tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72633170485059039962024-02-07T11:50:21.717+05:30Let chaos Prevail !!Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, IDoes it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-69996629612491825502011-06-25T00:38:00.006+05:302011-06-25T00:49:39.583+05:30Runner's High in Bangalore Marathon !<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeronAQSB804-KYGJa0SNCsMTcBygRM-fUBXX32kLETPVS3GJP2CsOzsNMVn6ry0Wk-ljS8Gw2pPVsJqEhMJ5uWJ_4mYh7xytGdro6AeGPfzLvpKZFY2SZH-I8tpPxxEq-4tFb4yAmh18/s1600/run.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeronAQSB804-KYGJa0SNCsMTcBygRM-fUBXX32kLETPVS3GJP2CsOzsNMVn6ry0Wk-ljS8Gw2pPVsJqEhMJ5uWJ_4mYh7xytGdro6AeGPfzLvpKZFY2SZH-I8tpPxxEq-4tFb4yAmh18/s400/run.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621866710247708674" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Runner's High : A publicized effect of endorphin production (Happiness hormone) is the so-called "runner's high", which is said to occur when strenuous exercise takes a person over a threshold that activates endorphin production. Endorphins are released during long, continuous workouts, when the level of intensity is between moderate and high, and breathing is difficult. This also corresponds with the time that muscles use up their stored glycogen. During a release of endorphins the person may be exposed to bodily harm from strenuous bodily functions after going past his or her body's physical limit. This means that runners can keep running despite pain, continuously surpassing what they once considered to be their limit.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEGl_aGtbiUxGUr6ep5aH6abIC1SJFtC1KY3Lk6Fo8j8Zk2ulvg2JTF10rmqGEykC24Woam0OOExAXnpLmiQzm48DRRJr8Bu57H8lNoHm27_X8_jKnI1lop17A5W4yFq7e5PMStUr2MU/s1600/Finish+Certificate.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEGl_aGtbiUxGUr6ep5aH6abIC1SJFtC1KY3Lk6Fo8j8Zk2ulvg2JTF10rmqGEykC24Woam0OOExAXnpLmiQzm48DRRJr8Bu57H8lNoHm27_X8_jKnI1lop17A5W4yFq7e5PMStUr2MU/s400/Finish+Certificate.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621866178662054098" /></a><br /><br />An Excerpt from a quote in Forest Gump -<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Forrest Gump:</span> That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going.<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span>Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-26462070820834989132011-05-11T20:34:00.000+05:302011-05-11T20:35:32.831+05:30Here is a little bit of Aristotle !Aristotle once declared - <em>“All men who have attained excellence in philosophy, in poetry, in art and in politics, even Socrates and Plato, had a melancholic habitus; indeed some suffered even from melancholic disease.”</em>Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-59375836286496452052011-04-17T20:09:00.004+05:302011-04-17T21:28:23.660+05:30Khalil Gibran Aphorishms !!<strong>On Giving</strong> : <em>And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?</em> <br /><br /><br /><strong>On Love</strong> : <em>Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.</em><br /><br /><br /><strong>On Marriage</strong> :<em> Love one another but make not a bond of love.<br />Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. <br />Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. <br />Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. <br />Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, <br />Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. <br />Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. <br />For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. <br />And stand together, yet not too near together: <br />For the pillars of the temple stand apart, <br />And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.</em> <br /><br /><br /><strong>On Children</strong> : <em>Your children are not your children. <br />They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. <br />They come through you but not from you, <br />And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. <br />You may give them your love but not your thoughts. <br />For they have their own thoughts. <br />You may house their bodies but not their souls, <br />For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. <br />You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.</em> <br /><br /><br /><strong>On Eating and Drinking</strong> : <em>When you kill a beast say to him in your heart:<br />"By the same power that slays you, I to am slain; and I too shall be consumed. For the law that delivered you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand. <br />Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven."</em> <br /><br /><br /><strong>On Work</strong> : <em>You have been told also life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.<br />And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge, <br />And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge, <br />And all knowledge is vain save when there is work, <br />And all work is empty save when there is love; <br />And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God. </em><br /><br /><br />More to follow.......Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-69191768774045745922011-04-12T20:17:00.005+05:302011-04-12T23:32:12.190+05:30Remembrance !<strong>March 13, 1996 </strong><br /><strong>5:30 am </strong><em><br />He woke up early in the wee hours of morning to complete of study for the exam that was about to start in next few days.More then the study he wanted to pretend that he has completed his study has earned his right to watch India -Srilanka Semifinal at Eden Garden.This encounter has been loomin large in his mind since the day india beat Pakistan at high velocity encounter at Bangalore.He saw his granny performing pooja and silently slips in beside her to do his part for the match.Meanwhile granny also did her part for the match silently.<br /><br /></em> <strong>10:30 pm</strong> <em><br />He came back to his room utterly disappointed.He could not understand why this happens to him everytime.Suddenly the realisation of the loss and exams started looming large in front of him and he was on the brink of nervous breakdown.He wanted to do something outrageous.He opened his shirt and threw it towards almirah.Unknowing it hit the wire connecting the room heater placed in top of almirah.Of all places it came crashing down and hit granny leg which started bleeding.Seeing all this his father came rushing in and planted fivee fingers on his rather disheartened face.</em>Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-73594123927265990822011-04-09T00:23:00.002+05:302011-04-09T00:26:51.972+05:30A Ted talk on Work-Life Balance !!<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jdpIKXLLYYM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><br />Re-iterating a thought ::<br /><br /><em>There are thousands and thousands of people leaving life of quite screaming despiration where they work long hard hours in jobs they hate to enable them to buy things they dont need to impress people they dont like !</em>Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-71005599738073284282011-04-08T20:19:00.002+05:302011-04-09T00:23:51.909+05:30A Musing !Marco Polo (1254-1324) was an Italian voyager and merchant who was one of the first Europeans to travel across Asia through China, visiting the Kublai Khan in Beijing. <br /><br />Kublai asks Marco, “<em>When you return to the West, will you repeat to your people the same tales you tell me?”</em> “<em>I speak and speak</em>,” <br /><br />Marco says, “<em>but the listener retains only the words he is expecting... It is not the voice that commands the story: it is the ear</em>.”Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-37606980671857899022010-12-06T22:25:00.013+05:302010-12-06T23:04:51.282+05:30Dharmashala in Pics !" Picture speaks a thousand words " -Here are few from my recent visit to Dharamashala !<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FFxalHmKIclFC-tVEVZ1N5jmIxOKJ7RrXDFCwzch_3eYXLNtvafA-Q2_S8JrvBQnqOazRNTnEzAQZcBISjt_aEeS0FB4646kPsUvdAynt33Ma7naRFLj308g6UKDJVE34VlgAGAPLVs/s1600/DSC00541.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FFxalHmKIclFC-tVEVZ1N5jmIxOKJ7RrXDFCwzch_3eYXLNtvafA-Q2_S8JrvBQnqOazRNTnEzAQZcBISjt_aEeS0FB4646kPsUvdAynt33Ma7naRFLj308g6UKDJVE34VlgAGAPLVs/s400/DSC00541.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547615335035439250" /></a><br /><em>A writing on the wall !(Picture taken while returning from</em> <a href="http://www.tushita.info/">Tushita</a>)<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO0XChDW_CQ0nB18wu7uLxflYHsmRUWhPj7BITl-Bx8YYwxa6UZOqApMcRq9HvGr7gsGs-9BUuDots1_2urhMEm7CuLLqy0b4PaS9XxgvCCV1mGIGxpKaHHBa1ly6-3k-fralbQeMH8og/s1600/DSC00544.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO0XChDW_CQ0nB18wu7uLxflYHsmRUWhPj7BITl-Bx8YYwxa6UZOqApMcRq9HvGr7gsGs-9BUuDots1_2urhMEm7CuLLqy0b4PaS9XxgvCCV1mGIGxpKaHHBa1ly6-3k-fralbQeMH8og/s400/DSC00544.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547616367858122690" /></a><br /><em>A writing on the door of an exhibition of an Anti-China and Free Tibet memorabilia !</em><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69LVtnYAQ2-XfT4aKFTN2-o20Qu04euWYezMLo5FI9RW-CxPlTFHUsNE8qgtZqdODvDmPOESbxDJgAw_Sn6z88UeBWlv1cpai7Zk9liqOVeW0Vc8clXAh9Z39EdBMSXlbpAzdfrCV4AI/s1600/DSC00532.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69LVtnYAQ2-XfT4aKFTN2-o20Qu04euWYezMLo5FI9RW-CxPlTFHUsNE8qgtZqdODvDmPOESbxDJgAw_Sn6z88UeBWlv1cpai7Zk9liqOVeW0Vc8clXAh9Z39EdBMSXlbpAzdfrCV4AI/s400/DSC00532.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547617552561143618" /></a><br /><em>Narrow Lanes in Mcleodganj !</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7b9bTMRs_AseQPTAgu0Bgv4SOFHIDYN9GQS4sWDV6OgGE2K4fNtHAdb-NTQYESVW29ScP9cz6D9RwkDwBXVtyaDdZ6n8U_HxvpcW1iMDfy9FfWPbujSaF9nXKVc1tfC175Kk0iAXUGY/s1600/DSC00566.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp7b9bTMRs_AseQPTAgu0Bgv4SOFHIDYN9GQS4sWDV6OgGE2K4fNtHAdb-NTQYESVW29ScP9cz6D9RwkDwBXVtyaDdZ6n8U_HxvpcW1iMDfy9FfWPbujSaF9nXKVc1tfC175Kk0iAXUGY/s400/DSC00566.