Random Rumble in the Bronx!

For the pretty lady sitting prettily in her oh-so-pretty office in S’pore:

4 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 2 = 32 hrs n not 16 hrs! How can you expect to finish the work in half the time n tht too when u urself prepared tht stupid document which had to be read over n over again to understand wht u were trying to say n then spending hours modifying it to rectify the wrong steps u had written. Due to u I had to work in the office almost till midnite for the past 3 days. If u don’t know basic addition go to the Start menu of ur comp n then from the Programs fly-out menu go to Accessories n voila there is a Calculator hidden there for dumbos like u. Now if u use any other operating system than Windows may Bill Gates haunt u in ur dreams .. tht too for total 32 hrs in installments! :P

Actually writing this all here can’t vent out the frustration coz this will be the story again for every small project.. ohh another one starts from 1st Sept. I guess. Someone had appropriately said
Every organization is like a tree full of monkeys. Ones at the top can only see monkeys below them and ones at bottom see only assholes above them

Time tht I close the eyes of my juniors :D

Dad got ‘officially’ transferred to Madhya Pradesh from Himachal Pradesh. We were expecting it to be Rajasthan n mom n myself were happy coz we haven’t been there. But anyways we also haven’t been to MP. So au revoir to Shimla n Delhi n -soon- here I come Bhedaghat n Dhuandhar waterfalls. I hope tht soon will be really soon otherwise a senior person retiring here in December this year vacates a position n dad might be transferred back to Pune to fill it up. I mean tht is gud but it is bad too. Damn why do things have two sides.

We all Japanese language students in the company got certificates for the recently concluded training session. Also we gave a small treat to our teacher.. have got pics will upload them someday. As u can see the marks have come down frm 80 to 79. Thts coz I was honest enough to tell the teacher tht she had given me an extra mark in a question by mistake. I swear I m not tht honest but actually I had gone to tease her for giving me an xtra mark n demanded one more mark for pointing out her mistake. Had I known they were gonna write marks on the certificate I would have not displayed my honest side. See again, everything has two sides. Btw, a better handwriting on tht would have been nice.

Now everybody close ur ears. AAARRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHH !!Sorry Navdy tht wasn’t ur blog heading but I really shouted. If I don’t update this space anytime in future for 15 days in a row consider tht I have left blogging n sorry for tht. But I just can’t get over the feeling no matter how hard I try. It is the second time I m losing my smile to it. It is neither professional problem nor academic. I m not getting married n neither I have fallen in luv. So stop thinking ‘bout it n I will try my best to be on the blogging scene coz I have to parade the desktop beauties. Okk thts a gud thought for survival. Ciao!

Gods, Goddesses n Miracles!!

Bola Ganpati Bappa Morya, Mangalmurti Morya

Since evening, the only audible thing apart from the dhols n tashas is this sentence. It is festival season in the land of festivals. One has just enough time to relish n digest all goodies prepared for the festive occasion till the next one knocks the door. When in school we were given the topic ‘My Favourite Festival’ for essay I, like most other students, used to write on Diwali coz it had a huge matter to write. But, even today I m more fond of Ganesh Utsav as compared to Holi n Diwali. The decoration n themes put up by various pandals n the long walks to see all of them throughout the night, the immersion process n the 7-8 hrs of non-stop dance (both, the fav ganpati ishtyle dance n the decent one with a local school) n the best part of course are the modaks. I luv the fried version n never liked the steamed ones. Mom has gone out of station for two days n will be returning in time tomorrow for the puja. Till then, I got the idol today evening after hunting a few places to get the idol of perfect height to fit into the thermocol temple I had already bought.

The so-called miracles in different parts of the country have been ruling the news for the past two weeks. Check Aditi’s blog where she has already written on the idols of gods drinking milk n salty water of a river (or better a glorified gutter?) turning sweet n more stuff. I was reading Farah Baria’s column n a few excerpts from it:
It’s easy to sneer at miracles from an Ivory Tower. Try it from a slum with a skinny, sick child in one arm and a bucket of brackish drinking water in another – you might just be singing a different hymn. The truth is, in a country where 1.2 million kids still starve to death every year and over 40 million citizens wage a daily battle with poverty and hunger, Faith is India’s coping mechanism – our only security blanket against hopelessness and despair. Purer than opium, safer than Valium.
The joke is that India is not just a country of miracles, it’s a miraculous country. Think about it. The way we submit to inept leaders, then vote them back to power, is a miracle. The way we accept corruption and deceit is a miracle. The way we somehow muddle through the chaos and make it work is most definitely a miracle. But these miracles we don’t see, the ones we take for granted.
When will we stop believing? Qutie simply, when every Indian can eat, drink, work and live with dignity. When we can cease to serve the government we have appointed to serve us. When India, like the Meethi River, can hold her head high and be proud of her name. But for the moment, these can only be miracles.

Well, all we can hope is that the God of Wisdom of whom we kick-start the 10 day festival from tomorrow instill knowledge in those superstitious minds.

The series I mentioned in the last post is going to be of wallpapers. Desktop Goddess of the Fortnight/Month will commence from next month. As the name suggests the wallpapers will be only of babes, so sorry gals :D. The name is inspired by a show on Channel V which goes probably by the name V Goddess of the month. I haven’t yet finalised whether to update tht section after a fortnight or a month. Going by my collection count till today if I update it daily the series would last for about 6 years from now. But daily wont be possible; so I had another thought to go by alphabetical order. Suggestions are welcome but let me tell u tht it won’t be a boob show here, definitely (though long live the SI photo shoots n VS ramp shows). I use all those wllpprs at home n in company so I got to be careful :). Most of the models/actresses are my fav but the main thing is the captured pic. So hats off to the photographers for capturing the stunning beauties in awesome frames. Btw, whts with these wllppr sites nowadays? Some are going almost porn n it is difficult to browse for a gud wllppr without a naked gal titillating on the sidebars n a foreign chick’s pic saying she is right here in Pune for me to make out tonight. WTF!! It is kinda difficult to pursue a hobby these days. Anyways, hope u r having a gud Sunday if reading this tomorrow otherwise have a nice week ahead.

