consortium

They say dreaming's dead

2012-01-24T11:41:00.000-08:00

Would love to see the movie "Waking Life". Philosophy, dreams, questions on existentialism. Loved this quote. Heard it on a piano background (Probably mixing "American Dream"'s Piano section).
"Hey. You a dreamer?" "Yeah." "Haven't seen too many of you around lately. Things have been tough lately for dreamers. They say dreaming's dead: no one does it anymore. It's not dead, it's just that it's been forgotten. Removed from our language. Nobody teaches it, so nobody knows it exists. Dreamers are banished to obscurity. I'm trying to change all that, and I hope you are too. By dreaming, everyday. Dreaming with our hands and dreaming with our minds. Our planet is facing the greatest problems it's ever faced, ever. So whatever you do, don't be bored. This is absolutely the most exciting time we could have possibly hoped to be alive. Things have just started." "Hey, thanks." "Not a problem!"

Project Mood lift

2012-01-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

Problem: Hard week at work. Quarter closing. Being pulled apart from all directions...auditors, higher authorities, clients, experienced senior team mate just transferred and "new" experienced senior team mate doesn't have similar experience so additional responsibility. Birthday in week. Repair work going on in office so constant sounds of drills, smells of welding (fumes of magnesium oxide?).
Symptoms: Sleep deprivation resulting in swollen eyes. Sounds and smells of repair resulting in groggy head. Digestive system cycle gone for a toss. Saturday particularly bad day at work, having to wait much longer than would've liked.

Activity:
1> Drink carbs. Packaged mango pulp with water and sugar.
2> Listen to trance.
3> Eat spicy fatty chips
4> Nap deeply in train while traveling home
5> Watch sunset melodies 10 (again) on mobile...progressive trance with stunning relaxing visuals.

And watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1cVClialBk (accidentally discovered as Armin had posted it on his facebook wall)
Result: Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh
Stress busted. As in the game sims, "Mood: Inspired"

Birthday Diaries

2012-01-05T10:47:00.000-08:00

I've always had pleasant memories of my birthdays. Always good. Always felt special that day. Even yesterday was great. Some highlights from the day when I completed 28 trips around the Sun (will be fun to remember the names when I read this again when I am old...very old):

Got calls from 4 different friends from different walks of life from 12 am to 1 am:

Snigdha my maternal cousin sister
Jay my new colleague from Bank of Baroda
Dhyanesh my engineering/mba buddy
Jignasa my mba friend

Treated colleagues with a very unique menu: A Paneer puff and a chocolate Ball from the Jimmy Boy bakery

Instead of speaking out the compulsory resolutions in the boring way, I read this poem for the "personal resolution" part:
Ho Paron me itni taakat,
Cheel ki tarah ud jaaoo,
Aasmaan ke aage pahuch jaaoo,
Dost, Pahaad, Kinaare
Jab Jab mujhe pukare,
laut laut kar unke paas aaoon

Got over 130 different wishes from friends from all over the world on Facebook. Got so many different unique wishes styles and names:
Saurabh Thakur called me Panda, a name I had got in TCS ILP days in Trivandrum.
Omkar Kulkarni wished me Amitabh Bachchan style : Aee Pandey saala, happy birthday...aain"
All of my crushes during MBA wished me. Even the one just before did.
Nada Popovic, A serbian who lives in Venice, wished me "Auguri" to which I replied "Grazie", to which she replied "Cin Cin". I looked up and realised it meant, Cheers, and so I obliged :)
Yukes Hayama, posted a link of a Youtube song that went on the tunes of Happy Birthday, but remixed in trance mode. \m/

P.S. In 2009, It was Kunal Hakim, Swapnil, Kapil and Amol who surprised me during the day and gave me bumps and cakes. Best Birthday surprise ever!
In 2010, It was Ambujesh and Chitra who waited in Vashi till I came back from office to loot me in a Garden restaurant in Inorbit mall. The staff of the hotel, in spite of my requests not to, sang a full blast "Happy Birthday" in front of everyone else, and even gave a complimentary cake.

I O U

2011-12-14T09:30:00.000-08:00

Debtors profile as on 14.12.2011: (All figures in INR)
Abhishek Roy: Rs. 25,000
Shilpa More Advocate: Rs. 33,000 (promised to give back 23,000 in about 45 days)
Sheetal Bondre: Rs. 2,000
Bhadresh Trading Corporation Ltd: Rs. 1,620 (550+470 taxi to and fro airport, 600 TA/DA for one day in Kutch)

Update: Profile as on 07.01.2012:
Abhishek Roy: Rs. 0
Shilpa More Advocate: Rs. 23,000 (Rs. 10,000 written off as expenses)
Sheetal Bondre: Rs. 0
Bhadresh Trading Corporation Ltd: Rs. 1,620 (550+470 taxi to and fro airport, 600 TA/DA for one day in Kutch)
Bank of Baroda: LFC (LTC) tour for Rajasthan: Claim amount approximately Rs. 13,000

Ecstasy

2011-08-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

Saw this again on best rated comments on a trance video on Youtube. Had thought about spreading the message the first time I saw it, but I forgot. So here it is...I can totally relate to it..especially the part about Justin Bieber and Armin Van Buuren

(Haven't heard a few artists, so will check them out now)

You say Lady Gaga, I say Oceanlab.

You say Hannah Montana, I say Dash Berlin.

You say Ke$ha, I say Above&Beyond.

You say Jonas Brothers, I say Tiesto.

You say Justin Bieber, I say Armin Van Buuren.

You say Taylor Swift, I say Paul Oakenfold.

95% of teens these days listen to the same formulaic,crappy pop over and over again. If you're one of the 5% who listens to real music, thumb this up, then copy and paste it to at least 5 videos Don't let the spirit of trance die

Fact of life

2011-08-16T13:13:00.001-07:00

Fact 1: Katrina had a lip job done a few years back
Fact 2: Katrina appeared in a TV ad today, where she is proud of having a Barbie doll named and designed after her
Fact 3: I am not surprised

Friendship Day

2011-08-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

Every 1st sunday of August, young people from all over this country celebrate friendship day. Mostly by smss/calls. And almost all of the college goers make their hands a graffiti wall. You can see autographs, symbols and smileys, all sketch-pen drawn, and of course some "coloured" bands on the hands.

What a friendship day I had yesterday. Celebrating it by having homemade food at one of my friend's house, then going on a drive to Marine drive, then cutting a chocolate cake at 2 am in the night outside the gates of our school (the school where we became friends).

Thanks to Priyanka for the initiative, Ambujesh for the execution (and for his car), and thanks to Chitra for being there. One memory forever :)

3d computer game

2011-07-26T12:58:00.000-07:00

Since I don't have the money or the personnel or the time to learn and invest (or the geek talent with the electronics background to create it) in creating this product, I would rather write this here and sometime in the future, when I see the product in reality, in the market, I can proudly say "I thought of that first".

What if someone combines the 3d TV with a computer game? Like a first person shooter with 3d depth? Car racing with things flying out the side of the street....Watching a RPG character kick butt in 3d... Imagine the kick a game junkie would get out of it.

I need a hero

2011-07-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

The world needs more superheroes. That's why all their movie remakes are superhits.
So presenting, one more creation of my sleepy head (the crystal period just before the brain's logic function temporarily stops and the compartments in the male head melt away to make it a momentary creativity machine):

"Trant"
The superhero with a meditative mind. He can do things with his mind. I leave the details to your imagination. Think about it just before you go to sleep.

not all despair

2011-07-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

...and then I see tall women, and I smile to myself, for there's hope :)

Resonance 2

2011-07-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

And while being crushed by 2 strangers on the right side and the half "wall" of the autorickshaw on the other, I was trying to move away from the slow moving traffic and the rain in the night by turning on "Chase the sun". And then in another autorickshaw, there sat a little girl in her mother's lap, singing or mumbling something by herself. And just as she was saying "ma ma", Sally Doherty was singing "...circles in My Mind". And that's when the Universe' message rang in, loud and clear...once again

But time

2011-07-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

Waking up in the afternoon after 13 hours of non stop sleep
Exercising for 40 minutes in the evening
...followed by a 20 minutes long relaxing hot water bath
...with Musk soap (from Fab India) and Shampoo and Tea Tree hair conditioner (again from Fab India)
...followed by a glass of warm milk with Drinking Chocolate

There are some things that money can buy

Quotes

2011-05-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

I hope some day someone uses these quotes somewhere:

1) Perfect Human: An example of Oxymoron
2) Ever wonder why almost all the fairy tales end right as they get married to each other?

To Cricket with love

2011-04-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

The majority of Indian sports (err..cricket) viewers fall into 4 categories:
1> I don't know what Football is
2> I know who Beckham and Ronaldo are, but I don't watch football
3> My favourite teams in EPL are Real Madrid, Machester United and AC Milan...What did you say? They are in different Leagues? Ok I confess I don't watch much football
4> I don't understand football, I just don't understand its players' and stadiums' weird names, the "kicks" names, its rules and positions. It's too complicated. Now hand me the remote, I need to see if the third umpire gives Valthaty a run out after the deep cover ran for his square cut, I can't believe that he was trying to play a pallu scoop in the last ball, only Gayle and Uthappa are crazy enough to do that. And he knew the bowler was bowling a doosra, that too on a pitch that had more grass than Feroze Shah Kotla.

So for the benefit of the endangered species of football fanatics in India, I bring to you, what Football has "inspired" into this new breed of slam bam wham Twenty 20 cricket. On the left hand is the Cricket concept and on the right is the original idea from it came from.

IPL :: EPL (Also known as the Barclay's Premier League, where each team plays the other once in a "home ground" and once "away". It was officially confessed by Lalit Modi when he mentioned about the format)

Super Sub :: Substitute

Bowl Out :: Penalty "Shoot out"

Super Over :: Extra time (to decide a knockout match when the scores are still tied after 90 minutes have been played)

Kingfisher Fair Play award :: FIFA Fair Play Award and EPL Fair play table

Net Run Rate :: Goal difference

Srilankan National Team vs IPL Club Debate (first of its kind in 2011) :: Club vs Country debate (going on for decades in Europe now)

But I do have to admit, few concepts like cheerleaders weren't brought from football as we know it, they were brought from...American Football. And few other concepts like DJs, Yearly Auction are totally unique...

Thoughts again

2011-04-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

Since I've bought a 4 inch touch screen phone, I've got a new hobby, watching movies while standing in the train. That way my mind is distracted enough to not think about standing and getting stressed while the 50 minute journey goes like a breeze. Apart from that, I get to watch great movies. One good movie that I saw was iRobot. Just loved the positive ending and the general optimistic feel, which was very rare given the nature of the movie (usually technological sci-fi flicks are doom and gloom). But the next movie I saw was a terrible horrible depressing one. The blair witch project. I thought it would be "horror" but it was rather full of despair. So definitely not recommended.

Anyways this post isn't about the movies but about a couple of my original thoughts.
One goes:
The thinking man's sex symbol is probably the same as the thoughtless one's
The other:
Perhaps the truest form of love between the opposites is puppy love. All other forms of love have a little bit of compromise or ulterior motives behind them.

Now!

2011-03-20T14:55:00.001-07:00

Ever come across the phrase "delayed gratification"? It is good if you are trying to achieve a goal and you are ready to sacrifice everything for it. But does it make sense if you overdo it? If you say "I am going to make as much money as I can till I retire". And then what? How are you going to spend it then? For whom will you live your remaining years then?

Before I advocate "Living Life for today" anymore let me put in a word to the cynics who will point out to the greedy consumerism in the west and the consequences of it, including an ever increasing pile of debt. Yes you need to find a balance between the two train of thoughts.

I suggest live your life in the present. Do as much as you can while you can. Go see places, hike up to mountains and swim in the ocean while your limbs are working fine. Dance to the music, learn to play a new sport, for it might be too late when you decide to let loose. Find a new hobby. Give time and money to charity. Help a needy, a blind cross the street. Pledge to donate your organs after you die. Donate your blood while you are alive. Hey just one time donation can help 5 people.

Don't spend money on fancy gadgets if you don't really need them. I know of people who wasted their money on an iPad and yet go ahead and buy iPad 2. For what?

And after you spend money and see the savings you have, invest it. If equity is not your cup of tea, put it in bonds or fixed deposits. You can double your money in 9 years if you invest in the bonds that have 8% interest rate.

Express your love for someone you love now. Even if it is your family. Just do it now.

the common man

2011-03-20T14:16:00.001-07:00

If there were a new representation of the common man, and I stood for the elections, I will probably win. Because I represent the common man. And here are some facts/statistics to prove it:
1> I am an Indian. We represent more than 1/6th the population of the world. We represent the perfect balance between the old and the new. The ancient and the modern. The poor and the developed.
2> I am a Guy. Majority of the working people comprises of men. At least where I live. There are no reservations for the male, whether for a seat in a public bus or in an educational course, unless one is a "backward category" student, which brings me to the next point.
3> I am a "General Category" person. From my childhood I have learnt that I have to fight for everything. For getting an admission in a college, my marks are all I have. I don't have any special right to study. For working in a public sector undertaking or in a Government institution, I don't have any special "certificate" that will help me get in. My schoolmates who used to stay in the same residential area as me, played the same games as me, studied from the same teachers and the same books as me, get an admission in my college scoring half the marks as me, just because they had a different surname than me.
4> I am a Hindu. In my country it means that I represent more than 80% of the population. My mother tongue is the most commonly understood language in my country. It is understood in all the areas of the world where there are enough migrants from India.
5> I am brown. Again I don't belong to either of the extremes. By that I mean the whites, the blacks or the "asians". My ancestors were probably white aryans who migrated to this part of the world about 2,500 years ago. After so many generations my skin colour is representative of the majority of the world. Including Latins. I will probably face racism if I go to any white region but my people won't throw racism towards any of the "extremists" if they come here.

Of virtual chips and real money

2011-03-10T08:39:00.000-08:00

Ok. This is what happens when I don't get an outlet for expressing and the creativity in me is bursting through my veins. So this time the "outlet" is a hacker trying to hack my Zynga Poker account on Facebook and trying to take off with my virtual chips to sell it to someone else for real money. The heights people go for fake money and pseudo-achievements.

I got the standard message that has lead to a lot of my poker friends' accounts being hacked. It pretends to be originating from some real Zynga person and goes something like "Your account will be permanently suspended if you don't click our link". Obviously the link is an application on facebook that will, if given permission, hack your Zynga Texas Hold'em Poker account. So please don't fall prey to any such message or other facebook tricks like "free iPad event". Here goes:

Admln Secuṛițy March 10 at 9:59pm

Hi Abhishek ,

Thanks for playing on Zynga applications.

We have reviewed your account activity, and we get information about possible unauthorized access to your Facebook and Zynga Poker account. We have provided a warning to you via email, but you do not respond to our notification.

“Your Zynga Poker account was accessed from a new location : Anonymous Proxy.”

If you are not signing into your Facebook account from Anonymous Proxy, your Facebook account may have been compromised. We recommend immediately verify your account by carefully on the link below to manage your Zynga Poker account. It may take a few minutes of your time to complete your data.

Verify your account immediately at the link below:
============================
http://apps.facebook.com/(harmless sounding app name)
============================

Note : If within 12 hours, you have not verified your account, then you have ignored our notifications. Therefore, your account is permanently suspended, and will not be reactivated for any reason.

Zynga Poker wants you to have a fun and safe time playing! Good luck at the tables. And thank you for your attention.

Kind regards,
Zynga Game Network Inc.
Texas HoldEm Poker.
Attn: Intellectual Property Agent
444 Deharo St., Suite 132
San Francisco, California 94107
Copyright © 2011 Zynga, Inc. All rights reserved.
█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│█║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│ █║▌│█│║▌║││█║▌│█║▌

(Yup, they even added a California address and a Bar-code)

Abhishek Pandey March 10 at 10:06pm

Dear AdmIn Secuṛițy,

Please don't block my account! What will I do with my life if I am not able to play Zynga applications? I am so sad that someone else has accessed my account. Please don't punish me for someone else's crime. Please. I beg you.

I will do everything I can to confirm to you that it is indeed me who is playing and not some "Anonymous Proxy".

I have just visited your Facebook Page and I am just clicking on "Report/Block This Person" (as soon as I send this reply). Hopefully that will confirm me and verify my account.

And regarding your complaint that I do not respond to your email notifications, I will ensure I do that the next time. I will gladly click "Report Spam" when you send me the email. I hope we can be friends forever and ever and ever :)

Thank you in anticipation.
Abhishek

Progress

2011-01-18T11:26:00.000-08:00

I had been sleeping. Like I usually do, when I am getting back home in train. I get off at Masjid and take the return train to ensure that I get a seat, and almost always, a window seat. And then I doze off for the next 40 minutes or so.

So when I woke up, like I usually do just before the train reaches the Vashi Bridge, my mind was still in the hazy zone. The zone when you are awake but not fully awake, not fully aware of the surroundings. When the senses are not yet fully functional and you are somewhat away from reality.

I must have been dreaming something. I saw the vehicles at the road Bridge parallel to us. Their red rear lights and shiny bodies suddenly gave me a feeling that I was in some place modern. Maybe like my earlier visit to Dubai. I began wondering about the progress that my country has made. And is it going away from its roots? Its culture?

Then I suddenly saw the tempo. The 4 wheeler vehicle that is not as big as a truck, but is not as small as a Car either. That quintessential, open from the back, goods carrying vehicle, usually with agricultural produce, dispelled all my meanderings.

I was firmly in India. It was still the India I know, the India I love

Why I hate formals

2011-01-18T10:56:00.000-08:00

I hate formals. There, I said it in the open. Err, I think I have already said it publicly, but today I wrote it here.

Why? Because they:

are artificial.
seem to be made for hiding deficiencies.
hide the personality of the wearer.
are merely there to please others.
are not comfortable.

Centuries ago some bloke got an idea that imitating penguins is a good thing and the trend stuck. So the western civilisation made it a "mark" of formal occasions. Whether it is a prom night or an important interview, men try to look their best by wearing formal suits. With the British invasion the symbol of the babu-giri spread in India as well. So it became a compulsory "uniform" beyond the schools.

Now it is alright if the sales team is going to make a pitch to the client and has to wear formals. But everyone in the organisation? Take my previous software employers TCS for instance. Their Thane office that was converted from Voltas had several ODCs (Offshore Development Centers). Now with clients sitting in their European and American offices, why were the 100 odd team wearing formals every weekday? For each other? If a client representing, say, Boeing, visits the ODC, obviously they will not visit unannounced. They won't make, say, more than 3 visits a year to the ODC? So why does the team have to wear formals 5 days a week (ok 4)? There is a seperate Offshore Coordinator in the company to take care of such communication for Pete's sake.

While my ex-TCS friend sitting in Seattle working for Microsoft goes to office in T-shirt and Jeans (some of his colleagues even wear shorts). Does Microsoft lose its business? Rather, will TCS lose its businesses if the employees do that? It should be the work of the employee that should matter more than whether he is wearing formal or is clean shaven or if his shoes are shining or not.

It is usually the HR heads that make such policies in any organisation. And the need to "control" and "standardise" grows larger as the organisation becomes larger. And the management tries to "micro manage" in many cases. Of course some organisations don't have the sort of culture in others, but this need to micro-manage is what causes terrible irritation to the employees. And it hurts the organisation more in the long run when it is in the service sector.

It reminds me of the last chapter of the The Dilbert Principle. Scott Adams says that organisations shouldn't try to control decisions over small stuff like what to wear and office supplies. Also that jobs are not supposed to satisfy people. People are supposed to satisfy jobs. People don't like to work. If they liked to work, you wouldn't have to pay them.

On Imperfection

2010-12-22T08:39:00.000-08:00

One of the quotes that I read lately goes something like "If you hate someone, you hate a part of yourself that you can see in them. Nothing will disturb you if you can't connect yourself with them". This post is somewhat about the reverse corollary that I can derive from the thought.

When I think about what I love, and I don't mean the person or the thing or the idea, but what particularly I like about them so much, I can't help but get the imperfections inherent in them as the response to this curious question of mine.

