matter don’t mind, and the ones who mind, don’t matter"

Well Done Deccan!

I think I should start with a sorry to Mr. Vijay Mallaya, as I had tried to question his integrity by writing in my previous blog that matches were fixed and RCB will win the IPL season II. Since it did not happen the way I predicted, there are few things that are very clear: a) There was no fixing involved (at least in the semi final and the final) (b) Deccan deserved to win this tournament and (c) My prediction is not always right. So I would rather not comment from now onwards, at least on someone's integrity and malign the image of an international level tournament, till the time I am really sure about whatever I speak. I need to say sorry and I regret saying/writing all that I said/wrote.

Now, I would like to thank the almighty who answered my prayers and made Deccan win this tournament. I really wanted them to win from the very start of the tournament and finally they won. My heartiest Congratulations to Gilly and his wonderful team. The match was really close one and could have turned either ways with Deccan finally winning with a narrow margin of just 6 runs. It may actually not be considered narrow in a nerve-wrecking T20 game like this and especially when it is the Finale. It was Symonds who turned the game in the favor of Deccan with his sharp bowling skills. Frankly, if I have to say, it wasn't just one or two players who were involved in the victory march. It was an overall team effort with most of them performing at the crunch moment. For example Gibbs played a solid knock of 53 with Rohit helping him stabilize the score for Deccan from the other end. Then it was Ojha, Symonds, RP Singh and the young sardar Harmeet Singh who performed excellently well with the ball and showed some classic fielding in a stadium overflowing with patrons and their cheers. It is indeed an achievement for a team which ended up with a wooden spoon in the first season to come back and win the second one quite comprehensively. For Anil Kumble, as he rightly quoted, it was a classic case of "Too close, yet too far". The Bangalore team tried their best to win but it was the day of the Men in Blue, (as the Deccan team is widely known) who won in a thriller.

A happy ending to the second season, but it wasn't even over properly and there was another controversy that cropped up from nowhere. The chief of selection committee for the Indian Cricket Team, Mr. Kris Shrikkanth, gave birth to this wonderful new topic. Chika, as he is popularly known in the cricketing circle, announced his dream team for IPL, which did not have Dhoni in the list. He was the same person who kept talking Dhoni, Dhoni, Dhoni all the time non-stop. Just because Dhoni's team did not sail through to the finals, Chika disrespected the most wonderful cricket captain that the world had ever seen. All the news channels are running this report since morning to add more fuel to the fire. Of course its demoralizing for an established and seasoned captain like Dhoni. He is just a captain/leader. It is not expected that he will win every game single-handedly. But then, such is the thought of the members who have the power to select a team. I think with age most of these people are losing out on their senses. When I say most of these people it means people like Chika, Lalu Prasad Yadav (who tried to prove his supremacy by going against UPA in the recent elections and lost badly), etc. who dig the trench for their ownselves. I am sure if the Selection board continues to degrade a super successful captain like Dhoni, it may be inviting trouble for itself.

Anyways, I am off to sleep now. There is lots more to write about but that will come in tomorrow's issue.

Till then, Good Nite

Gilly - Wow. You cant get any better!

Phewwwww..whotta game of cricket we all witnessed...nerve wrecking and mind boggling...Gilly outdid every player in the IPL with just one belligerent knock. Everyone in the world who loves cricket and who watched him bat, would have been left astounded by the cracker that he played. It's by far the best that I saw in the last couple of years. May be the last such cracker that I saw was when Gibbs (175 runs) butchered the Aussie bowling attack to defend an impossible total of 434 in a 50 over game. And as I had been praying for Deccan guys to come up to the occasion and prove their mettle, so they did, with the captain (Gilly) himself taking charge. The start that he gave to his team defending a modest total of 145 odd runs against a formidable team like the devils (Delhi) was a dream to watch and a dream for every batsman in the world I am sure. He ruptured the entire bowling attack of the opposition and made sure his team returns victorious before he returned to the dug-out (a shorter version of pavilion for T20 games) just at the strategic time out. He left his team well in command to enter the finals of the second season of IPL with a belligerent knock of 85 runs in just 35 balls. It just cant getter better and more amazing than it did. A perfect start to my weekend at least. I love this guy Gilchrist, for what he has given to the cricketing world. I admire his sportsmanship and his attitude to no extent and more because of the leadership skills that he possesses. Wow... is what comes instantly when you think about a team reaching the finals of a very very special cricket league (for all cricket lovers) which was at the cellar in the first season. Simply amazing...

