KINGSMEAD...... conquered!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so very lucky that i am living to see this moments of Indian Cricket.Some years ago,an Indian win at Durban seemed to be a wish that would go unfulfilled in this lifetime.But it was a reality thanks to the Very Very Special person who comes in at No 5 and bats like a miracle.To see him negotiating the rising deliveries from Morkel and Steyn was a treat.Kudos to Laxman and kudos to Team India for conquering Durban.Capetown we are coming and how!!!!!!!

Love , Sex Aur Cigarette.....!!!!!!

Before starting off .....i want to mention two things i just realized,1st : I am blogging after a real longtime....2nd i had to google to get the spelling of cigarette in the title right :) Anyways,the other day i had been out for lunch with my colleagues.After we finished one of my colleagues went to get a cigarette while we stood waiting for him.On his return, as he was lighting the stick , another one thought of giving him some realization by mentioning some stats...He said "Do you know that a cigarette reduces your life by 5 mins.So think about it ".The first guy dragged in some smoke and cooly replied ,much to the annoyance of the other guy,"Sex increases it by 7 mins so i guess i will make it up".....:)

All in a day's play.....

WOW!!!!..i mean..seriously... WOW!!! .........what a thriller of a day yesterday.A treat for every sports buff like me .I was a bit stressed out because i reached home travelling for an excess of 2 hours with continous rains in the background.But the moment i tuned the TV on after parking my big self on to the bed , the same stress translated into jubilation and excitement.

Obviously the first channel i tuned into was NEO to get the update on ASia Cup finals.Well with Sri lanka reeling on 60 odd something for loss of 5 wickets hinted that the game was all but heading to an early finish.I was excited on the prospect of an India win but was equally disappointed that i missed the early spell from the Indian seamers when most of the damage was done,infact it would be better to say the games fortune was sealed.Though the game was tilted towards India i hoped that a thriller would be just to decide the sub continental giants in cricket(Sadly cricket is still a sub continental affair, so the mention).
Planning to catch up only the wicket falls thereafter i switched to 'ESPN' oblivious that i was about to witness one of the best thrillers of FIFA WC history(It would be better to consider only the WCs that i have witnessed).Italy's qualification was at stake and it was a shocker that the scoreline read 1 - 0 against them.Not being a ardent football enthusiast i wont be able to aptly describe how the Slovaks eroded the Italian chances, but even a naive like me could tell that the Italian defence was falling apart.With two goals, Robert Vittek made the undertakers role his own while his teammates were busy nailing the Italian coffin,meanwhile, the Sri Lankans were dying a slow death at the hands of a refreshed Indian side .The Italian fans would have managed to get away with a pinch had the match ended with that scoreline.But they might never have imagined that a heartache was in store.As an Antonio Di Natale goal got the Italians right back into business ,the brawl between Quagliarella and Jan Mucha spiced up the climax.One might have thought that an equaliser in the dying moments of the match could still push them to the top 16,but, when Kamil Kopunek made a taurine like rush into the the Italian defense to finish a stunner ,making Federico Marchetti skills and the Italian defence look like a leaf out of a best selling humour novel,it seemed all over .But was it all over , not yet, Quagliarella scored a brilliant one to make up for the previous one that was called off side and yet again the Italian fans were up and roaring.With the stoppage time on , the Slovaks were skillful in wasting valuable seconds that further agonised the Italians , all adding up to the drama.The last minute attempt by Pepe made Buffon,Lippi and the whole of Italy leave their seats for one last time ,but it was a miss and with that the defending champions were knocked out from the run for the cup 3-2.Great performance Slovakia ,you even made my mom sit down and watch a football match.In all this drama ,India quietly gobbled up the remaining wickets to win the ASia cup.
I almost immediately started surfing the news channels to catch up on the wickets that i had missed.There came the news of the longest tennis match between Isner–Mahut.My mind was split in two sentiments immediately ,happy that i witnessed a thrilling encounter and sad that i missed a match whose final score card read
4-6,6-3,7-6(9-7),6-7(3-7),68-70.I cant comment on the exciting moments of the match,as i didnt watch it, but surely it would have been one hell of an encounter.Hats off to both Isner and Mahut for their determination , courage and never say die attitude.A great way to end a tiring day.
Today morning i switched on the tv to see the broadcast screen of a news channel split into four, the three blocks obviously for the above events and the fourth one for England's win over Australia.The Australians are insomniac right now and i am sure Eion Morgan is the reason.All in all a great feast for sports lovers.WOW!!!

Dahavi pass!!!!!!!