These irregularities, these nuances are what makes our object of love so unique. Makes them what they are. There is a warmth and an assurance in knowing about them. And there is a fondness that I derive from this knowledge. Maybe like what Robbin Williams said in Goodwill hunting, "The little idiosyncrasies that only I know about: that's what made her my wife" and "People call these things imperfections, but they are not. Ah, that's the good stuff".

These imperfections are also what makes humans humans. Will smith said, on the eve of the release of I robot, that you won't make a robot and give him my ears. During my adolescent days when I used to sneak a peek on Fashion TV, my favourite models were the ones who had at least one observable imperfection. Like the teeth of Laetitia Casta.

And maybe that is why I have difficulty digesting the concept of a single, all-encompassing, omnipresent, ideal God. Only because he is, rather the idea is, too perfect to feel a connect with. For me God is a concept to admire and to be awed with and be inspired by, but it doesn't propel me to become anything like him or her, because deep inside I know that I am a human and a very imperfect one at that. I won't be a human if I am perfect. I will be an idea that doesn't exist in reality.

My Mumbai, My Indians

2010-12-20T10:52:00.001-08:00

I am ashamed to write this but the civic sense of the average Urban Indian can be summed up as "Donate all possible bodily fluids to the roads"

Happy Day :)

2010-10-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

Some simple things can make one happy. Here are what made me happy today:

1> A call early morning from my fav sister Chitra that she's in Mumbai. Sanpada to be precise.
2> Wishing 4 of my juniors all the best for their strategym paper and getting thanks from 2 of them.
3> Eating sunfeast choco cookies. They are bit bitter, smooth and like dark chocolate. All this for just 6 Rs.
4> Getting appreciation at work from Boss. Probably the first occasion in my professional life.
5> Buying a mouse for 150 rs and a headphone worth 200 rs. The headphone has amazing bass and thump. Perfect for trance!
6> Getting to know that one of my junior and a very good friend Jignasa had her Strategym paper really well.
7> Getting a call from my mamaji on the pretext of thanking me for wishing him for his birthday.
8> Telling my doctor about the progress at work.

Nayan Tarase

2010-09-15T05:07:00.000-07:00

Amit Trivedi is a genius! He won the national Award for his work on Dev D. I have just heard the full version of the song "Nayan Tarase" from the movie Dev D and I am sure I'll be playing it on repeat for 20+ times a day for the next few days (it's already 10+ in the past couple of hours).

The song has a distinct clear-cut identity. It is contemporary, it is unlike the usual mass-pop that's churned out by Bollywood movie after movie. It is not at all popular like "Munni Badnaam Hui" from Dabangg or "Anjaana Anjaani" that's playing non stop on TV these days.

The music can be described somewhat by the word fusion. The lyrics are pure Hindi. Not the kind we use in daily language, but what was spoken decades, perhaps centuries ago. It is mentioned as "chaste" Hindi somewhere.

Here I present the lyrics of the song with complete translation. I've tried to do as much justice as possible in the translation. Also kept in mind that a person from another culture might not understand the specifics.

Nayan Tarse
Nayan Tarse
Daras Na Mile
Nayan Tarse

Nayan Tarse
Nayan Tarse
Dono Se Bahe Dhaar
Nayan Tarse

Haare Ye
Path Nihar
Nayan Tarse .. Tarse .. Tarse Re …..

Bisar Gaye .. Bisar Gaye
Bisar Gaye .. Bisar Gaye
Biraha Mein Chal Chal, Pal Woh Gaye Badal
Swaha Swaha Hey Hey Hey Hey

Bisar Gaye .. Bisar Gaye
Bisar Gaye .. Bisar Gaye
Sunahre Yeh Din, Kaali Raat Mein Gaye Dhal
Raama Raama Raama Raama Re

Saawan Barse .. Saawan Barse
Tapish Ki Phuhaar
Sawaan Barse

Saawan Barse .. Saawan Barse
Chubhan De Hazaar
Sawaan Barse

Gaali Si Lage Malhaar
Sawaan Barse Barse Barse Re

Translation:

Eyes yearn (My eyes are dying to see you)
Eyes yearn
Can’t find sight (of you)
Eyes yearn

Eyes yearn
Eyes yearn
A stream is flowing from them both
Eyes yearn

They have lost (They are tired of)
looking at the path
Eyes yearn…yearn…yearn

They have been forgotten
They have been forgotten
walking in separation, those moments have changed (Swaha is the act of burning in a flame)

They have been forgotten
They have been forgotten
Once golden days, now carved into dark nights
(Exclamation, Raam is a hindu God)

It rains (Rainy season)
a fountain of distress
it rains

it rains…it rains
gives a thousand stings
it rains

The sound of rain seems like an abuse
it rains it rains

Repeat Para 4 & 5.

Thoughts for the day

2010-09-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

not copied from anywhere...

1> There is a very fine line between hoping for something and greed.
2> It isn't always bad to interact with strangers...remember that your closest friends were once strangers to you.

oongli football

2010-09-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

As I've said before, this one is also about a game. But in all probabilities it is the last one on the subject. Last because of two reasons. Firstly, I have stopped playing Fifa, haven't played for the last 3 months or so. Secondly, I might not want to write about other games (I don't play that many...really). This post, unlike the ones before, is like a guide.
So welcome to the world of Electronic Football.

Junkie's guide to Fifa '09 Manager Mode:

Manager mode is absolutely different from tournament mode and is perhaps the most challenging one in the game. It tests not just your fingers/operational skill (playing a match, in case you were wandering off somewhere else), but also your ability to manage the finances, keep the board happy, keep the fans happy and keep the players motivated! In short, the complete fantasy of a a football fan, to be the man in charge of his favourite club.

After many mistakes, much tinkering around, endless discussions with another junkie and spending hours per day before finally uninstalling the game, I've completed multiple manager careers successfully. Thus the qualification to write this guide. This is mostly about which players to buy. I'll also include some tips on other things, but will concentrate on players. All money figures are in Euros.

First of all, choose a good team with a good budget and most of the staff already at level 9 or 10. The reason is that with a strong start, you can buy good players before their market price shoots through the sky in future seasons. Also, good players are likely to prefer big clubs during transfer. I prefer Arsenal not only because I am a gooner, but also because of the following reasons:

Why Arsenal?

1> 90+ Players:

A whole host of players in the default squad of Arsenal reach an OVR of 90+. Take a look:

Cesc Fabregas 94
Robin Van Persie 92*
Samir Nasri 92*
Denilson 90*
Carlos Vela 95
Gael Clichy 91*

* The OVR is inclusive of 1 that the player gets after completing 100 Match XP. Sometimes in the first completion, sometimes later. In a unique case, Clichy got 1 extra point after one defender skill training (affected his attributes).

2> 80+ Players:

A slew of players in the default squad who are already 80+ or will reach 80+, in hardly a couple of seasons in some cases. Thomas Rosicky, Eduardo, Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Alex Song, William Gallas, Theo Walcott, Nicklas Bendtner, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Fran Merida, Randall, Bakary Sagna, Abou Diaby, Emmanuel Eboue..phew..I don't think I can remember whether Bischoff reaches 80, I think he doesn't. In fact, it is much easier to list players who won't reach 80+: Sylvestre, Almunia, Fabianski (I don't remember if Vito Mannone is in the 2009 squad)

3> Youth Brigade

Many players in the Arsenal squad are young and growing, and will remain at their peak till the last season (15th season is the last season in manager mode). Few will even be the best available in their position when they reach their peak till the very end. The last list includes Carlos Vela (ST, 95), Aaron Ramsey (CM, 89), Fabregas (CM, 94), Wilshere (LM, I think 88). I think even Denilson makes the cut. In any case, many players remain at their peak for the majority of the manager mode. E.g. Bendtner (84), Walcott (85)

4> Pace Attack!

Clichy on the left wing and Walcott on the right possess inhuman speed in this game. Exploit it to score. I discovered that beating Manchester United in the later seasons is very very easy when you attack from right (or pass from left to right in the Gunners style). I've scored many hat tricks with Walcott, some even in the Professional level.

Why Not Arsenal?

The biggest curse being a Gunner Manager in Fifa 09 is the loss of few really good players due to Rivalry. Arsenal's default Rivals in the game are Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United. You won't be able to buy few young and really tremendous players like Tottenham's Giovani Dos Santos (ST, 97) & Gareth Bale (LB, 90) and ManUtd's Fabio and Rafael (LWB, RWB, around 86). The last two and Giovani are the best in their category when it comes to the last seasons. I am not counting the 90+ overhyped and over priced stars in the game like Ronaldo, Rooney, Terry, Lampard etc as they age later and their OVR declines later on.

Other good teams to start with are: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Roma, Juventus, and the remaining top 4 of BPL. I haven't tried with AC Milan but it doesn't seem right with so many aging players. Apart from these "star" teams (4.5-5 stars by default), I have tried Valencia, Porto, Ajax and Lyon. They are average, nothing great about their squad or staff apart from a couple of gems of players like Villa (92) or Silva (92) or Huntelaar (92).

Right, so you have chosen your team. Now comes the big question. Which Players to buy? I'll list the players according to their position. Only those who are the best in the game. Based on two facts:
1> They are young. They would start with crap OVR when compared to stars, but they will beat them eventually as the seasons progress.
2> They get the max OVR in their category in the last seasons. Last because a fanatic like me would like to play the whole 15 seasons of the manager mode career and would like to retire in style, winning all trophies even after 7 or 8 seasons.

Buying these players when they are young will help you avoid paying insane amounts once they become stars. They will also mean a super low wage bill for the first 5 years (if you offer them contracts for 5 years. Or extend it to 5 on their first salary). You can use the money saved from these low wage bills to upgrade your other staff, especially the super expensive in the short run, stadium manager. So buy them as soon as you start your first season. They are the best. The only ones who beat them are a few freak players who come out of youth squad. Their presence is unpredictable anyways, so buy the ones listed here.

Always remember to watch the player growth of your squad in the team management section. As a rule of thumb, I keep players who will reach 80+ in the graph, and sell players (from initial squad and from those coming from youth squad) who won't or are in the last season of their peak (usually happens when they are 28-32).

Players:

Goalkeepers:

Sell all your goalkeepers and buy these two:

1> V Fiorillo (94)
2> Sergio Asenjo (90)

If you want to buy a third one, buy Rui Patricio (87)

In the earlier seasons you may like to flirt around the idea of having Buffon, Casillas, Cech, Adler, Neuer, Lloris, but they are damn expensive (both Transfer fees and Wages) and within a few seasons will start to decline. Thus they have no resale value and will unnecessarily inflate your wage bill.

Sergio Asenjo will reach 90 pretty quickly, then Fiorillo will overtake him. And in the end (around last 3 seasons) they will both decline from their peak OVR but still will be the best. So don't sell them ever. In the last season Fiorillo will still be at 90 OVR.

Defenders:

Fullbacks (LB/RB): (Since playing on either full back position is the same in the game)

D Gosling (RB, 90)
Thimothee Kolodzieczak (LB, 88)

Fabio
Rafael

I don't remember the exact OVR but it is around 86 for both. These Brazilian, wing-back, Da-Silva twins who are in ManUtd's default squad are the best in their category in the last seasons.

Other players (who are not at their peak in the last season but are still awesome in many seasons) are: Sergio Ramos (RWB, 91), Emiliano Insua (LWB, 88), Gael Clichy (LWB, 91), Philip Lahm (RWB, 90 I think), Gareth Bale (LB, 90). Ramos has a perfect finish, so you can even use him for free kicks/penalties/corners. Clichy and Lahm have blistering speed so you can use them as wing-backs. Out of these Insua and Bale remain at their peak for the longest.

Central Defenders (CB):

Breno (92)
Micah Richards (93)
Miguel Vitor (89)

Midfielders:

Good midfielders are very rare and 80+ midfielders become near extinct as the seasons progress. Hence I recommend a 4-3-3 over a 4-4-2, as there are more good Forwards in the game than midfielders. Besides, it is much more fun to attack from all sides and score goals isn't it ;)

Defensive midfielders (CDM):

Moussa Sissoko (91)
Jack Rodwell (91)

Central Midfielders (CM):

Francesc Fabregas (94)
Denilson (90)
Aaron Ramsey (89)

Attacking Midfielders (CAM)

M Pjanic (95!)
Anderson (97)
M Hamsik (92)

Anderson and Hamsik will decline in the late stages. You can use these as your wingers, as in the game a CAM can play without losing his OVR in the following positions: LWM/RWM/LM/RM/CAM/RCAM/LCAM

Winger (LWM/RWM)

Lionel Messi (98!)

Not many good wingers in the game. You can use a CAM as a winger.

Forwards (ST/CF/LF/RF):

Giovanni Dos Santos (97!)
Alexander Pato (96)
Jose Baxter (96)
Carlos Vela (95)
Stevan Jovetic (93)
Diogo (92)
Sergio Aguero (92)
Victor Moses (90)
Bojan Krkic (90)
M Balotelli Barwuah (90)

Messi can play as a Forward at 96.

Buy Micah Richards, Anderson (if you have a formation that has a CAM), Jovetic, Pato and Diogo as early as possible. These guys start with a 80+ OVR in the very first season (Jovetic and Diogo reach 85 in the summer of 2009!) hence are more expensive than others who are late bloomers. Remaining are very cheap and you can wait till the second transfer window (or even second season). Starlets like Messi, Benzema (93, but not till the end), Bojan and Barwuah are expensive right from the beginning and I don't recommend buying them until you have stable finances. In fact I don't recommend you to buy them at all. You don't need so many forwards any ways. If any of these starlets becomes a free agent only then it makes sense to get him, like any other good free agent. So keep hunting for free agents throughout the transfer windows, especially in summer.

On a side note, there are many players in the game who play equally well as a forward as their respective midfield positions. E.g. Denilson, Walcott, Nasri (hardly loses 1 OVR as a forward). Same principle applies to CDM/CB. A few players like Miguel Veloso can play equally well in those 2 positions. Porto's Marquinhos plays at 87 whether he is a RF, ST, CF, RWM or RM. I am sure he will play at 87 even at LM, LWM & LF.

Finance:

1> In the transfer window, buy good free agents then sell them for a fee.
2> Always sign a sponsor that gives you the most variable on a match win.
E.g. Don't sign with a sponsor who gives you a fixed 1.7 million sponsorship per match when you have a sponsor who gives you a 1.4 million plus a 33% win bonus. With more matches, this small amount makes a large difference to the bank balance in the end of the season (in this case, with just 38 league matches it means a neat 6.33 million extra, and that is excluding cup wins). Avoid sponsors that pay less but promise a high sum if you win with an "undefeated season" or "maximum clean sheets" unless you plan to play each and every match.
3> Play the matches (and win) in the first season instead of doing quick sim. This way you make use of the win bonus of the sponsor money. It also helps after you've won the two trophies in the first season, as the next season the sponsors will be ready to give you much more money. Once you reach a stage where your team's Morale and chemistry are very high, then u can do quick sims for most of the matches. I still like to play against rivals even with a 99 everything (1st screenshot).
4> Always keep the ticket prices as high. Always.
5> Whenever you sign a youth player, immediately check his growth. If he is going to reach 80+, immediately extend his contract to 5 years at the same wage. Then keep loaning him out till he reaches 80. Then you can either keep him or sell him if you have better players at his position. If he is not going to reach 80, you can sell him immediately (without extending contract).
6> Always invite teams for friendlies. All 4 possible. This gives you 4 extra matchday money (sponsor if it is at home, win bonus in any case and ticket split if it is away). This also gives you more chances to play with the transfer window. It also improves team chemistry and morale.

Concentrate on building your squad in the first season. Don't buy many players, but only enough for 2 full fledged squad, with subs. The reason is that in the first season you are likely to play only 2 tournaments, the league and the domestic cup. The only exception is the English League, where you have an additional Carling cup to handle. But even then you will only play max 2 matches per week in the first season. Upgrade your staff apart from Stadium manager in your first season. Stadium manager upgrades cost very much and are best left to season 3 and beyond. Upgrading your scouting staff is the most essential to make money in the transfer window (explained later). Upgrading your other coaches ensure that players recover from fatigue more quickly. So midfield coach and Scout upgrades are the first on the list.

Sell your star players as soon as the first transfer window if they are already on a decline. E.g. if you've started with Real Madrid, sell Raul and Van Nistelrooy in the winter transfer window. There is no point in paying high wages when other equally good players are available for a lower wage. Also, these players lose their market value every season as their OVR reduces and age increases. The worst is that they can announce retirement, making it impossible to sell them. So again, check your squad's growth as soon as you start the season.

The biggest tip for building Finance is to make the most of the transfer windows by buying free agents and selling them for a fee. This is where a good scout helps. Not only you get to see more free agents in your search, you also get to negotiate with them more easily. First go for 80+ agents. They will charge a high fees no doubt (between 50,000 to 100,000), but after just one match you can sell them for 15 million or even more. When you run out of them (in the earlier seasons the no of such free agents is practically 0, and increases only slowly every season) then target 75-80 ones. Then 70-75. Don't accumulate a large no of free agents as the last day of the transfer window is very unpredictable. You might end up with no demands for these high wages players and get into negative bank balance! It has happened with me once. So as soon as you sign a free agent, place him on the transfer list. Don't worry much about not getting more money if his morale could be improved by playing him more. Just get rid of him if he is not in the list.

Contract Extension:

When you buy these players, most will agree to a 5 year contract. If they don't, transfer them for the duration that they agree with, then as soon as they are in the squad, extend their contract on the same wage for 5 years.

Never ever extend their contract till they are over. You will end up paying a much higher wage than the current contract for the duration remaining on the original contract. Instead wait patiently till their contract runs out. Then as soon as the 5th season ends, you get an automatic contract toggle alert. These contracts are automatically extended at lowest market price. I think the scout plays a role here too.

Formation:

It is entirely your call, but with my experience I've seen that the game favours a 4-4-3 and 4-5-1 over a 4-4-2. As there are more quality forwards and strikers in the game than midfielders. Also, instead of simple full backs, the game has better wing backs.

If you like the wings and would like to take a risk, you can even try a 4-2-2-2. Works well if you have quality CAM/LM in your original squad, such as Real Madrid (Robben, Van der Vaart, Sneijder).

Miscellaneous:

Put the players of lower stamina from the same position in the sub list (of the first team). For the players I've mentioned above, they are Aguero and Diogo.

Ensure your sub list reflects your formation. E.g. for my 4-3-3 my subs were 1 GK, 1 CB, 1 LB/RB, 1 CM, 3 CF/ST, and I used to sub a CM and 2 CFs. As I used to run my forwards very much from the half line instead of running my midfield too much.

Keep a minimum of 2 goalkeepers. A friend had only one, who was called on an international friendly. The game stuck and he couldn't proceed with his profile.

After playing a while, you'll get an idea as to which players from your squad are frequently called for international friendlies. I've noticed that most of 90+ players are called, but only a few countries have international matches, viz England, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Germany. So whenever these dates are announced, ensure that the player likely to play is rotated in such a way that he definitely plays just before the international. This way you don't over exhaust the substitute for the player during the break. The international friendly happens on 3rd Matchday from the day of announcement. (For the stupid English FA cup, the day on which FA cup happens there is always another league match happening, so that day is technically 2 match days, a really stupid concept of the game in my opinion...where in real world does the same team have two different matches on the same day?)

Poke-her

2010-09-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

I have no idea why this game is called Poker. I also don't have much clue about the terminology, but I am sure hooked on to this game. Let me clarify that I haven't played this game in real, ever, the only place I play this on is Zynga (Facebook), with only virtual chips. Never real money, never ever.

This is a good excuse to meet people from all over the world, in a casual, friendly environment, exchanging chats and virtual "gifts". For some guys it is yet another place to "woo" hot women. Although I have serious reservations how much a "picture" of Rose or a champagne would win the ladies. I play only for fun, not to "achieve" anything. I can say this so easily because I've already crossed the psychological 1 Million $ mark long before ;)

This game is about skill and luck. It is about betting. There are a million guides available for Texas Hold'em Poker across the web, and probably a thousand books written on the subject, so I won't delve much on it. But i will tell you that it is not as mindless as other popular games (farmville, mafia wars etc). It is not about refilling anything while you are not playing, nor it is about a short burst of spending (energy etc) while you are at it. This game is all about playing. Also, it is about you alone. There is no point of recruiting "neighbours" apart from the odd, चिल्लर (change) random chips, but if you play well you won't be needing them anyways.