I am a couple of days late in writing about this genius but its better late than never. The second semi final that was underway last night between Chennai and Bangalore also came up with an unexpected result. Anil Kumble's Bangalore defeated the unbeatable Dhoni's team in a crunch game. I am calling Dhoni unbeatable because I haven't seen him losing since the time I he has been given the captaincy of a team (India's International Cricket Team) which was known to be the strongest but most inconsistent team and were known as chokers in the crunch games. And frankly, I personally dont like to see him on the losing side. Call it my emotion because both of us share the same homeland (Ranchi) or his efficiency or my confidence in his leadership. But he was a little unfortunate this time around. Never the less, he alone cannot drive his team to victory always. Anyways, Jumbo's (As Kumble is famously known) team has showed what no other team has shown in this tight competition so far. They started as clear losers like in the previous season with 4-5 straight loses and then ended up winning all the unexpected games against the most formidable (i love to use this word repeatedly it seems!) teams to reach the final of IPL season 2. A new star is born in form of Manish Pandey who played an amazing knock in the decider (last league game) against Hyderabad with a record century in just around 60 balls. There were few records that he created with his name as he became the first IPL centurion from India and I think the youngest at 19 years. Wow, watta feat!

Now the final which is supposed to be played tonight is going to be a game to watch. I dont know who deserves to win but I want my favorites Hyderabad to win the tournament with Gilly blazing the same way he did in the semi-finals against Delhi. But then, the way things have been moving in the IPL over the last couple of weeks and with rumors of fixing doing the rounds, it's quite a possibility that Bangalore-ans pull it off. There have been strong rumors that the matches have been fixed and that is the reason why the most unexpected teams, not because they lack the capability but because of their performance in the previous season, have booked their berth for the finals. I have been predicting the last few games based on my conscience and fortunately all of them have come out correct. So even though I wish Deccan Chargers win the tournament, I am assuming Royal Challengers will win this season.

I cant wait to see the game and the performances. Whoever wins, it should be an entertaining and electrifying evening with the likes of 'Katrina Kaif ' performing on some really hot numbers before the start of the game. Wishing my favorite team 'All the Best!'.

A day of astounding events!

Quite interesting I must say...IPL has finally entered the semi-finals stage and a couple of teams are surprise entries to the last four. Surprising I say based on how they have been performing since the first season. Just came back from work and turned on the TV to find the status of the Bangalore vs Hyderabad game and was surprised to see Bangalore at the doors of victory. When I had left from office, it was looking apparent that Hyderabad will sail through this game easily, the way Herschelle Gibbs was batting, but then in the span of 25-30 minutes things turned the other way round. So the semi-finalists are Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Now it will be interesting to see what happens in the first semi-game between Delhi and Hyderabad tomorrow (i.e. Today, as it's past 12/midnight). There have been rumors about match-fixing in this season of IPL, as the most unexpected team has made it to the semi's slot and some of the really strong ones have missed out with quite a margin. I wouldn't really agree that there has been any kind of fixing involved as Cricket (especially T-20) is game of super surprises. But then, no one can say whats the truth till the time anything substantial comes out to prove, if things were actually planned. If Late Hansie Cronje can be part of match-fixing, then anything is possible in the world of cricket. I was such an admirer of Mr. Cronje that I literally tore of the newspaper the day it published the news that 'Hansie Cronje' is part of match fixing. It sounded utter crap to me and I still sometimes can't believe that he was involved in something gross and as dis-respectable activity as that. I still feel he was victim of circumstances, however, there is nothing that can prove what is right or what was wrong. Afterall, that amazing leader (Cronje) is no more in this world to throw some light to this dead topic and prove his point (if any), which left ugly stain and deep scars in the heart of each and every cricket lover. Quite an abrupt end to a wonderful cricketer's life.

