THE GRIND.....

Days, weeks and now months ..sorry for the delay. Last post was months ago. Call it "Job ke side effects", and especially if an I-Bank (albeit an KPO) then god bless you. It took me one sleepless night to finally contemplate coz Friday is the day when you have the liberty to contemplate on a surety of a long weekend waiting for you.

A dear friend of mine posted a very nice video from RDB, in which Aamir describes his life to Gulaboo the firangi, and one special line real strikes your chord when he says that, "Campus ke andar hum duniya ko nachate the and campus ke bahar duniya humko nachati hai". HOW TRUE. It is only when you go through the grind that you realise the importance of the statement.

 The normal day for me is waking up late at 9 pm normally (yes i have changed now...i go late to sleep and wake up late...i am getting normal...WASI will love this) then making a mad rush to reach office and in the process take a shower, munch something and hit for the cab. The moment you step in the office,a plethora of activities awaits you and then starts the litany. Yes litany indeed because of the sheer monotony. The best part of the day is when you get time to hit the gym, it gives you some time to unwind and take some focus off your work. The end of the day is usually a mad dash to finish off the work, and hope to catch an early cab. In between i forgot to mention about the food. For a city which boasts of such a good cuisine unfortunately we cattle class I-Bankers are served with the most shitty meal. Come back home, if early cook something and then gradually doze off, and another morning awaits you like your nagging girlfriend (cliche).

Main points to be pondered over here, what about your near and dear ones. Is your coveted job, alienating you from them. In a way i think it is.

So I am an MBA now. The big question is "How valuable is it". The most valuable result of all education till date is the ability to make yourself do things which you have never done, do it at the time when you don't want to do it and most important do it whether you like it or not.....in short....learn to live with your job....

Love to end tonight with words of Lord Byron which lingers in my mind in this invading silence...

.There is a pleasure in the pathless woods

There is a rapture on the lonely shore

There is a society, where none intrudes

By the deep sea, and the music in its roar

I love not man the less, but nature more......

I need a break.....

Silence of the Lambs....

Monday morning, again the blues and the invading silence. What makes silence work for you is that you can be yourself when it surrounds you. Right now as i am writing the blog, the only two noises audible are the sound of the laptop's processor and some birds chirping outside.

There are times when silence has the loudest voice. It makes you contemplate and take decisions which you normally forget to think about in daily humdrum. Silence can also be the most powerful scream, louder than a thousand words. It can stir your soul and explain the gravity of the situation. Silence can also be a source of great strength. Being silent you can control your emotions and be a master of your own life. Being silent you can see things in a way you have seen never before. It gives you a new vision and maybe open your mythical third eye.

I think sometimes that silence is the medium through which god communicates with us. The words are unspoken but so profound. No wonder the time when you stand in front of your deity and bow down to worship, he touches your soul through silence.

The only thing which combines greatly with silence is music. Music the food of life.

Silence was never written down.

IPLGATE

IPLGATE yes that is the new term coined by a news channel for the current imbroglio. And as predicted in the last post Mr.Modi you are on the way out. No one can be bigger than the game itself. It is a hard truth and very difficult to digest but at the end of the day Cricket will emerge victorious. What's very sad is to find that all this drama has erupted just before the IPL final and talks going around in the town about matches being fixed and the betting saga again becoming the talk of the town. Personally i think it's nothing but sensational journalism again, an art  which Indian news channel have perfected. There may be financial irregularities in the tournament but please don't question the credibility of the players. One news channel went on the extent of naming 27 players involved. Had it been the case it would have been evident on the screen. The viewers are not a fool, you can not underperform and escape the nation's attention. For me it was one of the most passionately fought battle, cutting across borders and cultures. A sporting extravaganza which India should be proud of. But before it could become even more popular, it became a stage for political rivalry. Had the war between Modi and Tharoor not broken out, i don't think things would have got so far. BCCI is making Modi as an escape goat. It itself has many members owning a lot of stake in the teams. And as for politicians, suddenly you have a new topic to discuss. God bless India's poverty and citizens. Personal rivalry will be high on agenda now and all the terrorists and maoists can regather and plan for more sinister things while we fight over our stakes and money in the IPL.

SRK today tweeted in support of Modi and made a very funny comment about being the problem child of Indian film industry. His response," being a problem child is much better than being a solution adult", well said.

And last but not the least, the maestro turned 36 today or should i say turned 36 years younger today. Mumbai please win it tomorrow, and give him a befitting belated birthday present. He has played his part in bringing you here, it now upto everybody to take the final leap. And for his detractors please don't start again by questioning about him not performing in big matches. Try and find some better excuse to bash him.  Sachin you have remained and will remain our idol. It was wonderful watching your kids watch you play at D Y Patil stadium. Your exuberance and chirpiness on the ground would put even them in shame. Long live "SACH"......