The basic principles of this game are the same wherever you play it. Bet when you have a good hand. Fold when you don't. A good place to start would be to learn which hands to bet here and which to fold here (before the flop). Just by doing this your game would improve leaps and bounds. Then after playing a while you'd get a hang of it, like which hand beats which, when to raise and how much to raise, when to fold when the other is raising. You'll also learn a little about psychology or trends, that is, after playing with a person for a few hands, you'll be able to predict whether he is bluffing or not, or whether he has a higher hand than you or not. It will be very useful for you if you can quickly calculate probability. One very good site is this one.

It's called gambling for a reason. Only those with big balls win big. Obviously not all the time. Many a times have I lost a straight when someone has a higher straight, or a flush when the other has a full houses or even a full house when the other has a bigger full house. It's not necessary that you'll win with all the possible big hands, but you have to take a chance sometime.

I think that this game is very close to how trading on stock market works. A little bit of judgement, a lot of guts.

The screenshot is of a very rare phenomenon. The dealer dealt 3 Kings on the river. The only way for someone to beat that hand was to have another King in his hand, or to have a pair (to make it a full house). Then by the river it became even more shocking. All 4 Kings had been dealt, and there was no way to beat that hand. You can judge the surprise on everyone by the comments in the chat (bottom right corner).
The next comment was "Beat that". I wondered if the pot will be split or a "kicker" will be used to decide, in the end it was split between two guys who had an A each.

I wish to play Poker sometime with my friends, without money, just for fun. It will be interesting to see how many can hold a "poker face" in real life.

CS CZ

2010-09-01T05:56:00.000-07:00

When someone spends as much time playing games for the lack of work, and also holds an interest in blogging, then it is only obvious that he will combine the two sometime. So for the next couple of blogs, I'll be writing something about the games I play. Nothing in detail, just short ones.

This one is about counter strike. The version I play is Condition Zero. I play all sorts of maps but only with Bots. Gone are the days when New Mumbaiites used to exploit the network of Sify and play on LAN.

This screenshot is a very good game that I've had just now. It's not my personal record in terms of kills but definitely beats the record for max kills without dying (53). It was a 20 mins map (fy_snow). 7 vs 7, where the 13 apart from me were bots, hard level.

I used 6 different weapons (20 kills per change). First was a m4a1 carbine, first 10 without silencer, the next 10 with it. Next was cv 47, then Magnum, then Machine Gun, followed by Bullpup. The last was Krieg (semi sniper, this map doesn't have the full sniper and you can't buy anything on this map). I did use Grenades in between but they hardly added 10 to the tally.

This post is like a diary post, to archive a part of my interest. Maybe in the category of "once upon a time", as I have earlier left few games for years before coming back, or completely left them. I'd hardly get time to do this once work starts. But this is a very good way to remove frustration, especially when u've had a silly fight with someone (a much better way is jogging/long hike).

Phenomenon

2010-09-01T02:45:00.001-07:00

Inception is a movie that captured the imagination of everyone. It has led people to think, rethink, hypothesise, argue, and most importantly, watch it over and over.

Here are two of the concepts that I really liked in the movie.

From the trailer (Cobb explaining Ariadne):
"Dreams feel real while we are in them.
It's only when we wake up that we realise that something was strange."

From Christopher Nolan's interview:
When we are in a dream we are experiencing what our mind is creating.
When we are conversing with a person in our dream our mind is supplying information to both sides but we experience only our end. How much potential the human mind has.

Diary Post: The longest vacation

2010-08-25T15:06:00.000-07:00

Today I am officially a post graduate! MMS is the title I can use now (Indian equivalent of MBA). The wait for the final semester result was like a Roller Coaster ride...a long rise to the peak followed by a swift drop and a ride that seemed to never end. This post is about what I did during these vacations, mostly for the purpose that I may recall this post somewhere in the future and feel nostalgic about it, especially after going for a few months without a holiday.

At the onset, this vacation is not technically the longest break I have had from Professional life. The longest one was from September 2007 to August 2008, which was when I was preparing for MBA. But that was a self imposed break (as I had quit TCS) whereas this was a break due to external factors. My employers, BoB, like other PSUs, wanted to be absolutely sure that we cleared the course and would offer us a joining letter only after we hand them over our marksheets. And our beloved Mumbai University took a whole 113 days to declare the result. But as they say, all's well that ends well.

Our last exam was on May 3. About 12 of my batchmates had nothing to do but to wait for the result. The companies who made the batch of 2010 do this are HPCL, BoB, SBI Caps and BoI. The wait produced some expected and some hilarious reactions from the "stakeholders". While we students were left pondering if this is the fault of our employer or the University, there were some events reported in the newspapers. The first one was about the self appointed law breakers..err..makers of India...err...Mumbai, MNS, taking up the matter with the university, in their way, about the delay in the results of MCom and MMS. The other one elicited a chuckle. It was about the vice chancellor justifying the delay with a reason that they would have declared the result if the students had approached him. Without it, they probably had no idea that it was "urgently required" by anyone. Well after a lot of coaxing around by a lot of students, they finally declared ours today.

The honeymoon phase began early May. The party began the night of 3rd May itself. And it got extended due to the motormen's strike. What a taxi ride it was from Colaba to Vashi, being stuck in traffic, making all of us realise that there is no alternate to train travel in Mumbai, and that the city is pretty much dependent on it for its working.

After a few days I went to 2 big trips with Mom. I had no difficulty in convincing her that these destinations were the destinations to go. Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. Ladakh trip is summarised very well in my Photos on Picassa, facebook and on my review on mouthshut.com. Arunachal Pradesh trip brought many wild and first time experiences (postponing a flight twice, facing the real risk of running out of cash, staying in the same place doing nothing for 4-5 days, not finding any hotel for overnight stay at Guwahati etc). It is also preserved well on my post in Indiamike.com and in my photos on the 2 sites.

Then came the dreary but necessary work of pending documentation related to our house. Something that should have been 6 years was now being put into place, after a lot of running around, trying to learn specific bureaucratic setups and processes, spending money, all to put the rightful owner's name in the right place.

Meanwhile I finished the manager mode of Fifa 09 and following the crazy addiction episode, just uninstalled it.

Saw a lot of movies. Both the home version and the theater version. At one point of time, when my other PSU employee friend heard that the result is going to be delayed for another 10-15 days, we decided to make the most of the time by watching some great movies on at that time, and I ended up watching some 6 movies in theaters in 8 days with 3 different sets of people, including Inception, Lamhaa, Udaan, SALT.

Finished the fantastic Bartimaeus trilogy, even after trying to postpone it to the training period, thinking about the loneliness in an alien city and not many things to do. Well, like one of my friends said, there are a lot of other things to do TP with. So I have another fantasy fiction "the riddlemaster trilogy", that I had to order online, and the site had to order it from USA. And of course many movies, all of whose backups I had made thanks to reinstalling Windows on my laptop. No matter how many versions of Windows does Microsoft make, the basic problems never change.

Wrote a few blogs and poems, including the epic memory log for the 2 years of MBA at JBIMS and a die hard romantic poem.

Thanks to the small push from mom and me harbouring my lifelong dream, learnt swimming. According to many people in the earlier batches, the 3 of us (guys) learnt a hell lot in just 16 days. I could manage my first full fledged 25 meters freestyle lap without any supporting equipment or without stopping on the last lap of the last day.

Finished a small certification in banking. NCFM's commercial banking beginner's module. It didn't take too much effort and I did it because I didn't want to have absolutely zero knowledge on banking before starting my career.

Finally spent a LOT of time with friends. Friends from all walks of life, from the ever increasing list of institutions where I made such good friends, school, college, work etc. Lots of get togethers, one that even had us shaking a leg at a pub. Hope to make good friends in my new workplace as well.

Lucid Dreaming

2010-08-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

Just yesterday I read an article (it was an advertisement for the page "how to" on facebook which had many wikihows on their wall) on how to dream a lucid dream.

What interested apart from the obvious reference to the movie Inception (they were riding the popularity wave really), was relating to one such experience that I have had for sure in my childhood. It was like I was aware that I was dreaming, and to an extent controlling the dream, once.

The article was more or less a repetitive instruction on how to force simple realities so that your mind becomes conditioned and you become aware of your dream and in the further levels you can control your dreams. It also mentioned a little about sleep cycles and that a dream is best remembered when interrupted during the REM cycle (when you are dreaming) and even recommended one to wake up at certain intervals (4.5 hours, 6 hours etc) so that you can interrupt your dreaming. Interrupting helps you remember it the best.

Now I didn't do it consciously but I was indeed interrupted at a time when I was dreaming by my neighbour. Then when I went to sleep, I had a dream and I vividly remembered that.
It was like a typical hollywood action movie. We were a bunch of guys in black gear (presumably navy seals or deltas) somehow trapped in the top floor of a small tower in the middle of the sea (or right next to the sea). The room's walls were circular as well as bowl shaped and made of glass. At this time there was no question asked by my sub conscious. It was like I was there in the present and it was happening for real.

To get out, our leader (let's assume that he looked like a slightly younger Morgan Freeman) took out a device so often used in hollywood (including a series like Prison Break), which is in the shape of a pen. It is like a swiss knife which can cut the glass. He started cutting a large circular hole in the glass to take it out.

This is the point when I became aware that this is a dream. Seriously. I didn't wake up with a start, in fact I didn't wake up at all. But I suddenly became very happy and satisfied that this is indeed my dream. Then came the control part. I could somehow make the leader use that glass piece as a sort of a boat/slide board on the water.

Then I climbed a device that could run very fast in the water, and it felt like I was flying on it, somewhat like a very fast hover craft. Now that I was in control of the dream, I wished to turn to the nearest river and go back the river's way. Maybe this was one of my fantasies hidden deep in my subconscious.

I could fly very fast to the nearest river mouth, which was wide. Then went back the river's path, it became narrower. It became high. The scenery changed. I could vividly see the trees around, the soil around. The texture, the colour changing from Red to Brown.

I don't remember what I saw after that, but somehow I drifted into the dream in an unconscious mode. Now I wasn't in control of the dream.
I was shortly interrupted again. Maybe this interruption is the reason why I remember the dream so vividly.

The end of an era

2010-07-16T16:07:00.001-07:00

I am missing college a lot! As I stand on the doorway of the big bad corporate world (for the second time) remembering about the experiences of possibly the last college life, here are the memories that make me the most nostalgic about JBIMS, its people, and doing an MMS there.

The red building:

The Audi -
It won't be an exaggeration when I say that every one of my classmate has experienced all emotions right here in this hall.
From the agony of the announcement of a new assignment, to the ecstasy of the knowledge that we can leave earlier than anticipated due to an unforeseen circumstance.
From the pain of having to remain awake even after getting only 2 hours of daily sleep for a few weeks during induction; while simultaneously trying to make the head from the tail of the dozens of facts being thrown at us relentlessly; to the enlightenment of understanding a concept in the first go.
From the tense anticipation of a result, whether it is the semester exams or the 2 recruitments that are concerned, to the relief of having cleared the hurdle when the announcement is made in here, whether in the first go or after a few trials.
From the politics being played out live in front of the red chairs, to the trust found in the person sitting next to you who is either playing a kiddish game on a paper with you or complaining or praising (both in a hushed voice of course) the same thing as you.

It has been a venue for all the three Ps of MBA (courtesy Arbit mba):
Presentations, Parties and Placements.

And after the summer of 2009, even after it lost its status as the only room in the building capable of providing 120+ people simultaneous relief from the heat, it will remain in the annals of JBIMS history forever. Some will remember it for the cold blast of the ac in the first row and the struggling cushions and screws, while others will remember it for the "disco" lighting, and there will be a set that will remember it for the short movies we saw during lectures. Thank you, batch of 2001 for this wonderful gift.

15 and 21 -

Thanks to the coordinated efforts of 1983 & 1984 Alumni and administration, we were gifted these two monumental additions to the infrastructure. These swanky AC rooms full of modern lighting and furnishings are favourites of Professors and guest lecturers. These rooms just took off the pressure from Audi on hot summer afternoons. The rights to book these rooms on a Sunday will be fought over by the full time and part time students for years to come.

The Gate -
It has seen it all, the candid group photo sessions, the organised reporter interviews, the fervent wait, the tomfoolery of the "adult" students. It has hosted many events. It also prides itself as the starting point of various treats. So is it a surprise that it features prominently on photos associated with JBIMS everywhere?

The Tub -
Everyone who has been a part of the Bajaj family has accepted the Tub as a part of his/her legacy. It is like an ancient relic that is inherited from the generations above you. You adore it, you clean it and decorate it on special occasions (Prayaag/Placements), but you don't have a clue in hell about its original purpose.
During Nostalgia 2009, our hosts asked the alumni from previous batches as to what is the Tub for, and no one could offer a satisfactory and complete answer. Its significance seems to be lost in transition, among the older generations in the passing of time.
But it still holds its place in our hearts, appearing frequently in the various photos uploaded on Facebook.

It is not the perfections but the imperfections in life that form the most intimate memories and give the most fond experiences. The next time I am shivering from the cold ac on a winter day or after getting drenched in the rain inside a perfect swanky corporate building and I just want to take a break from sitting on my PC or attending meetings the whole day by sitting on the staircase or going to the hot verandahs or the canteen, I will miss college.

Canteen:

Vada Pav -
Our respected professor works a hard day at his office and still comes to teach us after 6:30 pm on a weekday. After much coaxing and whining from the students, he gives us a break at 8:05 pm. At this time there is no other venue open nearby that would kill the hunger beast. So 50 eager mouths rush together into the canteen to get some Tea and Vada Pav. No guarantees that the Vada Pav will be hot though, even if the CR of the class has told Shiva beforehand about the possible break timing.

Friendly Whispers -
The plastic tables and chairs that seem like they were once white in colour, that have witnessed every facet of the students' personalities; from furious finishing of assignment PPTs, freshers being instructed to keep secrets from "second year faculty" and "corporates from the nearby bank who visit our canteen" for reasons they don't quite understand even now, to the jokes, stories, updates and the behind the back politics and the "brainstorming sessions" strategising the next "event" and "elections".

Khau Galli -
The chat wala who used to give "hajmola" (a mixture of puffed rice, sev and potatoes) complimentary with every bhel. The idli wala who gave an ever-changing coloured Sambar. And the juice wala with his coloured cocktails (only the brave wandered to that territory). Many a lecture breaks have seen us thronging there.

The menu on the wall -
Those out-of-this-world spellings of the dishes. Sample a few masterpieces before they repaint them, or worse, a new caterer takes over. Chiness Bhel, Szewan rice, Veg Franky.

Whenever I visit MacD/CCD or a friendly neighbourhood restaurant, and I see those swanky glow signs with their artistic food photography and their perfect spellings, I miss my canteen.

Lectures:

Professors -
A big thanks to all the Professors who took so much of their time and made the biggest sacrifices in life to teach us. It can only be moving when someone of such stature leaves the comfort of his house and dedicates so much of his time with us instead of his family.
We have seen them all, rigid, flexible, practical, emotional, sensitive, eccentric. We have given them enough troubles and faced enough episodes of our own.

Duration -
It is possible that only Mumbai University has 3 hour lectures. Some are considerate enough to allow a short break after 90 minutes to let our grasping remain alive, while others go on relentlessly. At some point of time we all have tried to record lectures, but hardly ever played them back.

Roll Call -
Whenever I will hear anyone speak "sixty", I will miss college!

Sports:

Promises Promises -
Like Bipasha says in the advert, "hum sab fitness ke baare me sochte bahut hain, par karte kuchh nahi". And just like that, hum JBites sports ke baare me sochte bahut hain....
Many a times we pass Oval maidaan after a lecture, on a lazy Sunday afternoon or another morning when school and college kids are busy playing cricket and football, we contemplate and make plans of playing "the next time we are here". Some of us do play on a handful of days, but a good participation is limited to a week before the annual NITIE fest (separate mention in next section).
When it comes to forming teams, we use only the most rigorous analysis and perfected processes such as the following:
X-"Mujhe bowling aati hai, maine college me mast bowling daali hai". Captain-"Ok, 2nd over too daal".

NITIE -
Blessed are our b-rivals of the far suburbs, for they have a residential campus hosting acres of lush green grounds and arenas. (Of course we are blessed with the location of our college). They hold an annual sports festival that also serves the purpose of being the only occasion, apart from the almost daily rush to clamber on local trains, where we JBites get to use our muscles. Ok ok, due credit to a few hostelites who get to play TT throughout the year, and to a few other junkies.
The event coincides with the exams of the second year-ites, but even then the enthu make it. But whatever be the case, even after 2 years of being together we barely know the strengths of a particular person in a particular area of the sport.

And although the chances of it happening are far and few, I will miss college when the corp I work for hosts an inter-department cricket tournament.

The league -
As with most walks in life, we have some similar interests and different tastes within those. With football following in JBIMS, just like in India, the niche is limited to English Premier League, in particular, to the traditional "Top 4". So the usually peaceful following of the routine is occasionally disturbed whenever there is an "Arsenal vs Manchester United" or a "Liverpool vs Chelsea" weekend. Apart from the verbal banter we also get to see some bright displays of loyalty in those who choose to wear club t shirts on some days.

I will miss college, when instead of the red t-shirt proclaiming "Fly Emirates", I will have to wear the same old formals on the Monday that follows a historic Arsenal victory on Sunday night.

Red Tapism:

The accounts section -
They have processes straight out of a central Govt office from the socialist era, whether it is the yearly admission process or a simple procedure to get a refund of your library's "caution money". They have their own version of Lay's original tag-line of "No one can eat just one". It is "No one can visit just once". After visiting them thrice in the space of 1 month in order to get my 1000 rs cheque, I am informed happily that "bade saab" is on leave and I won't get the cheque till he signs it. And when I ask them if I can call a number, they inform even more happily that the board of phones is out of order for the last 4 months.
For any other automated requests or bank transactions in my life when I get an sms within seconds of the electronic transfer, I will miss all the furious form filling activities of office.

People:

Friends -
They were our partners in crime, our confidantes, our company for the 2 year long journey. We did everything together, well almost. We spent night outs on the pretext of exams, projects, Strategym, or simply to watch a movie or play cards and ended up talking the whole night. We travelled in the train together and bored other people with loud high context talks.
We pulled their legs, teased them with the idea of a member of the opposite sex, shared secrets, went to lunch, danced to bollywood songs at parties and made trips in those groups. Now as many of us are thrown into a different city and are coping with the setup, we are sorely missing our friends.
Words will not do justice to the feeling of the missing bond that my classmates are already experiencing.

The stalwarts -
The professors, guest lecturers and corporate honchos who are rich, both in experience and otherwise. The storehouses of knowledge, the powerhouses of achievement, the people we all look up to.
While it is only expected that the corporate world will not be short of such stalwarts, I can be sure that I will never have an opportunity to learn directly from so many of people of quality in such a short space of time.

The Talented -
One only needs to look around the other 119 in a different way to restore his/her faith in humanity. You will find a host of blessed individuals who don't get many chances to showcase their talents. Some are singers, some musicians, some dancers, others are painters & photographers, many are writers and mimics. Perhaps there is a need for an annual cultural festival in the free part of the academic year to unearth this treasure of hidden creativity.

There is a whole segment of talent of a different kind as well. We have a few who have expertise in deriving fun from things as seemingly harmless as personal habits and figures of speeches of people from both the above categories. Then we have the often "considered shady" but sometimes useful "of a different kind" skill of anonymous hacking.

I already miss the rapport and the chemistry that I shared with you.

The "takeaways":

Career -
A boost to it. A change to it. After all that's what we all came here for.

