Prakriti ki Pukaar.. when nature calls

As you might know, I am a part [one of the directors, to be precise :)] of Vidushak -- the only Indian Improv Group at University of Southern California. Every year, Vidushak performs a skit in the Diwali Show organized by the Association of Indian Students. This years skit is called : "Prakriti ki Pukaar.. when nature calls.."

Here are the videos:
Part 1 :


Part 2:


Part 3:


Comments and criticism are most welcome.

jai ho

Adios ... The Silent Assasin !!!

7 Feb, 1999

Ferozshah Kotla
Delhi

Javagal Srinath bowled the 1st wide ball of the test match. He bowled the 2nd and the last wide ball of the match in the same over. The reason: Anil Kumble had taken 9 Pakistani wickets and the last pair was batting. Kumble had told him to forget about the record and go for the last wicket. but how could Srinath do that. He knew Kumble would get it. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis knew Kumble would get the last one too. And he sure did.
There are a lot of apt adjectives one can associate with Anil Kumble but the one that I like the most is : Silent Assasin. Letting your work speak for yourself is the greatest reply to your detractors. And Kumble followed this principle to the T.
I salute Anil Kumble for all he has done for Indian Cricket. May he have a wonderful life post retirement.

The moment which will inspire and make every Indian, every sportsperson and every individual proud --

Anil Kumble bowling with a broken jaw and getting the wicket of Brian Lara (Antigua, 1999)
[pic courtsey : http://nebulaofthought.blogspot.com/2008/08/it-happens-only-in-india.html]

jai ho

Outsourced !!

First of all, things have been very tight and I am just not able to find time to write.

Now, a few defintions:

Improv theater : A theater style were the actors perform a short scene based on the suggestions given by the audience. You can see it as 'Instant theater'. No prior script.

Second Nature : A USC student Improv group. The best one at USC, I would say.

Vidushak : The only Indian Improv group at USC. Yours truly has recently been promoted from actor to actor-director.

Tremendosaur :A brother group of Second Nature which makes short films/sketches/spoofs.

Q- What happens when Second Nature guys see Vidushaks perform and then decide to cast them for the next Tremendosaur production?
A- Beericorn !!!

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

My debut in the 'American Amateur Short Films' world. Hope you like it.

jai ho

one more year

Last time I had made people work a bit to come to the point but this time let's make life easier.
Another year has been added to this life of mine and I am happy.

AMEN !!!

PS: I am suffering from a very bad phase of writer's block. Hopefully this post will get me out of it.
Thanks for staying with me.

When Zero is enough

The first indication of the future-to-be is out. The cut-off for Physics for IIT-JEE 2008 is ZERO !! Thanks to the mindless increase in the number of seats and creation of new IITs when the last one to be created has still to gain foothold by the crappy Ministry of Human Resources Development.

From now on all you have to do to be an IITian is to leave the paper blank. That, if you don't have a scheduled caste/tribe/OBC certificate. Now, before you begin to bash me for discrimination against oppressed people, let me mention that I belong to OBC and I thank GOD that this crap was not there when I got through IIT-JEE. Being an IITian is no more an achievement, something I, and all pre-2008 IITians, will always be proud of. Clearing JEE gives you the self-confidence which can't be described. It has to be experienced first hand. Not anymore. In very near future, a new born may very well receive an OBC/SC/ST certificate as a birthday present.

The anti-IIT people may say whatever they want, but they can't deny the very fact that the Brand IIT was one of the very few things which could compete and succeed anywhere in the world. Not anymore. It will no more be Brand IIT but Brand IIT-Kgp or Brand IIT-Mumbai or Brand IIT-Chennai or Brand IIT-Kanpur and so on. If you think of it carefully, it will do more harm to the students than good. Now they ask, "Which college?" and you say, "IIT". Tomorrow they'll ask," Which IIT?" And those who won't belong to one, won't even be considered. By the time this government completes its tenure, it will have done irrepairable damage to our education system (apart from national security et al)
The meritous students will still get a good All India Rank and therefore a good IIT, but in all probability, their credibility will be reduced, if not lost, because there will be tens of thousands of other students studying in an institute with the same name. The outside world will find it easier to shun them all , rather than find out which IIT is good and which is bad.