Tweets and Martyrs...

News spluttered everywhere with IPL, but for all the wrong reasons. Mr.Modi you can not be bigger than the game. The huge cash, cricket stars, bollywood and politicians add all of them and you have the perfect concoction for a media frenzy. The two men who are always in the news are Lalit Modi and Shashi Tharoor and this time they are against each other. Armed with twitter power salvos are being served. The uproar was even heard in the parliament, but the questions arises is this the major issue troubling us. The martyrs who lost their lives in Dantewada have already been forgotten. The plight of the CRPF jawans living in abysmal conditions should be the main concern for parliament. The greatest threat to India is from within. It is the maoists and not outsiders. For all the innocent lives, they deserve a better treatment. They are our real heroes and not the IPL heroes. The jawans were the sun of the soil who come from remote towns and villages of Inida to earn a living for their family. A life lost is not just one life. With it dies the hopes and aspirations of the family which lost its bread earner.

Par Khuda Khair Kar, Aaisaa Anjaam Kisi Rooh Ko Na De Kabi Yahaan..
Gunja Muskurata tha woh,Waqt Se Pehle Kyun Chodd Chala Tera Ye Jahaan.

Before we forget....

On the floor again....

Hellow....all n sundry. Long time since last post, coz i was damm busy. After a long spell of monotony and listlessness, life has come full circle now. I am again on the floor, working, alive and kicking. MBA provides you a good subterfuge of being busy but after stepping in the corporate world the definition of being busy changes altogether. Coz u never get time to think that you are busy. You are hit by a storm of so many activities that at the end of the day the only thing you crave for is your bed and lie there dead forever until your morning alarm again disturbs you in the morning like your nagging housewife. You then wonder, was i living in heaven in the jungles of Dontanapally. Far, far away from the noise and humdrum of the concrete jungle of Hyderabad. The transition from the jeans clad, proxy craving, cricket playing boy to the formally dressed corporate citizen was very fast.

On the job it is a different world altogether, where you have to learn the trade daily. Infact you have to unlearn many things and do things the way they teach you to do. Time for mistakes and approximations are over. They expect nothing but the perfect thing from you.

I am on the floor again and working for a profile which i dreamed for. The first 15 days could be labelled as the honeymoon period, the real ordeal has just begun. Time to hit the floor and make it big......

Joie-de-vivre

There are certain times in your life when everthing seems picture perfect. When it feels that all the sacrifices that you have made was worth this moment. Moments which reinstill your faith in the old saying that all good things are worth waiting for. It is your hope and the joi-de-vivre which keeps you ignited. You again think about Morgan Freeman uttering those special words "that hope is a good thing, maybe the best things and all good things never die". Yor are right sir, human spirit is indomitable.

Life is a wonderful myriad of relationships and bondings which makes it worth living for. Everyone has some pillar on which his enitre cosmos is supported. For me it is my parents. Very few people have come any close to the amount of respect and adulation that they command. Whether it is my father's never say die attitude or my mother's philosophy that every indivual is nice in this world, these thoughts have always been the two primary notions on which i have judged people around me.Whatever i am or will achive in future, the two thoughts would always stay my primary building blocks

I have always tried my best to be a good son and bring them happiness in whatever small way that i can. Now finally i can sense that they are very happy. I can sense happiness exuding out of my father, although he tries to hide his emotions, an art which he has perfected.It takes a lot to make my parents think on similar lines, but finally i have succeded.Now that both of them are coming to meet me on my 26th birthday, i could not have asked for anything better.My not so perfect life, seems it just got better.Since last 7 years i have craved to spend quality time with them. With my family spread over in corners of the country, i wish how once more we could spend time together.I will miss my brother, his presence would have made the occasion absolutely perfect for me.

The night is going to be a long night for me.The mere thought of embracing my mom, once when she arrives sends goosebumps. At the stroke of the midnight hour tomorrow, the kid will rise again.....:)

Dear Youngest Federer...

Time to write about the Swiss boy, Roger Federer. Just finished watching him crush Hewitt on way to another Australian open finals. What caught my attention about him suddenly out of the blue was the video which one of my friends had posted in her facebook account. It is a beautiful piece of narration, the link to which i have provided below. I wont write much about this man. Watching him play is like visual poetry.

 A wrist made of rubber and the calmness and poise which would put even the greatest of athletes to shame. Greatness never got on his head, and his humility still wins the heart even if he loses the game. Pistol Pete was considered the undisputed king of modern Tennis, but not long before this kid jumped into the fray. He just allowed 7 years for Pete to keep his record.

