With my first Korea (or rather abroad) trip (and it is just a beginning, they say) coming to an end (hopefully), it would be fitting enough to give this country some space here. Some sacrifices were made (I would rather not discuss them) and some benefits (not only monetary) were accrued, but overall it was an experience worthy to comment.
This trip gave me first chance to expose myself to corporate world. The reason for saying so after having already spent 1.5 years in Samsung is because i got to know what it really takes when the onus is on you. Every minute i spent in that skyscraper (which is christened as R4 Samsung HQ) i found someone (aha...it is actually something?) giving me good company....BINARIES. It was as if i am in "Binary World" where the only way of communication was through 0's and 1's. When you are in Suwon (Samsung HQ in Korea), you are kinda under a training where your so called "Korean managers" tame you like animals. Needless to say even your team members in India treat you as if you are getting paid from their pockets. And your managers...for a change they don't (actually can't) control (or help) you anymore. You work as if 2012 is certainly going to bring an end to the whole world (don't u watch "India TV" ??). Life is so fast here (people keep running here and there) that they have "No time For Love".Well i really doubt if Koreans love anything/anyone else apart from alcohol and work (that might be the reason they are called "Workaholic"). Loving Indians are anyway out of question though exceptions are part of our(and also theirs) everyday life.
Come out of Samsung office physically(because getting Samsung out of your mind and sight is not at all possible as you can see Samsung hoardings at every corner place) and this is where you start loving Korea (and sometimes Koreans). Eye catching skyscrapers, multi-compartment aquariums in many of the stores, cleaner than cleanest Indian roads, fairer than fairest Indian gals, keep you going. The roads are bereft of people most of the time, people don't honk even when you are obstructing their Ferrari's way and more importantly here pedestrians are given some due respect (I have seen most of the Koreans giving way to me). Korean's traffic rules are inspired from USA -people drive/ride on the right side of the road and they have steering on the left side of their vehicle. You will find only three types of vehicles moving across the city - Cars (taxis included), buses and bicycles (yes,bicyclers are in abundance here). In fact there are special pavements for bicyclers. As about people, they will smile at us as if they are in some zoo. Ask them to take pic of yours and they won't leave your camera until they have taken three snaps of yours in different postures. They are generally soft-spoken and reserved sort of people. And guys are mostly shorter than ladies (I don't know whether it requires to be mentioned)
We had been to many places (which are very few though) in Korea -Seoul Tower,Han River, Olympics Stadium, Suwon Fort, Coex Mall....But the trip which will be imprinted for long long time is LOTTE WORLD. It is an amusement park with rides ranging from Gyro, Freefall, Roller Coaster to Balloon Ride, Forah's Fury. It had been more than 10 years since i enjoyed the ride. The very first ride sent chills down my spine (though later i enjoyed more frightening rides). We were shouting on each ride more out of fear than intoxication. For other places their journey (through metro trains) were more enthralling than actual visit. Since these Koreans don't understand Hindi (and most of the times English) you could go about your business (hope you understand) in the metro trains without the fear of being beaten up. Metro trains are the real place where you can appreciate the beauty not only in your minds but in your words.
It is really amusing how things and taste change when you are lonely in a land far-far away. I for one never liked eating Maggi (even i did not like carrying them from India to Korea) ,but all of a sudden i found it to be best option available. Watching movies like "Aladdin" and "Aao Wish Karein" made me realize that how dangerous it can be to be a big fan of Hindi movies. I also realized how necessary it is to skip bath sometimes (It saves both time don't let your body dry up in such a cold weather).
With 2 more week for my return to India (hopefully) and only one month due for my second Korea trip (My manager want me to come again in mid January), I am long yearning to go where i belong. Korea may be good for multiple reasons but it cannot be my comfort zone. Hope my second trip may be not be wors than this one if not better.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Sachin- The Only God on this Earth
Here I am... Back To Blogging World. It has been sometime since I updated my blogs. It was rather a lack of interest than the work which kept me away from this site. There is a very solid reason for updating this blog-'God'.
Coming Sunday will see the completion of 20 years of 'GOD' on cricket field. Batting maestro, Sachin Tendulkar who burst into the scene as a kid of some 16 odd years (when most of us are unaware of nitty-gritty of the world) is about to set a benchmark on 15th November. With more than 17000 runs in ODI and close to 13000 runs in tests, he is way-way ahead of other contemporary players. But what sets him apart from other players is not the number of runs he scored but the hunger which he still has, even after so many years. Humility and respect for elders which were his hallmark are still intact in him. Despite the accolades the world has showered on him, despite the doubts that were expressed by several when his elbow tormented him, he fought off all his demons and detractors with the same affable, self effacing attitude and focused on just what his country asked of him. He never let his fame go to his head and this is where his greatness lies.
Learning is a never ending process and Tendulkar is the best example for that. He is the most analyzed cricketer in the world history but his urge to learn kept him scoring freely for 20 years. He took each game as a fresh challenge and approached the game with the same intensity. The only time he didn't want to play for India was when he lost his father in the midst of 2003 world Cup. But he was forced back by his family to play for only cricket could have helped him get over his grief. And when he scored that century against Kenya the next day, it was a testimony to tha fact that he was very much committed to the game. One could also point out that when Tendulkar felt that captaincy was not his best contribution to India, he relinquished it in favor of Ganguly thereby advancing the cause of India. What else can we ask for???
However,critics never missed a chance finding fault in him. He is always criticzed for not having won so many matches for India as other players did. But what they forget is Sachin has never been a part of the team where others equally perform. Plus the expectations of bollions of people around the country. There were times when India used to be completely outplayed whenever Sachin underperformed. He is just a part of the team. One cannot forget that Chennai Test where he kept on playing despite suffering from severe back pain. No one took the responsibility once he departed. And the recent ODI against Australia where he took the sole responsibility of taking India so close. There were times when he did not perform when India utmost needed him but as i said he is just a part of the team.
He is the most admired cricketer around the world and commands a huge respect both from within and outside his team. His sheer presence instills a sense of confidence in the team. The one statement that will sum up the whole point is: I have never seen God,but I have seen Sachin Tendulkar.
Coming Sunday will see the completion of 20 years of 'GOD' on cricket field. Batting maestro, Sachin Tendulkar who burst into the scene as a kid of some 16 odd years (when most of us are unaware of nitty-gritty of the world) is about to set a benchmark on 15th November. With more than 17000 runs in ODI and close to 13000 runs in tests, he is way-way ahead of other contemporary players. But what sets him apart from other players is not the number of runs he scored but the hunger which he still has, even after so many years. Humility and respect for elders which were his hallmark are still intact in him. Despite the accolades the world has showered on him, despite the doubts that were expressed by several when his elbow tormented him, he fought off all his demons and detractors with the same affable, self effacing attitude and focused on just what his country asked of him. He never let his fame go to his head and this is where his greatness lies.
Learning is a never ending process and Tendulkar is the best example for that. He is the most analyzed cricketer in the world history but his urge to learn kept him scoring freely for 20 years. He took each game as a fresh challenge and approached the game with the same intensity. The only time he didn't want to play for India was when he lost his father in the midst of 2003 world Cup. But he was forced back by his family to play for only cricket could have helped him get over his grief. And when he scored that century against Kenya the next day, it was a testimony to tha fact that he was very much committed to the game. One could also point out that when Tendulkar felt that captaincy was not his best contribution to India, he relinquished it in favor of Ganguly thereby advancing the cause of India. What else can we ask for???