Anyways, let me not discuss about him. I can go on and on and on talking about him. I really adored him.

Another interesting piece of news that I just happened to read through was: 'Sanjay Dutt quits politics'. Haha..I really dont understand how things work like this. Its hardly been any time since he joined. There was news all around, that Mr.Dutt wants to carry on with the legacy that his respectable father left behind. And it wasn't too long ago, and now a sudden change in stance? Quite surprising I must say. I personally feel, that a person with Sanjay Dutt's caliber cannot lose hopes so easily. I mean there were so many other news doing rounds in the last couple of months as far as his interest towards politics and love for Mr. Amar Singh is concerned. Just because his party lost and he wasn't allowed to contest elections for whatever nonsensical reasons he should change his ideology. He was the one shouting at the top of his voice, in front of people and media that he wants to prove himself a changed man, he wants to do what his father did, he wants to change the life of people, etc etc. Now, suddenly what happened? Well, if this piece of news is true, I feel sorry for Mr. Dutt who is known for his strength and positive mindset. I personally like him, but its up to him. Another abrupt end I must say, for a start who could have had an extremely exciting career in the world of politics.

There were couple of more news articles that caught my attention today. The most distracting of them was about this young lad from a well to do family who has been convicted on charges of rape and molestation. And not just in one such case, it's two cases and that too within a fortnight. Huh...I again fail to understand what makes these guys do all that they shouldn't even be thinking about. It's a shame and if proved guilty, he should be hanged. I don't know if something as harsh as the capital punishment is applicable for a case like rape and molestation, but if given once, I am sure everyone will fear thinking about something as pathetic as that. It's the heinous of all crimes and the accused should be given the strongest treatment so that it sets an example in front of every youth in the country.

I think, that should be all for today. It's time say good night as I have to get up a little early tomorrow morning for the office off-site (outing). I hope it turns out to be a good one.

Dreary Life...I want a CHANGE!

How I sometimes wonder, when the time flies like a bird. These days, I dont even get the time to realize what I have been doing all day and what is it that I have been missing out on. If I were to think over my daily routine, I wonder if I will have anything to write besides office and home (just to sleep and nothing else), as I have actually had no time whatsoever to do anything else. Complains from everywhere, from home, from family and some close friends, and people; everyone singing the same tune of not giving enough time or remembering them off late. And yes they are right and it's absolutely true that I have been too engrossed in office and have had actually no time for anything else. I have to send the tickets to my cousins studying in Nainital so that they can return home in June. I have the tickets with me but have had no time to post or Fax them. But I am hoping, that by this weekend I will finish that work off. No more delaying. And when in situation like this, I wish I were some Ambani or Bachchan who would have a battery of workers around me all the time, who could do these petty chores for me as and when required. But thats not the case. So no point thinking about it.