Spoofed Nationalists

How many of you remember the national pledge we used to recite in school? I can only remember the part India is my country. All Indians are my brothers and sisters. Now, not remembering the next lines don’t make me an anti-Indian n neither does knowing the entire pledge by-heart make me a patriot. Why to make the national song Vande Mataram to be sung compulsorily everyday in schools? As it is, we already sing the national anthem along with the pledge. To be frank, I don’t know the meaning of each n every word of our anthem and neither can I tell how many regions are mentioned in it at the drop of a hat. But still I luv my country. Fine, I agree it is not wrong in singing the national song but making it compulsory is bad. Worse is making it a political issue n sparking off community hatred. But we can expect only this frm our politicians. Why do u go to a movie theatre? For pleasure.. right? Now why do we have to play national anthem in a place where ppl come to unwind themselves. The sadder part is many ppl keep on munching to the popcorn or slurping the coke while standing. Why the hell bring disrepute to the anthem like tht. Call me a traitor if u want but I hate this forced-nationalism. The sense of pride or feeling of gratitude towards ur own country shld come frm ur heart n not necessarily frm ur mouth thro songs of praise. If the politicians want everyone to be like tht then get someone to sit n transmogrify everyone.

Last night I was reading an article on the sudden influx of spoofs of best-selling novels. Spoofs/parodies are meant to be taken in a light way n the satire might be difficult to digest if one doesn’t has a taste of tht kind of humour or the original author is one of ur favs. I Moved Your Cheese is a spoof of Who Moved My Cheese. Till yest I was thinking tht Spencer Johnson had written the next part of the latter one. Lord of The Rings got Bored of The Rings while Star Trek turned into Star Wreck. But the best name of the spoof according to me is the on one of the famous books Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. The name of the satire is Women are from Bars, Men are from Penus. After reading the original version would luv to skim thro’ the spoof as well. Has anyone read any spoof novels? While we are on spoofs, yest one colleague shared a parody on Harry Potter. It is awesome n Lindsay Lohan with xtra assets makes it super awesome. A laughter riot of 5 mins 20 secs.. search for it on youtube or any other sites n post the link in comments if anyone finds it. Would have mailed u all if the size was small but it is 50 Mb.

Btw, if u have ur mail id in ur blogger profile n got ur comments bounced off my mail id then m sorry for tht. Let us blame the system guys for this; have changed the comments-delivery to gmail again. It was gud when the comments directly landed in mail box so it was a refreshing change to read tht frm the official mails n boring forwards. Now, I have to refresh the whole page in free time to check for comments. So pls don’t expect a reply on a comment in posts in archives. I am thinking of starting a series on blog.. details in one of the upcoming posts.

Wanted - Hot gal with cool sunglasses! :D

2 days back as I was waiting at the Sangam Bridge signal on way to office saw a few school children standing across holding placards in their hands. The boards were in marathi language n I take longer time to read marathi in devnagari script than in English script thnx to the innumerable sessions of chatting. I was trying to figure out wht was written frm a long distance but couldn’t do so apart frm noticing a few exclamation marks. The signal turned green n the curious cat in me glanced sideways to read the banner. I just finished reading half of it n THUD!! I almost fell down in a big pothole in the middle of the road.. not middle it had covered the whole road. Guess wht was written on the placard.. Pudhe khadda aahe!! Vahane hallu chalva! which translated means Pothole ahead!! Drive slowly!. I was not hurt but tht pothole sure shook some of the vertebrae down the spinal cord. Tht is just one of the innumerable potholes here n every rainy season Pune is compared to the moon drawing a comparison of the potholes and craters over there. I wont be saying again n again tht the corporation sucks but it indeed is a gr8 effort by the students of school to come forward n help citizens (not by making them bump of course). Also a few IT companies’ employees have started manning traffic signals in peak hours while the pot-bellied policemen take a siesta. It is tht time of the year when u sport ur sexy sunglasses to hang around n not to move. If at all u have to move prepare urself for a roller-coaster ride.. woooohhooooo!!!

In the previous post, many said tht it is a passing phase n also the ‘grass is greener on other side’ feeling. I agree to tht, but yet I would like to say tht blaming engineering does not mean I did not enjoy those four years. It was one of the best phases of my life. Apart frm the gud frnds I made in this time I value these four years as discovering myself. I was not shy but introvert by nature in school. But conscious efforts frm my side n a nice grp of frnds has definitely transformed me into an extrovert. Not tht I was not social earlier but there has been a distinct transformation in me in a positive way. So for some of u .. engineering is gud.. fine? Now u can sleep peacefully :P. Also, someone pointed tht I need to find a gal so tht I won’t be stressed.. lollzz. I would luv to take this advice n start searching for a gal. But being lazy I would prefer to print some ads’ n let the gal come over here instead :D Any creative lines.. not pickup lines.. for the ads’ are welcome.. he he. My tennis partner Kunal is leaving for US this weekend to pursue higher studies. So tht means ‘The Sunday Tennis’ comes to an end until I find a new partner. Also, a few frnd frm my grp already left abroad in the past two weeks or so. Now m seriously wondering wht I would be doing over the weekend n whom to hang out with. Whts the use of sexy sunglasses if u don’t have anyone to hang out with.. lol. I guess the ‘gal’ thing shld be seriously considered now. Don’t be surprised if u get to see hoardings for the gal-search all over Pune. I will keep in mind to make those in english n not in marathi otherwise I will be the first one to take a tumble again.. ha ha.

Watched ‘The Game’ movie over last 2-3 days. It features Michael Douglas, don’t know if it is new or old. But if tht thing (a prank) happens to someone in real life, I doubt he will survive till the end.. the movie’s end not his end. I got myself new headphones in office.. the earlier ones had started to function well again suddenly but again gave problems last week. For a few reasons I have fallen in luv with 2 songs right now. They have been playing in loop since a few days. One is Lucky Ali’s Tu Kaun Hai and other one Pyaar Ke Naam by Bombay Vikings. Interestingly, both songs when used in movies are more melodious. I guess m correct or it’s only me thinking tht way. A few lines of the first song are:

Kahaan se tu aati hain kahaan ko tu jaati hain
Sapnon ko sajaati hain apnon ko le jaati hain
Baagon mein jab behti hain kaanon mein kuch kehti hain
Aati hain nazar nahin saanson mein par rehti hain
Hawa hain pawan hain vayu hain purwai hain
Jeevan hain jaan hain ya parchai hain
Dene aayi hain ya kuch mere liye layi hain
Puchu na main kya tuzhse kahanse tu aayi, tu kaun hain

Tu kaun hain Tu kaun hain Tu kaun hain

The *tu kaun hain* line doesnt fail to make me think every time i hear it. The second song’s lyrics are put up in the scrolling line on header. Have a superb weekend all of u!

Who Wants to be a Millionaire Engineer?