However,critics never missed a chance finding fault in him. He is always criticzed for not having won so many matches for India as other players did. But what they forget is Sachin has never been a part of the team where others equally perform. Plus the expectations of bollions of people around the country. There were times when India used to be completely outplayed whenever Sachin underperformed. He is just a part of the team. One cannot forget that Chennai Test where he kept on playing despite suffering from severe back pain. No one took the responsibility once he departed. And the recent ODI against Australia where he took the sole responsibility of taking India so close. There were times when he did not perform when India utmost needed him but as i said he is just a part of the team.
He is the most admired cricketer around the world and commands a huge respect both from within and outside his team. His sheer presence instills a sense of confidence in the team. The one statement that will sum up the whole point is: I have never seen God,but I have seen Sachin Tendulkar.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Ready to accept the CHANGE??
I have witnessed lots of changes in the past three weeks. Some of them are on small scale while others are on global front. While some changes are trivial, others are of paramount importance. Some of them have been accepted reluctantly but others are seeing lots of hullaballoo.
To start on a lighter note, Samsung timings have changed. Office now starts as early as 8:00. As expected people were skeptical about the new timing considering the changes it might bring in their life-style. But coming to the office at unearthly 8 leaves us withe ample time in the evening. And this is were the advantages lie. Now we don't need to postpone our work for weekends. It also gives us opportunity to hang-out even during weekdays. There is an old saying that goes as- Early to bed and to rise makes a man healthy,wealthy and wise.
The legalization of homosexuality has received mixed response. The opposition has come from some self-professed moral police and religious groups. They claim that it is not natural and now that it has been legalized we will see more people opting for Gay marriages. What they failed to realize is that being Gay is not the matter of choice, but whether to act on it is. Why would anyone choose to be something that could cause them to be scorned by society, rejected by their families, deny them rights and subject them to possible violent hate crimes? We don’t choose our sexual orientation, but we do choose whether or not to come out of the closet.
Another big change was on the Television screen. Star-Plus has started airing a REALITY show 'Sacch Ka Saamna' with Rajeev Khandelwal (Remember Aamir??) playing the anchor. This show is the first of its kind being aired in India. Sacch Ka Saamna (Translation: Face the truth) is the Indian version of the popular American reality show The Moment of Truth. But unfortunately, the show has run into trouble due to its content. Hours after the furore in the Rajya Sabha over the reality show, the Information and Broadcasting ministry issued a show cause notice to the TV channel. With the new reality TV show unearthing hidden truths of people in full public view, he slammed the programme as unethical and completely against Indian culture. But Indian culture and society has undergone a sea CHANGE and they are no more averse to such naked truths. This is reflected in the TRP the show is enjoying. Moreover, if people do find the show obscene they have the option to switch to other channel and watch those "Saas-Bahus" serials. We have the freedom of speech and are mature enough to choose what is right and wrong. Moreover, contestant are fully aware of the questions they will be shot with their family and friends right under their noses and if they don't have the problem who are we to decide??
Whether these changes will do a world of good to us is not obvious. But the one thing which is obvious is 'Change is the only thing constant in life'. We should be willing to accept every change as it comes in our way because there is just a letter difference between CHANGE and CHANCE.
To start on a lighter note, Samsung timings have changed. Office now starts as early as 8:00. As expected people were skeptical about the new timing considering the changes it might bring in their life-style. But coming to the office at unearthly 8 leaves us withe ample time in the evening. And this is were the advantages lie. Now we don't need to postpone our work for weekends. It also gives us opportunity to hang-out even during weekdays. There is an old saying that goes as- Early to bed and to rise makes a man healthy,wealthy and wise.
The legalization of homosexuality has received mixed response. The opposition has come from some self-professed moral police and religious groups. They claim that it is not natural and now that it has been legalized we will see more people opting for Gay marriages. What they failed to realize is that being Gay is not the matter of choice, but whether to act on it is. Why would anyone choose to be something that could cause them to be scorned by society, rejected by their families, deny them rights and subject them to possible violent hate crimes? We don’t choose our sexual orientation, but we do choose whether or not to come out of the closet.
Another big change was on the Television screen. Star-Plus has started airing a REALITY show 'Sacch Ka Saamna' with Rajeev Khandelwal (Remember Aamir??) playing the anchor. This show is the first of its kind being aired in India. Sacch Ka Saamna (Translation: Face the truth) is the Indian version of the popular American reality show The Moment of Truth. But unfortunately, the show has run into trouble due to its content. Hours after the furore in the Rajya Sabha over the reality show, the Information and Broadcasting ministry issued a show cause notice to the TV channel. With the new reality TV show unearthing hidden truths of people in full public view, he slammed the programme as unethical and completely against Indian culture. But Indian culture and society has undergone a sea CHANGE and they are no more averse to such naked truths. This is reflected in the TRP the show is enjoying. Moreover, if people do find the show obscene they have the option to switch to other channel and watch those "Saas-Bahus" serials. We have the freedom of speech and are mature enough to choose what is right and wrong. Moreover, contestant are fully aware of the questions they will be shot with their family and friends right under their noses and if they don't have the problem who are we to decide??
Whether these changes will do a world of good to us is not obvious. But the one thing which is obvious is 'Change is the only thing constant in life'. We should be willing to accept every change as it comes in our way because there is just a letter difference between CHANGE and CHANCE.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Swine Flu!!!
Today was an off day in SISO with one employee reportedly affecting from swine flu. He came back from Korea this week only and was in the office yesterday. So, when he was tested positive for swine flu, a panic was created in the company which led to shut down of the office for a day. Reasonable enough!!!!!
The team to which the affected person belongs is same as one of my friends. This led to a double panic among him and his teammates.. And they did not waste a single minute having a check-up. Reasonable again.... In fact i am waiting for my friend's report so that i can decide if i also need the to be diagnosed. Hey wait..Just now i got a message SISO HR claiming that it will be safe to work from Monday onwards because they are sanitizing the SISO premises and buses. Cool!!!
Now coming to the real purpose of writing this blog. One might wonder why there is so much fuss about Swine Flu in India. What about other fatal diseases that are so prevalent in India and have taken the lives of so many people across the regions? The number of people who died due to swine flu are far-far less than other major diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), hydrophobia, hepatitis B, AID. Currently, the total number of worldwide infections stands at 1419 with 30 related deaths. In fact, just because the swine flu, initially discovered in Mexico, is imported from the West, it is getting much media-hyped. We Indians always tend to give too much weightage on anything carrying "foren tag", whether be apparels, food, movies, awards or diseases for that matter. Last year we witnessed the similar scenario when there was a panic following Bird Flu outbreak in countries like China,Indonesia.
That is not to say that we need don't need to give any importance to Swine Flu. In fact Indian government is making sure that this disease is not transported from outside the country with every person being quarantined for swine flu in international airport. But what about domestically-borne diseases? Why do we give step-motherly treatment to them? Don't they need to be eradicated from our country after taking so many lives and still doing so? And what about the biggest disease plaguing the country-Terrorism!!!
WHO has declared swine flu a level 6 pandemic considering the effect it has worldwide. On our part we need to take all preventive measures necessary to combat swine flu. Regularly wash our hands, drink lot of water and avoid keeping contact with the person showing symptoms of swine flu such as cold, cough,high fever, fatigueness. There is no need to press the panic button. We have many other issues at the fore. And on the last note my SISO friend not come out with positive result for swine flu. That's a relief!!!
The team to which the affected person belongs is same as one of my friends. This led to a double panic among him and his teammates.. And they did not waste a single minute having a check-up. Reasonable again.... In fact i am waiting for my friend's report so that i can decide if i also need the to be diagnosed. Hey wait..Just now i got a message SISO HR claiming that it will be safe to work from Monday onwards because they are sanitizing the SISO premises and buses. Cool!!!
