Unfortunate saga : Indian Politics

India is my country.

All Indians are my brothers and sisters.

I love my country and I am proud of its rich and varied heritage.

I shall strive to be worthy of it.

I shall respect my parents, teachers and all elders and treat everyone with courtesy.

To my country and all my people, I pledge my devotion.

In their well-being and prosperity alone lies my happiness.

Jai Hind.

Remember this? One of starting pages of our school diary. Whenever my father would boast that my son can speak English and wanted me to give a demo, I would immediately without a breath blabber this pledge out with my hand straightened out. Whatever be my speed, I actually meant every word of the pledge that I took every morning in my school’s assembly premises. Truly speaking, as a kid I used to take pride in being a part of this country and its rich and varied heritage. But lately, as I have become more aware of the society and the way it functions, sad to say but my love for India has a bit deteriorated. I remember, once my conversation with a friend got so intense that I hit him just because he was speaking bad about India. Today, when I recline and think about the same, I realize that he was probably right and I wrong.

Today, I am not feeling very great about this whole politics thing. I am not very strong at Political Science, but I am not very ignorant too. Let us talk about some of the great politicians that our country has produced. Mayawati ji, the Mahamaya who likes getting her statues erected in public parks. Who on earth does that? Madam, are you trying to imitate Saddam Hussain? He is not the right person to be followed. Choose some other idol. Please don’t do this with the public money, we will erect your statues and garland them every year in case you do enough to the state to command that sort of respect. The ground rule remains the same, “Respect is not demanded. Respect is commanded”. Another similar example is Jayalalitha, who got her photo printed on the laptop her party workers distributed to the students. They could not get the party logo on the laptop because Jayalalitha herself covered the whole space and left none for the logo. Do you really think such people who are so obsessed with being CM can actually do justice to their position and power? Anyways, I like Mayawati, the only thing I like about her is that she did not marry to produce another of her breed. Then there is Master Akhilesh ji, trying to imitate Rahul, both of them striving to be youth icon. I consider Raghu from Roadies to be a better youth icon than these two. These people are actually incapable of doing anything that pertains to ruling a state. I unfortunately, being a native of Etawah, UP has to bear their governance.

So, Akhilesh is now talking of a third front, bhaisahab! your dad is too old now. I know you are doing all this for your respected dad, but the truth is that he has -0% chances of being PM. Please concentrate on your career and hoarding money because next time it’s Mayawati’s turn to be the CM. You’ll need some money then to continue with the same lifestyle for the next 5 years. Just see Mayawati, does she give you the slightest hint that she is not in power? No, right?? Because she was intelligent and has a lot in reserves to survive till death. You suspended an honest IAS officer with the explanation that she was demolishing something that could spark communal violence. Sir, it will take you another life to even mug up the index of the books that she has read. She is far more learned and wise than you and your sand mafia’s whole generation combined together. Please bring some sense to your actions. We expect a lot of you. And a good news for you, Mayawati’s demand for 4 partitions of UP!!! This ways, all 4 major parties in UP (SP, BSP, BJP and Congress) get to rule and every supremo gets to become the CM. This is actual “Divide and Rule”.

Rahul sir, sachchi bolu, Sonia ji by now should have told you “Beta tum rehne do, tumse na ho paayega”. You are too young and immature to be the PM of this country. I think you should chill out in some foreign country, spend time on beaches and do whatever you want to. I am sure your mom can send you enough pocket money to enjoy all the luxuries in the world. Everyone actually makes fun of you. You are the Abhishek Bachchan of Indian Politics, riding on your parents’ success. You are simply not politics material; there are some basic elements other than being corrupt that are needed to be a perfect chor. Just look at Manmohan ji, he is so smart. Just because he cannot control his tongue, he does utter a single word till he is in public eye. I know you are too naughty to listen to your mom, so please get the fuck out of here and take Robert Vadra along. He too is doing us a lot of harm.

BJP, aap bhi koi bahut seedhe nahi ho. Please stop politicizing every damn topic, but then everyone does that. I know you are about to finish with your bank reserves and need to come to power once to survive another good time in case you lose to Congress again.

Coming back to India and taking pride in it, I want to feel the same as I did in my childhood. My grandfather and father both served defense services and they recite stories of the wars that they were a part of. If a common man who is just trying to make a living can be so true to his duty, why can not a person who has been nominated by public do so? I know, I do not vote and hence do have a right to comment on them. But then, if I do not cast for the correct person I also do not cast for the wrong person. I am not able to think of a solution right now as to how a common man will get off these shackles of slumber or will he die a slow death amid the so called the largest democracy in the world, India.

PS : They are my own views and I do not mean to hurt anybody's political sentiments.

Bleed Blue

Winning and losing are part and parcel of cricket. Right? Yes, but when it is an Indo-Pak affair, you can throw this cliché out of the window. The much anticipated encounter between India and Pakistan of the cricket World Cup would be one of the most exciting matches of the 14-team quadrennial event.


The importance of this match can’t be stressed enough. A defeat in this high octane clash would be a bitter pill to swallow for the people of both the countries. The semi-final match between the two cricketing giants of South Asia is much more than just a match. It has been labeled as “THE WAR OF THE DECADE”or “THE JUDGEMENT DAY”. Pakistani players would be very eager for this match to get underway because they have a point to prove and some unfinished business with the Indians to take care of. I being an Indian support India and wish my team good luck and I know that defeating India in India would be an impossible thing for Pakis.