The dawning -
We all realised at some point in MMS that it is entirely different from the picture that we painted before getting in. Things aren't always as they appear, even if lakhs of people can testify to seeing the same thing. Only after you go through the process does the truth become clear.

The parties and trips -
Countless stories and memories abound these trips and parties.

Partner -
Room partners, project partners, some even found life partners (hey they were inspired by some of our teachers no less).

GAS -
Also known as "Globe" in other B schools. There are two popular full forms of it in Mumbai.
Garbage Analysis System (used by our Western Suburb rivals' school), and
Generally Accepted Statements
Any statement made by anyone, that doesn't have any data/fact/emperical study/analysis/research is deemed GAS by the listener. Few question papers are known to have the ability to generate enough GAS to pollute the entire south Mumbai on exam days.

PPX -

The abbreviation PPT never held a more important place in our lives earlier.
One leads to "lack of questions" or questions in the line of "sir can you tell a little more about the profile?". The other leads to labeling people as "NPAs". No there is no one who is not an NPA. It is all relative, i.e., for one person the other is an NPA and vice versa.

PPI and PPO
People work hard all summer to get these magical 3 letters on their CVs. Some by their hardwork, others by luck, the rest by sheer bad luck. The latter, also fondly called "Pappu", is like an Olympics high jump bar. Once you get over it, you can't go "lower".

The inspiration -
The wise words that first greeted us when we began our journey in this red building were "The Mercurial Energy of the mind with its ceaseless capacity of cyclic Creation, Sustenance, Dissolution... Always New, Always Different, Always Explosive, Always Amazing." How inspiring. Portraying the potential inside each one of us in such a simple way.

As we continue the journey of life, and our brain makes way for new learnings, we will eventually forget almost everything that we learnt here, but the inspiration that we got from our guides, friends, the surroundings and the situations will surely continue keeping our flame alive for the rest of our lives.

Adventure

2010-07-12T14:56:00.000-07:00

"Adventure is not outside man; it is within" - David Grayson

Of all the adventures I have had in my life (that I certainly hope were only the beginning, that there are a lots more to follow), I recall two the most when I hear the word "adventure".

1> The Panhala (Kolhapur) "climbdown"

I was about 10 years old then. Mom, dad and me went for a small vacation in Kolhapur. That is where my mom's friend's husband used to stay and she took us there to see their family and her farmhouse. It was the monsoon season. Those who have been to Sahyadris (or the Karjat range, or any of the mountaineous terrain just outside Mumbai) will know how the place is different in the rains than the rest of the year.

We saw a baby black cobra snake in aunty's farmhouse one night and got really psyched out before my dad dealt with it. With such an impressionable mind, it is no surprise that our senses are very heightened. And anything a little out of the ordinary leaves a lasting mark.

We made an excursion to the great Panhala fort. There were elders (parents of both families) and children in the trip. Two boys younger to me, and a girl in her late teens. We reached the fort top by road together and spent lot of time exploring the fort. Facing chilly wet winds in those meditation caves.

Then came the time to get down. This is when the girl (didi from now on) got an idea that we children should trek down while the elders take their cars and wait for us at a restaurant almost mid way down the road. The elders agreed. I have a hunch that they also wanted some peace and quiet away from us.

It began with a simple trek down a kachcha road. The "road" then became more and more dangerous. Its gradient kept on increasing, all the while being wet and slippery due to the monsoon, till the time it was looking more like a water slide than a path. We actually had to slide down our bottoms at places while dodging the surrounding shrubs. A part of me thought that the slide might end up in an open gorge and I might die. Another part was looking out from the corner of my eyes afraid that a snake might pop out of one of the bushes.

The path reminded me of some cartoon videos or even video games. I expected the roller coaster to end no sooner than the entire height of the mountain. Instead, only in about 10 mins we reached a plane area. And then we saw a couple of pakka structures. Only to realise that it was some sort of a zoo. On poking our nose we saw that it was a snake zoo!

We went in, heart still pumping from the journey. Saw many snakes there, and being a kid, I also put my hand up on the glass of a Cobra. That Cobra struck the glass on the other side of my palm! With a hiss he struck it and I got the biggest scare of my life. For a moment I forgot that there was a cm thick glass between his hood and my palm. But that was that and I left the place.

We met the elders after about half an hour of starting the climbdown. We had a lot of stories to share that day!

2> The great Uran ST stand "hunt"

Sometimes I am very careless of my belongings and leave them all over the places I go. I have left an umbrella in train, a windcheater in a bus stop, a wrist watch on a table (hey i came back for it but it was gone....taken.....), etc etc. This time it was a whole strap on (shoulder carry) bag in a bus. In my defence, that day I unexpectedly got a gift from someone while returning home from a class, and I did manage to not lose that bag when I got off the bus. In fact I was sleeping in the bus for the long journey, and somehow got up only when my stop came, and in the hurry forgot one bag as my hands already had another (when used to carrying only one bag....sigh).

I got down and realised later that I left my bag. Although it didn't have much (a largely empty notebook, an umbrella and two cell phones....yes, two over-used cell phones that I was carrying to try to sell it at a mobile outlet for even 100 rs if possible....if only for the satisfaction of recycling dangerous electronics). But the bus had already left.

It was an ST bus bound to Uran. Well if you catch an ST bus starting at Dadar to get off at Vashi, then you have only 2 options. It is either Panvel bound or Uran bound, and it was Uran bound at the time i caught it. All the stories that I had heard about Uran came rushing back to me as I weighed my options, deciding whether to catch another bus to Uran so late in the night.

A friend at work used to stay at Uran and he had told me of horrid tales. Of people looting lone wanderers there. Of them injuring them or worse when they didn't comply. In fact, things were so out of control there (I don't really know how it is after 3 years) that it was an unwritten rule that if you do get surrounded by a group of men, you are supposed to give up all your valuables, wrist watches, even shoes without saying a word.

Even with this I went ahead, as in the back of my head I knew that I didn't have much that any mugger could have asked for. I called mom and informed her that I will come late. I waited for the next bus to Uran, which wasn't coming anytime soon, so I asked people around for directions and boarded a CBD bound train. I walked to the junction (Uran phata) and in the dead of the night waited for any vehicle or any bus that goes that way.

While waiting there for 10 minutes my mind was racing and again struggling inside. The rational part of me was insisting to leave the place then and there and just go back home. But without any solid reason I waited it out. Another man joined my wait there.
Finally a Sumo arrived. This vehicle was carrying 8 people and they asked me where I was headed. Fearing the worst I told them. I was pleasantly surprised that they were headed towards Uran and were ready to drop me to the bus depot for around 15 rs. I am guessing that was a standard sharing vehicle for the people who work late hours at the dock there.

Reached the depot, which was nothing short of a horror movie set at night. I found one conductor and told him the story. I didn't know the bus registration no but told him the details of origin, destination and timing of the bus. He was very helpful and after asking around his colleagues, took me on his motorcycle towards the bus where it was supposedly being cleaned up.

This is the point when my trust in humanity could have died but with such helpful people around, it became stronger. I reached the bus and searched the seat where I left it, and didn't find it. It was pretty hopeless to expect it to be still lying there in the first place, to be honest.
But at least I had my mental satisfaction. The next thought was to get the hell out of there.

It was already late and I was going to go back alone with no mode of transport. Thankfully the same conductor told me that there is a last NMMT bus for the night that leaves for Vashi at around 1230 am!

So I was back to square zero. The same dead night. The same slums surrounding the deserted street. All alone, waiting for a bus that could be fictional for all you could say. But the bus did arrive, and when I saw other passengers in it, I finally breathed a sigh. Although the bus was Turbhe bound, I was happy that I would be leading towards civilisation.

I had to get down at Turbhe junction and waited for a Kopar Khairane bound bus. Finally I reached home at 2 am. Without the lost belongings but happy to be alive. My mom also had her heart in her mouth all this while.

Change is the order of day

2010-06-28T14:27:00.000-07:00

And in the world of football, it is all the more visible in the ongoing FIFA world cup 2010.
These are the four key changes that I have observed in the run up so far (just for the records, I am writing this on the third day of the knock-outs, in other words, round of 16). So ring out the old, ring in the new in the following:

1> Formation:

4-4-2 is a thing of the past. England, with their "traditional" 4-4-2 formation being criticised by none other than their own players, were ousted by the attacking Germany very early in the tournament. So did the US. They couldn't find innovation with their traditional formation against a resolute Ghana.
When you see the pre match show of any match you are likely to see a attacking 4-3-3 (with central mid in a defensive role and the striker ahead of the two support strikers, and the full backs providing extra support down the wings) more than any other formation. Other popular and successful formations in this world cup have been the diamond shaped midfield 4-1-2-1-2 (e.g. what Brazil deployed today against Chile, with Kaka in the CAM - in the hole behind the two strikers role) and the 4-5-1 (what Spain had used in Euro 2008, and no wonder they won Euro 2008 with this formation, they have the best midfield in the world!)

2> Mentality:

Countries known for their attacking prowess have taken the center stage. Earlier all hell had broken loose for the worshipers of the beautiful game in 2002 World cup & 2004 Euro (and also during Mourinho's Chelsea in club football) when Korea and then Greece showed that one can reach a long way in the competition by scoring one goal and then defending the slender lead with their lives. No longer the case in this competition. We have seen all the underdogs like Korea, US, Ghana or teams that couldn't supposedly score against their bigger opposition go ahead and equalise if not win after going 1 down.
France lost out when they tried a defensive 4-2-3-1 (two holding midfielders with only one striker up front).
On the other hand, offensive Argentina (Gabriel Heinze is a defender! yet he scored a header and makes defense splitting runs) and Germany registered handsome 4-1 and 4-0 wins even in their group stages.

3> Age:

Young Germany, Brazil and other teams with young players took the competition by storm. Compare and contrast it to the earlier year successes of France and Italy with their "experienced players". Argentina with veterans Martin Palermo (36) and Diego Milito (31) in their squad is no longer afraid to give Gonzalo Higuain (22) a start over the two. Make no mistakes, Milito was pivotal in getting Inter Milan the treble this year including the Champion's League for the first time in 45 years, scoring both the goals in their final against Bayern Munich among his 22 in all. Germany's leading stars are Thomas Mueller (20) and Mesut Oezil (21). And boy have the youngsters delivered! Higuain is currently tied for top scorer with 4 already in his kitty, having bagged the only hat trick of this world cup so far.

4> A new world order:

Both the finalists of 2006 world cup France and Italy were knocked out from their group in the very first round. Underdogs Russia and Turkey reached as long as semi finals of 2008 Euro. As football becomes more and more global, and top leagues hire more and more players from around the globe, the teams representing nations become more and more equal. Now when a Ghana faces a US in the round of 16 or when a Serbia faces Germany in the group stages, there is no fear in the supposedly smaller country's players' heads. Watch any two teams facing each other and chances are that you'll find at least a couple of opposing countries' players in the same club, let alone in the same league.

As Ghana becomes only the 3rd African nation in the quarter finals of a world cup, it will be for the first time in the history for the winner of Japan vs Paraguay to reach the quarter final stage.

Waiting for more drama and more history in the biggest event on earth!
Hoping that with these positive changes, FIFA also considers introducing technology soon.

Public Service message

2010-06-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

1> A "commoner" patient is shifted out of a hospital's ICU to a barely livable room to accomodate a "referred" patient by a high post official.
2> All, I repeat, ALL tourists of Panchmarhi in MP are ordered to stay inside their rooms and absolutely no vehicles are allowed for 2 days because Mr. Advani is visiting.
3> No civilian is allowed to use the "Civilian Aviation transport" or the helicopter service from Tawang to Guwahati on 3rd June 2010 in spite of applying to the Deputy Commissioner and getting the list approved by him 5 days prior to the journey. Because on the morning of 3rd suddenly 12 relatives of the Chief Justice, the Chief Minister and an MLA decide to use the service.

What is the common irony behind the three incidences? All of the "VIPs" were elected by "commoners" to serve the "civilians"

For Ramsey..and Arsenal

2010-02-27T15:26:00.000-08:00

I have never felt so emotionally charged up after watching a match. That too i couldn't watch on tv thanks yet again to my cablewala who out of a sudden decides to show vancouver instead of Arsenal (and previous cricket matches highlights on other channel). Could only watch last 30 minutes on a low quality stream on the net with a dozen interruptions and reconnections.

Aaron Ramsey, a 19 year old bright midfielder of Arsenal, who has proved himself so many times this season and was all poised to be a shining star, suffered a career threatening injury to his leg in the match. The captain of Stoke, whether intentionally or not, BROKE his right foot. It was sickening to watch his broken foot hanging while he was writhing in pain. Sky decided not to show the replay as it was "disturbing". The offender was given a straight red card, and he left the field crying. Even he couldn't meet the eyes of Ramsey. The play was stopped for a good length as both teams' players were trying to help by calling medical attention and trying to soothe Ramsey. Arsenal's captain Fabregas and our best buy this year, the defender who is called "the verminator", Vermaelen, were both in tears. This happened after 60 minutes of the game.

Arsenal have always lost playing away to Stoke. Stoke have always scored against Arsenal by someone heading a long throw of Delap. They did it again in the early minutes of the game. But Arsenal today showed class and fought back into the game and ended up equalising before half time.

After the horrific injury, all the players on the field had their "shoulders down". No one seemed motivated to play. Still after about 5-10 minutes Arsenal gained composure. Our substitute striker Eduardo got a chance to finish the game but he missed it. Finally Fabregas got a penalty off a clear handball in the 89th minute. Referee must have felt bad for not allowing Ramsey a clear cut penalty in the first half. Fabregas had earlier got a penalty against the same keeper but the keeper had saved. This time also he guessed the correct direction but Fabregas scored. This charged up Arsenal again. The verminator scored with a simple tap in again from a Fabregas cross. Arsenal won 3-1.

It was such a crucial win. For the most important reason that just 2 years ago at the same point (February 21 or so) our striker Eduardo had suffered a similar horrific ankle break. In that match also Arsenal players had lost the will to play and ended up conceding a late penalty and drawing the match 2-2. Arsenal had been league leaders so far in that season but the season just dropped after that, and Arsenal drew 5 successive games, ending the season in the 2nd place.
But tonight Arsenal showed character. Fabregas motivated the players after the incidence. They even huddled together after the win in a repeat fashion of the "invincible" era (2004 season where Arsenal went on the entire season unbeaten, which was for the first time in 110+ years in the league, by any team). This team has grown up.
With League leaders Chelsea losing in a very negative game tonight, Arsenal are just 3 points away from them now.

After the match both the manager and Fabregas reacted very strongly against the teams who always play "physical" against Arsenal. This is the THIRD time in 5 years that an Arsenal player has suffered a 1-2 year losing injury. This is definitely not a coincidence as the lower teams employ such physical tactics because that is the only way they can stop the free flow passing football of Arsenal. But I wonder is this the price Arsenal pays for playing so well AND fairly? This year, out of all the 20 teams in the league, only Arsenal has not got any red card (remember that Chelsea got 2 red cards just today). That means Arsenal plays to win beautifully without getting into such malicious play. And in the process players like Diaby, Eduardo and Ramsey suffer such horrendous injuries?

The only positive out of tonight is that the entire team is now determined to (even Wenger said it in his post match interview) "win it for Ramsey".

With easy fixtures now for Arsenal and tough fixtures for their competitors (No 1 Chelsea and No 2 Manchester United have yet to play against each other), there is all the chance to win it now.
Hope that Ramsey recovers soon. And like Diaby and Eduardo, come back to play an awesome game for Arsenal again.

dying wishes

2010-01-19T12:16:00.000-08:00

I want to do white water rafting on Brahmaptura much before it enters the plateau of Arunachal

I want to fly the druk air leg of Kathmandu to Paro....with Himalaya on both sides

I want to trek for 2 days in Peru to reach the hidden city of Machu Picchu

The eyes of truth

2009-12-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

Being Religious is good! No, I am still an Atheist. The reason why I am saying this is because of a couple of phenomenon that I have observed over the years.

In India, whenever there is a religious festival around the corner, suddenly the followers of that sect become saints. They become vegetarian, they don't drink, heck they don't even abuse. And not just on the day of the main festival, it goes for anywhere around a week before and after. Some people go to the extreme and do a fast, in effect giving their digestive systems and their bile juices a biologically much needed break from constant work.

In the western world, religion has more of a "mainstay" effect. It becomes the raison d'etre for acting good. Non-vegetarianism is not a sin there, so only the other forms of "bad" are abolished, like intoxication and indulgence of the adult kind.

There was a study done which proved that Religious people are healthier and live longer than the non believers.

Religions provide a huge employment base. It has propelled small time people into the handful owners of Ferrarris in India (the surviving family of the late Gulshan Kumar). I don't have the latest data but the last I heard, 11% of all the music sold in India was Devotional music. I am sure it still holds a huge share.
Why just the music industry? Imagine the total number of SMEs it supports. Have you ever visited a large Hindu temple? Flocks of stalls surround it; of flowers, sweets, other offerings; sometimes for kilometers. Imagine the number of publishing houses and workers it feeds. The most published book in the world is the bible. I just cannot begin to fathom the number of copies of the Quran, Geeta and Ramcharitmanas that must have been published and being continued.

Apart from the tangible benefits it offers to the society, there is another important function that Religion serves. It gives strength and support. The strength of mind and the will that drives many people to live, achieve and survive through tough times.

So all you religious people out there, keep up the good work. Just don't get too cocky over your individual beliefs. I believe that any Religion will serve its fundamental purpose only if it is not imposed on anyone. And if you are not in the category, don't fret, just do good for the sake of doing good.

The world

2009-12-18T00:31:00.000-08:00

At the risk of sparking an outburst from the feminists and the opinionated section of the society, I am making a statement. It is a woman's world.
Before the boos and the hisses are thrown at the statement, hear this part out.

We are all encased in an all encompassing society that is pro-female. The laws that apply to everyone are somehow either biased towards the fairer gender or are somehow female in origin.

Gillete came up with a campaign recently; indeed to boost their sales. It utilised a powerful tool of women asking their men to shave regularly "or else". Why?
Where did the concept of shaving originate from? What is a beard? It is technically nothing but the side-effect of the male hormone. The same testosterone that is responsible for the elongation of the vocal chords and subsequently the deeper voice. So by removing the signs of testosterone, the society is trying to bring men to the proximity of women, who don't have such side-effects.

How many men will, if left to themselves, in the company of only men, shave? Or apply deodorant? Market Research also categorises the two products in the "Social needs" driven basket.

Another controversial topic that finds a place here is "Monogamy". A man, if left to live on his own terms, would like to be around a dozen supermodels if not a couple of them. Those with the means and the motivation do try to exercise them. Not everyone but quite a few uber rich men do flaunt their "capabillity" this way. Doesn't multiple partners concept apply to the majority of animal species?

Hence the law making polygamy illegal. One of the ways of defining laws is something that regulates the external human behaviour. And of course, monogamy being 'feminine', makes the society more female. Indeed, for the society to work for the benefit of everyone, it should allow a woman the full commitment of one man to raise her child. Let alone the right to live.

Violence is in the genes of men. Men (and males in other species) were born to fight. Fight for food, for territory and for mate. But it leads to problems for others. Hence the need to remove violence to lead to "civilisation". So is it really, on the whole, a man's world?

Fight!

2009-12-03T12:08:00.000-08:00

I have been hooked on to this game for the last 4 months or so. No wonder it has more than 7 million players playing it online, and growing. What a journey it has been beginning as a street thug and making my way up. Which still continues. So it is only obvious that I do some justice to a thing that takes up a lot of my daily time, the thing that is the most important reason I log on to facebook.

Mafia Wars Guide by Abhishek Pandey :D

So you have entered the big bad world of virtual mafiosi and are now beginning to make some strides. Wondering how to optimise your game play so that you enjoy the max while moving through the ranks the fastest? Read on....

First things first, I have made a lot of mistakes, hence my guide is all the more "authentic".

The best character is "Maniac". If you have chosen "Mogul" because you had no idea that making money fast has no value in this game and it actually is the weakest character, well, welcome to the boat. A lot of people including me have made that mistake. But you can't change your character mid way. You can't even remove that application and start all over again because Zynga does not delete your character for 90 days after you have removed the application! But Mogul is not all that bad, after me and my friends have achieved a lot in the game with the "weakest" character. It just requires more patience than Maniac.