So the SSC results were out yet again last week , and ,the cliche of calling every known fella (close or distinct relative) followed in every household.One of my close cousins was also in the run this year and so the nerves were slightly tensed back home.
The fact that he got 92%(with the best of 5 in place ) isnt the reason why i am blogging the incident down,its the number of students who have secured 90% or more marks that set me thinking.I remember 12 years ago, when i appeared for SSC(phew!!! now thats quit a long time ago), things were not that simple ....and getting even 85% marks meant you were looked upon as one from the elite class of scholars.....so one can imagine that getting around 90% in our times was divine....But things have changed drastically over the decade as i can see.Since the last 5 years we have been constantly hearing about students committing suicides pre or post the result declaration,and that led the authorities to leniency.Naturally it meant a lot of strict reforms were axed down.Introduction of orals was one of the signs that authorities were serious in their intentions(What amuses me is orals for Mathematics).Also a new low in the states education system is the introduction of ATKT for Xth students.Ever year the norms loosened up and you could see scores of students hitting that 90 barrier.
You might think its a case of the 'sour grape story' , but that doesnt change the fact that this leniency might well lead us to incompetency in the near future.Rather than making the students tougher against the competitive setting,we are providing them escape routes to fade away from challenges. We too had our share of beatings ,scoldings, cannings ,depressions etc, but that didnt lead our generation to drastic steps.It taught us to fight back and win, and that i am afraid is the protocol the world preaches.Only the one who fights back ,survives ,the others perish.A sentiment that unfortunately seems to be missing in the youngsters today.
If at all something needs to change,its the education pattern.Just theorotical and bookish knowledge is taking us nowhere.A more practical approach is required and that and only that can induce a sense of interest and involvment amongst students.We have already been victimized by this disease and hence hope that it doesnt spread to the current lot.
This blog is not intended to take away anything from their achievements, but, i just hope that this success doesnt send out the wrong signals.Wishing all of them a successful future.

Yet another last day ............. :(

Its over four hours since I bid adieu to the security guard before leaving office for the last time. The "last" word is the last word i like to encounter. Just try recollecting how many times this dreaded word has preceded 'day' in your life. And I am sure every time it has left you drenched with emotions. Last day in school,junior college,graduation college, post graduation college,in the room you shared with your college buddies,a summer camp,a training program,in the building/locality you spend all your childhood,in an organization you worked for,a tour where you made new friends, in the country of your origin which you leave for better prospects.....the list may go on.All this last days involve departing from people you have spend all your best times with and that makes it all the more difficult .I have been a part of too many of this last days and every new one has taken a toll on my sentiments . Just a hope that I am spared of this last day trauma till the ultimate last day.

The feeling of feeling god.....!!!!!!

There have been incidents that happened round me which have made me believe that god is not in the temple, mosque or church where we go about seeking it. What’s the use of standing in long queues to get a glimpse of that statue in commercialized worship places if he doesn’t reside in your hearts.

So in the selfish world around me i had really lost track of what god is and what is the feeling of ‘feeling’ him .And then there was the recent incident which changed my perspective a bit.

I and my wife recently had been to Shivaji Park(place where Sachin Tendulkar, the batsman, was groomed) just for an outing. I don’t know what it was for wife but for me it was like for old time sakes. I really get nostalgic the moment I go around in that area. After sitting around near the beach and having some good time talking to each other we decided to have dinner at Gypsy. It was a great place and we had a good combination of wine and dine. The quantity of their serving was exhaustive and knowing the appetite of Devyani it was but natural that some quantity of food (some Chinese rice), was bound to be left uneaten. And as usual we did what 80% MCG (read Middle Class Group) do, parcel the leftover. After paying off we decided to walk it down till Dadar station. Just as we reached Sena Bhavan we saw a street kid sitting on the footpath and eating something. At that moment I saw at my wife and without wasting a second I just handed over the parcel to him .

There was an instant spark in his eye and he smiled on getting that food. That smile was so soothing and relaxing that I felt as if someone from the heavens is actually blessing me. Just about as we continued our walk,I was thinking to my self, what i saw in his eyes was indeed god.I was feeling god.Whenever I remember that incident it still makes me feel good and also restores my belief in god. God does exist ,its just that we try to search him in wrong places and things.

The joy of giving and the peace and sanity that it can bring to your heart is much more sacred than going to a worship place and worshiping god.

I am sure if god reads this he would agree ,and, in the true sense i got the ‘feeling’ of feeling him.

Sensed the Humor!!!!

The best part about raw humor is that it can emerge out of any situation any time (good or bad)....Sometimes a real frustrated person can come out with the best and most humorous punchlines... I had gone to watch the IPL semi-final between Mumbai and Bangalore.Now, with the venue been shifted to Mumbai at the very last moment ,online booking was the only option to get the tickets.The pain was that one had to take a print out of the e-ticket and collect the hard copy from the venue itself after showing the appropriate identity documents(read pan card/driving license etc.)We reached the venue some 6 hours before the start of play and were greeted with long queues of people waiting for their turn at the counter.There is a long service road that runs adjacent to the DY Patil stadium.So one had to walk a good stretch of say half a mile from the main road to reach the ticket counter..About five minutes later, from frustrated gossips around us , we were introduced to the fact that people have been standing in the line from as early as 9 'o clock and still had not got the tickets.It seemed that the lines were moving at snails pace and mercury levels were rising exponentially.Each and every one was frustrated and cursing their decision to come and watch the match at the stadium instead of doing it from the comforts of their living rooms.Three more liters of sweat later I realized that i had to submit the photo copy of my license too.I asked the person just ahead of me where will i find a photo copy shop as i couldn't sight any as far as my eyes could see.I was sure that the gentleman had gone through the similar blunder cos by his looks and exhausted appearance i guessed he too had got a photocopy for his license from some where around.His reply was quick and classy. "Buddy just walk back towards the main road, the photocopy store is just '300' calories away..!!"..he he he .......Wat a reply