"Final haarna manjoor hai, lekin yeh wala toh kabhi nahi (India vs Pakistan)!!!", says one of my friend's facebook status. So, one can estimate the intensity and the hunger to win than an Indian has when it comes to a win over Pakistan. Interestingly, both the arch-rivals have won World Cup title once, India in 1983 and Pakistan in 1992. The encounter has already warmed the temperature in the two nations.


India in India are favorites, there is no doubt. But as a unit the Pakistan team has been very composed in this World Cup, so the team which attacks more will win. Pakistan have regrouped themselves in the current edition of the ICC Cricket World Cups from a turbulent past year of controversies leading to a ban on three of the top Pakistani cricketers by the ICC. India kicked out Australia from the World Cup 2011 after Pakistan ended their 34-match winning streak at the World Cups in the group stage. Pakistan literally thrashed West Indies by 10 wickets in their quarter final. So, none of the both teams can dare to underestimate the other.

One thing is for sure, if you are a cricket player and want be remembered in history, an Indo-Pak encounter is an ideal opportunity to reach stardom in a flash. But be ready to feel the pain if you lose it or become immortal if you win it. Take Chetan Sharma for example, great cricketer of his time, bur few of us know that he was the first one to take a world cup hat-trick but all of us know the six that was hit to him by Javed Miandad on the last ball of a match when just 4 were required.

India Pakistan encounters have always been a treat to eyes. India had defeated Pakistan in the quarter final by 39 runs at Bangalore, a match which is renowned more for Aamir Sohail-Venkatesh Prasad tussle (videos of which are very frequent on facebook). Current coach of Pakistan cricket team, Waqar Younis can never forget that match in which Ajay Jadeja blasted him to all corners of the park. No one can understand the agony better than Waqar, and he is lucky to have another chance to erase the bitter memories. Lets see what does Pakistan team do under his guidance. Akthar will be a player to watch out for, a team man with a lot of aggression and zeal. Though he wasn't given a chance in the previous game, but it will be an interesting contest for sure when Sehwag and Sachin come out to bat and if Rawalpindi Express is asked to open the attack.

The Pakistani players have got a point to prove if not to their nation, at least to the franchises of IPL teams. After the Mumbai attacks in November, 2008, the tension between both the countries rose very high due to the Pakistani players were sidelined from the 2nd ,3rd and 4th edition of IPL. Elimination from participation in IPL and a series of some unfortunate events will be a great motivational factor for the men in green. And similarly the hopes of billions of people will boost the Indian team to outwit their rivals from across the border. People of India would hope that the roar of “MASTER BLASTER” might prove to be too much for the Pakistan team to handle. India is playing at home and are odds on favorite to win but playing in front of your home crowd with the expectancy of a win would definitely add some extra pressure on them. Certainly counting Pakistan out and taking them lightly would be the biggest mistake men in blue will ever make.

Alongside the fierceful Indo-Pak encounter, a window of opportunity has opened up to put relations between India and Pakistan back on track. An editorial appeared in the News International Sunday, a day when Gilani accepted the invitation from Manmohan Singh to watch the match at Mohali on Wednesday. Even though the cricketing contest will bring much of the patriotic fervor that marks all contests between Pakistan and India, it could also help create the friendship that is so badly needed. In more ways than one, this is vital for the future of both countries and their people.

Welcome the Incredible match (you creeds of cricket) because this encounter is being accompanied by a lot of talent to watch out for and that too from both sides, world class bowling attack (Zaheer, Bhajji, Umar Gul and Akhtar hopefully), world class batting (Sachin, Sehwag, Misbah) and some of the best all-rounders (Yuvraj, Afridi, Razzak). And one last essential thing without which a cricket game is no fun and that is sledging, and to which 'Hindi' language adds a unique flavor. The battle will be more in the minds than the field itself. It will certainly be a battle of nerves. Who will come out on top? Something that we will just have to wait and watch! Only time will tell. 

Till then you keep bleeding blue because that is what Indians do.

Why is KASAB still alive?

I can never forget that fateful day two years ago on 26/11/2008. I was staying at a calm and peaceful place AIT. I was busy making my future bright in an engineering college, when these bastards were busy planning the bloodiest massacre in Indian history. I heard something from somewhere, and I immediately ran to my server, paused torrents, stopped CC Proxy and sat down to watch the live dance of death. It was shocking. All of my flank mates had their eyes fixed on the screen. We couldn't believe our eyes and ears. Is it a nightmare? It can't be true. Some of us were hooked onto the news channels and internet news sites for days together. Others didn’t, not because they weren’t worried, but because they had no idea that it would continue for 72 hours.

I can't explain the hatred I developed for Kasab and whoever the masterminds of the Mumbai attacks might be. For the first time in my life I wanted someone to suffer... someone to be brutally tortured. Little did I know that today, two years from then, I would still be wanting him to be punished. Kasab - why is he the one to survive the 26/11 attacks?  The person (no, he can't be a human) who walked peacefully after mercilessly killing many is still at peace!!! Why are we not setting an example by punishing him severely? Why are we not sending a strong message to all the terrorists out in the world - DON'T MESS WITH OUR NATION OR ELSE...

Recently TOI reported, “I’m reaping what I sowed : Kasab”. People don’t believe it to be his words, and doubt it to be TOI’s, another one of their many crappy articles. Kasab should be made familiar with the fact that, death is probably the easiest way for him to escape the materialistic world. I wish he be fed to our dogs, the people associated with “Nithari Killings” I mean the culprits, the pure non-vegetarians. I am not boasting of  "Nithari killings" culprits, but I am trying to tell the world that we Indians’ have a wide range of personalities here in our country. We can provide you with the fastest Indian (Milkha Singh) and slowest Indian (Suresh Kalmadi) too. But we keep our dogs in kennel and don’t let them stray around like Pakistanis. He doesn’t have an idea of the hatred that people have in them for him, and it multiplies day after day. It is better if he hangs himself, or he is hanged as soon as possible.