Right, so what is the game all about?
Doing Jobs. Leveling up. Fighting. Leveling up gives you refills of your health, energy and stamina, which you can use to do even more jobs and achieve greatness.

How to develop your character?

* Start by adding mafia. Tons of them. More mafia means:
1> More attack and defence strength used to win fights.
2> More people to give you gifts, energy packs, help during fights (rallying troops for more experience, taking bullets for less loss, finding loot), boosts and helps for jobs, laundering money (experience and money), chance to benefit while doing jobs/fights if someone adds you to their top mafia, fighting a guy on whom you set a booty (supari in bhaigiri language), even winning wars against your friends.
In short, the chance to get experience and money without spending energy or stamina. Also helps in many achievements.

The gifts and loots that you receive help you complete vault collections as well as increase your attack/defence strength. There is no limit to the number of mafia you can add. The game anyways picks up your top 500 mafia for fights, so you need not worry about stopping there. How to add other people in your mafia? Go to http://forums.zynga.com/forumdisplay.php?f=36 and to the thread "Add me Facebook *one post per thread*". It has hundreds of posts per day by actual players wanting to increase their mafia. You have to add people in your facebook friends list before you can add them to your mafia. And if you add starting from the last page, they will accept your request and add you to your mafia in minutes if not seconds. There is a limit to how many people you can add per day on mafia wars (I think it is 24), but there is no limit on how many you can add on facebook. So add as many as you can, and wait for a couple of days for them to add you. Now whether to keep those friends in your facebook after they are a part of your mafia or not list is your wish, but keeping them in your list has certain advantages. E.g., you can get experience on doing jobs that they post on their walls only if they are in your list, otherwise you just get a token amount in $ (if you help them via your live feed on mafia wars home page). The only bad thing about adding random people is that they clutter your facebook feed with posts. There are people who play 24/7, and their "xyz had just iced abc and is offering you a bonus" message can get irritating after a limit. Alternatively, you can keep them in your friend list and remove such posts using scripts like greasemonkey.
Within a week you can make your mafia grow by 250! So start right NOW.
The benefit you get to attack/defence, war participation and even gifting is available even if you remove them from your facebook friend list.

* Spend skill points wisely:

You have a choice between three types of characters:
1> The energy junkie.
You only spend your skill points to your energy and level up fastest focusing on jobs with highest exp ratio. You don't mind losing all the fights when someone attacks you
2> The fight junkie
You spend your skill points on stamina, Attack and Defence and very few on energy. You fight your way to glory and are more content by pounding people rather than watching the blue exp bar move towards right.
3> The middle man
You wisely balance between energy and Attack/Defence. You do jobs as much as you fight. You don't particularly level up fast like the energy junkie but you don't lose many fights like him.

I chose 3rd for a large portion of my time, but later found that my friend who had a modified version of 2 was much better off. Reason? The experience you get with fights is close to 3 per stamina spent, (averages out with 1,2,3,4, and 6 exp per fight won) while the best exp paying jobs won't give you more than 1.7 exp ratio per energy spent.
My friend had not put any points in attack/defence as well, and still he was winning fights! I discovered that stat points (Attack/Defence) has little bearing on winning fights, (zynga never declares the formula they use to determine who will win the fights, and is subject to a debate involving millions of people), but the size of the mafia matters the most. So if you are level 250 with only 20 attack, but 501 mafia size, you will cream (even) a level 280 guy if his mafia size is 50 or 100 and defence is 200. And there are many such jokers to be found on the fight list whether it is cuba, new york or moscow.
To illustrate, just today I finished 50 stamina on fights and got 150 experience in spite of losing 3-4 fights on the way!

One important thing to be noted is that your mafia attack/defence strength for fights is calculated on your loot items (not on your bought weapons/armor/vehicles except body armor and town cars). Also, gifting your mafia loot items with attack/defence will decrease your strength. So when you read about "equipping your mafia", it is NOT the same as "gifting weapons/armor/vehicles to your mafia", it just means having more loot items or buying items to compensate for not having enough loot.

So NEVER EVER put any points on health. Put it only on energy and stamina. Don't put points in your attack/defence after a certain point. You anyways get a lot of free stat points on vaulting collections (attack/defence/energy/health).

When to use energy packs?
You need to use energy packs wisely, as you can use them only once every 23 hours, and they can make 0 energy to 1.25 of your max energy. The best point to use energy pack sent by someone is when you just finish your entire energy that you get after you have just refilled it by leveling up. That means, you should wait before using energy pack if you are just a few exp away from leveling up. Once you level up, finish the energy, and then click on use energy pack.
With tweaking around, you can develop strategies on leveling up. E.g. I used to do max exp ratio jobs before leveling up. As soon as I leveled up, I used to do least exp ratio jobs, then use energy pack, then again do least exp jobs. By the time I finished that energy, I was already at next level. Then I switched again to max exp ratio jobs. I used to level up twice a day with that strategy. I have modified that strategy to level up thrice a day after getting "Golden Throne" by finishing New York. It involves fighting to get the remaining experience after spending energy. With 100 stamina, you can level up even 7 times a day if you play like a maniac.

Boss Fights:
Do not enter boss fights until you have put your money in the bank. Also, do not enter into boss fights until you have enough shivs/stun guns (there is no need of a getaway driver, I never used one). Don't do boss fights more than once, since their exp payout is pathetic despite their claims.

How to make good money?

New York:
During our times we had properties, and we had to buy more properties for more cashflow. You will most probably have "rackets". I am not aware of how these work, but have heard that they can be more lethal than properties if used correctly. Hunt for guides on rackets on zynga forum. I am sure you will find more than one.
Just keep on building cash flow. Keep banking money. People who win fights against you won't win your money if it is in bank. Once you hit a cash flow of say 1 million $ an hour, you can stop going to bank forever. Since banking will cost you 10% of money, and it becomes much more of a loss losing 1 million dollars on banking 10 million than losing 5-6 fights and 5-600,000 $ before you get iced. Once you are iced (under 20 health), no one can loot money from you until your health recovers over 20.

Cuba/Moscow:
Here, you need to keep selling your stuff to make money. Here, you need to keep all your money in the bank at all times, because here there is no assured cashflow per hour. Instead, how much you make depends on whether you can sell your goods before they hit the maximum capacity.
One important thing I learnt is that while upgrading your businesses, upgrade only on QUALITY and OUTPUT (Quantity). Upgrade capacity only in the end. Since you can log on once every 9/12 hours to sell your crates anyways. And investing in quality and output gives maximum gains.

There are achievements related to trillion dollars and above for New York. It is impossible to get those with properties. There are guides on zynga forum on how to make trillion dollars, but it involves doing absolutely nothing else for months. So don't bother about them now. But do increase your cash flow as much as possible.

Gifting:

Gifting, as I mentioned before, has many benefits. Now when we start, we all make the mistake of gifting precious collection items (cards, rings etc), consumables (read more about them below), even items with good defence/attack like canonazo/tnt etc. While it is your wish what to gift, you will find that in the long run, you will regret sending an item if you can't vault a collection just because one item is missing, or if you are stuck in a new york job just because you have run out of consumables.
So while gifting, DO NOT give away any consumable, which are:

In New York:
Concealable Camera
Computer Setup
Untraceable cell phone
Blackmail Photos
Illegal Transaction Records

In Cuba:
Politico Corrupto
Untraceable cell phones

In Moscow:
photos of leaders
Concealable Cameras/Untraceable cell phones (based on your choice of vory/mafiya)

Consumables are the most irritating part of New York. I know of many people who have not completed New York just because they ran out of consumables. To put things to perspective:
You will require 368 Blackmail Photos just for Boss tier. And you need to spend energy on first getting concealable cameras, then spend energy AND concealable cameras on getting Blackmail photos. Plus, it is not guaranteed that if you do the specific job to get these drops, that you will get those items. That means, if you do the "obtain compromising photos" job in New York 10 times, you spend 10 concealable cameras, and for all you know, you might get only 3 or 4 blackmail photos!

So NEVER EVER give away consumables.

While gifting, a higher level person might not appreciate all your gifts. So gift prudently. I mean, when some low level guy gifts me brass knuckles or butterfly knife or lucky shamrock medallion, I get irritated a lot. They don't add anything to my attack/defence strength. I have much stronger items. So it is better to give a person what he or she has on his wishlist, as long as it is not a consumable or an item that you haven't vaulted yet. So do not give away any collection item until you have vaulted them at least once!

Also, you can trade gifts. I have used trading to complete a lot of my collections. Exchange with people willing to exchange.

Godfather points:

This is probably the only "revenue center" for Zynga. You can buy them with actual money. Hence it is understandable that these are the hardest to obtain. You get only one for leveling up twice. Sometimes there are promotions where you get free godfather points, like there was one during thanksgiving week (again, clicking on friends' post was required), plus you get 2-3 points if you become a "fan" of the application on facebook.

Where to spend Godfather points?
ONLY and ONLY one of the two:
a) Stat points (4 for 14)
b) Complete energy refill (1 for 10)

DO NOT spend it on anything else. I have wasted points on money before, many of my friends have wasted them on crates/buying consumables (20 points for 10 New York Consumables, 55 points for 3 mysterious crates etc), hence warning you.

General tips:

* Do not do Cuba and Moscow until you finish New York. Big Apple is frustrating but the payouts (especially Private island, Golden Throne) are worth it. My character was generating one energy every 5 minutes when I started out. It is now 2 every 4minutes & 30 seconds. I have used that to finish 5 tiers of Cuba (14 masteries) in 17 days flat.

* Look out for promotional events. There was a Big Apple week which helped many players to complete New York. I am hoping for a moscow week soon. It is tough!

* In case of any problems, do write to Zynga. They do respond, albeit after a long time.

* If you have some close friends playing MW, then ask them to promote you to Either their Mastermind or their Wheelman (only possible if your character is Fearless). The idea is to get maximum experience with least energy spent possible.

I guess this is a very exhaustive guide. But I have still left certain things for you to discover on your own. E.g. Whether to heal yourself at Cuban hospital if you fight in Cuba, is a decision you have to take. Also, I haven't mentioned on how to go about achieving achievements. Those are fun if you discover the best ways to finish them.

Have fun playing! And do forward it to other noobies.

Justified

2009-10-06T04:52:00.000-07:00

Happened to sneak a peek on a TV soap on India's no 1 Channel. For the last 4 episodes or so, the prime theme has been the plotting done by a girl to ruin and screw up a marriage that's about to happen. The marriage is of the girl's best friend. Who has been her best friend since her childhood. They have been living under the same roof since childhood for Krishna's sake!

So a logical person should ask "Why then would she even think of such a heinous act of destroying her marriage?" But by now everyone should have guessed that logic has no place in melodrama.
So the reason according to the serial is like this. The guy had originally come to "see" the other girl for arranged marriage but due to some miscommunication (my my, how surprising) ended up picking up her "best friend". This has led to the original girl abandoning all sense, of friendship or of everything human etc etc.

This is the stuff that drives the imaginations of millions of ladies of our country. And it is not just any program, it is one of the most watched program. It is the love of the audience that has made the channel to take the decision of converting it from a 4 days a week show to 5 days a week. So I can make a fair statement (backed by a lot of empirical evidence) that this is what drives a woman's fantasy. Ok, an Indian woman's fantasy. If my mom, who has absolutely nothing to relate to the serial (no big bungalows, no huge joint families, no couple of daughters of marriable age) can also watch it, then I am sure the serial has hit the right spot just like the hundreds of other serials on TV suffering from the same symptoms.

So if this is what women like watching, how can those same women treat the act of their men watching internet porn like criminals? Don't get me wrong, I am not justrifying porn, but I am just correlating the two and deducing that both are equal. Whether equally bad or equally good is for every individual to decide.
After all, the reason given by women of why they absolutely hate, abhor, loathe, despise this sick act of watching porn that men enjoy is that "It is so sick. How can anyone be so sick to enjoy even think of such fantasies. It makes me wanna puke". Then by the very same reasoning, even men can ask the same question to women who watch these soaps. If this is justified, then that is too.

just for the records

2009-07-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

Even after I die, my spirit will have the satisfaction that some remote server owned by Google will continue to hold my likings and dislikes. Call this narcissism or some sort of ego massage or another of those offbeat ways to achieve "immortality" but this post will have only my likings and dislikes in the important matters (read matters that I consider important).
Thanks to an application on Facebook that gave me this idea to store it "offline".

Places I want to visit

Machu Picchu, Ladakh, New Zealand, Brazil and Greece

my top 5 favorite books :)

The Dilbert Principle: A Cubicle's-Eye View of Bosses, Meetings, Management Fads & Other Workplace Afflictions, The Lord of the Rings, Eragon and Eldest (Inheritance, Books 1 & 2), Deception Point and The Alchemist

5 best tv shows by Abhishek

SportsCenter, Friends, The Simpsons, Tom and Jerry and Globe Trekker

Albums I can listen to from beginning to end...

Behind the Sun, A State Of Trance 2008, Deep Forest, Enigma - MCMXC a. D. - The Complete Album Dil Se

My top 5 Favorite Songs (At the moment)

Falling in and out of love - Armin Van Buuren featuring Sharon Del Aden, Beauty Hides In the Deep - Doppler effect, Sirens Of The Sea - OceanLab, Please Don't Go - Dobenbeck and sasural genda phool - Delhi 6

All-Time Favorite Athletes

Lionel Messi, Roger Federer, david villa, Lewis Hamilton and Justine Henin

Stars I would love to be stranded with on a deserted Island :)

Ana Beatriz Barros, Ana Ivanovic, Ana Hickman, Giorgia Palmas and Bipasha Basu

5 Things I Want To Learn

Spanish, swimming, Shaolin Kung fu , Become a professional DJ and Skydiving

Favorite movies of all time

Titanic, The Jungle Book, The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King, The Matrix and Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

1 athlete, 1 musician, 1 celebrity, 1 actor and 1 actress (hmm maybe the subconscious bengali bias is because of my recent 68 day stay at Kolkata)

Lionel Messi, Armin Van Buuren, Adriana Lima, mithun chakraborty and Bipasha Basu

Even when there is no competition!

2009-06-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

A word for movie producers:

Focus on the script.

"8 X 10 Tasveer" had 2 months without competition, but couldn't do any business
"Kal Kissne Dekha" (original spelling retained) had no competition as it was the first movie released after the multiplex producer saga, but couldn't do any business. So did "Aa dekhe zara".

Core reason?

Yin Yang

2009-05-17T00:59:00.000-07:00

What is life?
No I am not even attempting to find out the meaning of a subject so complex and so revered. A question that many greats have devoted their lives to answer. But I will touch upon one aspect of it. What the orientals call Yin and Yang, or what the westerners call duality.

Let's start with my favourite, Nature. Nature is beautiful, but comes with its fair share of "ugliness" as well. Complementing the gorgeous mountains are the zillions of creepy crawlies. Coexisting with fruits, grains and nutrition for all are the bacteria, virus and diseases for all.

Another favorite, The Matrix, which has many zen and oriental philosophies embedded in it. Agent Smith continues to exist as long as Neo is in the system. The only way to remove agent Smith from the system is for Neo to die.

Religion has its duality as well. With Gods exist the Devils. With deities, ghosts are present as well.

Similarly, with love comes the feeling of intense pleasure and severe pain.

So when we are afraid of the negative, why leave the entire experience altogether? Just for the fear of experiencing pain, why discard the chance to love? Just for the fear of leeches, why forgo the wonderful experience of trekking through the woods?

So to live life is to experience it in its full glory

Live. Experience. Embrace

The 35 Watt principle

2009-04-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

When you want to buy a bulb, out of the two which would you prefer - a 35 W or a 100 W? 35 W obviously. Why?
1) 100 W runs expensively
2) It goes bust very soon

When organisations would like to hire somebody, they would want a 35 W bulb. One that gives a mediocre output, but an output that lasts. They would want you to give sustained output.

"The McKinsey way" tells you to 'take one base at a time rather than trying to hit home runs all the time'. If you hit a home run, everyone's expectations about you are unnecessarily raised. If you can't perform to the standards you have raised, you will get a lot of flak, negative reviews.

When it is about studies, the person that learns the most (not necessarily scores the most) is who studies in short bursts, but regularly. People who clear certifications are those who study regularly rather than those who study intensively at the end.

The reign of ruin

2009-03-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

Colors, from the Viacom 18 stable, is all set to overtake Star Plus as the number one channel in India after already displacing sony and zee. What's sad is that the driving force is a serial called "Baalika Vadhu".

If the soap that has had the last 6-7 episodes of every character weeping and wailing because of a tragic death is what is captivating the imaginations of the Indian viewer, then there is something seriously wrong with us. This is the serial that skyrocketed to fame by showing a 10-11 year kid being locked up in a filthy basement and howling throughout the night at the torture (which I am told took a neat 3 episodes). How can it represent the "Entertainment" and "Variety" positioning that the channel did when it launched itself? Colors had shows like "Khatron ke Khiladi" and "Big Boss". It then moved on to the 'universally Indian' likes of "Jai Shri Krishna". But where does "Baalika Vadhu" fit in this image?

Viacom has always been associated with MTV; youthful, vibrant, crazy, uncontemporary. I am afraid even they have taken the Balaji route to the depressing fantasies of the Indian housewife. How can something so depressing with so much negative focus be called entertainment? To make things worse, the serial is making people stay inside their homes till 8:30 pm, so the business of malls, restaurants etc is also effected (just like the KBC effect we saw around 8 years back).

It is high time that Indian women move on from wasting their time with this non sense called "soap" churned out in dozens by dozen channels every day. If the fantasy of an average Indian 'domestic engineer' includes multiple affairs, illegitimate children, squabbling family members all living and plotting against each other in the same house, handling a 500 rs crore "business" without any prior experience whatsover, then it is nothing short of an epidemic. If they get "entertainment" by listening to the preaching lectures full of Indian mythology delivered by sari clad "pavitra" women (who are later known to have done everything "apavitra") with full make up on even when they are cooking food or waking up, then I am afraid it is a mental sickness of the scale of an endemic epidemic.

Jaago India Jaago!

Resonance

2009-03-03T03:30:00.000-08:00

....and as the three wheeler; that I was riding alone; sped at the maximum permissible speed allowed by traffic; my mind was in a world other than this one. Surrounded in an epic rhythm and an acoustic melody; enchanted by a mesmerising soul captivating voice. As her last words rang my ears; I realised that there was but one thread connecting me to this world. Those words were, "Follow me yeah let's go"

The epic was ending and the male metallic voice was booming the familiar countdown. As he began "5.....4....." I saw that the traffic signal was also counting down in the exact order....5.....4.....3.....

Which is when I got the message. Loud and Clear. The world inside my bloodrushed head is not different from the "outside" world. There is resonance.

Mumbaiite

2009-02-20T00:31:00.000-08:00

The oldest history we have is that of the Magadh empire around 3rd century BC. The now NalaSopara was an established trade port of King Ashoka. It seems they left the islands to Fishermen and Buddhist monks.

(Reference)Bombay changed hands many times. The islands belonged to the Silhara dynasty till the middle of the 13th century. The oldest structures in the archipelago--- the caves at Elephanta, and part of the Walkeshwar temple complex probably date from this time. Modern sources identify a 13th century Raja Bhimdev who had his capital in Mahikawati-- present-day Mahim, and Prabhadevi. Presumably the first merchants and agriculturists settled in Mumbai at this time. In 1343 the island of Salsette, and eventually the whole archipelago, passed to the Sultan of Gujarat. The mosque in Mahim dates from this period.

Then it all started with jealousy. Spaniards were having an upper hand over the Portuguese. Christopher Columbus had accidentally discovered the new world when he had begun to discover India. Their hard rivals, the Portuguese imperatively had to discover the (route to) real India. With Vasco Da Gama, the first Portuguese arrived in India. The Indians discarded what they had brought in their ships (we had better quality materials anyways). The Original wanderers reported back to Portugal Royal elites that India w big. "They had big markets, so many people, long roads, big buildings. Everyone was so rich". But with other better goods carrying trips (Vasco Da Gama came thrice to India during his lifetime, dying here in his last trip), they slowly spread their wings in India.

