IROCker

Back to senses after a day, night and INDIA INDIA so so many times ...

2011-07-17T11:24:00.001+05:30

A very very famous night ....

For throughout the partnership of Dhoni and Gauti, I was sitting at a very awkward position almost all weight on the calf muscles, moved and inch to make myself ok, gambhir got out .. cursed myself and abused and back in same position. When Dhoni hit that six, my newly wed wife was jumpin in air .. She is one of the females who just dislikes cricket to core, but today she was wearing an India team shirt with dhoni on the back. She wanted me to take photographs to be put on FB with that pics, i simply was not listening. When he hit that six, I just sunk back in the chair . I could not speak, not yell.. I was smiling , smiling like a random thought was going on. I dont know what was, but there was inner peace, I have never ever felt so peaceful, calm and relaxed. I heard the presentation, and the philips extra. Then i started realising what a blined MSD had played, Everything fell into place Yuvraj diving at point, Zaheer bowling in the starting spell, Gautam gambhir diving to save a run out.. Oh man they did play like never before.. never before.. the scenes were unbelievable... We took car and went out.. It was crazy in koramanagala, in the paramount lathi charge, in the honking, random people yelling and we yelling back .. We came back, saw it over and over again, the best part is however still to come. IN morning, I got up , I saw the time. It was 0940. Its first time after education , that I slept without a break, I slept so long, I slept so peacefully, so calmly, I slept like no worries in world,I slept like all has been achieved, I slept like a baby. Thanks Team India for giving such good feelings, respects forever.

CROSSROADS

2011-01-12T10:51:00.003+05:30

crossroads...

I am here again.

There are 2 ways , out of them one will be me and the other will be lost me, till we meet again my dear Crossroads.

I stand at a juncture of life, where frankly I have the choice of choosing it. My ways are simple to understand, but have a symbolism attached to it.

First is to accept, and second is to reject. Opinions start forming here only, though my inclination and my desire point in different directions. It often does happen , no It does not. When you desire for something else and you are inclined to something else. In my life it is frequent, and almost one thing alongside change which never changes.

Acceptance is easy, better and good for future. It allows you to move on, look for more avenues of happiness in life and decide a new you from ashes. Rejection is tough, weirdly painful , stays as a permanent headache, and never lets you be a free bird.

Also, the first is to be happy and the second is to be troubled, but happiness is a state of mind; is not it.

My options if detailed are like this- to accept that I am not special, accept that I am average and have no cutting edge , accept that it is destiny, accept that the spark was a spark and not light of future and thus live happily.

I shout loud at it, I cant. The alter ego and ego fight, to reject is to be a fighter even if it means to go down fighting, to reject is to put all I have in a struggle and risk everything, to reject is to believe that the spark is light, to reject is to believe that happiness is state of mind .

To accept or to reject is a battle between my mind and me, It who controls who.

But, remember happiness is state of mind.

~Ak

The land of oceans!

2010-10-07T23:15:00.002+05:30

Ever heard of this before!

I am forced to wonder how it would be, a land of oceans.

I often wandered along my life, what pulls me the most. Beaches, Mountains, Springs, Rivers, Roads etc, over the years the craze for each one of them has gone down.

The feeling of lying down on a beach with no worry of tomorrow is a dream, not the former but the latter. The ecstasy of standing on a mountain and looking down is a high to be wished for, and sweetness of the dream to always bath below a spring is a wish deep inside.

As I understand me better, I feel I like all of it not for the reality around them but the dreams I build around them.

For always I lie on a beach, I wish I was Columbus to discover this one, for every mountain, I was the only man on it. And this is what is scary, my most beautiful dream is the land of oceans.

Have I become a loner, and have started cherishing it.

Yes, I have. Most of my best holidays have been alone, places which I have liked the most I have visited alone, and dreams I see, no one else does.

~Ak

A famous victory

2010-10-06T10:04:00.007+05:30

On 5th Oct 2010, I was in office early, had a meeting in morning.

I had forgotten that today is the last day of the first test match of Border Gavaskar trophy. I came back to my seat and Krishna said to me, Zaheer out!

Oh, Now I remembered, We need 216 to win, and we were 55/4. Sachin and Zak on crease yday.

Khuda as Vishal calls him, had to just not beat the aussies, but a legacy of choking in taking the team through. I as usual am opinionated, knew with Laxman unfit to bat, we have little chance. Somehow I know that Sachin can take us to the door, but not through. I was tensed, but I had hopes from MSD.

As Zaheer got out and Laxman walked in, I sensed an air. An air of a man, walking not to save the game but to cherish the occasion. He has a simplicity in his awe, which not many people have.