I believe that if one really wants welfare of the oppressed tribes, they should make sure the chidren have proper primary and secondary education. Thrusting them into an IIT hasn't and would never help them. 50 % reservation is not the solution. And if you are hell bent on reserving seats, do so at all the public and private schools. That would serve generations in a way you can't even imagine. Giving them easy admission to IITs is like pushing someone very hard and hoping that (s)he would reach the top, not realising that (s)he will fall flat more often that not. Common sense says that teach them how to climb the ladder and give them enough confidence so that they can reach the top on their own.

Good luck to all the future IITians, for you'll have to keep fighting beyond JEE.

jai ho

It's time

It's time for the government to finally wake up. It's time to launch a massive crackdown on the existing/nurturing terrorist outfits in India. It's time to look beyond politics and declare a war on terror. It's time to take such actions that'll force the future terrorists to think twice. It's time to plug the loopholes in the intelligence and security systems. It's time to be able to see through few thousand rupees. It's time to have a Federal Agency with unmatched powers to counter terrorism.
The NDA government had introduced POTA. At least it was a step. The UPA government dissolved it on the grounds of misuse. It should very well then dissolve the laws related to dowry, murder, rape because if we let it to, any law can be misused. And that's all UPA government did, dissolve the POTA. Not finding ways to prevent its misuse, not passing an equivalent law, not giving enough attention to terrorism in India, just dissolved POTA and relaxed.
"Hundred criminals may get away but not a single innocent should be punished"
Well, innocents are being punished and terrorists are getting away with it. Everytime.
The poeple in power need to step up before it's too late. Let's, for once, care about the innocents first. I appeal to the Indian government to stand up and vow to save innocent lives at all costs. I appeal for them to actually do something instead of just adding points in their election speech.
I appeal to every politician who is opposing strict action against terrorist outfits and the likes to think about the people who died sue to such inaction.
This is not politics. This is a war and we have fight it very hard. Let's show them that they are not getting away with killing innocent citizens of India. Let's show them that we are a peaceful nation, we don't go around attacking countries or promoting terrorism BUT if an innocent Indian is hurt, we WILL hunt you down and we mean it.

I express my deepest condolescences for the victims of Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Bangalore and Ahmedabad blasts.

Fight On !!!

de-Tagged

I was at-tagged by Reema almost a month back with this. I Hope she remembers tagging me !!

One religious work from a non-familiar tradition you’ll read:
Quran. I have lots of questions.

One music video–that you like–from your “least likely to listen to’ genre:
"Aur ahista, kijiye baatein' by Pankaj Udhas. Beautiful song and video, but I seldom listen/see it.

A book from a genre you almost never read, that you have read, or you will read (promise!):
None. I am not much of a reader and so I can't promise I'll read any, especially from a non-favorite genre. I like thriller novels though, the Dan Brown type.

Somewhere you’d never thought to go on holiday/vacation, and why it might be fun to go there?
The Carribean. I just love their accents and fun-loving lifestyle.


A specific food you’ve never tried, but will because of this meme, honest!:
Greek cuisine. (this meme is just co-incidental, I would have tried that eventually anyway :P)

A sport or game you really hate, or haven’t tried yet, but are willing to give one more go:
Badminton. I don't hate it per se, but it is not a great watch, as compared to cricket/hockey/soccer. Besides, it is one game I think I can play.

A style of dance you probably won’t try (we won’t make you promise on this one):
Acrobatic Dance. Too tough.

A career job you don’t feel you’re suited for, and why:

Business and Management. I have no reason but I can't picture myself being in this field.

An item that’s “thinking out of the box’ for this meme that hadn’t been included:
If given a chance, which song would you sing on stage, in front of a huge audience?
'Sweet Child O' Mine' by Guns and Roses

It’s there’s one thing in life you wanted to do, and will do because of this meme, what will it be?
Again.. I can't promise but I do want to direct a movie :)

I won't tag anyone. Feel free to do this tag if you wish.