(Reference)In 1508 Francis Almeida sailed into the deep natural harbour of the island his countrymen came to call Bom Bahia (the Good Bay). Bahadur Shah of Gujarat was forced to cede the main islands to the Portuguese in 1534, before he was murdered by the proselytizing invaders. The Portuguese built a fort in Bassein. They were not interested in the islands, although some fortifications and a few chapels were built for the converted fishermen. The St. Andrew's church in Bandra dates from this period. For years, the Dutch and the British tried to get information on the sea route to India--- often by spying. Eventually, in 1661, Catherine of Braganza brought these islands to Charles II of England as part of her marriage dowry. The British East India Company received it from the crown in 1668, founded the modern city, and shortly thereafter moved their main holdings from Surat to Bombay. George Oxenden was the first governor of a Bombay whose place in history was finally secure.

The web of commerce which had supported the civilisation of the Indian Ocean littoral had died with the coming of the Europeans. The Mughal empire in Delhi was not interested in navies-- despising the Portuguese and the British as ``merchant princes''. The second governor of Bombay, Gerald Aungier, saw the opportunity to develop the islands into a centre of commerce to rival other ports still in the hands of local kingdoms. He offered various inducement to skilled workers and traders to move to this British holding. The opportunities for business attracted many Gujarati communities--- the Parsis, the Bohras, Jews and banias from Surat and Diu. The population of Bombay was estimated to have risen from 10,000 in 1661 to 60,000 in 1675.

Slowly the Portugese had captured much of the southern ports of India (The current Kozhikode (Calicut) and Pondicherry still carries the remnants of their "culture"). The britishers had to find a landing place in India. Their ships circumvented the Portugese ships and beachheads across the western southern coast and went a little north. To establish a small port. They picked Surat.

(Reference)With increasing prosperity and growing political power following the 1817 victory over the Marathas, the British embarked upon reclamations and large scale engineering works in Bombay. The sixty years between the completion of the vellard at Breach Candy (1784) and the construction of the Mahim Causeway (1845) are the heroic period in which the seven islands were merged into one landmass. These immense works, in turn, attracted construction workers, like the Kamathis from Andhra, who began to come to Bombay from 1757 on. A regular civil administration was put in place during this period. In 1853 a 35-km long railway line between Thana and Bombay was inaugurated-- the first in India. Four years later, in 1854, the first cotton mill was founded in Bombay. With the cotton mills came large scale migrations of Marathi workers, and the chawls which accommodated them. The city had found its shape.

That is how the 7 islands came upon being. It began existing. Slowly, with more and more trade, more infrastructure was required. People were required. The Marwari community began traveling humongous distances to sell their stuff. It began breathing. Nothing to take away from Kolkata, as it was the Britishers' original start up port. But the point is, that is how Mumbai began its life.

With more Gujrati people coming here armed with their business skills and community supportive work culture, it slowly established itself as a business destination. It follows logically that with the business culture and performance orientation, the skills and ability of a person would take the center stage. They would become more important than the origin of the person, or to which community or region the person belongs to. Without introducing any kind of bias on association of a person's community with her/his ability, people from different parts of the country began coming to the land of opportunity. With more favourable conditions, the place transformed itself, step by step, from a port to a residential place to a business hub to a (additionally) film city.

(reference)The name Mumbai is derived from Mumba Devi, the patron goddess of the Kolis. The Kolis called her ' Mumba Aai' (Mother Mumba). From this word came Mumbai. The British, however, preferred to call the islands as Bombay. The name remained in practice till recent years. The temple of goddess Mumba Devi is still exists in Mumbai and the area around the temple is popularly known as Mumba Devi area

Given this background, I want to ask a question to everyone even remotely concerned with this city. Whose Mumbai is it? The Britishers? The Portuguese? The Gujrati Bohras/Parsis/Banias? The Marwari community? The Kamathis? The marathas? The kolis? The north Indian migrants?

Of a trance-doper

2008-12-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

My top ten greatest artist groups with the songs that drive me, that are huge reasons for me to live.

EPIC, Progressive, Euro, breakdowns, lift; the terminologies that keep me kicking.

Influencers. Transformers. Spiritually rich and enriching. Mood uplifters. Gods.....

10. Daft punk

Their name is credited by them to a UK based magazine, indirectly. The critic called their music 'daft (crazy) punk'. They picked up well with the single 'Da Funk'. Another amazing album of theirs came out with Japanese animations of alien worlds, named "Discovery". It had tracks like 'One more time', 'Aerodynamic' and 'Digital love'

Funky:

Da Funk
Around the world

Twisty:

Aerodynamic
Harder Better Faster Stronger

9. Delerium

Why did the two member band split after they made the album"Karma"? They produced such amazing tracks like "Silence".... I wonder...

Crowd Mesmeriser:

Silence (featuring Sarah McLachlan)

8. Linkin Park

I won't write much about them, as they are a well known rock band. I wish to attend a live concert of Linkin Park at least once in my life (Are you listening Chester/Shinoda? When are you coming to Mumbai? India at least!).
I have heard most of 'Hybrid Theory' and a couple from 'Meteora'. I don't like "crawling", it is too negative for my taste.

Ramblers:

Papercut
In the end
One step closer
A place for my head
A cure for the itch! (freaking awesome fusion of scratchy R&B with Bass)

7. Eminem

Once again, there have been enough dwellings on this artist all over the media and the internet. He has lead-starred in a large scale Hollywood movie for F***'s sake (his style :P ).
That doesn't take away the fact that I truly respect him. His early life is a great example of resilience (fight from going almost bankrupt and losing his wife due to poverty) and devotion (his love for his daughter Hailie).

Rappers:

Stan
Loose yourself
The Real Slim Shady
Sing for the moment

6. BT

Considered by almost everyone to be the pioneer of Trance music. This guy is old skool in the field of trance music. His album ESCM (1997) had the smash hit "Flaming June". I recommend this track to everyone who want to find out how to seriously dance!

He is known for his stutter technique. He introduced me to the out of this world vocal singer Sarah McLachlan.

'Mercury and solace' had a creepy yet beautifully picturised video of a child apparently hurt by a car crash. He is found by a group of kids in the lush fields nearby and they dance and play around. They seem to be attracted by a shiny object at a distant hill, which seems like metal reflecting sun's light. All this time a model (who's actually the singer, Jan Johnston) wearing coat over a wrapped evening gown(??!!!??) is screaming "reach out for me". I think the kids (or are they time backs of their adult being? Who knows?) are dead and it is a sort of an after-life activity happening.

His other tracks include 'Dreaming' (mixed by Tiesto also I suppose), which is considered to be a classic trance track, in the league of 'Godspeed'. One more was 'Never gonna come back down' which was the epitome of Energy in performance, especially by the Ghetto singer.

Crushes:

Mercury and Solace
Flaming June
Godspeed

5. PVD

This world leading DJ from Germany is a one man army. He has traveled the world, and I was lucky to catch his second coming to Mumbai, live.
His hits include "For an Angel" and "We are alive" which had a video of a huge black trampoline cum couch traveling in city roads (I guess in Germany) and people of all ages/sects enjoying bouncing around. I somehow don't like these songs.

Thumpers:

Crush mix ('The politics of Dancing') from the Energy 2003 live performance
Times of our lives
Autumn
Rapture mix (originally by the group Iio - who derived their name from Sony Vaio!)

4. Deep Forest

Thanks to the creativity of this french duo. Creative because they combined Pygmy chants with Digital (revolutionary back then, in 1992) sounds. Creative because they moved on to Hungarian and Gypsy chants for further projects. Their first album was titled "Deep Forest". If you have heard the title song from the movie "Gupt", look no further for its "inspiration".
Creative as they were considered forerunners in the world of world music.
Creative as they have Australian native lyrics (not Swahili) in their smash song (sweet lullaby)

Makes you wanna groove:

Deep Forest (title track)
Hunting
Savana Dance
White whisper (have you heard the background music of Salman Khan's presence in "Judwa"?)

Heavily uplifts the mood:

Night Bird
The first twilight

3. Planet Funk

Mental patients exhibiting all signs of catatonism (a kind of madness for all you lazy bums) locked in a room. This forms the base video of "Chase the sun". The secret to the wooden radio is revealed in the next released video "Inside all the people", where there is no radio equipment inside the hollow box at all! Perhaps suggesting that the patients are listening to something out of their imagination.
"Inside all the people" goes on to show the chemistry that happens between a man and woman. A simple collision in the crowd is showed 3 times with 3 different results.

Rated 5, automatically ;) (windows media player style):

Chase the sun
Inside all the people

Hip turners:

Who said (stuck in the UK)

2. Enigma

Who could possibly think of a positive out of a 12 year old child dropping out of school to pursue a career in music? I am glad Mr. Cretu did.
Gregorian chants, Sexual noises, Thumping dance track, Shakuhachi flutes, can anybody possibly imagine a fusion out of these? I am glad Mr. Michael Cretu did.
Who would get inspired out of falling asleep in a London underground train? I am glad Mr....Yep, you got it.

Welcome to the world of Enigma. The world of mysteries. The world of treasures in terms of musical riches. No wonder the list of bollywood movies that got 'inspired' are countless. From the background music of Tridev to the songs of Akshay - Mamta Kulkarni (mang meri bharo....straight lift from mea culpa), everyone has tried to rake in the success story of this phenomenon.

After 'the cross of changes', their third album was a fusion of these Gregorian chants as well as tribal songs.

Reinventing itself in "The screen behind the mirror" and "Voyageur" proved that the artists have no dearth of soul.

Favourite tracks: Too many to list but will post a few 'toppers'

Mood Transformers/Transporters to different worlds:

Callas went away (I have written a poem on the visions I get when I hear this song)
Knocking on forbidden doors (Another vision that I get is of a guy running across narrow paths in the night on high dark barren plateaus, with deep gorges on both sides, to save someone locked in a dark castle...scary?)
Shadows in silence
In the shadow in the light
Push the limits.....It has lyrics having statistics about the MOON! Then linking it with the famous 'Oh fortuna' (remember the background score of the old old spice ads?) chant, possibly implying a connection with the moon and velut luna (like the moon, fortune is very moody and erratic)
Smell of Desire

Groovies:

The eyes of truth
I love you I'll kill you
Age of loneliness (Carly's song)
Return to innocence (The reverse video)
TNT for the brain (Listen to the Table, and listen to the sanskrit chants in this album)
Voyageur
Page of cups
The piano
The gravity of love
Modern crusaders
Traces (Light and Weight). This is the song captured in Sony Ericsson mobile handsets' "greetings" alarm/ring tone. Apart from Enigma, I think only AR Rehman can put the sounds of dripping water and match stick lighting to create the effect.
Silence must be heard
Turn Around (techno focus, and lyrics straightaway mention titles of previous hits of Enigma)
Ancient person of my heart

Some of the best songs are produced by Enigma collaborating with Deep forest. Two of my favourite artists combining to give awesome music! What more can I ask for? Notable ones are: 'Into Morocco' and 'New Dawn'

1. Chicane

Trivia: All you Bryan Adams fans, read this. Have you heard the song "Cloud no 9"? If you have, then the chances are that you have heard the remixed version of this song, not the original one. Because the original one was so bad, it never took off. It was Chicane's remix that did the trick and the song became popular. Bryan Adams sang for their biggest hit so far (Don't give up) as a gesture for his help.

Their music is described as relaxed, ambient, mood shifting and influenced by Ibiza!!

Anthems, my version of "Bhajan":

Saltwater (my all time favourite song across all categories of music, to date)
Don't give up
Sunstroke (remix)
Offshore
Autumn tactics

Phew!
What a ride this has been for me. If you have read this far, thank you very much for walking through this with me!

Forget the bulls and bears, JB students chase leopards

2008-11-16T20:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Kunal for the title. Disclaimer: This article is purely a spoof

POWAI, MUMBAI (9 pm):
It was a usual routine game of Volleyball at the annual sports festival of a rival school in Powai, when the students of JBIMS turned it into a nature related activity. Joining the spectator list of students from SIMSR, JBIMS, NITIE and SPJIMR was a yellow, 4 foot long leopard. It is widely believed that the leopard was attracted at the sight of the best planners of India gathered together so close to his home.

As a token of respect for the leopard the students of JBIMS engaged into a case based discussion on 'Ways to spread awareness about leopards among Mumbaiites'. Among the various suggestions provided, a few innovative ones were using campus radios and visiting thejijamata udyan (zoo) while visiting the Ganpati of Lalbaug. The closing statement of the discussion "We look forward to hosting you on this campus again" was substantiated just 30 minutes later as the Leopard gave a second appearance in the same ground.

"The value of conserving nature is ingrained in us in the very first year through courses like CSR" says Neerav Makwana, a first year student of JBIMS. "Being at Churchgate, the closest we get to animal sightings in nature are those of the dolphins near marine drive. So we thought that the current situation presents to us a wonderful opportunity to practice what we learn".

When asked about the number of prizes that JBIMS won at the sports festival, he replied "Most B schools take part in these events to win, but Bajaj is different. We come here with the primary purpose of enjoying, and we have successfully ensured that the enjoyment quotient is achieved at the end of the day. We also provided a value addition in terms of leveraging upon the existing resources of our rival institute. Also, when it comes to maintaining a consistency, we have proved ourselves yet again as we reached in the semi finals of all the events we took part in".

Ramblings of the connected kind

2008-06-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

1>We are a part of the Universe. We are one with the Universe. We are no different.

The Hydrogen present between the stars and in the Nebulae and the Carbon present in the Sun is the same that is present in our bodies.

2>The Universe has a plan for all of us. The world is a stage and all the men and women merely players.

If we discover the plan that the Universe has aligned for us, it will do everything in its power to help us start it. To complete it takes a little effort from our side. The Universe doesn't make plans and assign it to those who don't have the capability to complete it.

3>The Universe is intelligent. If it can create an intelligent mind that can ask questions, it is more intelligent than us.

Instead of questioning or doubting life, God, the world, it is our duty to search the plan that is the purpose of our life. Then to work to finish it.

Our planet is teeming with life. All living beings are living and working for the higher purpose, aligned with the one soul. Hence it is imperative to have respect for life.

*On Revolution (Terrorism):
How can the purpose of one's existence be abruptly ending the purpose of living of one hundred others?

The return to innocence

2008-04-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

Then: You felt elated just because your parent looked at you sideways and gave you a short chase over the flight of stairs. You were in sheer ecstasy when you were finally caught and tickled on your tummy.
Now: You have been on the couch cycling through 104 channels for the third time in the last 10 minutes but still haven't found "anything" worthwhile. You put a potato chip in your mouth thinking about your "growing" tummy and how "Jerry" used to have one and still outrun "Tom".

Then: Any gift you received gave you double excitement. One was the pride of showing off the gift itself, no matter how common or simple or cheap it was. The other was the plethora of things you could do with the boxes/covers. Like building triangular tunnels for your toy train, makeshift rain houses for "Jackie" your puppy, cutouts in the shape of stars.
Now: The USB stick you got just 6 months ago doesn't seem interesting enough. Yes it still serves the "function" but you could have got one with FM/MP3/MPEG4 playback with a 30 GB storage. Is there an exchange offer for gadgets nearby?

Then: It's a birthday! There will be cakes, wafers, samosas, comic hero masks, cone caps, big balloons, toffees inside, coloured papers, agarbattis to burst them, games like 'hide and seek' and 'dog and the bone'. You hope that the friendly game of "Uno" cards you have brought as a gift will be used for entertainment in your friend circle in your summer holiday nights. You also hope that you get some comics as a return gift. Even a "Billoo" or a "Kar Bura to ho Bhala"-Bankelal will do.
Now: Sigh. Another senior member of the project is getting released. There goes a string of long speeches, especially by our Project Leader. Achievements, legacy, dependency, motivation, blah blah blah. My legs are aching. Hey that team member lady is wearing a nice pair of shoes. Wonder if there is a rum cake at the end of this.

Then: It is 5 pm. You hear your surname being shouted in a very crude way in the street below. Your sleeping father moans and gets irritated. You think "How many times do I have to tell my friends to use my first name? How hard is it for them to call me 'Ravi' instead of 'Singh'? At least they are not doing 'Kaalu' anymore. I'd rather put on my canvas shoes and take my bat or else this shouting will continue like everyday".
Now: The idea of a physical workout involves walking. From house to the bus stop, from platform no 6 to 1, inside a shopping mall, and if lucky, a garden or a sea face.

Then: The term "Adrenaline" meant a visit to the nearby mountain temple during monsoon. Who is interested to go for a Darshan? We go inside the premises only because of the laddoos we get for prasad. We are more interested in exploring the muddy and shrubby mountain and if lucky spotting a snake and running for our lives.
Now: I can feel the testosterone in me. Let me flash the message on DC++ : Anyone interested in a 2 hour game of Counter Strike 1.6? No? What about Halo? Thankfully I paid for LAN in this connection as well.

Then: Finally! 3 months of saving pocket money. Finally got my hands on the new "Savage Garden"/"Kaho na Pyar hai"/''Jagjeet Singh" cassette. I will listen to it at least 5 times a day on my walkman. Would my crush Pooja/Sumit like to listen to it with me?
Now: Who is this Amy Winehouse who has been on page 3 all the time? Lemme see what youtube search sputters? "Rehab"? Sounds more like her addiction problem than a video to me. Anyways, let's see how the first 30 seconds are. Or else it's back to "Race" for me.

After the journey of "Then"s from your 2 year old phase to being a teen: When was the last time when the words "simple" and "pleasure" seemed synonymous? Was it your last visit to the sea beach? Was it the friendly game of ball you played with the 3 year old in your society? Was it the melting of chocolate on your tongue? Was it the head oil massage you gave to your mom/grandma? Yes we have moved far ahead with the times. Is it time to return to innocence again?

3 letters

2008-02-21T14:12:00.000-08:00

You are now over one year into the software "industry". You have crossed over from being "enthusiastic" to "complaining" around 4 months back. The words that describe your job now are "boring" and "monotonous". You are still here because you earn a little more than your "core engineer" friend, there is a possibility of you going "onsite" and the IT sector is hot right now. Most of your friends are already stamping their visas for US for their MS degree. But you think that it is just a passport for earning in dollars doing pretty much what you would have done in India anyways. Now the situation is of a "saturation point". You now want to "get out of it". Suddenly working as a boss rather than a subordinate fills your fantasies. You have been hearing about the 3 letter entrance examinations that test only high school level aptitude since college. You have also been hearing about the 7 digit annual salary figures that the passouts from these 3 letter "institutes" are paid, from your colleagues. So you decide, it is time to enter the race. Welcome to the world of lakhs of aspiring MBAs across India.

Now even though the beginning of the paragraph starts with my story, the motivation does not quite relate to me completely. But I can claim it as a fact that it is the story of 3/4th of the candidates fighting for a seat in a good B school in India. I have already validated it during the "personality development" sessions of my class, where blatant honesty of the entire class comes in. I have also experienced it while interacting with fellow aspirants during my "calls" so far. Among the 8 of my group mates in SCMHRD, 6 were from Software industry, where 4 were from my last company. My purpose here is not to beat around the bush. My purpose here is to share with you a few observations and trends gathered over 1.5 years of my "endeavour". Not only for the "aspiring candidates'" benefits, but also as an opportunity for the "already aspired" candidates to reflect. Let me begin with a few stats through a visual element. The figures are rough but collected from very reliable sources.