Why D?

If you are reading this, then you know me. If you're reading this, then we're friends -- though some are better friends than others. One of you helped me recently by making me aware of the bitter fact that I suck at choosing title for my blog posts. And probably, he was right. Sometimes I do injustice to the title of the post. Like, talking of the the previous post, there was hardly anything there pertaining to LOVE. But for those who accuse me of writing long posts, I am sorry guys, I can’t help it. I know, after reading the title of this post, you must be thinking that probably I failed again, but not to worry, I’ll prove you wrong. I know it sounds absurd, "Why D?". But, I know that this title is quite fearsome, for AITans at least. For others, let me introduce to this term YD (Why D), which stands for year down or its generally known as year back in other colleges, when you have to sit back home and take a drop for one year to clear your subjects. People in AIT don’t like to face results, 66% of my batch is below 60% and hence gives enough reason to why people don’t like facing the D-day. Last year, I was standing at the gateway of this so called YD. Eleven theory exam in a span of 21 days and three practical examinations is hell of a reason to get a YD. But somehow, I made it through and cleared all of them. These are the words of a man, who didn’t see a single sunset in AIT last semester, not because he was busy studying in room, but because he didn’t want a reason for a YD afterwards and regret. Believe me, it was height of pessimism, I spent half of my time thinking period aftermath YD. My parents still don’t know about my critical stage, but their blessings were always with me, and now I don’t care, even if they come to know of it.

I was not the only one who was on the verge of getting year down. There were others too. Most of us were fortunate enough to make it through, some could not. Some people played a great role in each of our's success. Apart from parents and relatives, there is a third kind of relationship that I can’t stop praising since they helped a lot by providing me with moral support throughout the semester. There were people around me providing me with all sort of help, and I call this category of people, “friend”. Believe me, getting out of such a situation (YD) requires a lot of mental balance, and I bet you can’t accumulate that all alone. I have seen people getting ripped off with mere six theories. I remember people coming to me regularly and asking me to study. Some of them, came drunk some sober, but all of them were worried for me undoubtedly. It’s not just about clearing exams, that make me say that, but there are many more reasons to support the call.

A Football Match

Sounds like another home assignment to a 6th class student, I know that’s what you must be thinking of. Being an Indian, I do not expect more than that from an Indian. A football game is limited just to his fantasies and fake essays and stories where he himself chooses which side to win. But here it’s none of those fake essays that you might be thinking of.

Recently I got a lifetime opportunity to watch the National team playing a friendly match against Yemen in the Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune. I could not afford to miss this one. Match was scheduled at 7:00 pm on 13th of October. We reached there in time, got ourselves tickets (Rs. 300, the most expensive available). There was a different entry for people with different tickets. There was a board which asked people with 300 wala ticket to enter. We entered and took the stairs which went upwards to the top of stands. I was left a bit behind, when one of my friends, who had already reached the top, came back and held me tight and told me that I was about to witness something which will leave me spellbound. So, I got an idea, that I was going to confront something stupendous and sensual, I didn’t want to ruin the moment. I took a deep breath before I could grasp that scene into myself. As I stepped further, I could see floodlights flooding the stadium with light and making the green look bright green and red, bright red, in short it was unbelievable. My limited vocabulary hinders me from explaining the feel further. It might not sound a big deal to you, but for me it was.

The stadium on a whole appeared like a 3 year old child’s den because it was splashed with bright colors all around, but in a regular fashion. We went and accommodated ourselves in the best seats available. Since, we had the costly tickets, so the view from our seats was very much clear and we could see the whole ground in horizontal (F6 view for those who play FIFA). There was one Ghati commentator, who was trying his best on mic. In front of us we had the Yemen dug-out and beside us there were some odd 30 supporters from Yemen. Everybody was waiting for Sunil Chettri to appear on the ground, his hat-trick in the previous match against Vietnam added to his fan club. Soon both the teams came in the center with their respective flags and a FIFA flag of course. National anthem of Yemen was played followed by Indian National Anthem. Game started with Yemen supporters cheering for their team and yelling at the top of their voice, soon Indian supporters started too. Game had hardly started when Yemen hit a goal, taking a lead of 1-0. I will not go into the details, or it will not be different from the 6th class student’s homework. Apart from hits and misses, there was lot of drama, including an own goal, bookings and other stuff.

That stadium has a capacity of 20,000 and I guess the attendance was hardly even 3000. Most of the stands were empty. Had it been India vs. Kenya cricket match, I am sure the tickets would have been sold 2 days back. Indians are crazy about Cricket. World's most popular sport Soccer is not much preferred in most parts of the country except West Bengal, Kerala, Goa, Punjab, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya & a other few states. Quite expectedly, when FIFA.com wants its followers to name their countries all-time best football XI, not a single entry is found from our country. If we are asked to select nation's all time Cricket XI, it is blatant obvious that not less than hundreds of thousands of entries from India would jam the website. Our country has definitely produced quality footballers of highest international standard, but still the audience support is missing. Even that day, as always the crowd was part of the supposedly rich “yo” and “dude” generation (the ones you see in “youngistan” and “fastrack” advertisements).