I wanna be your t-shirt when it´s wet
wanna be the shower when you sweat
I wanna be - your hot tub - when you´re dippin´
I wanna be - your bathrobe - when you´re drippin´
I wanna be - your cocktail baby - when you´re sippin´
I just wanna be right there - more than anything I swear
I wanna be - your underwear
But babe, I never wanted to be an engineer

Bryan Adams was lucky.. he just became everything a normal guy would desire n even he didn’t get to waste 4 years of his life getting a B.E. If u luv engineering run away now otherwise I will haunt u in ur dreams n turn them into nightmares. I HATE engineering. Now tht I have said tht let me clarify tht it was solely my decision to get into tht rut so neither can I blame my parents for tht. So all I will do is rant ‘bout it. The memories came back due to two main reasons.
First is tht m getting bored frm this routine life of work. I m itching to break free n do something else fully aware tht after 1 year I will be saying the same thing again in any field. Second was a guy (frm mom’s tuitions a few yrs back) who met me at the gym the other day. He has completed his 12th grade n filled in the form for engineering. Now gym is a place I dislike to be in the first thing in morning. As if tht was not enough this guy comes n starts asking which college is gud n which discipline he shld prefer. Honestly I felt telling him to drop the idea of becoming an engineer n instead do something else but fearing his parents would come to my home with sticks n brooms I kept my wise ideas to myself. It has been almost 2 years now I got out of the college but tht dude wasn’t able to understand when I said u shld look how the campus offers went for the last year n then choose a college. Adding to the already confused condition of admissions the university has added a Common Entrance Test (CET) which is now used to prepare the merit list. When I had gone for it, the merit list was prepared only on the 12th grade marks but all efforts of explaining this to him went in vain as he insisted to know my opinion ‘bout his score in the CET. I know he is in a tough position n wants some answers but get them frm a relevant n reliable source.. pls not frm me. I had a ‘gud’ reputation in my class of just passing on the border .. in fact I joined the 40/100 marks community on orkut n was pleased to read tht there were ppl having more subjects with the magical figure of 40. I will count my tally n post it sometime. But as of now I will say engineering sucks n if there is someone in favour of engg. don’t sue me but pls guide tht kid as a favour.

With due respect to all engineers n the females in the world

Becoming an engineer is similar to getting pregnant. You just have to enjoy the success n not count the efforts and years tht went in, to become one

I would have luved to become a sports person.. not table tennis of course :D. Wht would u have luved to become instead of wht u r into today? If u r a student are u flowing in the stream u like or want to get to the shore n settle for something else?

Wishing all the Indians a very very Happy Independence Day for 15th August. I sincerely hope tht every kid grows on to become wht he wants n even if he/she doesn’t land up in the dream job, he/she helps India to outshine the rest of the world. On tht optimistic note, lets end this post by repeating after me “Engineering Sucks!!!” I luv u all.. thnx!

Ghost - 1990

Do u believe in ghosts? I don’t till date. There is a news tht two cities are currently affected by a ‘music-lover’ ghost. It may sound funny but wht is more funny tht if someone sings or hums Himesh Reshmiyya’s songs then tht ghost loves it (or hates it.. might be Himesh’s publicity stunt) but yeah the ghost chases the person who is singing. There was a nice discussion on tv (don’t tell me I said anything against watching tv) whether ghosts are for real or an illusion we have due to some fears, imagination or just some widely spread tales. There was a tarot card reader too n she said tht she never believed in ghosts until she witnessed one herself n pointed out tht until one doesn’t witnesses it himself or herself not to believe in them. Tarot cards, palmistry, astrology n horoscope are definitely sciences but since we are not taught these in school I have something somewhere back in my mind which tells me not to believe in them. But still, the first thing I do when I grab the newsppr in morning is read Calvin & Hobbes n then Peter Vidal’s daily horoscope column. I must admit tht I wonder that even though I don’t believe in it, most of the things in tht column come quite true. I first thought tht reading tht in morning, I must be trying to do wht was written but then I started reading tht while sleeping n still it tallied most of the times.

It is a debatable issue whether these things are for real or not but those who believe highly stress on the existence of ghosts. As for my believing in ghosts, I want to do two things for tht. First is go to a trek to Torna fort n stay there overnight. I luv trekking but apart frm tht fact I want to do this esp coz have heard many stories of ghosts on this fort who haunt the place in night. Second is some lane in Pune where a Chinese boy sits with folded legs in mid-air. If I see these two then I will surely update this space. Nah.. ghosts don’t kill simply coz if there are ghosts surely they also are facing the problem of population explosion. U tell me.. have u seen a ghost?

The weekend break was gud. My grandparents are well n gr’ma is also recovering. At this age wht they need more is love rather than medications n tht they sure are getting frm my lovely cousins. These kids amaze me every time I visit or they come here. I have this firm belief tht there is more to learn frm kids than elders. U just shld have tht patience to understand them. Being a single child, I really am bad at giving n sharing n I sure get an inferiority complex seeing them think so much for each other n tht too even in small small things. I yesterday vowed tht I would try to share my chocolate bar next time with someone.. yes it was hard to even think of it, but I did do it. Also, a small boy on the road made me realize yest why my bike’s headlight was on even when I had tried all things to turn it off for past 2 days n the mechanic also failed to understand why it was continuously on. Apart frm tht I was also at the receiving end of umpteen methods to get rid of my cough n cold. Gr’mother insisted on me drinking haldi-ka-doodh (turmeric flavoured milk) while one of the aunts had masala-doodh ready. Had to gulp down both at diff times of course. Then another aunt got me ugly-coloured-horrible-smelling syrup which I had to drink much to the amusement of two younger cousins. I was wondering whether I had gone to visit a patient or to turn myself into one. It is a fact tht if u take medicines u get well in a week while if u don’t then u take around 7 days, still the fuss over it.

Happy Raksha Bandhan to one n all. I just cant get over this joke.. sorry if it hurts someone’s sentiments, but since it is in marathi I don’t think many will be able to understand it. I m not taking any efforts to translate it coz it loses the punch after translation.

Ek sundar mulgi college madhye rakhi gheun aali aani vargatlya saglyat waatrat porala mhanali “Haath de, rakhi bandhte”. Porga tar aagav hotach, mhanala, “Wah ga wah! Udya mi mangalsutra gheun yein, bandhun gheshil ka mazhya kadun” :))

I am leaving!!

Wht did u think frm the title? Did u think I m leaving blogspot since it again got blocked in the company.. nah! Ur torture won’t come to an end so soon … but don’t worry it will surely end one day :)

Can’t put down wht I had intended to so wrapping it up. I m having a very bad cold… sneezing all the time since yest evening. My nose is hurting like hell. I don’t remember getting wet in the continuous downpour which is taking place here the whole week (though yest it was gr8 weather) but it seems the weather change had me in. I will be going to my mom’s native place tomorrow to meet my grandparents. Grandma is not well n she got a fractured leg too. U all too tk care n have a gr8 weekend. Catch u all on Moday now.. tada.. :))

EDIT: A Happy Frndship day to all of u (it is on Sunday if u were not aware like me).. so if u r my frnd be happy always n if u r not then WTH r u doing here :D

Hiiiiiissssssss...