Check out this link......
ESPN'S letter to Roger Federer's Children

This was a tribute by ESPN to the great star. The video is in the form of a narrative about the legend himself addressed to Roger's kids. It goes like...


Dear Youngest Federer,

By the time you are old enough to understand this, your father wont be the player he once was. So this is for you from those of us who were there, just to tell you who he was.

He was like a champion like tennis had never seen. He was like a page out of the most romantic novel. He was so graceful that any ballet dancer would want to burn her shoes. He was fast but not the one you would notice, he was powerful but like a Ferrari and not a Hummer.

They all came at him and they all fell to him, major after major, year after year. Your father dominated the sport the way avalanches dominate the trees and yet he was so humble and decent that it became no shame to lose to him. In fact it became a kind of honor. To lose to Roger Federer meant you were woven into the fabric of sports history. And what a history he wrote.

You will read about it some day and it will shock you but his finest moment might have been a sun splashed sunday at Wimbeldon when he passed the Pete Sampras record for majors with 15. Some thought we might not ever see that day, thought Pete was followed by younger, bulkier and useless models. But they were wrong. God's never get vanish, they reincarnate.


When you would be mature enough to understand ,Tennis would be less important. Majors would become minors, trophies will become showcase pieces. But your father's perfect life would become somehow, get even better.

How Sweet.....this is the way greatness should be praised.... :)

One more advertisement goes like this,

15 Grand Slams

John McEnroe: 15 majors. It is double of what i got (crying). Congrats (grumbling). Thanks for making us look so average.

Serena Williams : Wao. It makes me wanna cry.

Miachel Jordan: I didn't win 15 anything. Congrats.

Pete Sampras : 7 years, you have me keep this record. It's is tough to swallow. 15 this is your number. Congratulations Roger, you did it.

Tiger Woods : That's pretty cool. Hmm not bad.

LOVE 15 

IBS Hyderabad Unintentionally Seminal....

I wrote this blog on the morning after our farewell. Waking up early morning and standing in your balcony, you look towards the campus and realize that your journey in the campus is about to end. The early morning mist welcomes you and through the fog, you can see the academic block which had been your mecca.

Looking back through the mindless classes, boring lectures, proxies, assignments, printouts, I M Pandeys & Kotlers, powerpoint slides etc in the end nothing will matter. What matters most to us is the time spent here and the memory we will carry through. The Binger's coffee, the college canteen, the gaming sessions, the cricket ground, the mess, the never ending discussions, the grapevine, the gossip mongers, the city bus, the Ramalulus, Dhabas and the Sharmas, the birthday bashes, the night walks, stu-z, movies, files trasfer of gtalk etc was what made up our life here. The days spent here would carry on to be the best days of our lives...(sounding cliched :) yes..). In the end everyone will get a job and get settled but that leisure and free time will not be there.We had the power of youth with us.Your youth is that moment, that spark which you will always carry in your heart.  

 

The last two years in the campus has been breathless, tumultuous, acrimonious, humourous, chaotic, crass, and unintentionally seminal. You name any human emotion and you will find it here. How the coming years will shape up will depend a lot on the beliefs, memories and wisdom that you gather from this place. You end up making some friends as well as some foes and learn from their life. The place may not teach us be good great managers/damagers, but it surely will enrich your people management skills. Sometimes i think we lived in a utopia here.

 

Someone said very correctly that as one gradually gains experience, one loses one's youth. The future experiences will make you more smarter and street smart. But while driving your car back from the office and gazing at youngsters hanging out, do remember the life that you left behind. IBS Hyderabad for good or for bad, i surely will remember you for life.

 

State on Steroids

Before going through this post, kindly have a look at these two links.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/biz/india-business/Bihar-grew-by-1103-next-only-to-Gujarat/articleshow/5405973.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/biz/india-business/New-Delhi-Patna-best-cities-to-start-business-World-Bank/articleshow/4720294.cms

For a person belonging to Bihar, the news comes as a huge sigh of relief. Finally the state is on a growth path and the state goverment is actually taking measures to bring about a major turnaround in the state. For people who have not been to the place, Bihar projects an image of poverty, lawlessness, corruption and anarchy. We should not blame them because we ourselves are to blame. It is a very common thing to see people from our state trying to hide the "Stigma" of being called a Bihari. Once people migrate to other places they try to put a fake accent and make fun of their own language. Bhojpuri and other regional languages have become a topic of mockery beacause of the way it is being projected in the media and the cheap and offensive music videos.