Is it so, that football is considered a poor man’s game since it requires such limited infrastructure that you can start playing anywhere and anytime. The entire professional kit, shin-guard , socks and shoes would cost not more than 2-3 k, on the other hand the cost of a good bat alone surpasses everything that is required in football. But Indians(read people in the sub-continent) usually have the tendency to buck worldwide trends, here mostly it’s the street urchins playing cricket, almost always with a rubber ball while a piece of wood from a broken down piece of furniture serves as the bat. There is no luxury of wickets and a bunch of items usually serve as a replacement for the batsman’s wicket, a two wheeler perhaps , an abandoned wall sometimes, unused bricks from construction site or on many occasions the stump of a tree(mostly in the countryside). As for the bowler’s wicket a chappal or a piece of stone usually does the trick.

I can think of several possible reasons why this is so, but all of them appear as weak and lacking in evidence as the next one. One may also say that Indians as a whole tend to be less sporting and prefer to hide their bodies under tons of clothing and sit inside a house. This is partly true as our Olympic record till date shows, but there’s no reason it should apply to Football in particular. Most of the Arabian countries share our passion when it comes to hiding your body under clothes and not participating in sports but they still have good Football teams none the less. Then there are the usual accusations about Cricket being a lazy man’s game (a game where Tea is served in between sessions!!) and how no other country plays it, but people obviously choose to overlook Golf in this argument (The laziest game in the world, which also happens to waste a lot of precious real estate), which in-spite of it’s lethargy is quite popular worldwide. So no reasons seems to satisfy enough, if you have any please do mention below.

I think that I can easily categorize football fans in India into three categories, one “The true blue fans”,  two “The wannabes” and three “The don’t cares”. People who belong to the first category, like one in the picture on the right regularly follow football, whether it’s local, international or club and at times may have played themselves. The “wannabes” wake up to football during times like these and watch the game because everyone else is watching it, their knowledge of footballing talent is usually limited to well-known names like “Messi”, “Rooney” or “Ronaldo” which they like to profess to others by wearing cool t-shirts. There is also the desperate need to appear “cooler” than the guy next door who only knows about the “desi” cricket and it’s other “desi” avatars. Then there’s the last category who would happily watch a Bangladesh-Pakistan encounter during the world cup finals, these are the die-hard cricket fans whose hatred arouses when he comes to know of the fact that no one bothers to report news about the Santosh Trophy when the World cup is going on.

Things like these intrigue me and convince me that the lack of popularity of football has in fact nothing to do with any of the things listed above and has in fact more to do with the fact that cricket in India is subjected to the grants and donations of a benevolent organization like the Government of India and soccer is not. The condition of buses to take the two teams back to their hotels after the match, said a lot about the arrangements made for the team. I bet I travel in a better bus than that one carrying the players. After a good finish in the Commonwealth Games, I hope that Govt of India should concentrate more on sports(other than cricket) and its players rather than flooding out money to corrupt people like Kalmadi. 

How long cricket dominates other sports is a question only time can answer. Hopefully the beautiful game(soccer) will indeed take its roots in India.

What an idea, Godji!

“What’s your take on Ayodhya verdict?” pinged me one of my juniors on Facebook chat. I went blank and could not think of a sensible answer instantaneously, so by the time I could make up an answer, I asked him the same question back. He seemed to be satisfied with what the three bench judge had passed. I thought after the verdict came, it would be over, but to my surprise the whole blogosphere was flooded with reviews on the verdict. Bloggers are busy making passionate calls for maintaining peace and harmony, the whole of cyberspace is flooded with tweets and blogs for peace within minutes after the long awaited Ayodhya verdict. I know I am doing the same but it’s just a written matter that is not related but written by one man and hence united.

In my opinion, this verdict was a test of religious tolerance. The judgment seems to have been decided in favor of Hindus and Muslims praying together, which is the hallmark of our composite culture. It seems judges have gone the extra-mile in trying to settle the case and also come up with a workable formula where no side gets absolutely heartbroken or feeling that there is any sort of injustice with them.  Sincere thanks to the public who themselves want to come out of the shackles of communal riots which have taken a lot of lives by now. Some say judges made a “diplomatic” judgment, where no one lost and no one won.

TV channels are making the scene worse. I have been avoiding watching news channels, but does it help. No!!! I think the noise decibels were getting to me. Does shouting out the news or questions/ comments make everything more credible? Most news anchors certainly seem to think so. Both TV and print media simply try to make the conditions worse by arousing the emotions. Like the next day TOI said, two parts went to Hindus and one to Muslims. It could have been presented a different way too. It is not expected of them. I wonder why they try to play tricks and give a wrong view to the public. A Newspaper reflects society and hence is expected not to misinterpret the verdict. No harm with that as long as the people remain peaceful. I hope that all sorts of media live up to our expectations.

Whatever be the restriction imposed by the authorities, the virtual world literally experienced the meaning of “freedom of expression”. They had no reservation in mocking and making fun of politicians, media and even the judiciary. Interesting, most of the blogs were spreading peace and harmony rather than hatred. One of the bloggers declares IIPM to be the rightful owners of the land. The blog mentions IIPM to own the land much before Mughals invaded India , forget Britishers, further mentions IIPM’s legacy to date back to days of Nalanda-Taxila and affirms to possess banner-ads as proofs. Funny, ain’t it? Some guarantee a better judgment than three of our esteemed qualified judges, they recommend a hospital to be made in lieu of mandir or masjid, which will serve the general public without any sort of discrimination. I liked a suggestion, which I would like to share with you. It was building of a structure which is probably visited by every sect in India, be it a Hindu or a Muslim. It is like every other religious place, where the respective religion is practiced. But it pertains to a religion which is followed unanimously by every Indian citizen. So, the religion I am talking about is cricket, and its temple is cricket stadium. It doesn’t sound feasible as the place of contention holds a lot of religious significance.

