There seems to be no fun no aim in what i do these days. My life has become so mechanical that i can now do the job of the lathe i used to work on back in college. All the rush to get into the top colleges and schools and choose the right subjects now seems a waste of time. Work is so bloody over hyped. You study and slog like a mad person trying to do well for yourself and try and get into that job which will make you happy and you could then feel a sense of accomplishment. I feel nothing of that. I have a good job, a decent enough salary and yet i feel incomplete. Getting up in the morning rushing to work and then coming back exhausted with no will or time to do anything is fast becoming the story of my life.

Office is fun but it takes so much of my time. I can hardly believe that i have been here for 1.5 years. I love the work that i do but i will soon hit a plateau and god save me after that. There are new avenues to look for but the existing workload does not let you venture into those avenues.

The less said about personal life the better....

I feel increasingly restless, irritated and disoriented these days. I miss my metro stops, leave my ipod at work. I cannot read books anymore, haven't watched a movie at home since god knows when. My temper has become worse and i am a lazy lump .

I have not blogged in ages and there is no motivation to do anything these days. I don't even feel the need to do a spellcheck on this post or think for a title...i just dont care.

And the Aussie juggernaut rolls on...

Love em or hate em, they are the best.

There is simply no stopping this team. Hats off to them for putting on a show that throws light on the fact that the rest of the world is nowhere close to this team which is simply superb in all aspects of the game.

Bowl first or bat first, they will outplay you.

Many congratulations to the punter and his team.

Shimla - Lost in Transition

Traditionally, Shimla is supposed to be one of the most visited hill stations in the country. It is well connected by road, rail and air. The British made it their summer capital in the early 1900s.

I remember going to Shimla first in 1997. I was in awe of the place. The scenic landscape, the picturesque surroundings and the whole environment took my breath away. I remember vividly walking in the mall area, admiring the NG trains and appreciating the colonial charm associated with the city.

The Shimla of today is a concrete jungle. You see buildings everywhere and the city is not what it used to be earlier. A recent notification, that states that the roofs of the buildings should be either green or red, has done little to improve the "commercial" look that the city has managed to take. The number of tourists visiting the Queen of Hills is gradually decreasing. I was surprised to see the number of hotels, resorts coming up in places like Solan etc which are en route to Shimla. Many people no longer like to come to Shimla and instead stay at places like Solan, Tara Devi etc..

The Mall has become a farce. It looks like a Mumbai local train at peak hour and you constantly step on people's feet to move forward. There is litter everywhere. Mobile magistrates are not efficient enough. This New Year turned the Mall into a free for all. People were up to all kinds of nonsense in this public place.

Parking is an eternal problem in Shimla. Multi level parking's are being constructed but they never seem to be enough. There is a traffic jam almost always at the bus stand and the Bye Pass road to Kufri is bad in patches.

The locals are disgusted by the amount of commercialization seen in their city and some claim that their place of birth is slowly being strangled to death.

Eye of the Tiger.

After breaking my Ipod a few days back, I have had to get back to listening to good old radio. For the record, all FM channels in Delhi suck. You get to hear the same songs over and over again. And they think that Billy Joel is god or something....

Anyway, on the way to work today i got to listen to the Eye Of the Tiger after god knows how many years. I forgot about the existence of this song until today. It is one of my all time favs.

It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night

And he's watchin' us all in the eye of the tiger

Talking of Rocky, I want to see Balboa.

Marriage over celebrated

Marriages have been really commercialized these days. It was evident yesterday when Delhi saw 35000 marriages in one day. There were huge life size structures all over the place with a Gazillion Watt of light bring thrown in every direction. Women did not seem to mind the dipping Delhi temperatures and were dressed in their "finest" clothes. Men tagged along ..

It came to my mind that such over-elaborate arrangements for a marriage are so much in fashion these days. It is a pity that people feel the need to spend so much money .It is of course good business for the suppliers etc but it is all overdone. Yes, marriage is a significant event and must be celebrated but how does one justify spending so excessively especially when there are people in many parts of our country who cannot afford a meal.It all seems such a waste to me.

Dh(Gl)oom 2

I thought Dhoom was average but this one is a total waste of time. I am not surprised that it is
doing well in certain parts of the country but i have never felt so bad about wasting 3 hrs of my time.My friend said - "Its a bloody soft porn". I probably would not got to that extent but it was BAD. Bikes and Bikinis look good only when they are put to proper use (Pun not intended). The makers thought that Bikes and a certain intimate scene between HR and AR will make it work and it probably is working but i would not recommend it to anybody. Go watch Departed instead. Go watch it for Di Caprio and Matt Damon.