Let me serve you some facts about your motherland: (Taken from http://www.gov.bih.nic.in/)

• Earliest myths and legends of hinduism the Sanatana (Eternal) Dharma - are associated with Bihar.
• Sita was the princess from Bihar. Sitamarhi was the place where she was born.
• Sita was born to Janaka who ruled Videha, which comprised of a major part of Bihar.
• Original author of the Hindu epic - The Ramayana - Maharishi Valmiki - lived in Ancient Bihar. Valmikinagar is a small town and a railroad station in the district of West Champaran, close to the railhead of Narkatiyaganj in northwest Bihar.
• It was here that Prince Gautam attained enlightenment, became the Buddha- at the present Bodh Gaya- a town in central Bihar; and the great religion of buddhism was born.
• It is here also that Lord Mahavira, the founder of another great religion, Jainism, was born and attained nirvana (death). That site is located at the present town of Pawapuri
• It is here that the tenth and last Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh was born and attained the sainthood of sikhism, that is became a Guru. A lovely and majestic Gurudwara wa built to commemorate his memory - the harmandir- and is located in eastern Patna. Known reverentially as the Patna Sahib, it is one of the five holiest places of worhip (Takhat) for Sikhs.
• The advent of statecraft, administration and economics can be related to the kingdom of Magadh.
• Kautilya, the author of Arthashastra, the first treatise of the modern science of Economics, lived here. Also known as Chanakya, he was the wily and canny adviser to the Magadh king, Chandragupta Maurya.
• Chankya brought about amicable co-existence between the Greeks and the Mauryan Empire, at a time when the greeks had razed a major part of India. Megasthenes, an emissary of Alexander's General, Seleucus Necator, lived in Pataliputra (ancient name of Patna, the Mauryan capital) around 302 B.C. He left behind a chronicle of life in and around Patliputra. This is the first recorded account by a foreign traveler in India. It describes in vivid terms the grandeur of life in Patliputra, a city established by King Ajatshatru, around 5th Century B.C., at the confluence of the rivers Sone and Ganga.
• Another Mauryan king, Ashok, (also known as Priyadarshi or Priyadassi), around 270 B.C., was the first to formulate firm tenets for the governance of the people.
• Also, Ashok's dharma chakra was incorporated into the national flag of India, the Indian tricolor.
• Ashok was responsible also for the widespread proselytization of people into Buddhism.
• Ancient Bihar also saw the glorification of women in matters of state affairs. It was here that Amrapali, a courtesan of Vaishali (the present district of the same name) in the kingdom of the Lichhavis, attained and wielded enormous power.
• It was here that Budha announced chose to announced to his disciples the news of his impending niravana .
• At Nalanda, the world's first seat of higher learning, an university, was established during the Gupta period. It continued as a seat of learning till the middle ages, when the muslim invaders burned it down. The ruins are a protected monument and a popular tourist spot.
• Nearby, Rajgir, was capital of the Muaryan Empire during the reign of Bimbisara. It was frequently visited by Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavira. There are many Buddhist ruins here. It is also well-known for its many hot-springs which, like similar hot-springs elsewhere in the world, are reputed to have medicinal property.
• In medieval times Bihar lost its prestige as the political and cultural center of India. The Mughal period was a period of unremarkable provincial administration from Delhi. The only remarkable person of these times in Bihar was Sher Shah, or Sher Khan Suri, an Afghan. Based at Sasaram which is now a town in the district of the same name in central-western Bihar, this jagirdar of the Mughal King Babur was successful in defeating Humayun, the son of Babur, twice - once at Chausa and then, again, at Kannauj (in the present state of Uttar Pradesh or U.P.) Through his conquest Sher Shah became the ruler of a territory that, again, extended all the way to the Punjab.
• During most of British India, Bihar was a part of the Presidency of Bengal, and was governed from Calcutta.
• Rajendra Prasad, native of Ziradei, in the district of Saran, bihar became the first President of the Republic of India.
• It was from Bihar that Mahatma Gandhi launched his civil-disobedience movement, which ultimately led to India's independence. At the persistent request of a farmer, Raj Kumar Shukla, from the district of Champaran, in 1917 Gandhiji took a train ride to Motihari, the district headquarters of Champaran. Here he learned, first hand, the sad plight of the indigo farmers suffering under the oppressive rule of the British. Alarmed at the tumultuous reception Gandhiji received in Champaran, the British authorities s
• Some of the prominent leaders and freedom fighters belong to the state.
• It was Jayprakash Narayan (JP) who who steadfastly and staunchly opposed the autocratic rule of Indira Gandhi and her younger son, Sanjay Gandhi. Fearing people's reaction to his opposition, Indira Gandhi had him arrested on the eve of declaring National Emergency beginning June 26, 1975. He was put in the Tihar Jail, located near Delhi, where notorious criminals are jailed. Thus, in Free India, this septuagenarian, who had fought for India's freedom alongside Indira Gandhi's father, Jawahar Lal Nehru, received a treatment that was worse than what the British had meted out to Gandhiji in Champaran in 1917, for his speaking out against oppression.
• The history of Hindi literature can not be complete without mentioning the names of Raja Radhika Raman Singh, Shiva Pujan Sahay, Divakar Prasad Vidyarthy, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Ram Briksha Benipuri. They are some of the luminaries who contributed to the flowering of Hindi literature, which did not have much of a long history.