It’s time to stop acting like fools, and think like a human, a responsible citizen, for the prosperity and development of the nation. Let no one be compelled to prove his/her patriotism alone. Why should a single community suffer when all pay the same taxes, when all are governed by the same institution. It was one of the most awaited judgments in known history. Though people are satisfied with the verdict, but the fact that this dispute has invoked unprecedented frenzy and passion in the past, it was expected that no judgment can completely satisfy any of the sides. Everyone should hope that the issue is over. This, our motherland, gives equal shelter to people speaking different languages and following different faiths. After all, Ayodhya means “a place of no war”, and hence another bloodshed or conflict over the issue in future is not expected.

Before I Graduate

One sided love, silent mode mobiles, bus stand comedies, gatherings at BABA, walk on the MG road (AIT) to catch a glimpse of 'her', those embarrassing defeats in lan games, night long Aakriti practices, crossing fence, the height of water tank, bribing Rodrigues, sleep on roof after cut outs, canteen foods, escape from lectures, birthday treats, last minute preparation, night long bakar sessions, random plans to trip to Lonavala Khandala Lavassa Singhad, wait for the torrents of the new episode, feel of being an Indian when people go crazy in world cup matches in Raman Theatre, group studies when a single book is split into 6 pieces unit-wise, taking away attendance registers from teacher's drawer to increase your friend's attendace to save him from fine, taking 2 hours to sip that 500 ml packet of milk in front of the girls' volley court, overnight study for next day exam, late submissions, term work problem, waiting for 14^th February, crazy trips in search of food at 2 in the morning, standing in a queue in front of registrar office for forms, shortage of pocket money and attendance, will all become things of past.

The college experience flies by so fast that we’re often stuck standing in line for graduation wondering where the past four years went. One vaguely remembers meeting his best friend when he held your back after your first daru party and you kinda remember that all-nighter you pulled to get 3 term papers done in one night. And the rest is all a blur of arbit parties, walks of shame, and begging your friends for money.

Before one realises it, he’s out in the real world, working a real job alongside real people, wondering what happened to no-class Saturday and OMR at Mayur and I know very well that it ain’t fun.

It gets pretty easy to get caught up in it all and unfortunately we forget to be young and crazy. That’s why, with only a little time to go until we hit the pass out parade, I’ve put together the ultimate list of everything that a fun-loving and fearless man, should accomplish before he or she graduates.

1. Do an illegal drug :- You spin my head right round, right round. When you go down, when you go down down !

2. Confront a fear :- Doesn’t matter if it’s a fear of heights or a fear of ragging, figure out a way to face it head on just once.

3. Apologize to someone you were mean to in school or college :- A quick Facebook message apology will brighten his/her day. You have seen my doing so, believe me it feels good.

4. Make a real girl friend who is really just a friend :- Let me be clear, it should be like as you don’t want to ever see her naked and she doesn’t ever want to see you naked. No points if you’re related.

5. Get a job :- Something very essential. To unplaced friends, I want to you to be positive. You weren't hired doesn't mean that you weren't qualified. It was not your loss, it was their loss, that they missed you. It's impossible to know why exactly employers choose one candidate over another.

6. Figure out what kind of drink you actually like :- Guys, life is beyond Mayur. You should be so mature and adult that you can tell your date, why you prefer one over another.

7. Take a road trip with friends :-The destination doesn’t matter. Nothing brings friends closer than an endless road trip.

8. Try an exotic food you can’t pronounce :- I don't have an explanation as to why did I include this in the list. But recently I had gone to a restaurant, “Marakkese”, and this name made me include this in the list. Please comment below in case you know of any such exotic dish.

9. See a band show :- I am not talking of usual band performances that almost every AITian must have seen. I am talking here for something big, some known band.

10. Go 24 hours media-free :- Try this, the most difficult thing to do. That means turn off your cell phone and shut down your computer. With the exception of getting tagged in photos of nude children, that you can’t de-tag right away because one of your friends has done it, you won’t miss anything.

11. Run for a cause :- You’ll have an awesome time and feel really, really good about yourself. Do it, after a 12 hour nap, of course.

12. Learn to manage your own money:- It will make that transition into real life and make it smoother.

13. Take your parents out, probably for a nice dinner, because they deserve it.

14. Start a blog about your life and update it regularly :- Sure it seems self-centred now, but you’ll be grateful ten years from now when you can reflect on your life when you were really living it up.

15. Learn to drive :- This is the easiest in the list, I guess and most of us already have already accomplished it.

16. Donate blood :- There were only 15 in the list, but this was suggested by one my my close friends. AITans very well know the reason, but its a humble appeal to all reading this blog post, donate but do not get caught in any awkward posing photograph, but in case you get caught, please do not let your friends analyse the photograph, and if they do so, please stop them from editing it and make some weird marks on it. Till now it was acceptable, you still are safe, but please stop that daring guy from uploading it on some social networking site, because my dear friend after a while you are about to get hurt very bad. For those who don't know what I am talking about, that is a long story, could eat up the whole blog post. But dear readers, If you think donating is scary, imagine being the person who needs it during a blood shortage.

I myself can boast of completing 11 of them, eagerly waiting for my first salary, to take parents out for a dinner. Haven’t run a marathon yet, going media-free seems impossible and there are some others in the list too, yet incomplete. I would love, if people respond by sending their scores.