Uday Chopra gets to my nerves quite easily, I could not stand Bipasha in the second half. Abhisekh went AWOl for most of the movie. Hrihik was good and the less said about Ms. Rai the better.

The ending is probably the lamest that i have come across ever and i pray to god that we dont see a Dhoom 3(which in all probability we will).

I broke my Ipod

:(

Of palmistry and how it is bull

I do not believe in Horoscope and sun signs and all that goes with it. I am a firm believer that you control your own destiny. I hate it when i am asked not to start a work or not go out of the house during raahukaal or yamakandam.

There is this guy at office who apparently is quite brilliant at palmistry. I of course think that it is bullshit. After a lot of persistence i finally gave in.

Here are his observations about me:

1. I do not listen to my elders at all. In fact, i am a rebel of sorts.... :)

2. I have an injury on my right foot ....Whatever!

3. I have a short temper .... Universally known

4. If i marry against the wishes of my parents then the marriage wont be successful ....Oh bummer!

5. The girl i end up with will earn more than me...Ouch, that hurt!

6. She will be more qualified than me ....And the hits just kept on coming

Holidays!

Finally i have a few days of no work. It has been somewhat hectic with all the deadlines and travelling over the past few days so i am really looking forward to these holidays. First and foremost on my to- do list is eating all the sweets possibly available. Apart from that, there are a few parties to hit and going out with friends maybe for a long drive.

I also need to update my Gooner blog and my travel photo site. Then there is the ever pending post on my exploits in Slovakia and Switzerland. I hope to get that done sometime soon. For all of you who have given up on me ....I promise.

I am really looking forward to read something. First and foremost on my mind is The Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

I think Sunday will top it all though. Manchester United vs Liverpool (The Great English derby) and then later on the el classico between Real Madrid and Barcelona. The Arsenal - Reading game is also thrown in there for good measure.

Be safe!

Women s Hockey

Before any women reading this call me chauvinist or anything equivalent to that, I would like to go on record and say that I am all for women sport. There have been the Nadia Comenci s, Martina Navratilovas (talking pure tennis here :)), Cathy Freeman s...our own P.T. Usha et al who I have admired a lot. Anyone thinking why i haven't mentioned Sania Mirza needs to peek in here to see how i feel about her and she has not achieved greatness by any stretch of imagination.

If someone gives me the "Belinda Clarke is the Matty Hayden of Aussie women cricket team" then I am ready to take it , albeit with more than a pinch of salt.
I was watching a game on TV yesterday. For those of you who came in late, the Women s Hockey WC is going on.The match in question was one between Argentina and Australia. I am sorry but the quality of play was really bad. These are supposed to be 2 of the better teams. An Australian lady stopped a straight forward 4 yard pass from her teammate and the commentator went "Thats a great trap...." and i went " what the....". The ball was hardly on the mat and as far as i could see there was no deliberate scooping involved either. The game was end to end. 1 long hit from this side and 1 from there with the ball going out at regular intervals. A few of the Australian ladies would have given Cory Everson a real inferiority complex and took turns whacking the ball into touch at the opposite end of the ground.I never knew that one can hit a simple pass straight at your opponent...i thought that this honour went the Indian mens hockey team :).

The committment of the ladies was worth appreciating but unless and until you are a hockey fanatic you wouldn't stay on that
channel for too long.

Looking over the shoulder

I cross this bridge daily on the way to work. The bridge looks down on the Sarai Rohilla Railway Station. I arch my neck at strangest of strange angles, kick the person sitting next to me, swear at people who stand right on the bus entrance and block my view..all this to get a glimpse of the activity down the bridge. There is a sharp left bend as we descend from the bridge and that is generally where the vehicle catches speed. So, the 5 secs i get just before that are probably the most exciting moments till i get to office. Seeing a Vatva WDM2/3A about to depart with a west bound train has now become customary.

Today s sightings :

Vatva WDM3A
TKD WDM2/3A
ET WDM2

Discrimination

I was on my way to Zurich (via Wien) from Kosice a few days back. As i entered the Airport, a barrel chested Airport policeman stopped me and another gentleman. We were asked to show our passports, boarding passes, invitation letters etc. and were asked all sort of questions. Me and this other man were both Indian and it was very disturbing to see the officials seperating us from the crowd and subjecting us to this kind of treatment. It was quite obvious that this was done, based on the colour of our skin.