Now coming to the real purpose of writing this blog. One might wonder why there is so much fuss about Swine Flu in India. What about other fatal diseases that are so prevalent in India and have taken the lives of so many people across the regions? The number of people who died due to swine flu are far-far less than other major diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), hydrophobia, hepatitis B, AID. Currently, the total number of worldwide infections stands at 1419 with 30 related deaths. In fact, just because the swine flu, initially discovered in Mexico, is imported from the West, it is getting much media-hyped. We Indians always tend to give too much weightage on anything carrying "foren tag", whether be apparels, food, movies, awards or diseases for that matter. Last year we witnessed the similar scenario when there was a panic following Bird Flu outbreak in countries like China,Indonesia.
That is not to say that we need don't need to give any importance to Swine Flu. In fact Indian government is making sure that this disease is not transported from outside the country with every person being quarantined for swine flu in international airport. But what about domestically-borne diseases? Why do we give step-motherly treatment to them? Don't they need to be eradicated from our country after taking so many lives and still doing so? And what about the biggest disease plaguing the country-Terrorism!!!
WHO has declared swine flu a level 6 pandemic considering the effect it has worldwide. On our part we need to take all preventive measures necessary to combat swine flu. Regularly wash our hands, drink lot of water and avoid keeping contact with the person showing symptoms of swine flu such as cold, cough,high fever, fatigueness. There is no need to press the panic button. We have many other issues at the fore. And on the last note my SISO friend not come out with positive result for swine flu. That's a relief!!!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Murphy Law
MURPHY LAW broadly states "If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then." And when i correlate it with my present situation, i find it to be so true. On my very first blog i maintained that even after 9-10 months i was not burdened with much work in SISO. But guess what, i am right now in Office!!! No, it's not because i am entrusted with a huge responsibility which made me come to office on Saturday. I still spend a lot of idle time in my office during weekdays with not much to do and this week was no different. Then what the hell am i doing in office???? Vindicating "MURPHY LAW", huh!!!
I was supposed to go to some "Hogenakkal" fall today with a small group (small in terms of numbers but some of them are small in stature also). It's in Tamil Nadu -150 Km from here. I had (or is it have) not been out of 'Bengaluru' for quite some and saw this a perfect opportunity to have some real fun. But as luck would have it, my manager (In fact my Manager's manager) shot a mail on Friday evening asking all my team mates to waste their weekend in office for some code copying and building....Bull****. Why the heck did he not provide us with the necessary details on Friday itself or any other day for that matter?? For past 6 weeks I had not been coming to office on Saturday but we did not plan to go anywhere. And finally when the plan was materialized i was left in the lurch!!!
Without even thinking twice i may put the whole blame on my manager. After all, he could easily have arranged for the code on Friday. That would have definitely solved my problem!!! Aha, but "MURPHY LAW" says that "Every solution breeds new problems." That implies no matter what, i was destined to spend my weekend in office. So, it's better to left the things to themselves, right?. But that reminds me of yet another "MURPHY LAW" -Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse. So the real culprit seems to be "Murphy Law".
The fact is, however hard we try, this law will always haunt us. In case, we have a competition to decide which person has come up with a law that is most universally acceptable, Edward Aloysius Murphy- the mastermind behind Murphy Law- will give others (such as Albert Einstein or Sir Issac Newton) a run for their money. So, instead of letting the things to themselves we would be better off letting the things to the mercy of "Murphy Law".
I was supposed to go to some "Hogenakkal" fall today with a small group (small in terms of numbers but some of them are small in stature also). It's in Tamil Nadu -150 Km from here. I had (or is it have) not been out of 'Bengaluru' for quite some and saw this a perfect opportunity to have some real fun. But as luck would have it, my manager (In fact my Manager's manager) shot a mail on Friday evening asking all my team mates to waste their weekend in office for some code copying and building....Bull****. Why the heck did he not provide us with the necessary details on Friday itself or any other day for that matter?? For past 6 weeks I had not been coming to office on Saturday but we did not plan to go anywhere. And finally when the plan was materialized i was left in the lurch!!!
Without even thinking twice i may put the whole blame on my manager. After all, he could easily have arranged for the code on Friday. That would have definitely solved my problem!!! Aha, but "MURPHY LAW" says that "Every solution breeds new problems." That implies no matter what, i was destined to spend my weekend in office. So, it's better to left the things to themselves, right?. But that reminds me of yet another "MURPHY LAW" -Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse. So the real culprit seems to be "Murphy Law".
The fact is, however hard we try, this law will always haunt us. In case, we have a competition to decide which person has come up with a law that is most universally acceptable, Edward Aloysius Murphy- the mastermind behind Murphy Law- will give others (such as Albert Einstein or Sir Issac Newton) a run for their money. So, instead of letting the things to themselves we would be better off letting the things to the mercy of "Murphy Law".
Monday, June 15, 2009
Anti-Dhonism!!!
Dejecting, Disgusting, Depressing...these three D's sums up the whole performance of India in the 2nd edition of World Cup T20. Who would have foreseen such a debacle for 'men in Blue'. Blame it on IPL or the arrogance of the players but defending champion is no more.
If asked to single out one person responsible for the ouster of India from T20 WC, the finger will definitely point to DhoniThe first edition of T20 world cup saw the rise of 'Dhoni'....the second edition will see the fall of 'Dhoni'. His juggling with batting order remains a puzzle-sending 'Ravindra Jadeja' ahead of in-form Yuvraj and murderous 'Yusuf' . His persistence with 'Ishant Sharma' -whose reputation exceeds his performance- ahead of Irfan Pathan-who bowled well in the match against west Indies and adds some flexibility to the batting with his power-hitting-has cost India dearly. His under usage of economical bowler-Irfan Pathan in the game against West Indies and R P Singh in them last game-more than often now clearly indicates that he is no more impartial now with some dirty politics creeping in the team.
Dhoni burst into the international scene as an attacking wicket-keeper batsman who can take aprrt any bowler at any day. His big sixes wer talk of the town. Then, came the transition in his stints in the middle, as he changed his natural game to adjust to the needs of the hour so much so that he finds it difficult to loft the ball beyond that '30-yard circle' let alone hitting sixes. His strike rate of 103. which is no better than Bhajji speaks enormously of our captain's "TALENT".
People (especially his DIE-HARD fans) would argue that he has rare batting average in ODIs and topped the chart in ICC ODI ranking for some period. But its not about the number of runs scored that matters but the situation and manner in which you scored those runs. Most of those runs came when India was either in full-control of the match or when India did not seem to win at any cost.
Going to his captaincy, it would be too early to comment on this with so many success attributed to Dhoni. But Most of the mathches which Dhoni have won for India was because of a sheer destiny. In the last SriLankan tour India thrashed SriLanka 4-1 but very noticed that in all the four matches which India won, it was because India batted first with toss playing a big factor. And in the last match when had to bat second with ball darting around in the night they seemed to be lost. The recent series against NewZealand only strengthened this facts with India ending up a loser in both their T20 matches with the spin of coin not going their way.
Agreed that India put up an inspirational show in the recent past under Dhoni's captaincy but "A team is as good as its players". When the players perform the team is bound to perform well. A captain's role is to motivate the players to do their best, bind them together as a cohesive unit, and lead from the front which of late Dhoni has failed miserably, be it on the or off the field. Even the "Sehwag fiasco" was not handled tactfully. Our 'Captain Cool' (cool as a cucumber, or is it???) instead of answering media questions paraded the whole team to the podium before the match conference only to add fuel to the fire. It would have been much better if instead of creating such a drama he had spend some more time on the nets to enhance his batting skills (Or should i say learn some basic skills for technically he is the worst player in this Indian team).
