Param Param Param !!! Wakaw !!!!

Facebook is like marriage?

2012-01-30T21:37:00.003Z

Facebook is like marriage, you can't live without it. Here it is:

The first thing you see after the wife moves in with you "Now I don't know where is the sugar jar, she's completely changed the place where I kept it before. It was always under the table or on the chair in the dining room, now I need to look in the cupboards in the kitchen to find the sugar jar!" Facebook keeps changing the way you add photos, tag photos, comment on photos, link photos, I get very confused every time I need to upload photos or albums.
As soon as you get married you realise that every time you step out of the house you need to tell the lady where you are going. “I am going out” is unacceptable. "Now I have to tell my wife where am I going at 7pm in the evening? I am not a kid I can find my way back!" but the wife needs to where you are and needs to track each and every movement of yours. On Facebook whenever you write a comment or post a photos or write on your wall, you need to tell the location. In fact if you are posting using your smart phone, the location is automatically uploaded. Facebook is my wife’s invention?
Sometimes your wife comes and asks “who is this lady in the photo”, you reply “my aunt!”, the next questions is “oh really, I thought she is your uncle, can you please elaborate how is she your aunt?” then you need to explain her, blah di blah di blah di blah.... I now need to tell Facebook what is my relationship with each person on my friends list; mum, dad, uncle, cousin, blah! Why? Why? Again is Facebook my wife’s invention?
I need to tell my wife if I like her cooking or dress or hair or shoes. On Facebook you have to LIKE or comment or hate a photo posted by a friend whom you spoke to once in 4 years at the university.
I now need to welcome my wife's cousin whom she's spoken to once in last 5 years, to our new home. We can ignore that cousin after the dinner for next 5 years. On Facebook once a long lost friend adds you, you need to speak to them for next 7 days, after that you both ignore each other for next 5 years.
In marriage you can have a fight and poke your wife/husband in the eye, on Facebook you can poke your friend too.
My wife needs to know my entire friends list. Friends who are from my office, from my university or from my club. I need to give all the details about my friends to my wife, so that if I am going out with “a friend” she knows, will I come home drunk or dead drunk or lying in the gutter! Where my wife picks me up from depends on the kind of friends. On your Facebook, your friends must have surely checked out all your friends and must have surely seen your friends from University. Check out friends of friends and comment "ah this girl is his friend from university. Bhav had some awesome girls in his university!" Marriage categorises your friends and so does Facebook!
In married life if a man has a problem he has to "be a man & fight the problem!", if the lady has a problem we need to "be a man & support her!" Check this on Facebook; a man says "I lost my job today" - you get only 1 comment - "be a man, you should be out there looking for a job & not posting status on your wall". A girl says "my cat is sick" - the girl gets 1000 comments comforting her. Mark Zuckerburg is a woman?
Marriage sucks the energy out of a conversation; you keep thinking "is this why I got married?" Facebook keeps you awake all day & night. You leave a message on your crush's wall at 12 in the night, wake up 3 times in the night to check for a reply, wake up in the morning & start pressing refresh 10 times to update your notification. You keep thinking is this why I messaged on her Facebook page.
Once you get married you start showing off in front of your in-laws. You make sure your in laws know that you have bought a new car and it's bigger & better than what they have. In the Facebook world the first thing you do after buying a car is “post photos on Facebook!" Comments you get from your in-laws - "What a loser, that's a shit car at a shit price. You were robbed. I could have got you a better deal. Don’t you recall your father in law telling you everything about everything you have bought, even if he does all his shopping from Argos!
Once you get married, you like sleeping next to the girl whom you have loved for the last so many years. And Facebook is addictive, we all know that!

How to solve the sovereign debt crisis? And the future

2012-01-04T09:52:00.001Z

There should be a plan how the sovereign crisis can be solved and I think to do that the big economies must stop borrowing from the other economies of the world and start developing their own industries to improve the government's balance sheets.

Currently the countries like Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and even France, Germany, UK & USA only pay the interest on the loans they have taken from the other economies of the world. When the times comes for the next instalment, the payment amount increases and this leads the governments to cut in local spending. We then see tax increases, decrease in pensions, decreases in free services given by the governments, etc etc etc. So the best thing to have done in the first case was to borrow less, but now we need to increase your country's manufacturing and try to create more jobs. Easier said than done though.

I think Europe should do this:

Increase manufacturing in Germany, France & United Kingdom. Chip manufacturing? Electric cars? electric batteries for cars? Some new innovation? Finland was the home of mobile phone manufacturing; a country again has to become the trend setter.
Bring the call centres back. The basic simple jobs should go to the local people.
Improve rail network, add 4 carriages to every train that runs in Britain; and please give contracts to local firms, where local banks fund the projects.
European Union has to break away from very weak economies like Greece & Ireland. I think Italy & Spain are too big to fail and they can be part of European Union with some new rules. The following countries should be part of EU - UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Finland and Luxembourg. Rest can join later.
We have the ISA in UK where people can save up to £5300 every year. FSA must increase ISA limit from £5300 to £10000. This will change the mentality of people in UK, from spend spend spend to save save save and the banks will see their cash reserves increase. This money can then be given to the businesses and this will help boost the economy.
Ask people to spend where it is necessary & not spend on useless items - we actually don't need 2 laptops, iPads, 2 iPhones, XBOX & 3 holidays every year.
Above all the governments should believe in themselves and bring the manufacturing back to Europe, especially Britain (because I live here). I cannot believe the country that started the industrial revolution is now not manufacturing enough and believes that the service industry can help it survive. How can the government be happy to see that the manufacturing has been moved to Asia and all we do here is buy gadgets.

Our government must invest in innovation (which cannot be bloody copied) and must help to develop the entrepreneurial mentality of the youngsters. Enough of everyone wanting to become Accountants, Doctors and Bankers. We need people to become Engineers and develop this country's industries.

The future of Europe & America doesn't look great if they think that only services can help support the economy. Asia will be a big competitor for the next few decades; the West needs to find ways (and not just a way) to make themselves stronger manufacturing and innovation bases.

Who represents India?

2011-06-11T10:00:00.002+01:00

Well this is a curious thought... There is so much protest going on in India at this moment that we read and listen more about Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev than the President Patibha, PM, Sonia, Amma, Didi, Sachin Tendulkar, SRK, Dhoni, etc...

Anna Hazare has transformed vilages in India and when he fasted for uprooting corruption and bringing Lokpal Bill to the table; around 5000 people joined him (mostly from the Delhi region). Anna's also got a huge support from the so called intellectual class of India - writers, civil servants, painters, etc and all the Bollywood, Tamilwood, Bengaliwood, film-stars joined him on Twitter and Facebook.
Baba Ramdev has brought yoga back to the people of India. When Baba Ramdev did his fast around 65000 people joined him - mostly from the B, C, D graded towns of India. Ramdev's got support of the common man. There were no filmstars or politicians or intellectuals. There were common people who wanted his voice to be heard by the government and action to be taken against the corrupt.

Who does India represent? "5000 people + the film stars + intellect society" or the 65000 poor peasants who came all across India?

Both Hazare and Ramdev are fighting for the same cause - "development of a new vaccine - anti corruption" but the sharp divide between the classes who represent them is evident.

When Anna Hazare fasts - it is telecast live on the TV and with police protection.

When Baba fasts - police reached the Ram Lila ground at 1:00 in the night to force feed him or arrest him. The reason, "He asked permission for Yoga and not for fasting!" I feel like laughing out loud at this reason. When Ramdev said live on TV, "65000 Indian citizens will fast at the Ram Leela ground in protest of the corrupt govenrment and in order to bring back the black money" does this sound like "I will teach Yoga to 65000 people"?

When Ramdev speaks, he speaks the language of the common man and when Anna Hazare speaks he represents the intelectual class.

Who does India represent? The posh intelectual class or the working class? Or this is just all just a circus?

IPL - changing the face of world cricket

2011-04-20T13:52:00.002+01:00

I guess anyone watching the IPL would be thrilled by the number of sixes and fours being hit and the sheer excitement around the whole tournament.

I also love the fact that IPL will change the way cricket will be played, heard, worn, spoken about in the future. In future:

When a batsman will hit a six, it will be called a "DLF mximum".
When a catch will be taken, it will be called a "Karbon Kammal Catch".
When a wicket will fall, it will be called a "Citibank Moment of Success"
When the sponsors want the crowd to cheer for a team (basically shout), we will hear "Yahoooo" at 2000 decibels
The man of the match will be called, the "Hero of the Match" because Hero Honda will be the sole sponsor of the MOM trophy.
Drinks break will be called, "Maxx Mobile timeout".

Wonderful isn't it? I am so thrilled that my children will not know the boring cricket my parents and I knew about; when a "four" was called a four and a "six" was called just a six.

Imagine how exciting football will become if such innovative ideas of IPL would become part and parcel of the Barclays sponsored English Premiership games.

The commentary team would have to say:

Normal Fouls - That was a Northern Rock sponsored foul by Rooney on Fabregas.
Severe Fouls that deserve a card - I think Rooney will get a Dulux Paint sponsored Yellow card from the Referee
Ball goes past the goal post - Oooh, that was a Gillett close shave past the goal post
At the start of the game - The referee blows the whistle and that is the start of Durex sponsored game
Good save by the keeper - Excellent Tesco sponsored save by Van der Saar. "Every little saved" helps in the victory!
Goal - What else can I call it but a Dubai World Hedgefund Moment of Success!
Half Time - That is the whistle for a Coke break
Penalty Kick - Looks like Ryan Giggs is stepping up to take the Nike "Just Do It" penalty!

I hope the BCCI gang takes note of this nonsensical brand promotion commentary before it drives me crazy enough to say "I am loving it!".

Also can someone please explain me the reason behind the ridiculous colours of Kochi Tuskers jersey? Were the floodlights not bright enough in Kochi?

Does this mean I am getting old?

2011-03-08T19:08:00.002Z

I suddenly find myself forgetting things and being absent minded a lot:

Leave home at 7:00 to take a 7:18 train (to Liverpool Street) on platform 4, but instead go to platform 2 and sit in the 7:21 train. The 7:21 train is a slow train and the 7:18 one is a fast train.
Go to a shop, buy some stuff, take the change and walk out. Forget the stuff at the counter. This has happened twice.
I don't always carry a book to read on my train journey and recently got interested in reading one. Forgot it twice on the train, went back and got it. Once this book was in my bag and I thought that I left it back in the train. Went back, checked around the seat and then checked my bag again. Ah here it is. :-)
Leave stuff (keys, wallet) somewhere in the house, come back after 5 minutes and have no clue where did I keep it. :-)
Once I left home on my bike, reach station and found "oh, I haven't got my keys"; but interestingly I absolutely remembered on this occasion the place where I have left my keys!
I have forgotten my phone back home few times.
Wife asks me "Do you know where is ........................"; my brain goes absolutely blank.

But on the positive side, I have never forgotten where the TV remote is. "Wink"

I am the man of the house and I control what everyone watches on the TV!

How to have an easy train journey everyday

2011-02-23T12:30:00.002Z

Make your body accustomed to 3 - 4 deg C during winters

I feel very uncomfortable when the heating is switched "ON" in the train carriage. This winter when we had snow in December and early January, I made my body and my skin accustomed to the warm 3 deg C or 4 deg C temperatures inside the train carriage. Suddenly when I find the heating is switched "ON" in the carriage, I feel like I am in a sauna. I don't want to get all sweaty and sticky when I reach office. I would rather die of frost bite in the train than have the heating switch "ON".

Build relationship with the train drivers

I get very bugged when the train reaches Liverpool Street on time. You see it is a nice 1 hrs 10 minute journey every day from Cambridge to London Liverpool Street. But the driver understands that it is not enough for me to have a nap. And so we finish the journey every day in 1 hr 30 minutes or so. The driver always has reasons to tell to the other passengers

this train will be delayed as we have dew drops on the track, the tracks are slippery
the other driver didn't unlock the coupling
the train doors are locked, please wait inside
signalling problems
overrunning weekend engineering works throughout the week
(because one of my passengers wants to have a long nap)

The train drivers help me take a longer nap on the train journey. But when the train does reach on time, which is once every 2 weeks, my boss asks me "why so early?".

Lose some weight if you want to get in the underground

I generally don’t need to take the underground train in London but if I am working out of Canary Wharf office (which I did a lot last year) I make sure I plan it months in advance. The underground is very crowded every morning (between 8 AM to 9:30 AM) and when I do have to take an underground, I start losing weight months before the journey. This helps me squeeze in the 3-4 inches of space available on the overcrowded carriage on the Northern Line. And yes “mind the gap”.

I can also lose weight by

Walking up 300 stars - Escalators works on the Bank station will go on till July 2012 and start again in September 2012.
Walking more on the Bank station - Lifts will not work during peak hours on the Bank station, so please take the longest route, to exit the station.
Walking a bit more - Take the longest route to reach the Northern line when I reach the King’s Cross station from Cambridge.

Be ready to pay just an extra 6 % every year

Now that I have made my body accustomed to near freezing point temperate in the carriage and to the long train journeys, how about showing some gratitude for the extra comfort? So from 1st of January 2011, I decided to pay 6% more than what I paid the whole of last year. Well they haven’t left me with any choice; I love the journey so much that I want to show my appreciation by paying a little extra every day.

And stop complaining about the weather!

When do I get scared?

2011-01-18T09:03:00.002Z

When my wide says "hmmm okay do whatever you feel is right!"

I am fine if she says "no you will not" or she says "I think it would be good if you don't do that", but sentences like "hmmm okay do whatever you feel is right" make me very tensed.
Last week I wanted to play a game of hockey and also umpire a match, I knew that would take around 7 to 8 hours of my day, I asked my wife "if she has some other plans in the afternoon? If she didn't have any plans then I wanted to umpire because there weren't many who were ready to go away to St Ives and umpire, so I would have to go."
Her answer was "do whatever you think is right!" I went mental & still went.

Rest you all might understand what was the music when I reached home at 5 PM.

Here is a list of things "what she actually means" when she says:

Hmmm do you really want to do that? It actually means "no don't do that"
Hmmm if you think so what can I say? It actually means "Do as I say, don't use your brain"
Ok so you think this is correct? It actually means "you are wrong"
Do whatever you find is right. It actually means "you must not do that, because i don't like it"
Hmmm hmmmm hmmm that is fine. It actually means "that is not fine" (the three hmmmms mean NO NO NO)
Just think about what you have done. It actually means "you have pissed me off and you are a dead meat now"
I am not hungry. It actually means "she's just recalled what you had done 6 months back and although you have apologised for that, there is still scope for few more apologies"
She gives you single syllable answers. It actually means "she's just recalled what you had done 6 months back and although you have apologised for that, there is still scope for few more apologies.

CDS

2010-11-17T13:27:00.001Z

Can someone explain

How is Credit Default Swap different than gambling?
How is Credit Default Swap different than insurance?