Jai ho

Missing from action

Yes, I agree that I vanished, yet again. But I can't help it. (Actually, I could have helped it, but everytime I thought of posting a new post, I wanted it to be one of my best posts. And the improbability of this event held me back)

Best post or not, this thought just came across me while surfing the net (cricinfo, to be exact) and I said to myself that if I don't post it now, I may never do it.
So, this article was about Saqlain Mushtaq, the great off-spinner from Pakistan. For non-Indians, he is a cricketer. Rest, you better not say out loud that you have never heard of Saqlain Mushtaq. Not if you are older than 16 years. And this is my point. One of my wingies used to say,"Jawaani ke din hain bhai !!" When I meet guys 3-4 years younger than me, I wonder if jawaani ke din abhi bhi hain ya nahin. I believe that they are and I certainly hope they last for few more years, at least. Anyway, time flies and takes something with it. Here I am listing (in no particular order) what I miss now-a-days, which used to be an integral part of my growing years:

1. Literally praying for India to win a cricket match.
2. Govinda
3. Saqlain Mushtaq
4. Ajay Jadeja
5. Daler Mehandi
6. Ranchi
7. Captain Vyom
8. My 'gang' in Class 8-10
   
9. Being rank 1 in the class
10. Wasim Akram
11. Madhuri Dixit
12. Juhi Chawla

Well, no one can beat time.

jai ho

Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani - What say now ?

1999
Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Aziz Mirza formed 'Dreamz Unlimited' and their first venture was 'Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani'. The film could not live upto its hype and was largely trashed by audience and critics alike. People could not fathom the idea of media sprewn all over, media war et al. I read somewhere that the film was way ahead of its time.

2004 onwards
It turns out that the film was only 5 years ahead of its time. This was the time when news channels went 24-hour and gradually converted into 'entertainment news channel'. 99% of today's news is crap. And if you think of it, almost everything that PBDHH had shown is true and happening now.
The 'making' of a news, the 'Live Reports', 'Breaking news', anchors switching channels, shameless in-your-face news, the power of sponsorship ... what not. The only exception is India is yet to see the live telecast of an execution but it doesn't look improbable.

I agree that with the advent of enormous media power, investigative journalism etc. , there has been a great increase in the general level of awareness among common people. Now a victim sees the possibility of fighting injustice with the help of media. But the big question is : Does media understand the importance of its power and the responsibility that comes with it ?

Why would a news channel air a daily show called 'Kaal Kapaal Mahakaal' or 'Sannaata' !!!
Why would a news channel air a Breaking News titled 'Maine dekha bhoot ko' for more than 48 hours !!!
Why would a news channel follow a filmstar on his umpteenth visit to a temple !!!

Media has enormous power. And the effect of any power magnifies manifold if one knows when to stop, which the Indian media obviously doesn't. I wish that someday they had a reality check and transform into a powerful and responsible platform.

jai ho

The Power of 8

It's tag time again !!! (And yeah... I still remember how to login to blogger. It's just that .... you know.... well... you all know so no point re-iterating)

Mini tagged me sometime back, and here it goes :-

8 things I am passionate about :

1. India
2. The place where I grew up (not my hometown Dhanbad, but the small little locality called 'Bhelatand')
3. I.I.T. Kharagpur
4. My Computer
   
5. Theatre
6. Movie-making
7. Fusion music
8. Phoenix Productions

8 things I want to do before I die :

1. Direct a movie
2. Act in a movie/US TV series
3. Name a scientific term after me.
4. Win an award.
5. Take my family on a World tour.
6. Learn to play Drums
7. Own the most luxurious Mercedes
8. Be on a mountain top, arms widespread, and welcome the sun.
   

8 things I say often :

1. Arre yaar
2. kya baat kar raha hai
3. kuchh oonch-neech ho gayi to
4. good for you
5. sahi hai
6. ummeed par to duniya kaayam hai
7. sab moh-maya hai
   
8. makhaa diya
   

8 books I last read :

1. Deception point
2. Angels and Demons
3. One Night @ The Call Center
4. The Da Vinci Code
5. Night over Water
6. Five Point Someone
7. Digital Fortress
8. The Interpreter of Maladies
   

8 songs I could listen to over and over again :

1. Coming Back to Life - Pink Floyd
2. Naa Jaane Kyun - Strings
3. Rock the Raaga - Mrigya
4. Bhor - Indian Ocean
5. Knocking on Heaven's Door - Guns n Roses
6. Deewana Hua Baadal - Mohd. Rafi & Asha Bhosle (Kashmir ki Kali)
7. Sweet Child of Mine (the first 3:33 minutes) -Guns n Roses
8. Jaage hain - A.R.Rahmaan (Guru)
   

8 people I think should do this tag :

