Running

Talking to herself,
She says this is the way it is,
this is how its supposed to start,
marked with florescent strips is the path,
and the destination is a house,
and that is how it is supposed to end.

The facade is painted bright,
the house seems to have plenty of light.
But its build on a foundation of nothing,
other than non existent norms and other such things.
The fences laid tell you what not to do, where not to go,
They just sit there like fallacies of your twisted mind,
without a clue of what to do and what to know.

The patches of green you have trimmed and bounded,
little does anyone know, its to do away with what surrounded.
As one enters the house, a feeling of false awe it invokes,
pieces laid on each other somehow to cover up this hoax.

She knows this is a mirage,
at best its only a house of glass.
It doesn't light itself but takes in the sun,
As soon as its dusk, its time is done.
With one twitch it will surely fall down,
for houses of life are build on foundations of love, belief and trust in the ground

But she still she pretends that this is it,
this is my destiny, this is my happy place,
these are the rules and this is my bounded case.
In this I must stay,
even though I know a way.
I know these rules are wrong,
I know I am strong,
but I have still given up,
Running away from my past beliefs,
who want to play catch up.

Break these limits,
cross these boundaries,
take a leap of faith,
kiss these stupid rules good bye,
you wont even have to learn to fly,
these thoughts she blocks,
these beliefs she locks,
but the still catch up,
'cause she knows its better herself ,
than running away from yourself.

Things (part 1)... that rip the mind apart

A false start is the only start you get,
Its what you are now used to almost everyday.
You don't care much about anything now,
and are clueless about whats, when, who and how.
Events take place, some happen, others don't,
around you things wrap up and new ones unfold.
Each time you take a path,
you seem to end up on a crossroad,
of desires and so called written destiny,
not knowing whether they are the same or the exact opposites.
You sanity goes for a toss,
as you wonder which road to take,
and whether it really matters,
if this is perception and the reality is a maze.
The thought peeks out of the now cornered portions of the mind,
of what is really going on and how can you turn in to this kind,
but as soon as you try to answer,
it goes back into the hole.
These are the things,
which seem to rip you mind apart,
just lie there innocently like broken glass shards,
give you cuts when you try to pick them up,
the only way is to crush them and bleed a bit,
for that will be the end of it,
And now  you are free smile,
left only with the things that make your heart happy.

In times of relativity

He had learnt it years ago,
and it is now a forgotten thing.
But now as he stares blankly,
The bells in his mind ring.

In those years, it was told,
that time keeps flowing
and its difficult to hold.
However, the beauty is,
that although he had passed the quiz,
The realization is late ,
to grasp this twist of fate.

It cant be touched but surely be felt,
and that's when it hits him like a leather belt.
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry,
or whether it is plain simple futile to try,

This law work in funny ways,
turns nights into days,
moments into hours,
hours into minutes,
man into child,
and makes the mind run wild.

The wait is irritating,
then becomes frustrating,
finally hopeless and demeaning.
The rational and irrational animals meet,
at this very moment in his head and have a seat.
Cancel each other out,
even before the bell starts the bout.

He again starts thinking,
of buts and what ifs,
caught between high seas and a cliff.
He is pushed to the limit and digging deep,
This turn of events has the power to make him weep.

This must end,
a message must be sent.
Fears raise their heads, love is lost
But this has to happen at any cost.

The final thing he thinks is this,
but that elusive question never gives him a miss.
'Ohh! Is this the time?'
HaHaHa... Relativity you bitch!!
You wouldn't even let him complete his rhyme.

Uncommon sense

He thought this was happiness,
in spite of all that's left of life in this mess.
Breezing thought the work week,
on the weekend he has solace to seek.
Amongst all the bottles and pints,
they look for that elusive thing called 'peace of mind'.
But he keeps all of this problems at bay,
While life kept echoing with laughter,
until, the sun shone on that fateful day.

She came like lightening,
and left like thunder,
in her path causing destruction and blunder.
His mind was left like a blank slate,
and his heart had opened all the flood gates.
Behind his calm demeanor,
his patience grew thinner and thinner.
Thoughts raced at the speed of light,
his insides shouting with all their might.