Kashmir's freedom fighter's are India's terrorists?

2010-09-14T16:56:00.002+01:00

शाहीदों की मज़ारों पर लगेंगे हर बरस मेले,

वतन पे मिटने वालों का बाकी निशान होगा.

Carnivals will be held on our graves every year,

That's all that will be left of us, when we die for our land.

Kashmir's problem cannot be solved with guns and talks. The Indians, Pakistanis and the whole world knows about it.

India says, "The problem is created by terrorists who have come over the border". But when we see photos of Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla & Kupwara on the internet; why do we always see boys between the age of 15 and 25, fighting on the streets with stones in their hands against the Indian Army with guns in their hands? I can hardly believe that it is just a cross border issue. We need to understand "what does a Kashmiri want?"

A Kashmiri doesn't want freedom from India or Pakistan, all he wants is the security to live peacefully in his land and the right to earn his bread. He doesn't want to live in the fear of a terrorist or an army. Kasmhir doesnt want to be with India or Pakistan, Kashmir wants land for all Kashmiris where everyone can live with pride. Where is the pride today?

The Indian army has special rights in Kashmir and can call in anyone for questioning, then interrogate without any report and the special rights to the army allows it to get inside anyone's house without any warrant. How different is the Indian army in Kashmir when compared to the American Army in Iraq and Afghanistan?

How can we have different law for one state in India and a different law for the other state? If Kashmir is part of India shouldn't we have a single law everywhere? Why can't other state origin people buy land in Kashmir? Now when someone protests either they are taken in to custody or are killed or are labeled "terrorists". Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?

I am not against the Indian army, they are just doing their duty. I am against the Indian Government's policies of having different law for Kashmiris and different law for rest of India. I am totally against the law which helps / protects / terrorizes / threatens one specific set of people. The government creates a divide and when a Kashmiri youth, mother or father protests about it, they are labeled Terrorists or Vandals or Anti India Violent Actors.

In the last 2 weeks 75 people have died in the Kashmir valley and if India wants to blame Pakistan for it then shame on India, Indian Government, Kashmir Government and the Indian Army. And calling the kids as terrorists because they were throwing stones at you is disgrace!!!

May be only a revolution in Kashmir can change the way we look at the Kashmiris.

Book Review - Between the Assassinations

2010-08-04T10:48:00.002+01:00

This is Arvind Adiga's 2nd book and it is as dark, sorrowful, true & full of imagination as his first book. It is a collection of short stories based in a small town in South West of India; starting in 1984 & with the the last story ending in 1990. Hence the name of the book "Between the Assassinations of Indira Gandhi & Rajiv Gandhi".

The stories have nothing at which someone can smile or laugh at but yes very imaginative. (I like reading happy books). If you come from a very small town in India (which is in one of the "beemaru" (sick) states of India) then you can relate to the plights of the people shown in the book. Few of the things shown with great imaginative power of Adiga are

How the people of this town struggle to buy a piece of bread everyday but still want to live with pride
How people from villages come here, sleep on streets, work as bus conductors and pray to become big one day
How a teacher wishes his student can win a medal from the president of India which he missed
How a political party worker remains loyal to his party's work for many years and falls in love when he is in his middle age

Few things which Adiga missed and as an Indian reader I would have liked to see in the book are

The impact of Indira Gandhi's death to the small town
Impact of the congress victory in 1984 elections
Impact of The Bofors scandal
Impact of the rise of terrorism in Punjab & Kashmir
Impact of the civil war between LTTE and Sri Lankan government. Failure of IPKF.
Impact of Janta Party's victory in 1989 elections

Yes Adiga does mention few of these in the book, but I was thinking if this book is between 1984 & 1991, then a terrorist would come and hide in this town and would become a driver or gardener of a landlord. Or the political leader of this town would get caught in the Bofors Scandal and that would bring immense pressure on his family.

I mean it lacked that punch but then that is me. You can buy it from Amazon where 2nd hand copies are being sold for as less as £1. (And that is also me!)

10 rules England must follow to win the 2018 world cup !!!

2010-07-14T15:52:00.004+01:00

1. Win the bid

We are bidding for the 2018 world cup & after all the controversies, FA should go ahead and bid for the world cup. Our best chance to win the world cup is when we play at home, that’s what the statistics say. We have the richest league on the planet and some of the players too, we should use all these resources to become the host country. Good Luck!

2. Enjoy your football

English footballers need to play football without any pressure. Media or personal pressure should be zero when they walk on the field. They should go out there and enjoy the sport. Forget about winning or losing; just play because you love the game.

And Wayne Bridge, get over it, Terry was having an affair with your ex girl friend not your girlfriend. It all comes down to the lady, is it not? The WAGs will spoil the party even if they are not invited! That’s how powerful the WAGs are…

3. Learn to dive at the slightest touch

If Andrés Iniesta had not dived, Heitinga would not have been sent off, Netherlands would have been 11 men and Iniesta might not have scored the goal. But he dived at the slight touch on the shoulder….

Sometimes it is SMART and not CHEAP when you dive and get a penalty and win matches. The world will not remember what you did but your fans will remember that you got the penalty. Drogba, Ronaldo & Rivaldo can be our coaches.

4. FA must abolish the crappy league tournaments

Carling Cup? Who cares about Carling Cup these days? FA must understand that there is no need of increasing the number of games these players play. Football Clubs should also try and save the player’s legs. Asking players like Lampard, Rooney, Gerrard to play around 60 games in a year is just too much. And if a player like Rooney is carrying an injury you give him injections and send him on the field. That’s just ridiculous. Don’t kill the players please.

5. Do not touch the ball when you are not 100% fit

The players & managers should decide if that player is needed for just 1 match or for the rest of the season? If a player is injured he should take rest & nurture his injury, so that he can come back. Rooney broke his foot and was back playing for United against Byren Munich in a week. Too much pressure on the body will make it crack. Don't kill players, make them play when they can.

6. Increase the number of English players playing in English clubs

There are too many foreign players playing in the top English clubs. Arsenal, United, Chelsea & Liverpool have around 80% of the players from foreign countries. (AC Milan didn’t have a single Italian in the 11 when they won the This doesn’t help the English players. The English players will learn from the best players from the world when they play against them and not sit on the benches when the foreign players fight out for the English Premier League. There should be a rule to have a maximum of 4 foreign players on the pitch from a club.

The Spanish team had 7 players from Barcelona & 4 from Real Madrid in the starting line up of the finals. Now we have players from teams as low as 17th in the league (Green & Upson from West Ham United) & our best goalie is from the team placed 20th in the league.

Cant we have more players from the top 3-4 teams? We cannot because the top 3-4 teams have foreign players. :-(

7. FA must ask the players to relax from 15th December to 15th January.

No football. Stay with your family. Well its Christmas & new years’ time; so stay home with your kids. Relax, take time off from football. Go on a vacation to some hot place for a week and then come back early January and start training again. This will recharge the batteries and small injuries will get some rest. But with players playing 38 matches in Premiership, FA cup & Carling Cup, where is the bloody rest?

8. The top two leagues Premiership & Championship to be broken down into three leagues

The top two leagues Premiership & Championship have around 44 teams in total. Make it 3 leagues with 15 teams each. The new leagues - 1, 2, 3 will become more competitive teams. The standard of game between the best & the worst teams will not be miles apart.

It also means that the players will have to play 28 matches in the league and that gives them more time to rest between games, a longer summer break & a 1 month winter break. I really think that is the need of the hour.

9. Ask Capello to remain as the coach

Yes please. He has done wonders with the players, team discipline, WAGS, media personnel & helped England qualify easily for the 2010 world cup. I would also say this easy qualification added to the pressure on the players. May be he wont be able to do wonders in 2018, but if he stays for another 2 years, he might bring good culture in the dressing room which will help character building of the English players. So FA stick around with the Italian.

10. Pray on the night before the match

Well it might not help the performance of the players on the field but you never know. I guess there was some divine intervention when someone flashed the camera light in the referee's & linesman's eyes and Lampard's goal was disallowed. May be the German's did pray.

BP, Oil, America & Other blah issues

2010-06-12T09:01:00.001+01:00

BP's been spilling out oil since past few weeks and we have a village festival all across the shores of Mexican Gulf. According to data on Wikipedia there have been bigger oil related accidents in history.

Why is it that this oil spill has been made as if we have the third world war has broken out and we have all the multinational companies on one side and the rest of the world on the other side?

What I think this disaster is different than one of the other recent disasters (say in last 20 — 30 years) is that those disasters were not close to the American Borders; America wasn't directly profiting directly through it?

Also I feel that the media today hypes up everything. News is made and sold these days. Create a controversy, run behind it for days, then when the person retaliates you say "how dare he!" that's where you bring in all the cameras and journalists. Who killed Lady Diana? Accident?

I also think that the Environmental groups have too many rights and they act as if the environment is run by them. GreenPeace might say this tomorrow, “This is how much the earth's temperature must be”, “This is the amount of CO2”, “There must be these many number of trees” and “the oceans must have these many gallons of water and this many kilos of fish”. The Green people decide everything. Not the sun or moon. It was the coldest winter in Britain, blame China, North Korea, Iran & yes now add BP to that list.

Why is OPEC telling the world how much oil must be pumped out of earth every day? I say pump out as much oil as you can, when the oil gets over we will have new source of energy to run our cars and bikes. They said that “the world’s electricity will get over if coal gets over”, we found Hydro & Nuclear power to generate electricity. Why ration oil? That has made the world thirsty for more oil. Every news and war is now fought over, “I want more oil”. The sooner we get over with all the oil in the world the better!

Coming back to the BP & media issue. Today, we have so much information in our hands that it is very easy to make you feel bad; so feel bad o humans.

Accidents happen. Don't beat your chest about it. Don't blame the British Government & American Government for it. First things first the American Government should

1. Ask BP to stop the oil
2. Save the shores.
3. US Government should support BP in all ways to stop the oil flow
4. Once the oil flow has been stopped
a. Tell them to compensate the fishermen
b. Tell them to follow rules. If needed make new ones for companies which have broken the rules before.
What about the people who died? Will the insurance company pay them? Or does BP have obligation towards them? What about people who were injured? What about people who were just shocked? They might have nightmares every day for next 10 years. They might never want to work on an oil rig, what about their jobs? Do you still tell them, "no work, no pay"?

These are more difficult questions to be answered than just shout slogans against BP.

BP might just say "with every project there is an insurance company involved don't blame me. I want to pump oil, for any compensation go talk to the insurance people", but instead it is now trying to stop oil flow and avert a disaster. I think this kind of accident never happened before and BP is learning a lot of things by going through this.

Does standing with banners outside every BP petrol station help the cause of the worker on the oil rig? That won't help the moral of the poor guy who works 12 hour shifts at the petrol station.

Just fed up with how countries and organisations fight with each other. The world has now become like a school playground and every kid loves fighting with the other.

Why my love?

2010-05-20T22:48:00.002+01:00

Why does my wife spend half an hour brushing teeth & putting cream before going to bed? You are going to sleep darling and not going out.
Why does my wife ask me every night "which shirt are you going to wear tomorrow"? The one I see first in the wardrobe, it's really doesn't matter as long as it is ironed and has all buttons my love. And if I don't wear the shirt of her choice she doesn't like it. Well from tomorrow, you can choose my shirt & iron it!
Why does my wife have 14 pairs of shoes and needs a new pair every time she buys a dress? "Ah a new dress and now I need just a nice pair of shoes to match the dress." I have never seen a man buy a pair of shoes which match his blue striped shirt!
Why does my wife have a clutch bag? It's so small that it can't hold more than 3 things, eyeliner, lipstick & lipgloss. And then, "darling can you please keep my cellphone, keys & hairbrush with you?" Why should I? They don't fit in your bag doesn't mean I have to carry it. Well after buying a clutch bag, the next visit to the high street means "I need to buy a big bag, that is fashion". Can you please decide if you need a small bag or a large bag? :P
Why does my wife do the not so necessary cleaning and keep the stuff in places that we cannot find? Wife: "Let me clean up and organise the stuff in your wardrobe" Me: "ok" Next morning, "where are all my socks gone? Why do I have my ironed shirts folded? Where are my ties?" is she trying to hide my stuff or help me organise stuff? Sometimes I cant even leave the stapler on the study table because the table must be free when someone needs it. Me: "Well no one is using it now", She: " I might use it any time", Me : "Do you want to do something on the table?". She: "NO!". Me : "Then why do you want it clean?". She "Because I might use the table. he he he he he... "
Why does my wife need my pillow cover to match her pillow cover? Me: "I am going to keep my head on it and sleep my love not "wear" it. Also, you don't see the pillow cover after the lights are out, what's the point?" She: "What is the point of watching football?" She has a point here!
Why does she say that I must cut my nails on Tuesday and Friday only? What if I chew my nails? What if the match is a nail biting finish? When England won the 20-20 world cup, I didn't have nail then! What a waste of nails!

You have to work...

2010-04-27T20:29:00.003+01:00

The worst thing about working is going to work & the best thing is the day they pay your salary. :-)
Well actually I hate my journey these days and so I am quite peed-off that I have to go to work.

This is my morning schedule:

Get up at 6:15
Come out of the bathroom at 6:35
Get ready by 6:40
Throw breakfast down my throat in 5 minutes
Get out of the house at 6:50.
I always keep few extra minutes in my hand, just in case.
Bike to the station & reach at 7:05.
Train leaves Cambridge station at 7:15.
Reach King's Cross at 8:05.
Take Northern Line from King's Cross to London Bridge & then the jubilee line to canary wharf.
Reach office at 8:35-8:40. To do all this in time I need to iron my clothes in the night & keep them ready.

If anything is not in place, I am sure to reach office late and the rush in the London underground is worse than the Bombay Locals.

If I reach late it also means that I might have to leave office late. And then the whole day is a mess.
Many a times the modern Jubilee Line doesn't work and I just hate it! To get in the Jubilee Line train there are 2 doors and each has to work perfectly. What if anyone doesn't operate? PROPER MESS! Canary Wharf station at 8.30 AM and 5.00 PM is like India. No one is polite and everyone is in a hurry!
The travel time these days to the client office is around 1hour 45 minutes, one way ,door to door and I don't mind the time, the problem is changing trains. I just hate it. I feel so tired when I reach office that I don't feel like starting work.
And if I work at my office on Liverpool Street then it's 1:30 door to door, with no changes and I can study or work on the train for an hour.
As one of my club-mates pointed out few days back. It's becoming mechanical now; wake up, eat, journey from Cambridge to Canary Wharf, work, journey back home, eat, sleep, wake up, eat...
But I do look forward to Trupti's cooking every evening. :-)
Right now I am very eager for the 3 day weekend and looking forward to having fun with Sehaj & Pavit. :-)
Had a great vacation in Morocco but I need more rest. ;-)
On the train again going back home! Such is life, when you are unemployed, you want to work 8 hrs a day. And when you start working you look forward to vacations. But if you want to have your vacations and spend money, then you have to work...