Name of the test	No of applicants (2006)	No of applicants (2007)	Percentage increase
CAT	1,91,000	2,30,000	20.4
SNAP	97,000	1,39,000	43.3
MH-CET	52,211	74,622	42.9
JMET	21,000	28,000	33.3
IIFT	42,500	47,500	11.8
NMAT	32,000	37,000	15.6

(The figures for XAT and FMS were around 70,000 and 52,000 last year (january 2007). I still haven't found a reliable source for the 2008 figures of these exams)

Observations:
1) The success story of India Inc is inspiring more and more educated/employed youth to take up the B path.
2) People are not shy of taking an exam multiple times. "Creme-de-la-creme" prize motivates even the highest paid "labour". The concept of one exam, one path, one job career has long gone now.
3) Tests that offer multiple application opportunity (more than one college) grew far more rapidly than single college tests. Everyone wants to pick and choose rather than relying on only one aim.
4) The seat to applicant ratio for well known colleges will keep on decreasing insanely as long as there is no upper limit for the age/attempts. We saw a fall in the no of applicants of JEE last year only after the IITs established a "maximum 2 attempts" limit.
Advice:
If you are waiting for 1 or 2 years to start the race, I suggest you to jump in right away. The selection ratios of colleges like FMS, JB, SIBM are already in the 1:500 mark. So out of the 500 people applying, only one makes the cut.

Observation of exam and entrance trends:
1) GK is a thing of the past
No not all tests have done away with GK. But almost all tests seem to follow suit. FMS did it away after 2003, XAT in 2006, and it was NM's turn to do it this year. Reason? Colleges don't want the GK section to skew results. They can test the general awareness of a candidate during further rounds, GD, PI. Besides, the ultimate focus of a B school is its placement, and lately the role of GK as a deciding factor for the companies has gone down.
Advice:
Read newspapers regularly. But don't waste your time mugging up the who's who of orgns/govt bodies that you are not even remotely interested in.
2)Reasoning is the "in" thing
It is an open secret. B schools don't want philosophers or mathematicians, they want candidates who can think effectively under pressure. So all the traditionally compartmentalised sections have got mixed profusely with reasoning. Verbal has shifted from knowing the meanings of a word and knowing where to apply them to critical reasoning. Quant has moved to caselets (cat, jmet, xat), an effective way for "integration" of a problem.
Advice:
Instead of preparing for specific type of questions focus on the "why" everywhere possible. Even during the interviews the "whys" are the most frequent and the most impostant ones.
3) B schools want half made managers
Thanks to the RTI and the curiousity of a challenged lady candidate, IIM B has opened its weightage for selection to the public. Is it a surprise that a CA gets 5% more marks than a candidate from another stream (She/he has already done many subjects that form a part of the curriculum)? Again, is it a surprise that most B schools give more preference to the work-ex people (They already know the "corporate culture" and the nuances of how to make a mickey out of people for the benefit of the orgn, at least they know what their bosses did)? How can the B schools make their exams, the so called "Aptitude tests" separate the half baked "managers" from the rest? By introducing Business decision making in their paper of course. IIFT did it in 2007, XAT followed suit in 2008. Actually XAT just increased those "subjective" type of questions introduced in 2007 from a set to half a section.
The group discussions are moving from the "creative/abstract" to general and Case studies. All 3 of SIBM, SCMHRD and SIIB used case studies for group discussions this time as opposed to "creative topics" and "visual presentation" based GDs last time around. They are utilising their priveleges to separate out the potential manager material from the bookish candidates.
Advice:
Now even the non-elite B schools have 60,000 to 85,000 students to choose from (for their 120-180 seats) instead of the 4,000 they had before. E.g., SIMC received 67,000 applications this year. To make their training job easier, to increase their placement figures, they want people who are coming with a pre-wired mind ready to transform to a manager. So right from the beginning of preparing for these tests, keep a "managerial" attitude. As the cliche goes, try to see the "bigger picture" instead of preparing for tests. Be sure of your goals, problem solving methodology etc even while preparing for your mocks. Read up simple case studies with the point of view of an organisation even before exams.
4) It is becoming more and more "open"
Just 3 years back it was only the CAT paper (among all MBA tests) that was open for scrutiny, analysis and post mortem. I am talking about the right to take the question paper home. They threw it open to the public. Almost as a challenge. They have twisted and modified the paper beyond recognition every year since then. So even if it is open, no one can actually use it to ensure success in the following year.
IIFT and JMET went public in 2006. XAT followed step in 2008. I think that the dynamics of the game are changing so much that the paper setters are sending out a clear message. "We want people who are prepared for any surprise. We will change the paper next year. You can analyze our paper as much as you want, but you will get in only if you have it in you".
Advice:
Don't make your mindset fixed on a "pattern" of an exam. Try to practice as many variations as possible. Try to maximise your score in an exam instead of speculating about the cut offs.A score of 60 in JMET 2006 resulted in rank 1300, the same score got one a rank 300 in 2007. I have personally seen all the papers change from 2006 to 2007; in terms of no of questions (SNAP, NMAT, XAT), difficulty (CAT-enough said, JMET, XAT, IIFT), sections (XAT-always stumps the junta, FMS, IIFT), type of questions (CET, XAT, IIFT, FMS)

Enough gyaan for now. Awaiting comments and your 2 cents

How to make 9.5 million dollars in one stroke

2008-01-25T04:40:00.000-08:00

Woohoo!! My dream has finally come true! U know, the dream that I had since childhood, the dream that we all share. To inherit a huge amount of money by the way of an untimely (timely for us) demise of a rich, anonymous, generous relative.

Not in my wildest dream had I imagined that such a huge sum would come to me in this form. That too, from some other country altogether. That too, without any hassle involved, especially the tax part.

This moment is so special that I want to share it with you all. So here lies what made today an unforgettable one.

FROM MR ABDUL SAMAD. AUDITING AND ACCOUNTING UNIT. FOREIGN OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT. UNION TOGOLAISE DE BANQUE,(U.T.B) LOME- TOGO.

Togo? All that I knew about Togo till today was that it is a small footballing Nation in Africa. Arsenal's in form striker Manu Adebayor hails from Togo, and is apparently unsatisfied with their handling of the sports. That it qualified for the world cup last year but failed to do it for this year's ongoing African Cup of Nations. Hmm, interesting that I have acquaintances there.

Dear Abhishek,

I am Mr Abdul Samad,Auditing And Accounting Unit,Foreign Operation Department Union Togolaise De Banque Lome Togo. With due respect and regard.I have decided to contact you on a business transaction that will be very beneficial to both of us at the end of the transaction

Woah!!! Somebody pinch me. Not only does my benefactor from Togo know me, he is a big man there! Auditing and Accounting Unit? Foreign Operation Department Union Togolaise De Banque? And here I am, a measly commoner in this country of 1.13 billion, who has to waste 5 hours just to get someone from the Govt to attest his admit card of an entrance test, only to prove that it is indeed him in that photograph. Moreover, he has kept my interests (unknown to him till 2003) in his mind while taking such an important decision!! My days have surely changed!!

During our investigation and auditing in this bank, my department came across a very huge sum of money belonging to a deceased person Mr G.C Badran who died on the 26th of December 2003 with his wife and their only daughter.They travelled to IRAN on holiday and unfotunantely, they were involved in an Earthquake which occoured in Bam on the 26th of December 2003 in IRAN which claim about 25 thausand lives in the Earthquake . Since then I have made several enquiries to their embassy here to locate any of his extended family relatives, but all efforts proved abortive.

Mr. G.C. Badran... let me check my family tree... Oh heck, who cares, as long as he was rich and generous... R.I.P. Mr. Badran. May you get salvation. How ironic that you died on the day that a new India was born. Maybe this is a sign, an omen (remember the Alchemist?). That a person from India should get his hands on the riches. How lucky that it was me!! I am still blinking in disbelief!!

After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to track his last name over the business directory in our chamber of commerce, trade and tourism, to locate any member of his family hence my contacting you. I contact you to assist in repatriating the fund valued at US$9.5 million left behind before it gets confiscated or declared unclaimed by our Bank where this huge amount was deposited.

I can understand how frustrating it must have been Mr. Samad. Searching for his relative among the hundreds of billions of Togolese. Perhaps that explains why you shifted your gaze to this country of a few dozens, and picked me!! I am so thankful to you. I am so thankful to the universe! For conspiring for my desire!!
I am still in a shock. Can you imagine? US $ 9.5 million?
Yes you are right Mr. Samad. I should hurry up and get that money and convert it into my country's currency as soon as possible. Or else the rupee might rise and make those dollars a little less. I wish that you had been a little early in sending that mail. Just a few months ago I would have converted that amount at 48 rs per dollar instead of 32....never mind....I will make do with those 9.5 million.

Our Bank has issued a notice to provide his next of kin and Since I have been unsuccessful in locating the relatives for over one year , I seek the consent to present you as the next of kin to the deceased deposited sum in our Bank so that the proceeds of this account can be paid to you.

Err, you were searching his relatives only for an year? But that means that the bank must have made a huge amount of money by investing his 9.5 million dollars (that rightfully belong to me) for 4 years before you started your search. Never mind Mr. Samad, I am ready to forgive and forget, just get to the part where I get this money. The suspense is too much for me to handle.

Therefore, on receipt of your positive response, we shall then discuss the sharing ratio and modalities for the transfer. I have all necessary information and legal documents needed to back you up for the claim which i payed greatly to acquire.All I require from you is your honest cooperation to enable us see this transaction through.I guarantee that this attract no risk at all for it will be executed under legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.

Like we say in India, "Neki aur poochh poochh?". There you are waiting for my response and here I am, raring to come to Togo. I have already booked a discounted Air India ticket to Dammam. Because I couldn't get a direct flight to Lome. I guess I will have to hitch a ride from there. Can you please tell me the preferred mode of transport? We don't have that kind of information in India. I am sure Mr. Badran would have been so ashamed of my ignorance if he were alive today.
Regarding your share, I am ready to shell out a huge sum for your cooperation (you have already made all the legal documents for me, after all). So in return for your huge favour, I will part with a magnanimous sum of $2 and 39 cents. I am so happy with you that I will also remit to you the charges for the documents that you "payed greatly to acquire" or 47 cents, whichever is lower. What's more, I will even give you a discount for your payment of my air tickets.
Regarding your concern about the law, don't worry Mr. Samad. We are all corrupt here. Even if you can't get me out of the trouble, I'll ensure that with my newfound riches, I will get myself out.

On the receipt of your response via the above email address ,I will furnish you with a detailed clarification .

Sincerely,

Abdul Samad.

So that's how my life changed and I went on the path to riches!! As a gesture of sharing my happiness with all of you, I have decided to give all of my friends a grand treat, in the finest hotel in Lome, Togo. So be there, I will truely appreciate it.

P.S.
1>The credit for the idea for this entry goes to a blog I read today.
2>I did mark the mail as spam. I hope none of the receivers falls for it.

Respite

2008-01-14T07:32:00.000-08:00

It was a little after 7 pm. I was going back home. I had to change trains as usual. I was lucky enough to get a (relatively) less crowded train for the first leg; so it couldn't have been stress. It is Mumbai; so it couldn't have been the weather either. My flu has also been cured, so it wasn't the fever. Yet, while waiting for my connecting train, on that crowded platform, in the absence of any wind, I shivered.

I was one with my sub-conscious a moment before that. My mind was doing what it's best at; when it is left to wander by itself. It was revelling in my near-past experiences. It reached an intense incidence that happened less than two weeks ago. The incidence that had left my ego hurt and years of trust broken. It triggered a chain reaction that was over in a few, but vehement seconds. A pain, that subsided in a matter of seconds, probably because it had been experienced before, more than once. A surge of confused anger towards the one who caused it, which again died, because something inside me said that it wasn't anybody's fault. It probably wasn't. An overwhelming sense of awareness, of losing my equanimity. A strong guilt, for losing my peaceful balance, which was why I shivered...... Finally, peaceful empathy.

It was in this state of peace that I was sub consciously searching for a familiar face, to share my compassion. In that sea of bodies. Somebody who could understand me. Somebody who was not closed inside his or her mind. Who could take a little time out of his or her busy schedule. Somebody who could converse with me. Not necessarily talk or listen, but somebody who could just share..... Somebody.... Anybody.....
Then I saw her.

The purest being in that place. The living example of selfless love. Innocent. Candid. Shy.
I had met her before, once, at that very place. I hoped that she would recognise me. She did. She acknowledged my presence and responded to me reaching out to her. She greeted me. The affection was definitely growing. Then I did something that I normally don't do to others. I ruffled her shiny hair. I went ahead and stroked her fair cheek and neck. I was hoping that she won't mind that, after all, she was too young to be self conscious of such public displays of affection. Her body language said that she liked it. That in this lonely world full of stress, she found that simple touch soothing. Her eyes closed in a kind of acceptance.

Her actions were the only means by which I could gather her thoughts, for she didn't speak my language. In fact, she couldn't speak at all. She was born with this impairment. Her kins here have the same "disability". But time and again she and her kins have taught me that words are not required to communicate the essential. That the most meaningful of all feelings can be conveyed by a simple touch. Sometimes a nudge. That is what she and her kins have used with me as a communication tool all these years. That is what I have used to befriend her. To strengthen my bonds with as many four legged "man's best friend"s as I can.

They always end up giving more affection than getting. Today was no different. Today a street dog feeding off leftovers at a platform of Kurla station gave me pure, expectationless love. Much more of it than what the sea of people could give me, even if I were a celebrity.

They experience many complex emotions that the "superior" humans do. They have their own way of expressing them. Whether it is a twist in the neck combined with raised eyebrows showing surprise at the comfort that we humans show at the presence of a new guest; or it is the grabbing of a human's arm with their teeth, lightly, and putting it across their belly, to announce their acceptance of friendship; it is all there.

Thank you

2007-12-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

I wept because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet

When I see people around me cribbing, complaining, making noises about the things/people/situations that they don't have by their side, or as they would want them to be, that they, according to them, so righfully deserve, I feel a sense of gratitude filling up inside of me. No, I am not (that) crazy to experience a wildly off the track emotion as a reaction, neither am I a saint, I have my share of complains as well, though I try to minimise them. But I feel grateful for everything that defines me, for everyone who has made me, who is responsible, in some way or the other for me being alive and enjoying life. Why? Because I think I have learnt a little respect along the way.

Big words? Let me bring some facts down to earth by the way of a simple example for everyone's benefit. Just work with me.
Do you drink a cup of tea or coffee every morning? Well most of us would say yes, after all tea is the world's second most popular beverage, right after water. Now, have you paused for a moment and pondered what goes into bringing that cup of tea to your table/bed? I am sure that not many would go beyond the person who is making/serving the tea at this point. That's exactly where I want to expand the horizons, the views. Here's what goes into your daily cup of tea:

1>Water:
Thousands of Kilometers of well planned, working, monitored pipelines passing water from Vaitarna lake around 50 kms from a western Mumbai suburb to your home. The water passing through probably 7 stages of filtering, chlorination, reverse osmosis, more filtering. Your household filter that uses even more technology like activated carbon and electricity to make it even more pure. I haven't even started thanking your builder, your plumber, your society watchman (who starts the tap at 7 am daily, religiously)
2>Sugar (optional of course):
Months of preparation of soil, hard work from farmers; tractors, bulls, ploughing the fields relentlessly. Fertilizer industry and chemical industry being invovled. Ground water drilling pipes for irrigation. Loads of trucks to carry those fertilizers and other tools required for producing Sugar cane. Sugar mill separating those unwanted impurities and converting it into sugar. Yet another fleet of trucks to carry those sacks of Sugar from those farms to the APMC market, then from there to your grocery store. Let's also not forget the labourers working under the municipal contractors who maintain those roads, the motor industry that provides such utilities like trucks, the rubber industry that makes their tyres.
3>Milk:
Let's talk about the huge dairies that hold hundreds of cows, buffaloes, the fodder that feeds them, the labour required for their upkeep and milking them. The packaging industry that works overnight so that it gets distributed along the proper channel to your doorstep at sharp 6 am.
4>Gas (or Electricity for the electric stove)
Do you really want me to write about the huge process by which Crude oil is drilled from ocean beds, refined, then transported to your homes; or do you get the idea? Or do you want me now to write about how Uranium is mined in an eastern-central state in India and then processed to be sent to Tarapore to be fissioned to produce energy for electricity?

I should stop here. There is no limit to this thinking. But the point is, there is a huge clockwork of processes running around us to provide the things that we think of nothing more than "basic". And we need to be grateful to all the people, all the machinery that works just so that we can fulfil our "basic" needs. If just one cog fails to work properly in this machinery, the whole machinery will grind to a halt.

To sum it up, at the risk of it sounding like an award speech, I am thankful to:
1>My parents. For bringing me into this wonderful and amazing world that never ceases to amaze me. For teaching me how to walk, to talk. For patiently answering my really stupid queries. For making me stand on my own feets. For being my friends, my confidantes.
2>My teachers. For not just teaching me the whats, the hows, the whys, the wheres, the whos and the whens, but also for instilling the values that make me a human. For making me a part of the society, the country. For showing me the way, for selflessly working so that I can progress.
3>My friends. For developing me as a person. For sharing and letting me share my passions, secrets, desires, loathings and love. For providing me with different point of views. For talking to me, for listening me. For helping me throughout. For removing the unnecessary fear and shame from my head. For playing with me. For pointing out my shortcomings. For helping me discover my sexuality (I am not kidding, it is an integral part of growth).
4>Mother nature. I am sure that those who know me closely, will associate this line as my line: "My mother nature is a babe. She is a hottie, she is that beautiful"
For unconditionally providing me with all the resources that I use, sometimes squander, but I require just so that I can live. For the air, the water, the food, the beauty, the inspiration. You are the reason for me to live. The more I explore you, the more I fall in love with you. I really am indebted to you. No one can justify the statement "The best things in life are for free" better than you.
5>Evolution. For giving every living thing a purpose to live. For starting this magical phenomenon called life. For giving us the power to learn, to understand, to question, to deal with the worldly phenomenas, to change things for good.
6>The society. I am thankful to the roadside cobbler who mends my slippers so that I can walk again, freely. To my doctor who gives me the medicines so that I can get back to enjoying life. To my vegetable vendor. To my daily newspaper supplier, my cable wala, my mobile service provider. The railway clerk who parts with the change for a 100 rs note because I don't have the exact change. The traffic policeman who helps me find a landmark. The exam invigilator who ensures that my answer sheet goes to the correct person. The 3 year old kid who lives on the second floor, for teaching me the power of simplicity, the miracle of an innocent smile, the excitement of an untainted mind. The buddhist monk who explains to me the rituals that they perform to please the God at Enchey monastery. The temple priest who conveys the ideas that first evolved in the minds of my forefathers thousands of years ago. The forest rangers who fight poachers from getting the better of helpless big cats just so that the balance can be maintained. The news readers who mouth the latest happenings in this world. The people who don't agree with me, for adding a whole new dimension.

I want to conclude with the most important part of it all. My gratitude doesn't end here. I feel that if I am alive, if I am doing what I want to do, it is possible only because of everyone and everything that I mentioned above. Hence, in a way, I am answerable to them for my deeds. That if I say or do something, it shouldn't be something that brings shame upon them, that lets them down. That I should not just take everything I can get, but carry their good work forward. That I should be able to return a part to them. It is this same thought that motivates me to donate my blood multiple times. The same thought that makes me part with a small amount of my earnings to make the life of at least one child in rural India better. That makes me buy a gift for my parents. That makes me call my PC dealer to pursue him to give a good deal for the Rickshaw driver, who lives nearby and wants to add more value to his Son's education. That makes me carry heavy weights for the neighbourhood aunty. I hope I get more opportunities to return something in life.

So the next time you want to complain about the quality of food that you get in your college/office canteen, just try to remember the photos that were circulating in an e-mail first. You know, the one that showed a starving child trying to make it to a nearby food camp, and a vulture waiting for it to die. Or if you feel that you don't have enough friends in your vicinity/work, just remember the female colleague who has left her home town/village, her friends, her family, to adjust everything possible in another city, only so that she can earn a living.

Why?