He wondered to himself, what is all this?
How can his rational mind go into such a tizz?
How can all logic fail?
And how can his thoughts derail?
Hundreds of questions ran through his brain,
the light at the end of the tunnel he wondered,
is it a freight train?

There is rationale and then there is instinct,
and the differences between them are distinct.
And when the two converge, all else ceases to exist,
as life throws the dice for the final twist.
Its is a deadly cocktail,
definitely the final nail.
He knows one thing for sure,
from now onward and hence,
that this is how common turns into uncommon sense.

Belief

Not written by me but a dear friend, Fragrance... I consider myself lucky to have such people in my life.. without you guys life would not be worth living! Cheers!!

A clear page, and anxious words

Romance gives it color

Hopeful,hopeless in love

A dream, a deed, a commitment, a betrayal,

The words, her lips

The passion in the way she says it

Helpless and strong

He believes, feels, experiences

Sung, unsung the distant melodies

Pain, pleasure all at once

She will, she will not

He will, he will not

Love it through

Mind is a storm

Peaceful, loud, lost

Careful and generous at same time

Sure and confused too

Her smile, his fodder

Her wish, his destiny

Her fears, his struggle

Her love, his belief

And she, his story

The first step

The last one

To begin, not to end

Let love, get a chance

She agrees, disagrees

Knows and forgets

She fears and dwells

Gives in, gives up

Understands, questions

Speaks up, remains silent

The moment

A lifetime

The first step

Towards forever

Begins and ends.

Escape velocity

He just wants to escape.
From this trivial existence,
from this worlds indifferent persistence.


Here is where he was killed,.
here is where he was rebuild,
here is where he was subdued,
he knows now that he must get his due.

He is tired of walking pointlessly,
through jungles that extend endlessly,
where wild shoots of convention prick him incessantly,
where the dark shadows of irrational dogma loom eternally.

He need that push to be on his way,
to run like the wind and break through the grey,
and as he craves a brighter day,
he remembers what they say.

They enforce their centenarian laws,
constantly remind him of his flaws.
Every minute he spends here is like a year,
what wouldn't he give to sit under the bright sky,
in the pleasant meadows by the side of his dear.

He has always known that it is now or never,
and this collection of nows is his failed past for ever.
It is the baggage he has to carry,
but "I wont give up" he says,
"I will have the cake and the cherry"

This is the final cut, this is the last now he thinks,
as the bell tolls and his ear rings.
He must break the laws of society and gravity,
It is time he says... Time to gain escape velocity.

The appointment

He lives in his head,

or is it the other way around?

It really doesn't matter

as they struggle to find a common ground.

They do however, meet once every day ,

to talk of the two worlds they habitate,

unravel the gift wrapping paper and further elucidate.

Its an appointment they seldom miss,

for its the key to his balance and his peace.

They digress from one end to another,

laugh hysterically like long lost brothers,

fight fiercely like they are age old foes,

but at the back of their single mind he knows,

they are apart,

but have only each other from end to start. 

They are like poles north and south,

one is the harbinger of the reality and doubt,

the other is the personification of perception,

he is the one, who takes the world on,
enters the ring and fights the daily bouts.

He puts on the mask and keeps the insane world at bay,

the other sees through it and tries to keep him sane.

They have been together long enough,

and at times it can get really rough.

They call out their opinions and try to keep him alive,

they have their differences,

and want to act according to their preferences.

But they have realized this,

What bonds them for life is the physical manifestation that is his,

and they have to learn to listen and keep away their strife.

For their ultimate purpose is to keep it going,

through the lonely river, keep on rowing.

Trivial hell

Welcoming the morning glory,

with bloodshot eyes and messed up hair,

starts a battle as the mirror stares.

Sleepy and hung over he goes through the motions,

in his mind reliving a false notion.

Struggling through the early stages,

He gets up his lazy ass, hes got to earn his wages.

Hellos and customary greetings later,

making his way through a group of masked men,

he settles down in his den.

As the laptop tolls the daily bell,

he starts living in his trivial hell.

Making a list of his to do tasks,

he doesn't even know that he has put on a mask.

