mere2paise

Desi 70s show

2007-08-02T08:57:00.000-04:00

...nice music too ;-)

Itnii Shakti ...

2007-06-16T01:24:00.000-04:00

Itnii Shakti Hamen De Na Daataa
Manakaa Vishvaas Kamazor Ho Naa
Ham Chalen Nek Raaste Pe Hamase
Bhuulakar Bhii Koi Bhuul Ho Naa ...

Khamosh Raat

2007-05-20T14:06:00.000-04:00

Khamosh Raat
Sehmi Hawaa
Tanha Tanha Dil Apna
Tanha Tanha Dil Apna
Aur Door Kahin, Roshan Hua Ek Chehra
Ek Chehra, Ek Chehra
Ye Sach Hai Ya Sapna

Ye Sach Hai Ya Sapna
Ye Sach Hai Ya Sapna

Khamosh Raat
Sehmi Hawaa
Tanha Tanha Dil Apna
Tanha Tanha Dil Apna
Aur Door Kahin, Roshan Hua Ek Chehraa
Ek Chehraa, Ek Chehraa

Ye Sach Hai Ya Sapna
Ye Sach Hai Ya Sapna

Jhuki Jhuki Palkein Jab Uthi
Nainon Mein Diye Madham Madham
Adh Khule Hothon Se Hansee
Jhaank Rahi Madham Madham

Kaise Kahan Phir Ho Gayee
Uski Charee Madham Madham
Pal Pal Uthti Hasratein
Hone Lagi Madham Madham

Aur Door Kahin, Roshan Hua Ek Chehraa
Ek Chehraa, Ek Chehraa

Sooraj Tha Pe Noor Sa
Uski Tanak Madham Madham
Chaand Bhi Sa Bujha Bujha
Taare Bhi The Madham Madham

Jugnu Dilasa Dene Lagey
Nanhi Si Jaan Madham Madham
Shamaa Bhi Thak Haar Ke
Hone Lagee Madham Madham

Aur Door Kahin, Roshan Hua Ek Chehraa
Ek Chehraa, Ek Chehraa...

Jeene Ka Tha Hum Mein Dam
Par Nahin Tha Koi Humdam
Khushiyoon Ki Thi Justajoo
Mil Rahe Thay Bas Gham Hi Gham

Shuru Mein Is Duniya Ke Bhi
Khamoshi Thi Aur Ek Thay Hum
Rahein Sabhi Thi Sooni Sooni
Uth Rahe Thay Kadam Tham Tham

Aur Door Kahin, Roshan Hua Ek Chehraa
Ek Chehraa, Ek Chehraa
Ye Sach Hai Ya Sapna
Ye Sach Hai Ya Sapna

Khamosh Raat
Sehmi Hawaa
Tanha Tanha Dil Apna
Tanha Tanha Dil Apna
Aur Door Kahin, Roshan Hua Ek Chehraa
Ek Chehraa, Ek Chehraa
Ye Sach Hai Ya Sapna
Ye Sach Hai Ya Sapna

[Movie: Thakshak (1999)]

2007-04-06T07:35:00.000-04:00

Isnt it ironic? The more you use the telephone, email or chat to communicate, the more you realise that nothing can replace the feeling of actually being there

Thought for today.

2007-04-04T21:53:00.000-04:00

A stitch in time saves nine.

Season 2.

2007-04-03T20:36:00.000-04:00

After a pretty long hiatus, this blog is up again. Had been busy with work, and vacation and so other things ended up taking a back seat.

Season 1 had 44 episodes - some controversial, some interesting, some informative and a few 'plain ol'vanilla' boring. Heres hoping that I can live up to the same standard this time around.

Rudolph

2006-12-24T23:25:00.000-05:00

You know Dasher and Dancer, and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid, and Donner and Blitzen,

But do you recall The most famous reindeer of all?

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose,
And if you ever saw it,
You could even say it glows.
All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names;
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games

Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say:
"Rudolph with your nose so bright,
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"
Then how the reindeer loved him
As they shouted out with glee,
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,
You'll go down in history.

Tilting the scales.

2006-12-15T16:04:00.000-05:00

Never mind how careful you are behind the wheel or how long you've been driving, the signs of the zodiac may be bigger factors behind your ability to avoid car crashes -- or why you have too many.

According to a study by InsuranceHotline.com, a Web site that quotes drivers on insurance rates, astrological signs are a significant factor in predicting car accidents.

The study, which looked at 100,000 North American drivers' records from the past six years, puts Libras (born between Sept. 23 and Oct. 22) followed by Aquarians (born between Jan. 20 and Feb. 18) as the worst offenders for tickets and accidents.

Leos (July 23-Aug. 22) and then Geminis (May 21-June 20) were found to be the best overall.

[source msn.com]

why, when, who, how...

2006-12-10T22:36:00.000-05:00

for all that i have,
i crave for more
its not what it seems
if you care to see

dunno what will happen
or if it ever will
maybe to let it go
would be worth the wait

but still i must try
else i am living a lie
it aint about me
or maybe it is

ignore the why
and wait for the when
to know about the who
just work on the how

Chaand taare ...

2006-11-30T14:38:00.000-05:00

Jo Bhi Chaahoon Vo Main Paoon
Zindagi Mein Jeet Jaoon
Chaand Taare Tod Laoon
Saari Duniya Par Main Chhaoon
Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai
Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai...

Risks

2006-11-27T20:28:00.000-05:00

(from an article on time.com)

Why We Worry About The Things We Shouldn't... ...And Ignore The Things We Should

It would be a lot easier to enjoy your life if there weren't so many things trying to kill you every day. The problems start even before you're fully awake. There's the fall out of bed that kills 600 Americans each year. There's the early-morning heart attack, which is 40% more common than those that strike later in the day. There's the fatal plunge down the stairs, the bite of sausage that gets lodged in your throat, the tumble on the slippery sidewalk as you leave the house, the high-speed automotive pinball game that is your daily commute.

Other dangers stalk you all day long. Will a cabbie's brakes fail when you're in the crosswalk? Will you have a violent reaction to bad food? And what about the risks you carry with you all your life? The father and grandfather who died of coronaries in their 50s probably passed the same cardiac weakness on to you. The tendency to take chances on the highway that has twice landed you in traffic court could just as easily land you in the morgue.

Shadowed by peril as we are, you would think we'd get pretty good at distinguishing the risks likeliest to do us in from the ones that are statistical long shots. But you would be wrong. We agonize over avian flu, which to date has killed precisely no one in the U.S., but have to be cajoled into getting vaccinated for the common flu, which contributes to the deaths of 36,000 Americans each year. We wring our hands over the mad cow pathogen that might be (but almost certainly isn't) in our hamburger and worry far less about the cholesterol that contributes to the heart disease that kills 700,000 of us annually.

We pride ourselves on being the only species that understands the concept of risk, yet we have a confounding habit of worrying about mere possibilities while ignoring probabilities, building barricades against perceived dangers while leaving ourselves exposed to real ones. Six Muslims traveling from a religious conference were thrown off a plane last week in Minneapolis, Minn., even as unscreened cargo continues to stream into ports on both coasts. Shoppers still look askance at a bag of spinach for fear of E. coli bacteria while filling their carts with fat-sodden French fries and salt-crusted nachos. We put filters on faucets, install air ionizers in our homes and lather ourselves with antibacterial soap. "We used to measure contaminants down to the parts per million," says Dan McGinn, a former Capitol Hill staff member and now a private risk consultant. "Now it's parts per billion."