Moreover, since the time this AC has been fitted in my room, the number hours dedicated to sleeping has increased by almost 30 to 40%. I mean earlier I used to sleep just for 5-6 hours per day (or should I call it night?), but for the last 3-4 days I have been sleeping for almost 8 hours. So this luxury is making me more lethargic day by day. Hopefully, I will get back to normal hours, otherwise I am sure I will have a plethora of work pending under my head. And this is not just one headache in life; a new headache in the form of"Marriage" has been planted in my over burdened brain. Every other day I am pestered in the name of this wonderful institution called marriage, which am completely against at this point. I mean I am just 24 years and 5 months old, and my parents and other senior family members are calling this a marriageable age. I just cant understand, what is the hurry. I think I still need to wait a couple of years before I get into this entire mess called marriage. And to tell the truth further, I have been unsuccessful in explaining either of them (my Mom or my Dad) that I really dont want to get into all this now. But then, as I told you, I have miserably failed in convincing them. Again, I wish I was some celebrity, I wouldn't have had this tension for sure. Lord! Save me. Infact, I am looking for ideas to get out of this. I hope something strikes soon otherwise I will definitely get entangled in this uncontrollable scheme in the journey of life.

Luckily, I saw this new ad in todays newspaper regarding some new courses in this institute called 'EMDI'. The courses are related to communication, journalism, public relations, etc. I have been thinking over it since morning and am planning to enroll myself for one of them so that I am busy for at least another 6-12 months. But then again, it's me who is thinking. My thoughts take ages to get converted into my final plans and it takes another century to get into the implementation stage. That is why, I sometimes think I am the best planner in the world but worst when it comes to implementing that same plan. I keep thinking and thinking and thinking and thinking and that goes on till eternity. I feel I just have another couple of years in hand in case I wanna do something on the academic side. If not now, then probably never. So, I am looking for best and the most lucrative option that can add some value to my dry 'CV' and almost dead brain. I am calling my brain dead, not because there is nothing in it; it's because I have become like a robot which does same thing each and everyday with no change in any of my plans.

In the coming days I am planning to engage myself into something new, and catch up with some long lost friends and colleagues, before I get trapped in the rubble of monotonicity. I am sure it will definitely help me relax to an extent and make feel better than what I am feeling these days.

Hoping for the best!

Yet another day...

After a long and tiring day at work, I am back to my business of blogging. I am actually trying to make this a habit which I think is a good one. The few positives about blogging that I can immediately count on my fingers are: a) I will be improving my writing (typing) skills, (b) I will be simultaneously improving my vocabulary (c) I will be able to give myself more time and think more (d) Most importantly I will be able to give some shape or face to my thought process. And last but not the least, whenever anyone reads all that I write, I am sure I will keep getting some or the other feedback in terms of how to write better, or think better or may be portray all that I think in a better manner. So, these are some of the positives that I can take from this habit of blogging.

Well, just before I started writing, I read one of the blogs of Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. I had been thinking about reading his blog from a long time, but then as usual I have been too lazy to do so. But finally, I did it and now I would want to follow it on a regular basis and understand the nuances of his writing. I would also like to follow few more blogs so that I understand what and how to write in a crispier manner. While I am writing all this, I am also thinking, why is this called a 'Blog'. Why not a personal diary or something else? I mean I understand that personal diary is something that wouldn't be kept in open for public, but this is more like putting your thoughts in open and expressing your feelings....Anyways, may be I will get an answer to this question also sooner or later like so many other questions that keep running through my mind.

Today my day dint start and go the way I had thought it would actually go...I wanted to get up early and get ready and leave early for office so that I could come back home early in the evening as I was expecting my chacha-chachi to come to Mumbai from Surat to pick up their son (my younger cousin brother) who will be reaching India, from the US after completing his studies. But that dint happen and I got a call from one of my senior office colleague in the morning that he is in my society looking for apartments, as he is willing to buy one soon. So, I was with him for sometime in the morning and by the time he left I realized it was time for my office cab to pick me up. So basically the plan to leave early and come back earlier got demolished before noon. Once I was at work I got a call from my chacha informing that they wouldn't be coming in tonight and will straight away reach the airport in the morning to receive my brother. So my routine remained the way it normally is...no changes at all...I want to go to the airport in the morning to meet him as well, but I am sure I wouldn't make it on time as its already late and by the time I sleep it will be 3am in the morning. So, I think I will get to meet him only when he comes back to Mumbai, as he is actively seeking a job in Mumbai...