He looks at the clock every now and then,

in the meanwhile, answering questions about how, why, where and when.

His smile withstands all that people say,

as he thinks of all that is in store for him on this day.

His mind however, is wandering far away from his den,

spurring a thought or two every now and again,

making him think of these pleasures as he battles the pain.

He thinks its a battle, that has all the glory at the (week)end,

and to skye heights he will ascend.

But somewhere in his mind,

he knows there is some place he has to find,

where the mask will do him no good and it has to be left behind.

With this thought he examines the fancy toy,

its like the dream of an excited boy.

He looks at it from the corners of his eyes,

hoping that it will spring a surprise,

give him what he has been waiting for,

although his logical mind tells him its as good as folklore,

but he believes this from his core,

He waits, he waits, he waits...

That one last time, just once more.

The sea of Tranquility

A night of pandemonium,
dissolves into the day break.
I wake up to to the silver sun,
as He kills the darkness and wins their strife,
And comes to life.
Stirring up the air,
with all his might,
to paint on the blue canopy,
a serene sight.


I enter the bedlam of existence,
weaving through the walls of steel,
the engine tolls a bell,
tells me, let it heal.


But the wait is not over yet,
as I break a sweat,
making my way through the summer stench,
waiting for the her to let my thirst quench.


Milestones keep on passing,
the sign boards keep on laughing,
As the smell of the forest hits me hard,
it brings me closer by the yard.


I have found myself!
With my feet sinking, 
in the warm white expanse,
with my ears ringing,
as she roars like a lion,
waiting to be defiant.


As I walk to embrace her,
she calls me with all her glory,
sending chills down my spine,
tells me, "you are now mine!"


Shes a silent killer,
who subsumes in her the might of the whole world.
To take a grip, she spreads her palms,
as I go in, she tells me to be calm.
"There is no reason to fear,
keep you heart clear,
Forget about your trivial existence,
put down you guard and give up the resistance.
Place your head in my lap,
take a nap,
Rediscover your soul,
and take a leap into the rabbit hole.
Let the vast emptiness consume you,
and lift you high,
be relieved and breathe a sigh."
And as I float onto the the true reality,
She says, "Rest in peace my dear, in the sea of Tranquility."

The dreadful question

There was a time when I believed,
that  I could touch the sky and bring it down,
but then they taught me about gravity,
and that was it.

There was a time when I dreamed,
that I would roam the world, a wanderer, not caring for anything much,
but then they told me how the society and world works as such,
and that was it.

There was a time when I believed,
that impossible was a stupid word,
bounded by the realms of logic,
but then they taught me to think rationally,
and that was it.

There is now a time,
when I think about the time,
when nothing seemed too daunting nor too significant,
when the process of dreaming was all there was to it,
when the journey was more fulfilling than reaching the destination,
when I did not care about what next and enjoyed the now of life,
when the only question in my mind was still, whats next,
and now there is today when I can only reminisce,
and the only question I can ask my self is the dreadful question, What if!

But the beauty of life is such,
that there is still time for pretty much,
to reduce the count of casualties to this dreadful question,
to think stupidly like a child,
to touch the sky, roam the world, be carefree and question logic,
to ensure that there will be a time,
when I will think of this time,
and on its mention,
only thought in my mind will be the answer to this dreadful question!

The Deed

There is an incessant need,
to do the deed,
to say the words,
no matter how absurd.
The deed must be done,
for life waits for none,
and I cannot hide,
and I cannot run.
I must take the step,
I must make the plunge,
In this mess of life,
with my fears rife.
Fears of the unknown,
emerging from thoughts torn,
playing tricks with my mind,
rendering my judgement blind.
I know what to do,
As the tensions brew,
but I cannot get that start,
to let out my heart.

Distortion

The light splits as it goes,
in seven clear, colourful rows.
All together, still all apart,
each represents a different start.
Each beam intrigues me,
on what its meaning could be.
I know its just plain science,
but right now my mind just loves the defiance.
My senses are elevated and calm,
as i hold the prism in my palm.
I realize that things are not what they seem,
as my thoughts run like a silent stream.
My mind is playing games with me,
misguiding me to perceive and not see,
The line between two sides blurs,
the thoughts in my mind spur,
suddenly coming to an abrupt halt,
as i wake up and find that my thoughts are locked up in a vault.