The more you dig into the history of this place, the more it continues to amaze you and makes you proud. So next time when somebody calls you a Bihari, for heaven's sake don't consider it as a stigma. By doing so you are not only bringing shame to your state but also to the great souls who lived here. A state or a nation does not become great unless it's people help it become one. If you only abandon your motherland then how can you expect it to become developed.

The idea behind laying down the facts above is not to glorify the state but to make people be aware of their glorious past. Talk to people of our generation and these facts are only lost pages of our history books.  The pillars of modern India were formed in ancient Magadh kingdom. The greatest epics and the most widely followed religions found birth in this place. Long before you talked about megacities there stood a place called Patliputra which laid the foundations for the modern civilisations. With the passge of time and growing misrule lead to a gradual degradation of the place. Added to it poverty and caste war, we had a perfect situation of jungle rule. Right from my childhood, i have seen abject conditions in the state. Everytime we used to visit other states, i used to wonder that why can't we also be like this. Even the basic ammenities of life like good roads and electricity used to be a luxury for us. The state kept on churning wonder kids with a major share of seat in IIT's and civil services taken up by students from Bihar. But no one stayed back because of the dearth of opportunities here and moved to work in other places. The only thing in which the state flourished was poverty, lawlessness and the casteism. It is sometimes very funny to notice that how much importance is given to your caste here. The jungle rule and Lalu Raj lead to state spiralling towards further degradation. With the formation of Jharkhand, the state was left with very few cities and important centers of trade and commerce. Things started going from bad to worse and then came a change in the fortunes of the state when Nitish Kumar was voted in to power. Bihar’s GDP grew by an astounding 11.03% in the fiveyear period between 2004-05 and 2008-09, much more than the national average of 8.49%, and ranked second only to Gujarat, which recorded a growth rate of 11.05% during the corresponding period. This is a very good example of what good governance can do even in a god forsaken place.

It has been 7 years now since i left Patna, but everytime i go back it continues to amaze me. It seems that finally the place has started ressurecting and you can visibly see the changes. The infrastructure of Patna has seen a revamp in last three and the city is undergoing a major facelift. Same development should be carried to other towns and villages also. Things will only improve from here, and hopefully a day will come when we can go back proudly and work in our own native place.JAI BIHAR....

Sachinism..

It would be criminal on my side not to write anything about Sachin in my blog. After paying tribute to his disciple Sehwag, now it is the master's turn. I cannot imagine any sportsman in my memory to carry the enormous burden of millions of fans  over such a long span of time. Sachin for India is a national treasure. For a  country of over a billion, if ever there has been a single soul to bind the nation together, it's no one but him.

My fantasy for the gentleman's game started in the early nineties. Soon the fantasy turned into craze and now a religion. The early memories of Sachin batting was him opening in India's tour in New Zealand in 1993-94.

During those times cable television used to be a luxury, so we had to visit the nearest electronics store or a neighbour's house to watch India play unless you were lucky enough to have DD telecasting the match. Watching him play the punching straight drive, as well his attacking cricket soon got me hooked to his style of batting. He got his first century after nearly playing 80 ODIs and since then there has been no looking back.

My love for Sachin is unconditional or it's no love at  all. You may like someone conditionally on their personality or behavior or circumstances. But true love for a hero accepts no boundaries. I never say "I adore you Sachin because....", for true respect and adulation has no cause. Love comes from god and in your case i am sorry to say that even god turns human. One fine afternoon a big banner in the infamous 2007 Syndey test (infamous for monkeygate scandal) read like this, "Commit all your crimes when Sachin is batting, for even god stops and watches him bat". How true....

Today there is a lot of debate on ODIs and 20-20 replacing test cricket. But for purists like me, test cricket is the true test of your callibre. Players like Sachin make watching tests even more engrossing because of the sheer amount of skill and mental focus required in this form of the game. Going by recent trends the amount of tests being played are dwindling alarmingly and it would become very difficult for any player of this era to beat Sachin's record in test cricket. If anything only Pointing posses some real threat. Sachin would still  remain the supreme king in the ODI format for a long time to come.