The day at work was, as it normally is, each of these days..Nothing new, similar burden of work and similar faces to look at all day. Oh! I missed out on one important thing; finally, Mr. SRK's team KKR won a match, after losing almost a dozen games at a stretch, and that too against a sturdy team like Chennai which has a mentally strong captain like MS Dhoni, who doesn't lose hope till the last ball is bowled. I am sure Dhoni must be tensed with the team's performance, whereas on the other hand SRK has something to cheer about. Even though the result was negative for Dhoni and his team, I am sure, with the kind of cool temperament that MS has, he will definitely come out stronger in the games to come and will not get bogged down (as he always says) with this defeat. All the best MS!

The Indian Political League!

Another weekend passed by and I am still trying to recollect all that I did in the last 48 hours. As far as utilizing the weekend is concerned, I finally gifted myself an AC. This will bring an end to my hue-n-cry, related to humidity and temperature in Mumbai but, in return will bring in additional tensions like maintaining it and paying more every month for this added luxury. But its ok to shell a little extra per month for this luxury rather than abusing the climate god every night after returning from work. Other than that, I cannot recollect anything great that I did during the weekend but the most important thing I did was thinking about a good topic to write upon...Since Politics and IPL are the most talked about things I was thinking about writing about one of them. Politics to be more precise, as there is nothing much that I can discuss about IPL, barring the new rumor about 'match-fixing' in the last week.

Finally as I discussed in my previous blog, election results came out and as expected 'Congress' won the elections and is all set to form the government in the coming week. I had always expected Congress to win these elections and with a huge margin, which I discussed with my office colleagues the day before, to which they laughed saying "It will not be as easy for Congress as you are saying". I thought not to comment further and wait for the results. And as I had rightly predicted, Congress won with a huge margin (number of seats). Not that I am a big supporter of any of these political parties but I think Congress was clear winner even before the elections started as, it is the only party which has maximum young (Youth) netas and most of the people in the country would like to believe that its better to take a risk by voting for these young netas (who haven't done anything as yet or haven't got a chance to prove their mettle) as compared to voting for a party with leaders approaching 60's and 70's and even 80's and have not done anything in these many years. So, I am hoping that the 55-60% population of my country who have decided to bring back the Congress into power get some positive returns (in terms of health, education, infrastructure and less corruption) for the faith that they have shown in the 125 year old party.

More importantly, I am really happy contemplating the fact that finally as I thought and as most of the sane people in the country would have wanted, Mr. Raj Thackrey who was trying to become the 'James Bond' of Indian Politics (especially in Maharashtra) lost the elections. He dint just lose the elections but his party was battered at all the constituencies. Of course, candidates representing his party (MNS) did get some votes but that was just because those people who voted for his party, fell prey to his nonsense talks/speeches and dirty politics. But that wouldn't matter as long as literate people in the country know whom to elect and whom not to. His dreams of reaching the "Parliament House" are shattered and at least for the next 5 years I don't think he will have a single MP from his party.

However, I am also certain about a fact that he will continue to do what he has been doing best, even after profusely losing these elections. He will continue to create communal bias, ill-treat the poor, and make the city of Mumbai, which was once a peaceful city, a hell to live in. I would still suggest Mr.Thackrey to change his attitude and approach so that people accept him well. At least, I used to think that he will prove to be a great leader and do great things for the people when he broke all ties with his Uncle, Mr. Bala Thackrey's party and formed his own party. Alas! that was not the case. I was wrong. In fact, I think he proved everyone wrong by doing what he has been doing. He has successfully ruined his image in the eyes of common people and left no space for his survival among the literate class of the society. I do not say what he is thinking is wrong, but I am saying that his approach to achieve his targets and the way he is giving shape to his thought process is absolutely wrong. It's not just wrong, it's completely pathetic and against the law and culture of the country. I am sure anyone and everyone would agree to what I am saying barring those few supporters, who are part of his party and belong to the same school of thought. Whatever, be the case, I just hope that he learns his lesson soon and do something good for the sake of his party and people.