India still have one more game to play — against South Africa — but by all means, the battle on the pitch is over. The narrow three run loss against England will rankle in the heart for a long time. What went wrong? Was the decision to ask England to bat first correct or was it the lack of intensity that cost India the match. All these off the pitch issues need introspection and Mr. Dhoni needs to lead from the front and make sure that politics which has plagued Indian cricket for long does not find its place.
PS:- Please leave your comments even if you are a big fan of Dhoni so that i can gauge how deep you are into "DHONISM".
If asked to single out one person responsible for the ouster of India from T20 WC, the finger will definitely point to DhoniThe first edition of T20 world cup saw the rise of 'Dhoni'....the second edition will see the fall of 'Dhoni'. His juggling with batting order remains a puzzle-sending 'Ravindra Jadeja' ahead of in-form Yuvraj and murderous 'Yusuf' . His persistence with 'Ishant Sharma' -whose reputation exceeds his performance- ahead of Irfan Pathan-who bowled well in the match against west Indies and adds some flexibility to the batting with his power-hitting-has cost India dearly. His under usage of economical bowler-Irfan Pathan in the game against West Indies and R P Singh in them last game-more than often now clearly indicates that he is no more impartial now with some dirty politics creeping in the team.
Dhoni burst into the international scene as an attacking wicket-keeper batsman who can take aprrt any bowler at any day. His big sixes wer talk of the town. Then, came the transition in his stints in the middle, as he changed his natural game to adjust to the needs of the hour so much so that he finds it difficult to loft the ball beyond that '30-yard circle' let alone hitting sixes. His strike rate of 103. which is no better than Bhajji speaks enormously of our captain's "TALENT".
People (especially his DIE-HARD fans) would argue that he has rare batting average in ODIs and topped the chart in ICC ODI ranking for some period. But its not about the number of runs scored that matters but the situation and manner in which you scored those runs. Most of those runs came when India was either in full-control of the match or when India did not seem to win at any cost.
Going to his captaincy, it would be too early to comment on this with so many success attributed to Dhoni. But Most of the mathches which Dhoni have won for India was because of a sheer destiny. In the last SriLankan tour India thrashed SriLanka 4-1 but very noticed that in all the four matches which India won, it was because India batted first with toss playing a big factor. And in the last match when had to bat second with ball darting around in the night they seemed to be lost. The recent series against NewZealand only strengthened this facts with India ending up a loser in both their T20 matches with the spin of coin not going their way.
Agreed that India put up an inspirational show in the recent past under Dhoni's captaincy but "A team is as good as its players". When the players perform the team is bound to perform well. A captain's role is to motivate the players to do their best, bind them together as a cohesive unit, and lead from the front which of late Dhoni has failed miserably, be it on the or off the field. Even the "Sehwag fiasco" was not handled tactfully. Our 'Captain Cool' (cool as a cucumber, or is it???) instead of answering media questions paraded the whole team to the podium before the match conference only to add fuel to the fire. It would have been much better if instead of creating such a drama he had spend some more time on the nets to enhance his batting skills (Or should i say learn some basic skills for technically he is the worst player in this Indian team).
India still have one more game to play — against South Africa — but by all means, the battle on the pitch is over. The narrow three run loss against England will rankle in the heart for a long time. What went wrong? Was the decision to ask England to bat first correct or was it the lack of intensity that cost India the match. All these off the pitch issues need introspection and Mr. Dhoni needs to lead from the front and make sure that politics which has plagued Indian cricket for long does not find its place.
PS:- Please leave your comments even if you are a big fan of Dhoni so that i can gauge how deep you are into "DHONISM".
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Task cut out!!!
Being a huge cricket fan, my writing on this subject was always there waiting. Ironically, it came in the wake of India drubbing at the hands of not much fancied West Indies. Disappointed as other fans who follow cricket like a religion, i found it an opportunity to expose few chinks in the Indian armoury.
With the exit of Sehwag (whose sheer presence send shivers down opponents' spine) India suddenly looks not so formidable. Many would argue that with Rohit Sharma in such a sublime touch India's opening woes are rather solved but then Sehwag not only scores at breathtaking speed (strike rate 144.80) but also induces a fear factor among every bowler. And with other players not playing to their potential (Dhoni needs a special mention here) ,the failure of the openers will always test the star-studded batting line-up as was evident in the match against West Indies. Barring Yuvraj Singh (67 off 43) and Yusuf Pathan (31 off 23), Indian batting looked to be jiffy. Had these two not hit some lusty blows towards the end of the innings India would have ended below par score. If asked to rate the players based on their performance in the last match the man who stood last will be none other than our 'Captain Cool' (11 off 23-strike rate below 50) for he ensured that run rate stays below 6.00. Agreed that with heir chips down India needed someone to stay at the crease and resurrect the innings, but that does not vindicate his scoring with such a dismal strike rate. In such a format where one big over can turn the tide in one's favor, he seems to have lost the art of acceleration. His captaincy in the last game was also below par. With Irfan Pathan still left with two more overs after such a tight opening spell, he handed over the bowl to 'Ishant Sharma' in the 17th over (That over made all the difference with 16 runs being scored). Full marks though for not turning up at No 3.
The other player who was a big disappointment was 'Gautam Gambhir'. He has regained a bit of his form in this tourney after that horrible stint in IPL but he is not even half of what he used to be the last year or the last edition of T20 world cup for that matter. Now that he has been part of this Indian team for last two years he need to be a bit more responsible in his approach.
The bowling department looked to be shambolic especially when it comes to death overs. Ishant Sharma after that successful Australian tour where he troubled every batsman, is out of touch. The pace which used to be the talk of the town has dropped considerably. One get the feeling that he is now an over-rated bowler. Its high time that Indian think-tank look for other options with R P Singh-one of the main architect of India win in the last edition- also in the fray. The other bowlers were also off the mark. A score of 153 meant that every bowler had to be keep it tight but they failed to deliver.
Talking about fielding, apart from 'Raina' the other seemed to be playing a gully cricket. The dropped catches of Gayle and the missed run out chance of Bravo (the man who took Indian bowling to apart after his stupendous bowling performance-the culprit was again our 'Captain Cool') turned the game. And not to mention about some of the ground fielding which were too sloppy. With such a horrible fielding they don't look to defend the title even when their batsman come to party.
Many would argue that off-the-field issue (the rift between Dhoni and Sehwag) is taking its toll in this Indian team. But these are just lame excuses. Instead of acting on emotions they should play professionally and let their bat/bowl do more talking. There is still lot of cricket to be played and it would be silly to write them off. Placed at the bottom of the group, the Men in Blue must beat both England and South Africa while hoping for a better run-rate than its rivals. Unless the bowlers raise their game and fielders stop treating it a gully cricket India can only pray. Moreover it will be interesting to watch how 'Dhoni' take this team further with both the on and off the field issues not going India's way. For the time being we can simply keep our fingers crossed and wait for some inspirational performance from 'Men in Blue'. They have done it in the past and with a bunch of talents they have,they can do it again.....