Survived the Winters

2010-04-12T21:04:00.003+01:00

Flowers at Cherry Hinton Road

My neighbour's Cherry Blossom tree

These were the harshest winters in England since the invention of V8 engines and I survived them. Being here and going through the pain of winter weather for 3 whole months was an amazing feeling, thank you very much; I don't want that feeling any more. I mean ever in my life!

So when I went to my local super market on Saturday morning, I could stop admiring the spring flowers.

The temperatures touched 15 deg C this weekend and guess what did the Brits do? Removed their clothes, got sun burnt & fired up coal for their barbecues. Not a bad sight at all. :-)

Look forward to the summer weather and some bank holidays. ;-)

State of hockey in Pakistan & India

2010-03-14T12:50:00.002Z

I live in England now and have realised why dont India & Pakistan do well in hockey anymore. Asian teams haven't done great in this Hockey World Cup, Pakistan finished 12th, India finished 8th & Korea Finished 6th...

This is the difference...

My Town

I live in Cambridge & hockey is quite popular here. Cambridge being a university town supports lots of competitive matches amongst colleges. There are kids from the age of 5 to the age of 50 year old veterans who play hockey. Mixed hockey, men’s hockey & women’s hockey are all equally popular.

Number of Turfs

The town has around 10-12 turfs. All these turfs are sand filled turfs and not water filled turfs. They are cheaper to install & maintenance of the turf is cheaper.

Who provides the turf?

Some turfs are installed by the local council and some by private schools. The turfs installed in most private schools are of great quality (but not world class level). So clubs hire them after school hours.

How many clubs in my town?

There are around 3 big clubs in Cambridge town and 10 small clubs outside the Cambridge city area (in villages). Each club has around 3-4 men’s teams and 2-3 women’s teams. Big clubs like Cambridge City Hockey Club have more teams. Cambridge University also has around 5 (men’s & women’s) teams and they play in the English Hockey league as well.

How many Teams in my club

There are 4 men’s teams & 2 women’s teams. The best team plays in the 3rd league & 2nd best team in the 4th league and so on. There are 12 teams in each league.

When does the season start?

The season starts in the last weekend of September & end in the last weekend of March. 6 months of proper competitive hockey. We played 11 home matches & 11 away matches. The teams in the league are chosen in such a way that any team doesn’t have to travel 100 miles on a given day.

How many leagues? How many teams in each league?

England hockey leagues are segmented in 4 zones. NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST. Each zone is then segregated into sub zones.

I play in the South Zone. And in the south zone my league is in North West division. I play in the 4th division of South Zone (NW Division). There are 12 teams in my league.

So if you can imagine there around 60 leagues running at the same time in England. The number of people playing hockey every weekend is around 8500. (60 leagues X 12 teams X 12 members of each team).

So there is an enormous pool of players from which the best 15 players can be chosen to represent England in the world level tournaments. Imagine this thing happening in Pakistan or India?

What does the club do during off season?

In off season; that is from April to September, we play evening mixed hockey & friendly matches with local teams. This keeps the team fit & also helps ourselves play some amount of competitive (& fun filled ) hockey.

How does England deliver a good team every year?

Look at the number of people who play regular competitive hockey every year. Getting 11 best players who can represent from that pool isn’t difficult.

And why can't India deliver that kind of team?

There are not many Astros. The state governments don’t have any plans to set up Astros. The city commissioners don’t have any budget for sports. Not enough tournaments (forget about the leagues). No proper training has been given to coaches. No proper training to umpires.

There are not enough players from where you can choose the best 11. A pool of 100 players is needed, from where the world level 11 players can be chosen.

Aussies use GPRS to see how each player’s movement was when the game started from the 16 yard line. Pakistani or Indian coaches haven’t even imagined about the existence of such a thing!

There is no motivation for Indian players to do well. There is no fun in hockey any more. You need to enjoy hockey to keep yourself motivated.

Also no one knows the quality of players selected to represent India, there is no formal process. How do you decide these players are good enough to represent India if there aren't any competitive competitions?

1000 different reasons of recent failure.

Fingers must be pointed at the Government of India, Sports Ministry, Sport Authority of India, Hockey federation of India and Hockey Federations of each state for the abysmal performance.

Very frustrated and sad about the state of hockey in Pakistan & India.

Organisations take care of "their own people" only...

2010-02-18T20:23:00.004Z

We all know how "Apple" brings the best products to the market and how they have changed the MP3 players market and the smartphone market. You can now watch live sports on you phone. I watched the Manchester United VS Inter Milan match on my phone in HQ.

I had an iPod shuffle and it stopped working few weeks back. I had been using it for around 2 years now.

So when I went to the Apple store in Cambridge and asked if they can repair it or I need to buy a new one? They looked into the problem and said "Why don't you buy a new one? New one will cost you £60 with 2 year warranty and repairing the old one will cost you £45 with 1 year warranty."

I thought it was not a bad deal and I bought a new one.

So these guys at the Apple store insisted that I should give them the old one and they can recycle it for me. Save the planet. Brilliant idea! They also said that they won't give me a paper receipt but would email me the receipt. Apple wants to save the planet & paper is made from trees. They want to save the planet,etc etc. Very very impressive.

But when you cross the apple store in the night, you find all the 15", 20", 30", computers switched on.

Photo 1 - All the iPods and iPhones are running a screen saver.

Well isn't that using power? Isn't that adding to the carbon foot print?

What I feel is that all the corporates act in the same way. Make rules, policies, guidelines which suit yourself & forget the customer. Promote what you want to and ask your customer to get involved in it, make him sign up for some promotion activity & then take a totally different stand when the customer is not there. Absolutely hypocrisy! No one actually cares about the planet.

Another incident with my colleague.

He's got an American Express card and gathered tons of points on it. He thought of converting it into British Airways miles and book tickets on BA for his family. Conversion of points done, booking of flight tickets done, booking of holiday done & everyone is happy.

But BA lost 4 tickets which someone else would have booked. It looked like BA made a loss of £2000 on this deal with American Express. My colleague gets a call the next day and BA said "We cannot honour your points, please talk to Amex".

Now he has a holiday booked but without any flights. All he wanted to do is have a nice relaxed holiday, and all he gets is pain in the wrong place. He has been calling Amex & BA everyday trying to sort the issue.

My question is "do the big organizations really care about "their people" (read customers) or are they bothered only about "their own people" (read share holders)?

We all know the answer don't we?

Valentine's Day Gift

2010-02-02T19:15:00.006Z

Well aaj kal Internet ka zamaana hai so I thought why not dedicate a Valentine's Day post as gift for my wife ;)

1. Random Item relocation

When I wanted to shift some stuff from my wardrobe to the suitcase it was done as she wanted. It looks very organised but if I want to find something I need to ask her. "where is my blue check shirt and the tie?" she " it is in the grey suitcase and in the left side, below your sweater" now is she hiding things from me or she is organising them so that I can find it easily?

2. She’s Late for Everything

Well not everything but she is sometimes late. If being on time is what I like then being relaxed, then taking it easy is what she likes. She isn't late for movies but late for my hockey matches, parties, grocery shopping, clothes shopping, & other normal stuff.

These days she asks me 24 hours before, "What time are we leaving home? Tell me the exact time, I dont want you to put pressure on myself in the last moment" & the new strategy is "you get ready 2 hrs before schedule and that adds pressure, so get ready on time & not early !!" can't argue to this!

3. The Amount of Stuff She Has In Her Bag

Face wash, hand wash, cream for face, cream for lips, cream for hands, etc.... Then hair brush, make up touch up kit (no it's not a make up kit), perfume, Keys (millions of them), office entrance card..

Me "hey can you please keep my wallet in your bag?"

She "sorry I have space only to keep my hair straightener, cant keep your wallet!"

4. She’s Always Attached to Her iPhone

I have no comments please see the video.

Having 30 games on an iPhone may be addictive but she might have very strong wrists very soon.

5. Perfect Memory (Selective)

I still remember what you did in the summer of 2004.
You were not nice to me when we were living in that house.
Think of how you treated me in 2006.
Remember how you treated me in front of my friends?

6. All Things Technical Are Unimportant

INSTANCE1

She "so this is your new hockey bat?"
Me "it's not a bat but a hockey stick"
She "OK Mr. Perfect whatever, hockey stick, how much did it cost?"
Me "£150"
She "WHAT??? to hit the ball with a stick on the ground you spent £150?"
Me "it's a grays 6000 stick, one of the best in the world, got a nice bow, helps me in putting in aerial balls"
She "don't give me technical terms! I can't believe it cost that much"
Me "GULP!!!"

INSTANCE 2

She "the brakes on my bike don't work"
Me "they r disc brakes and they need to be replaced with normal brakes"
She "no need to get too technical, please make my brakes work"
Me "need to find what is the size of your wheels, then remove your old brakes, find if there is some space to attach the new brakes and then I can say that your bike's brakes are fixed"
she "I can never rely on you to do my stuff. you wont even make my bike's brakes work"
me "forget the brakes, buy a new bike !"
she "disc brakes one or a normal brakes one?"
me "GULP !!! GULP !!!"

Well all said and done. she makes my heart beat (and sometimes even skip a beat), she is the best cook, she cracks the best jokes, she is a good athlete, she is good swimmer & she is my wife.

Burj Khalifa - do we need it?

2010-01-10T17:31:00.007Z

The world's tallest building, 7 star hotel, world in the sea, palm hotel, etcetera. Do we really need these infrastructure projects in Dubai? In fact does Dubai need it?

There was this spectacular ceremony for the opening of a 900 meter tall building (I call it a purposeless monument) and the opening ceremony was attended by special guests from the Western world & royals of middle east Asia but don't they understand that other than them, no one else can afford to live in that building.

Checkout the opening ceremony video done on money borrowed from cousins.

Dubai is all desert & some oil. I really don't understand why do they keep building these 7 star hotels, huge malls, huge buildings & ice skating arenas in the desert? These things attract only the rich, but the middle class junta want jobs & decent food.

Dubai today is based on the perception that "what could ever go wrong here?" but my question to the royals of Dubai is "What are the assumptions or perceptions under which Dubai might or might not fall down?" No I don't want Dubai to fall, but "do the rulers of Dubai know if their planning about the future of Dubai is correct or wrong?".

It is a city giving employment to many Indians & Pakistanis who send a lot of money back home. If Dubai falls their dreams fall and may be in some cases even families back home might have to take severe actions.

Another issue I want to bring forward is that the Sheikhs & rulers of Dubai need to see that for the survival of Dubai they need more capital everyday & they need source of constant revenue generation. But where will they get the money from? No one is buying any property in Dubai. Dubai doesn't have any oil. There are no new investors (except cousins Abu Dhabi). And on top of all there is no real asset being created which will help in the growth of the nation. In simple words a long term vision is missing for a stable economic survival of a nation.

What about setting up industry there? Why haven't the royals of UAE thought about that? It's totally their view & idea what they want Dubai to become "a tourist destination", "a hotel", "a financial capital of middle east Asia" or "a developed and stable economy". Israel sends fruits and vegetables to Europe and is in the same climate as UAE, can't the government of UAE develop its agriculture industry like that? Can't they develop some date fruit farms for some other industry other than tourism & construction?

It is time that they start thinking differently before they world start taking them differently....

How to stay motivated while job hunting

2010-01-06T15:24:00.002Z

Many people have said “If you are unemployed then getting a job is a job in itself”, so very true. In 2005 – 2006 (ah those were the times!), for an IT professional shifting from one job to another was very easy and opportunities were standing at your door step (if you were good enough!). But today being just good doesn’t help getting a new job.

Keep looking for the right job

People need to understand that getting the job which you love and have passion for is very important, so do not get tired of searching for it. If you were a programmer or Business Analyst in the Healthcare sector then getting a job in Healthcare would be much easier than getting a job in the Travel & Tourism industry. But currently there are far less new projects being started by companies and it means that if you are an IT worker & out of job, then getting a new job is difficult.

Please don’t apply to a job because it is advertised, you saw it in your inbox. Ask yourself, “If by chance I do get an interview call, how will I answer the questions from a sector in which I have zero experience?” If you have the answer for that, go ahead and apply, otherwise it is probably best to move on and keep looking.

Keep working on your skills

Don’t just Google & apply for jobs, use this precious time as an opportunity to sharpen your skills or work on those skills which you were planning to learn when you were employed. IT skills can be given a boost by doing a certification course or a project management course or even a soft skills course like time management or public speaking. Or even something completely different like wind surfing or learning the guitar! If you are in the finance sector look at the FSA website everyday & try to find out, “What would I, as a Business Analyst in a financial institution, do with this new FSA Consulting Paper?”. Finance consultants can also use this time to learn statistical tools like MATLAB or SAS. Once you are in a job you would have to do the work your boss asks you to do and then work pressure never allows you to enhance your skills. And never forget that the ultimate goal is to get the right job, which you can make a career out of.

Quickly make yourself busy after you hear a bad news

With so many people being unemployed, the competition for the same job has gone up & the employer has a choice of choosing from a much larger pool of candidates. Attending a 3rd or 4th round of interview is becoming common now. Also, there are more rejections for a single post. So after hearing application rejection news you can:

go to YouTube and see a kid laughing or a kid’s funny dance
watch the news
watch Slumdog Millionaire or Shawshank Redemption (or similar uplifting movie)
watch the football match

The idea is to divert your mind from the bad news & just move ahead. Ask yourself “Do I have any choice other than looking ahead?”

Make personal contacts

Recruitment consultants always try to place those candidates whom they find would get placed pretty quickly. After all everyone’s got a mortgage to pay!

You can look at those companies whom you think might require your expertise, contact the HR directly and pitch yourself; maybe they might like your ideas and skill strengths. Ask your club mates if they know someone who can help you find a job. Meet new people and discuss your CV with them, you never know someone might say “Hey you know what I have a friend who owns/works in XYZ company, would you be interested to meet him?” There is no harm in telling someone “I am not employed and I need your help”. Most people understand the current economic climate & are ready to help.

The most important thing is that you must have faith in yourself. If you were good enough earlier, it means you are good enough now; it’s just the time that is bad. Maybe 6 months after getting a job you would laugh at those unemployed days and say “Blimey! I caught up on a lot of movies; as many as I have seen in all my life!”

No I am not dead...

2009-12-18T23:25:00.005Z

been just too too too busy with work, hockey & masti marofying with my wife... :-)

Trupti was travelling back from London today and she clicked some photos... They all look nice, bright, happy...

photo1

photo 2

photo 3

photo 4

Now the photos from my camera... They are dark, gloomy & torturous...

I bike from home to the rail station everyday and this is what I found on my bike when I came back in the evening...