It was Nagpanchami on Sunday. Nag means snake n panchami is 5th day.. don’t know wht 5th day is but ppl worship snakes on the Nagpanchami (snake being one of the creatures alongside one of the most powerful gods in Indian mythology). There were some pics in the newsppr of ladies celebrating it so I assume tht it is a more female-sided day so no wonder I don’t know anything about the festival. But snakes do evoke some memories frm the past. Dad being a zoologist, his office had (when he was in Pune) insects n animals of all size, sex, caste n creed.. okk at least the first 2 I guess. There were beautiful butterflies to ugly beetles, creepy snakes to grasshoppers, crickets, praying mantis n wht not. I have had my wonderful share of scaring gals in school during my science projects when mostly I used to take an empty box of sweets n arrange all those insects in it. Of course they were dead but not all knew tht fact n it was real fun. But, before tht as a kid I also wasn’t aware tht all those snakes were dead n kept in spirit for preservation. I always thought tht they were alive n were kept in special mineral water which kept them alive for many years. I never used to venture in tht area of the office n used to keep myself happy watching the butterflies n moths.

The first time I came across a live snake was when I was in 7th grade I guess. Tht time dad was a member of an organization WILD. Tht organization had caught some snake-charmers (don’t know wht is charming ‘bout these ppl) who sewed the mouth of snakes n then made money by either making them dance on tune of bin or skinning them. The whole lot of snakes recovered frm them was kept in an exhibition to spread awareness about snakes in the masses. I was roaming around keeping a safe distance frm the exhibits when one of dad’s frnd recognized me n said “Hey this is Dr. Sharma’s son.” Now god knows why but this statement prompted one guy frm the organization to come forward n place a huge python on my neck with the python’s neck region in my right hand. I can’t forget tht feeling till date. I was shivering n I could feel my palms going wet with sweat. Luckily tht lasted only for few seconds but in such situations the few seconds also seem like long hours. (Off record: I later boasted ‘bout handling a live python alone n tht ‘live’ word was said with due stress :D) The point is tht m in awe of ppl who can handle those poisonous n non-poisonous asps. I always take my lil cousins to the local snake park to show them how they take out venom. The snakes there are in deep pits so no problem of being scared, but yes snakes are scary n far far away from being cute. Take my word for tht.

Weekend was meant to be fun but the incessant rain did play a bit of spoilsport. Met a lot of buddies in this whole week. Two of them were in India on vacn frm France n US. Another was here frm Singapore while two frm within India frm Banglore n Hyderabad. Lotz to talk, lotz to eat n lotz to learn too. Watched Omkara movie which is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello. It was nice but Saif took away the whole movie n might sweep the awards too. Also watched (or say re-watched if permitted to use the word) Saving Private Ryan, Apaharan n half of Chronicles Of Narnia. Finished off the season one of 24 n still I have dreams of Elisha Cuthbert being kidnapped again n again n me being her sole saviour. I was wondering if I had too much on hands before Saturday evening came but now wonder how could I squeeze all this too along with getting up at 1 on Sunday. Amazes me!

Out of context.. today’s evening made me very very happy.. it is past midnight but m still smiling :)

Reality TV!!!

As it is, the bearded n yelling anchors in the late night news editions reminding u of every crime tht took place in every nook n corner of the country have taken over the space on telly at that time, media is going bonkers on anything they get to show live n gory under the banner of breaking news. Sunday being a peaceful day meant for leisure, we all had to witness how it took 50 hours to take out a 6 year old kid, Prince, out of the 60 feet deep n around 1 feet wide hole (had it not been for mom n the 2 ladies for lunch I would have watched something better). The kid was playing around when he slipped into the hole, which was meant there for lifting up water. Cameras were pushed in to enable the ppl working outside to bring him up safely, but more for the world to see how tht child seeing the camera for the first time in his life wept for his parents. They wanted to show the world how ppl across the country prayed for his safety by sending in mssgs for him to be brave and the whole country was waiting for his birthday to be celebrated (coincidentally it was his b’day). Every news channel wanted an exclusive comment frm the parents tht how they felt tht their child had fallen in tht damn hole n the whole country was waiting for the moment he comes out. Every news channel beamed ppl praying for his safety n then later the lead of the praying group used to thank the specific news channel for showing the fishing-out-the-boy scene live (as if others were still discussing whether Materazzi abused Zidane’s sister, mother or both). Some political organization has declared 2 lakhs for the boy’s family n one news channel has taken up the burden of the cost of his education. A media n political gimmick I would say! How many kids will be thrown in holes now by a poverty struck family? I sincerely hope none.

What was more infuriating was tht ppl frm neighbouring areas of Delhi poured at the scene to have a first-hand look n some went on a special air-time commenting spree how they were traumatized by the news n came here for help. In fact they possessed a problem to the army personnel who were trying not to let the soft soil fall in. Now tht Delhi has come into the picture, a panel of experts was discussing the sudden rise of some vegetable from Rs. 8 to Rs. 10. Ppl protested, took to streets n the price went back to the original. In Pune, we pay (mom told me) Rs. 20 for the same stuff. The media doesn’t come out of the capital n we ppl here don’t make any attempt to take our lazy asses off the couch n protest. We just pay n pray to God after a gud meal tht don’t let the price go to Rs. 21 tomorrow. Hey I was on media-bashing .. how come it is becoming self-bashing.

Okk.. lets talk of 'soft' violence inflicted on us .. the sports news section is not worth watching either with Ganguly coming back haunting Dalmiya this time with emails. An ex-captain of a local football team commits suicide; on another channel Sania Mirza loses again n they discuss why she isn’t winning these days; meanwhile Ajay Jadeja comes to rescue of Kumble saying he is the best bowler n will play in world cup even if he is not selected for the upcoming series. Entertainment news is devoid of any entertainment. Nowadays everywhere u see the evergreen gay guy Karan Johar promoting his new tear-jerker Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna with his star cast. On some channel some stupid critic is reviewing some more-stupid film completely unaware tht this task has been entrusted by God himself to Vaibhav n me. Almost every entertainment channel has 2-3 reality shows where either the participants are made to sing n cry or celebrities r made to show their strengths off n bring tears of appreciation in eyes of their faithful fans. One day I went home early n had to witness such a singing duel but instead found tht the judges were using their epee on each other to decide who the best was. Last month my company celebrated its Foundation Day n we all were harassed to the max when some of the colleagues were vying for the Company Singing Idol spot. Before the gal who won shrieked in surprise, the audience started crying tht the trauma had come to an end just within 2 hours.