With the exit of Sehwag (whose sheer presence send shivers down opponents' spine) India suddenly looks not so formidable. Many would argue that with Rohit Sharma in such a sublime touch India's opening woes are rather solved but then Sehwag not only scores at breathtaking speed (strike rate 144.80) but also induces a fear factor among every bowler. And with other players not playing to their potential (Dhoni needs a special mention here) ,the failure of the openers will always test the star-studded batting line-up as was evident in the match against West Indies. Barring Yuvraj Singh (67 off 43) and Yusuf Pathan (31 off 23), Indian batting looked to be jiffy. Had these two not hit some lusty blows towards the end of the innings India would have ended below par score. If asked to rate the players based on their performance in the last match the man who stood last will be none other than our 'Captain Cool' (11 off 23-strike rate below 50) for he ensured that run rate stays below 6.00. Agreed that with heir chips down India needed someone to stay at the crease and resurrect the innings, but that does not vindicate his scoring with such a dismal strike rate. In such a format where one big over can turn the tide in one's favor, he seems to have lost the art of acceleration. His captaincy in the last game was also below par. With Irfan Pathan still left with two more overs after such a tight opening spell, he handed over the bowl to 'Ishant Sharma' in the 17th over (That over made all the difference with 16 runs being scored). Full marks though for not turning up at No 3.
The other player who was a big disappointment was 'Gautam Gambhir'. He has regained a bit of his form in this tourney after that horrible stint in IPL but he is not even half of what he used to be the last year or the last edition of T20 world cup for that matter. Now that he has been part of this Indian team for last two years he need to be a bit more responsible in his approach.
The bowling department looked to be shambolic especially when it comes to death overs. Ishant Sharma after that successful Australian tour where he troubled every batsman, is out of touch. The pace which used to be the talk of the town has dropped considerably. One get the feeling that he is now an over-rated bowler. Its high time that Indian think-tank look for other options with R P Singh-one of the main architect of India win in the last edition- also in the fray. The other bowlers were also off the mark. A score of 153 meant that every bowler had to be keep it tight but they failed to deliver.
Talking about fielding, apart from 'Raina' the other seemed to be playing a gully cricket. The dropped catches of Gayle and the missed run out chance of Bravo (the man who took Indian bowling to apart after his stupendous bowling performance-the culprit was again our 'Captain Cool') turned the game. And not to mention about some of the ground fielding which were too sloppy. With such a horrible fielding they don't look to defend the title even when their batsman come to party.
Many would argue that off-the-field issue (the rift between Dhoni and Sehwag) is taking its toll in this Indian team. But these are just lame excuses. Instead of acting on emotions they should play professionally and let their bat/bowl do more talking. There is still lot of cricket to be played and it would be silly to write them off. Placed at the bottom of the group, the Men in Blue must beat both England and South Africa while hoping for a better run-rate than its rivals. Unless the bowlers raise their game and fielders stop treating it a gully cricket India can only pray. Moreover it will be interesting to watch how 'Dhoni' take this team further with both the on and off the field issues not going India's way. For the time being we can simply keep our fingers crossed and wait for some inspirational performance from 'Men in Blue'. They have done it in the past and with a bunch of talents they have,they can do it again.....
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Curry-Bashing
Few people complained of me not giving a space for the much hyped "Curry-Bashing" on my last blog. I left it out purposely because this news in itself is so big that it would have been injustice to fit it into such a small space. And moreover i have my opinion on this subject which i wanted to share with everybody.
On the first note, i deeply regret the incident considering that many Australian citizens of Indian origin lost their lives allegedly with no fault of theirs. But saying that, i also believe that Indian media has blown this news out of proportion. Agreed that some of the attacks were "racially motivated" as also admitted by Simon Overland, he police chief of Australia's Victoria state but this does not vindicate tagging the country as racist. In fact, according to Victoria police officials, in 2007-08, there were 36,765 victims of crimes such as robberies and assaults in the state, of which 24,260 were Caucasian victims and 1,447 victims were people of Indian origin. Many people have formed such opinion based on the souring cricketing ties India shares with Australia. But India's relationship with Oz extends far beyond that with India and china accounting for more than 40% of foreign students- the country's third biggest export earner, worth more than $12 billion.
Indian people (or any foreign student for that matter-recently China also reported a case of a Chinese student being mauled by a "thug") are more vulnerable to attack because they represent weaker sections of the society (in terms of their numbers) with many students working up late at night to financially support their education. The media, i think need to stop portraying this whole issue as one of Indians vs Australians. Because of the actions of a few thugs stereotyping the whole Oz which celebrates a multiracial society is not done.
Moreover the debates whether such attacks were of racist nature or opportunistic ones won't help in resolving the issues. It can at most lead to communal disturbances between the two nations.. Indian students led "vigilante" patrols on Wednesday after a second night of protests which did not go down well with the Australian embassy. Moreover,the Indian government scrapped a series of roadshows in the country which was slated to take place in various cities of Australia to promote tourism in India leading to a first diplomatic fallout. The more of such instances will lead to severing of all ties including military cooperation which is at an unprecedented level with the Australian counterpart and will adversely impact not only "Kangaroos" but India as well.
The Indian government instead should engage Canberra in high-level dialogue on the issue to take stock of the situation and provide adequate security for the Indian students. The Australian government needs to act. The appointment of Peter Varghese as high commissioner to India sends a positive signal, but it is, at best, a symbolic gesture. They should back it with some stern actions against the miscreants who are behind this grave situation.
On the first note, i deeply regret the incident considering that many Australian citizens of Indian origin lost their lives allegedly with no fault of theirs. But saying that, i also believe that Indian media has blown this news out of proportion. Agreed that some of the attacks were "racially motivated" as also admitted by Simon Overland, he police chief of Australia's Victoria state but this does not vindicate tagging the country as racist. In fact, according to Victoria police officials, in 2007-08, there were 36,765 victims of crimes such as robberies and assaults in the state, of which 24,260 were Caucasian victims and 1,447 victims were people of Indian origin. Many people have formed such opinion based on the souring cricketing ties India shares with Australia. But India's relationship with Oz extends far beyond that with India and china accounting for more than 40% of foreign students- the country's third biggest export earner, worth more than $12 billion.
Indian people (or any foreign student for that matter-recently China also reported a case of a Chinese student being mauled by a "thug") are more vulnerable to attack because they represent weaker sections of the society (in terms of their numbers) with many students working up late at night to financially support their education. The media, i think need to stop portraying this whole issue as one of Indians vs Australians. Because of the actions of a few thugs stereotyping the whole Oz which celebrates a multiracial society is not done.
Moreover the debates whether such attacks were of racist nature or opportunistic ones won't help in resolving the issues. It can at most lead to communal disturbances between the two nations.. Indian students led "vigilante" patrols on Wednesday after a second night of protests which did not go down well with the Australian embassy. Moreover,the Indian government scrapped a series of roadshows in the country which was slated to take place in various cities of Australia to promote tourism in India leading to a first diplomatic fallout. The more of such instances will lead to severing of all ties including military cooperation which is at an unprecedented level with the Australian counterpart and will adversely impact not only "Kangaroos" but India as well.
The Indian government instead should engage Canberra in high-level dialogue on the issue to take stock of the situation and provide adequate security for the Indian students. The Australian government needs to act. The appointment of Peter Varghese as high commissioner to India sends a positive signal, but it is, at best, a symbolic gesture. They should back it with some stern actions against the miscreants who are behind this grave situation.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Last Week Ke Mukhya Samachar....
It had been a very happening last week for India in particular and the whole world in general. And the the real beauty was the unfolding of the events in every field-whether it be in politics,education,entertainment or sports. A lot has been said and written with people from different spheres giving their inputs. Without countering anyone's opinions i will sipmply summarize the events in this piece.