I thought about this for a long time. I was clearly angry and frustrated. I told about this to my Slovakian colleague who listened to me for as long as i spoke. She then asked a very simple question. She asked me whether this is more unfair than what happens at Taj Mahal, other monuments and even on flights in India

1. The entrance fee for a foreigner in Taj Mahal is around 20 USD while that for an Indian is a mere 25 INR.

2. A Flight on a local airliner from Delhi to Ahmedabad cost my Slovakian and Greek colleagues 200 USD each while i travelled for as low as 3000 INR.

Is this not discrimination? she asked. I did not have an answer.

Bus No. 166

Over the past 10 plus years this Bus has been more than a lifeline to me.
Remember taking this bus till Ring Road when I was in school. When I used to come back home on vacation during college days I used to commute to Karol Bagh and Connaught Place in this bus.
Today, to go to work I rely heavily on this bus to drop me off at C.P.
The frequency of the bus i great and it is generally on time. The race between a DTC and a Private Carrier on this route is a sight to behold.
The conductors and drivers are super fun sometimes and come up with great jokes and one liners
" DTC aa rahi hai peeche, kheech ke le zarra" (DTC is right behind, step on the gas will ya) is something I hear on a daily basis.
I remember a few incidents that make me laugh even now.
A lady wanted to get down at the Ashoka Garden stop and got into an argument with the conductor as he was not willing to stop there.

Lady to the Conductor: "Bhaiya tab se bol rahi hoon, aap rokte kyon nahi.Rok dijiye"
The driver intervenes and says to the lady:"Madam ji, usse kya jhagad rahe ho,Brake to mere pass hai"

"queue" culture

Was in Cal recently and was witness to something that I have never ever seen in life before....a queue. People there actually form a queue to get into lifts and buses and trains.
I am not sure whether it was refreshing or it seemed extremely odd.
Having been in Delhi for most of my life, the term Queue is really a myth to me. We Delhiites don't believe in queue s. You have to be in a bus stand, a metro station in Delhi to understand what i am saying. We believe in a free for all.
See an opening and sneak through or even better don't allow the person inside a bus/metro to come out...go at him/her with full force and somehow get in.
Will we ever learn?
Do we want to learn?

"In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment." - Darwin

Dhakkan Airways

FLIGHT CANCELLED flashed all over Netaji Subhash Chandra International Airport against an Air Dhakkan (Deccan) flight to Agartala.

"Yaar ye deccan nahi hai, saala Dhakkan airways hai"..exclaimed a Sardarji who was to board that plane.

My colleague who often takes the connecting flight from Cal to Patna says that it is the shortest 1 hour flight he ever undertakes. Why? Because most of the time passes in squatting away flies that appear as soon as the flight takes off.

Another friend of mine was pissed that he was served chips that were well past their expiry date.

Here is an excerpt from an in cabin announcement:

Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. This is your captain PATEL welcoming

both seated and standing passengers on board of Air Deccan.

We apologize for the four-day delay in taking off, it was due to bad

weather and partly due to the search for a missing tyre.

This is flight 717 to Mumbai. Landing there is not guaranteed, but we

will End up somewhere in India. And, if luck is in our favor, we may

even be landing on your village!

Air Deccan has an excellent safety-record. In fact, our safety standards

are so high, that even terrorists are afraid to fly with us! It is with

pleasure; I announce that, starting this year, over 30% of our

Passengers have reached their destination.

 If our engines are too noisy for you, on passenger request, we can

arrange to turn them off. To make your free fall to earth pleasant and

memorable, we serve Complimentary DHARU and Wada pavw. For our

not-so-religious passengers, we are the only airline who can help you

find out if there really is a God!

We regret to inform you, that today's in-flight movie will not be shown

as we forgot to record it from the television. However, for our movie

buffs, we will be flying right next to Kingfisher Airline, where their

movie will be visible from the right side of the cabin window.

There is no smoking allowed in this airplane. Any smoke you see in the

Cabin is only the early warning system on the engines telling us to slow

down!

In order to catch important landmarks, we try to fly as close as

possible.  For the best view , if however, we go a little too close, do

let us know. Our enthusiastic co-pilot sometimes flies right through the

landmark!

Kindly be seated, keep your seat in an upright position for take-off and

fasten your seat-belt. For those of you who can't find a seat-belt,

kindly Fasten your own belt to the arm of your seat. And, for those of

you who can't find a seat, do not hesitate to get in touch with a

stewardess who will explain how to fasten yourself to your suitcase.

ENJOY FLYING AIR DECCAN!