Thts why, to unwind myself frm the daily work I just watch Bugs Bunny on POGO n Midnight Hot on FTV. Atleast it glorifies wht it shld n does not contain even an ounce of violence or boredom. The trick is to stick to the right channel at the right time :))

Testing waters!

It is so easy to copy if u are made to sit tht close in exams and tht too besides such a ‘helpful’ partner. The day before the exam I had casually glanced at how much each student had covered and then decided to sit besides a guy, who I felt had done his homework well enough. On the day of the exam I luckily managed to come a few minutes before the scheduled paper n luckily I see one chair besides him is vacant. I scurried my way to tht chair n as soon as I sat there, the teacher felt something fishy n ordered me to occupy the vacant chair next to the whiteboard in the conference room. Now the word teacher might give u an idea of an old, fat lady with specs n a cane/ruler in hand but this teacher is just around 2-3 yrs elder to me n I have worked with her on a previous project too, but it is impossible to argue when u r a student there n not a frnd. Anyways I had to move my ass over to tht chair n then began the ordeal when the papers were distributed. Luckily the questions were objective (some with alternatives too) but the topics which I had done well were asked for half mark.. yeah a mere half mark each question n the ones which I thought were not deserving enough to be studied were for two marks each. There I was left stranded with another guy sitting next to me who knew more than me but I was sure he was a dumbo.

So whatever he wrote or selected from the options I did just the opposite.. he he. Guess what, I scored 80 out of 100 n tht guy was the lowest with marks in some fifties. The first guy who I thought was the studious of the whole lot got a whooping 97. The top three scorers were made to give the whole class a party.. now tht shifting of chairs was a blessing in disguise ;)

Zidane n Materazzi have been banned n fined but this historical moment in the world cup has been the source n inspiration of many mails nowadays. On an average 2 out of 10 mails are on this topic. One mail says tht Materazzi asked Zidane “Bhaiyya hum Chloromint kyun khate hain” on a very famous ad on Indian television or then another shows a gif image how Zidane actually meant to save Materazzi from a bullet, aimed at him, in true heroic style. But the best was tht just within 2 days of the incident (even before I finished sulking ‘bout my prediction gone wrong) some person came out with this stuff. One can be in Zizou’s place in this small game n head butt not one but many Materazzis’. Even if u r fan of Italy, u can enjoy the game n hey in the end Zidane gets a red card not you :). Don’t play so much tht u go out on the street n start head butting everyone…have a gr8 weekend.

EDIT: The Prez has received a threatening letter. I am scared! :D

Who came up with tht law?

I guess it was Newton .. for every action, there is an equal n opposite reaction. After a memorable day sometime back it had to be this one which goes tumbling down the drain leaving a ripped heart n a battered soul back to think over. It was painful even to delete it from the computer but had to snap myself back to reality .. *wakes up frm a deep n peaceful slumber*

The sky isn't always blue
The sun doesn't always shine
It's alright to fall apart sometimes
I am not always you
And you are not always mine
It's alright to fall apart sometimes
After all is said and done

One and one still is one

Yeah it was Newton.. this time no guesses. I am sure.. dead SURE!

Google shld sue them!

I will bring both those Russian n American kids to India n tell them look how awfully we are being censored (as if they aren’t in their countries but still). I hate this censorship coz then I have to surf thro proxies which makes surfing very slow.

On a serious note, this censorship issue is just to divert attention frm wht measures are being taken to curb terrorism. A blanket ban on sites is no way to deal with terrorism. In fact wht u will get is a rebellion within ur own ranks. Thnx to Aditi, got the mail id of President of India. It is presidentofindia@rb.nic.in in case u want to drop a mail to protest against the block. First I had thought of sending an invite of orkut to him so tht we could have settled this matter over a couple of scraps but then as it is I had to reply to my back-frm-vacn-happy-happy client so wrote a mail to the Prez as well. Here goes wht I wrote..

Respected Sir,

Hello! I severely condemn the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and J&K. Though we all, as common people, can’t do much against terrorism directly, we are quite sure that the government agencies are working round the clock to ensure that such acts don’t recur. Probably one of the measures taken by some government agency is blocking some sites which are said to be anti-India or pro-terrorists. Sorry that I haven’t gone through the whole list but one of the sites which has been blocked is blogspot.com on which many Indians have their personal blogs (blog = web + log). This is one of the best contemporary mediums of expressing our thoughts to the whole world. The nature of blogs ranges from personal to political and entertaining to educative. Being a blogger for the past one and a half year I have gathered tremendous knowledge and a group of great friends all over the world which I wouldn’t have if I were not blogging. There are some blogs which are helping the people affected by the recent bomb blasts. There have been blogs which have helped Tsunami victims too earlier. If all this is curtailed then there is really no meaning to our lives by just paying homage to the victims by maintaining silence for 2 minutes.

I do not disagree to the fact that some blogs might be intentionally created to threaten our nation’s security, but does that mean all blogs will be termed as anti-India and a blanket ban be imposed on them? Certainly NOT! As a citizen of India, I feel that I have the rights to express my views on my personal space and also the right to freedom of speech too. If my personal space is labeled as pro-terrorist then it indirectly means that the government is labeling me as a terrorist. If such is the case will I ever trust our own government? This is an earnest appeal to you to step into this matter and not let some agencies sweep off the issues under carpet. As the President of India, we all look up to you with great respect and a man who respects peoples’ rights. I am not sure you personally will be reading this mail, but whoever reads this and brings it to your notice will be helping all sane bloggers get back their blogs.
Thank you!

I know he won’t be reading this but lets hope he gets bombarded by such mails n then the freedom of speech n all stuff is restored back. I know ways to log in to blogspot since we are playing with proxies after the company blocked sites, but it is shameful tht for expressing my own views on my space I have to use a server in some country abroad. I think Google must sue the govt for the decline in their revenue. Wht say google? How much ‘cut’ do I get for this wonderful suggestion?

Also have joined a Blue Ribbon campaign. U can also display the image on ur page n check the sidebar for the Bloggers against censorship icon.

Meanwhile if u r stressed reading on the same topic on each n every blog then visit this link. Viewers are free to use their discretion to watch a few scenes. I hope this video is not the real scenario coz then I was thinking of calling blogspot customer care. Also let me know if the link is working coz it is .swf link n not .html link.