There is no hiding of the fact that our political system is marred with corruption which not only has become a pervasive aspect of Indian politics but also has become an increasingly important factor in Indian elections. While every fourth member of the Lok Sabha has a criminal record, virtually every member is a crorepati. The crime has so deeply entrencehed in the indian politics can be inferred from the fact that Padamsinh Patil, MP of Nationalist Congress Party,was arresred for his alleged involvement in the murder of his cousin and Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar. This is not the first case of a political honcho involved with such a heinous crime. Earlier in the year, controversial RJD Lok Sabha member Rajeev Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav and MLA Rajan Tiwari were found guilty in the alleged murder of CPI-M MLA Ajit Sarkar.
That the education system in the country is shambolic is no secret. The Chennai-based Sri Ramachandra University (SRU) and Shree Balaji Medical College and Hospital demanding Rs 20 lakh to Rs 40 lakh for an MBBS seat in a capitation fee racket unearthed by TOI-Times Now is par for the course. The difference being that the accused were DMK MP and Union minister of state for information and broadcasting S Jagathrakshakan who happened to be the chairman of Shree Balaji Medical College and Hospital and Dr Ketan Desai, the MCI chairman, who was on the boards of Sri Ramachandra University. Six years ago, the Supreme Court ordered an unambiguous ban on capitation fees. But the system is still thriving making a mockery of the exams.
Taking a break from such perpetrators there is a good news for movie buffs doing the rounds that the two month long standoff between multiplex owners and producers has come to an end after an entire day of discussions, on Thursday night(4th June), with both parties calling it a truce and producers having the last laugh. Coming Friday will see the multiplexes with the first big release after two months with producer Vashu Bhagnani's Kal Kisne Dekha featuring his son Jacky Bhagnani. In the last two months the industry has suffered around Rs 60 crore losses as no new films released in the theatres, this loss is irreversible.
Going to the sports,the once invincible Aussies crashed out of 2nd edition of ICC World Cup T20. They were simply outplayed by both West Indies and SriLanks in their the tournament which lasted four days for the Oz. This loss will mark an end of Oz aura of late were playing nowhere near to what they used to play. The last week also saw Roger Federer clinching his first French open and tying with Pete Sampras for the all-time record of most Grand Slam titles (14). By doing so Federer became the sixth man to win all four Grand Slam championships- the feat which even Sampras could not achieve. That led to a series of debates with some hailing him as the all-time great while others pointing out Federer's last two Grand Slams titles came only after someone else obligingly beat Nadal and ensured Federer wouldn't have to play him in the final. Whatever be the reason Federer has proved that he is capable wining even when he is not in his prime.
Last but not the least,former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf finally conceded that ISI has links with militants which came as no surprise given that over the years ISI has used militants to carry out many terrorist activities in india. but the question which is still to be answered is what is our government going to do about it?
There is no hiding of the fact that our political system is marred with corruption which not only has become a pervasive aspect of Indian politics but also has become an increasingly important factor in Indian elections. While every fourth member of the Lok Sabha has a criminal record, virtually every member is a crorepati. The crime has so deeply entrencehed in the indian politics can be inferred from the fact that Padamsinh Patil, MP of Nationalist Congress Party,was arresred for his alleged involvement in the murder of his cousin and Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar. This is not the first case of a political honcho involved with such a heinous crime. Earlier in the year, controversial RJD Lok Sabha member Rajeev Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav and MLA Rajan Tiwari were found guilty in the alleged murder of CPI-M MLA Ajit Sarkar.
That the education system in the country is shambolic is no secret. The Chennai-based Sri Ramachandra University (SRU) and Shree Balaji Medical College and Hospital demanding Rs 20 lakh to Rs 40 lakh for an MBBS seat in a capitation fee racket unearthed by TOI-Times Now is par for the course. The difference being that the accused were DMK MP and Union minister of state for information and broadcasting S Jagathrakshakan who happened to be the chairman of Shree Balaji Medical College and Hospital and Dr Ketan Desai, the MCI chairman, who was on the boards of Sri Ramachandra University. Six years ago, the Supreme Court ordered an unambiguous ban on capitation fees. But the system is still thriving making a mockery of the exams.
Taking a break from such perpetrators there is a good news for movie buffs doing the rounds that the two month long standoff between multiplex owners and producers has come to an end after an entire day of discussions, on Thursday night(4th June), with both parties calling it a truce and producers having the last laugh. Coming Friday will see the multiplexes with the first big release after two months with producer Vashu Bhagnani's Kal Kisne Dekha featuring his son Jacky Bhagnani. In the last two months the industry has suffered around Rs 60 crore losses as no new films released in the theatres, this loss is irreversible.
Going to the sports,the once invincible Aussies crashed out of 2nd edition of ICC World Cup T20. They were simply outplayed by both West Indies and SriLanks in their the tournament which lasted four days for the Oz. This loss will mark an end of Oz aura of late were playing nowhere near to what they used to play. The last week also saw Roger Federer clinching his first French open and tying with Pete Sampras for the all-time record of most Grand Slam titles (14). By doing so Federer became the sixth man to win all four Grand Slam championships- the feat which even Sampras could not achieve. That led to a series of debates with some hailing him as the all-time great while others pointing out Federer's last two Grand Slams titles came only after someone else obligingly beat Nadal and ensured Federer wouldn't have to play him in the final. Whatever be the reason Federer has proved that he is capable wining even when he is not in his prime.
Last but not the least,former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf finally conceded that ISI has links with militants which came as no surprise given that over the years ISI has used militants to carry out many terrorist activities in india. but the question which is still to be answered is what is our government going to do about it?
Monday, June 1, 2009
There is lot in a name!!!
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." This famous line from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, 1594 simply means What matters is what something is, not what it is called.Ah,before you even start thinking that this piece is related to Shakespeare or on any of his play (beacuse everyone is so smart), let me make it very clear this is not the case.
Disclaimer.:-Many of you might find my viewpoint undigestable and may tend to give some examples to justify yourself. But the idea behind my writing is not to offend anyone (not even Shakespeare for that matter) and their opinion but only to consolidate my stand against that famous line.
A name stores a significant value on your personality and the way people resemble you as. In Shakespeare's context, we have to remember that the inability to see the significance of the family names (in the context of a long standing feud) led them both to suicide. Even our so called Bollywood is so much obsessed with the name that many acclaimed actors had to change their change their names before they made it big in the industry. Take for example our 'Tragedy king of Hindi films',Dilip Kumar. When he made it into Bollywood very few people knew that his real name was 'Yusuf Khan'.But Mr.Amiya Chakravarty(one of the leading directors) gave him the screen name of Dilip Kumar because conservative indian audience of that era were not very much comfortable with the actor titled 'Khan' no matter how good his performance is.If that is not enough what about Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia aka 'Akshay Kumar'. Why the hell was he required to change his name? It is because of the tag 'Kumar' which came with screen name. Carrying the family tag undoubtedly helped many actors getting a break or two -Abhishek Bachhan had 17 big flops in a row before giving a hit to the industry- in Bollywood compared to some unknown 'Mac'.
One can find a plethora of people changing their names(or modifying them a bit) with no race,caste,field acting as a boundary. Infact A.R. rahman went a step further and changed his religion altogether. M. F. Husain - one of India's best known artists and whose work over a career of over seven decades has been prolific - found himself in controversy in 1990s because of because of his portrayal of Hindu deities in the nude or in an allegedly sexual manner. The matters got so legally complicated that he had to leave the country and settle in Dubai/London.May be his works hurt the sentiments of people and he was not right but i doubt if the case would have been the same if he had not inherited the name 'Husain'.
We have a number of Gods with differnt names.Some people worship 'Krishna',others are true devotee of 'Hanuman' while others different religion and call their own god by different names.Every now and then we hear people fighting with each other in the name of the religion.If there is nothing in the name why do these people follow religion with different names to give themselves a chance to fight.