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547619091996804546" /></a><br /><em>World's youngest Political Prisoner !</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNPz8dWPfrmg8mzxdh5QPPYe0eLPO_susrpFxBUKmlrf4rz5iAXHyueBQQV-B0jr8apBGJFgo7SJvgq3k5GTxYsCkqhtBAxl2vrET_fBfi7Wr_LlYaKAw16SVIqjAVp13xj8Wsd_PiiE/s1600/DSC00582.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJNPz8dWPfrmg8mzxdh5QPPYe0eLPO_susrpFxBUKmlrf4rz5iAXHyueBQQV-B0jr8apBGJFgo7SJvgq3k5GTxYsCkqhtBAxl2vrET_fBfi7Wr_LlYaKAw16SVIqjAVp13xj8Wsd_PiiE/s400/DSC00582.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547619818155745730" /></a><br /><em>An enchanting Panchen Monastery !</em><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiq26CSp71j_JK9BQNlMinlz_LSBMry419VIXAKb9AXAdE7VTHWbrZ2OvIltEYGms8Y4z1LfLHbXmnA3lHELgKmHPp5LKgTGncCBxEf2hjASQ69N43RtgSRZm-t6LhfIG0TMoNvwAHkT8/s1600/DSC00537.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiq26CSp71j_JK9BQNlMinlz_LSBMry419VIXAKb9AXAdE7VTHWbrZ2OvIltEYGms8Y4z1LfLHbXmnA3lHELgKmHPp5LKgTGncCBxEf2hjASQ69N43RtgSRZm-t6LhfIG0TMoNvwAHkT8/s400/DSC00537.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547621841227860306" /></a><br /><em>All place in covention centre booked a day prior to Dalai Lama's preachings</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2pxQxtPPF0Z0ku41-LeSqFG5uDOKMv3nlit2F3oMaw2u0WiZNHgMGe_9VURSOFTB8BXNetY0J0Mlh8DLpYb_jW3G4_jaAuDc9wDYYSvc09KTNYLp8a4sxqQs36JrPIZga8PIgbbrKUjg/s1600/DSC00564.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2pxQxtPPF0Z0ku41-LeSqFG5uDOKMv3nlit2F3oMaw2u0WiZNHgMGe_9VURSOFTB8BXNetY0J0Mlh8DLpYb_jW3G4_jaAuDc9wDYYSvc09KTNYLp8a4sxqQs36JrPIZga8PIgbbrKUjg/s400/DSC00564.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547622857886700866" /></a><br /><em>Full Length photographs of Tribal Tibetans when they arrive in India from china</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTF47qW64WNgQowbm6XTL6VPCfqt2tbIa34KnlBWbpCScKWtweVP2H_Fja5E6eZYPJXt9l9WtF9Y4bV_8h2h19jbvO_4BH1gwrEm7LksILK_WBdpEKef6DD6RaEOnQ3HejTCnil8kQA50/s1600/DSC00574.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTF47qW64WNgQowbm6XTL6VPCfqt2tbIa34KnlBWbpCScKWtweVP2H_Fja5E6eZYPJXt9l9WtF9Y4bV_8h2h19jbvO_4BH1gwrEm7LksILK_WBdpEKef6DD6RaEOnQ3HejTCnil8kQA50/s400/DSC00574.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547623559143475506" /></a><br /><em>Norbulingka Institute of Tibetan art !</em><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCoOykU_bElfRYJFyXYKr8GFCmO9I5ygm2QGmBl7IUp2lEUhOW0Q5aAmzMJr_Kt4xsFqvRD7PBQtobzmWk4_q9jcxWrNTYjnBhmO_cF0N7_Jal43PZZF5kPk_1JavjUBO0nYmSXsCDeL8/s1600/DSC00552.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCoOykU_bElfRYJFyXYKr8GFCmO9I5ygm2QGmBl7IUp2lEUhOW0Q5aAmzMJr_Kt4xsFqvRD7PBQtobzmWk4_q9jcxWrNTYjnBhmO_cF0N7_Jal43PZZF5kPk_1JavjUBO0nYmSXsCDeL8/s400/DSC00552.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547618198319062018" /></a><br /><em>World as seen from the window of my Hotel !</em>Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-62853918995332381732010-11-07T19:11:00.010+05:302010-11-07T20:42:37.209+05:30Rishikesh-Haridwar Odyssey !So the time finally came for my himalayan Odyssey to begin.My parents accompanied me for the tour to Rishikesh-Haridwar for their annual pilgrimage.This was going to be my 2nd visit to Uttarakhand.First time I visited Uttarakhand was with my grandmother when I was a kid some 20 year ago.We boarded the train from Howrah at night and started for Haridwar.It was really after a long time I was about to travel in Train for such a long journey and was looking forward to it.I woke up after having a good night sleep when train reached Varanasi.A newspaper hawker came to the compartment t Varanasi.I asked for an english daily as I didn't had change so I gave him Rs 100.He told he will return the change never to have come back.This was kind a welcome call for me for the things I need to be carefull for days to come.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOYMlTwwRBUU18cT1R0V5GCnrz_Bs1HCETKcxHmY4UTJrkZji5GSQSBJ_brW1chKOoJNQAVO579RXVAyUwHYho_uuSpdhNepRAzGdyaaQfxOI8RYszSfMLEebQNWlDKOz-lHytnqFyoBY/s1600/DSC00618.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOYMlTwwRBUU18cT1R0V5GCnrz_Bs1HCETKcxHmY4UTJrkZji5GSQSBJ_brW1chKOoJNQAVO579RXVAyUwHYho_uuSpdhNepRAzGdyaaQfxOI8RYszSfMLEebQNWlDKOz-lHytnqFyoBY/s400/DSC00618.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536820098458138914" /></a><br /><br /><em>Har-Ki-Pauri as seen at dawn.</em><br /><br /><br />We reached Haridwar Railway station in the morning.We got a hotel near Har-ki-Pauri,the main ghat in Haridwar.Propitiously located at the point where the Ganges emerges from Himalayas,Haridwar is India's one of the most Holy Place.The sheer number of pilgrims in Haridwar who come for Holy bath in morning at Har-ki-Pauri Ghat will simply blow you apart.One of the most famous ghat,Har-Ki-Pauri is where Vishnu is said to have dropped some heveanly nectar and left behind some footprints.Every evening hundreds of people gather for Ganga Arati which I truly an enlightening experiance.People burns a flower basket with light and put it on the river to drift away downstream.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRR34mrameUam38pFkJ9Vz6MmUUsjKDlZIinVTLEOMo3RVOjjhEWYWaQBB5FntaDsgkM22WxOLRnlbtVcg8dxewXJuBuomrywouKQUy6S3SQ7Kg4rNiFPPQadjgMdVWNLbck5Qa26_58s/s1600/DSC00636.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRR34mrameUam38pFkJ9Vz6MmUUsjKDlZIinVTLEOMo3RVOjjhEWYWaQBB5FntaDsgkM22WxOLRnlbtVcg8dxewXJuBuomrywouKQUy6S3SQ7Kg4rNiFPPQadjgMdVWNLbck5Qa26_58s/s400/DSC00636.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536823474046960466" /></a><br /><br /><em>Ganga Arati at Har-ki-Pauri at Dusk!</em><br /><br />After spending 2 days in Haridwar we travelled to Rishikesh for a day visit.There is nothing much to catch in Rishikesh city except those two iconic Jhulas situated around 4 Km from the city.We spend a day visiting all Ashrams located at Ghats near two Jhulas.I will be writing more about Rishikesh having stayed 7 days in and around this area as my initial plan for mountainering course in NIM crashed in heavy waterfall in upper Uttrakhand.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ1txA_I3T8BwPb04f7s6aFiWaHgZ6BFPIBlMh2VgZW0eOrrcLko39MBA3-C4cOyqYNe0IMzdehYFoNuFzocS4A6lb5vpuqD_U3ahtNE_TaUc-KI3jLZHrHeN2SuzFh56lKv_j55mmPjM/s1600/DSC00621.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ1txA_I3T8BwPb04f7s6aFiWaHgZ6BFPIBlMh2VgZW0eOrrcLko39MBA3-C4cOyqYNe0IMzdehYFoNuFzocS4A6lb5vpuqD_U3ahtNE_TaUc-KI3jLZHrHeN2SuzFh56lKv_j55mmPjM/s400/DSC00621.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536821319603670722" /></a><br /><br /><em>I standing with Mom at iconic Lakshman Jhula at the background.</em>Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-18784209034395107522010-10-31T22:07:00.014+05:302010-11-01T23:22:00.748+05:30Himalaya Calling !!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8MHlYTvD33Re1qkaeiIfgyzEHo_rjILGkuq6ExM_pS3vecUM2PugZ5spFVEO7QbovfFtgusWsQApgR9G4-dweeXI9CrntTLC4GcWHbceUNuTcXpQWIlzfNFcaynv15TTD8BHkPWJ0g8/s1600/gurunath-himalayas-72-web.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8MHlYTvD33Re1qkaeiIfgyzEHo_rjILGkuq6ExM_pS3vecUM2PugZ5spFVEO7QbovfFtgusWsQApgR9G4-dweeXI9CrntTLC4GcWHbceUNuTcXpQWIlzfNFcaynv15TTD8BHkPWJ0g8/s400/gurunath-himalayas-72-web.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534534031780570434" /></a><br /><br /><em>"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did.So throw off the bowlines.Sail away from the safe harbour.Catch the trade winds in your sails.Explore.Dream.Discover." -Mark Twain</em> <br /><br />Since last few years I have been thinking of taking a long break for 1-2 months so that I can spend the time exploring and just be myself travelling and satiating my irepressible wanderlust. All the travelling and expeditions I have been part of since last few years have been for 1-2 weeks and I always end up asking for more once they are finished.Nevertheless,I didn't get a chance to have a long break as I just got busy in the dungeons of life.It seems life became a race where we just cling ourselves from one milestone to another till we run out of gas.By the time I came from Saudi I was pretty sure of moving to a new organisation if they ask me to go to Saudi again.Meanqhile, I started getting offers from various organizations and decided to move.I thought this transition phase to be a right time for taking a long break after joining an organisation,it will be difficult taking a leave for 1-2 months at strech.I pushed my joining in all the organisations I got offers by 2 months. <br /><br />Now as the agenda was set, all important planning phase started.I got myself busy with Internet exploring options and costs. Initially I thought of 20 days backpacking trip to Europe and then navigated to Thailand/Malaysia and then to 2-3 weeks trekking tour in Bhutan/Nepal.I enquired about them and somehow things were not conducive as dates and availability didn't matched.Later I read about very famous pro-mountaineering course through lonely planet in Nehru institute of mountaineering,Uttarkashi and Himalaya institute of mountaineering,Darzeeling and seriously got interested in these courses. I mailed them asking for dates and availability and thankfully NIM basic mountaineering course dates matched. <br /><br />I told my parents about my trip plans.They initially were quite apprehensive but after much cajoling agreed.I told them to accompany me for the tour to Haridwar and Rishikesh for initial few days as they themselves wanted to go there for a long time.We all booked for the journey from Kolkata.My great Himalaya sojourn began as I packed as along with usual stuffs I packed both Lonely planet's INDIA and Rough Guide's HIMALAYAS.Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-83860597343598146462010-10-31T21:12:00.003+05:302010-11-01T16:39:29.259+05:30Saudi Sojourn !!<strong>YET TO BE COMPLETED !!