P.S :: Dear readers please feel free to add to the list, I know many things are left that one should accomplish at least once before graduating. Comment below and I would add it to the list, if it is worth it. This blog post seems incomplete and yes it is. But sincere thanks to all those who contributed to this post. Many were approached, but few turned up for help. If Sood can help, so can 'you'. :P

Thank you...

Ye MuMbAI Hai...meri JaaN

Seeing the title of this post, you must have guessed what this post is about. Well no prizes for right guesses, but congratulations!! You have guessed it right, it’s about Mumbai. Let me share with you my experience of four days stay in Mumbai. Let me share with you my experience of four days stay in Mumbai. The occasion was an international seminar in IIT Mumbai, so being the maths secretary of college, I was told to take of team of 6 from college to attend it. Let’s start and what best could be than to start with the local train. They say local trains Mumbai ki dhadkan hai.

“yeh ha Mumbai, yeh hai Mumbai, yeh hai  Mumbai, meri jaan...”

This was the song along with little thought which came to my mind...when I successfully managed to get into the Mumbai local at the peak hours as they say...’managed’ because getting into and out of the local is no less than a task assigned to you...hmmmm..now that if you have managed to get in taking all the pain surviving the thrust and push by the people getting down is also not just a step from the train...In fact, all you have to do is align yourself with the line of passengers getting down and before you realise you already have got down...isn’t that coll!! I was new to this city and the first experience of local was something that will remain with me for years to come.

After reaching there, I came to know that what we see in movies is real Mumbai, though didn’t get to see that ‘Bhai stuff’, but everything else was true. We know that life in Mumbai is fast. Mumbai has forgotten to walk. Yes, it is true; you’ll find people moving in a hurry to reach their destination in time. So, when people wake up in the morning, the one thing over their mind is to reach their work-place in time. In all this early morning rush, they don’t get time to pray (might be...). But, that doesn’t mean they are atheists. They do pray, but were...? Well, they pray while travelling. Yes, in busy local trains, where one hardly gets place to stand, you’ll find people taking out their spiritual books (in the tiniest form available on market) and start reading. Some people who have already by-hearted the whole book, just recite in mind.

Mumbai is the highest tax paying city in India. The real-estate people are biggest profit-makers. Mumbai is a amalgamation of different religion in Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Parsis.....and each religion with their different cultures, thus making it a great cosmopolitan city of India. This is my shallow insight into the lives of Mumbaikar’s.

Thank you for reading.

Sportsmanship

Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in.

~Napolean Bonaparte

Yesterday I was reading a newspaper, when I came across this News. Some great minds had rated the cricket players on the basis of their consistency and their contributions to their country. 5 Indians qualified for this race namely, Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Virendra Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Sunil Gavaskar. Believe it or not Sehwag was placed higher than Sachin Tendulkar in terms of the value of the runs contributed.

Here is the URL of the same. http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=170861&cid=26

The same day, a shameful incident took place at Dambulla, which will probably rock the rule-forming committee of ICC. Sehwag was just 1 run away from his well-deserved century, when Mr. Suraj Randiv bowled a no-ball (“deliberate”, as they say) to deny Sehwag a century. Though Sehwag managed to hit the ball long into the stands, but all in vain. The question is, should Sehwag be denied a century when that particular ball is being counted in his innings. This was an act of shame and that too coming from a player of a country like Sri Lanka which can boast of having won the “Fair Play Award” 2008 and 2007. Sri Lankan team for sure, does not deserve this award, if this is the spirit that they play with.

In a post-match talk, a livid Sehwag accused Randiv of doing it deliberately. More importantly, it wasn’t the first time that a Sri Lankan has done so, earlier the victim was Sir. Sachin Tendulkar when he was playing at an unbeaten score of 98 in Cuttack. More importantly, Sehwag celebrated his century and India achieved what they were searching for, that is a bonus point and a win.

Why do people give so importance to records? Aren’t records mere figures? Do records speak? I have been accusing Sri Lanka since the starting of this post. Can anyone recall, if India has ever done so, for a record. Let me help you.

Recall, the match against Pakistan in 1998-99 at Feroz Shah Kotla. The second last over, Javagal Srinath was bowling far wide off the stumps, so that the batsmen does not get out. The image on right is the scorecard of the same, see the extras given by Javagal Srinath. India wanted Anil Kumble to complete his record of 10 wickets in a single innings. Was India maintaining the spirit of the game? I guess your answer must be, a big NO. So fighting either for one’s own record or not letting other make a record is equally competitive in my view. If you gave away records, just like that, a hat-trick would have been a cakewalk. The pressure from fielders, and the best ball from the bowler can only fetch him a hat-trick, it’s not easy as it seems.

And if we talk of that no-ball to be deliberate, I am sorry, I am not with you. Sehwag said that Randiv had not bowled a single no-ball in the whole test series, then why now? If a class player like Sachin can get hit-wicket out at the end of his 17^th playing year, why can’t a newcomer like Randiv bowl a no-ball after a gap of a series. Let’s manipulate the situation a bit, we know Dhoni got to play the latter 3 balls of the second last over. Suppose if he would have scored even a single run in those 3 balls. Sehwag would have come to play the next over and remember that ball which went for a 4, passing by Sangakkara’s gloves. The match would have been over at that moment. There would have been no discussion either on Randiv, Sangakkara or Sehwag.

All that happened might be deliberate, but you cannot deny a coincidence as well. If running on the pitch in the line of sight of the wicket, to stop fielder’s throw from hitting the stumps is intelligent running, then throwing a no-ball at such a moment is what I call, “Intelligent bowling”.