Critics often compare Sachin with other greats and complain that he is not a match winner. I would like to remind them that put them in Sachin's shoes and then see how they perform. When Sachin bats a billion hopes of a cricket crazy nation are resting on him. To constantly deliver for years and then promising for more speaks volumes about his consistency and the love for the game. While his counterparts have fizzled away and retired Sachin still stands there with the same passion for the game. His cherubic smile and the infectious childlike passion for the game still keeps on inspiring his teamates. Batting greats like Lara, Mark and Steve Waugh, Inzamamul Haq and many others have always been there but no one has stood the test of time like him. He single handedly lead Indias quest for world cup glory in 1996 as well as 2003, and almost got them there. Still critics question his ability to deliver when it matters. It can't get bigger than performing at the  world cup. With 2011 world cup being played in the subcontinent next year, it wont come as a surprise to me when he again lifts his game and propel India towards the ultimate glory.

The big question which often strikes us is the future of Indian cricket without the master. It is a scenario which  is  something very difficult to imagine. The void left by him will be irreplacable. He will leave behind a legacy which can put even the great greek warriors to shame. It is often said that records are made to be broken but please dont be heart broken if his records remain intact for generations to come. Talking about his life apart from cricket, he is a complete family man. His upbringing, his mannerisms and the way he carries himself off and on the field should inspire us. The success and adulation has never got into his head and he still remains the family man.

If ever the lyrics of  the song "Hallelujah" was rewritten, it would go like this..

Now i have seen there was a secret shot,

That Sachin played, and it pleased the Lord,

But you don't really care for glory, do you?

It goes like this,

The fours, the six,

The upper cut , the major hit,

The baffled bowlers composing Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah...

Hallelujah Sach...

THE Year that was....

One more year passes by and one more decade comes to an end. By far this year personally experienced has been the fastest. 2010 holds special significance because one more new decade begins. The journey from 2000 to 2010 must be very significant in our lives due to the remarkable changes the last decade has brought in our way of living. Most of us matured from boyband worshipping teenagers to grown up adults if one may agree to call  himself one :). Ipods and music phones have replaced music cassettes and 20-20 becoming the latest craze.

The year began on a solemn note with the world still in the grip of economic turmoil. Stimulus packages, economic recovery, inflation, unemployment, bear bullying the bull and markets crashing thronged the headlines of the newspapers. The world suddenly no longer seemed to be the same place which the dawn of this decade had promised. All promises of economic growth and development were washed away and the worst economic crisis after the great depression became imminent. This came as a rude shock to many people like us for whom the last decade promised many things. But somewhere down the line the bubble had to burst which was building up with unprecedented growth. Nobody noticed the undercurrents and the biggest financial behemoths of the world came crashing down. 2009 was doomed to be a year of toil and market corrections, with the market and consumer sentiments on an all time low.

Rahul Gandhi,Congress,Swine Flu,Twitter,Copenhagen,small cars, Avataar, Hangover etc were some of the news thronging headlines this year. Very interestingly around 42 small cars were launched this year in India alone with the world still in the grip of recession.

On a personal front 2009 was a year of learning for me. It was year of travelling and contemplation. Pondering back there were many things which i could have done better and avoided some. The year will hold a special significance because it was the last year as a student. Come 2010, we will again embark on our journey to the neverland. We must shed all the negativities of the year gone by and carry on all the positives. Somewhere down the heart, there is a feeling that 2010 is going to be good.

P.S : A feeling of guilt always surrounds you, once the new year revelry is over. Man one more year, just zoomed away...we are growing old. Let us cherish our youth and not grow up so fast.

Hyderabadaan...

It is now two years in the city but every time you venture out it has something interesting in store for you. The city has some of the funniest dialects of hindi spoken in India. The incredulous habbit of adding "AAN" to any hindi word and speaking it in their unique way makes for some very interesting and funny hearing. Often you cant stop smiling after a conversation with the local auto driver because of the over dose of Hyderabadan hindi. "Dost" becomes "Dostaan" and "Charminar" becomes "Charminaraan" and the list goes on. On one very funny occasion during my visit to the city ,saw an old uncle scolding a kid for running behind the piegeons in Mecca Masjid. The dialogue delivered was " Tu kiski Aulaadan hain re...Kabotaraan ko Khana nahin khane dete". I could not control but burst into peals of laughter without making the old man embaressed. Other escapades have also brought many funny incidences especially the awesome songs played by the autodrivers. Your eardrums would need some repair once you step out of the auto.

The city inspite of the tremendous advances in IT and other sectors has kept its old world charm intact. From sky scrappers in Hi-Tech city to the bylanes of the old city, it has something to offer to everybody. No wonder people from all economic backgrounds can easily accomodate in the city very unlike Bangalore and Chennai. Hyderabad is quite unlike other towns in this part of India. Its lineage belonging to the days of Nizams as well as the flourishing trading community thriving here from all parts of India makes it different from other towns of A.P and south india. Jawaharlal Nehru once rightly commented that Hyderabad and not New Delhi should have been the capital of India because here you find the perfect confluence of many communities from India living in perfect harmony.