</strong>Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-53168635631681632322010-08-08T18:06:00.013+05:302010-11-07T19:11:25.556+05:30Takeaway from this world cup !I have been thinking to write a post-World Cup article for quite sometime now and<br />its not surprising enough that I have finally started jotting it down around one month after the event is long gone. The 2010 FIFA World Cup was undoubtedly the most-followed event in the history and these astounding numbers tell the whole story. Its is estimated that around 23 billion people followed it via broadcasting and around 3million lucky people witnessed it live on stadium.<br /><br />Though I was not lucky enough to stay back in SA when world cup started, I do visited Soccer city where inauguration and final was played. Believe me seeing soccer city from outside was itself an experience. In this I am going to jot down some of the takeaways from this once in a lifetime African extravaganza.<br /><br /><strong>Paul the Oracle :</strong> It was only after its third prediction, Paul the so called soothsayer Octopus was in craze and remained so till the end of the cup. I distinctly remember a 'breaking news' flashing on TV, while I was standing in a queue at airtel office saying, 'Paul again picked Germany'. I silently giggled thinking how on earth young Germans are going to tame all mighty argentines. Rest as they say is history. The brutality with which Germans butchered Argentina will be covered mostly in Maradona section. Paul went on a complete rampage there after and predicted all the results correctly. No wonder that Madrid zoo has bid for Paul to bring him to Spain.<br /><br /><strong>Vuvuzela: </strong>The weird hum during the games in South Africa was a 2010 staple. Whether you found them annoying or affable, I didn’t expect them to be a part of Brazil 2014. If anything, the horns would remind the proud soccer power of its early exit in 2010.Incidently some days back, I heard the same noise while catching up a ManU –Chelsea Sheffield shield cup in a non-alcoholic pub at Riyadh. As Mexican Wave has been part of sports folklore since 1986, Mexico world cup, Vuvuzela could be part of soccer folklore from now onwards. In spite of a probable FIFA ban for vuvuzela during matches, I am pretty much sure vuvuzela is here to say for long time.<br /><br /><strong>Spain: </strong>Spain has been one of the unluckiest team so far in world cup history. A country which hosts two of the powerhouses of football at club level had a very dismal show at world cup stage. Before this world cup they have managed to qualify for semi final only once and that too half a century ago. But this time story was about to change. The team looked quite fresh playing best players at each and every position. They had 7 regular playing for Barcelona and style with which they played very much resembled Barca. Its ironical that Barcelona, who have been trying hard to have their own existence in the form of Catalonia, had players playing for Spain out of their most coveted symbol Barcelona FC. Spain, whose economy was in doldrums since recession, has undoubtedly got the best boost possible for revival.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Maradona :</strong> Without doubt Maradona is perhaps the best player ever to have played this game. Such was his intensity he managed to uplift the feeble argentine team single handedly to world cup glory in 1986.Perhaps no other player, including Pele and Cryuff ,has so much impact on team performance as Maradona had on argentine team in 1986.But history was not to be repeated this time. The game’s bad boy committed some of the blunders which resulted in all-mighty Argentina’s sad demise from World cup. Not selecting Cambiasso and Zanetti , both Champions League winner, hit Argentina very bad. I somehow have a feeling 1st goal free-kick against Germany would not have taken place had Zenneti played the game in place of Otamandi in right back. The planning loopholes in the midfield were easily visible once Germany took one goal lead. Incidentally Maradona wrote a tweet in the morning of Arg-Ger game ,’Today is Maradona day’ which was being retweeted for many more days after Germany dusted Argentina 4-0.No wonder Maradona was dropped from argentina’s coach after world cup .Also it has to be said on records that , Maradona looked amazingly funny in Suit.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_dizNjGUm2s_bvgocHfWLFNkzbhGG-6g1MgK_puwfMa5XlkCvJtApMz1EpvaApdKM744uUh-PC3CKmgkFfOEFFy_vJp7sSDCGeGHwHD87FluKOWztkUoalaY2k3iEQGHrvXUTD8PecIc/s1600/maradona_1673201c.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_dizNjGUm2s_bvgocHfWLFNkzbhGG-6g1MgK_puwfMa5XlkCvJtApMz1EpvaApdKM744uUh-PC3CKmgkFfOEFFy_vJp7sSDCGeGHwHD87FluKOWztkUoalaY2k3iEQGHrvXUTD8PecIc/s400/maradona_1673201c.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534135572268904098" /></a><br /> <br /><br /><strong>Young Germans:</strong> Germany was the real surprise in this WC. Not many thought Germany could reach semis in world cup initially. An untimely injury of Micheal Ballack before the WC start led everybody to expect an early German return from SA.No wonder Germans stuck gold with the likes of Ozil,Khadira(Both joining Real Madrid eventually),Lahm and Muller.With the current crop of players so talented,german football surely looks very much in safe hands.<br /><br /><strong>Yet another Hand of God :</strong> Suarez will always remain a villan in Africa for generations to come.Had Asamoah Gyan scored that last minute goal against Uruguay,Ghana would have become the first African country to have been qualified form world cup semifinals.Inspite of some of these setbacks,the spirit of africa soared amazingly high in this once in a lifetime WC.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgig4KNaUrzvuns58u_HHB5DcXY5JBq-SqWWaaAGKYTioikQvGC_eREPgmr4grE7zFjlwLbGdcTsvgjViW87qlj_P4abbo2lG-uKYkTQvf5vXRVSSu7n9h88229TIDXPcbqiHfm_9D-rjM/s1600/uruguay-ghana.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 292px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgig4KNaUrzvuns58u_HHB5DcXY5JBq-SqWWaaAGKYTioikQvGC_eREPgmr4grE7zFjlwLbGdcTsvgjViW87qlj_P4abbo2lG-uKYkTQvf5vXRVSSu7n9h88229TIDXPcbqiHfm_9D-rjM/s400/uruguay-ghana.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534134159557999330" /></a><br /><br /><br /><strong>Running Naked Craze :</strong> Paraguayan model, Larissa Riquelme surely become the face of the world cup with her off the field exploits at stadiums.With her running naked craze after world cup win,paraguay World cup team surely increased its fan counts in notime.By the time Paraguay and Arentina both routed out in quaterfinals,someone said it very aptly that,'with this quaterfinal thrashing we dont have to witness the ignominy of seeing Maradona and grandeur of Larissma running naked '.<br /><br /><strong>Netherlands :</strong>Netherlands,perhaps the unluckiest team in the world cup history, has proved out to be unlucky in this world cup again.But the combined performance as a team they have shown was truly something.Sjneider continued his club performance form in this world cup and scored when its team demanded the most.With Arjen Robben at front he formed a lethel pair capable of cutting through the most tighest of defence.They were very unlucky in not converting some of the vital chances they got in the final against spain.Personally I was gunning for Netherlands in this world cup after argentina crashed out and I do believe it will not be long till netherland will be kept away from world cup glory that has been eluded from them for long.<br /><br /><strong>Mayanti Langar :</strong>Perhaps a big reason for popularity in india for this world cup owns to this suave and stylish anchor for the world cup called Mayanti Langar.She has been a part of NFL for long and perhaps no other anchor would have done the job so well.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Kd0KbGJYcwJVGFxeMz71DIALzTB-vhd016QrJjzWu1hTlH87BYaqcL725B3REZyDqRGPZDoYLyQGSQnCU_8W3rPr-ekGdhTra-sapMJG9EYAgO_6PI8COIaFvD0s-POyJPdYfDxbSOI/s1600/mayanti6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 303px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Kd0KbGJYcwJVGFxeMz71DIALzTB-vhd016QrJjzWu1hTlH87BYaqcL725B3REZyDqRGPZDoYLyQGSQnCU_8W3rPr-ekGdhTra-sapMJG9EYAgO_6PI8COIaFvD0s-POyJPdYfDxbSOI/s400/mayanti6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534136796398600626" /></a><br /><br /><br />This was truly a memorable world cup that happened in African Soil for the first time.When I was in Joberg only few weekes before WC was about to start,there were lot of concerns about crime rate which could jeopardise the whole world cup.The grandeur with which they conducted this WC was truly magnificiant and will be itched in people's memory for a long time.It was truly once in a lifetime World Cup.Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-57160074338209705212010-07-24T01:45:00.003+05:302010-07-24T01:53:35.927+05:30Aazaadiyan Pairon Ki Bediyan !!Amitabh Bhattacharya and Amit Trivedi rocked bigtime as lyricist and music director for this amaging single from movie Udaan...Simply Superb !!<br /><br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NqChOFgXnTc&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NqChOFgXnTc&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Lyrics ::<br /><br /><em>Pairon ki bediyan khwabon ko baandhe nahi re, kabhi nahi re<br />Mitti ki parton ko nanne se ankur bhi cheenay, dheere dheere<br />Iraade hare hare, jinke seeno mein ghar kare<br />Woh dil ki sune kare na darre, na darre<br /><br />Subah ki kirno ko rokein jo salaakhein hai kahan<br />Jo khayalon pe pehre daale woh aankhein hai kahan<br />Par khulne ki deri hai parinde udh ke jhoomenge<br />Aasman aasman aasman<br />Subah ki kirno ko rokein jo salaakhein hai kahan<br />Jo khayalon pe pehre daale woh aankhein hai kahan<br />Par khulne ki deri hai parinde udh ke jhoomenge<br />Aasman aasman aasman<br /><br />Aazaadiyan, aazaadiyan<br />Aagey na kabhi, mile mile mile<br />Aazaadiyan, aazaadiyan<br />Jo cheenay wahi, jee le jee le jee le<br /><br />Subah ki kirno ko rokein jo salaakhein hai kahan<br />Jo khayalon pe pehre daale woh aankhein hai kahan<br />Par khulne ki deri hai parinde udh ke jhoomenge<br />Aasman aasman aasman<br /><br />Kahani khatam hai ya shuruwaat hone ke hai (hone ke hai)<br />Subha nayi hai yeh ya phir raat hone ko hai (hone ke hai)<br />Kahani khatam hai ya shuruwaat hone ke hai (hone ke hai)<br />Subha nayi hai yeh ya phir raat hone ko hai (hone ke hai)<br /><br />Aane wala waqt dega panha hai<br />Ya phir se milenge do raahein<br />Khabar kya, kya pataa</em>Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-42740768544782310772010-06-02T23:20:00.003+05:302010-06-02T23:38:39.994+05:30Hypo-theatronomics -I<em>"Its hypothetical situation which can happen to anybody in a day to day ramblings that seems rather normal but can be viewed from a different perspective,more inclined towards a humorous one !"