1. Lady Godiva
2. Still Searching
3. Zee
4. Di
5. Photon
6. Reema
7. Anu
8. Animesh

jai ho

मनोरंजन पार्क

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यूँ देखा जाए तो आज की शाम कुछ अलग नहीं थी। हवा ज़रूर कुछ तेज़ बह रही थी लेकिन ये तो उसकी फितरत है। कितना भी समझाओ उसे पर मानती ही नहीं। मेरी पत्तियों को तो अब आदत सी हो गई है। प्रकृति के आगे किसी की कभी चली है भला !!
खैर, छोड़िये हवा को, वो नहीं मानेगी। वापस आते हैं आज की इस शाम पर । आधी से ज़्यादा बीत चुकी है, सो वक्त ज़रा कम है। चिंटू और उसके दोस्त अपने क्रिकेट के नए नियम बना रहे हैं, और पिछले महीने ४ बार खिड़की के कांच बदलवा चुके नारंग साहब 'कॉलोनी मीटिंग' के लिए शरमा जी और वरमा जी को अपने पाले में करने की कोशिश में लगे हुए हैं। १५ मिनट सहने के बाद विमला जी की कमर तहेदिल, या यूँ कहें की तहेकमर से विश्राम की कामना कर रही है। मालिनी मैडम बच्चों को स्कूल से लेकर लौट रही हैं। दिनभर की नौकरी और २ छोटे बच्चों के बाद उन्हें पार्क की सैर करने की फ़ुर्सत नहीं है। वो बस रोज़ इसी वक्त इधर से गुज़रती हैं और बस हमें देख कर ही संतोष कर लेती हैं। वैसे ये सही ही है। हम कौन सा भागे जा रहे हैं। जब ज़िंदगी इज़ाजत देगी, मालिनी मैडम भी आया करेंगी।
पिंकी अपनी सहेलियों के साथ बाजू के गुलमोहर के नीचे गुड़िया-गुड़िया खेल रही है। पिंटू के गायब होने से पहले उसकी मम्मी भी साथ आती थीं। ४ महीने पहले पिंटू क्रिकेट खेलने के लिए घर से निकला था, उसके बाद से कोई ख़बर नहीं है उसकी। उसकी मम्मी आज भी रह रह कर फ़ोन की तरफ़ देखती रहती हैं। हम भले बहुत सख्त और मज़बूत दिखते हों, लेकिन पिछले महीने जब राखी के दिन पिंकी ने पूछा की क्या वो हमको राखी बाँध सकती है, अन्दर तक हिल गए थे हम। आज पिंकी को फिर से हँसते-खेलते देख कर बहुत अच्छा लग रहा है।
२ साल तक टालने के बाद १० दिन पहले गुप्ता जी ने अपना वज़न कराया और अब वो 'बाबा रामदेव क्लब' के सदस्य हैं। प्रतिदिन नियम से 'कपाल-भाँती' और 'अनुलोम-विलोम' करते हैं। पहले दिन ही उन्होंने घोषणा कर दी थी की जिस दिन १५ किलो वज़न घटा लेंगे, पूरी कॉलोनी में लड्डू बाँटेंगे।
आज १ महीने बाद शुकला जी दिखे हैं। पहले पति-पत्नी दोनों आया करते थे, बिल्कुल नियमित। रिटायरमेंट के बाद बहुत सुकून की ज़िंदगी जी रहे थे दोनों। काफ़ी मेहनत की थी उन्होंने ज़िंदगी भर। शुकला जी के चेहरे से संतुष्टि झलकती थी। किसी बात का ग़म नहीं था उन्हें। जिन्दादिली की मिसाल थे वो। बच्चों से साथ क्रिकेट और कभी कभी फुटबॉल भी खेलते थे !! हमारे बाजू वाली बेंच पर बैठ कर अक्सर मिसेज शुकला को छेड़ा करते थे। मिसेज शुकला तो शर्म से लाल हो जाया करती थीं। बहुत प्यारी जोड़ी थी इनकी। हंसमुख, खुशमिजाज़, ज़िंदगी से प्यार करने वाली जोड़ी।
पिछले महीने मिसेज शुकला का देहांत हो गया। बहुत दुनिया देखी है हमने, लेकिन इतना दुःख शायद ही कभी हुआ होगा। संसार की मोह-माया से मुक्ति मिल गई उन्हें, यही सोच कर ख़ुद को तसल्ली देते हैं लेकिन शुकला जी की तरफ़ देखने की भी हिम्मत नहीं होती है। टूट गए थे बिल्कुल, लेकिन ज़ाहिर नहीं होने दिया उन्होंने। हाँ, पार्क आना ज़रूर छोड़ दिया था उन्होंने। ये पेड़, हरा-भरा मैदान, बच्चे, ये पूरा माहौल उन्हें अतीत की ओर ले जाता था।
आज बहुत दिनों के बाद शुकला जी को मुस्कुराते हुए देख रहे हैं। इस मुस्कान में ग़म है पर शिकायत नहीं है। और किस बात की शिकायत हो। जब तक साथ थे दोनों, बहुत प्यारी ज़िंदगी जी थी उन्होंने। एक दिन तो सभी को जाना है। तो क्यों न कोशिश की जाए एक अच्छी, खुशियों भरी जिंदगी जीने की। शुकला जी कहा करते थे," ये ज़िंदगी जीने के लिए है, मौत के बारे में सोचने के लिए नहीं।" और आज भी वही कर रहे हैं वो।