If tomorrow never comes..

I thought Hobbes was kidding ‘bout tht being a superstition and so I did not study for the exam tomorrow (Saturday.. today). Now, even if the world does not end tomorrow I m doomed for sure coz I haven’t studied.

Like I had mentioned in an earlier post tht we were being taught basic Japanese in the company to interact with Japanese clients, we (atleast me) never expected tht there would be a test at the end of the course. Exams take away all the fun out of learning. Also they don’t tell in the beginning tht there will be an exam but when they see tht all are attending regularly (for the dearth of work) exam is declared and you just can’t escape frm it now. Moreover its not only a written test but also an oral exam. As for me I had started attending the lectures only coz I believe Japanese are smart ppl for making my name-combo.

The SENSEI (teacher) is frm Mumbai. So, when she had gone on a leave (after declaring the date for test) some of them had started preparing. But, rain gods were benevolent and she got stuck back at her home in Mumbai. So the exams were postponed by a few days. I was very optimistic tht the rains would be continuing the same way but it seems tht lady luck was not on my side this time. So she came back and the new date which was declared is tomorrow. Actually even if I flunk the company won’t be showing me the door out but Zoonie scared me saying tht she might be knowing Sumo wrestling. Now she looks dainty but looks can be deceptive too.. so thts the main reason I m worried about the test. Also, as a self-proclaimed latecomer in company the first question she used to ask me in Japanese when I entered the conference room (our classroom) was “What time is it now?” and the next would be “At what time does our class start?”. I m so used to answering these questions now tht if she asks something different in the viva I m damn sure I will rattle off the usual answers. Rest assured I will definitely get 5 marks for cleanliness in the written paper :D

After spending almost the whole day trying to read n mug up this stuff I have hand-selected a few words esp for all u wonderful readers... why shld I be the only one to be tortured? So read along..
KONNICHIWA – Hello (so all of u who used the name translator in the sidebar before shld now know it was not ur name but a greeting)
ARIGATOO GOZAIMASU – Thank you!
DOOZO IRASSHAI – Welcome!

GOMEN NASAI – Sorry

Instead of wasting half hour writing this post I shld have studied more… Shit! Have a gr8 weekend.. updates of how the test went in next week.

EDIT: Kathy, Anand n Ekta pls enlighten me with some Japanese swear words coz the teacher refused to divulge any.

Something else..

First of all are the ppl I know who are in Mumbai safe? From my blogroll I can see tht Divya, Vaibhav, Raj, Puneet, Prasanna, Nessa, Pinky, Aditi n Kalpz r frm Mumbai. Some of u have confirmed of being safe. Others I hope are safe. I don’t have their mail ids/phone nos. so can’t contact them but will pray for their safety alongwith their families. Yesterday not only Mumbai suffered blasts but there were also 5 explosions in J&K. Till a few years back militants never targeted civilians n tourists ppl but they attacked the army forces, but since last year common man has become their target. Can we do something to curb this? Terrorism is a menace to the whole world n let us pray tht God puts some sense in the heads of those bastards. Why cant they go home n lead a peaceful life.

Death is wht we all have to face someday but such deaths r really sad. We just cant imagine the trauma of a housewife who was expecting her husband home n gets the news of his death. We can’t feel the pain of a brother sitting near the dead body of his sister in a hospital after identifying her body frm the remains.

Gangadhar had said in one of his posts tht all bloggers have become a family. In my early blogging days I met a few wonderful human beings but one fine morning they deleted their blogs (see the striked names) n I was like now wht? Find a new family member? We meet many ppl online in chat rooms but we do not connect with everyone there. But here, atleast I feel a strong bond within bloggers with whom u almost live ur life day by day. This also reminds me tht though I share the same bond with all, I have contact with just 3-4 ppl frm blogger outside the blogsville. If at all something happens to me noone will know where I have vanished. My family doesn’t know ‘bout this blog so neither they will be able to update this space why I have gone away frm all such wonderful ppl here. I think this same fear can be related to the fear in the minds of ppl living under the threat of terrorism. They just don’t now which will be the last moment they spent with their loved ones. Wishing this fear goes away... tht too very soon.

This is the first time I just couldn’t write wht I had planned to write yesterday morning. That is why the title of the post reads like tht. Most of the day was spent in replacing the header u can see up there. Thnx a lot to Parag for making tht beautiful image for me. I had jokingly asked him to create one for me after seeing his blog header and one day he mailed me two headers. Now if you want a header created for ur blog u will have to take the appropriate channel, i.e., me coz now we have started a header business. For many hours I tried replacing it but it just didn’t show up on the blog and thts when Deepa helped to sort it out. Actually, since the pics are blocked here I wasn’t able to see the new header. But, sincere thnx to both of you. Sorry Parag coz I wanted to write a full post on this but most of the post space was taken up in venting against some fuckers who don’t deserve a place in this world.

Sunday Movie masti

Had written this post on Monday itself but was waiting for the pics frm a frnd. The pics r not clear coz they were taken using a cell n tht too in rains

Starring: 10 guys n 5 Pulsar bikes

Shooting Location: Mulshi-Tamhini ghats (around 70-80 kms frm my home)

Plot: After watching the 2nd football match n Wimbledon (Agassi-Nadal) on Saturday night, everybody almost slept at 4 n next morning 2 guys came knocking at others’ houses at 7 in morning to go biking. Atleast I (an ardent sleep-lover) was successful to postpone it till 9:30 (sorry guys for the worst excuses made). Gaurya helped the things by ‘getting dressed’ till 10. Indra/Zeus, god of rain, was shooting arrows of water drops frm above n trust me they were hurting like hell. Completed almost 150 kms of biking through well-paved roads (yes they r better now) n through the wet n green surroundings. Had 2 plates of mouth-watering misal-pav at Quick Bite n were ready to get wet (though we already were) under the waterfalls. Had an awesome time under the 3 waterfalls. Back to pavilion at around 5.

Best scenes: All except the worst scenes

Worst Scenes: No chicks with us.. I guess we r destined to singleton for life :((
A bunch of drunkards driving away the gud looking gals away frm the waterfalls. Suckers!!

Narya insisting on stopping n shopping at the sardarji’s ‘branded yet cheap’ shop.. oh boy I respect Sardars even more now. Imagine a shop in midst of the ghats.. only a sardar or a marwari can do tht n m ashamed tht inspite of being the latter, tht thought didn’t come to my mind. He is minting money there.