</em><br /><br /><strong>Chanced encounter of a different kind!</strong><br />---------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />Subordinate went to Restroom to wash his face. He has trying to fight back sleep for last 1 hour after coming from Lunch. After spending 2 years in IT he has become averse to movement of any kind.He thought of utilising his visit to rest room by taking a leak though their is no serious urge of any kind.<br /><br />In walked 'Senior Manager'(in mid 30s,severly fighting mid life crisis) trying to give a stern look desperately trying to hide the emotion trauma he went through while getting serious flak from director.<br /><br />He tried to follow urinal protocal but there was drainage problem in rightmost one out of 4 and reluctently decided to stand in the chamber next to subordinate.<br /><br /><br /><em>Senior Manager : Sup...Dude??</em> (Manager tring to act cool and showing he can still manage to stand on lower side of hill number 30 )<br /><br />Subordinate looked up from his deep slumber concentration and looked towards Manager. Both understood after looking at each other eyes how productive last 1 hour has been since lunch.<br /><br /><em>Subordinate : Its going gud </em>!( Answered with a smile..wanted to add Man/Sir but could not utter. He is wondering what made senior manager speak to him for the first time in 2 years that too at this place).<br /><br /><em>S Manager : Howz work ? </em><br /><br /><em>Subordinate : Its going gud !!( </em>Wondering what is the difference between first and second question)<br /><br /><em>S Manager : U from Delhi right??</em> (Thinking every north indian is from Delhi)<br /><br /><em>Subordinate : No..I am from Amritsar...Punjab </em>(Thinking why is he asking so many questions that too at a place where both of them are holding their respective thing).<br /><br /><em>S Manager : So How u liking Bangalore ?? </em>(Wondering why north Indians come to Bangalore to take away local jobs)<br /><br /><em>Subordinate : Its nice !!</em>( thinking...should he tell about water problem he is facing in his rented accommodation since last 2 months).<br /><br /><em>S Manager : Hmmm... </em>(Sadistically smiling and nodding his head after looking at the ceiling as if he just cracked Theory of Relativity).<br /><br /><br />Senior Manager leave the place after a brief shaking of his thing. He washed hands and spent some time checking his belly and turned sidewise to check whether there is any increment if any and felt disapointed.Subordinate joined him at hand wash concentrating more on his hand then any other part of his body.<br /><br />Senior Manager left the place in hurry just remembering he has a con-call to attend in 5 minutes.<br /><br /><br />------------------------<br /><br />Next day morning Subordinate got a mail from senior manager congratulating him for his new promotion to become a manager as previous manager has resigned one week back !<br /><br />Later same week he was summoned to Senior Manager Cabin where senior manager asked him to maintain same level of proficiency and honesty towards work that he has been showing for last 2 years.<br /><br />Subordinate was flummoxed but still had to gave party to his friends that costed him half of his savings he had been doing since last 2 years.Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-83008813344802628782010-05-31T21:40:00.004+05:302010-05-31T22:21:21.556+05:30FIFA World Cup 2010 (Once in a Lifetime) !<em>“It is not just a simple game, it is a weapon of the revolution.”</em><br /> -'Ernesto Che Guevara' quoting on football<br /><br />It was late one night of July 1994 my love affair with FIFA world cup and football in general started. I distinctly remember a suave little pony-tailed Italian, Roberto Baggio missing a crucial penalty to hand over Brazil its 4th world cup in the final. I was too young to understand the game and its format in general, but the passion and energy with which everybody followed it made me realize how big an event football world cup is. Ricky Martin’s theme song ‘Cup of Joy’ certainly played its part. More then the match it was the flak me and my Dad receive from my Mom later that night for watching the match till 4 am made the whole episode itched in my mind forever.<br /><br />Over the years I remember witnessing Zidane’s 2 Goals against Brazil in 1998 to lift 1998 fifa world cup, and later Cafu and Cannavaro lifting world cup in subsequent tournaments in 2002 and 2006 respectively. What is it about football which radiates an emotion which remains unparallel in any other sports all across the globe. I remember Maradona saying in an interview, ‘Football is nothing but an innate natural game. If you give a small kid who has just started walking a ball, he would probably start kicking it and he can do it all day long’. Probably it is because of this reason, Football is adapted and played all across the globe including some of the poorest nations in the world. The emergence of African players and country amongst European and Latin stronghold is for everyone to see. Otherwise how will you explain, nations, distraught in civil wars and unthinkable poverty, producing some of the best Football players in the world?<br /><br /><br />I have been inching to write this post for last two months or so since I returned back from SA, but with only 10 days left for world cup to start, it has to be now or never. During my stay at SA, there was a super sports ad that comes in TV showing what this World cup means for African people across the continent. They tag named it as ‘Once in a Lifetime’ Cup and very rightly so. You just have to see newly constructed magnanimous 2.7 billion dollar ‘soccer city stadium’ to understand what I mean. It will indeed be special to witness World cup happening first time in Africa. I am sure India, specially Kolkata ,will be gearing up well for this world cup. When Maradona visited Kolkata last year for inauguration of a football academy, there were 15000 people standing at international airport to receive him at 2 O’clock night. When he further went for a felicitation ceremony at Saltlake stadium later that day, 1.2 Lakh people gathered in the stadium to catch a glimpse of their idol in scorching sun. I know a perspective says, people have no work so they indulge in these stuffs. But still fanaticism of such proportion is quite phenomenal specially when you consider football records as dismal as ours .It is somehow amidst this fanaticism and craziness you find true love and passion for the game. Their is certain honesty when you see young boys playing football on a rainy day in muddy Maidan wearing cheap T-shirt of their favorite football players. I remember witnessing Argentina – Germany 2006 quarterfinal clash at CCFC (Cricket Club and Football Club), Kolkata with around 500 gathered audience and believe me the experience is absolutely incredible though the result was not.<br /><br />With the world cup starting in less than 10 days, the big question of, ‘Who’s gonna lift the cup??’ looms large more then ever before. Unlike cricket, where Australia in any format looks a definite contender by big margin, it’s difficult to predict any definite winner for football world cup. Spain looks very strong on paper and could be an overwhelming favorite. Their midfield combo of Xavi, Ineista, Fabregas and Silva looks very ominous. Argentina with Maradona as a coach undoubtedly has best forwards. Messi-Tevez-Aguero-Higuain-Milito can give any defense very tough time considering they get good support from midfield which looks a bit depleted. England on the other hand has strong Defense along with Brazil supporting very strong midfield. Then there is Netherlands, Portugal, and Germany who can give any team a hard beating on any given day.<br /><br />Personally,I want Argentina and Netherlands to do well in this world cup. It will be amazing to see prodigy Messi playing under a legend Maradona. Also it will be enticing to see Argentina’s forward playing havoc in opposite number’s defense. Netherlands should do well because of their free and fearless playing style and amazing talent which they have in their bench. Over the years in cup history, they are the unluckiest team not to have won the world cup which should change considering the rich legacy carry forward by players such as Cryuff, Kluivert ,Bergkamp .At last all I can say is let the whistle blow and let the ball roll !<br /><br /><br />I would like to end this post with the theme song of world cup. Please have a doctor visit if your Adrenalin doesn’t pump after listening to this.<br /><br /><em>(0:45 in the video seems India)</em><br /><br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tMophHw6iX4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tMophHw6iX4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-40410022725803767382010-05-11T19:52:00.003+05:302010-10-31T13:18:26.554+05:30TIA –This is Africa !<em>The title is picked from movie “The Blood Diamond”. This was said by actor, Leonardo De Caprio to gorgeous Jennifer Connely in the movie.</em><br /><br />It’s been almost two months since I have been in Johannesburg, South Africa for an onsite assignment from my organization. I distinctly remember the day I left Bangalore for Joberg. As I was cruising through Mekhri circle in Bangalore for catching an early morning flight to airport, I saw a big hoarding of South African tourism with a picture of ‘Cheetah’ on top of a catching tagline which says - “Its possible!!”