There was 6 inches of snow on my bike and

a thought "why can't we have a roof for the bike stand at Cambridge station?! "

Norway in June & December

2009-10-24T21:12:00.013+01:00

UK being away from the equator faces quick changes in the seasons. Like there is a change in 2 minutes of sun light everyday. When the season changes from winter to summer there is a drastic shift of sun setting at 4PM to 10PM.

Now this was new for me and I wanted to see what is the difference between sunlight light time period in Norway. They call Norway "the land of mid night sun", but it can also be called "the land of noon darkness" (or something like that)

These are two videos of North of Norway.

In the month of June 2008, you can see that there is so less darkness. Hence the name "land of mid night sun"

And in the month of December 2008, we can see that the sunlight is out there for hardly 2 or 3 hours. Interesting isn't it?

I never felt this sudden "total sunlight time period" issue staying in India, but then that was India.

I also love the way the trees change from "no leaves in winter" to "new leaves in spring" to "green leaves in summer" to "red leaves in autumn" and back to no leaves in winter.

In India we generally have ever green trees & forests, pretty different here. :-)

Crouchy's Ballet & the Idiot Dancer

2009-10-14T23:29:00.007+01:00

Every time Peter Crouch comes on the football field he has something hilarious to do. It may be his bad header or his after goal scoring robot acts or his bad foul or his geek look towards his team mate after missing an open goal.

Yesterday's game against Belarus showed us why he is a clown of great talents. He can "Ballet" & also to assit him he can ask people from Belarus to join in. Check these photos.

Crouchy and his pals from Belarus doing Ballet

Professionals doing Ballet. See the resemblance??

I just couldn't stop laughing after I saw the photo on Telegraph. It was hilarious and must be nominated for the "best dance action to score a goal of the century" category !!! :D

Lalit Modi is typical Gujju

2009-10-08T12:26:00.005+01:00

His best friend is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, not in real sense but just the Gandhi photo on the 1000 rupees note.

I can now live in peace!!!

See see even Gandhi's smiling & smiling "Yes he loves me & he will let me live for ever". Lalit Modi the IPL CEO and BCCI top notch executive will do anything for money and will even make the Indian Cricket players play on the moon if that pays him & BCCI.

The main moto of a sports governing body is promote sports in youngsters, help the sports people when in need (or injury), bring up new talent from the corners of the country & help build glory to the country.

Lalit Modi is now organizing a 20-20 champions tournament & "ONLY THE BEST" are playing in it.

Oh really?

Sir I have a question : What about the champions of World 20-20 cup, the country called Pakistan? They also won the ICL tournament, didn't they? The IPL -1 champion team had Kamran Akmal & Sohail Tanvir, why were they not allowed to play in IPL -2?
Modi is angered by this question and barks back: INDIAN GOVERNMENT DOESN'T WANT TO HAVE ANY TIES WITH PAKISTAN, SO NO TEAM CAN COME FROM PAKISTAN. ALSO RAJASTHAN DIDN'T QUALIFY FOR THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Question 2: Sir Afridi is part of Deccan Chargers why isn't he playing?
Modi barks back louder : "YOU WANT INDIA TO WIN OR PAKISTAN TO WIN?"

Lalit Modi doesn't care about cricket, for him IPL is a profit making company and it should give him profit. He doesn't give a shit if any youngster comes from IPL to the Indian team or not. He just doesn't care !!! All he cares about is his 8 franchisers and how can I make more from them.

SRK "This guy to my right is an inspiration to the world & to all who don't care about anything & find out a way to make money"

Modi "please SRK you are embarrassing me, I am just a humble servant of BCCI"

I remember there was one young guy Manish Pandey who made a century in IPL -2 and since then hasn't done anything to come to the Indian team level.

IPL doesn't help domestic cricket, it is just spoiling the cricket scene in India. Half the players are injured when India plays an ICC tournament. India hasn't done great at the test level in the world until recently; now that our team has been doing well lets not kill the best 11 by forcing too much cricket on them.

Sehwag was injured for the ICC ODI Championship and now he is fit to play for Delhi Dare Devils. What if he get injured in Champions Trophy tournament and can't play against Australia?

Does Modi care about that? I am sure he doesn't. Infact even BCCI doesn't care, its now become a company & they want to make profit year on year. I don't know what great work are they doing after making so much money. The stadiums in India are bad and don't have good toilets or good seats. There are no good coaches at district level.

Modi stop being a typical Gujju and please give back to the people what you have got from them.

And I am totally against 20-20 cricket as a launch pad for cricketers to come to the national scene.

Obama, Healthcare & Change

2009-09-17T16:57:00.004+01:00

Being an Indian citizen I haven seen how difficult it is to get good medical facilities in small towns like Kharagpur in Bengal, India. My uncle & aunt had an accident sometime back and they had to go to Calcutta from Kharagpur to get an operation done, after the accident. But once they went inside the hospital everything was taken care of. It means that in India if you have a medical problem and land in the right hands, you will be taken care of.

I stayed in Chennai for few years and I found the medical facilities in big cities in India to be great. Infact some of the hospitals in India were so good that they didn't make you feel as if you were in a developing country.

If you had medical insurance (you can get it from your company or buy it yourself) then you need not spend anything and still get the best facilities. My University had sorted out my medical insurance and after a freak accident on my face while playing; I didn't pay a penny at the private hospital outside the University Campus and got the surgery done.

These are the kind of things which Obama wants to bring to every American citizen. Its a great thing and yes medical facility should be available and affordable to all. But right now a lot of people in the US Congress have their election funds coming from large Healthcare & Insurance companies and it is getting impossible for Obama to sell the idea to the Congressmen. To put in in a nutshell "The current generation of US politicians have become shameless bastards !!!"

How much money do they want? They are not going to live forever, most of them are around 50 and will die in next 25 to 30 years, then what about the millions and billions they have made?

My wife & I, moved to UK and were amazed to see how cheap the medical facilities are here. It looks like we are living in a socialistic economy and not capitalistic economy. Everyone who goes to the doctors in UK need not pay a single penny. The doctors in UK work for the government and the government pays their salaries. They write prescriptions to the patients and the patient has to buy every prescribed pill for £7.20. He pays only if he is between the age of 16 and 60 years. Isn't that great? If you are in an age where you can earn and pay for your living then you can pay a nominal charge for the medicines which you buy. Doesn't matter if it is a cancer medicine or AIDS medicine it is £7.20 for the pill. Doesn't matter if the medicine is for 10 days or 10 weeks or 10 months course, you pay £7.20. It is that cheap.

I think some people might in US are also arguing to the fact that "Why should I pay for your medical facilities? I pay my taxes and my tax money is being used by the government to provide medical facilities to the poor!! The poor don't pay any taxes and don't help me in anyway." You are helping the poor because you can. In a country or in a community isn't it nice to care for each other? If I am a poor guy living in a community and all the community members come together and help me in finding a good job or constructing the roof of my house, wouldn't it make this community a better place to live in? Wouldn't it bring a good name to the community? Yes it would.

So sometimes the Healthcare Policy makers should understand that "It is not just about the money & the profits each company or hospital makes. It is about a nation and its people !!!"

In France there are doctors employed by the government who have the sole duty to work only during the night. If someone calls them and says "It is 2AM in the night I have a very bad stomach ache" the doctors visits their home and checks them, and it is free and you need not pay any insurance for such a service. Can we imagine such a thing happening in USA? Right now I don't think so.

In my opinion US mentality today has become profit oriented and money focused. The current governmental policy makers have forgotten what is right for the future of the nation. I hope that the Congress understands that everyone has a right to live & good health. It is the duty of the leaders of the nation to provide these basic necessities.

OBAMA FOR CHANGE !!! The first change which has to come in the US Congressmen's minds is "no more greed" .

Bank Holiday Weekend

2009-09-03T10:28:00.008+01:00

We went to Dover on the Bank Holiday weekend and it was real fun. Ever since I was a kid and read stories of World War II (my cousins had those black & white comic books of WW II), I wanted to visit the port of Dover, as this was the closest town to Europe...

I always had my imagination that this would be filled with military & navy... We can see that on most of the Indian border posts, but this is what we found....

...a sleepy little village town with cars parked and very scarcely populated...

We walked from the town to Dover Castle which was on the top of the hills or cliffs of Dover... The walk from town to the top was really nice and we just sat here and there for a general photo session... The place is so less populated that we couldn't find anyone to take our photo, so I kept the camera someplace and then used the timer to click the photo... :-) Imagine Indian Population!!!

This is the English Channel & you can see France at a distance... On a better day you can see a clearer France...

Dover Castle... It had loads of tunnels and stories of how it was an important part of the 2nd World War, for the Allied forces... There were stories that it is one of the most haunted places in UK...

Walls of the castle, most of the walls had places where they had anti aircraft guns shooting German planes from 1939 to 1945...

The next day we wanted to see the cliffs of Dover and had to walk around 6 miles for the whole route... This route was earlier used by trains to transport chalk for industrial use...

The cliffs overlook the port... Pretty cool ain't it?

Living on the edge literally !!!

The wind was very strong on the cliffs.. We can see here that the growth of the branches has become unidirectional... Just loved the fact that nature still rules!!!

You had to actually take a small path from the top of the cliffs, then walk down the stairs to go to the beach.. The walk was loads of fun...

WW II observation posts... the scenes would have been different when the war was on...

The beach was very different than the beaches we have back in India...

Now the fun of going on a vacation is that you have to wear a different dress everytime we go out... And "meri pyari biwi" had like tons of dresses to wear for these 3 days... She brought so many dresses that even though she changed dresses every 6 hours, some of the dresses were taken back to cambridge without being touched... It is fun for girls to mix and match various dresses for different occasions... :-) This is the dress for going to the beach, this for generally going out & this for dinner !!! Amazing !!!

For men?? It's simple "Change the Tshirt - Change the mood !!"

Even the start of the train journey from Dover back to Cambridge was very scenic... :-) The train went along the coast line for around 20 mins and I was busy clicking photos... :-) Just loved it !!!

"The tourists" had a great time in Dover.

Thankfully the sun was out, weather was great & we loved the last summer days of 2009 in Dover !!! :-)

6 years on & the passion still remains...

2009-09-02T23:28:00.003+01:00

Been 6 years since I played good competitive hockey. But the passion was always as good as it was in those days. I am leaner & fitter since last year and rearing to go for the hockey season which starts in end of September.

December 2003

September 2009

Woaaaaaaahhhhhhhh Been a long time I should say !!!

Full of geeks...

2009-07-28T16:22:00.004+01:00

You know you are in a place full of physicists / mathematicians / geeks or in Cambridge when you can read this on the walls as graffiti...

Weird people but the formula does express what someone's ENERGY level must be; given that his mass = M!!!

United Breaks Guitars

2009-07-24T11:29:00.006+01:00

We all have understood the power of internet with Obama's Presidential Election Victory and now we can see loads of people using the power of Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, etc to express their feelings.
Now this dude who happens to be a nice small time singer in Canada flew United Airlines and they broke his guitar. He came up with a song to protest what happened with him and may be in a light hearted way also pointed the finger at United's CEO.

Now that United have now found out that there is a lot of negative publicity involved around this issue, they have come back to him with a compensation. Better late than never !!! Good lads !!!
But this bugger now wants United to give the money to charity and is coming out with a 2nd song. Bollocks !!! We got your message !! United got your message!!! They tried compensating (with cash or a brand new guitar) but this son-of-a-gun wouldn't stop, will he?
Some people just don't know when to stop whining and you are one of them !!!

Google's Innovation

2009-07-20T15:15:00.004+01:00

Google comes out with those Special Day pages every time there is a special day; say for example like New Year or Christmas or Halloween etc etc. Today it is "The Day Human's Set Foot on Moon", so what can great innovation can Google come out with?

Well there isn't anything great on its search page but if you go to GoogleMaps and then try going to street view, you can find an ASTRONAUT instead of a normal YELLOW MAN !!! I think it is really cool way to pay tribute. And the Astronaut kind of walks as if he is really on the moon. :-)

India Awakening

2009-07-10T09:17:00.005+01:00

My younger brother made this movie. Its a small documentary about what every Indian can do to make India a better place.

Music is obviously copied from some albums & some scenes too. The idea and concept are just amazing. I also love the fact that he doesnt want India to become a super power but he says "If we do small small things correctly and take part in every way to make India a better place, then surely India will become a better place".
Good work Amrinder & friends.

Part - 1

Part - 2

Change in History !!!

2009-07-07T12:48:00.005+01:00

Well last week was quite dramatic with loads of things happening.

Michael Jackson Died - Yes he was my first hero. I mean I never liked him like would cut my nerve when he died but yes I always tried doing moon walk when I was a kid. My eldest cousin brought home the Thriller Cassette and it was just so much fun listening and dancing to it. When ever there was a new music release it was followed on Doordarshan and I was there watching it on The World this Week. It was fun and respect to Michael, he was an inspiration. He did make History with his Thriller !!

Legalizing Gay Marriages in India - This is a big attempt by India (a country as whole) to control the population explosion problem. I see new webistes coming up, like Tamil Shaadi.com or PunjabiMatrimony.Com; we are going to have Samesex.Shaadi.Com or Samesex.Matrimony.Com. Way to go India !!! Actually it doesn't bother me much, as long as anyone makes love to the other with his/her concent. Its a small step to change the way we look at gays and lesbians, as we should stop looking at them as different; THEY ARN'T. Obviously you now don't go ahead and legalizse sex with animals. Poor cows on the Indian roads might be living in fear now. History was made surely !!!

Rakhi Sawant is Marrying some bloke on live Television: Now this is what I call making of history. RAKHI KA SWAYAMWAR is the biggest thing to happen to Indian Television. She comes on TV and says "jaise Sita Mata ka swayamwar hua tha, jaise Draupadi ka swayamwar hua tha, is yug mein mera swayamwar hoga."

Rakhi was called “divya roopi sundari nari” by a contestant. Rakhi Sawant to Indian is what Jade Goody was to UK. She is monitored 24X7 by media and every Tom-Dick-Harry-Mika want their share of the sad fame she has got. She was in Big Boss and there she gave her great English dialogs "oj Geegas Please halp me, meri madad karo !!"

She slapped her boyfriend Abhishek Awasthi as he apologized her on a knee. She thinks "I have been under the scanner all my life, it is time I also get married under the scanner."

The contestants have come from far of lands, and rakhi has been asking each one with a sweet twinkle in her eye "aap mera dil toh nahi dukhayenge".