Zero sum game

The thing with this time of year aka when your are 26 years old, is that you get a million wedding invites when you'd rather go to none or may be just one.

Now this is how deciding about the other 999999 invites goes. But I must add that it is an already predetermined decision in the front, yes front and not back, of everyone's mind! It is the process that is intriguing.

There are 4-5 participants of this game of decision making and at times they don't even know there are those many. This is how the events unfold

Me to A - Are you going?

A to Me - Mostly, if B comes by
Me to B - Are you going?
B to Me - I don't know. I will go if C comes
Earlier in the day, C to Me - I will go if D comes
Some time between earlier and now, D to C - If will go if B comes by


In the end, everyone stays at home!

Denial, false pride, the bitter truth.... the real test of Indian cricket

Mornings these days are turning out to be the same big disappointment, last Saturday was no different! It has now become part of the routine to wake up, switch on the TV and see India being hammered by the Aussies. And this time the cherry on top of the icing on the cake was that by the time I switched on the TV... the Perth test was over!!


Wrapped up in a shiny gift paper with a cute satin bow and handed over to the Aussies on a silver plate along with the series win. People like Clarke, Ponting and Hussey who were struggling for form couldn't have asked for a better holiday season to kick off the new year.


Lot has been said, some sensible most of it just venting out of frustration, on why India have surrendered so meekly overseas by former captains, the media, general public etc. Ideas ranging from dropping Dhoni as captain of the test team (fueled more so by his own stupid comments) to withdrawing from test cricket for 2-3 years thus covering the whole gamut from practical to crazy!


But what gets my attention today is this... in the storm of comments coming up on social networking sites there are views which probably provide a piece of the answer to this puzzle.. DENIAL and FALSE PRIDE!! Pure Aussie bashing just for the sake of it.


Few examples of some of these 'gems' are as follows:


A status message:

"Australian media bashing Indian team for their performance in test series against Australia.. Bloody a**holes, if u want to praise Aussie team then do that, who has given u the right to criticize India.. Remember that the Indian team comprises of players who have played more test matches that the articles written by your editors..

Where was the same media when Ponting dint score a century for two years??.. Where was the same media when Australia suffered the second straight defeat in Ashes??.. Where was the media when there were racial attacks on Indians living out there??.
First put your house in order, ask permission from Indians to criticize their team and then only open your holes.."


A pic posted by a Sachin Tendulkar fan page on FB:



Pictures speak more than a thousand words, at least the one above surely does!
And no, it does not speak about how great Sachin Tendulkar is... it speaks about how we as a public convince ourselves that things are hunky dory!
Disclaimer - nothing against the people who put up these posts... just two striking examples out of many that I have seen in the past 2 days.


I don't know whether this is the Indian mentality or temporary bursts of frustration (I hope it is the latter at best)
Most people who would end up reading this [mostly my friends and people who I specifically ask to read my blog ;-)] are people who work in competitive organizations in competitive set ups in life. To them my question is this... Is this attitude acceptable at your work place? If yes, then for those I rest my case.
If no, then why do we apply it to our lives and things around us? Of what use is basking in past glories and false notions when the present in unheeded and the future full of challenges?
Have we as a people, thanks to this India shining feeling that is propagated by the media and other sources, succumbed to these tactics when it comes to accepting our flaws, accepting that we are not the best instead of believing that we have the ability to be the best even if we are not? After all, being #1 is about always striving to stay there. Its not a interim station but th final destination.


Well, this is bigger debate for another day. For now we mere mortal common people will stick to the Indian team and its performance (or non performance)  down under.


I believe that. success comes from within. The best example of this is Sachin who competes with not anyone else but himself day in day out. In sports and in life you become #1 only by defeating the you of yesterday. And the bigger the margin of victory, the faster the climb to the top.
When we see that things are turning out to be too difficult to handle is when we take cover under own past achievements. But guess what, the past is more or less always irrelevant as far as today and tomorrow are concerned


My take on the whole issue is this... lets first face the facts. We sucked in England and we are continuing that tradition down under. Why anyone should have a problem with the Aussie media bashing us is something I cannot fathom. I mean, Cmon, atleast some one is giving us the stick that we deserve which will compel us to think about what next :).