.I along with my 2 office colleagues boarded an Emirates flight for Joberg with a brief stop at Dubai.<br /><br />We reached Johannesburg at night the same day after traveling for a gruesome 15 hours on flight. By the time we landed I was already down with 5 pint of Beers and 4-5 movies. It was there I catch hold of “Hurt Locker” which later went on to win Oscar for Best Picture. I still can’t believe a lady has directed (no offense btw) such a hard-hitting and raw war movie. I came out of the terminal to find Mercedes E-Class waiting for us to take us to our Lodge. By the time I left Airport any preconceived notion of Joberg or for that matter Africa, I had in my mind had vanished. Our accommodation and office was at Sandton - a suburb of Johannesburg which is called Africa’s Richest Mile.<br /><br />It took me around few more days to realize how Joberg was different from any other place in India. I was already aware of warnings and precautions to be taken care while moving around Joberg. But somehow you don’t pay heed to those things unless you yourself are in that place. There is certainly no public transport over their and I find very less people moving around by walk. Coming from a country like India, where people do all kind of nuisance on Roads let alone walking, this was kind a difficult to digest. Inspite of this there is certainly some kind of mystery around Africa which is very captivating and difficult to ignore.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRL51n6nW3qb5K6esCynh6e824WN8MTIY7Fq6NQnvQkm85c_6LxJ_9s49faHu5lPB0q7aIEIDpPiVmQ7cUT-mO7TLiHny111IlER5XFdsc6YbZHV2B4BJupoT-Yux08axc0nnUxkwUX58/s1600/DSC02571.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRL51n6nW3qb5K6esCynh6e824WN8MTIY7Fq6NQnvQkm85c_6LxJ_9s49faHu5lPB0q7aIEIDpPiVmQ7cUT-mO7TLiHny111IlER5XFdsc6YbZHV2B4BJupoT-Yux08axc0nnUxkwUX58/s400/DSC02571.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534109295176490450" /></a><br /><br /><em>Sher k baju mein sher wali snap !!</em><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMjyMVq1kGpv4lvUNx-ifgYPzqhg7dPUcEIyjUXvU_S7XbQ46muckgLlpR0HA1Kwd0ZOkUNKCAO3jcXOecKShe7mF4sUp2COGi7Yk6LzOBz6IyB_UFZg3OBUFmuTJINHLMC9zBJoY4D4/s1600/DSC00106.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieMjyMVq1kGpv4lvUNx-ifgYPzqhg7dPUcEIyjUXvU_S7XbQ46muckgLlpR0HA1Kwd0ZOkUNKCAO3jcXOecKShe7mF4sUp2COGi7Yk6LzOBz6IyB_UFZg3OBUFmuTJINHLMC9zBJoY4D4/s400/DSC00106.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534110817149475634" /></a><br /><br /><em>Well..when it comes to africa..territory is well defined !</em><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRSWgbWUMUG_FXyPl-ctHArYaAaHcrqgdkvqHDPJpb5Rp4sQZ6Dg1JlnJ-4iF7lpfCBw1tzMG_r5FLlfsb3MpltOzedG_0u0Lnpxya4n3UFcnuRdIlVld2kvhfrv7RvwL98XtR-qigLl8/s1600/DSC00269.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRSWgbWUMUG_FXyPl-ctHArYaAaHcrqgdkvqHDPJpb5Rp4sQZ6Dg1JlnJ-4iF7lpfCBw1tzMG_r5FLlfsb3MpltOzedG_0u0Lnpxya4n3UFcnuRdIlVld2kvhfrv7RvwL98XtR-qigLl8/s400/DSC00269.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534111696366231202" /></a><br /><br /><em>Fifa-2010..surely once in a lifetime !!</em><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8C8VckrNeYBRgXf6G0KkBPymsKTT99QYyvjcogzScr59jyK7vV79Dov5ty2RWbEssdgbrIW2BkCFukd3bRmEZjbesetrudz1l_OI1qGHnNQlc_KIjfBWfGuozpXbemApEyJJaiufJUc/s1600/DSC00302.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic8C8VckrNeYBRgXf6G0KkBPymsKTT99QYyvjcogzScr59jyK7vV79Dov5ty2RWbEssdgbrIW2BkCFukd3bRmEZjbesetrudz1l_OI1qGHnNQlc_KIjfBWfGuozpXbemApEyJJaiufJUc/s400/DSC00302.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534113286562025378" /></a><br /><br /><em>In Africa..people do bargain !!</em><br /><br />By the time first month finished, I had already visited Sun City (An Amusement Theme Park), Pilanesberg National Park, Rhino and Lion Park, Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton City Mall and an amazing Casino cum theatre called Montecasino. Seeing Lions on roads just passing by our vehicle in National Park is something which I will remember for a very very long time. Apart from that, playing with lion cubs in Lion Park though was a bit scary but an amazing experience. What excited me the most was there were World Cup countdown timer placed across every nook and corner of the city telling how much time is left for the greatest extravaganza on earth. No wonder FIFA World Cup would easily be the single biggest event happening in South Africa (or for that matter Africa) after it got freedom in 1991.One amazing part of being in Africa is all the La Liga matches which doesn’t comes in India on TV ,do comes here and that too at a very respectable time. Watching Messi scored 4 goals against Arsenal in Champions League Semifinal while sitting in an Irish Pub amongst 100 odd people certainly bought back memory of CCFC, Kolkata. Being there made me realize ,this World Cup is much bigger of an event for Blacks as compared to white, who still considers Rugby as their main sport. One thing which I found very nice was, every Friday around 60-70 % of the people of all age group wore Bafana Bafana(name of South African Soccer Team) Jersey while coming to office. This tells a lot about the kind of love they have about the sports and how much this World Cup means to them. I somehow can’t see all this stuffs happening in India during Cricket World Cup let alone Football.<br /><br />As the time pass by we visited another theme park called Gold Reef City which is built on top of a famous Gold Mine. Some of the rides on the park were just exhilarating and very scary. We first tried all the rides with Fear factor 9-10 and believe me there were some serious cracks at my posterior (It’s just a metaphor btw) after some of them. I went to Sun City again for water rides few weeks later which I had missed when I visited first time.<br /><br />I know I have been quite optimistic in writing about my 2 month stay Africa in 2-3 pages and it’s just my apathetic indolence which has to be blamed. I was rather more vocal about my experiences in Micro-blogs (Twitter) which rather has cozy 140 characters as a limit. At last all I can say is this has been a memorable vacation cum business trip for me which I will surely remember for long time to come. Still there are many many places to explore in South Africa let alone Africa as a continent that I wish to cover in coming days.<br /><br /><br />P.S: This post was published after Abhishek returned to Bangalore few weeks later. He told it happened due to some serious procrastination issues that he is suffering since childhood. People who have met the author even once will affirm this completely.<br /><br />Last I heard him telling, photos will be uploaded pretty soon...Believe me !!Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-55945412515410463122010-02-01T22:03:00.004+05:302010-02-02T22:13:53.945+05:30First Post of New Year !Happy New year fellas!!<br /><br />I know I am late by only 1 month but its better late then never.This new year has indeed started with lot of hopes and aspirations and I am keeping my finger crossed till I take some of them to its right place.Since new year I am already down with an entralling trip to GOA and eagerly awaiting few more including a big one this year.<br /><br />I am kind a running short of time to jot down all things that are happening in mah life, so as a shameless bugger I am attaching a video that I would like it to define my existance this year.<br /><br />Amen !<br /><br />So here goes <em>Free Bird </em>from 'Lynyrd Skynyrd'.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8lBNIiCMu7I&hl=hi_IN&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8lBNIiCMu7I&hl=hi_IN&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Ciao!Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-69678759796492162282009-12-31T18:38:00.003+05:302010-01-01T13:30:03.647+05:30Gokarna/Karwar Beckons !"Sair kar duniya ki Galib, yeh Jindagani phir kahan...Jindagani gar rahi tou ,naujawani phir kahan" !<br /><br />On the advent of New Year, here I am sitting in office thinking what lies ahead of me in coming year. Somehow the gourmet lunch at Indijoe in the afternoon is not forcing my grey matters to work any faster as my whole body is asking for its share of doze. Nevertheless I have decided to jot down the experience which I had this Christmas weekend when I went to Gokarna/Karwar for aqua sports camp from Bangalore Mountaineering club (BMC).More than Gokarna, where I had been 3 times earlier, it was aqua sports event at Karwar that pulled me towards this trip as this was the first time I was about to try Kayaking,Canoeing in sea.<br /> <br />As per the initial plan we were about to leave at 8:30 pm from Bangalore on a push back 40-seater Bus. But destiny had some other plan as Bus didn’t arrive on time and we were rescheduled to leave around 12 midnight from Bangalore on three 13-seater Tempo Traveller. I and Carthik boarded the bus from symphony Theatre, MG Road at midnight and when you are calling people to MG Road on Christmas Eve midnight there is bound to be some high spirit(ual) libation in spite of mentioning it in the instruction list and that too right on top. So we took the bus in much needed high-spirits only to seat imprudently in the back seat (I am still repaying for the mistake in the form of backlog sleep, 3 days after the trip finished).Later 3 more girls joined us as we left Bangalore at around 1 am. When we left I was sure we would reach Gokarna by next day noon considering the traffic and distance which kind a made me a little judgmental about the whole trip. After travelling for some time I gained complete consciousness to realize back seats are not push back and this is going to be one of those insomniac nights. I switched on my iPod and started watching Anurag Kashyap’s yet to be released maverick movie called ‘Paanch’(a must watch by the way).I slept only for few hours later in the night after watching the whole movie only to be waken up by Sathya the next morning.