One dude is from Canada whose Hindi is as good as my Swahili.
Another one is a police officer from Kashmir. It looks like the terrorists are busy watching Rakhi Ka Swayamwar and this gives the officers in the valley to visit Bombay.
Some bloke is from "Ganga maiya ke kinare humara des hai", looks like he is from some village in Bihar or UP.
Best was when some guy came up to her and said that "yeh lo kangan meri ma ne bheje hain aapni bahooo ke liye". Bloody hell I didnt know I should cry or laugh !! But I did get cramps in my stomach & aansoo aa gaye meri aankhon mein.
One guy is Luv Khanna from Delhi. Where else could he be from?? Look at his pickup like "yeh Ram aur Sita ka putr aapka dil jeetne aaya hai aur jeet ke jayega"

Anyways history was made last week and way to go Indian Television !!! Bobby Darling you got your rights !!! Jacko RIP...

I Love Tuesday Evenings

2009-06-30T16:51:00.003+01:00

Since moving to UK, I wanted to do a lot of things and on top of those was join a Hockey Club. Half of those plans have either been forgotten or I plan to do once I get a decent job but I couldn't stop myself from joining a Hockey Club, as soon as we setled in Cambridge. I go for regular off-season training on Tuesday evenings at South Cambridge Hockey Club and its real fun.

My Old hockey stick was giving me trouble and hence thought of changing it with a new one.

This was being used on and off since past 4 years and it was time for it to go.

Even the Color Started fading.

Got a Slazenger stick and it was pretty costly too. But there is no value for passion. Got the one which the English Olympic team had in 2008, just to boost the passion to play. Sad that the British team defeated India in the Qualifying.

The Grip is pretty soft and there isn't any jerk when I take the Hit.

The Hook's good for scoop and drag flicks. Would cost you 60 quid in the Slazenger website try getting a bargain if you can

South Cam has 4 mens teams and 4 girls teams, casual trainings involves playing in mixed teams or mens teams. Last Tuesday the second team captain came and asked me if I was intersted to join them for the season starting in October, looks like I impressed him. I was thrilled at that invitation. :-) So till October I would like to train lots and then put fight to find place in the regular team.

Tata... It is time...

Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda & Samantha - My new worst friends!!!

2009-06-23T14:57:00.005+01:00

What does a girl want from her guy? They want you to listen, "Are you even listening to what I am saying? I think I am talking to the walls!!!"

The point is that they want you to listen, see and do everything their way, even girly stuff. So I have been watching SEX & THE CITY since past few weeks on the computer while my dearest wife & I have dinner.

Why I cant tolerate it:

Because its like 30 GB of data downloaded, illegally & forcefully. I was forced to download it.
because it took a week to download. The WiFi was kind of slow, so it took a week to download. As soon as it was downloaded the WiFi was back and running. Did the Virgin Broadband guys kind of give me idications & hints of what was coming?
Because it starts with these lines every time: In a city like New York with 8 million people and 4 million being men, cant a girl ask for nothing more but a decent handsome, rich, smart & funny man??!!!
Because it is predictable. Since we have been watching from season 1 to 6 I kind of know what each girl does and wants from the other guy. Do girls just want to say, "My name is Ivana Humpeu!!" everytime they see a smarty? I dont think so.
Because it was clashing with the world cup matches timing. Tell me honestly whats more important "4 girl friends trying to figure out how to get a guy or 11 men playing with their bat & ball" ?
Because I can't tell my wife I hate this nonsense or else she will say I HATE YOUR CRICKET, FOOTBALL, FORMULA 1, HOCKEY, ETC ETC SPORTS!!! NO SEASON FOR ME MEANS NO SPORTS SEASON FOR YOU TOO, DEAL?? I don't even want her to have those thoughts , so just waiting for season 6 to get over.
Because its taken 30 GB of hard drive space.
Last but not the least, I am sure Trupti's going to have a re-run of all the seasons for next 6 months.

So if any guy is reading this and his girl wants "Sex & The City" movie DVD or Seasons DVD, just find a great great reason why you forget to buy it everyday or why the download can't happen!!!

May Lord have mercy on Carrie's soul !!! Amen !!

New Look

2009-06-15T16:46:00.004+01:00

Well it was time I changed the look of my weblog, the old one was getting boring now and wollah here I am.

Wanted a picture of me playing hockey and hence this "HOCKEY SLAP HIT" picture up there. I also wanted a links thing on top of the weblog rather than everything on the right side, so changed that too.

Actully I didnt know how to do all the changes, so I consulted meri pyari biwi and the expert that she is, said "I will do everything for you but but but, you won't question me, 'why this?' 'why that?' OK? You will take the colors I put on your site, no questions asked, OK? You will not say, 'hmmm this looks fine', you have to say 'This looks the best!!!', only then I will touch the HTML code for new look, OK?"

Actually it does look good and I was smart that I didnt ask her too many questions and left all to her. This thing looks great. :-)

Thankssssssssssss Dulingggggggggggg !!! And she got a present for this. Well she now owns a brand new car. Congrats on your new car, latest model Austin. ;-)

Why is cricket a game of glorious uncertainties and controversies???

2009-06-11T10:35:00.006+01:00

Greg Chappel says "Smart work & Quick thinking" that's what all the cheats do don't they? You can't cheat someone if you are dumb jackass yourself.

The cricket law says "You can't hold the ball and touch the rope at the same time, and if you do so it will be 6 or 4"

Fair enough.

But in this video we see Mathews doesn't touch the rope but goes beyond the rope, outside the boundary line, he then stays outside, jumps in the air, pushes the ball from outside the boundary line (while he is flying in the air like super-cheats-man) and throws it in. And suddenly all of a sudden it becomes a "smart thinking, good work, great job, well done, etc etc cock-a-doodle-doo!!"

Think of this. Its the last ball of 1986 Sharjah Cup, Pakistan needs 6 to win. Chetan Sharma is bowling to Javed Miandad, as usual we know Javed will hit a six and we ask Kapil Dev to keep all his fielders in the boundary line. Now as soon as Javed hits the ball, the first fielder run outside the boundary line, goes 15 rows into the crowd and jumps in the air, catches the ball and throws the ball to the second fielder who is standing inside the boundary. The other fielder catches it and its OUT!!!

Javed Miandad hit the ball outside the boundary line and still got out!!! Should we say "smart thinking, good work, great job, well done, etc etc cock-a-doodle-doo!!" or should we say "thats cheating"

So from this video we understand cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties and needs 1 billion rules every year for fair play. But here the fielder should have just not thrown in the ball, it looks like he is a cheat. Sorry Mathews, good effort but you cheated.

Just incase you want to have a look at the video again and just the catch check out the following video without any of the cheezy Australian or Indian comments.

The commentators of Indian sub continent are riding the success of the Indian Cricket team, specially Harsha Bhogle should throw away his wig !!!

Woah !!! Woah !!! Woah !!!

2009-05-28T11:54:00.007+01:00

I didn't know this.
I watched I Am Legend few times. I mean downloaded it and watched it on the computer and then on the iPod whenever I was travelling, but didn't know that there was an alternate ending.
Check this out (there is a video here, click on play) !!!

Some people say the video isn't available, for them here is the link. :P

Remember Neville's daughter telling "Daddy look at the butterfly!!"? This is how the butterfly saves him !!! :-)
A happier ending but the earlier ending was great, this is just OK OK !!!

Jitega Bhai Jeetega

2009-05-27T15:02:00.003+01:00

Got the tickets Yahooooooooooo !!! We got the tickets for the 20-20 World Cup Semi Finals.

We really don't know if India will qualify for the Semi Finals but watching the match at the Oval would be an amazing experience in itself. :-)
Come On Dhoni & gang !!!

What should one do when they visit Cambridge?

2009-05-26T12:31:00.012+01:00

Cambridge is a small sleepy little town but on a bright sunny day it does become a garden with everyone out doing barbeque. :-)

When you visit Cambridge

Lookout for weather guide and pray that the sun stays out the whole day.
If you are not sure of the weather then then just use your iPhone as she did. (Some people just don't stop showing off! Not you darling, I am talking about some other people)
Head for Midsummer Common, which is close to City Center. Here is a view of Midsummer on Google Street Map on a sad cold day. Imagine how it would look on a bright and warm sunny day.
Get rented bicycles. If you come by train, you can find a bicycle rent shop in the private parking area of the station. If you have your own bike and you should get it along. Cambridge is small enough and if you are cycling more than 30 mins to reach your destination it means you are either lost or you are out of Cambridge or "buck up lazy ass you are biking too slow!!"
When you reach Midsummer Common, head for the river Cam. It runs through Midsummer.
Get some sandwiches and drinks along. There are few pubs incase you don't want to bring your own food. Fancy a pint then please visit Fort St. George.
Enjoy the weather
Enjoy your Ice Creams and stickout you tongue if you had Mr Bubbles. Love the bubble gum colour and taste on your tongue.
Take Self potraits
Girls can checkout the guys rowing and flexing their muscles.
Or just simple relax, bike for sometime, sit down relax again. Or close your eyes and sleep in the grass. (Don't forget to tie the bike to your leg. Cambridge is famous for professional bicycles thieves.)

It was an amazing day and we just did that. :-)

Precaution : Watchout for cow dung while you are walking or biking!!!

Chandni Raatein

2009-05-03T11:21:00.006+01:00

In 1990s Bally Sagoo, a super duper DJ from UK started remixing the old songs and presenting them to the Indian crowd. I wasn't a great fan of this idea but of the few songs which Bally Sagoo presented, one of the songs which I loved the most was Chandni Raatein. The first video is Bally Sagoo's remixed song, which came out in 1997. I didnt know this song is a copy of the old old song of a very very old hindi movie. I was generally wasting time on YouTube and bumped into the old Chandni Raatein song. Sagoo, thanks for the remix.

And this is the original song. What if Sagoo didnt remix this, we would have never heard this song. :-)

Luck By Chance

2009-04-24T18:46:00.007+01:00

Ha Ha Ha Ha !!! Anurag Kashyap makes a fool of himself and his loud thinking. In 2008 Anurag Kashyap gave India's best movie - Black Friday and also the worst movie - No Smoking.

About these dialogs I would say "Symbolic hai jiada mat socho."

Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament sparks hunger strike in Kolkata jail

2009-04-21T10:44:00.004+01:00

Hundreds of prisoners in a Kolkata jail have gone on hunger strike after being told they could not watch Indian Premier League cricket. Check this news

Worlds coming to an end, people are not allowed to watch TV... Prisoners now demands their rights... Bollocks !!!

Snow In London

2009-02-04T23:16:00.004Z

It was real fun to watch the snow fall for the first time in my life. :-) It started snowing here on Sunday evening and kept falling till Monday evening. It was really beautiful. Some say the weather was treacherous but for me its was a great fun filled day. ;-)

Our backyard

Park near our house

Front with Didi's car, fully covered in snow

The tree in our backyard looked awesome :-)

And the houses too....

This also gave us an opportunity to build a snowman. Althought we were not able to collect a lot of snow but we managed a decent snowman, not as fat as he should be but he was ok. :-)

Pavit and I, playing in the snow.

Pavit kept making the snow balls and was busy thowing them at me. Her mission "make the biggest snow ball in the world" :-)

Snow man and I, trying to shake hands

Snowman and Pavit. Pavit just letting him know, "you are going to melt in few hours".

Although the day when the snow came down was bad for transport but its become even worse now. After 2 days of sun coming out in its glory, you find the snow turning into ice and walking on the footpath is like doing the work of a trapeze artist. he he he... Very difficult to walk I say.

Ok more pics when we have more snow.

Tata...

Life Kitni Badal Jaati hai :-)

2009-01-13T13:50:00.006Z

Same place :-) So many things have changed, specially now I have a great wife and a bad hairline!!

It was freezing on 10th Jan and we had plans to go visit the Greenwich Meridian, although we stuck to the plan it wasn't a great idea. When we reached home we came to know that the temp outside was -2 deg C. Great !!! Anyways brought back memories of when I went there in 2005 summers.

Back then it was a wonderful day and wasn't as cold as it was on Saturday and had a better hairline atleast. He He He He He !!!

Back in 2005, I stood alone across the Western and eastern hemispheres....

And now it was us... We had around 7-8 layers of clothes... It was bloody cold that day, coldest since we came here...

Slumdog Millionaire

2009-01-07T19:15:00.006Z

Its one of the most brilliantly made movies. Maa Kasam Maaza Aagaya Dekh Ke.

Its a very emotional movie and I really really wanted Jamaal to get what he wished for in the movie. I don't want to spill the beans, but its based on the reality show "who wants to be a millionaire" and few other real events which have happened in India in recent past.

Bringing all those events together in a movie and then making them into an emotional movie was really brillaint. :-)

Would like to see it again and again, but now that I know the ending I don't know if it would be as exciting as it was when I saw it the first time.

I dont know if many people would believe it but the amount of interest when Kaun Banega Crorepati (Indian version of Who wants to be a Millionaire) was running in India was equal to what has been shown here. I remember very well that my friends and I went to a pub in Chandigarh in 2002 January and we asked the pub guys to change the channel from some shit punjabi music to KBC. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha !!!! Such was the impact and interest that it generated. Kudos to Danny Boyle & Lovleen Tandan for giving us such a brilliant movie. I think it will have its own impact at the Oscars.

I also saw Ghajani. Its a decent movie but very violent. Worth watching once.

Day Out Here

2009-01-04T11:15:00.007Z

Went to Southall and Central London. Just posting some pics. London can be very cold during the winters. If you come out during the day time the temperature could be mild and around 3-4 deg C. But after sunset if you venture out around the river, its very very cold. The best thing to do when you go out in winters in London is, "wear all the bloody clothes you have, cap, gloves & scarf are necessary items !!!" Thats what we have learnt.

Trupti got very excited when she saw that the name of the station was written in Punjabi & along with the usual English. She is doing "Bhavdeep look at this !!!"
The Gurudwara Singh Sabha at Southall. This is the biggest Gurudwara in the whole of Europe.
We went with Teji and had Langar there. And later we came to know that it was Guru Gobind Singh Ji's Birthday as well. Cool.

Inside Galassy Junction.

Berlin Wall, just outside the Imperial War Museum.
Teji & I, showing off our "Mardana Side" in front of the tank.
London Eye in the night time. It was very cold around -2 deg C but whole lot of people were out and everyone was ready for a party. No one was talking about how cold it is, they were just enjoying the evening.

In Transit....

2008-12-17T05:33:00.002Z

Going from Chennai to London... :-) We are going to become ICE in the winters of England...

In transit in Kharagpur...

Bombay Terrorist Attack !!!

2008-12-10T19:29:00.006Z

Believe me kuch nahi badelega... I have been Cursing the Indian Government since the Internet got installed at my house, but kuch farak padha??? NOTHING !!!

Just links to my earlier posts...

You know kyun farak nahi padega??? Kyunki actually kisi ko kuch farak nahi padhta hai... 10% indians are well educated but the aam aadmi is illitrate and hungry... More than 50% of Indians live on Rs25.00 per day... That's what the government says... If an Indian can earn more than $0.50, then he is above the poverty line... Most of the Indians in this group are daily wage workers...