The point is to really think about what we need to do. The crux is to accept the facts and work on them. It is a fact that the core of our batting is the big four but they are not getting younger by the day. Worse is that we do not seem to have any succession plan for these people. One has to understand that the averages of these players are 50 odd because for every hundred they score they also get out in single digits. And that is why we need a good bench, worthy successors who are groomed for the big stage.
It is after all a team game... we have to select the 11 players who have the best chance of making sure that the law of averages will work in their favour. Currently we do not seem to have a clue about that.


The BCCI prides itself on running like any top professional corporate. Making time count and generating big profits year on year.  One key element of driving a corporate culture is missing here... the Vision! It is not for anything that the best companies in the world spend considerable man hours on developing vision and mission statement. They really mean something if they are driven as a part of the work culture.
Gary Kirsten had set a vision of winning the World Cup after 28 long years and the rest is history. What next is a question that seems to be still unanswered and until that is done we will try hundred new things, most of them in good spirit but still fail to understand why they did not work.


What is our Vision for the future? How do we plan to get there? Until these questions are answered the only light at the end of the tunnel is that of a freight train. 
Sure, these are difficult questions to answer given the ambiguity right now. Of course, carving out this vision and executing it will include its share of tough decisions to be taken. But then, isn't it better to do that for a bright future, to answer that question than keep harping about past glories and dig our own grave??!! Isn't it the right thing to do?


Fortunately, in spite of all that has happened, the true Indian cricket fan (and a cricket lover) still bleeds blue... the question is, really, is our cricketing system ready to bleed in return for these fans and the future of Indian cricket?? I surely hope that the answer is a YES!!

Memories and best wishes...

The greatest thing you can gain in life is not money, property or fame, it is true friendship. I would consider myself to be lucky to have the friends that I have in my life.
Last month being December, was the 'Shaadi season' in India. No prizes for guessing, few of my close friends tied the knot and one friend got engaged [so he still has one last exit option available ;)]. It was made better by the fact that other friends from around the world came to Bombay for these occasions and bought along with them the insanity and memories of the best years of my life.

These are very special friends, each one special his/her own way and is a very important part of my life. But, this one is for those who entered a new phase of their life.

The season started with festivities at the home of one of my dearest friends, Amit. Amit and his fiancée are both batch mates from my undergrad college. The wedding was even more fun as it bought together our old bunch of insane friends after a year.
Although, I hadn't met him for many days before the wedding, it felt like we'd spend time together just yesterday. That is the friendship I share with him. Memories of me, him and another one of our eternally F friends studying together for the engineering exams are refreshed. Memories ranging from the late night blitz of studies on the day before the viva, the innumerable lassis at Vig, the search for the perfect pen for Kedi which in the end failed at its objective of helping him complete the paper to the hours spend culminating in being thrown out of the workshop during the robotics event. I can't thank him enough for the super strong AC in his car which enabled me to be sober before reaching home after a late night out! One of my dearest friends, all I an say is 'have a awesome life ahead and keep rocking'

Next on the list was Khyati. Honestly, she is one of the most amazing friends I have. She is a great girl who always induces a feeling of awe in all of us (and I can say this on behalf of my other friends). She played the balancing factor in our other wise crazy gang of friends.
I am reminded of our trip to Lavasa about 6 months back, a trip that worked out after infinite year of planning. I can surely say that all of us made it a point to be there only for you Khyati! As I write this, Khyati would have spend her first day in her new home in Seattle. I need not wish her luck because she does not need it. Her her approach to life ensures that luck has to follow her. For you Khyati, I just say, have a good time and enjoy married life in Seattle (and of course keep in touch... and yes, one last thing, hope you like the speakers!)

