Thanks Kaushik teacher :)

Wouldn't you agree with me when I say one wants to see the most cherished dreams since ones childhood come true?Remember the days when our elders used to ask what you wanted to be and you blurted out instantaneously that you wanted to be a pilot/doctor/astronaut/painter/police officer-and all the people around you would burst into peals of laughter ?Whatever you said,it was because you were fascinated by it and wanted to taste it yourself.Pure and unadulterated.Then why would you laugh away at my dreams?Didn't you have one such.I think I know why you would laugh when some is starry eyed.Because your own cherished dreams do not live anymore.Quite unfortunate.
Flash forward:how many of us have actually carried forward those dreams with childlike enthusiasm?I did.And this time too,when I say I want to reach for the sky and the stars,I mean it.But I do not see people laughing like they did when I was 7.Why wouldn't they laugh now?Because its quite bewildering to confront some one who still has unwavering childlike enthusiasm.Every step that I did take to get closer to my dreams has been like manna.Now that I have tasted manna,I want more!
There is one person in my life who is responsible for what I am now.If not for Kaushik teacher,I doubt if I would have at least tried to live my dream.Kaushik ma'am,thanks for your immense trust in me and the class trip to the airport in 1994 :) I believed in myself because of your belief in me.You are my best teacher ever and I cannot thank you enough.

Taam Please!!

Following are a set of rules and regulations one must know in order to successfully integrate oneself in all kinds of sports played on the streets :
Taam Please - Contorted version of 'Time Please/Time Out'...in order to indicate that you want to take a break from the action.Valid in Leg touch,King,Kho-Kho,Out-Out,Chain Cut,Electric Shock,Lock & Key et al but not in cricket or foo'd'ball.
B.C - I have no idea what it is; but the purpose is similar to Taam Please: to indicate that you want to take a break.But its not that simple: you apparently have lick your wrist real quick after saying B.C in order to make sure it is a valid break.Or else, you risk becoming out or the 'denner'. Also note that you have only three B.Cs per game i.e you can use/invoke it only three times.
Denner - Not to be confused with the city Denver,USA.Denner is the person who chases other people in the game in order to make them 'out'.Not valid in cricket/foo'd'ball.
One Tup One Hand Out - Specific to Cricket.It simply means that you can be declared out if the ball is taken with only one of your hand only after one bounce.'Tup' here means bounce.If you were to catch the ball with both your hands after one bounce,the rule stands null and void.
By Runner - Again endemic to Cricket.This can be invoked by the captain of your team at the dying stages of the match.It involves another person running for you considering that you cannot run and only waddle cause you are a troll.Also,the batsman's consent is not required for this.
Grease - Nothing to do with reducing friction or mechanical engineering.Grease is simply Crease:another term used quite often in cricket which is to draw the line in which the batsmen have to stay in so as to not get stumped/run out.Grease is a line drawn parallel to the wicket at distance equal to one and a half 'oil bats'.
Troyels - The first ball of Cricket or French Cricket is always a Troyels ( trial ) which is not counted towards the score or overs.Always say Troyels else you risk becoming out in the first ball itself.
All Reals - This is announced by the fielding team to indicate the official start of the match after troyels.
1D/2D/3D - Due to space( dimensional ) constraints,there can be occasions where you hit the ball real good but can't take any run because of some impediment.In such situations,depending on the distance and trajectory of the rubber ball,runs are declared as one,two or three indicated by 1D,2D or 3D.
Cheating - Irrespective of the sport,if you feel you were declared out by 'unfair means',just yell cheating or cheater cock at anyone and every one and all the passers by until the match is suspended.
I Spice/Eye Spy - World wide popular sport - I spy.More popular than Out-Out.Also popularly know as Ice-Boys( grazie Ani ).
Handy - Term specific to foodball.Touch the ball with your hand and it is declared as a foul or Handy.Free kick or throw in or a penalty is the consequence;which ever you like.
This list shall be appended whenever deemed necessary and shall in no circumstance be taken as the sole guide to street sports.Only terms that can be directly translated into English have been incorporated.

Ombudsmen Ahoy!!

I've discovered just recently this 'Bogeyman' of private banks.With so much power at his discretion,I guess it is always a nightmare to face his wrath.Even the best of the orators/negotiators/lawyers cannot win over him if you have broken the law and want to escape from it.With the kind of nauseating track record private banks maintain here ( including the foreign ones ) with respect to retail banking,it is fun to watch em being whipped again and again for crossing the law wrong.I pity the Foreign Institutions ( banks ) even more.Coming from seasoned capitalist background and mindset,they do not realize the fact that India is predominantly a socialist economy ( even though it is of a mixed type ).Poor them.I am not sure whether they have realized that the Ombudsman is pro people and not pro ( capitalist ) private banks.The Ombudsman,RTI and the Reserve Bank of India have become my weapons of terror against these 'money pinching whenever I want' banks.It was amazing to go through all the laws laid down by the apex bank and realize how blatantly banks violate them.Just the other day,I was declined a certain product from a Foreign bank and the reasons to explicate the same were not supplied citing an inherent inability because of 'bank policy'.Thought that was a funny excuse and checked out the RBI website for all the rules/regulations for that kind of product.And behold!Explicitly mentioned in the site was that every bank has to provide reasons for denying service to a particular customer clearly.I laughed my hind off after reading the complete annexure and shot off a mail to the bank taunting them to break the law again.Before this incident,I happened to be at the recieving end of gross misinformation by a certain bank.What was supposed to be a simple process of opening savings account turned out to be a nighmare after more than 11% of my initial balance was wiped out for reasons unknown.When demanded to know why cash was being pared off my account,untenable theories of a colossal magnitude were spun which were like a fresh pile of elephant dung.Being careful not to get indignant or be rash,I treaded the Ombudsman way,warning the bank of action.That was enough for the bank to jump up like an ass and reverse all the money filching.They probably thought the aam aadmi are foolish and can always be taken for a big grand ride.Well,yes you can take us all for a ride cause I'd love to wait and see the Ombudsman crashland you at the end.