At the same time, 20% of all adults still smoke; nearly 20% of drivers and more than 30% of backseat passengers don't use seat belts; two-thirds of us are overweight or obese. We dash across the street against the light and build our homes in hurricane-prone areas--and when they're demolished by a storm, we rebuild in the same spot. Sensible calculation of real-world risks is a multidimensional math problem that sometimes seems entirely beyond us. And while it may be true that it's something we'll never do exceptionally well, it's almost certainly something we can learn to do better.

read the whole article here

It ain't over till its over.

2006-11-18T11:44:00.000-05:00

"Its not about how hard you can hit, its about how hard you can get hit .. and still keep moving forward"

How to save a life - Fray

2006-11-14T18:22:00.000-05:00

Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And pray to God he hears you

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

How to save a life
How to save a life

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Surviving Mother Nature.

2006-10-14T08:01:00.000-04:00

(A recount of how events unfolded on October 12 & 13, 2006)

Thursday, October 12, 2pm, UB North: The first flurries of the season. Normally this is the time to rejoice, admire the beauty of the snow, and a nice time to get your winter stuff out of the basement. But this year, it came so early, that no one had really prepared themselves for the snowfall, let alone the events that followed.

5:15pm, UB Commons: The first sign that things were going wrong. Power gets cut off at the Commons. Not an uncommon occurrance, but it has rarely stayed off for more than an hour. Headed off home.

9pm, 122 Sundridge: Just finished dinner. Watching a movie based on 9/11, when the lights go out. Had spoken to Dell Customer Service earlier (another blog on that experience will follow soon) for some problem on my laptop, and thus had just charged the computer and the phone. Really needed all that battery now.

10:30pm, Sundridge: Heard that 88,000 homes dont have power. Expected back by 2am. Went off to sleep.

Friday, October 13, 4am, Sundridge: Woke up. No sign of electricity. By now, even the house had started to get a little cold. Back to sleep.

8am, Sundridge: Mayank came back. Had left for work, but there was a travel ban and they werent allowing any cars. Nothing to do, no where to go...might as well catch up on some reading. Managed to find an old radio and tuned in for latest updates.

10am, Sundridge: Seeing more cars going out of the parking lot than coming back, we decided to give it a try. Took a while to get his car out of the parking lot, got stuck at times, but once we were on the road, it was much better. First halt at Tops to get some food.

12:30 am, Delta Sonic, Maple and Niagara Falls blvd.: An hr and a half wait for gas, made a bit easier by watching the antics of the chaptas ahead of us figuring out how to use the gas pump. Headed off to school to access the net, and back to Tops to get some candles. By now it was around 380,000 households without electricity, and a travel ban across neighboring counties. Even the I90 was closed a 100 miles, and backed up for 7 hours. Power expected back sometime Monday, maybe later.

3:30pm, Sundridge: No way the electric stove was going to work, so made a meal the american way - using the grill. A bean burger lunch would have tasted good even otherwise, but this time it was even better.

5pm, 143 Callodine: Somehow this house had power. Must ask Sharvari, Apoorva and Manjari how they managed to patao the bijli company into giving them electricity. But that was good for us, managed to get news and charge the phones.

6pm: Left for Rochester, to meet Candice. Roads were clear, and could easily reach there in just over an hr.

10:30pm, Rustic Village, Rochester: A nice dinner at PF Changs, but that can only keep you awake for so long. Shut eye!

The Ig Nobel Awards - 2006

2006-10-05T22:46:00.000-04:00

A list of the 2006 Ig Nobel winners, awarded Thursday (These awards are given for wierd, wacky, and sometimes worthless scientific research):

ORNITHOLOGY -- The late Philip R.A. May and Ivan R. Schwab, for exploring and explaining why woodpeckers don't get headaches.

NUTRITION -- Wasmia Al-Houty and Faten Al-Mussalam, for showing that dung beetles are finicky about dung.

PEACE -- Howard Stapleton, for inventing a teenager repellent, an electronic device that makes an annoying noise audible to teenagers but not adults.

ACOUSTICS -- D. Lynn Halpern, Randolph Blake and James Hillenbrand, for their experiments on why people dislike the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard.

MATHEMATICS -- Nic Svenson and Piers Barnes, for calculating the number of photographs you must take to ensure nobody in a group photo has their eyes closed.

LITERATURE -- Daniel Oppenheimer, for his report "Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words Needlessly."

MEDICINE -- Francis M. Fesmire, for his medical case report "Termination of Intractable Hiccups with Digital Rectal Massage"; and Majed Odeh, Harry Bassan and Arie Oliven for their subsequent medical case report.

PHYSICS -- Basile Audoly and Sebastien Neukirch, for their insights into why dry spaghetti often breaks into more than two pieces when bent.

CHEMISTRY -- Antonio Mulet, Jose Javier Benedito, Jose Bon and
Carmen Rossello, for their study "Ultrasonic Velocity in Cheddar Cheese as Affected by Temperature."

BIOLOGY -- Bart Knols and Ruurd de Jong, for showing that female malaria mosquitoes are attracted equally to the smell of Limburger cheese and to the smell of human feet.

ubuntu

2006-09-28T18:15:00.000-04:00

umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu

It is an African saying, which says that your life is defined by how you interact with others. It means that you are nobody, and useless if you cannot do good to those around you.

This is also known as the ubuntu philosophy, which translated means - I am because you are.

Vaishnav jan to

2006-09-21T20:06:00.000-04:00

Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je
PeeD paraayi jaaNe re
Par-dukhkhe upkaar kare toye
Man abhimaan na aaNe re (Vaishnav…)

SakaL lok maan sahune vande
Nindaa na kare keni re
Vaach kaachh man nishchaL raakhe
Dhan-dhan janani teni re (Vaishnav…)

Sam-drishti ne trishna tyaagi
Par-stree jene maat re
Jivha thaki asatya na bole
Par-dhan nav jhaalee haath re (Vaishnav…)

Moh-maaya vyaape nahi jene
DriDh vairaagya jena man maan re
Ram naam shoon taaLi laagi
SakaL tirath tena tan maan re (Vaishnav…)

VaN-lobhi ne kapaT-rahit chhe
Kaam-krodh nivaarya re
BhaNe Narsaiyyo tenun darshan karta
KuL ekoter taarya re (Vaishnav…)

Who won?...Who cares?

2006-09-09T18:23:00.000-04:00

How exciting is it to see a driver drive through his opposition en route to his fifth consecutive world title? A tennis player in his sixth straight Grand Slam final? Or knowing who is going to win his seventh-in-a-row cycle race? Or maybe .. 22 matches unbeaten in a lottery called one day cricket?

Sure, any of these acheivements needs a lot of talent, hard work and dedication.. maybe a bit of luck also thrown in. No doubt, it is what we call perfection. But is sport all about perfection? Or is it about competition?

Every champion needs a challenger to make his mark on the stage. Else what would remain would just be statistics, mere numbers in a record book. Would Sampras have been remembered if not for Agassi? I would say not. Five years from now, no one would remember any of the 16-in-a-row test wins, but I dont think many will forget the 17th game at Calcutta. Federer might win a lot of matches, but it is his games against Nadal that are most eagerly anticipated. Even Schumacher needed Hakkinen and Montoya, just as much as Alonso needs Kimi. It is the final ingredient needed to make a great career into a memorable one.