किसी ने कहा है, और शत-प्रतिशत सही कहा है, "उम्मीद पर तो दुनिया कायम है"। सो, उम्मीद बरकरार है। मालिनी मैडम से मुलाक़ात की उम्मीद, चिंटू के अर्ध-शतक की उम्मीद, गुप्ता जी के लड्डू की उम्मीद, पिंटू के घर लौटने की उम्मीद, और शुकला जी के होठों पर पहले जैसी मुस्कान की उम्मीद ।

A Birthday and a Century

April 13th, 2006 : Birth of 'Daroga Speaks'.

April 13th, 2008 : 100th post published.

I never thought I would come this far (if I may even use this term considering that there are bloggers who have posted 200 posts in an year) when I started, inspired by some exceptional bloggers and a desire to be heard, to be appreciated. All you readers are the best judge of how I have done till now, so I leave that to you.
I thank all those who spared even a second to actually consider giving my posts a try. And I can't even begin to thank those who stuck around with me, bearing with me all this while. I have met some great intellectual minds here and my interaction with them are devoid of any malice that arises from physical constraints, hence making them absolutely pure.

Thank you all for being with me.

jai ho.

Repeat Blog-cast

Hi all !!!
Disclaimer : The relatively older (and not in terms of age :P) readers of my tiny little blog may ignore this post from this point.

During my stay in Kgp, I was very lucky to become friends with some of the best human beings ever. And as a result of our extremely high level of camaraderie and the desire to do something very unique, we founded "Phoenix Productions" in August 2006. So far we have made 3 short films and 1 trailer to our ambitious, but yet to be made project. Before "Phoenix Productions", we were Team Phoenix, which had done street plays in Kgp and IIM-C. We had also run (though for a short time) Radio Phoenix inside Kgp and I had actually RJ'ed for close to 2 hours. I just wanted to share all this with you. Here are the films, which I am extremely proud of. Comments, Compliments and Criticism are awaited and will be highly appreciated.

1. [Phoenix Productions]Tedhi Baat(Twisted Talk) with subtitles
A humorous take on the issue of ' "harassment" of Freshmen by Juniors and Seniors', which was the most talked about issue in Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) in July,2006.
Original Release Date: 08/10/2006 on the Local Area Network of IIT-KGP



2. [Phoenix Productions] Tedhi Baat Dwiteeya (Twisted Talk-II) with subtitles
Sequel to 'Tedhi Baat (Twisted Talk)'. This time the target was the administration and central forces behind all the turmoil in Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) during July-August 2006.
Original Release Date: 08/26/2006 on the Local Area Network of IIT-KGP.



3. Black n White Trailer (not the movie)
A trailer for a future short film called "Black n White" by Pheonix Productions.



4. [Phoenix Productions] dis-Placement
A short film shot in IIT Kharagpur. It's a humorous take on the Placement scenario in IIT KGP.
Original Release Date: 04/28/2007 on the Local Area Network of IIT-KGP.



Hope you all like them.

P.S. --> All the older readers. Now that you have reached this point, it didn't hurt to relive these memories with me, did it ? :)

jai ho

Tagged ... yet again!!!

Ya Ya... I am very much alive and kicking too. It's just that a good enough combination of writer's block (if I may call myself one) , PhD screening exam (failing which means that I won't be allowed to pursue a PhD degree) and my laziness kept me away for this long. Luckily, I got tagged few days back by Mini and my screening(written) got over today. So, here I go:

A - Available?

Since Eternity (and as the looks of it... till eternity)

B - Best Friend

With whom my wavelength matches the best ( there can't be a perfect match).