Ultimate fabric of everything

If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is. ~John Louis von Neumann

Going as per wikipedia, Mathematics is the study of quantity, structure, space, and change. They say that Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions. Quite complicated, right? In my opinion there is no definition to it. Its you who can decide what Mathematics is for you.

Here is what true Mathematicians think of Mathematics, it is something that they can sense and it proves to be a life-supporting element for them. Mathematics is something that they can see, smell, taste, hear and touch. In brief, they can sense Mathematics. Mathematics is not limited to numbers or ratios or percentages or calculus. There is no end to it. Mathematics, if was to be measured, its length would be equal to a number line, and a number line has no ends, and so is Mathematics i.e. it has no ends. It is so vast that even great Mathematicians devoted all their life into it and still they could not explore it end to end.

Go down deep enough into anything and you will find mathematics. ~Dean Schlicter
We come across Mathematics in almost every facet of life, without even having a slightest clue about it in most of the cases. It all depends on your perception. In the morning when you wake up with your alarm clock ringing, its all Mathematics which governs the GMT and assigns a time to every country on our globe. The interest earned on a bank account, the arrangement of seeds in a sunflower, and the shape of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis are all intimately connected with the mysterious numbers which are a gift of Mathematics. Even black holes result from God on dividing the universe by zero. You pick any incident or any rule, I bet each of them is governed by Mathematics.

Mathematics can be as mysterious as "finding highest prime number" i.e pow(2,43112609)-1 and as simple as counting natural numbers. What will you call what Aryabhatta gave to Mathematics, "0". Was it a discovery or an invention? Discovery, because 0 always existed, there were NULL things even before Aryabhatta proposed 0. Invention, because he suggested the symbol "0" for "Null".

I developed an interest in Mathematics at a very young age. I being a student of a boarding school, went on to become a lazy guy. I never developed interest in other subjects but always did good in Mathematics. I used to score somewhere around 60% when I was doing my primary classes, but always got highest marks in Mathematics, that what probably the reason that helped me pick my area and do better in it. I developed interest in numbers, because I was very much into solving puzzles and riddles. "Puzzles to puzzle you" by Shankuntala Devi is one of my favorite book.

Indians have always been considered the people gifted with the best of minds, and thats the reason why brain drain is so common in our country. Every other good college can be seen catering students with sky-soaring salaries. For example, this year 5 people have got placements of above 1 crore at IIMC, but all in foreign firms. So, my explanation to this is, probably our education system is one of the prime reason for attracting foreign firms to hire Indian minds. The level of Mathematics in our schools in more than enough to train our young guns and help them do better  than their foreign colleagues when it comes to performance in corporate world. Something saddening is that, there have been attempts by some fools to scrap this interesting subject from the curriculum and devoid people of the excitement that they can experience and can go through. Even making Mathematics an optional subject will not do, in my opinion. One can not think of the seriousness and the intensity of the problem that a person can fall into if he/she is weak at calculations. After all, you do not have an access to a calculator everywhere.

Fasten your safety belts for the global economy. Unfortunately this brave new world poses a serious and formidable challenge to the India. The problem is that our young guns are just not showing much interest or skills in the areas of math, engineering, science, or technology. As the workers of the baby boomer generation start to retire, we not only need to fill these jobs, but instruct our young people to compete for the global jobs of the future. So we should stick to the success mantra that we have been following for years and be proud of it. Let the Indian wagon of success speed up by making Mathematics more application based rather than plain, boring and formulae based.

Colours of Intoxication

Imagine you're walking down a city street in India. Spring has arrived and the sun is shining brightly. The level of excitement in the air is contagious. From around the corner a child runs out and throws a water balloon at you, giggling as he runs to find his next target. A cloud of colour bursts into the air as you realize that the balloon wasn't just holding water. It was also holding coloured powder in celebration of the Hindu Holi Festival of Colours.

So this year, 2010 as always India goes to celebrate one more Holi. As always people apply and splutter various colours on almost everyone they know and yes they don't really know. Originally a festival to celebrate good harvests and land fertility, it also remembers events in Hindu mythology. Today, it brings together Indians, Nepalese and others who celebrate with eating, singing, dancing, colourful games and bonfires. Holi is especially known as a ‘colourful celebration’, named thus as it is people mark the day by colouring themselves and throwing colours at each other. Friends and family cover each other’s faces, hair and clothing with colourful powders; painting even faces and hair. People go out spreading colours throughout the streets.

Now comes the thing, for which this post was meant for. Let me introduce you to cannabis indica. Google gave me that scientific name for our own favorite "Bhang". Some call it Indian hemp, some soft drug and biologists call it Cannabis Indica. In many places people get drunk in Bhang if not other alcholic beverages. Yes people get cleverly masked in unrecognizable formats where one drinks and lashes out in objectionable manner.The tradition of consuming bhang on holi is particularly rampant in North India where Holi itself is celebrated with a gusto unseen anywhere else. Bhang is made from the leaves of Hemp and is considered to be the least intoxicating of the cannabis preparations in India. But is capable of giving a high for the entire day and is sold openly during Holi festival.

The Bhang usually comes in two varieties – capsule, and dried Bhang leaves. The capsules or golis are added to ice cream, sweets, paan etc. The dried plant or leaves is soaked in water and then it is cleaned and finally grounded on a stone slab to get the paste which is taken along with Badam milk or any sweet preparation.


The sweet and the Bhang are considered to a highly potent combination and is said to give a real high. Therefore many revelers wait for Holi to get intoxicated in public. For fun, many people are also fed bhang mixed drinks and sweets without their knowledge. Sale of Bhang during other days is prohibited in many places except in some temples and places associated with Lord Shiva.