Not to forget one most important thing: Mr. Lalu Yadav who was also trying to become a Hero by forming a separate group (namely, the 4th Front) and was standing against Congress, got a nightmarish response, which has finally opened his and his other partners like Ram Vilas Paswan, Amar Singh, Mulayam Singh Yadav and many more such hero's (political zero's) eyes. I don't understand why do these guys try to experiment so much so that they trouble their own lives and leave no scope for their survival. I am sure they have all learnt their lessons (the HARD way). Now, they are trying to get back to Congress and Sonia Gandhi is having the last laugh.

Lets wait and watch whats kept in store in the coming week as far as the 'Indian Political League' is concerned.

After a long time...

After a long time I made up my mind to get back to writing...so here I am. I have been just too lazy over the last year as far as blogging is concerned. so many things in between today and the last time i penned my thoughts, have happened. My office routine kept me so busy over the last 7-8 months that I havent been able to do anythin literally. But now, since things are lookin to fall in place (not sure if it is actually happeneing but just a gut feeling), I have decided to spend as much time as I can with myself and develop the hobby of reading and writing as much as possible...for starters I read through my friend's blog and now I am writing also.

I have been wanting to write about so many things like to start with; about Mr. Raj Thackrey and his filthy 'marathi vote bank' politics, my short stint at KPMG (and why was it short), the Mumbai attack (26/11), the current political scenario, elections, mudslinging by 'netas' on one another and few more things...these were the first few topics that passed thro' my mind just now. may be many more things. So if I become a regular with blogging now, I am sure I will write about all that I think and can try 'n give a lot of 'gyaan'.

The most important thing thats gonna happen today is formation of new government in my country (India). I have immense interest in politics but with the kind of netas that are exisiting in the Indian political scenario I feel, its better to keep away from it. Afterall, I dont want to make a fool of myself by getting into the dirty politics that these bunch of 'idiots' are playing. I feel there is no point in thinking about all that has been happening in the country, which is a wrong thought. It's surprising to see young leaders from the family of Gandhis, Pilots, Scindias and Mahajans, not been able to take a much needed step towards improving the overall (political) scenario of the country even after getting the best of education from the most prestigious institutes in the world. Forget about the well-being of the country and its people, these young'uns are involving themselves in, what we call, third grade politics and dismal thinking for their own benefit. One thing is very clear from all that has been happening, that if things in the political world continue to be like this, the day is not far when we (India) will be in a situation similar to what countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh are in right now. Actors (like Shekhar Suman, Jaya Prada, etc.) who have no jobs/offers in 'Bollywood' are trying their luck in 'Polly-wood' (Read: Politics); afterall Recession has hit every industry in the world, barring politics. God knows what good will these new breed of politicians do for the country, but I just hope that someday all of these guys realise that its high time, and the country needs to be protected from disasters like Mumbai Attack and Raj Thackrey.

I fail to understand, how can a government be formed with just 50% voting, I fail to understand why is voting not made mandatory for the people of our country, I fail to understand, why even after so much of technological advancement the election committee fails to issue voter cards to individuals and why people fail to see their names in the final list of voters, I fail to understand how criminals turn into eligible candidates, I fail to understand why all this nonsense happens! I wish the government could understand all this soon, and also understand that the amount of money which is wasted during elections in campaigning and buying votes can easily be utilised in improving the life of less priviledged. But 'NO'. Why will they understand all this? Afterall its all about their own self, its all about selfishness, its all about coming to power and showing who is more powerful.

The country needs a change, the people need peace and prosperity along with jobs and security and I just hope that this new government 'which is supposed to be formed today' will take a step towards positivity. Expectations are high but we do not have a choice. We can just live life hoping for a positive change.