End of an era.

2006-09-05T11:42:00.000-04:00

The scoreboard said I lost today, but what it doesn't say is what it is I have found. And over the last 21 years, I have found loyalty. You have pulled for me on the court and also in life. I've found inspiration. You have willed me to succeed sometimes even in my lowest moments. And I've found generosity. You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could have never reached without you. Over the last 21 years, I have found you and I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life. Thank you.
- Andre Agassi. September 3, 2006

I'm all out of...

2006-08-25T17:16:00.000-04:00

Hearing this track by Air Supply... beautiful lyrics and vocals. Enjoy!

I'm lying alone with my head on the phone
Thinking of you till it hurts
I know you hurt too but what else can we do
Tormented and torn apart
I wish I could carry your smile and my heart
For times when my life feels so low
It would make me believe what tomorrow could bring
When today doesn't really know, doesn't really know

Chorus:
I 'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you
I know you were right believing for so long
I 'm all out of love, what am I without you
I can't be too late to say that I was so wrong

I want you to come back and carry me home
Away from this long lonely nights
I'm reaching for you, are you feeling it too
Does the feeling seem oh so right
And what would you say if I called on you now
And said that I can't hold on
There's no easy way, it gets harder each day
Please love me or I'll be gone, I'll be gone

I 'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you
I know you were right believing for so long
I 'm all out of love, what am I without you
I can't be too late to say that I was so wrong

Oh, what are you thinking of?
What are you thinking of?
Oh, what are you thinking of?
What are you thinking of?

(3X:)
I 'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you
I know you were right believing for so long
I 'm all out of love, what am I without you
I can't be too late to say that I was so wrong

From the Lord ...

2006-08-07T15:29:00.000-04:00

Ezekiel 25:17.

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

The Love of the Game...

2006-08-06T01:12:00.000-04:00

Verse composed by a cricket lover:

Oh Lord, if I must die today
Please make it after close of play.
For this I know, if nothing more,
I will not go, without the score.

A Flying Lap

2006-07-10T12:38:00.000-04:00

Watch a flying lap of the Giles Villeneuve Circuit at Montreal, used just last week for the Canadian F1 Grand Prix. A short video, taken from the passenger seat of the Lincoln. Watch the driver at pole position and the pit lanes, some action on the first corner, and overtaking backmarkers.

Didnt exactly have the fastest car, and was following the speed limits.... but quite an experience, nonetheless.

Main aur meri tanhaai..

2006-06-29T15:23:00.000-04:00

Main aur meri tanhaai aksar yeh baatein karte hain
Tum hoti to kaisa hota, tum yeh kehti, tum voh kehti
Tum is baat pe hairaan hoti, tum us baat pe kitni hansti
Tum hoti to aisa hota, tum hoti to vaisa hota
Main aur meri tanhaai aksar yeh baatein karte hain

- Silsila (1981)

Drive safe.

2006-06-05T01:06:00.000-04:00

Do you think that all these years on the road have made you a better driver? Can you even say that you know the rules of the road?

Try this test - it is similar to the NYS (and most others) test for the learner's permit. 20 questions, multiple choice. Remember, you need 70% (14 correct) to pass.

Start here.

The Thrill of the Chase.

2006-05-18T20:48:00.000-04:00

I Bat R/W   Ov   Li   Tar R Match[link]

2 Ind 279/4 47.3 50   279 W V'con Tri  5 v NZ  2005/06 at Harare [2278]
2 Ind 255/6 48.1 50   251 W V'con Tri  6 v Zim 2005/06 at Harare [2280]
2 Ind 123/2 20.2 50   123 W 2nd ODI      v SL  2005/06 at Chandigarh (d/n) [2287]
2 Ind 303/4 46.1 50   299 W 3rd ODI      v SL  2005/06 at Jaipur [2290]
2 Ind 262/6 45.4 50   262 W 4th ODI      v SL  2005/06 at Pune [2291]
2 Ind 197/3 34.5 50   197 W 6th ODI      v SL  2005/06 at Rajkot [2295]
2 Ind 245/5 39.3 50   245 W 7th ODI      v SL  2005/06 at Vadodara [2296]
2 Ind 171/4 35.4 50   170 W 2nd ODI      v SA  2005/06 at Bangalore (d/n) [2298]
2 Ind 224/5 47.3 50   222 W 5th ODI      v SA  2005/06 at Mumbai (d/n) [2300]
2 Ind 266/3 43.1 50   266 W 2nd ODI      v Pak 2005/06 at Rawalpindi [2327]
2 Ind 292/5 47.4 50   289 W 3rd ODI      v Pak 2005/06 at Lahore (d/n) [2329]
2 Ind 162/5 32.3 50   162 W 4th ODI      v Pak 2005/06 at Multan (d/n) [2331]
2 Ind 287/2 46.5 50   287 W 5th ODI      v Pak 2005/06 at Karachi [2333]
2 Ind 230/6 49   50   227 W 2nd ODI      v Eng 2005/06 at Faridabad [2358]
2 Ind 238/6 47.2 50   238 W 4th ODI      v Eng 2005/06 at Kochi [2360]
2 Ind 289/3 49.1 50   289 W 7th ODI      v Eng 2005/06 at Indore (MPCA) [2362]
2 Ind 254/5 44.5 45   251 W 1st ODI      v WI  2005/06 at Jamaica []

LEGEND
I = innings in match
Bat = batting team
R/W = runs/wickets
Ov = overs
Li = over limit
Tar = target to win in final innings,
R = match result (W T D N L = won, tied, drawn, no result, lost).

Moral of the Story: Every run counts!

What do you do, Jack?

2006-05-18T09:50:00.000-04:00

What happens when you know there are people in danger, say, a bomb on a bus? You could save them, but only by putting yourself at utmost risk. Do you walk away, or do you throw yourself into the fire?

Full credit to those millions fo service people: policemen, firemen, paramilitary and military personnel, who sacrifice their lives to keep us safe. It isn't easy to go to work each morning, in the knowledge that your family might never see you again. But still these people devote their lives to making the world a better place, putting their all on the line, if needed, so that you and me can carry on with our lives as normal.

An eye for an eye...

2006-05-11T03:00:00.000-04:00

February 20, 2003. A major fire broke out in a nightclub in Rhode Island, apparently caused by fireworks lit indoors, as part of a rock group performance. To say that the death toll was devastating would be an understatement, over a hundred people killed, but the effect was more psychological - it is belived that there doesnot exist a single person in the state who did not know a person killed in that blaze.

May 10, 2006. After a trial, the first of the accused is convicted: the manager of the band who had set off the fireworks - 4 years behind bars, and another 11 as a suspended sentence. Remorse and guilt felt by the accused had no apparent effect on the relatives of the deceased, who seemed to be dissatisfied with the verdict. Agreed, it was a case of negligence, and the consequences of that action were disastrous, but was sending one man (maybe even more, because the owners of the club are still under trial) going to bring back the dead, or easen the suffering of their loved ones. Or was it merely a case tit for tat. You made me suffer, and so now it is your turn. Mind you, there was never an intention to murder, and a proper sentence would have been something which could have benefited the community as a whole, either an extremely stringent community service, or maybe confiscating the assets of the convicted. But keeping such a person segregated from society doesnot benefit anyone.