Now please tell me how many people earn more than Rs 3 lakh per annum? 5%? ok 10%? can 10% of the population change the whole system? NO THEY CANT... If someone did his maths correctly then 90% is greater than 10%...

90% of the people in India have to different thing to worry everyday, "If I don't go to the fields or factory today my kids might not be able to have food tomorrow. If I don't go to work for 1 week they might not be able to give their school fees next month" Is this daily worker least bothered about some 5 star hotel burning in some Colaba Shithole in some place in Mumbai? The motherfucking single day rent at Taj Colaba is around Rs25,000.

Some policeman died in this Mumbai attack, his salary was Rs 2500 per month... Now just tell me, why should some policeman die saving some bastard who is paying 10 times his motherfucking salary for just using a bed to stay in a hotel room for one night?? Marne do the so called "ELITE" class of India ko... Let them die !!!

Bombay has seen Bomb blasts in Trains and shootouts etc... Kisi bhi "ELITE" class wale ko kuch farak padha?? Nothing !!! Abhi jab Taj & Oberoi mein attack hua hai toh sabhi log "Hai dhaiya hai dhaiya" karr rahe hain...

I have no issues with the ELITE class, but the government is inefficient & ineffective & shameless... They don't deserve to rule this country... We shouldn't have democracy in India... We should have military raj... I am ready to give away all my freedom for a better India tomorrow... Atleast 200 years down the line we can have a great India...

Come on Bharat ki Napunsak Sarkar... I can do better in 1 day than what you do in next 10 years...

We need to open more schools
We need to help the agriculture sector's growth
We need to make more steel plants for a stronger India
We need to build more roads
We need more thermal power plants for 100% electricity in the whole of India
We need to build Railway lines must which touch Ladakh & Srinagar
We need to Ask the people who earn more than Rs 1 crore to give 45% of their salary as tax... They would still have a take away as Rs 55 Lakhs... Tax the motherfucking ELITE !!! You want protection?? Pay for it assholes...
We need to make social responsibility compulsory... 1 year of Military or NCC service... or 3 years of NSS... Choose...
Very strict laws... Very motherfcking strict... (Writing this with grinding teeth)
Increase the salary of the police by 3 times... Give them the authority to use the danda when ever they feel its necessary... Indians listen to danda only !!!

Ok... Got to sleep now... Kafi late ho gaya...

Meri Pyari Biwi

2008-12-04T17:37:00.020Z

Now that we are shifting to UK, we have to do all the packing & sorting out what is needed and what is to be left behind, everything of that sort.

I finished my packing in an hour or so some 2 weeks back. I decided, I am going to wear this this this and would have to buy warm clothes from UK, hence packing was over in 20 minutes max and half my suitcase was empty.

Now comes the trun of Trupti to do the packing. Before that she has to do shopping. It's been going on & on & on, since the past 2 months and I have doubts that its going to get over. While we are on the flight to the JuKay she might still be doing the packing!!! :D

Most of the times she would have already decided what all she has to buy or wear.

I have to go along and stand there and try to give an honest opinion about what I think. You see, Honestly is sometimes, not the best policy!!! ;-)

Honestly Batao

Trupti: Aacha listen. Shall I ask you something? Ekdum honestly you should give this answer. Please dont make fun or don't lie today atleast. Aacha honestly batao, do I look fat?

Me: What? No !!! Not at all...

Trupti: Really?

Me: Yup !! No Doubt !!!

Trupti: Really? Tum mazak toh nahi karr rahe ne???

Me: Nahi main mazak karr raha hoon... You are fat !!!!

Trupti: WHAT?????????

Me : Yeah... You look no less than Manisha Koirala !!! I am serious...

Trupti: You are kidding right???

Me: Nope...

Trupti: Why do you keep calling me fat??? Its not nice at all...

Me : Ajeeb baat hai... You asked me if I am fat.,.. I said NO... You kept pestering me so I said YOU ARE FAT !!! I thought you wanted to hear that you are fat... I didnt know you didnt want to hear that... Decide what you want yaar... You want to be called fat or thin??

Trupti: Thin !!! Tumse toh baat karna bekar hai !!!

Me : OK You are thin !!! Now can I have my dinner plate back please???

B.t.w., Trupti is 10 Kgs underweight for her height !!!! Fat ?????!!!!

Jeans Shopping

Trupti: I want skinny jeans. Thats the fashion.

Me: Ok we shall go to Levis Store.

Trupti: Yyeahhh!! That will be fun...

Fun?????? OOPS !!!

Me: Hmmm !!

Jeans Store... Jeans tried...

Trupti: How does it look?

Me: Yup Cool !!!

Trupti: Are you sure?

Me: It looks Brilliant !!!

Trupti: Really?

Me: I havent ever seen a better fitting jeans ever in my life !!! I am dead serious you must buy it !!!

Trupti: nahhhhhh !!! I dont like it !!!

Me: Eh?? OK, shall we try some other store?

Trupti: Sure !!

Tried Allen Solly, Pepe, etc stores. We reach Lee. She tries wait 26 & waist 27.

Trupti: How does 26 look?

Me: yeah perfect

Trupti: Let me try 27.

Changes

Trupti: How is 27?

Me: Yeah this is also fine. Doesnt make a huge diufference I see. How do you feel?

Trupti: Nooooooooooo !!! 26 is toooooo tight and 27 is toooo loose... Excuse me, (calls the girl who was helping her choose the jeans) can you please give me something between these sizes?

Last I heard "Lee Jeans" were closing down their store at Khader Nawas Khan Road!!!!

Later she told me she had already decided to buy Levis Diva jeans.

OK COOL !!!

Choosing a Saree

Kini got married on 9th August in B'lore and we had to attend his marriage there. Now the problem is not "HOW DO WE GET THE DAMN TICKETS???!!" but what will meri biwi wear during his marriage? ;-) Tickets got arranged, by the grace of some agent.

Date: 7th August. Night 10.30. We have to leave on 8th Morning.

Conversation between me and my wife.

Trupti: Aacha I have to wear one of these six sarees. Please help me decide what I should wear on your friends reception.

Me: Why do we have so much stuff? Where are we going after the reception? Why have you planned a vacation? Its just 1 day. We are going to come back in 2 days. Why are you carrying 3 track pants to B'lore?

Trupti: can you help me decide the saree please?

Me: Oh yes. Ok, this red color one looks great. And you also can wear your new matching sandals with this.

Trupti: WHAT????????? RED???? !!!! No I really dont think it matches my hairstyle? It will be too bright... (15 different faces were made, I nearly giggled and got killed. Actully I loved the red color saree)

Me: Hmmmmm, what about this Navy Blue one?

Trupti: No yaar. I don't like this color at all... I think its very dull...

Me: Hmmm, This yellow would be great. And its also got that green border, yeah... this is perfect... And it looks so traditional...

Trupti: Nope not at all... I look like an Aunty in this...

Me: What about the light blue saree??? Which got all the shinny shinny things on it???

Trupti: Bhavdeep you dont understand, the saree shouldnt look more bright than what the bride is wearing. Ok now what do you have to say about this Cream Color Saree?

Me : Yup this is also cool... You can wear those matching bangles with it...

Trupti: Bye... Now please let me finish my packing... You have kept all your stuff?

Me: Yup... Jeans and Kurta... thats perfect for me...

Trupti: Ok !!!

Packing done. 4 bags went to B'lore for 1 day.

Later she told me she had decided weeks back, that "When we have to go to Kini's Marriage, she had planned to wear the cream colored saree"

Ok Cool !!!

She already decides what she wants to wear or buy. But biwi hai toh poochna toh padega na. Aur fir meri lagg jaati hai...

Things already packed and have taken space in my suitcase too:

Wollens from India. (not suited for UK's cold temp)
Formals from India. (not suited for UK's fashion)
Sarees from India. (Practically its freezing temp for 5 months there)
Salwar Kammezes from India. (fashion is made in Lecister & London)
Study material from India. (All books latest pirated versions available on the net)

Hehehehe...

Like kids cant let go their toys, girls and wives cant let go the clothes which they loved to wear once, some long time back !!!

As of today, we have around 150 kilos to be taken to the UK... I don't know if the BA guys would say, "Dudes you guys are not flying alone!!!"

Baba Meher Karr, Ik "Event Manager" Hi Bhej De !!!

Ok got to go and do packing !!!

India??? No less than Iraq!!!

2008-11-13T16:56:00.007Z

Bombay hasn't improved as a city in the past 15 years when India has progressed (a little), instead the situation has become from bad to worse. People are shouting "Symonds is a Monkey!!! Symonds is a bastard !!!"

Is this how educated people act???
Is this because of the local trains, that the people of this city have become like this?? Life is cramped on these guys and when they get frustrated they just make someone the scrap goat and bring it out !!! I haven't seen any city showing such unruly behaviour other than Bombay. It's fit for people who live either in those high rise buildings in Colaba or people who live near the railway lines.

Bombay has

Racism
Regionalism
Bad Political Leaders
Bad Roads
Worst Transport
Highest Density of Population
Highest Land Prices
Most number of bomb blasts in a city (other than Kabul & Baghdad)

Death of a city !!! RIP Bombay !!!

Infact this is going to happen to all Indian cities. People who want to make money are making their bank balances fatter everyday, but the over all development of the society has gone to the gutters !!!

Chennai Police very calmly watched from the sidelines students fighting against each other with bamboo sticks and iron rods. See the video and you will be shocked to see how relaxed the police officials are and allow the students to beat up the other student. What the hell is happening in India???

The reason given by the Police is "We were waiting for the college principal to inform us to take action!!!" Why do you have the gun around your waist?? To put it up your??

The state of India has come to such a horrible stage that only GOD can save it. Government has become "a cheap belly dancer" to the tunes of the terrorists!!! They have bombed nearly all the big states in India. Indian Mujahadeen sends emails and then bombs Delhi. Hindu groups bomb mosques and if the CBI or ATG catches some Hindu Swami, then we have the BJP shouting slogans against the government!!! Utter Nonsense !!!

Wikipedia has a full category of events that describe the terrorist activities in India in 2008. Check here and feel sorry about i t.

Sorry Indians, we are in a constant state of war against the terrorists and anti social elements. We have to work for food only if "we reach office safely"& I will reply to your comments if "I reach home safely tomorrow evening".

What Rahul Raj did was tolerable?????

2008-11-10T16:18:00.009Z

Update on this Post

Ravi commented and I was amazed to see why we have such humble hearts for people who roam around the streets of India with guns in their hand... Its is possible that many people think the same way as Ravi does, what I want is safe place for my parents and kids... And I also think you get what you deserve !!!

ravi said...

Virdi, here are my thoughts: Your statements are true - when there are no fringes attached like if Rahul was a notorious terrorist or killer. Accordingy to what his family and neighbours and friends say, he was a very very normal, helpful, lovable kid. So maybe if this kind of an act was probably due to mental instability which seemed to have triggered by the riots against North Indians. So, does such a person deserve to be killed? Come on... Something has disturbed and haunted a normal guy to such a extent to resort to this kind of an act. So what he needs is again some hand holding, counselling but definitely not a bullet!

9:19 PM, November 10, 2008

virdi said...

Ravi

Imagine this, you are traveling in that bus with your parents who are above 60 and your kids who are 5 & 10...

1. Do I know this guy? No

2. Have I done any harm to him? No

3. Have I got any ill feelings for him? No

4. Then why is he point a gun at me when I am sitting in the bus? YOU WILL GET SHIT SCARED AND WOULD WANT THIS GUY AWAY FROM YOUR FACE AT THAT VERY MOMENT !!!

And didn't one person get injured in the bus?? Rahul Raj actually did shoot at someone in the bus !!! Discussion Closed!!! Shoot Rahul Raj then and there !!! Rahul Raj if you don't know how to live in the society then you don't deserve to live in the society !!!

Ismein sochne ka time kahan hai?? Aise logon ke sath prem se baat karne ka toh sawal hi paida nahi hota !!

Rahul Raj & Raj Thakre should be shot!!! No one has the guts to say that, I say!!! And about Rahul Raj... When was the last time a terrorist's mom said "He is a terrorist!!! Kill him!!!" Rahul Raj might not be a terrorist but this act did create terror in the hearts of those travelling in that bus...

Everyone is fighting a battle in their mind everyday. Some have heads above their shoulders, where as some have garbage & think like Bollocks !!! These people die like Rahul Raj!!!

He is responsible for his KARMA !!! Aapni maut ka khud jimmewar hai woh !!!

_______________________________________________________________

t said...

So this is fully Rahul Raj's fault? I'm all for gun-free society, but also as much as I am for Raj-Thackerey free society! You cannot blame the guy who drove the plane into twin towers, or the man who blew himself up in a Karachi hospital, you blame Osama bin Laden ! Agreed, the men should have some brain themselves, but this is what is brain-washing! If someone thinks Rahul Raj is a gun-toting terrorist I'd say there's no bigger fool than him. Agreed his path was wrong, maybe he didn't take the right path to come up with putting the plight of north indians in M'rashtra the right way, but who will speak for the man who's lost his taxi (he probably earns 2-3K per day), lost his pani puri cart (300-400 Rs per month), wound up his veg selling and ran back to Bihar?? All Raj Thackerey gets for his actions is house arrent where he enjoys the day watching TV. Gross injustice! Any act of incitement towards any community, state, whatever should be dealt with in strictest manner.

Frustrate hoke hi Rahul Raj ne gun uthaaya hoga na, aisa nahi ki ek din Raj Thackerey ne flaming sppech di, aur next day Rahul Raj aaya. I'm still not saying that killing him was right, but some guy had the guts to at least show that he's hurt and would want to speak to Mumbai Police Commisioner.

Khaadkooo !!!

2008-11-09T11:04:00.005Z

Me and bro were just fooling around and I was teaching him how to tie the turban as they did around 100 years back. They used to leave the end of the turban and yeah the fashion was like that back then, and I do love the ultra cool style.

Check out the old picture of Shaeed-e-Aazam Bhagat Singh.

So after tying the turban, bro said, "Why don't you try the Terrorist look?" I did as he said and as a big idiot I modeled for the pic as well.

Buuuuuurraaaaaaaaahhhhhh !!!

I look like a jack ass and extremely unfriendly but you don't have those funny and friendly looking terrorists, right?? The rifle under the terrorist's blanket is actually a "SPATULA" from the kitchen. I haven't really forgotten how to tie a turban. :-)

Its like cycling and swimming, you never forget that as well.

Ooh Khaadkoo = Terrorist in punjabi !!!

Maar Dalo Use !!!

2008-11-06T15:37:00.003Z

Read this report on IBN LIVE. Rahul Raj was needlessly killed by Bombay Poilce.

Picture this, my kids are on the same bus
Coming back from school
Rahul Raj gets into the bus with a gun
Bombay Police guns down Rahul Raj
What do you expect me to do?
THANKS BOMBAY POLICE !!!