Item Song: Mika Singh n Rakhi Sawant's modified version of Mika’s Saawan mein lag gayi aag song
Sawant ko lag gayi aag dil mera haaaa..
Chume hasina pagal deewani re
Chume hasina pagal deewani re

Cake na katu agli baar dil mera haaaa..

Total Cost: 140 bucks :)

Turnover: Priceless (thinking tht we shld have got it sponsored by MasterCard)

Ending: The satisfaction of spending a Sunday in a gud way rather than watching some shitty Bollywood flick n then wasting Monday writing review on it :D

Kind advice to fellow actors/directors/spot boys n gals: Don’t drink n drive. If u drink n die I would definitely feel sad but if u kill a sober person in ur drunken stupor u better commit suicide before I kill u. Enjoy life... :))
Few more pics r posted here ...

Any suitable name for the movie?

Tarun Johri in record books!

I haven’t met any guy who lives with gals wearing skimpy clothes but last Saturday had the privilege to meet a fellow blogger, Tarun. He had come down to Pune frm Gujarat to catch up with his classmates. U can read more of his trip n the short meeting in his post n see the pics too on his flickr accnt. This was the first time I met someone in person thro’ blogs n trust me it is a gr8 feeling to see someone in person whom u know online n read ‘bout their life on their blogs. Going by the last post it was a horrible time exchanging our mobile nos coz of the blocked sites. He didn’t know my official id n I wasn’t aware tht he was coming to Pune over the weekend. Luckily on Saturday, one of the proxies worked n I could access gmail where Tarun had left his mobile number n so I could contact him n met up at McD for ‘bout half an hour coz ltrz he had to go out for dinner with frnds n I had to catch up with the football match with my college frnds. Though the meeting was short it was a nice time spent :). So now who is next on the list? :D

This week I was really feeling to leave the house n make a TV selling shop my abode. With so many things to watch at one time, it is impossible to get it all on one screen. Football WC, Wimbledon, Formula 1 n India beating WI in the test match… now why didn’t my dad get me a TV shop instead of making me study n getting into this job :( . Ofcourse if I go n ask him this then definitely my television privileges will be revoked too. So better I rant it off here itself. Btw, my prediction tht France will defeat Italy 2-1 in the finals is almost coming true. Lets see how my fav team plays tonight. Meanwhile last night my mom almost killed me after Germany lost coz she was supporting them just coz she has finished a course in German language a few mths back n I was rooting for Italy.

I too have some questions like Sean (but these r not imaginary like some of his ques). When Mumbai (capital of the state) had already suffered last yr due to the heavy downpour why didn’t the authorities make arrangements this time to drain the water? Don’t they know how jealous we ppl in Pune feel when they get holidays on the pretext of blocked roads? I m kidding but all u ppl living in Mumbai tk care of urself n ur dear ones. Why no spam comment is registered on the blog when I have my gmail id in the mail-comments section n as soon as I put in my office id all sorts of spam start pouring?

P.S.: If anyone knows a guy (other than Hugh Hefner or Vijay Mallya) living with scantily clad females pls let me know. I want some tips frm him :P

Mails n Males

Project completion is such a gr8 thing n greater is tht the next one will be taking some time to start. I remember last month or the one before tht, I had to really find time to update my blog and had to devour around 4-5 posts, I had missed, at one go on many of the blogs. Now tht I have ample of free time (yes I have to start working on my KRA sheet yet) the Systems dept. in the company has sworn to keep all of us begging for net. I can’t see pics of babes on Sean’s blog, pics of recent trips of fellow bloggers’ like Dave, Kavita n Ishita, can’t listen to songs on any blog, can’t access mails other than the company id, can’t check links of sites given in posts of Pinky n Aditi, blah blah.. in short totally out of work n nothing to do for timepass either. So wht do I do..

Some ppl r born for making my day better. One of them is Suraj, who sometimes sends my fav cartoon character, C&H strips to me n reading them is the best thing to start my day in the office. Some of the recent strips he had sent are

*meanwhile glares at the person who was assigned to send me one strip everyday n even after failing miserably in it has guts to demand a pizza*

I really hate all those ‘Good Morning’ wishing mails with flowers n waterfalls as backgrnd n some inspiring quote to go along with the wish. AXE n Amul butter ads’ r the best ones which circulate in mails. Got this pic a few days back in one of the mails.. he he.. awesome, isn’t it?

My headphones started troubling me suddenly last week. Have u seen the Mr. Bean episode where he brings in a TV set n it works only when he sits in a particular position to watch it? Same is the case right now with me. I have to tilt my head to the right n then only m able to listen to the music. It is not possible to sit tht way the whole day so I tried tilting the headphone. It looks a bit weird tht way on the head but have to use it tht way till I get a new one.
Since the mssngrs got blocked, orkut is the last source of entertainment n getting in touch with frnds.. so to keep this running all r busy in finding proxy servers to login n when someone finds one of the proxy which got skipped frm the systems the word spreads n even cubicle partners start speaking to each other via orkut.. lollz. Till someone finds tht elusive proxy, we have started keeping record of who has highest/lowest in beating a penguin (not the real ones.. flash games). Some nerdy kinda colleagues update their vocab skills by taking ‘Check ur vocabulary’ tests. Luckily for me blogspot has not been blocked so I pass away my time by blog-hopping n sometimes go to the sidebar-listed blogs 4-5 times n curse them for not updating every hour :P

Some of u r working (I mean have jobs atleast), so wht do u do when u r outta work?

Damn! Another critique post?? :P

Last week had accompanied mom to the registration office for transferring the ownership of one of our house to the new occupant. There was this huge queue for the stamp of the lawyer. Luckily, the guy who bought our house had some gud connections within the organization so he himself went n did all the work. Meanwhile, we were standing outside the office in the reception area. I was loitering around the lobby n was whiling my time reading all sorts of notices n rules put up on the walls. One of them took the cake which read..