C - Cake or Pie

Cake…Definitely

D - Drink of Choice

Non-Alcoholic : Lassi. It is AWESOME.

Alcoholic : Margarita (which I have had only once, and that too a crude one)

E – Essential thing(s) used every day

My laptop and cell phone.

F – Favourite Colour

Black. Black is beautiful. period. I am near-obsessed with Black of late, though my wardrobe has lots of blue (past favorite).

G – Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms

Gummy Bears... 'coz worms in any form are eewwww. ( I have not yet tasted either of them)

H – Hometown

Dhanbad (Jharkhand). I love my locality more than the town/city.

I – Indulgence

Cake, cookies, Gajar ka Halwa, French fries and omlette :) ( I think I have mis-interpreted the word 'indulgence' here)

J – January or February

February. 25th February...the day when I got the confirmation of my Fellowship here.

K – Kids and Names

Are you kidding me !!!!

L – Life

Life is to flow along with. And I don't mean not to try to be afloat.

M – Marriage

Future tense.

N – Number of siblings

1 younger sister.

O –Oranges or Apples

Apples. Nothing against oranges though. I like both.

P – Phobia

Dogs, reptiles, height, water, must be more which I don't know yet.

Q – Quote

Life is a Drama

R - Reason to Smile

Being able to give my family whatever they wish for, Being able to pleasantly surprise a friend

S – Season

Spring. Hardly a surprise here. I find Autumn very romantic, though.

T – Tag people

Arpz, Still Searching , Zee

U – Unknown fact about me

I go blank after 1 min on the phone. After that I start to fumble for words, slurr, and sound all weird.

V – Vegetable you do not like

Kacchu ( I don't know the english name)

W – Worst Habit

Not studying enough for the exams. ( I used to be fully prepared during school days)

X-rays you have had.

For hairline fracture in left thumb, a long time ago.

Y – Your favourite food

Daal-Chawal and Aalu-Gobhi ki Bhaaji.

Tandoori Chicken

Aalu-Paalak and Plain Roti.

Z – Zodiac

Virgo. I don't really go into the details of zodaic signs.

Done-Dana-Done.

Jai Ho.

To Touch or not to Touch

As she was walking through the street, a guy passed by and touched her (fill in the blank depending on how bad you want it to sound). She retorted back screaming,"How dare you touch me?????". And just as she was about to start the tumhare-ghar-mein-maa-behen-nahin-hain-kya thing, he stopped her in her tracks.
"I would pause you right there dear lady. Before you go on to ask me about the female members of my family, let me tell you one thing. I did NOT touch you. All I did was to bring the tip of my hand sufficiently close to your ( ). After that what happened was that the mutual interaction between the two skin surfaces increased to such a level,owing to that small a distance, that it triggered a neurotic response in your brain, and the way your conscience has been modeled, you perceived it to be a bad thing. So, if this is anyone's fault, it should be the nature and the way it works. I don't think reducing the distance between two skin surfaces is any sort of harassment. So, I reiterate that I did NOT 'touch' you, because if I had, there would have been a nuclear fusion releasing such an amount of energy that you and I would not be standing here having this discussion."

I say that if the guy asks the girl out, she definitely should 'coz
1. With this level of scientific knowledge, he will surely make a more than decent living.
2. Actually coming up with this when he was about to be 'sandal'ed proves that he has a terrific sense of humor.

P.S.--- What the guy said is absolutely correct scientifically.
P.P.S-- This is NOT a real incident.

jai ho.

'Book'ed

Got tagged by Arpz who asked me to write about my tastes in books. Not that difficult a task unless you happen to be the one who is hardly into reading. So if most of the answers are blank, don't cringe 'coz that's pretty much all I have. Here it goes :

A book that made you laugh:
First ball bouncer !!!
(After forcing my grey cells to go wild hunting for 5 minutes) I duck. None of the books I have read falls into this category.

A book that made you cry:
Literally.... none.
Otherwise.... 'The God of Small Things'. Same reason as Arpz, it was way too boring and dragging. I actually got headache after some 25 pages and the maximum I could torture myself was upto 50 pages or so. Then I gave up.

A book that scared you:
Literally.... again... none.
Otherwise.... All the textbooks post school.

A book that disgusted you:
'The Blue Bedspread' by Rajkamal Jha. I have not read it but the content made me sick. It talks about lesbianism and incest. My objection is to the incest part of it, which is the basic underlying theme of this book.