The next shaadi I attended was of another close friend, Preetesh. I can't curse myself enough when I think that I had planned on not going there earlier (in my defence, due to some issues in my schedule). But I sure am glad that I did go. Preetesh is a guy who I have spend limited time with in b school,  but then, its about the quality and not quantity of time you spend!
Thinking about Preetesh takes me back to the days we spend at Rajpal's place (rather late nights) working on our project. His incessant want for home cooked food (not any food but specific items that he would order from an imaginary menu) which we used as a carrot to get him to work, his insistence on switching off the fan and killing us in the Bombay heat and most of all his brilliance which inspired some great creativity. Well, thats Preetesh. Not all will appreciate  the laid back attitude (which is actually is how it should be - his energies in are focused towards enjoying life) but then not all know about the side of him which can leave the best of the best awestruck. He is probably the most fun person to hang around with. I remember the 1 hour call in early December when he was coaxing me to make it for the wedding ('Atleast sangeet mein toh aaja dude. It will be more fun than the shaadi and clandestine arrangements for alcohol will be made' - typical Preetesh). I was making fun of him about living the dream (Preetesh, you know what I mean). But, from the bottom of my heart, Preetesh, you are one of the best guys I know. I am lucky to have you as a friend and your better half [yes she's surely the better half dude :)] is super lucky to have you in her life. I need not say enjoy married life because I'm sure you will... I will rather say, 'Dude, get a job!!' :-D

Last but by no means the least, Varun who got engaged four days ago. Unfortunately, I missed the engagement. Varun is a person who I didn't talk to much during B school. But the 5 days we spend on the most rocking trip of our lives, I got to know him better. A good friend, fun to be with but most of all, a brilliant and honest guy! Dude, I will be there for the wedding. For now, my only message to you  Varun is... Dude, Cmon, please lets go to Goa next month!! :) (Sanjit, please take note!)

Well, that was the full report of this shaadi season... Wish all of you the best in life. People like you make life worth living....  hope see you guys soon!

Of exclamation marks and smiley's !! :D

In a world where your friends live across the globe (and you live in a sad place)... Gtalk and Facebook are like God's gift to mankind


Goes without saying, we spend a good amount of time chatting with friends online. I was talking to one such friend today (still chatting in the neighboring window) and out of the blue started thinking about the following peculiar features of the 'chat'
a) the missing vowels i.e vwls
b) the ROFLs, LMAOs and etc (etc. is not in this list, its a generic acronym used to indicate a long list of similar items to follow - for the benefit of people who actually believe that ! is the new full stop)
c) the excessive use of punctuations (minus the full stop and loaded with the ...s and !s)
d) the smiley's :-D


Obviously, its nothing new but just rung a bell in my mind. We are the new generation of exclamation marking, acronym loving and smiley using Shakespeares !!!! ;-)


The missing vowels remind me of the 'if u can read this you are a genius' pictures that people post on FB with the jumbled, upside down etc words. Yes, we are all FB certified geniuses, isn't that an achievement.


But, what intrigues me are the latter two... the overuse of punctuation marks, especially '!' and the :)s
Each sentence is followed by a blitzkrieg of exclamations
Heres the deal. the exclamation mark/exclamation point/bang or dembanger (didn't know about the last two. Thank you Wikipedia, but I'm still not gonna make that donation!!)  is a punctuation mark usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or high volume (shouting).
Imagine shouting out each one of those sentence in a real lofe conversation (LOL)!!


The last one..the smiley's :-D!! Who would have thought that lines and lines written to convey feelings could be substituted by yellow coloured faces, that sticking your tongue out [ :P which btw, is this very friend's favourite expression in life] wouldn't be considered a sign of dementia or winking to a girl [ the ;) ] would be well received in this society.
Hats of to the person who coined these yellow devils... you Sir, are a true genius of the 21st century!


Anyways... g2g, ttyl and tc !!! :) ... (and so on)

Eclipse

Eclipse from the album Dark side of the Moon... a pink floyd classic


All that you touch
and all that you see
All that you taste
All you feel.
and all that you love
and all that you hate
All you distrust
All you save.
and all that you give
and all that you deal
and all that you buy,
beg, borrow or steal.
and all you create
and all you destroy
and all that you do
and all that you say.
and all that you eat
And everyone you meet
and all that you slight
And everyone you fight.
and all that is now
and all that is gone
and all that's to come
and everything under the sun is in tune
but the sun is eclipsed by the moon.