URGENCY

Urgency needs hardwork
Urgency increases blood pressure
Urgency spoils relations
Urgency requires cash

So, URGENCY is not our policy

I wanted to roll on the floor laughing but since the floor was not swept didn’t do it. Now I wish my cell had a cam so tht I could capture this astonishing piece of info. I m damn sure this was not sarcastically put up there but such is the plight of many government offices. Office Office is one of my fav serial on TV and though the common man undergoes so much of trails n tribulations for getting a petty job done, we end up laughing at the government apathy. One thing sure was gud tht there is a new thumbprint scanner n a digi-cam so tht the pics n the thumb are merged in the transfer certificate directly. Pls note tht m not criticizing the govt but just saying tht the functioning sucks! :P

Government servants are just like sperm. Only one works in a million

My dad will kill me if he reads this line coz he works in the Central Govt under the Forest Ministry. The main drawback working under this (I feel) is tht one has to really work n there is no whtsoevr contact with the public which means no bribes at all. I used to boast this thing tht my dad doesn’t take bribes until I attended a party organized for govt employees n their family. I was completely awed by this pretty gal n while chatting asked her out. She responded by My dad has been booked 9 times for accepting bribe. If ur dad has surpassed this number then I m in. I hung my head in shame n walked away. Tht day itself I promised myself tht I wont be taking up a govt job n spoil my child’s adolescence :D. Now m terrified at the thought tht a gal of another IT slave would ask my son How many spam mails ur dad forwards in a day? Thinking ‘bout this I keep on practicing sending forwards to many of you. Now next time u see one of those forwards frm me don’t mutter a swear word under ur breath but feel satisfied tht u r helping me in a very noble cause :P

CRITICISM!!!.... WTF is tht?

Gym in the morning, then transferring one of our house to another’s name (we sold it), lunch, then company, last lecture of the Japanese class, coffee break, taking care of some undone work, searching a gud card on net for my frnd for her b’day n then reading the comments on the last post. Whoa!! Had I known tht the last post would become so fuking interesting I would have skipped all the things mentioned above n would have come online for a nice debate.. err.. I mean discussion.

@ Nihal n Gururaj: Welcome here…. Probably a wrong post thro’ ur view to come over here, but thts wht I see or lets say saw TT as a game. Saw ‘coz I was gonna post a rather contradictory update today tht TT is awesome. Not tht I won, I lost miserably yest, but it was worth playing with guys who ‘knew’ how to play tht game. But, tht doesn’t mean tht I was wrong in my last post. Any new person who doesn’t know TT (or for tht matter any game) n starts playing it will feel the same I guess n even if he/she doesn’t I don’t give a fuck coz it’s my opinion. Probably u skipped the starting n ending lines tht ‘I don’t follow table tennis’ n ‘I will be trying to learn it sometime in future’. I think tht sums up all n I wont be explaining my stand on TT. But, I think u guys shld have dropped here earlier so tht when I had mentioned previously tht ‘I m gonna play TT but don’t know it’, u could have shared some tips coz U R SOME GR8 ACHIEVERS in ur field. If Guru would have had visited my blog earlier I could have given tension to my opponents by boasting tht the State champ of Andhra Pradesh visits my blog. Dude, see such a huge difference u could have made to my image in the company. Anyways, next yr I will do that. I don’t wanna start a new debate but barring cricket players n Sania Mirza, name a player who features in advertisements? I don’t want an answer, just ask urself. Ask a child, who watches TV, to name a sportsperson n I bet the kid will say Tendulkar, Dravid or Sehwag. This is coz we r bombarded to cricket so much tht we (in general) have lost touch to all other games including our national game (which is hockey btw). Now, u r players so u might be knowing the plight of sportspersons to get financial assistance while the cricket n some tennis stars r basking in glory. So the point here is tht any game which we take on will be dealt with negativity at start. Tht doesn’t mean I don’t respect other games, but yeah I can n I will write wht I feel. So if tht is called criticism then so be it. C ya around… n dont take anything personally here. Thnx for letting me know of the wonderful site sunsuna, frm where u both came here I guess.

The update which I had thought to write today..

LOST!! I m not talking ‘bout Evangeline Lilly (*drool*) but we lost the doubles match of TT yest n lost in style with 21-3, 21-8 on scoreboard. Style was not ours’ but of the opponent pairs’. This was the first time I watched some gud play (wht std of play do u expect frm IT professionals) n mind u gud by my standard (otherwise someone will get angry). Those guys could spin the ball on the serve n tht too without taking help frm the fan. We couldn’t return a single serve n when we served they tackled it well. If we had known earlier tht the company would be organising a TT tournament we would have practiced well n did better. But, atleast as a sports lover (oh yes I m :D) we participated n were the favourites of the spectators, ofcourse not for the way we played but for the tactics we used to boost us (those r copyrighted so wont share). The best match of the day was of Manoj who blasted his opponent with excellent serves. Tapping the ball on our side while serving can generate a nice spin which we can’t do in lawn tennis. Also, with players like us it is better to have a confined space coz it is less painful to get the ball which is so down-to-earth tht it prefers the ground instead of the table.

I m very very happy tht no one frm Bollywood visits my blog otherwise I would have died a thousand deaths till date for my criticism towards tht industry :))

I m sorry tht I have been wasting time doing nothing rather than visiting blogs n replying to the comments. Will do tht tomorrow definitely. Btw, Indian bloggers can check the link above to see if they r listed coz i came to know today tht this blog is already listed there.

Name one famous Indian TT player

Probably I don’t follow table tennis, but when I asked this to better-than-me players no one could come up with a single name. Now, don’t google for it post it in the comments section :D. But, last 2 days were fun playing the game n esp when almost all were playing for the 1st time or not playing regularly. I lost the singles match comfortably :D while in doubles myself n Gaurav won the 1st round yesterday. In singles, we had best of 3 games with each game of 11 pts while in doubles best of 3 games as well but with 21 pts. The problem with singles match is tht when I was just thinking tht now I shld start getting some pts the opponent was already placed well ahead with a lead of 8-9 pts. So the match literally ended within 15 min. But, the opponent was Kanadda n he had to take a verbal volley of Marathi words throughout the game (not swear words just plain n simple gibberish :P). Today in a couple of hrs we face one of the best playing pairs in our company, so we r definitely gonna lose. But there r certainly few things which I have learnt in these 2 days:

Lawn tennis n table tennis have only tennis word in common. So if u can play lawn tennis decently it is not tht u can win a TT tournament by directly playing the first time in the match itself.

The energy reqd to keep the ball within the table is inversely proportional to the size of the playing court. Smashes n lobs are not meant for tt. Either u break ur fingers while smashing or smash the tubelight while lobbing the ball.

Table tennis rules suck!! Why cant I take full-toss (volley) instead of waiting for the ball to bounce frm the table. Also I cant touch the table with the racquet coz it is foul.

The only best thing I can see in a singles match is tht u can serve anywhere (ofcourse within the table limits). But again why to bounce the ball first on my side n then on other side?

Another point is tht the tables are kept in closed confines (atleast here they are) n though there are fans above (not used coz covered with cobwebs) the table space they don’t allow to switch them on. The ball swings they say.. I mean then how m I gonna generate spin for my shots without using the fan.

Lawn tennis rocks while table tennis sucks. Sucks BIG TIME!! But still I will be trying to learn it sometime in future.