Last but not the least there are times when your own name go against you.One of my college friends(he is a boy and and let me make it very clear) have a girlish name.His behaviour and nature in no way justifies his name.He is purely a male.(For those dirty mind who is wondering how can i be so sure it is because he used to stay in the boys' hostel and in no way uesd to dress like a girl).But many people(sometimes even me) used to call him (yeah..him) 'Didi' and all sort of related names to his utmost irritation. Ask such people and they will tell you what is in a name!!!!
Disclaimer.:-Many of you might find my viewpoint undigestable and may tend to give some examples to justify yourself. But the idea behind my writing is not to offend anyone (not even Shakespeare for that matter) and their opinion but only to consolidate my stand against that famous line.
A name stores a significant value on your personality and the way people resemble you as. In Shakespeare's context, we have to remember that the inability to see the significance of the family names (in the context of a long standing feud) led them both to suicide. Even our so called Bollywood is so much obsessed with the name that many acclaimed actors had to change their change their names before they made it big in the industry. Take for example our 'Tragedy king of Hindi films',Dilip Kumar. When he made it into Bollywood very few people knew that his real name was 'Yusuf Khan'.But Mr.Amiya Chakravarty(one of the leading directors) gave him the screen name of Dilip Kumar because conservative indian audience of that era were not very much comfortable with the actor titled 'Khan' no matter how good his performance is.If that is not enough what about Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia aka 'Akshay Kumar'. Why the hell was he required to change his name? It is because of the tag 'Kumar' which came with screen name. Carrying the family tag undoubtedly helped many actors getting a break or two -Abhishek Bachhan had 17 big flops in a row before giving a hit to the industry- in Bollywood compared to some unknown 'Mac'.
One can find a plethora of people changing their names(or modifying them a bit) with no race,caste,field acting as a boundary. Infact A.R. rahman went a step further and changed his religion altogether. M. F. Husain - one of India's best known artists and whose work over a career of over seven decades has been prolific - found himself in controversy in 1990s because of because of his portrayal of Hindu deities in the nude or in an allegedly sexual manner. The matters got so legally complicated that he had to leave the country and settle in Dubai/London.May be his works hurt the sentiments of people and he was not right but i doubt if the case would have been the same if he had not inherited the name 'Husain'.
We have a number of Gods with differnt names.Some people worship 'Krishna',others are true devotee of 'Hanuman' while others different religion and call their own god by different names.Every now and then we hear people fighting with each other in the name of the religion.If there is nothing in the name why do these people follow religion with different names to give themselves a chance to fight.
Last but not the least there are times when your own name go against you.One of my college friends(he is a boy and and let me make it very clear) have a girlish name.His behaviour and nature in no way justifies his name.He is purely a male.(For those dirty mind who is wondering how can i be so sure it is because he used to stay in the boys' hostel and in no way uesd to dress like a girl).But many people(sometimes even me) used to call him (yeah..him) 'Didi' and all sort of related names to his utmost irritation. Ask such people and they will tell you what is in a name!!!!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Another Mission
What the heck in this world is impossible for me...Nothing!!! (I may be sounding a bit arrogant).But how many of those things i have achieved....Again Nothing!!! (This time i am trying to be a bit humble,right?).
All through my life,both on personal front and in terms of my career,i have always set high standards for myself but never i am able to reach within sniffing distance of meeting the standards. Lets keep aside my personal life out of this piece.I was expected-the expectation was in no sense a nonsense-to come out with flying colors in my class X board exams with no other even in my vicinity.I was the topper of my batch continuously for 6 long years!!! But when it mattered most i failed to deliver. Next mission was "IIT JEE". It could have been well within my reach considering that i was very good in 'Maths' (Ah..again a bit arrogant) and good enough in 'Physics' and 'Chemistry'. But as luck would have it-thanks to my mathematics score,the subject i used to boast of-i was so near and yet so far(I did qualify JEE exams but my rank did not allow me to make into any of the IIT colleges,though i take pride in being a BIT alumni).
Mission Impossible III(though it did not seem to be impossible at that time) was getting into 'Oracle'(Though it seem OK to me that finally i am placed in SISO). And quite incredibly i was unable to get past the first round(This time i have crossed all limit in showing my arrogance...Sorry) let alone make into it. The aptitude test did me in.
Now here i am ready to go for my another mission-CAT 2009.I am trying everything what it takes to score a good percentile(see, i have started spending some time on writing also to improve my fragile English) boasting yet again of my mathematical skills. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping against all hopes. Let there is a change in my fortune so that i don't have to rename this mission of mine as 'MI-4'.
All through my life,both on personal front and in terms of my career,i have always set high standards for myself but never i am able to reach within sniffing distance of meeting the standards. Lets keep aside my personal life out of this piece.I was expected-the expectation was in no sense a nonsense-to come out with flying colors in my class X board exams with no other even in my vicinity.I was the topper of my batch continuously for 6 long years!!! But when it mattered most i failed to deliver. Next mission was "IIT JEE". It could have been well within my reach considering that i was very good in 'Maths' (Ah..again a bit arrogant) and good enough in 'Physics' and 'Chemistry'. But as luck would have it-thanks to my mathematics score,the subject i used to boast of-i was so near and yet so far(I did qualify JEE exams but my rank did not allow me to make into any of the IIT colleges,though i take pride in being a BIT alumni).
Mission Impossible III(though it did not seem to be impossible at that time) was getting into 'Oracle'(Though it seem OK to me that finally i am placed in SISO). And quite incredibly i was unable to get past the first round(This time i have crossed all limit in showing my arrogance...Sorry) let alone make into it. The aptitude test did me in.
Now here i am ready to go for my another mission-CAT 2009.I am trying everything what it takes to score a good percentile(see, i have started spending some time on writing also to improve my fragile English) boasting yet again of my mathematical skills. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping against all hopes. Let there is a change in my fortune so that i don't have to rename this mission of mine as 'MI-4'.
Friday, May 29, 2009
What lies ahead???
It seems this blogging bug has caught me very badly. It has been only 4 days since i started blogging and i am penning down my 3rd Blog.I did not intend to write this piece(infact any piece for that matter) today but one reason forced me to do so.
Actually,today is no ordinary day in SISO for as many as 7 people are leaving the comapny for some or the other reasons (Most of them going for their higher studies). One of them is my teammate 'Nishant' (We were not in the same team for past 5 months once i moved out of DVB-H Project or to be more precise once that project was scrapped ,but still we were always connected).I have been here for quite sometime now and frequently i get a mail titled "Last Day in SISO". But never did 7 people left SISO at one go.
It was less than an hour in office today when i received a mail titled "End of a RolePlay" .On finding the sender to be Nishant i was taken back to the good old days i spend with the DVB-H team. It was one of the most closely knit team in SISO with teammates much more than colleagues. And the person who had the biggest hand in gelling the team(Its better to call the team "a group of buddies with no concern over age differences") was none other than 'Nishant'. He has the knack of lightening up the atmosphere with his well-timed pun.Working in DVB-H team was more than fun (infact i never felt that i was working).We used to have outings every now and then(more than once in a month).I don't know how much i gained technically (i was part of the DVB-H team for less than 4 months) but i learned much more than that - an individual accomplishment means nothing when the team as a whole fails to deliver and how to enjoy others' success. Special mention to our manager 'Rajaram' for i personally believe that a team is as good as a manager.
We (non-existent DVB-H team) are still working in the same roof and till now we spend lots of time together(Ofcourse when we are free) but the guy(Nishant) who used to to find humour out of the blue will not be around to spread the positive energy.His 3 years journey in SISO comes to an end today.I will definitely miss his enthu,energy and charisma. I am not sure if the team(Though it does not exist as such) will be the same anymore.