"There is no dark side of the moon, really. Matter of fact it's all dark."

Modern day tribute to Children's day!

Birthdays at office are always special occasions.... u get to eat some good cake, it lightens up the mood and generally lead to some interesting and humorous discussions as a result of frustrated group of adults getting sudden doses of sugar... thats bound to happen!


Yesterday was one such day, and goes without saying, it sparked of a interesting conversation. This one about birth dates.
It started with birthdays falling on 1st Jan when the world is too hungover to remember it but still celebrates at the stroke of midnight. 


Then the next obvious suspect... 29th Feb. I came to know that one of our PMs, Morarji Desai was born on this day. He was thus technically 24 when he died..but actually had lived a long life of 96... there was also a reason for that as I found out... well, lets not go there for now :)


So on and so forth, the random ramblings continued till a startling fact about birthdays came out. 


A friend then mentions that some schools in Bangalore DO NOT admit children who are born in between October and January!!! (most of you are rubbing your eyes in disbelief now. Well the one who are single/do not have kids)
I jumped of my seat with laughter as I heard this... only to realize that this is a real problem that my colleague was facing in real life.


To others like me out there, I realized that where to go for dinner tonight, what to do on weekends and what  to drink on a weekend (generally thats what it comes down to always) are NOT the real issues in life!
But who cares as far as these are the only issues in life!!


Well, coming back to this discrimination against Quarter 3 born children,  I cant help but laugh as this thought comes to my mind... you idiots, Pandit Nehru was born on 14th November.. bang in the center of this period, you celebrate CHILDREN'S DAY on this day, for Gods sake!!
Me says.. sue this school and luckily with the settlement amount you get, your child would not need to go to school for life :). Now, Wouldn't that be a real tribute to Children's day!

Ladies vs. Ricky Ponting (& Michael Clarke)

After a long time, I dozed off before before midnight yesterday. As sleep decided to give way I woke up to a chilly Bangalore morning at 6 30 am and realized that I had not switched off the lights in my room.


However my first instinct was to switch on the TV, hoping that some miracle would have happened in far off Sydney. The TV came to life with the voice of Ian Chappel (most probably him, as I was still half asleep to be really sure). My room was fully lit but I soon realized that there was no light at the end of the tunnel for team India! Captain Clarke was batting on 97 (and as I say this well on his way to scoring all the 291 runs that we managed, on his own) and Ricky Ponting was few runs short of his first century in 2 years. It was a quintessential bang gang... opposite of u know what ;) going on!


It is now a statistically provable hypothesis (in fact a fact!)that any batsman anywhere in the world who is 
a) completely out of form
b) a class act struggling off late
c) trying to cement a place in his national team
d) about to be sacked
can turn around his fortunes in an India series (memories of Matty Hayden back in the early 2000s in the Turbanator series are refreshed)


But yes, hats off to you Ricky Ponting. If there was ever any doubt that 'Form is temporary, Class is permanent'  is just another stupid phrase coined by Sunil Gavaskar... you have laid those doubts to rest. For you have demonstrated what playing under pressure means, what bouncing back is all about... and its a TIGHT SLAP on the face of all the skeptics who doubted you even after the brilliant century in the WC2011 qtr finals.


I know i have violated the  rule of 'Ladies first' so back to talking about the ladies in the field today i.e. us (but Punter deserved a special mention). Although I had no interest in watching the match after the early morning jolt, a few things come to mind viz. is this the same pitch we are playing on, are we really serious about test cricket, are we well prepared, has too much cricket killed us and finally even if this team is the World Cup winner... do we lack the Killer instinct??


Disclaimer: I am by no means a Ricky Ponting or Aussie fan. I am a die hard Indian cricket fan. I am a test cricket lover. It is this passion that compels me to write this even as I sit in office and encroach upon my lunch time.