For me, this is a failure of the judicial system. How is it that rapists and serial killers can get away after they plead insanity, but someone who is harmless to society gets jailed for what was a single mistake, albeit a grave one.

God save America !

A walk by the lake

2006-04-18T16:22:00.000-04:00

The lake has melted, the snow has gone, the mercury has risen and the jackets have been packed away. Yup, summer's here...and now you can enjoy Buffalo in all its glory. Visit the Niagara Falls, go camping alongside Lake Ontairo, roam along Chippewa street and make a trip to Letchworth Park. But dont forget to take a stroll through campus...along the Lake LaSalle, all the way to Baird Point. And carry your phone, along...coz this is when the camera just comes so handy :-)

Song of the week (2) - Tere Liye

2006-04-16T19:36:00.000-04:00

This is a song about love - the universal language. From the movie Ek Ajnabee, it beautifully illustrates the bond betweeen a small girl and her bodyguard friend.

Sung by Kunal Ganjawala and music by Vishal-Shekar, you can listen to the song here.


[ Tere liye meri saansen mujhe tujhse pyar hai
 Tujhpe hi ai zindagi jaan nisaar hai ] (2)
Mere do jahaan tu hain
Meri khwaahishen tu hain
Meri dhadkanein tu hain
Tu hain tu hain tu hain
Tere liye meri saansen mujhe tujhse pyar hai
Tujhpe hi ai zindagi jaan nisaar hai

Tu nazar ke pass hai kya ajab ehsaas hai  (2)
Mere toh shaamo sehar tere liye
Tere liye (2)
Tere liye meri saansen mujhe tujhse pyar hain
Tujhpe hi ai zindagi jaan nisaar hai

Aasman ki hoor hai tu toh rab ka noor hai
Tujhsa na koi yahaan jaane na tu
Jaane na tu (2)
Tere liye meri saansen mujhe tujhse pyar hain
Tujhpe hi ai zindagi jaan nisaar hai
Mere do jahaan tu hain
Meri khwaahishen tu hain
Meri dhadkanein tu hain
Tu hain tu hain tu hain

Buffalo Bills ... NFL Champions?

2006-04-14T16:36:00.000-04:00

Imagine the Buffalo Bills winning the Superbowl. If you find that pretty hard, then imagine them winning it with their entire first-choice team sick in the hospital, and so they have to play with their second string team, a bunch of no-hopers who is backed up with a quaterback who has just been signed a day before the playoffs and has never won a professional game in his entire life. Sounds amazing, doesn't it? Well, that is what 'Second String' is all about.

Forget the football references, the movie has a simple underlying storyline...that never underestimate anyone, never write anyone off...because people are deemed failures not because of a lack of ability, rather a combination of external factors which all work against him. All such a person needs is the right environment to flourish, and he could exceed even your wildest expectations. Taking such a simple concept, and building a football story around it is what the director has managed to do pretty well.

I guess I already have already given out most of the story, but it was a predictable movie in any case, so the story shouldnt matter much. What most residents of the area and fans of Buffalo would enjoy would be references to locations such as Orchard Park, the Ralph Wilson stadium, among others. We may be a team who are 0-4 in the Superbowl, and it seems highly unlikely that we may get there anytime soon....but, at least in Hollywood, we rock. GO BILLS!!

Song of the week (1) - Luka Chuppi

2006-04-11T11:23:00.000-04:00

This post is dedicated to all the soldiers and their families in the Armed Forces, who make the utmost sacrifices, to keep us safe and sound. May God bless them all!

This song is definately one of the best I have ever heard, and has left me playing it over and over again. Beautiful lyrics and amazing vocals, it has been sung by two people, who are legends in their own right, music composer Allah Rakha Rahman, and 'Nightingale of India' Lata Mangeshkar. Taken from the recent movie Rang De Basanti, it describes how a mother pines for her son, who has lost his life, trying to protect his fellow countrymen. Music has been given by A.R. Rahman, and lyrics are by Prasoon Joshi.

You may listen to the song here.

Luka Chuppi bahut huyi saamne aa ja naa
Kahan kahan dhoondha tujhe
thak gayi hai ab teri maa

Aaja saanjh hui mujhe teri fikar
Dhundhla gayi dekh meri nazar aa ja na (2)

Kya bataoon maa kahan hoon main
Yahan udney ko mere khula aasmaan hai
Tere kisson jaisa bhola salona
jahan hain yahan sapno vala
Meri patang ho befikar udd rahi hai maa
Dor koi loote nahin beech se kaate na

Aaja saanjh hui mujhe teri fikar
Dhundhla gayi dekh meri nazar aa ja na

Teri raah takey aankhiyaan
jaane kaisa kaisa hoye jiyaa (2)

Dhire dhire aangan utre andhera, mera deep kahan
Dhalke suraj kare ishara chanda tu hai kahan
Mere chanda tu hai kahan
Luka Chuppi bahut huyi saamne aa ja naa
Kahan kahan dhoondha tujhe thak gayi hai ab teri maa

Aaja saanjh hui mujhe teri fikar
Dhundhla gayi dekh meri nazar aa ja na (2)

kaise tujhko dikhaun yahaan hai kya
Maine jharne se paani maa tod ke piya hai
Guchcha guchcha kai khwabon ka uchal ke chuwa hai
Chaaya liya bhali dhoop yahaan hai
Naya naya sa hai roop yahan
Yahaan sab kuch hai maa phir bhi
lage bin tere mujhko akela

Aaja saanjh hui mujhe teri fikar
Dhundhla gayi dekh meri nazar aa ja na (3)

2006-04-06T13:48:00.000-04:00

Ek tu hi bharosa, ek tu hi sahaara
Is tere jahan mein nahin koi hamaara

Eeshwar ya allah, yeh pukaar sun le
Eeshwar ya allah hai daata  (2)

Humse na dekha jaaye barbaadiyon ka sama
Ujdi hui banti mein yeh tadap rahe insaan

Nanhe jismon ke tukde liye khadi hai ek maa
Baarood ke dhuen mein tu hi bol jaaye kahan

Ek tu hi...

Eeshwar...(2)

Naadaan hain hum to maalik, kyoon di hamein yeh saza
Yahan hai sabhi ke dil mein nafrat ka zaher bhara

Inhe phir se yaad dila de sabak vohi pyaar ka
Ban jaaye gulshan phir se kaanton bhari duniya

Ek tu hi...

Eeshwar...(2)

Eeshwar............

Composed by A.R. Rahman, Lyrics by Javed Akhtar, Vocals by Lata Mangeshkar. Album: Pukar (1999)

saat saal baad...

2006-03-31T12:49:00.000-05:00

march 30, 1999...when the Prince played the best innings of his life...perhaps even the best ever in Test cricket.

Scorecard courtesy cricinfo
Videolink courtesy Google

a funny question.

2006-03-30T10:34:00.000-05:00

Rediff just posted a list of the best comedies of hindi cinema. Which is your favorite?

a hard day's play...

2006-03-28T11:16:00.000-05:00

After an evening of fun and enjoyment at Lake Ontario. Clicked June 2003.
(L to R) Mahesh ,Swapna, Praveer, Meenakshi and Sumit. Photograph by Sumedh

Bon Appetit !