Other places worth visiting apart from the old city are the Birla Mandir and the Rabindra Bhavan. It has been an honour of late to see some of the finest performances by Indian artists in that place. Talking about the food you have to explore the city beyond the McD's and Pizza huts. Three things unique about the city are the irani chai, baked biscuits and the omnipresent hyderabadi biryani. However to be honest i still prefer the awadhi style of biryani. The best place to have biryani according to my view is Shadab which worth a visit.

Two years just flew by in the city. But everytime when you venture out in the city the essence of the city remains the same. For a small town kid like me, i still have fondness for the old hyderabad as compared to the urban and suave Banajara hills and the boring shopping malls.

P.S: Any thing about Hyderabad can not be complete without the shayari. Enjoy this amazing piece of work by some great shayar from the city :)

Hatha Main Hath Milake,
Hatha Main Hath Milake,
Anguthi Chura Ke Chali Gayi,
Abhi Gale Milne Ko aari,
Kya Karati Ki Kya ki.

Chai Pene Ko Aake,
Chai Pene Ko Aake,
Saucer Churake Chali Gayi,
Abhi Full Meals Ko aari,
Kya Karati Ki Kya Ki.

Pahalich Mulaqat Main,
Pahalich Mulaqat Main,
Five Star main chuna Lagai,
Abhi Date pe leke jao Bulari,
Kya Karati ki Kya ki.

Sagai Sagai Bolake,
Sagai Sagai Bolake,
Puri shopping karali,
Abhi Shadi Shadi Bolari,
Kya Karati ki Kya ki.

SEHWACK

I am not an expert on human psychology, politics, reality TV, free markets, terrorism blah blah. The only thing which i know is that all these things become insignificant when Sehwag bats.

This morning i woke to find to my pleasant surprise that Sehwag has just been named the "Batsmen of the Decade" by Britain's Daily Telegraph. Considering the greats playing along with him in his contemporary era it is a big achievement. If you compare him on parameters of audacity and chutzpah then i think none other than Sehwag deserves the accolades. The world has seen many destructive batsmen but to be a destructive opener and consistently slaughtering bowling attacks is not everyones cup of tea. Cricket was considered to be a gentleman's game and anything outside the coaching manual considered sacrilage. Then the world is introduced to a maverick from Najafgarh who does everthing on the cricketing pitch which a coach would never ask you to do. Purists and cricketing pundits all over the world were taken by surprise and criticism poured in from every corner. Now the same purists and critics can't stop showering encomniums on the same person. Consider some of the comments made "impudent but rarely imprudent", "Dashing openers have always been with us but none has managed to do it with the audacity of Sehwag", "He bats as if he has to catch the last plane out of Kabul".

The most funny comment which i read about Sehwag was made by Andy Zaltzman of Cricinfo when he commented that " Sehwag's bats as if he has just eaten a man-eating lion". If in 1950s people thronged to see Sehwag when even 3 runs per over was considered a very good run rate they would surely comment that, " I am not sure what sport he is playing but i am sure as hell that it is not cricket".

Some of the innings vividly etched in the memory are his first triple in Multan. Personally my favorite innings is the 195 which he scored at MCG during the boxing day test match. I still remember that after being hit by Brett Lee in the first over he faced on the helmet he went on to tear apart the bowling attack. To our horror he got out on a fulltoss trying to hit a partimer Katich  for a six. Sehwag without a slightest of grimace walked out to a standing ovation. Given a chance he said he would do it again. He is the only Batsmen after Bradmen to score 290 and above three times and got very close to become the first person to score three triple hundreds and got out on 293. Going through his record one can easily notice that not only does he score hundreds  but scores very big ones and that too at a very good strike rate.

One thing which works in his favour is his hand eye co-ordination. With his feet planted firmly and zero footwork he can wallop the bowler to any corner of the ground. In the interview after his innings in Mumbai against Sri Lanka when asked about how does he do it, he gave a very simple reply "I SEE THE BALL and I TRY and HIT THE BALL". Come again, what did u say, is it so simple . Well then the words are spoken by none other than the maverick himself, "Take a bow".

When Sehwag bats the earth starts rotating in other direction, even the angels and demons stop fighting to see his next blitz.  Join Sehwagology ,he can put even Steven Tyler to shame. Steven Tyler goes for rehab but Sehwag sends people for rehab.

All iz well.....Think Again????