First day at school...

With all the hype that I had forced upon myself,my first day at school was quite intimidating.Maybe I can draw a parallel of how intimidating it was when you are new to a school as a kid.All the feelings I had in my head with respect to inspiring,teaching and community work were obliterated by exhaustion.I know that I can inspire when I teach:but how do you communicate this when the kids do not know your language properly?Its another story that they do not know the states and capitals of our country.Something must have gone wrong,maybe a long time back for them-probably when they were in fourth grade.I mean,you learn these things, irrespective of the medium, in primary school not in high school!That was scary.I couldn't guess how they felt being in the dark.I felt the need to enlighten them with regards to Indian polity and geography.Cajoling them into speaking English was not easy either.Personally I hold the view that not speaking English is a lose-lose situation:convincing them of the same will not be easy I guess.I did not feel good like I thought I would at the end because I was afraid my efforts would go in vain.Its not my efforts that I am worried about,its the students' plight.Patience is the only key here I guess.Whatever the result,I can hold my head up high and say Ive tried at least.Its such a shame that no one in the city really cares for these children in government schools when there is so much time and resources available,especially the 'software community'.I hope they stuff up all their coffers and snooty arses with the crap they make at work.

Well done Coldplay.

I know this sounds dumb-I am a fan of Coldplay.Being a fan of Coldplay is just not good enough.A self declared progressive metal head,I am finding it difficult to resist their slow/soft/mellow/mellifluous renditions, which are too conspicous to be ignored.Only the fool will turn his head ( and ears ) away.You can clearly distinguish Coldplay even if a jet engine is howling beside you.Thats how I would say how permeating their music is.They simply transport you to a different place and time.It was inevitable they started experimenting with their style;progression setting in slowly.Hopefully they will not abandon their prevailing style.Ultimately change does creep in.I know not all songs are really good ( result of change ):yes, some are boring,but the ones that are really good make a lasting impression.But then,it is hard to accustom to slow tunes when all you know is a high speed guitar riff or a bass solo:something Coldplay has not ventured deeply into-instrumentals.That is my expectation or the way I rate a band or a song.A side effect being a metal fan.Although it is not high on instrument technicality,Chris' crystal clear voice makes up for it.All in all,weighing Coldplay my way would be wrong.It would be like you are asked to find the worth of a precious stone with a metre scale.Nor does it change the fact that they are a bunch of extremely good musicians.
P.S - Opeth owns all.
P.S - I have been searching for the right word to describe the feeling you get when you listen to Coldplay and i think Ive found it:Nostalgia.A sense of longing creeps into you when you listen to Coldplay;especially For you and Fix you.

BMW Power!

It would be a crime not to give credit to BMW for creating history.Winning for the first time in F1 as BMW Sauber is truly sweet and something that was in the offing for a long time.Their rise has been pretty linear since they split with Williams and it must feel great to be outside the Ferrari/Mercedes shadow.They can revel in the sunshine now!A welcome change also from the usual Ferrari-Mercedes circus on the top step of the podium.Frankly,I was hoping this would happen even though I like Ferrari.Nice to see a real automobile giant in the commercial sector stamp its presence in a grand way in the Canadian GP.Well done Kubica/Dr. Mario.That's BMW power for you!

How to pick your favourites.

Well well, Euro 08 has took off and i have no idea who i should support?
Should it be France because because a legion of them are/were in Arsenal?Naah.I do not know why i should like France.The Eiffel tower does not bewitch me.
The Swiss?I like the country for its historic neutrality and the scenic Alps and Federer and CERN. Thats why i like their football team.Pretty lame i guess.
Greece?I never knew they could play football and i know only three of em.Socrates,Plato n Aristotle.I still don't know how they won it last time around.And 300 is not a reason.
Portugal?They act like they are on an extended colonial hang over.Nincompoops.
The Dutch seem my likely favorites. Because they are 'Oranje' and it is my fav colour.And also because of RVP.That reminds me, i cannot back the dutch.RVP is injury prone and that's not good for Arsenal is it?I am not really sure whether the preceding reason is originally mine:and i do not like it.I cant make up my mind, so I'll leave my thought/s in ether.
Croatia?Nope.I do not like their jerseys.
Germany?They'll take your hopes up until the semis only.I need some potential to back.
Sweden/Slovenia?They are just there to fill up the slots.
Spain?Theoretically, they have the strongest team-Fabregas,Torres,Villa,Xavi...but since I hate Alonso i will not support Espanol.
Czech Republic?I do not like Peter Cech and his buttressed head.
Italia finally.Ah the Tifosi!Inno Di Mameli!Ferrari!.Luca Toni!Gattuso ( or fatso??)Reigning world champions.Si, it should be the aging warriors then.

Random musings.

My first blog.
Couldn't write anything more cause I am exhausted navigating between so many pages trying to make my blog look really good :-(