2006-03-27T15:41:00.000-05:00

1 lb chicken boneless, chopped
3 heaped Tbsp plain yogurt
1.5 onions chopped
3 Tbsp tomato puree
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp tandoori chicken masala
1.5 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
salt, to taste

serves 4-5
(preparation time: 15 mins; marination time: 45-60 mins; cooking time: 20 mins)

1. Marinate the chicken in the curd, adding the yogurt, ginger and garlic paste and half the turmeric and chili powder, and salt. Leave outside for 45 mins - 1 hr.

2. Heat the oil in an uncovered cooker, and cook the onions till golden brown. Add the tomato puree and the remaining spices. Cook on slow fire for 5-7 minutes.

3. Add the chicken mixture, and water, depending on the amount of gravy desired. Cook for 2-3 whistles and let it cool down a bit.

4. Serve hot with wheat bread, rice or chapati (Indian flatbread).

ABC revisited...

2006-03-24T11:16:00.000-05:00

Ever been to Starbucks? Good coffee...must have it. My current favorite is the Marble Mocha Macchiato...pretty good, had it already twice this week. But it got me thinking.... four bucks for a cup of coffee?? I could get a year's supply of beans in that amount. Hell, that could feed a family of four, back home, for a week!! Then why was I paying a fortune for a cup of milk and caffeine?

Maybe it was the taste? But that isnt worth 4 $, plus I can think of a lot of stuff that tastes better and costs less. Was it the quality? Could be, but I guess the 2$ coffee, is also decent enough. The ambience? Maybe, but what about 'to-go'? So then I came to one conclusion...it was the snob value of the cup. The fact that everyone wants to drink the coffee, makes it so bloody exclusive!

Remember, the first semester at UB.....the famous Aid-Babe-Car (ABC) funda....what every student wants before he get a D (degree) - (i did manage 2 of the three, but lets not digress here) - maybe we were wrong, the C wasnt for the car, it was for the coffee. Seriously, who needs a car anyway? Parking, snow cleaning, repairs and what not....it was better travelling by bus. But maybe it is the dream of every student to have a cup at Starbucks....rise above the dishwater served by the vending machine....have better than the medicine that comes out of the coffee-maker....and as one movie (famously) puts it, have better than the "shit" that we get from the market, so that we can enjoy the "gourmet, expensive stuff".

So guys, ditch your car, save yourselves from a lot of pain in the a**, and reorganise your priorities....coz you might as well enjoy life, arrange your priorities, and go get yourself a cup of coffee!

The Great Wall of India

2006-03-21T10:40:00.000-05:00

"When Rahul does well, India do well. Sachin is Sachin. But in all conditions Rahul is The Man." - John Wright, Coach, India (2000-2005)

Dravid's remarkable ability from a very young age was converting disadvantages into opportunities. The Bangalore of his youthful days did not boast of too many turf pitches. Almost all matches at school, college, club and even senior division league level were all played on coir matting pitches. Batting on these pitches had many disadvantages. It was not the most conducive of pitches to hone your skills as a batsman. But on the plus side, the bounce on these pitches would be higher. The batsmen had to reckon with this all the time.

"While that was a great initiator to work on my backfoot play, the best advice during my early years came from Javagal Srinath who was already an India international. He said that in international cricket I wouldn't get too many opportunities to drive the ball off the front foot. So I had to develop backfoot strokes, especially the pull, hook and cut if I wanted to make a mark," said Dravid.

For Dravid, working on these strokes came easy. He already had them in his repertoire. He just needed to hone them. He sought fast bowlers who could test him in the nets. He was lucky that around that time Karnataka were blessed with a string of outstanding fast-medium bowlers in Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, David Johnson, Nassiruddin, Mansoor Ali Khan, Dodda Ganesh, et al. Barring Johnson, the rest of them were all very tall.

But the relatively short and volatile Johnson was the real character in this bunch. He could be explosive with both temperament and with the ball. He was quick, quicker than even Srinath. He hated batsmen and made it known repeatedly. He went after them even in the nets, often bowling from 20 yards. None of the batsmen were comfortable against him in the confines of nets. But Dravid took it as a challenge to wear him down. The Karnataka cricketers speak in awe of the way the young Dravid would look Johnson in the eye and urge him to give it his best shot. Even as the fast bowler would let fly, Dravid made every session count by gaining something out of it. He would ask the bowlers for their imaginary field placements and concentrate on each and every delivery. Bowlers who dared fool around while he was batting would get a mouthful. Soon everybody realized that he was a man with a mission and they too could gain if they adhered to his work ethics.

If this was not enough, Dravid would then indulge in some real serious mock batting. He would take strike on KSCA Stadium's lower tier pavilion rack and have another cricketer throw a wet cricket ball from a higher step. This would replicate the steep bounce that he could expect in Australia and South Africa. Initially he would take stance without a bat in hand and concentrate only on weaving in and out of line of the skidding tennis ball. Later, he would use a willow to defend. The wet tennis ball, hurled from about 10 to 12 yards would skid and climb alarmingly. But Dravid would always be in a position to defend it or weave out of line. This sort of meticulous preparation has always kept him one step ahead of the opposition bowlers.

Prior to the previous tour to Australia, he found that the Australian batsmen used willows which felt different. "I picked up a bat and the balance was a bit strange. On enquiry I found that the sweet spot of their bats were higher, to compensate the greater bounce on their pitches," said Dravid.

He quickly flew down to his bat manufacturer and ordered similar sticks believing that they would help him on the tour Down Under. He carried the bats with him and tried it out in the nets. "But I did not play with them. I was very uncomfortable with their feel. So I opted to stick to my usual bats," said Dravid. The point to be made here is that he did not miss a trick in the book. He had stated before the tour that to be accepted as a top batsman he had to score runs in Australia. That was the litmus test, he insisted, and was willing to do whatever it took to succeed there.

On that tour, Dravid made tons of runs, including those crushing marathon knocks at Adelaide where his 305 runs from the two innings occupied a total of 835 minutes and demoralized the Aussies. Dravid, no doubt, used his standard willow in authoring India's historic win. However, if he had found that his willows were not getting him anywhere, he was ready to chuck them and try out the `Aussie' bats.

It is not just equipment or his preparation for a series that makes Dravid The Wall. His run-up to a Test is as fascinating. He prepares for it with great detail and clarity. Contrary to popular belief, he eases off on nets practice a couple of days prior to a Test. After that it is all mind games.

He studies the pitch, the opposition bowlers, looks at their tapes, his knocks against them and starts replaying in his mind his best stints against them. He tries to work out the opposition's strengths and weaknesses.

Dravid then eases off totally and slows things down as much as possible. He takes leisurely lunches and dinners, long baths and generally slows down the pace of everything he does. He ensures that he never has to hurry. This way he slowly gets into what he believes is the right frame of mind and pace for a five-day Test.

The night before the game he visualizes the game, how he'd want it to go and how he would play it. He gets to the ground early and soaks in the atmosphere. He does not get into the game too deeply as he prefers to expend his mental energies when he is out there in the middle.