Actually,today is no ordinary day in SISO for as many as 7 people are leaving the comapny for some or the other reasons (Most of them going for their higher studies). One of them is my teammate 'Nishant' (We were not in the same team for past 5 months once i moved out of DVB-H Project or to be more precise once that project was scrapped ,but still we were always connected).I have been here for quite sometime now and frequently i get a mail titled "Last Day in SISO". But never did 7 people left SISO at one go.
It was less than an hour in office today when i received a mail titled "End of a RolePlay" .On finding the sender to be Nishant i was taken back to the good old days i spend with the DVB-H team. It was one of the most closely knit team in SISO with teammates much more than colleagues. And the person who had the biggest hand in gelling the team(Its better to call the team "a group of buddies with no concern over age differences") was none other than 'Nishant'. He has the knack of lightening up the atmosphere with his well-timed pun.Working in DVB-H team was more than fun (infact i never felt that i was working).We used to have outings every now and then(more than once in a month).I don't know how much i gained technically (i was part of the DVB-H team for less than 4 months) but i learned much more than that - an individual accomplishment means nothing when the team as a whole fails to deliver and how to enjoy others' success. Special mention to our manager 'Rajaram' for i personally believe that a team is as good as a manager.
We (non-existent DVB-H team) are still working in the same roof and till now we spend lots of time together(Ofcourse when we are free) but the guy(Nishant) who used to to find humour out of the blue will not be around to spread the positive energy.His 3 years journey in SISO comes to an end today.I will definitely miss his enthu,energy and charisma. I am not sure if the team(Though it does not exist as such) will be the same anymore.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Changing Times!!!
Recently i watched the movie "Aloo Chaat". I was long yearning to watch this movie. No,no,no this blog is not about the review for this movie in particular.In fact i rarely find any Hindi movie whcih is not worth watching ("Dev D" though taught me to be a bit selective) to form opinions for different movies. I just want to highlight how the taste of people varies with time. (Considering that few movies which were not considered to be good enough when they hit the theatres are liked by many people these days).
Yeah,so i was talking about "Aloo Chaat". This movie is full of double meaning talks with a short message (lets not talk about that message for time being).There were times in the movie when you needed to decode the "other" meaning encapsulated in seemingly very inane sentences.Compare this with the comedy movies of Amitabh Bachhan times or some 90's movies for that matter (Andaz apna apna is one of them) and you will find how different those movies were from this gen movies.It's not that i am critic of new gen movies and infact i love watching them but somehow i feel that nowadays people don't find humour in the things unless and until it is ornamented with some cheap humour.Moreover,what we used to call a joke is now aptly called a "PJ"(People don't find these jokes rich enough to make them hilarious).
Finding a movie with no cheap humour and still manage to make the people laugh out of nowhere is rare to find (i would say,not a single movie as such was released recently).If not the double meaning they would definitely contain the 'Gay' word.
Whatever be the reason,this generation people find comfort in the things, socially which are considered offensive to even utter.I don't expect the film-makers to go back to the old ways(even i won't like them to revert) but i can certainly expect them to come out with something very innovative that will make the people go crazy and laugh their heart-out even with no cheap humour in the content.
Yeah,so i was talking about "Aloo Chaat". This movie is full of double meaning talks with a short message (lets not talk about that message for time being).There were times in the movie when you needed to decode the "other" meaning encapsulated in seemingly very inane sentences.Compare this with the comedy movies of Amitabh Bachhan times or some 90's movies for that matter (Andaz apna apna is one of them) and you will find how different those movies were from this gen movies.It's not that i am critic of new gen movies and infact i love watching them but somehow i feel that nowadays people don't find humour in the things unless and until it is ornamented with some cheap humour.Moreover,what we used to call a joke is now aptly called a "PJ"(People don't find these jokes rich enough to make them hilarious).
Finding a movie with no cheap humour and still manage to make the people laugh out of nowhere is rare to find (i would say,not a single movie as such was released recently).If not the double meaning they would definitely contain the 'Gay' word.
Whatever be the reason,this generation people find comfort in the things, socially which are considered offensive to even utter.I don't expect the film-makers to go back to the old ways(even i won't like them to revert) but i can certainly expect them to come out with something very innovative that will make the people go crazy and laugh their heart-out even with no cheap humour in the content.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Last 9 Months!!!
Well,well,well...Here i am,trying my hand at writing blogs thanks to all the idle time i spent in my office. To be very true this writing thing has never been my cup of tea but then there are times when you need to re-invent yourself.
To start with,the first and foremost thing which i would like to mention is that Silicon Valley of India did not live up to my expectations.May be my expectations were higher or something else,i don't know.Nevertheless, there are things which i owe to Bengaluru.
I landed Bangalore on that fateful day of 25-07-2008 with six serial blasts marking my arrival.Just like others(Who were also going to join as freshers in SISO) i related it to a mere co-incidence.Now first few days in Bangalore(To be more precise in Diamond District-the place where we freshers were put up for 1st month) was more than a dream come true.I was sort of back to my college days having full of "masti and mazza" with no responsibility whatsoever.The time was simply flying by with each passing day bringing in more and more fun.But that 'Honymoon Period" did not last long and its end marked a beginning-my beginning as a full-time software engineer.I had to change myself a lot during this period- from September 2008 to May 2009.Last 8 months or so has been a good learning experience for me.From the college lad to a professional in an MNC is never so easy.Things are not as they used to be.It's not that i don't have enough friends here or i don't get enough time after my office work (In fact, as i mentioned in the beginning i have all time of the day), but somehow i miss the charm and excitement of being a college student.
9 months have passed since i joined SISO (Samsung India Software Operations). I have not changed much technically (since i am in a product based company, i expected to learn lots of technical stuff) because the mismanagement in the company provide me all time of the day(it's always easier to put blame on others) but as a person i have changed.People say there are somethings beyond your control and now i realize how true this can be.My priorities have changed and my ultimate aim pretty much clear to me.
All in all these 9 months have seen both ups and downs but still very much eventful for reasons known only to me.
To start with,the first and foremost thing which i would like to mention is that Silicon Valley of India did not live up to my expectations.May be my expectations were higher or something else,i don't know.Nevertheless, there are things which i owe to Bengaluru.
I landed Bangalore on that fateful day of 25-07-2008 with six serial blasts marking my arrival.Just like others(Who were also going to join as freshers in SISO) i related it to a mere co-incidence.Now first few days in Bangalore(To be more precise in Diamond District-the place where we freshers were put up for 1st month) was more than a dream come true.I was sort of back to my college days having full of "masti and mazza" with no responsibility whatsoever.The time was simply flying by with each passing day bringing in more and more fun.But that 'Honymoon Period" did not last long and its end marked a beginning-my beginning as a full-time software engineer.I had to change myself a lot during this period- from September 2008 to May 2009.Last 8 months or so has been a good learning experience for me.From the college lad to a professional in an MNC is never so easy.Things are not as they used to be.It's not that i don't have enough friends here or i don't get enough time after my office work (In fact, as i mentioned in the beginning i have all time of the day), but somehow i miss the charm and excitement of being a college student.
9 months have passed since i joined SISO (Samsung India Software Operations). I have not changed much technically (since i am in a product based company, i expected to learn lots of technical stuff) because the mismanagement in the company provide me all time of the day(it's always easier to put blame on others) but as a person i have changed.People say there are somethings beyond your control and now i realize how true this can be.My priorities have changed and my ultimate aim pretty much clear to me.
All in all these 9 months have seen both ups and downs but still very much eventful for reasons known only to me.
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