Is this the same pitch we are playing on? Yes, simple, straightforward answer and the ugly truth. This pitch is far from the MCG wicket which was a tricky one. For all the talks of a green top, it is a actually a good pitch to bat on. The question is about applying ourselves...did we do that? A certain SRT who tried to do that (and this i say without any bias or God fearing sentiments) saw wickets falling around him. 191 in the first innings after winning the toss is just not done! It takes my mind to the days when the top order would succumb to playing outside the off stump and the tail would be bounced out by the opposition. It sends a chill down my spine to even think about the recurrence of this old problem..brrr!


Are we well prepared? Are we taking test cricket seriously? Has too much cricket killed us?? Big questions that our non cricketer, poltus and black money minting BCCI officials have to answer.


All one can say is that we make a mockery of our cricket calendar. WC, IPL, WI tour, Eng tour, WI home series... seriously who are we kidding?? Wasn't the site of Zaheer Khan coming back home after a 1 day outing in England a good enough alarm bell?? Do we even have time for preparation? Lets just juxtapose 2 facts... how many man days of domestic cricket have been played by all our 15-16 squad members this year and how many days did we spend for acclimatization on our overseas tours? Compare this with other national teams and the answer is out there in the open.
It is good to see cricketers making money. At least it doesn't subject us to watching the hilarious benefits matches  where cheques of 1 lac each are given to the great Indian cricketers of yesteryear's. At least, our boys are not tempted to ball no balls for $5-10K each. These guys deserve it, they have worked as hard if not more as anyone of us. The BCCI obviously makes money, probably a million times more than these people combined. But is that all? It is the game that makes the players, boards, the money and not the other way round. Some of the people reading this might call me a cynic but lets face it... nothing justifies burning out talented players for this, nothing justifies making a mockery of the India jersey like what is happening now. Nothing justifies all this... not even all the money in Mr SPs Swiss accounts.


Finally, have we lost our Killer instinct?? I doubt we ever had one! Yes, we always show glimpses of it and that too regularly, after Ganguly and Dhoni took over(WC final, T20 finals, Natwest finals). If yes, then why didn't Laxman score a 200 when we were down, why didn't a SRT dig a tent and stay put for 2 days on the SCG wicket?? How did out of form Clarke and Ponting manage it??


Again, I reiterate, I love Indian cricket, I love test cricket... sadly, right now both are out of action. It looks like 11 people going through the motions and the Aussies, 2 at a time taking turns to milk us.


Hope... that life will be restored to team India soon... hope to see the 100th 100 in the next 3 days, hope to see Laxman tormenting Clarke in his nightmares, hope to see a Killer Indian side and some top class test cricket.. luckily there are 13 more days of test cricket left.... Boys, lets make them count!!
Bleed Blue!!


P.S. - I am not the kind of person who would get so serious about a lot of things in life... but I myself am amazed at the passion certain things will evoke in certain people! Cheers!

4 Idlis and a funeral (SCG Indian first innings) !

There are a few rituals we ardent Indian cricket fans love to practice... over analyse and criticize the last performance (check), discuss strategies on the night prior to start at the dinner table (check), these days discuss whether Sachin will score his 100th ton today (check & mate!) and finally set our alarm clock for 5am (check)

I, as usual, did not get up at 5 and the alarm went on snooze till 7 30 am. Finally as I switch on the TV, it takes me some time to come to terms with the score line of 4 wickets down for some infinitesimal amount of runs. As i get ready for work a Virat Kohli walks back to the pavilion.

Time for breakfast. As I finish off my first idli, Sachin upper cuts Pattinson for 4 and some hope is restored (aren't we the quintessential suckers) foe the 100th ton. As the 3rd idli goes down my throat it is game over for Sachin and basically game over for India.
Would it be a good idea to declare and let our bowlers be fresh to take on the Aussie batting... might work better than anything else at this point of time.

As facebook fills up with status messages about the indian batting, some asking for the top order to be sacked ranging to others reminiscing about our continued dependence on SRT (cmon guys let it go now!) I cant help but wonder................. i had asked for 5 idlis, why the fk are there only 4 :D :D

How I wish....

This song never fails to elevate me to a totally different level...
God said 'Let there be music' and there was David Gilmour!


So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
Blue sky's from pain.
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?

And did they get you to trade
Your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?

How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl,
Year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
And how we found
The same old fears.
Wish you were here.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j8mr-gcgoI