Family and friends of Rahul Raj must understand he didnt have right to live in this society if he walks around with a gun in hand. You carry and gun and try to shoot people and if the police kills you then you don't have any choice but to feel sorry about him.

And all these Laloo Parsad and the idiot Biharis should just feel ashamed on this issue. And don't try to link this to MNS in anyway. Raj Thakre is a jack ass and this guy had to die. India is not a country where you just take a gun and try to act macho. You deserve to be shot.

Rahul Raj you suck !!! Good that there were no kids on the bus and good that you got killed.

Oinglun.... Noh too muh Englee(sh) Abou Eeee !!!

2008-11-02T07:26:00.015Z

Chelsea enjoy their moment of glory. How many English Players do we see here?

Manchester United??? Don't see any from the little Island. Right?

So as we see England is not just for the English... The "Immigrants" are shifting to London in a few weeks time (end of December)...

Dear Queen I am coming back... ;-)

So as Trueman Says "Good morning, and in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night "Fellow Indians" !!!! " ;-)

10 things to do in First week in London:

Visit Southall & pay my respects to Baba Nanak
Visit Galassy Juntion in Southall
Sip a-cup-o-tea with with Queen
Take wife to Tower Bridge
Watch Football a match in a noisy pub !!!
Take wife around central London : Buckingham Palace, London Eye, Westminsiter & Big Ben.
Stay in central London "Picadilly circus" for the NEW YEAR'S EVE !!!
Go to Camden Markets, Camden Town
Meet Ashwin, Bhawani, Michael & Teji Kang
Did I mention "Sip a-cup-o-tea with with Queen"

V...

Coorg Trip...

2008-10-11T17:52:00.010+01:00

A lot of my friends always advised us to visit Coorg. Have been trying to go there but bloody office, dhobiwala, milkwala, watchman & cooking never let us live in peace. But we finally made it last week.
Coorg is very different than other hill stations. It is a hill station and also not quite one. Like one of those places just before the start of himalayas. Around 5000 Ft in height, thats the max. The best thing in Coorg is the peace. You can walk for miles and might not find anyone there.

Trupti walking and there was no one on the street. We just kept clicking pics. :-)

We counted the milestones too !!!

Just keep walking and you will find only Coffee, Pepper, Cardamom Plantations. Kilometers of nothing but peace. I sometimes forgot there is anyone living here. Suddenly you will find some rice fields at this height and would be amazed at the "never say die" spirit of the farmers of Coorg. The make small ponds around their fields and this helps them in irrigation when it doesnt rain.

Also the food is very different from the whole of southern India, the are pretty much Non Vegeterians. The best food and delicacy is Pork !!! :-) Never had it , didnt get the guts to try.

See no one on the streets!!! Is this India???

We lived with a farmer at his place, which is around 6-7 kms from Madikeri. Maikeri is the capital town of Coorg District. While walking back from Madikeri, we just sat at some place, played with the "Touch Me Not" plant.

Trupti's comentary is laugh riot !!!

Don't rememeber the last time (before visiting Coorg) I had free mind. I mean kuch bhi chinta nahi. Ekdum relaxing. Weather was also perfect, around 17 to 20 deg C. You can then visit the place where the Cauvery River starts. It's around 40 kms from Madikeri. The water looks pure and you can just drink it from the flowing stream. Then after few kilometers this stream becomes a waterfall. It was evening and we had a long tourst kind of day, so when you find the mist on your face, it was very refreshing.

We !!!

You can do some elephant safari and also some water rafting. But for rafting you must visit Coorg during the months of June, July & August.

Indian Rowing Team !!!

For doing the elephant ride you need to cross the river. The fill you in a boat take you across and then there you have the opportunity to click pics with the Elephants and have a small ride for around 1 Kms.

Petting !!!

If you want to check some more videos and pics, click here.

Tagged... Doing after a long long time... :-)

2008-09-28T04:38:00.007+01:00

If your lover betrayed you what would your reaction be?

Well if my lover betrays me, it means she never loved me. May be once or twice she felt "yeah he is a nice guy". When you are in love its like giving 100% to the other person, come what may. Stand with him forver. If someone, in whom you have faith & belief, doesnt stand up for you then I don't think she was my lover ever. My reation would be "What a fool I was to think you were worthy enough to be my lover!!! My mistake, that I gave you my 100%. "

If you have a dream come true, what would it be?

It can't come true, but if it can then I would like to see Indian Hockey team (men and women) win the Olympic Gold & the World Cup. World Champions !!!

If you could, whose butt would you like to kick?

Can I kick two? KPS Gill.... The son-of-a-gun is responsible for all the mess in Indian Hockey. The second would be LTTE guy Prabhakaran, for teaching the terrorists "Sucide Bombing".

What would you do with a billion dollars?

Woaaaahhhhh !!! Firstly I will make few hockey stadiums in India. Every district in India should have a hockey stadium. Then go around europe with my wife for a very long vacation. :-)

Will you fall in love with your best friend?

I can't, when he speaks I always keep quite. My best friend is Sports on TV. I can't marry him right. :-)

Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?

I think the combination of both. Like you love someone and you get 100% love in return. thats an amazing feeling.

How long do you intend to wait for someone you love?

Hmmm... 3 phone calls !!! I call 3 times and if things don't work out, then I know things will never workout. He He He He... I don't really know.... It depends on the feeling, as I said "I would wait forever to see India win the Hockey World Cup and Hockey Olympic Gold." Thats how much I love the sport.

If the person you secretly like is attached, what will you do?

I would secretly move away. It's better to stay away that to make her, her boy friend's and my life hell. She has chosen someone above me, because she made a decision. If I had the balls to love her or get attarcted towards her, I should also have the balls to respect her decision and stay away from creating the mess !! Right? Absolutly sir !!! Thanks...

If you could root for one social cause, what would it be?

Ask every minister in India to show the money he/she has spent in the upliftment of his / her parliamentary constituency and the money he/she has spent on himself/ herself... And then I would prove to India that, all the money spent on Himself / herself = Total money spent in the upliftment of his / her parliamentary constituency. Bloody Cheats !!!

Do you lie?

Yes. Today India will win the hockey match !!! Today India will play good match against Holland !!!

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Cant predict such things. If the question is "What you want to do in your career?" then my answer is "Earn lots of money and keep my parents happy and proud about me." How? "I don't know !!!"

What’s your fear?

That the hot water kept for tea on the gas stove will fall on my thigh again today.

What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?

Helpful, Straight forward, Good sense of humor and yes BIG EYES !!!! I don't know her much though.

May be in future I would come to know she is a good chess player. She might play well with her weaker hand too.

Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?

Single and rich? I want to be Ok Ok in sense of money and married. Don't want to be poor either.

If you fall in love with two people simultaneously who will you pick?

I would ask Katrina Kaif and Kareena Kapoor to have a boxing match, whoever wins can be with me, after I complete 65 years of married life !!!

Would you give all in a relationship?

I will. Everyone should. Only then its a relationship.

Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has done?

Yes we should, because everyone deserves a chance. And ultimately he will know what he has done is wrong, so why have grudges? Jaane do bhool jao... Chillax... Relax... But if some duffer keeps thinking "No I haven't done anything wrong, I did what was best. Then somone should slap him and say, "Because of you India lost the match, so just shut the hiccup" "

Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?

Single when I am watching football, hockey, cricket and formula 1 on TV. And married all the other times. :-)

Your all time favourite song. Only ONE. And why?

Another Brick in the Wall

We don't need no education

We dont need no thought control

No dark sarcasm in the classroom

Teachers leave them kids alone

Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!

All in all it's just another brick in the wall.

All in all you're just another brick in the wall..................

and why??? Because I rellay don't want to be "just another brick in the wall"....

I TAG these 6 people because…

No tagging.... This is a very personal tag... Too many personal questions... :-) If anyone wants to do then please do it...

But ultimately we want to know what kind of person is he or she, hence the tagging thing... :-)

You know you are in Chandigarh when.....

2008-09-19T16:04:00.002+01:00

Some things which makes Chandigarh a different city. The Chandigarhia thinks he stays in a city which is a mix of New York and London and thinks all other cities near Chandigarh are worthless... The Chandigariyah always keeps his car, dress, hairstyle posh and language crap.... You know you are in Chandigarh when they talk about so many local things that you become out of place.... Khi Khi Khi Khi... Typical Punjabi.... Chandigarh is Chandigarh because.....

University elections become more important than MLA, MC elections (SOPU, PUSU bruuahh)
Explaining Gehri to outsiders becomes a tough task (Gehri is nothing but a walk or bike ride around the corner traffic signal and back to check out the girls or just show off your new bike)
'Uphill' can only be understood by you... (Means Solan & Simla)
You always have a 'pind' to goto every month (Most of the people in Chandigarh want to show off that they are Desi from heart hence go to their Village every month end to get money from their parents. Most guys in Chandigarh dont work, they just blow the heard earned money of their parents)
Kaimbwala requires no further defining
You always have a separate budget (after buying a car) for bigger tyres, alloy wheels, stereo, woofer
Shopping in guys' vocabulary refers to buying daru from Jugnu Ahata and soda, glasses from any confectionery
Names like Neelam, Nirman, Kiran, Jagat, Batra, Piccadily aren't just names but entertainment centres
Car-o-bar refers to drinking with glasses on the dickey of the car in sector 8 market late at night
Paranthe wale are the chefs who come out late at night at sector 16 to make paranthe and chai for late night partygoers
Abbreviations like GCG, MCM mean a lot without knowing their full forms
Guys speak in loud Punjabi when a group of girls passes by and girls start speaking in English everytime a group of guys passes by
The city seems too slow and dead and everyone heads to Delhi
The traffic cops start the challan drive in the last week of March to end the year in good numbers
Everyone has a 'massi' in Canada, and a 'bhua' in UK
Once upon a point Valentine's Day meant tractors on Gehri route and speeds of only 5 km/h
A new year's bash is incompete without a fight
Any party is incomplete without a fight
Everyone has some political connection
Stu C is more popular with non students
You are proud of being from a particular school and a passive member of its alumni group (YPS, Vivek, Sna, GNPS, Carmel, SJOBA etc.)
Going to the dog show means checking out the girls more than the dogs
Owning a Bullet while still in school is an achievement
Spending upto Rs 2 lacs on number 1 for a car's number plate does not raise any eyebrows
Kinetic Hondascooter is referred to as Kiney and Bullet bike as Bullt
You are proud of being a Punjabi
'Mallo Malli Khadak Piyan' sticker is found on many cars
Guys are called by their surnames, (Brar, Sidhu bai, Dhillon) and followed by "Kiven aa, Kidaan!!"
22g, 62 is only understood by you
You are shocked to find out when someone doesn't drink and is a vegetarian
Many ppl are 'vella' when asked what they do
Everyone's been to the Rock Garden and hate to show it yet again to family friends/relatives from other cities
One hand, while driving, is on the 'muchh' and the other on the steering wheel
Everybody knows everybody
Every new party place has the same old faces
A new car, bike etc. first comes to the Gehri route n later to the gurudwara or mandir
Coke and Pepsi come in small 'Sheeshee'
Your every sentence has a " Ma Di" or "Bhen Di"
Anyone and Everyone has had food at "Pal Da Dhaba" and "Giani Da Dhaba (Dharampur)"
Desi Ahatas are officially called "TAVERNS"
Everyone has heard the song "Chandigarh kare aashiqui" by B21
Bikers are challaned even if the pillion rider is not wearing a helmet and girls are allowed to ride without one.
While in school everyone waits for tuition time to finally talk to the special person (not in a uniform)
Panchkula and Mohali-ites don't mind being called as Chandigarhians
Very few ppl know about the Mosque in sector 20 and the Church in sector 18
Most ppl have been challaned more than once (for speeding mostly)
... And most ppl have gone to the district courts in sector 17 to get their challans cleared (as it is cheaper than paying the fine at sector 29 police lines)
A good lookin car turns more heads than a pretty girl
English speaking girls are usually referred to as "yankan" or "jhankan"
The "Gehri-on-foot" (à la sector 35 CCD lane, sector 17) becomes more popular

No Energy to explain everything.

Catch a Chandigarhiya.... Tullu ko mail karo... Tulllu@gmail.com

Indian Reality TV just touched its lowest point !!!

2008-09-07T10:04:00.004+01:00

BEFORE YOU WATCH THIS VIDEO:

This video contains language which might not be suited for either home or office viewing.
Please use the ear phones and not speakers if you have children below 12 as your neighbors. Parental guidance and all other guidance might not help you.
Just watch this video once and say "GOD SAVE INDIAN REALITY TV!!!"

I also don't understand what is so great about the Bigg Boss series. There are 12-13 people who themselves are big losers in life. These guys have had a terrible life in the past 3-4 years and you call them to some house and lock them up and try making money out of those TRP ratings. People like Rahul Mahajan? Firstly, whats so great about him that I would like to see his face on TV. Secondly, the guy has lost his dad and is a drug addict and has just come out of a failed marriage. What is he going to say on TV which might inspire me? He is one of the biggest losers on earth !!! May be they can change the name from "Bigg Boss" to "Biggest Looser" or some crap like that !!!

Then we have people like Monica Bedi.

Lets compare it with this. "Osama Bin Laden's Girlfriend" comes on TV, then cries and says "I have had a tragic life, I want to gain my respect back. I have come to Bigg Boss house to prove to the world that I am a good lady!!"

Firstly Monica Bedi should be in the radar of the Bombay Cops, she is the one who can give the cops all the clues and details of:

How the Underworld of Bombay works?
How do the people from the Dawood Ibrahim Terrorist Group get their money?
Are there any links between the Underworld and the Movie Industry?"

Doesn't the police generally first talk to the immidiate family members when someone gets under the scanner? Normally the cops go to the house of the guy who was arrested and first question the family members. And here in India we have the "So called Girlfriend of an Underworld Don" appearing on Reality TV. WOW !!! What a country !!!

May be the idea of showing something on TV is just to make money, but shouldn't there be some "Board for Content on TV" like we have the censor board of for movies?? It's not that someone should decide what we want to watch but some people can at least decide what is crap and what is utter nonsense and give a rating !!!
Anyways Happy Reality TV Watching !!!

Himesh Karo Hum Pe "Karzzzz"... No Music Please !!!

2008-09-05T16:27:00.013+01:00

I just listened to the Songs of Karzzzz, dont know who said the greater the number of Zzzzz the better the luck, the better the music, the better movie... All I can say is that Greater the Number of Z greater the Crrrrrrap !!! (see the 5 R)

मेरी पूरी बैंड बज्ज गई है !!!

And as the poster suggests here, ये इंसान हमसे कुछ बदला जरूर ले रहा है !! The song "एक हसीना थी " पूरा बरबाद कर दिया गया है !!! Himesh's music is bad and if he starts singing he screws the happiness nice and proper !!! Himesh you seriously need people who are your genuine friends, those who don't lie to you !!!