While batting, he shuts out negative thoughts as much as possible by focusing instead on the ball. Once his concentration levels are high he seeks to get into the zone where it is just the ball and him. He seeks to blank out everything else and just focus on the delivery that he is about to play. He sets small targets and then concentrates on batting through sessions, second or third new ball, end of play, and so on.

Sooner or later, the bowlers, worn down by his relentless grinding, feed him deliveries that he feels comfortable to score off. Yet another battle is won.

His methods may seem simple. But they are a tremendous test of character and self-confidence. He has to back himself and his ways to the hilt without entertaining the slightest doubt. And only when he has come out trumps does he ease off.

All along, while he is the pillar of the line-up, the others, Tendulkar, Sehwag, et al go for their strokes confident that Dravid will keep his end going. So what if they seem more explosive or strokeful or attractive. At the end of the day champion is what champion does. A 100 Tests and a stunning average later, Dravid is just that – India's champion cricketer.

- from the article "Making of the Wall" on rediff.com, an excerpt from the book "Rahul Dravid - A Biography" by V. Jaishankar

'The end'

2006-03-08T17:31:00.000-05:00

Why does the illiterate villager have to hit a sixer on the final ball to defeat his colonial master? Why does the good-for-nothing student have to win the cycle race against the two-time champion? Why does the deaf-mute boy have to take ten wickets to play for the national team? Why does the loser at the call center have to win his girl in the last chapter, that too after saving the center? Why must the kid wizard always come out on top against his all-powerful enemy?

Why are such great stories marred by utterly predictable (yet unrealisitic) endings?

never give up

2006-02-15T12:30:00.000-05:00

Have you met Iqbal Khan? He is a deaf-mute boy from a remote village in India, but that hasnt stopped him from dreaming big. He wants to play cricket, in the Indian team, and that too as a fast bowler. Given that at any time only eleven players make the team, his chances of doing so are around one in a hundred million. And it is not helped by the fact that he is too poor to afford proper gear or a good coach, his handicap makes him dependent on another to communicate and his parents aren't too spportive of the idea of he taking all his time to play cricket. Add to that all the politics in team selection, it seems impossible that he will fulfill his dream. Maybe one of us would have given up, or would have advised him to go back to the fields.

Iqbal keeps trying, and keeps converting his setbacks into oppurtunities. When he is forced to work by his father, he starts getting up early and playing in the night. When he is thrown out of the academy by his coach, he finds himself a better one. The herd of buffaloes that he has to graze, is not a distraction, but becomes an important factor in him learning his skill. We cannot deny that he has the talent or the drive, but we have to salute him for his hard work, his perseverence and a never-give-up attitude, which will stand him in good stead later on in life.

We all are much luckier than him, born with a silver spoon in our mouth. But somehow we manage to squander away all the oppurtunities that have been given to us, not realising their value untill it is too late. It is those who realise the value of every chance given to them, and are determined to make the best of them who are really successful in real life. Unfortunately it takes us a long time to grasp this reality and we are left thinking of what-ifs. It is true that every individual is born with the same amount of talent, skill or ability - call it what you may. What sets the winners apart from the losers is the drive to succeed, the ability to have a goal and to focus towards it and the willingness to adapt to a bad situation and use it as an advantage.

And yes, Iqbal did make it to the national team in the end, and we wish him all the best in the future.

One step forward... two behind.

2005-12-28T15:46:00.000-05:00

A step in the right direction. Or is it merely an illusion? One designed to raise our hopes, when we are actually moving backwards. Regression is masked by the hype surrounding progress, thus blurring the actual picture. Or is it just confusion, misinterpreting the signs or just simply not knowing the correct way. Whatever may be the case, why do we always end up undoing the good work done, and compounding the problem, due to some irrational logic of ours. Why cant a nation of a billion people collectively find even one person with the ability to think clearly. Why cant we take a step forward, without going two in the opposite direction.

Consider this, and you will see how we work. The government of Maharashtra, apparently one fo the most forward states in the country, has banned the telecast of anything not having a 'U' certificate on the screen. When India had embraced satellite television in the early nineties, it wasn't to inundate the viewers with a host of saas-bahu serials, but to expose them to the world. The best cinema could be accessed in your house, from a classic such as 'Godfather' and the hard hitting bollywood 'Arth', to lighter fare such as the romantic comedy 'Pretty Woman'. But it seems that the Indian audience is not fit to handle this fare, and it has been decided that we are better off without them.

I dont think the audience is even mature enough to handle the news. Thats why newspapers and current event channels have been put under censorship. And the internet, one of the last unregulated places in the world has also seen a lot of restrictions. So while supposedly modern India has satellite receivers and broadband connections, all that they are able to access is the Orwellian view of the world.

Lest one thinks that the I&B ministry is at fault, I can name a lot of examples to prove my point. While the rest of the world is waking up to the phenomena of getting "Bangalored", we want to get them "Bengaluru-ed". Just think of the money and time wasted when we also got mumbaied, kolkatted or chennaied. I'm sure a few million hungry children would have appreciated a bowl of rice instead. And you know that the problem has reached it's height when the whole nation cannot decide whether to drop or select a player in its cricket team, and end up dropping and picking him for alternate matches, as if to keep both sides happy.

Why is it this way? Is it because as a nation, we are unable to handle the responsibility that comes along with the power. Or is it a mistrust, a sense of under-confidence that we just dont believe we are as good as much as we give ourselves credit for. Whatever may be the case, we need to decide on a path, one way or another, and stick to it. Just think about it, a fork in the road, one may lead you on the correct path, one down the wrong one. Even the wrong way, may eventually lead to the destination. But by going ten miles one way, turning back and then ten the other way doesnt really get you anywhere - all you have done is reached back to square one, and burnt a lot of gas during the ride.

Main nahi maanta...

2005-12-13T03:44:00.000-05:00

...ki mera desh is duniya ka sabse mahaan desh hai. I heard this line in a movie, and it has gotten me thinking. India has had a great past, the cradle of one of the great civilizations, gave us the basis of modern mathermatics, birthplace of two of the biggest five religions in the world. But what does that mean to us now? Why, do we want to continue resting on past laurels, not even on our acheivements, but those of our forefathers who lived centuries ago.

The India of today is beset with unemployment and overpopulation, both seriously undermine the ability of our country to move forward. And these lead to illiteracy, hunger, poverty, disease, fundamentalism and a host of other problems which affect our basic standard of living. While we have been left behind in the industrial revolution, there is a chance that we may lose out in the information age, unless we are able to get our act together in quick time. While politicians are too busy renaming streets and cities, and building temples and mosques, no one is bothered with progress and development.

Make no mistake, the Indian workforce is among the most talented in the world, and equally hard working to match. But what is needed is a realization of our shortcomings, which must be followed by action. While western civilization has its drawbacks, we need to respect their acheivements, and learn from their mistakes, so that we dont repeat them. Unfortunately, we tend to brand them as "cultureless" and hence "good-for-nothing". This is not only observed among the illiterate poor, but also among the so-called educated upper class.

A typical example would be the spread of AIDS, which could hamper our progress in the 21st century. Any constructive discussion on 'sex-education' immediately brings deep resentment about how the west is ruining our moral fibre. We try to justify ourselves by saying that this doesnot happen in our culture, and that it is a conspiracy by them to corrupt our youth. This again leads to the same arguement that we are superior to them. No wonder that soon India is soon expected to have the highest incidence of AIDS in the world.