<br /><br />We reached a small town some 300 Km from Bangalore and had our much needed breakfast there. After boarding the bus we got introduced to the other members of the bus. It certainly looked an interesting bunch of people(m being politically correct here). First we played Dumb Charades for some time and then Sathya taught us a new game called Murderer. Murderer was indeed a good game and we all enjoyed it very much. Surprisingly I thought gals were much clever and swift winker than boys. After playing some more games we were a bit exhausted of travelling specially after ghat section and wanted to reach Gokarna at the earliest. We reached Gokarna around 2 pm and checked into a hotel for freshen up. We took lunch at the town and straightaway left for OM Beach. Though I have been to this place 3 times before, somehow the beaches in Gokarna still gives me goosebumps.The sight from top of those magnificent Rocky mountains amidst vast expanse of sea all around looks just picture perfect. We went to the beach and had a much needed bath to drained off our fatigue of travelling all day long. After spending some time in OM beach Carthik,Rahul ,Ravi and I left for our next destination Kudle Beach much earlier as we wanted to reach there before sunsets for another round of bath.Kudle Beach is believed to be much planer and good place for bath as compared to OM beach. Once sun was set we waited for others to join us there. When we didn't had any sight of them for sometime, we decided for a round of much needed spirit(ual) retreat. We thought of adding another B with two other Bs(namely Beach and Beauties) already around us in the restaurant. After sometime the whole troop joined us as they came to the beach in night with torch in hand. We tried to lit bonfire their valiantly but in vain. After many unsuccessful attempts we wrapped up things and left for Karwar.We took our dinner in Kamat and checked in the hotel after reaching Karwar, expecting an exciting day ahead.<br /><br />I woke up next day morning pretty excited. We took breakfast and left for Rabindranath Tagore Beach in Karwar.It was quite an aloof and less crowded beach, quite unlike what we saw in Gokarna, if you know what I mean.Instructer gave us life jackets and gave us instructions of how to do Kayaking. Earlier I had seen Kayaks in Andaman but my parents didn’t allow me to do that that time. In a small way this was my moment of reckoning. The good thing about life jackets are after wearing them you normally lose your fear of drowning which forces you to do every possible stunt in sea, what you saw firangs doing all these years. After sometime I took one kayak and went on a voyage of my own. Towards the shore it was kind a hard to control the kayak but afterwards it went smooth as I started going away from shore. At times I felt like Tom Hanks of Cast Away with no one around and shore very far from my Kayak in the middle of the sea. The sheer adventure and pleasure of being on the sea all by myself gave me enough adrenaline to go more. I met some of the troop members along the way and everybody seems having a nice time. After some time one motor boat came to pick a guy whose kayak got drowned as he told me not to go far as wind direction is about to be changed after which it will be difficult bringing kayak back to shore. Thank god I payed heed to his advice as I saw how far I had come from shore. Now the arduous task for returning to the shore was about to began. After rowing for another half an hour or so I somehow felt I haven’t moved at all as shore still looks very much the same as earlier. But there was somehow no other option but to go on valiently.I increased my speed and pushed myself harder. After another half an hour or so I saw the yellow flag, in the middle of the sea, which was kind a much nearer to the shore. After rowing for some more time finally I reached shore only to be found toppled from boat by Carthik and Rashi.In all it was really an amazing experience altogether which I thoroughly enjoyed and will probably cut this from my bucket list.<br /><br />After spending some time relaxing and playing football Ravi,Rahul,Carthik and me went to a nearby restaurant to have some local fish delicacies, which Karwar is famous for. After sometime things got a bit fishy and fish became a mere side dish to a bigger plan. We came back from there a bit high but only to be brought back to ground after we took our first dip in the water. Later in the day we tried Banana Boat ride which was really an amazing amazing fun. We tried hard to balance our boat but in vain and all of us fall in the water thrice in the whole ride. After spending some more time in water we waited for sunset. We left the beach after sunset towards our hotel. In the evening also we had some relishing sea food in the nearby restaurant. While coming back from Karwar ,Carthik got all pumped up and got the party started in the bus.We danced to some dance numbers in spite of the space crunch in Tempo traveller. Everybody had a nice time as we stopped in Kamat for Dinner. Next day we stopped somewhere near Tumkur for next day breakfast. We reached Bangalore around noon singing and dancing in full throttle. Somehow the amazing junta in the bus made our trip much shorter which relatively seemed very long while sitting in back seat of a Tempo Traveller.<br /><br />At last I would like to thank everybody right from BMC,Sathya,Guru to all the travellers of the trip for making this a memorable one. I sincerely hope and wish our crossroads crosses as we go along the path of a bigger journey called Life.<br /><br />Ciao and have a Blast this New Year !<br /><br /><br />P.S :- Last seat of Tempo traveller is not a push back. Kindly beware of this when u r going for trips around 500 Km long. This was issued in public interest.Belive me, u don’t want to be at the receiving end of this!Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-14433747743527444412009-12-27T23:59:00.004+05:302009-12-28T19:51:17.847+05:30Raid de Cauvery in Cycle !Its been a while I have blogged as I am forced to take a small hiatus from writing .But certainly a lot is happening in my life in last one month and I have been keeping a little busy these days(finally I have reached a stage in life where I am able to write this).Today only I returned back from a Christmas trip from Gokarna/Karwar and when you have travelled some 1000 odd KMs travelling in last seat of a Tempo Traveller in a span of 3 days, there is very little things you can do but write.But Believe u me, at times it is theraupitic.But this post is not about this trip as I am yet to conjure my thoughts in places which will take some time.<br /><br />This post in particular is regarding the cycle trip to Cauvery Fishing Camp,situated some 120KM from Bangalore which I took some few weeks back.Perhaps my likening for cycle started when I went to Ladakh last August.There I saw few freaks who were cycling from Manali to Leh(477 Km) and some who were cycling in the highest motorable road in the world from Leh .That time we brushed any remote urge whatsoever there saying it is ony possible by firangs.But at the back of my mind I had a strong inclination of taking such a trip before I leave Oracle(Yes it happend finally! But it will be in different post in details ).I conveyd my plan to Suresh saying , “Abhi nahi to Kabhi nahin”.Finally we fixed a plan as Pratap,Gaurav,Vani and Kapil also hopped in.We researched for shops who rent cycle in Bangalore and found one near my place in J.P.Nagar itself.We bought some Energy Bars, RedBull and Gatorade for the D day.<br /><br />We had plan of leaving Bangalore at 5 am as we wanted to cover maximum distance before sun rises.But we finally started at 6 am on a Sunday morning and somehow I am very glad about this.We started with full throttle as we crossed first 20KM in no time.Suddenly 110 KM seems very much attainable as I thought of streching our trip for another 40 KM to Shivasamudra.After crossing some 30 KM along the way we took our first break partially thanks to Suresh. It was around 8 am on a rather lazy morning in a small town at the outskirts of Bangalore ,people wake up to a rather subdued metallic sound.Suresh tripped over as he was trying to avoid the bike which came in front of him.There was something funny about the way he tripped as I could not resist my funny bone.After a small break we started again and decided to take breakfast in the next available dhaba in the Road.<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420285923697095090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5y3rOfVKM97ddzLr9qmp7dXiWTYvmHfmE2qGfSpPbWsHXPpyevQhM2TcQZZmaZCCSEbyc95515TH6EVNP1RKhiNiw7BctsfWaUp3uXM4oxspJiZ0-QaZKTpHg8LRVdIFgk9WlzCYup-4/s400/IMG_2921.jpg" />(First Break before a placid lake during early morning sunrise)<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420286953758937234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuVqKSiv9-BOHFsyZO_jIDNss8A_Nq2KEhzQ59zlaIcfuaOPzxpxFk9AJbmRocGPEzeyRha4rhegFVvuyd5NnRsBorvP3RFeJDx2xB7q1FJAVm8J9xXAvMGWU1I7tGU1j0egAiLvDMKBg/s400/IMG_2947.jpg" /><br />(Surprisingly racing bikes does have side stand.BTW the leftmost one is not ours).<br /><br />During this part of the journey it was nothing but urgency of breakfast that was pulling us all as I dropped my Shivasamudra plan gradually.But this breakfast juntion didn’t came soon as we crossed Kanakpura situated around 45KM from Bangalore.Finally after cycling for another 20 odd KM we stopped at a local theka where we took our much needed breakfast.Here we refueled ourselves with RedBull ,Gatorade ,local Dosa and Choclates.It was not so much the journey but the cycle seat which was bugging us all.I couldnot understand the reason behind making such a narrow cycle seat.It was our bums that on the saddle which was paining as we were paddling through the journey.Somehow I rememberd Saif Ali Khan sitting on top of the pillow in DCH and could understand the motivation behind doing that.