This Holi, even I enoyed to the fullest, consumed Bhang from our own, AITian's Baba shop(not the computer one) in Dighi. First, one hour goes very normal, if you don't know much about it, you will feel like you wasted your money or you would like to go and have one more glass. Next one hour, goes in explaining what are you feeling like. Example, I kept laughing and trying to explain my friends that someone was forcefully pulling my cheeks backwards and was compelling me to laugh. Thirdly, everyone of us knows that Time is Money. So, if you have wasted a lot of your time, I have an alternative, consume Bhang and time will stop for you. A music video will appear as if it was a movie. I think that is more than enough I can explain, my limited vocabulary stops me from explaining other feelings I had on Holi. Then the Indian victory on arch-rival Pakistan in the hockey world cup added to the flavor of Holi. So, there was not one, but two reasons for everyone to celebrate.

But there is something that is needed to be given a thought. Over the centuries and over the decades the festive spirit of Holi has lowly deteriorated; it has been hugely corrupted and misused by people. I greatly feel this has been due to an excessively bad influence of Bollywood movies of the 1960s and the 1970s. The Bachchan era (Don and Sholay) bought in a lot of celebrity status to this festival and corrupted it with open indulgence in consumption of narcotics, alcohol and objectionable sexual opportunism and exhibitionism. Lets get Holi that same importance again what it had years ago and be sober on such auspicious occasions. Its good that one stays away and discourage usage of Bhang or Joints or to that extent alcohol to the fullest extent. I'll for sure!!!


NOTE: I also want to remind that in this festive mood, it is easy for everyone to forget that there is something known as the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in India. Few Indians realize how powerful this act is, with potential for abuse. For example, someone arrested under this act is presumed guilty until proven innocent, which is against normal jurisprudence. Bail can be granted only after a court hearing. Given the Indian judicial system, this can take a few months to many years.

Under the Table

Hello everyone.....

We Indians, feel proud of being an Indian and so do I. I am happy and feel proud for the history we own, the present and the future as well. The pace of development has been extraordinary, better than any other country. But sometimes I feel sad about something, though its not being committed publicly but its slowly eating away the country. Corruption!!!

Being a native of India, it is very well known to us. We know that there are some rules other than the rules. Do not try to act differently as if you are a revolutionist, do what others do. We know that rules and regulations look good in rule books and public boards, they are not meant to be followed. What we need to follow is not decided by us but by the government officials we face in the process. Since India is a democratic country, almost every department is public. Corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be inevitable products of democracy, as they undoubtedly are today. Hence you can not avoid them. I myself, have had many experiences when I have tasted the flavor of the Indian Procedural System.

The most disquieting aspect of the widespread corruption in India is the fact that it is not anymore confined to politicians or the government machinery alone. It is prevalent amongst almost every section of the society at every level. Today, if one would say that any particular Indian is honest to the core, it could only be a case of exception rather than a rule.

The study of world phenomenon on corruption has repeatedly branded India as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Unfortunately, this view has not disturbed most of the Indians at all and they do not seem to care as to what others think of them; so long as the existing systems and practices would allow them to make money and get things done in one way or the other.

As the practice of corruption is a dishonest act, one has to think that most of the Indians are dishonest, which could be different only in degree between the individuals. As the reason for the dishonesty is greediness and the desire to get things done at any cost one can think that most of the country men are greedy and do not anymore think that the means should justify the ends. This is not a flattering statement and many readers would desire that it would not be so and such statement could have been avoided. But, the fact is that most of the Indians are involved in corrupt practices in one way or the other, either due to greed or due to so called compulsion. In any case, the willingness to sacrifice for the sake of not getting involved in corrupt dealings is conspicuous by its absence amongst the most.

Earlier it was a bit difficult to adapt with it, but later on I learnt that its better to keep quite and go as per their way. There has been a fixed way or getting everything done for years in a government office. People have a different rule book, and try to follow it as it proves to be the best. I mean, I challenge you try going against the system and try getting the desired thing within time.

It will be much easy to get the desired thing done, if you know that Indian hands and mind work only when injected with a sufficient amount of fuel and that too “Under the table”. The cost depending on the intensity or the requirement of particular thing. For example, you are caught on a road by a traffic policemen, multiply your crimes by a 100 rupee note and pay him. Every man has his price. He won't even warn you and leave you free. And these policemen are so shameless, that if you are good at bargaining, you can bring down a cost of 300 rupees to 30 rupees. They won't hesitate, in accepting that too.

If not Olympics, India is at least top-rated in some list, and its the corruption list. As per the recently released list by Transparency International, India was ranked 84th in the list of 180 countries. We project ourselves as one of foremost competitor for very coveted positions, like being permanent member of UN Security Council or nuclear deals with various developed countries. But we fail in amending our morals and basics, taking the country down to a cesspool where there is nothing other then failure.

The most disquieting aspect of the widespread corruption in India is the fact that it is not anymore confined to politicians or the government machinery alone. It is prevalent amongst almost every section of the society at every level. The introduction of RTI, i.e. Right to Information Act has provided a very significant boost to common people to ask for their rights and question the government officials, in case there is any sort of delay in the process.
Now the big question arises, that is how do get rid of it. The answer is simple, enjoy your rights and follow your duties and I guarantee you that India, a true Indian imagines of, is not a far sight. Do not be a part of such an act because if not you, somebody else is there who has to suffer finally. Be proud to be an Indian and act like a true Indian.

Remember, "respect is not demanded, its commanded."