A book you loved in elementary school:
'Chacha Chowdhary' series. Awesome stuff. I bet every kid still loves it. On a second thought, this is also the 'book that made me laugh'.

A book you loved in middle school or junior high school:
On the risk of sounding a Geek, 'Mathematics' text books.

A book you loved in high school:
Continuing in the geeky mode.... 'Mathematics' by R.S. Agarwal.

A book you loved in college:
'Five Point Someone'. Those who have read it will know why and others.... go, get it.

A book that challenged your identity:
None yet. And I don't think any book has the power to do that.

A series that you love:
The novels by Dan Brown. I have read all 4 of them and loved each one.

Your favorite science fiction book:
If I am allowed to double-count, then 'Digital Fortress' by Dan Brown.
Otherwise, none. Though, back in my growing years, there used to be science magazine called 'Vigyan Pragati' which had a Sci-fi story in every issue. I loved them.

Your favorite fantasy:
None, which is probably the perfect answer for a non-reader who doesn't like fantasy.

Your favorite mystery:
Double-counting again.... 'Angels and Demons' by Dan Brown. Truly riveting.

Your favorite biography:
None. 'Coz I have read none and I have no reason why.

Your favorite "coming of age" book:
Absolutely no idea. Though, venturing again in the geeky territory... 'Multi-Objective Optimization using Evolutionary Algorithms' by Kalyanmoy Deb. It IS the "coming of age" book in the world of Genetic Algorithms and Evolutionary Computations.

Your favorite classic:
'Tughlaq' by Girish Karnad. I read it as a textbook but it is a classic in every sense of the word. A true masterpiece.

Your favorite romance book:
Yet again... none. Though I like romantic stuff but somehow I am yet to convince myself to read a romantic novel.

Alright.... job done.
And I hereby tag Godiva , Zee , Still Searching , Di , Lavender and Mini .

P.S. - I am not a geek.
Jai ho.

Heroes

Few days ago I came across a segment on IBN-LIVE called 'Citizen Journalist'. Actually I stumbled on this piece of news:

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/impact-cj-hajabba-gets-the-fruit-of-his-labour/58031-20.html

Here is an illiterate fruit-seller who earns hardly Rs 100 a day and he saved for 12 years to open a school for the poor children of his village.

I followed the segment and came to know of a 75 year old man who owns a small cycle-repair shop in Faizabad in U.P. He makes sure that as many anonymous/unclaimed dead bodies in the region as possible are respectfully buried. Every individual deserves proper last rites and he has made this the mission of his life.

How else would you define 'Humanity'? How else would you define 'Selflessness'?

There are a lot of people silently doing their part and trying to bring about a change, a change for good.
http://cj.ibnlive.com/story/

All it takes is to believe and to actually do something about it.

I salute the Heroes of India.

The First day

First day.... every first day is memorable, though we may not always remember them. First day in school, First day in a new city, First day in college, First day at job.... all of them unique in their own unique way. Specially talking about the first day at job, there are so many emotions running inside that it is extremely hard to be normal. I have not experienced it till now and neither did Shekhar before ... well... his first day at his job.

Shekhar was not a bright student and didn't really believe in hard work at school. He was an eccentric kid, to put it politely. But then, 'eccentricity' is a relative phenomenon. A normal person can be 'eccentric' to an eccentric person. So, for now, we'll assume the mass behavior to be 'normal' and hence Shekhar was an eccentric kid. His teachers and parents(read: mother; his father was mostly away for his job and on top of it, he really didn't care) had a terrible time to get him to pass every single of his exams. And it was not that he couldn't read, write or understand stuff. He simply refused to give attention to academics. He hated to study, and on some heavy over-dose of over-confidence, he did whatever he wanted to. By now, if you think he was a brat then ... well... you are quite right.

But everyone, brats included, learn something in school. The only lesson Shekhar learnt and retained was the story of Arjun aiming for the bird's eye and how he was able to see ONLY the bird's eye and nothing else. This little piece of mythology went deep inside Shekhar. After the teacher finished telling the story in the class, he ordered Shekhar out of the class for non-attentiveness. Little did he knew that the reason for Shekhar's non-attentiveness was that he was trying to concentrate on the tiny chunk of chalk-dust which slid along a vertical line on the blackboard. And to this day, only Shekhar knew that he was able to actually see 'only' that tiny chunk of chalk-dust and nothing else. It was at that moment, that Shekhar knew he could do something others couldn't. And probably this led to him being over-aggressive and extremely confident about himself.