An Open Letter

Dear Dr. Manmohan Singh,

I returned home late in the evening a few days back to watch your so called "Address to the nation" in the aftermath of the Bombay blasts. Sir, I have the greatest of respects for you and I believe that in you, our nation has a very capable man at the helm. But your address to the nation was appalling to say the least.I realize that you are a moderate every which way but i am sure the fact that nearly 200 of our innocent brothers and sisters lost their lives is reason enough to bring in some compassion in your voice.I got the feeling that you simply read off the teleprompter.

As a citizen, I was expecting to see some passion in your voice and fire in the eyes and you had neither. I did not expect to hear you say that we will nuke the neighbours but what was so disappointing was the tone in which you presented the address.

Sir, it pains me to hear about the newly wed woman who lost her husband, the mother whose son had wanted to come home to cook dinner but instead fell victim to this act of terrorism. My heart goes out to all the victims and their kin and i feel helpless sitting here in an Airconditioned room sipping tea.

I am not doubting the fact that you would have been hurt too ..like me.But pray listen..If you do not bring the emotion out through your voice or the show some aggressive body language then I really dont see the point in talking to the people of the country.

Sincerely

World cup 2006 - Best Moment

One of the best moments in the World Cup for me was the exchange of shirts between Zindeine Zidane and Luis Figo after the semifinal between France and Portugal. I remember Harsha Bhogle saying something like " I don't understand why some players exchange jerseys right at the end. You would want to walk off the park wearing your country s jersey"

Dude you will never understand.

It was a great moment between two of the world s greatest players. Both playing their final World Cup s and both showing that class is permanent.

It brought back memories of that Uefa Champions League final when Zidane and Figo took on Effenberg and demolished him and his side. It is a pity that we will not be seeing the likes on the field again but very lucky that we have been able to watch them when they were at the peak of their powers.

This for me has been the best moment of the World Cup 2006.

An Ode!

This post is dedicated to the CD that got me through 4 years of College.
The College was no less than a detention camp located at a godforsaken place.
I bought it in a shop at Palika Bazaar for 30 bucks (After severe bargaining and bringing the price down from an exorbitant Rs. 150).
It was a compilation of songs by the legendary Kishore Kumar.
It had most of his gems from Aate jate khoobsurat to Zindagi ke safar mein with masterpieces like Deewana leke aaya hai, Mere Naina Sawan Bhadon thrown in between.
With no access to FM and no Computer this CD and the CD man were my only source of pleasure for about 4 years.
I wonder if i would have survived without it......

Why?

Why...

Do people spit on the road?

Do i always get the middle seat on flights when i want the aisle one?

Do i get so excited when i hear the Champions League theme and see henry curling one past Cannizares(something i have seen about a 1000 times)?

Is Ponting being allowed to rake in century after century with a Graphite bat?

Did X-files go off air?

Does Advani undertake so many "Yatras"?

Dont some ppl grow up? ahem...

Did Rahul Mahajan have to snort cocaine and get caught?

Do people call Gandhi father of the country when he was a big @ssol?

Does Sidhu open his mouth?

The phenom...(No, not Ronaldo)

Ah there it is, i said as my connecting bus to office arrived. Didnt have to wait for more than 5 mins today...life is good, i thought as i entered the bus and took a seat right at the end. I had just settled down and was about to take out "The Caine mutiny" (I know, havent read it..kick me when u see me next) when it happened. A loud noise emanated from the speaker just above me. "Ek bar aaja aaja aaja aaja aaaaaja". Oh shit, here we go.....

For those of you who came in late, Himesh reshammiya is a superstar..apparently. He is No. 1 on all charts all over the Northern half of the country. He remixes old songs and remixes the previously remixed songs. The shriek that actually is an essential part of his "singing" voice should not be confused as the voice of somebody whose pants are on fire, trying to wriggle out. This voice emanates from within with utmost fury and comes out to hit you in the face. The problem gets compounded by the fact that it comes out of the nose more than the mouth, and you thought Udit Narayan was the expert at that, wait till you hear this guy.

Basically, he is a truck load of Dog s poo. But then, I ll probably be taken to task if i dare say this to many of my friends who swear by him. The sad part is that the bus wallahs play his songs over and over again. The 45 min ride from CP to IIT Gate actually seems more like a lifetime. Trust me folks, there is no hiding. FM, Tape...he is everywhere. One of the bike ads also play his songs now.

"I will only sing for A.R. Rahman and noone else"..he says. Dude, go fly a kite...

Why he is such a hit, i ll never know.