The amount of euphoria and delight which Aamir's new film has brought to us is quite unprecedented. Making a  funny film is one thing but raising some important questions through humour is one art which i think Rajkumar Virani has perfected. The film strikes at the core of the problem which is our flawed education system. The film raises many pertinent questions which even the greatest of scholars and geeks would find difficult to answer. The amount of peer pressure and the expectations which the society thrusts upon us is alarming. Every Indian parent dreams his kid to be an engineer, doctor or an MBA ,but are these professional courses worth doing. A guy pursued the dream to get into an IIT which never materialised so finally ended up landing up in a decent engineering college and pursuing a course which promised him a secure career ahead. Ambition propelled him to do MBA from a very reputed B-School in India because now having an MBA after B.Tech is the latest fad. Cut to the present the guy is a confused soul who still craves for Nirvana. As you grow up with age one tends to realise how things would have been different only if you had done things you enjoyed. If you love your work then everyday is a holiday for you because you are enjoying what you are doing and nothing has been thrusted upon you.

The greatest gift  from internet are the social networking sites which give you  access to all your friends activities and keep a track of what they are doing. Surfing through the profiles you find people who are content with what they are doing without having any flashy degrees or professional courses. Their happiness is not derived from the degrees or the courses but from the satisfaction of doing what you love to do and enjoying life. Most of our career is driven by rote and following the rat race. The race to the top driven by endless desires and ambition somewhere tends to push you to doing things from where there is no return. We plan our career but soon the career path which we choose tends to design our way of living and after that there is no looking back.

There are many important lessons which the movie teaches us. On one side are lesser mortals like us who keep whinning about our present and pondering what will happen in the future and then you have people like Rancho who more believes in living for the moment and living each day as it comes. We need more Ranchos around us so that the world finally becomes worth living.

Soon after passing 12th most of the youth in India are geared up with passion to join some great engineering college and grab that dream job to rake in the moolah. Some are succesful in doing so while others slowly keep climbing the ladder. In between lies the boredom of slogging through 4 years of sheer drudggery. You end up doing assignments after assginments, earnestly doing them in the 1st year and then slowly copying from some geek in the classs and this slowly becomes your habbit. The most unsought place in the entire college is your lecture theatre where you only pay visit because you may fall short of the mandatory attendance. From 3rd year onwards everyone starts praying for the prison sentence to get over and getting that coveted job. Somehow you complete the final year project and clearing the final viva with the most audacious answer the faculties can ever accept. At the end of the day the teachers are also human beings and they pity you and clear your course viva. After numerous attempts of clearing the backlogs and numerous visits to the nearest temple you finally clear your B.Tech course with that coveted job awaiting you. Your world comes crashing down when you realize that the kind of work you are doing is no where related to what you where taught in your course. Hardly 10% of your studies is actually applicable to your job and rest are simply subjects which decorate your grade sheet. The guy sitting next to you in the workplace may not be as brilliant as you or coming through the same college but you are at par with him only because he performs the task exactly as the company demands by rote. Your mind soon starts wondering was my B.Tech worth this. Did i make a mistake. Knowingly or unknowingly you are lured by the greed of doing an MBA and drawing astronomical salaries which every national daily prints as its cover story. The quest for the MBA begins and lady luck lands you up in a decent B-School. Life in a B-school simply breezes past you in 2 years because of the cramped schedule and somehow you again get your coveted job and that coveted salary. What next now, again that same drudggery....some are lucky enough to live their dreams and rest keep on juggling between jobs and getting the next best salary.

Consider an entirely diffirent scenario where an average guy listens to his heart and does what he loves to do. After graduation he joins some creative field and slowly works his way up the career. Effectively he is saving 3 years of boredom by staying away from a professional degree or the MBA. Now you may argue that he wont be able to reach greater heights in his career of work and go up in the company because he lacks a professional degree. But my freind the world is replete with examples of people leading many firms and society with a very modest academic career. In todays fast pace world smartwork and not hardwork pays. If your basic necessities of life is being fullfilled by your profession then sooner or later you will reach a position where you can also enjoy the luxuries. For some the wait is long while others get it sooner but nothing is beyond reach in todays world. The most important thing for us to consider is to be alert about the opportunities and grab them when they come calling.

The movie is a must watch for parents who dont care what their kids want to do, for Professors who insist on getting that correct answer in the test and replicating those same derivations as shown in the text books, to students who more concerned about what grade they got in their last evaluation instead of thinking was the assigment worth doing and to all those people who think marks and grades are still a reflection of a persons merit. The HRD should as go for a major revamp in the education sector and i must congratulate the current HRD minister for taking some positive steps. India now is a land of opportunities and everyone can find his coveted job. Restructuring our education system should be the order of the day or else we will still keep on hearing about students commiting suicides and losing one more life which would have blossomed only if it was left to itself.