Coming back to his first day at the job. He had got this job, courtesy his friend. Well, this was more of a practical interview. He was given a task and accessories required and he had to show his prospective employers that he could do it better than anybody else. Though, over the years Shekhar had become emotionally immune, this day was different. Like any other newbie, he was anxious, nervous and a little excited, all at the same time. With the current situation of cut-throat competition, he knew he had just this one opportunity to seal the deal. He bought a whole new attire for this day which included a Black leather jacket, a pair of Black shades, Black trousers, Black shoes, Black gloves, Black socks, Black belt.... he was literally living his obsession for the color black. Though extremely nervous, he was very stable and calm and trying to be a thorough professional. He went to the building, took the elevator to the top, assembled his portable workstation, positioned himself and waited for his moment.
He was supposed to be focussed but we rarely have control over our thoughts. A lot of thoughts were running across his mind while he was waiting. Most of them from his childhood. The images of him spending a lot of time at the pool trying to hit the electric wire from an electric pole with a stone, him concentrating hard on a tiny pebble hoping it would move, him staring at the teacher when he scolded him (Shekhar believed his best feature were his eyes), him hitting fellow kids with a stone, while hiding in a bush after they had beaten him up in an earlier fight. Lots of memories were relived in those few minutes.
Every job has a deadline. If you miss it, you missed your chance and you are screwed. Shekhar didn't want to miss his only chance at a career. So he took a deep breath, calmed himself, focussed and concentrated hard. He touched his lucky charm, a gold locket in a black thread around his neck (it was with him since he was 15) moments before taking his shot and when the moment came....... he was bang on.

This was the first of the 169 sniper shots Shekhar fired on his way to become the most dreaded Sharp-Shooter in the country. 15th January, 2008 was the day he was supposed to take his 170th victim. 15th January, 2008 was also the first day at job for Raghu. And as they say "Beginner's luck", Raghu didn't miss his chance either.

.

The art of losing

Life is a BIG battle and in the due course we have to fight little battles almost everyday, some may be very significant and some not. Everyone wins some of them, but invariably loses a lot of them. And though every individual has a certain way of fighting and winning, (s)he can be understood inside out by the way (s)he loses.
I believe losing is a more of a virtue than an art. It is really difficult to distinguish on the basis of winning but every one has a unique way of losing. And that is a characteristic trait. Yesterday I watched season 6 of 'The Apprentice" again (for the sole reason that it is based in LA and I get to see some of the places that I have been to or passed by). Those who have watched the show will know that the board-room can get really really ugly. Those who haven't watched it yet, go and watch it. There's a LOT to learn from it. And of the 10 people who got fired in the board-room, most got buried in there by someone who fought as if for their lives.
Lesson: Fight On !!!!
But this is the story before the loss. Once lost, very few lost gracefully. And I have tremendous respect for those who did so. Once the battle is on, fight with all you have. But once you have lost, accept it and bow out gracefully. It is a game, and someone has to lose for other to win. It is the spirit with which you fight, matters. Results are secondary.
Whatever little battles in life that I have fought, I always did it in the right spirit. And I fought the way I am , not the way it HAD to be fought to win. And that is the reason I do not regret whenever I lost. Of course, I wish I had done a little more and won. But nevermind.

I have known people who think that only they deserve to win, and if they didn't , they would go around blaming everything under the sun for a conspiracy. It was just sickening. And the truth is, the world is full of such people. There is a difference between being aggressive and abusive, which sadly many people do not understand.

*When we lost 'Inter-Hall Choreography' at IIT Kgp, I was very sad. But there was this satisfaction that I tried my best, which just was not good enough.
*When we won the Bronze and the Best direction in 'Inter-Hall Hindi Dramatics', I was satisfied because finally our efforts paid off, though not in Gold.
*When we lost all the other times, I never tried to please the judges, or go about the formula. We did what we believed in. We did what we wanted to do.
*I could never jump upon a question in a viva-voce if it is asked to another person, inspite of knowing that though I can answer that particular question, I can't answer the question that followed from it. But I have been on the receiving end of it. Result: The professor thinks that the other one knows more than me.
*Before the results of IIT-JEE came, I knew whatever they would be, I would be satisfied because I had given it my best shot.

Fight hard, Fight honest and lose gracefully.

Jai ho