2007-11-21T07:47:00.000-08:00

There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
-Douglas Adams

And came adolescence. From that hormone filled roller coaster ride onwards, almost all of our actions have been directed towards fulfilling the singular purpose: to pass our genes in the pool. Men are drawn to women with waist to hip ratio of 0.7; like moths are drawn to light. Evolution programmed men's brains to calculate that without the aid of any external tool. Women are inevitably drawn to "providers"; you know, the ones with dollops of moolah, or the ones with a potential to earn bucks, in the form of inheritance/intelligence. Women are born with the concept of "commitment" and "long term" - which is mostly foreign to men. After all, their provider should be willing to help them out with the entire process of raising the offspring, which is the sole purpose of their existence. Oops, did I just answer the question asked by men all over the world: "Why do women want marriage, then children, as soon as possible?"

I think not, I think I just asked the question to the supreme creator; 'God' for the believers, 'Evolution' for the atheists like me.

I am nobody to ask this question. I am only a part of the 6 X 10^18 kgs of the mass on this earth that is different than the rest of it by a factor of 4 letters, "life". Yet, today, I dare ask the question, "Why are we here?" "Where are you headed?"

We have all been fascinated by the question of our origins. We have dug deep for million year old bones for answers. We have sent giant telescopes out of atmospheric disturbance to look at the darkest corners of our Universe to give us a clue of the big-bang, the supposed beginning of "time". But I think the correct thing to ask right now is "Why is God/Evolution making us do what we are doing?" Why is every species spending all the effort to procreate (All the fight/amongst males for "dominance") then protect the young ones (The supernatural urge to protect "children" first; in case of an emergency; and the attention that these "cute" ones draw from all adults)

How many times have we heard that a proportionate face represents a lineage of sexual health? (And hence, the feature that attracts one first). That 'Love' is nothing but a trick that nature plays on us so that we procreate? It is a poor explanation, in my opinion , to explain why you can't get that "special one" out of your head for the first 4-12 months. But what the chemical reactions don't explain is the purpose. Why are we fighting to get the 'perfect' partner? Why do we (animals/plants included in 'we') die after our purpose is served? In some cases the male of the species dies as soon as the purpose is served.

So we are all refining the pool, increasing its quality with every generation, and multiplying relentlessly. Evolution is throwing new designs, testing permutations every now and then. It started with 16/18 basic designs in prehistoric oceans. It killed off the ones it didn't think appropriate. It killed off the mighty dinosaurs too. It reduced the size of the bodies of animals whose area of roaming reduced. It introduced - balance, food-chain/web, diseases. For what? What is it trying to achieve?

There are many theories that suggest what will happen in the end. The most wiely accepted one, it seems, is this one. The universe is in the expansion stage, and will reach the limit eventually. It will shrink once it hits the bounds. All the rules regarding entropy, enthalpy will be reversed. Imagine keeping a cup of cold coffee on your desk to find it heating up by itself to boiling point. But if one exists in that stage, it will be difficult for her to imagine what happens "normally" for us. What will evolution do then? Move back to unicellular life?

When we look around ourselves, we find that things are changing. We carry remnants of our own species that suggest presence of Evolution. Our Vestigial organs like ear muscles and appendix are enough to prompt us to think. I just hope that sometime in future we are able to answer this question, like we have answered so many. What are your views?

Shaken......and Stirred......and Dizzy

2007-09-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

When the stakes are high, when the money involved is a lot, when the competition is tough, and when the goal to be achieved is heavily desired, by many, the very basics of principles and ethics are severely compromised with. It was proved, much to my disgust, once again in the ongoing "spy row". Being an ardent fan of Motorsport, and Formula one (till now) I feel a moral obligation on the behalf of everyone who is remotely interested with sports to clear the closet of the skeletons that have been piling up heavily in the recent days.

I am feeling shaken to the core, my basic trust has been broken. The sickening feeling is awefully similar to the feeling I got in my childhood when I learnt that the "sport" we call as a "religion" is nothing but a farce. Yes, I am referring to the match fixing scandal in cricket that left me broken. No, it was not only the Indian team that was tainted. The likes of Late Hansie Cronje proved the depth to which the sickness was spread. Similarly, it is not just McLaren that is tainted (as i will put forth later).

What the match fixing scandal did to every Indian was possibly nothing more than to give an ugly scar on the face of its history, which is, visible, but it doesn't bother the eye much and we can happily go back to watch the Twenty20 world cup. But what it did to me was to shake the very foundations of my beliefs. That the sport is about prestige, national pride, and the players are out there to prove their worth in the sport. That they are playing to win. That they are principled. Hence my passion in cricket was gone forever. Yes I have watched a few matches off on occassionaly since then, but with zero emotion. It has never retained me long enough to be glued to the screen for the entire length of the match. It is just not the same knowing that a few mobile phone calls from a bookie can change the very outcome of a match.

It is like being a child believing all through that Santa Claus exists and climbs through the chimney of its house to give it gifts. The child is rudely awakened to the fact that there is, in fact, no santa claus and the friendly ho ho ho that it hears every christmas indeed comes from the father. The future efforts of the father to dress up like a santa claus with the fake pot belly will not instill the same passion and the excitement in the child anymore.

The spy scandal has proved the ugliness of the situation. It has rudely awakened all of us Die hard Formula one fans that how individual interests and ambitions can snatch the beauty of the sport and leave it at being called a farce. Yes, a few individuals at McLaren were guilty. Even the Ferrarri mechanic was guilty. Yes, there was an exchange of information between them all in the interest of the coveted top spot. The funny thing is, that how this is not the first time that it has happened in the so called "sport". Let me remind you of the 2005 Honda incidence.

How they manipulated their Fuel tanks to carry that little bit of extra that was outside the regulation. If you are a Ferrarri fan beaming with a grin that how "justice" was done to your favourite "clean" team, let me remind you that Ferrarri is equally guilty in this case. You don't even need to look that far back to come up with an incidence that proves you in the wrong. The Melbourne fiasco earlier this year proved that even the "best" team can resort to cheap tactics like movable floors to gain the advantage. If you are a Renault fan laughing at the hapless Ferrarri McLaren and Honda fans, let me also remind you of the accusation (yet to be proved)that an engineer by the name of Phil took with him 3 CDs carrying confidential data about the cooling system and what not from the McLaren garage when he joined your favourite team earlier this season. If for some unfathomable reason you are a fan of any other team, then your happiness is short lived, as it is just a matter of time when it will be proved that your team also resorted to something beyond the legal boundaries to gain the edge.

The feeling of disgust is so gripping that many fans have simply resigned from the sport altogether. It has definitely played with my passion in such a cheap way that I will no longer have the passion or the rigor with which i used to watch this dear sport. I will watch a few races, yes, I will watch a few completely also, yes (as the race doesn't take more than 1 hour 45 minutes). But it will take a full one and a half season before I can even begin to imagine that it is a "fair" sport. Even if I become a full fledged fan then, i will never believe in the sport completely. Coming to the favourite team aspect. It will continue to be McLaren, because of the
basic reasons I started supporting it initially (Equal driver policy, drive to improve performance, balance in all the aspects, not a blind focus on speed or acceleration, consistency, independent thinking and behaviour). I will start watching A1 from now on (For those who don't know, everyone is given an equal car there, and drivers represent their country, and India has been an integral part of that sport). If a parallel series comes up challenging F1, yes, I will watch it also.

There is only one truely pure sport left for me now, and it is football. I can find solace in the fact that any tweaking in the performance is clearly visible (as proven by the Serie A controversy 2 seasons ago) and it is the most transparent sport available. I hope this trust doesn't get shattered so easily.

As for the general Indian Public blissfuly unaware of the details of Formula one, you will know what it is next year, when the liquor baron from India (Vijay Mallya) starts applying his business strategy to Spyker team that he bought out recently. The average indian's knowledge about the sport will grow more than the presence of a certain Karthikeyan not so long ago.

Hope for the best for all sports and all competitions in life. I vow that I will not play aroundwith core values in whatever i do in life. I hope to give integrity more preference than success.

The adjective

2007-09-02T12:13:00.000-07:00

Pre Script:
1) Blog entries are not supposed to follow any rule. I have many other areas in life where I have to follow "formats" and rules, and I don't come here to apply or extend those rules.
2) Everyone has her/his own opinion, that's what makes us "individuals". I am presenting some of mine in my blogs, I am not forcing anyone to accept them. If you like them, you would probably read the blog longer than someone who hates them. I can accept both trains of thoughts as it is not my goal to dictate one's thoughts.

Coming back to the intended subject.......

Dull routine. Monotonous schedule. Hard work. Tough job. Steep learning. Higher goals. Improvement intent. Financial Independence. Compromise of personal Independence. Mental Adjustment. Physical adjustment. People skills. Polite exterior. Restless interior. MP3 Distractions. Caffeine Distractions. Grapevine Distractions. Lack of satisfaction. Getaway dreams. Paradise dreams. Getaway suggestions. Relevant Research. Irrelevant Research. Striking gold. Constraint checking. Narrowing down. Peer Convincing. Pal convincing. Family convincing. Anticipation. Excitement. Apprehension. Rumour mongering. Dusty closet. Dirty bag. Easy goods. Difficult takeaways. Accessible market. Full Debit card. Reserved tickets. Misty Dawn. Dank dawn. Cold dawn. Mobile alarm. Hot antioxidant. Caffeine rush. Adrenaline rush. Weekend rush. Holiday rush. Brief conversation. Brief meeting. Satisfaction. New batteries. Old gadgets. Double check. Almost missed transportation. Comfortable seats. Long roads. Winding roads. Long iron tracks. Passing-by greenery. Decreasing population. Decreasing density. Decreasing housing. Satisfaction. Black sky. Navy blue sky. brown sky. Hazy sky. Beige sky. Orange spurt. Orange splash. Grey clouds. Golden break open. Scattered Chirping. Solitary Roosting. Forgotten gadgets. Remembered gadgets. Fond memories. Fond melody. Narrow road. Winding road. Climbing road. Steep slope. 22 Hairpins. Active check post. Inactive parking lot. Bright shoes. Heavy bag. Fast snack. Lush meadow. Lush valley. Olive green vegetation. Bright green leaves. Dewy leaves. Foggy path. Scattered chirping. Solitary roosting. Cracked path. Transparent Waterfalls. Wet shoes. Dark shoes. Crackling branches. Rising smoke. Distant smoke. Melodious folk song. Distant civilisation. Realisation. Distant hustle bustle. Distant din. Forgotten din. Forgotten concrete. Realisation. Satisfaction. Fresh day. Foggy day. Cold Drizzle. Wet eyebrows. Heavy eyebrows. Realisation. Ancient structure. Ancient faith. Crumbling structure. Stable structure. Stable faith. Old rituals. Pure prayer. Purity. Good will. Green grass. Flowing grass. Wind. Cold wind. Breezy day. Flowing water. Gushing Stream. Pure stream. Rocky stream. Black waterhole. 6 legged creatures. Colourful creatures. White rock. Round rock. Wet rock. Black rock. Black dent. Black rock. Black cave. Narrow water source. Adrenaline rush. Adventure. Realisation. Huge surge. Thrilling Discovery. Offbeat track. No track. New track. Black wall. Non-uniform wall. Green grass. Slit grass. Lashing wind. Wet wind. Foggy view. Large tree. Branches-into-the-roots tree. Ancient tree. Unwanted graffiti. Higher ground. Lush meadow. Flowing grass. Unspoilt nature. Virgin nature. New Promise. Newfound Determination. High Cliff. Wet cliff. Steep Edge. Panoramic view. Breathtaking view. High place. Wide place. Distant civilisation. Realisation. New Surge. Impulse Activity. Rising temperature. Sweet fatigue. Relaxation. Binge lunch. Forgotten Survival. Forgotten Lineage. Forgotten Philosophy. Intense discussion. Realisation. Worthy feeling. Alive feeling. Energetic feeling. Half-hearted goodbye. Acknowledged Reality. Realisation. Rephrased truth. Necessary Soliloquy. The universe is one. We are one with nature.

In God we trust; all others must pay cash

2007-08-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

A promise is a promise, and, well, a few, are meant to be kept!!
The credit for the topic goes to my full time friend Prashant aka Kaalu aka Hritik.

A challenge is a challenge, and sometimes it comes in the form of writing about something that one has not thought of. Fathom a topic that is not dear to my heart (I am only saying this because I didn't give birth to it, not because it doesn't have enough fuel). And trying to do justice with it. Well not everything is supposed to make downright sense.

OK, let's go.

What is the difference between a prayer that is offered in a church and a casino? Well, the one that comes from the casino is for real!!
So it's not about the highest chance of winning (0.5%) on a 21-blackjack game that we trust. We trust in God!!

We do not trust your intentions when you say you are coming from your island city of India's financial capital and saying that you just want to visit a friend who has been living in new Mumbai. But we do trust that 25-er you are giving to us everytime you cross this 2 km bridge!! Therefore it becomes mandatory for you to trust us back!! Trust that we are going to religiously account for all the passing vehicles every hour of the day and put all that we collect to the development of 8 new projects throughout new Mumbai. Oh what did you say mr.? You are a superstar movie director who wants to see the locale of a waterfall in khopoli for a potential shoot-spot and might actually promote tourism for our city? Umm....well.....see we don't trust words and promises. We believe in now. That translates into.....that's right.....money.

What happens when we combine the two concepts of God and trust? Better still, throw in the third one of cash too. We put the words (that more people will approve of) to be in charge of the moolah. Yes, the "temple trust". The "trust" manages the cash that believers readily give in for the (hope of) return of trust from God. Which brings me to this piece narrated very well by my childhood teacher. This is about God, even when he taught us science back then.
"Once upon a time an avid devotee goes to the temple to get the darshan of his beloved God. Of course, being the temple-law abiding citizen, he leaves his shoes back outside, un-monitored and dangerously prone to theft. When God sees the level of devotion in him, he decides to give him the luxury of a private prakatikaran (appearance). God gives him a modest worldly ichchha poorti (granting of a wish). But there is a catch. The ichchha poorti can take place but it will take time and in the meantime the devotee's shoes would have been surely gone. The devotee thinks about it and decides to ask God for his expensive shoes back, giving the ichchha poorti back to God."

Isn't it an amazing story? Why? What's so special? You might ask. The speciality of this story can be summed up as: "And they live happily ever after". Just be with me if you haven't wandered off already.
1>The devotee is not trapped in the viles of greed. He learns ultimately that whatever he has already got is indeed something worth being content with. (What can be more important than keeping the possession of expensive earthly possessions while being here on earth).
2>God does not have to cleanse the morale of anyone on this earth. (Why him God? What's wrong with my devotion? Don't I listen to enough T-series tapes singing your praises?).
3>The devotee does not have to explain the tax department/gossipy relatives/suspicious wife that this "gift" was indeed a gift and does not form the part of an undeclared income/undeclared love.

This story also has a deeper meaning. That somewhere in the realms of the world we live in, the concepts of God, trust and money are all intertwined.

Perhaps we should be looking for more. No, not more cash, but more things that we can trust upon, that don't require the stamp of association with God. Loans require guarantees. Book Issues require entries. Recruitment of full time housekeepers require police registration. Apples require "imported from amreeka" sign. Hmmmm come to think of it, haven't these "things" originated in the presence of, that's right, God?

The 80-20 principle

2007-05-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

Howdy peeps,

This is my second attempt to dissect some topic and to create something out of perhaps nothing too important.

So here goes.
For those who don't know, I am referring to the pareto principle. According to this article at wikipedia, Italian economist Pareto observed that 80% of Italy's wealth was owned by 20% of the population. In less nerdy terms, this principle can be put in a nutshell as "80% of the consequences stem from 20% of the causes"

Ya...um...ok...this sounds so boring, what does it have for me?

Well the practical applications this will unfold will make you think how relevant this thing is, and I am sure you will think of your own experiences after this.
Consider this,

*80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients
*80% of the resources are typically used by 20% of the operations

No these are all big words......Not convinced??
Ok, now look at this:

*we wear our 20% most favoured clothes about 80% of the time
*we spend 80% of the time with 20% of our acquaintances

And now for the confused philosopher to go to work :P

*80% of the guys have the hots only for 20% of the chicks (n 80% of the chicks have the hots for 20% of the guys; on a parallel note, it's very much possible that the majority of these 20% guys are the guys that are also in the top 20% of the wealthy junta :D )
*80% of fresh graduates want to get in 20% of the MNCs in the market to begin their careers with (Yes that friend of yours who wanted to start at a relatively unknown company forms a part of the remaining 20%)
*80% of all candidates taking an entrance exam apply to the top 20% colleges
*80% of people taking up studies choose 20% of the courses/fields available
*80% of the sports watching junta watch 20% of the matches being broadcast
*80% of the aware people are aware of 20% of the news happenings
*80% of the talks of gossip mongers are about 20% celebrities/neighbours
*80% of your nostalgic memories are occupied by 20% of what happened during school/college/work
*80% of your thoughts are occupied by 20% of your near n dear ones
*80% tourists visit 20% places??

now since the wheel is set in motion......

philosophy is for geeks - provoke factor

2007-05-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

"The only thing a philosopher is good at is contradicting other philosophers"

Why this mundane topic as my first one?
Simply because every one has been a philosopher at least once in their tiny existence on this cradle of life called earth. As there are stimuli for every sense, there is a stimuli for this otherwise dormant part of our minds too.

Consider this:
What provokes a swear word from you?
-The chappal clad office goer who steps on to your boot-polished shoes when you are travelling in the bus/train?
-The great indian legendary batsman defining "duck" for dummies?
-Watching cruelty against some living being you are passionate about?

What makes your heart melt?
-A romantic-tragic scene a la "titanic"?
-Watching your 4 legged companion feed her little ones?

And What invokes the philosopher in you?
-Post match post mortem shown on the tv?
"yaar mujhe samajh me nahi aata aakhir saurav ko team me wapas kyu bulaya"
"hoo haa india....the team with the maximum passion wins and not the team with a billion fans"
"if only i could get a char-aana everytime i feel the match was fixed"

-T-shirt quotes?
->10 reasons why beer is better than a woman
"reason one is good......hahaha on reason 2......hmmmm...never thought of reason 3 before" by no. 5 the original "reason" pops up from inside of you
->Come to india, one billion people can't be wrong
"sau me se nabbe beimaan, fir bhi mera bharat mahaan"
->God first created man, then the woman, after all, the rough draft comes before the masterpiece
"Damn, what was the reason no 8 why beer is better than a woman?? I'll figure it out after I have one foster's"
->Filthy stinking rich......Well two out of three ain't bad
"Hic, I have been drinking too much beer.......heck...it only adds to the two 'qualities' i have according to that t-shirt quote over there.....burp....there goes the first one......beware supermodels.....here i come....hic"

-Thought provoking movies?
"I love jaane bhi do yaaro, it is so funny and so sarcastic at the same time"
"Rang de basanti has made me believe that if everyone decides to do something for our country, she can be a much better place to live"
"Life in a metro has made me think ki sab ko apni gaadi bahar nikalni chahiye"

-The occassional book that your friend gave to you
->Who moved my cheese?
"Wow yaar, before i read this book i didn't know i can be such a rat running after those pesky materialistic possessions called cheese"
->The Dilbert principle
"Man, how did the author know? Even at my workplace i have trolls for accountants and the red prime evil as my boss"
->The Alchemist
"My poor grades this semester/rejected promotion is but an omen that this universe is sending me. I need to choose a different major/switch companies. As I am still young and the universe is conspiring for me to get me the 9 point something/Junior manager post I so deserve. Look, a coaching class advertisement/new job opening in the newspaper, another omen"

-A song you heard before getting out of home today?
->Ab ke saavan, jam ke barse, bheege tan man.....
"Hmmm....I wonder if this was the song that was playing on vividh bharti on 26/05 (the day it rained so much in mumbai that people died from the floods)"
->Meri awaaz suno.....mujhe azaad karo....
"Insaaf do.....Insaaf do..... I wonder if my principal/boss ever sang this in front of his/her superior (Do they even have a superior??)"
->Kitni haseen zindagi hai ye.....hoto pe jaise kahani hai
"Yea sure, you son of a star, you rich spoilt singer, you have the privelege of roaming around in a '47 convertible chevy in the streets of brazil for the song and the guts to leave your first wife for a bombshell.....sure your life is 'haseen'"

-Something I haven't mentioned here? :D
happy commenting!!