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420288170074991666" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrKnX5aEV40R_PyottxIcga53m8XaT8MbtKhXaH_29l9W_hkSB-AKwH7e60oovKiMOs3_HPd3UajIuviCb5A0JdOFh821bKyg-vvML1_lwap_Er7D1YTO3Xmfhv048YK4yDgNqJtjKiM/s400/IMG_2955.jpg" /> (Another halt before jungle section began)<br /><div></div><br /><div>As we were paddling through the journey Jungle section began.This was perhaps the best part of the journey as we were paddling through the road in the middle of Deep Jungle.Trees on the roadside was giving us much needed shade as Sun was blazing in its full glory.Suddenly in the middle of all the twists and turns on the road we again heard a familiar metallic thud.Suresh tipped over again but this time there was no bike which came in front of him.It was rather situational and momentary and he was able to recover within no time.Guess someody said it correctly, ‘Practice makes the man perfect’.Finally after pumping ahead for somemore time we reached Muthathi and could able to see river Cauvery.Seeing the water level of the river we immediatly felt Rafting is not a possiblilty.We reached Cauvery Fishing camp at around 1:30 pm. Finally the pain of exhaution was replaced by joy of accomplishment.It was certainly not an easy task considering we all were novic as far as cycling is concerned.<br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420289272405301794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCoMlvlgfpLf14uUgKRPzeVOprsC6VKKU25hfjKwWvoog_cidqFxu53zcLbYy28ZgT-C91sHXo9DxxSIiVX-b6n3EkhTjLhqQoRwF8gQaS4O9LV34s__1GzxIo3Pizrf1z61viNNnJ5R4/s400/IMG_2998.jpg" /><br />(Draining off our fatigue at cauvery water)<br /><br />After spending some in camp we returned back to Muthathi.We crossed the river in Coracle and went to the opposite shore.We took much needed bath in Cauvery as we drained off all our fatigue.We loaded our cycle in Tempo traveller as we returned back to Bangalore by evening.In all it was my first attempt at cycling and I must confess it was a wonderful experiance alltogether.I am pretty much sure there would be many more attempts in years to come and who know you might catch me cycling in Khardungla,the highest motorable pass in the world in Ladakh pretty soon.<br /><br />Bye for now.Its time for some serious ZZZsssss !<br /><br />Ciao :)Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-77290363321759179382009-11-20T08:11:00.001+05:302009-11-20T08:13:20.522+05:30Google Chrome OS ..Quite an interesting stf !!<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0QRO3gKj3qw&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0QRO3gKj3qw&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-90909222181086003042009-11-15T09:59:00.015+05:302009-11-16T23:50:24.313+05:30Sachin @20 and still counting....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsp1DrPTj6yDikZ04CU6uyN5PZyjFJUYLsect5GHVltYjurLGO8t9f-v7TQDX3N4B75G2AHQzDwZTQrGh6fztMt8_2X-fdbQteorGMrRqx739MtX5fV5B-rq0TA_Q9e8lK-yCp2e2MWI/s1600/00121-sachintendulkar.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQsp1DrPTj6yDikZ04CU6uyN5PZyjFJUYLsect5GHVltYjurLGO8t9f-v7TQDX3N4B75G2AHQzDwZTQrGh6fztMt8_2X-fdbQteorGMrRqx739MtX5fV5B-rq0TA_Q9e8lK-yCp2e2MWI/s400/00121-sachintendulkar.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404761980021943154" /></a><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>Blood on his face, a fresh-faced 16 old boy on the vicious pitches of Pakistan signalled his arrival with 2 squeaky words- ‘<i>Main khelega</i>’.This was the story told by Navjot Singh Sidhu who saw the incident from other end when Waqar Younis bouncer greeted Sachin in his first test match at Pakistan.Since then 20 long years have passed and there are innumerable stories about Sachin and his immortality going around and probably will go around for many many years to come.In a way I feel lucky to have been born in a generation which sees the best of this Cricketing genius and as Murali (highest wicket taken in Test and ODI) aptly said "There will not be anybody like him ever".</div><div><br /></div><div>While growing up in remote mining Colony situated near Chhindwada district in Southern MP I didn't have much to things to cling onto but Cricket.Perhaps I inherited this legacy from my father and grandmother who were themselves an ardent Cricket follower.Probably I fully gained conscious of the game and its amazing folklore when I was 9 years old during 1992 world Cup.I distinctly remember the match India played Pakistan at Sydney.I came from school carrying truckload of books , travelling for one and half hour in school bus to join my Dad sitting in drawing room while Pakistan was chasing a modest Indian total of 216.I enjoyed the moment when Javed Miandad imitated Kiran More by jumping in despair as Pakistan lost the match which gave India a chance to qualify for next round.In presentation ceremony we saw a 19 year old kid named Man of the Match award for his half century and 2 wicket.My father remarked bluntly in awe, '<i>Ei Unnis Bochorer Chele Indiar cricket future'</i>( This 19 year old kid is Indian Cricket's future). Incidently India won only 2 matches at 1992 World cup and for both the matches this 19 year old kid was "Man of the Match". At such a tender age of 19 he carried such an enormous burden of expectation every time he goes out to bat and was incidently the highest run getter from India at 1992 World Cup.</div><div><br /></div><div>As the time went by I also graduated for following Cricket to enamoring Cricket and perhaps the single biggest reason was undoubtedly Sachin Tendulkar.There were lots of occasions since then when we see a touch of brilliance from him like a last over magic at Hero Cup semifinal victory at eden against South Africa.Then the year 1994 happened. I remember waking up early in the morning to watch when India play ODIs at Newzealand .In 3rd ODI India was about to chase Newzealand's modest total of 165 runs.Sidhu being injured could not open the inings. Incidently Sachin asked to open the innings and unknowingly Indian ODI cricket history was written that day.(Amazingly how Sidhu's denial has given Indian Cricket a lot.Saurav Ganguly was included in Indian team when Sidhu refused to play test match in England in 1996).Sachin slammed an hapless Newzealand attack to all parts of the ground to score a quick fire 49 ball 84 before being caught and bowled by Mathew Hart.It was only after his Dismissal people in the colony realized the day was Holi and started a late Holi celebration.In days to come Sachin scored his much awaited first ODI century against Australia at Colambo and from then on the saga of hitting ODI centuries didnt stop with amazing frequency.</div><div><br /></div><div>1996 was perhaps the year when I was at my peak of Cricket fanaticism.I had Sachin's 'Cricket Samrat'(Hindi Cricket monthly Magazine) poster pasted all over my room.Incidently my scores at exams starts plummeting at the very rate Sachin was scoring runs.1996 World cup was the worst thing to have happened during my Std 8th Annual Exams.I used to wake up at 5 o'clock in the morning to study to have studied around 8 hours by the time match starts.Sachin performance at 1996 was stupendous as he single handedly took India to Semifinal which ended in rather sad note at Edens.The 90 odd runs which he scored in Wankhede against Australia was stupendous.Again he ended up scoring highest runs in the world Cup for India.</div><div><br /></div><div>1997 was rather subdued as he was handed the baton of Indian Cricket in the form of Captaincy to be taken back from him at early 1998.But 1998 was perhaps the magical year of Indian cricket as India went on to win almost all the major tournaments all across the globe thanks to galore of Sachin's amazing performances.A lot has been written about how Sachin lamed Aussies in India and then on Sharjah and I would not be able to add anything new to it.But there was one inning which almost went unnoticed among all the innings he played during this time.When Aussie came to India for 3 test match series they were to play a 3 day practice match against Mumbai,current Ranji Champion at Wankhede Stadium.Australia played with their full strength as this the only practice matches to be played before Tests starts.In an amazing turn of events Mumbai beat the mighty Australia within 2 and half days thanks the first double ton by Sachin in first Class cricket on 2nd day and a 5 wicket my Nilesh Kulkarni at 3rd day.Sachin score 204* in and around 190 ball which to till date many people who were privileged enough to watch the innings rated as his best till date.Moreover it was this match which gave India enough confidence to beat Australia subsequently in Test series.</div><div><br /></div><div>As the days went by I also drew myself a distance from Cricket.I went to School Hostel in Nagpur where TV was allowed to be on only for 2 hours that too only Doordarshan.When I left school hostel after one year as my father was transfered to Nagpur, I forced my parents not to have TV for the whole year as I didn't wanted to be distracted for an all important 12th Std.But the greatest of all prizes came during my board exams.India was to play South Africa for 5th and defining match at Nagpur at VCA.I gave my 4th paper and there was a gap of 7 days till next paper.My father picked me up directly from school and took me to VCA where indian team was practicing.It was here I first had a glimpsed of Sachin practicing as Nikhil Chopda was being hit all round the net by Sachin.He seems like a small-highted concentrated Dot from distance who moves around the stadium with amazing grace. We came out of the stadium and brought 2 tickets for next day match between India and South Africa in black.Next day my excitement had no boundaries.We reached the ground early to have a good seat.South Africa piled up a huge total of 300 + on the board as India were to play next.Sachin scored a sublime 90 odd runs as India lost the match by just 10 runs.That was the first time I saw Sachin playing sitting in the pavellion and the excitement somehow remains was unparalleled.