You Suck Dude !!! You are the MAN !!!

And who the "Phoonk" wrote the lyrics of the song "Tan Tan Tannaa Tandoori Nights"??!!! May be was watching "The Phoonk" on the toilet when the lyrics were written !!! May be this guy wrote I don't know!!

And seriously telling these were my expresions after listening to the songs !!!

Troubled !!!

Found the Bag Full of Crap !!!

We should all avoid this album !!!

Geography is Changing... This is just the begining...

2008-09-02T16:29:00.003+01:00

Well it never rains in Madras but it does rain in Nepal and we can see the problem it has caused in Bihar... Its because of global warming that earlier where 100 tons of ice used to melt in Nepal, now we have 300 tons of ice flowing in the Kosi river and it changed it course and with that the face of India's most fertile land too...

Tons of ice was figure of speech...

Anyways that's not the point, the point is what the hell is government doing?

OK we see that Kosi has a problem since past 200 years... The world doesn't have data before that... We know Kosi has been bad for India for past 200 years and we couldn't make even a single dam kind of thing which would help in controlling the anger of this river??? We all know that because of Kosi's floods every year the plains of Bihar get the fertile soil and because of that the farmers of that area give one of the best quality of rice... Sometimes I think that the government of India is full of people who don't have the balls to do anything...

The Indian government says "Because of Nepal we couldn't build the dam and because of that we have the the floods now..." Oye what is Nepal??? a bloody country which is as small as Kerala... Send some troops there and say "If you want to be neighbors to India you have to act like this... Enough of non sense"...

I feel even the other leaders of the world have shown the back to the global warming issue and are least bothered about what is going to happen in few decades from now... They are least bothered... Ok so now the polar ice is gone... North Pole is now an Island, happy guys?? Great Work !!! Congrats dude!!!

And look at this lady... Ah Ah Ah... So sweet so cute...

Looks like she is really sad about the global warming issue... Yeah right !!! She is again not bothered about anything... She is only bothered about "How can I make Buddhadev Bhattacharjee look bad in his group of party member???"

Ahhh YES, Let me ask the Tata Plant to be shifted out of Singur...Let me change the geography of the state which wants to have some progress now...

Why Tata was good for Bengal... few points:

It would have helped in bringing in employment to the people around that area... Not just Singur but around 50-60 kms from Singur...
Everyone was a farmer there, Bengal is one of the most densely populated states of India and hence the small farm lands would have become even smaller in few years from now... The earning power per person would have done down day by day...Hence the plantw as good, as it still guaranteed a good income to the people working in the Tata Car Plant...
Tata would give job opportunities to 25000 people in and around the plant where ancillaries would open up...
The need for electricity would go up, government of Bengal would push the government of India to go through the Nuclear Deal and may be a nuclear power plant would open up in Bengal... More job opportunities... May be 2 earning members in one family... (Nuclear Deal is good for India because USA wants it badly!! Thats a different ball game!!!)
Looking at how well Tata was treated in the state , more companies would come and set up plants there...

CHANGE IN GEOGRAPHY !!! Dear Mamta Bitch-erjee no country progressed by doing political rallies !!! Keep that in Mind...

Why don't I give you my Shoe on your face instead??? Eh???

And last but not the least, why the heck cant we solve the Kashmir Issue???
Is there not a single leader in India with an Iron fist who would walk up to these nonsensical Extremist leaders of Kashmir and say "You have a choice stop this political rally or forget your life forever"
India has been trying to be polite to the Kashmiris Extremists since past 60 years... What did we gain? I guess more murders, more terrorist attacks, more rallies... We need to deal with Kashmir with an iron fist !!! That is the only solution... Ask a normal Kashmiri he would love to work and be part of the progress India has seen since past 15 years... Stop the rallies guys, it never helps... You and you earlier generation haven't brought any change in kashmir since 1947 with the bloody rallies... Look at other states... they are progressing, you also be part of the progress...

And if Pakistan says we need to discuss Kashmir, India should say "We can discuss Sind , Balochistan, West Punjab and North West Frontier Province too, how about that??"

I am just fed up of the chaos all around the world...

Arn't you???

Bindraaaaa !!! You Genius !!! You Gem !!! You are Awesome !!!

2008-08-11T07:01:00.005+01:00

Finally we see no controversy, no cricket, no nonsense, just good and happy news on the news websites...
Pure genius of Bindra in Shooting, brings sports on the top of all news channels...
Thank You Bindra !! Thank you sooo much !!!

Awesome Bindra With the Medal !!!

Awesome Bindra With the Silver and Bronze Medalists !!!

Awesome Bindra Standing tall !!!

Bindraaaaaaa !!! Bindraaaaaa !!! Clap !!! Clap !!! Clap !!!
Bindraaaaaaa !!! Bindraaaaaa !!! Clap !!! Clap !!! Clap !!!

First there is Rajnikant !!!

2008-08-07T18:49:00.000+01:00

Then there is a fat guy with a bad hairstyle, who is making some weird world record !!! Then if given a chance there is GOD !!!

Rajnikant is God !!!This looks good only on Rajni... No one else would look even 1% decent in this place. Apadiyaaaaaaa ???!!! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha !!!

Fat guy with bad hair does amazing stunt!!! 15 years of perfection and 21.7 seconds of glory !!! Fat guy, you rock !!! Dude everything is fine but dont you think, you need a good shower, a decent hair cut and better shoes??

New Computer

2008-07-12T16:51:00.002+01:00

New Kampootar... Wah wah wah...

250 Gig... 3 Gig Ram... Windows Vista... DVD Writer... Webcam.. Remote Control..

Basically my brother bought... And we are going to create a server in the house and start a software company...

Chota Bhai took Photo... No the Iron didnt come free with it... we have the computer in the ironing table right now...

Side View...

Dell teh Dill Aaaya !!!

Guess what am I doing on it? Watching a movie obviously. Anyways was never going to write software programs. Vista Looks cool though...

Europeans the reason for all the mess in the World?

2008-06-21T08:40:00.006+01:00

One of my brother's friend's friend came down from Finland and then she was quite irritated the way we Indians are when compared to the Europeans. She had few points like:

Why do we Indians always think "Me first"?
Why do we Indians never follow the traffic?
Why do we Indians never follow the rules?
Indian cities are in mess???
Why do Indians always want to become hero? Where as we could easily become a good team player?
Why are we so much money mined and self centered?

I really think Westerners don't understand what we Indians are and then try to curse away and not understand our view point. I really think we Indians are not exactly they way she thinks we are...

Every Indian is very tolerant... Indians have allowed raiders, burglars, and thieves etc to come to our country and then allowed them to become the Kings and Queens of this country...

Just to brush up the history why we are like this...

India was ruled by Mughals who came from Iran… We didn’t invite them but when they came we asked them to stay and make this their home… After that Aurangzeb wanted to convert every Indian who was either a Buddhist or Hindu into a Muslim with force… We didn’t trust the Mughals anymore and then came the British…

They stayed here for 400 years… They tricked and cheated us for 400 years… They forced us to pay taxes for the Rice and Wheat we grew on our fields... They forced us to grow Indigo on our fields even if the field doesn't grow any crop in future... They forced us to become slaves in our country... British took away our money and resources and then broke the country into India and Pakistan… In terms of development they made the railways… other than that???

Now it’s in our blood that we have to fight and go ahead of the other… We don’t trust anyone… Got the reason why we are like this? Someone gave the observation… I suggested the reason… For 1000 years keep someone a slave, when you give him independence how can you expect him to be a matured and sophisticated adult? Give us time we will improve and become better…

Now let’s talk about Politics

This country has 85 % Hindus… When Manmohan Singh (a Sikh) became the prime minister the oath was given by President Abul Kalam (who is a Muslim) and a Sikh became prime Minister because a Christian, Sonia Gandhi, didn’t want to become a Prime Minister… I say again that India is a country with 85% of Population Hindus… Where else can this happen? We are tolerant just stop cheating us…

Every Indian was given voting rights as soon as we got Independence... The Americans didn't allow the Women to vote till early 1920s and the Black Man could not vote till 1965... You call that progress?

When the world compares India with US and Europe it means we are getting at par with them… US gained Independence in 1778 and now its 2008… So it took them around 230 years to achieve what they have become… USA has had its own problems and they have slowly and steadily solved it… The world has given India 60 years and we have done enough to prove ourselves…

Also let us talk about what great achievements the Europeans & Americans have done…

Remember slavery?? Who stared it? Europeans… not Indians… so how can the Europeans say that they are nice people and Indians are bad in culture?
Remember the number of Jews killed in 2nd world war? It happened to be Europe and not Asia…
Remember 2003 Iraq invasion?
Remember 2001 Afghanistan Invasion?
Remember taking over Australian continent 2 centuries ago from the Natives and asking the natives to work as laborers?
Remember when Robert Mogabe of Zimbabwe asked the Europeans to leave Zimbabwe, how much the United Nations cried? You didn’t teach Mogabe how to love others? You took the family and the farms away from the Black man, what do you expect from him? “Apple Pie with added mixed fruit jam on it” !!!!

India is the only nuclear power to have never Invaded any Nation !!! We have the third largest army whose sole purpose is to protect our borders and not invade others borders...

How many countries has India invaded? How many countries have the Europeans invaded? I guess more than 150… Every 2nd day we see BBC and find out that a small country in Africa is celebrating its 20th Independence Day or 30th Independence Day from Britain or Portugal or Spain or France or blah blah blah blah… I think the Europeans should stop talking about being nice and polite because we as Indians understand “WHEN THE KETTLE IS CALLING THE POT BLACK”

Also if Indians in every team & in every company want to become hero, then what’s the harm? Who remembers a team player? But everyone remembers a hero… It’s in our blood now… We can’t just be normal team players… It started with a man with 1 meter of white cloth on his body threw away the mighty British empire without firing a bullet… His name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi…

Let me list down the achievements of Indians...

The world’s biggest steel manufacturer is an Indian… Laxmi Mittal…
Hotmail was started by an India… Sabeer Bhatia…
Bose, the world’s best speakers manufacturer, was started by an India...
If people remember the movie SIXTH SENSE, it was made and directed by an India… Manoj Knight Shyamalan…
The ex CEO of Vodafone (the world's biggest cell phone service provider) was an Indian... Arun Sarin... Studied in IIT KGP...
Sun Microsystem was started by a group of friends and an Indian was one of them... Vinod Khosla... Alumnus of IIT Delhi...
Around 60 % of the software companies in Silicon Valley in California were started by Indian… if they were just team players we would not have these companies…
India has never had dictatorship in the 60 years of its independence… How many countries have achieved this? Look at our neighbors for a change…

You left us in mess and we are trying to come out and yes we haven’t being doing bad either… These are just few points what I wanted to share as a start…

If any European wants to know the achievements of Indians then I can send emails for the next 5 years…. 1 name and one story every morning for next 5 years… With a good morning message… How is the idea?

We have had our share of problems… We are trying to solve them… We have become best in 1 sector already; SOFTWARE....

The world has started looking at us as competitors and have started saying “YOU ARE TAKING AWAY OUR JOBS”… Relax boss, its anyways inevitable… Indians and Chinese are one third of the world population… By sheer percentages every third worker in the world must be an Indian or Chinese… Isn’t it?

Super Eeshtaar

2008-06-16T17:21:00.002+01:00

We met Narai Karthikeyan at the airport while going to Frankfurt.
Cool pic isn't it?
:-)

India VS Pakistan

2008-05-31T10:39:00.003+01:00

I was watching this video online and it made me feel proud.

May be India hasn't become as great a nation as Mahatma Gandhi or Pandit Nehru or Sardar Patel or Bhagat Singh or Subhash Bose would have dreamt about, but yes few of the systems in India are great.

Like in India the Army cannot run a country. The Army, Navy and Air Force are our defense systems and every Indian thanks them every second for protecting our borders, but they are not above the people. The people elect the government and the Defense Minister, Prime Minister and President are above the armed forces. This hasn't happen in Pakistan.

This video here shows the leaders of Pakistan talking about the political scenario there and they talk about India and asks Musharaff Saab to look towards India and learn from India. How India has made its political scene so strong that whatever happens the Government will be run by the people and not by the army. I am sad to say that out of the 60 years of Independence more than 50% of the time there has been dictatorship in Pakistan.

Love this Photo

2008-05-21T18:15:00.002+01:00

Its a very old photo taken in Feb 2005 during my last trip to Amritsar...

I just love the setting of this picture... Misty day winter day in Amritsar, me all head covered, trying to be nice & hands folded... :-)

Perfect !!!

Roti, Kapda, Makaan Aur Sachin Tendulkar

2008-05-18T06:57:00.004+01:00

FIRST ABOUT HOCKEY

India played exceptional hockey in Malaysia and came second in the tournament which had 4 teams playing in Olympics. There were seven teams playing in the Azlan Shah Tournament: India, Argentina, New Zeland, Pakistan, Canada, Belgium & Malaysia. New Zeland, Pakistan, Canada & Belgium have qualfied for the Olympics and these teams were not the top 2 teams in this tournament. So now the question is "are the teams who are playing in Olympics the best 12 teams in the world?"

What I think is that the 12 teams which have qualified for Olympics are not the best 12 teams in the world. Teams like Argentina & India should have qualified. Ok we got the chance and didnt qualify but teams like Belgium & Canada will never be able to compete against the odds of Australia , Netherlands or Spain.

The system of qualifying was so horrible that International Hockey Federation had to ask the world champion "Germany" to play the Qualifiers. They lost to Belgium in a Tournament and so they had to play the qualifier. Utter non sense. Same with India & Argentina. the performance of the Argetinian team in the past few years wasn't looked at and canada qualified based on some minutes of madness by Canada. Argentina qualified for the Champion's trophy which is going to happen in few weeks time and their performance in Azlan Shah Tournament was exceptional. Don't they deserve to play in the Olympics?

What should have happened is that the top six teams should have qualified directly to Olympics. So Australia, Pakistan, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Korea should have made it directly to the olympics based on the performance since the past 2 years. Every Continent level tournament & world level tournament is rated in the International Hockey Federation. Good thing. And the next 12 teams from 7th to 18th rank should have played a mini world cup kind of thing. The top 6 teams qualify for the Olympics. As simple as that. no host country nothing of that shit. Play the tournament and qualify.

Now some might say "It is possible that Argentina & India could have come 7th or 8th in that tournament" Yes it is possible but they would be having more opportunities to defend their place. One bad match wouldn't allow they to not qualify.

Lets hope the IHF takes note of this mess and the best 12 teams of the world play the Olympics and the World Cup in future.

Ok all said and done... I saw some videos of Sachin Tendulkar online and thought of sharing them here... Enjoy...

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4