We need to move forward, and for that we need to improve ourselves. Let us learn from the mistakes others have made, so that we do not repeat them. But for that, we need to shed our superiority complex, and accept ourselves, not for what our fathers have done, but for what we need to do. That is the only way we could truly say - Mera Bharat Mahaan.

Pottermania

2005-11-20T10:36:00.000-05:00

It is easy do dismiss Harry Potter as a childrens story, and not without good reason. It starts off as a story of a 11-year old boy who discovers that he has magical powers, and his first year at Hogwarts School. Soon we are to learn that he is "the boy who lived", not only being the only person to survive a powerful killing curse, that too as an infant, but also having thus caused the downfall of the all powerfull Lord Voldemort, so feared that he is only referred to as "he-who-must-not-be-named". As the series progresses, the series has gotten darker and we are left at a very crucial stage after the release of the penultimate book in this 7-part series.

As an avid reader, I too was astounded at the hype surrounding some of the initial books, and brushed it off as a mere craze that would go away. But someone convinced me to give it a shot, and I ended up buying the first book of the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (PS), called Sorcerer's Stone, in some parts of the globe. Interesting, no doubt, but it was, I felt, a bit too much of an easy read, which left me wondering if all the publicity surrounding the series was justified. PS deals with the realization that Harry is a wizard, and his first year at school; how he meets his best friends Ron and Hermione, introduction to Quiddich and his first brush with some of his enemies, who want to see him dead, so that You-know-who can come back to power. It was a light read, though at a mere two-hundred-odd pages, it wasnt as imposing and just about managed to convince me to pick up book two.

Chamber of Secrets(CS) deals with 12-year old Harry's second year at Hogwarts, and though I found it dissappointing, I had at least decided to try and finish the books available (at that time till book 4) at the earliest. Looking back, it might have been one of the most crucial books in the series, and there is some speculation that the end of the series will depend on something hidden from this book. Third year is described in Prizoner of Azkaban(PA), which too date had been Rowling at her finest. I dare say that I have read a better book, and even Rowling herself will admit that it is improbable that she will ever write one as good. Harry Potter, as a child wizard, ably supported by his friends, are able to thwart the evil designs of the bad guys and he gains a new friend in the process. It is this book that gets you well and truly hooked onto the series, and from there it just takes off.

What makes the books special, is not the magic. The spells and potions just happen to be incidential to the plot. Just as Titanic wouldn't have been a box office success if it was about a ship, rather than a love story, the series concentrates on the personal aspect of Harry's life. We are shown some of the growing up pains that we would have all experienced in our lives - pressure of keeping upto work, making and losing new friends, the first crush and the subsequent brushes with the opposite sex and some of the emotional bonds that tie us to out parents, and other loved ones. Basically, everyone can see a bit of ourselves in Harry, and can learn how he summons up the courage to face his battles. In Goblet of Fire(GF), we are introduced to his first crush, which doesnt work out. Book 5, the Order of the Phoenix(OP), deals with the death of an important character in the series, and Harry has to face the death of a loved one. The penultimate episode, Half-Blood Prince(HBP), he is confronted with a task that he must finish off under all circumstances, as that will lead to a greater good. Loyalties of important characters are put into question and the future of the whole school is put into doubt. Rowling, has, no doubt, kept all the readers in suspense as to the end of the final book, one that can be seen in the numerous speculations on various boards and forums.

It is not fair to compare this series with some other masterpieces of fantasy fiction, such as the Lord of the Rings, which was truly an epic. Neither can this compare to some of Asimov's science fiction books, because they are of different genres. However, it may suffice to say that, if those were the Mona Lisas of yesteryear, then this could also be a Picasso masterpiece of modern times. Rowlings writing style is simple to understand for all ages, her ability to create a scene phenominal, and she is able to weave a good story around it. Many of the initial books have been of smaller length, but in the latter ones, she has written 700-plus pages a novel, making them, in style and content, comparable to a modern thriller, rather than a light read. Some of the things she describes in the book, though make-believe, sound plausible, so important while dealing with a story on magic, and she has a knack of introducing a small detail somewhere in the middle of the book, which later on assumes huge significance to the end, always a halmark of a great thriller. It is no surprise that the books have turned out to be as gripping and well-paced as they are, but by ensuring that she has the plot outline of the whole series, two years before she even wrote the first book, she has introduced a consistence that wouldnt have been seen if the storyline grew incrementally.

Where they books are a success, can Hollywood be far behind. We have already had four of the books made into movies and already the fifth is under production. Due to the large fan base, and a lot of pre-release hype the movies have already become a success, but most of it is well deserved because they have tried their best to stay as true to the books as possible and supplemented them with the mind-blowing special effects. As the movies keep on getting made, it will become increasingly difficult to fit everything from the books into the movies, and for those who have lost touch with the written word, they will miss out on a great work of art. The ones who have enjoyed the movie most are those who have read the book, and use the visuals to supplement their imagination of this beautiful world that is Harry Potter. It will be truly tragic if lethargy to pick up a book deprives anyone of the oppurtunity to truly appreciate a great story.

What is true love.

2005-11-10T12:24:00.000-05:00

Someone asked me the other day - how do you know it is true love? I didnt have a reply at that time, but it set me thinking...how does one define true love...or rather - how does true love really manifest itself? I still cant say for sure what makes it up, but I do know a story, one which most of you must have heard about, or seen recently; a story told through the lives of three friends, of their joys and sorrows growing up together in a megapolis like Bombay, but more importantly, a story that focusses on the relationships that they go through in the course of time, and each story demonstrates an important aspect of love - taken individually, they do teach us a lot about life, but in totality, they aptly illustrate the meaning of 'true love'.

Akash is the quintessential flirt - with a happy go lucky attitude to life. For him, two weeks is what his relationships are, ending because he 'finds' someone else to satisfy him for the moment. But then he meets Shalini - and he detests him, because he had tried to hit on her in the past (with no success). But that soon gives way to friendship, which becomes love. However there is a problem, Rohit, Shalini's fiancee, not only detests Akash, but he also is prepared to use any trick in the book to keep them apart. Despite having been badly beaten in their earlier encounters, Akash is prepared to risk another match up with him for the sake of the girl he loves. He fearlessly goes upto her parents and asks for her hand, even if it is during her wedding ceremony. He doesnot filch when standing upto Rohit, for the sake of the girl he loves. He has shown us, that it is this courage, in the face of all adversity that demonstrates his love.

Sameer's ( aka Sam) relationships are also like Akash's, they too never seem to go beyond a few weeks, although it is never him who ends it. Most girls end up dumping him, but just as quickly he manages to find someone else. But then he meets Pooja, introduced to him by his parents. Both of them quickly reject the idea of marriage, but become friends. In due course of time, both he and Pooja realise that they love each other, but not before Sam pursues her incessantly and draws her away from her nerdy boyfriend. Sam now is sure that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, and this acts as a push to keep on trying to get her close to him. A guy who was never at ease with his priorities, his choices or his desires, ended up having a lot of disasterous relationships in the past. But it is this conviction that Pooja has brought about in him, has changed him and made him sure of himself. Love has transformed him into someone who knows what he wants and then goes about getting it.