</div><div><br /></div><div>Three years later I saw Sachin scoring his first test ton at Eden Gardens on 4th day of the Test match against WestIndies.Watching Sachin scored a crucial test saving ton in front of 100,000 people that day at Edens was something very very special and will go with me for a long time.Later Carl Hooper the then West Indies Captain described that innings as the greatest he saw from an opponent .I will probably tell my grandchildren that I witnessed the moments when Sachin score his Maiden Ton an Edens.Over the years we saw him rewriting the cricket history books in whatever way possible be it in Test Cricket or One-Day Cricket.Perhaps a much deserved yet elusive world cup trophy at 2 April, 2011 at Wankhede would be a fitting end to this glorious saga.</div><div><br /></div><div>But certainly he is more then what statistician have to say about him.There is a certain romanticism involved with him which remains unparalleled in nations heart.He is perhaps the only the only person who is revered by everybody across caste,class,creed,religion and region.How hard it is to sum up what Tendulkar means to us all? For many like me growing up in an India that was falling prey to turmoil , he was a ray of hope, helping craft a national imaginary that looked solid and resolute. He was a sign of India’s resurgence, a quiet reassurance that things, if not alright yet, were certain to get better.As he celebrates his 20 years in international cricket, it needs to be put on record that Sachin is the only cricketer who, when he steps out to bat in Sydney, Barbados, Lahore, Cape Town or even Lord’s, gets the same standing ovation.Perhaps its his honest passion for the game which drives him more than anything else.At such a tender age, when everybody in the world says you are the greatest, I wonder how hard it is not to be complacent and distracted.The focus and commitment which he has shown for 20 years can only come from true love and passion for the thing which you do and nothing else. </div><div><br /></div><div>For a country with a sporting record such as ours, he has given us a dream and has helped us turn it into reality day in and day out, year after year.It’s time we go a step further and place Tendulkar on that unique pedestal that no Indian has ever aspired to, the one reserved for Owens, Carl Lewis, Pele, Michael Phelps,Muhammad Ali,Federar and Usain Bolt. He is India’s contribution to the history of world sport, a man who gave us recognition on the pitch for 20 long years and continues to do so in anything he does.</div><div><br /></div><div>Perhaps three different banners at three different parts of the world on three different times sums it up best :-</div><div><br /></div><div>"I will see God when I die, but till then I will see Sachin!" -- Sharjah.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Commit all your crimes when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed because even the Lord is watching" --Sydney.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Thanks for all the memories" -- Eden.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-34171332816972748572009-11-02T00:25:00.004+05:302009-11-02T00:31:34.439+05:30An interesting proposition !!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgevffZZqC2ai2RvVMb38HxpHS0NVkklexLzSHMEZB0c2B2WcRfy38TGQH3lJuuLP3ffMAmJNZzKDXC-eUeDn7lc98a8-hhPuMjkrFc0q3n0bpaZFRFIvhRlPeJ9lY91iv94Jh65X2MnUY/s1600-h/interesting_ad.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgevffZZqC2ai2RvVMb38HxpHS0NVkklexLzSHMEZB0c2B2WcRfy38TGQH3lJuuLP3ffMAmJNZzKDXC-eUeDn7lc98a8-hhPuMjkrFc0q3n0bpaZFRFIvhRlPeJ9lY91iv94Jh65X2MnUY/s400/interesting_ad.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399211537797805682" /></a><br />An interesting proffer I saw in newspaper today !!Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-37863244934751164032009-10-27T10:04:00.002+05:302009-11-02T00:34:43.776+05:30Short and Sweet Google Story !<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EjN5avRvApk&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EjN5avRvApk&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-27680840777898207382009-10-21T23:49:00.002+05:302009-10-22T00:16:39.080+05:30Colonial Hangover !!Yesterday I was eagerly waiting for champions league match between Barcelona-FC(Spanish League Champion) and FC Rubin-Kazen(Russian League Champion)to be telecasted live on TV.But to my utter shock and disbelief I found Tensports was telecasting live match between Liverpool-Lyon and Zee-Sports was telecasting live match between Arsenal-AZ Alkmaar with no signs of Barcelona's match anywhere.Its not the first time I have seen this happening.<br /><br />I wondered why TV channels chose to show matches of English clubs on a regular basis sidelining good matches played by Spanish and Italian clubs.Does the popularity of English Clubs in India is because of the 'Colonial Hangover' in spite of the ubiquitous fact that top Spanish league clubs are better than top English clubs.Wonder how by not showing good matches on TV, Telecaster mold viewer-ship by depriving viewers from watching good fought matches played by Spanish and Italian Clubs.<br /><br />I believe its time viewers have a say in this and if there are not enough sports channels available then they can share telecast right among other sports channels(ESPN-STAR in this case) so that viewers are not deprived of good matches and overall popularity if the game itself soars which will eventually leads to more viewer-ship in near future for these matches.<br /><br />Hope somebody is listening !Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-69203573103494047092009-10-08T16:29:00.003+05:302009-10-16T00:55:34.488+05:30Kolkata and Mondormoni Sojourn !!Well I must confess I have become utterly austere(these days this word is in use a lot) in writing posts in my blog as I have found a new micro-blogging utility in the form of twitter.Some say, "Size does Matter", perhaps it can be used more aptly for its dwarfness in this wired world.I created a rough draft of this post about a fortnight back when I had gone to Kolkata for Durga puja this year.But people you know me would obviously know procrastination and I go hand-in-hand everywhere and it is in my innate nature to delay things till last moments.So on the eve of Diwali I thought of finishing this post once and for all.<br /><br />I went to Kolkata during Durga Puja this year after a gap of 2 years(a big thing for any Bengali leaving outside Kolkata).My parents thought I had lost touch from my "roots" when I told this year also I would be missing Durga Puja due to leave problems and I am planning to come home during Diwali.But that was not to be as destiny had other plans for me. In a way I also wanted to be in Kolkata this Durga Puja and witness the frenetically mad carnival atmosphere which grips Kolkata for those 5 days every Durga puja that I missed last year.Sadly I reached Kolkata on Navami morning after the long and tiring journey from Chennai in train.I went to our Para-Pandal for Darshan cum Pooja and spent some quality time philosophing over a cigarette with some of my old friends there.Later during the day I was done with few more pandals in and around south Kolkata and went for a sumptuous buffet lunch in Saurav's with my parents.After such a heavy lunch I just laid myself after returning home as I was incapable of moving much for rest of the day.Next day I went for more Pandal hopping in other parts of the city.Later that night I watched "Wake Up Sid" which is kind a must watch if you haven't watched it yet.<br /><br />The next day I was pretty excited as I was about to go for idol-immersion in Babughat in Ganga shore.I have been to many pandals over the years but this was the first time I was about to go for idol-immersion.We rode on top of a trucks with idols towards Ganga shore dancing and playing Holi in the rain.In a way this was quite a unique experience for me.I somehow felt very much overwhelmed by the goddess while I was on my way there.There was a huge queue of people and organizers waiting in queue with their idols to be immersed.Surprisingly police arrangement by Kolkata Police was very good.After waiting for 2 hours our turn came and we went ahead for immersion.The whole experience left me in complete awe and this surely will be a moment which will go with me for long time to come.<br /><br />Next day I left for <a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Mandarmani">Mandarmani</a>.Mandarmani (or Mandarmoni, Mandarbani) is a beach resort in the Purba Medinipur district in Southern West Bengal.This is one of the very few places with such an enigmatic beauty in Bengal where you will see so less people .Perhaps it was one of the best kept secret of Bengal for tourism.The nearby delta (Mohona) during sunset when fishermen returns from sea looks very beautiful.After spending for two days I returned back to Kolkata.<br /><br />Next couple of days I started visiting my relatives as I didn't know when I will be seeing them next.I went to my cousin's house who recently were blessed with a baby girl.She was definitely the prettiest thing I saw in months.Hope the Almighty shower his endless love and blessings on the cute angel.<br /><br />I left Kolkata for Bangalore after spending very memorable days.After coming to Bangalore I was still in Hangover over the time which I spent in Kolkata while feeling quite nostalgic about it.Well like every good things end some good will also begins.I am going to Wayanad , perhaps my only destination left in South India since I came to Bangalore 3 years back, this Diwali for spending some entralling time hitchhiking !!<br /><br />Julley till I share my Wayanad Experiance !<br /><br /><br />P.S -> I will upload the snaps asap - Procastination I told you na !Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263317048505903996.post-28516540650565309342009-09-16T22:39:00.004+05:302009-09-16T22:45:47.950+05:30Barca - Inter Today!!Hoping defending champions Barca starts there champions League campaign with a win in todays encounter between Barca(Spanish League Champion) and InterMilan(Italian League Champion).It will be interesting to watch Eto and Ibramovich play against there old clubs where both had a very successful run.<div><br /></div><div>Keeping my finger crossed and eagerly awaiting for the whistle to blow!!</div><div><br /></div><div>Go Barca :)</div>Does it matter??http://www.blogger.com/profile/17549269407844935139noreply@blogger.com0