Siddharth (or Sid) was different from his two pals. At first glance, one might shun him to be a recluse. But a deeper insight into his psyche demonstrates his creative talents, and his mind which is constantly evaluating his surroundings, without caring for the world around him. He is an artist, not because he has chosen this profession, or because he has a natural flair for it, but because this is what he was meant to do. It is during one afternoon, lost in his thoughts, that he meets Tara, an architect, who is a divorcee and single mother. She has a lot of problems of her own, which have led her to embrace the bottle, with a potentially devastating effect. Sid, is drawn to her, but in his heart, he knows, that it will never work out - the age difference being one of the factors, but also the fact that she is going to die soon. Nevertheless he is prepared to stand by her, at times going against his family and friends, and give her the support she needs at this juncture. Sid is willing to sacrifice all, for a relationship that may never be, because he loves her. In the end, however, Tara, in her own way, acknowledges what Sid has gone through, and this is reward enough for him. His acts show us that true love is all about selfless sacrifice - giving it all without expecting anything in return.

Wanna help? Give some money.

2005-10-19T15:03:00.000-04:00

Whenever an earthquake or a similar disaster occurs, it is natural for everyone to help out. And the simplest, and most intuitive way to pitch in is to collect food, clothes, blankets, tents, toys, etc for the affected people, those who sometimes live halfway around the world. Moreover since most collection drives are impromptu, and not centrally co-ordinated, there is no actual feedback of the ground realities, of which items are needed most, what could be left till later and what is just going to be wasted. Moreover, while it is simple to just drive to the neighborhood collection drive and donate stuff, no body even questions the logistics of transportation, storage and distribution to the actual people who need it.

This point has always been raised, but is often drowned out in the amidst the publicity given to those who organize these collection drives. While no one can doubt their intentions, you can question the effectiveness of their methods. As most relief organizations tell you, they need only one thing at the time of such a catastrophe - CASH. Cash, whether in dollars, or euros, or pounds or rupees. Cash, because it is the most versatile of the resources available, and can be used to procure food, buy housing materials, obtain blankets or purchase medicines. Cash, because it is the simplest to transfer, easiest to store over sustained periods, and can be used to allocate resources just the way required. Cash, because it can be spent just the way it needs to be.

None of this was more obvious than in the recent tsunami in southeast Asia. Temporary shelter was needed to provide immediate housing facilities to the affected, even plastic sheets, serving as makeshift tents would suffice. And a wide variety of plastic, in all forms, colors, shapes and sizes were collected. But more often or not, they were never used. Why? Simple logic, the cost of transporting a sheet of plastic by air, from the Americas or Europe was significantly greater than that of procuring them locally. People contributed those plastics and felt that their job was done, but it was upto the relief organizations to get them to the final destination in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. The logistics involved were so huge that it was decided that it was simple r just to buy locally made products.

And this is not the only example, there have been umpteen cases like these. If not for magnitude of the tragedy, stories like packets of pasta being sent to people who didnt know how to cook them, or meat cans being dropped into countries like India (which are predominantly vegetarian, and hence would never eat them) sound amusing. These could have easily been used to feed some hungry soul somewhere else, who knew what he was getting and appreciated the feelings of the giver. Rahter they represented a wastage of resources at this time of crisis.

As human beings it is our karma to help our fellow men, especially in times of need. But just as it is as important to do a job well, as much it is to get it done, similarly it is imperative not only to help, but to help correctly.

yehi hai right choice, baby !

2005-09-28T19:19:00.000-04:00

Look at him, sitting back home....he has a good job, started fresh after college, but is now rising through the ranks. He enjoys his life - taking in the best that Bombay seems to offer, first show at the new SRK movie, partying every weekend at Fire, filmi music blasting through his new iPod, racing the new Honda on sea-face.....it seems weird that it was only a couple of years ago that both of us were together in class, doing the same submissions, bunking lectures together - but those days are gone now, and while he wanted to stay back in 'India Shining' , my choice was to try to make it big in the land of oppurtunity, go halfway across the world, like the thousands of students who are lured by the dollar dream.

Life here isnt easy, nor was it supposed to be. With a rupee which trades at fifty to a dollar, things can seem prohibitively expensive. Just a semesters fees are enough wipe out any money we might have saved. And for us, brought up like kings at home, independence is the name of the game. A year of graduate study at an american school is more than enough to test your mettle, night-outs before submissions, late night shifts clearing tables and sorting printouts, studing hard for that elusive A which almost always manages to avoid us, taking care of the house and the bills and the cooking; the going has gotten tough, but even the tough may not get going. It becomes one struggle after another - the joy of graduation brings a reality check on the job scene, and the euphoria of getting selected comes with the worries of the visa. The first car is a precursor to frequent trips to the garage, and the arrival of the credit card is a license to start spending, till the first statement comes in the mail. We did have our good times, those cake fights, late night movies and the occassional trip to the falls, but now they seem to be distant memories. Friends have moved on, and the cellfone can never be a substitute for a roommate. Slowly that doubt has creeped in, if we had done the right thing - maybe it would have been better to have stayed at home, and lived a better life.

Looking back, this experience has made me independent - taught me to face life with its ups and downs, never losing my smile at the end of it. I dont know if I ever learnt anything at school, but I am a wiser person today for what I learnt off it. I dont see my family every day, but I have some of the best people in the world whom I can call my friends, people whom I can trust my life with. These are people whom I would have never known if I had never come here. I do miss the food back home, but I have learnt to recreate a bit of the magic myself. I dont know what my degree has taught me, nor do I care, because I have learnt the meaning of life in these last three years. Ask me, in hindsight, would I have come here, to relive this experience? yup, u bet i would!

limits.

2005-09-21T19:11:00.000-04:00

with every freedom, comes a responsibility - just as when we are given a freedom to express ourselves in public, comes a responsibility not to cross the limits of decency....but this "limit" is a subjective matter, and hence it differs from person to person.

unfortunately, in india, the population is not "trusted" enough to self-enforce those limits, hence the "authorities" have stepped in, often erring on the side of caution - imposing stricter rules than what is norrmally accepted in the west. this has led to an atmosphere that stifles individual expression of freedom, and may be even leads to frustration amongst the youth of today - manifested in the number of crimes that have been observed across the major metros, and the numerous ones that go unreported in rural areas. moreover this has lead to a semi-talibanisation of our soceity, where a handful of people may decide what the majority are allowed to see, hear, wear and do. not only will this (and it has) lead to corruption, a direct result of powers being concentrated in the hands of a few who are allowed to take arbitary decisions, on what benefits the general populace, but it will also cause a stifling of creativity, where art (in its various forms) could be repressed, because the views of the artist do not match those of the higher powers.

the flip side has been seen in the west, most notably countries in europe, and to a lesser extent, the US. a high premium placed on personal freedom has led to its abuse. while certain values, that were held dear to, by the orthodoxy, have been abandoned, the youth at times, have "crossed" the "acceptable" limits and show no signs of retribution - or even regret at their actions. moreover a free and fair(?) media further encourages them to go one step further. the government, as well as the church, at times, are rendered ineffective at curbing this trend. crime has also become on the rise, not of the kind back home, but of a different nature, drugs and alcohol related for example. other disturbing signs have been observed which may only be a precursor to something much worse. while a high emphasis has been placed on personal freedom, it can only be concluded that too much of a good thing is not so - and a delicate balance between the two extremes is what is best for soceity in the long term.