Suddenly the game had changed on its head. Hauritz went for 14 in an over, a drive and a slap, the wrist, even in office, I could imagine his shot. Sachin was also suddenly hitting runs, but there is the difference. Laxman's natural game is to play strokes like that, Sachin does not play them naturally, He makes a call to do it. Today He got carried away, that shot he played was like the one he plays in a T20 match.

Sachin gone, Dhoni gone and Harbhajan gone.

It was scary.

My heart usually sinks in, I feel like suddenly very low.

That kind of feeling one gets when he has failed in an IIT entrance exam or has been dumped on the marriage date.

Ishant Sharma, very recently I read Venkatesh Prasad talk about his work ethics, and to the delight of me chose an apt day to display it.

Till lunch no wicket had fallen, I think in test cricket whenever 2 or 3 wickets fall quickly a partnership happens, and it looked like that till then.

When I re looked at the numbers at lunch, I felt is it possible.

The fact that VVS was there reassures you that runs wont dry up, but there s always the element of getting out

When the chase resumed at lunch, even before we could sense the pressure and heat, the target became chase able. Thanks to some boundaries here and there, Ishant helping the faith of India watching.

32 required.

I began remembering famous wins of yesteryears of the WIs, Englishmen and Aussies, the partnership for last few wickets winning matches. For a few minutes I felt, It is possible.

I started wishing that Laxman maybe hits a few boundaries in one over, it had to be done quickly now.

22.

16.

And suddenly as often it happens, an anti climax, a wrong decision.

While Ishant was walking back, I could sense the pain, the hurt, I could feel it in me. But, I believed that the young fast bowler had done his job. I knew It can be one ball anytime now, but something in me said, its about 3 balls. 3 fours. 3 VVS shots.

It did not happen, and Ojha had his own moments. He was looking a little lost, not in control, was confused whether to go for laxman's command or still do what his spine tells him to do. His brain had stopped working.

And I do believe there is power in crores of people praying, for that throw of Steve smith to miss by a whisker and then to go for 4 over throws, It was divine.

2 runs more, now looked get-able.

Well played VVS Laxman and Ishant Sharma.

A famous victory had been accomplished.

~Ak

~ Late evening, sitting in the office, muted emotions all the while I followed cricinfo, a punch in the air when we won and broad grin for the rest of the day on my face. Thanks for making my day, VVS.

India's line up for the world cup!

2010-08-13T11:53:00.004+05:30

Well, the grandest event is just a few months ago.

We all are looking forward to it, with great enthusiasm. It for all purpose might be God's last tournament.

By this time ofcourse, each of the teams look settled with their first 12 13 players, let us look at whats up with the India.

Opening combination- No sweat about it - Sachin & Sehwag; Gambhir is as good as the two but just the weight of two stalwarts and experience helps them there more. If either of two get injured, Gambhir fills in. If we still need a replacement, I will make a case for Dinesh Karthik ahead of Murali Vijay.

No. 3 - This is an extremely critical position in subcontinent and in 50 over match- If Gambhir is not opening, he should be here. But in case we dont have him or he is opening in absence of a regular opener- I might wana look at a Rahul Dravid here. Sounds a step backward does it, but well he has 10,000 ODI runs behind him, excellent slips fielder and bulk of experience. Another name which springs to my mind is Irfan Pathan. Well he is not in the thick of things, but I think he might be the guy in place of Ravindra Jadeja, if we have 2 full time spinners in team.

No 4. I think Dhoni has to bat @ 4, ahead of Yuvraj. My reasons are simple, one he has matured his game well over last time, now he can bat risk free for long, set the platform better than any player in team and has a mighty impressive average at 4.

No.5 - This is a no brainer, I am convinced Yuvraj Singh has to play pretty much here. This is a game changer's traditional position and he should be here.

No.6 - Raina, in future Raina will bat @3,4 or 5. But in current scheme of things he should be at 6, since the point he has started playing those shots opening up the offside, he is an awesome guy to have in the crunch situation.

Well before we go ahead, let me sparkle a debate.

lets look at the line up till now

Sachin, Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Raina.

As bowlers, between Sehwag, Yuvraj and Raina I think I have 10 overs on a subcontinent.

I think Raina should be bowled more considering the fact that he bowls well in 20 over games and in all IPL matches for CSK he bowled 4 over all the time. He is a guy with cool head, thinking player and not scared. I want him to bowl those 4 critical over for 20 runs in a ODI.

Also Sehwag is a pretty decent offspiner by world standards, remember Bedi saying something.

Now we have been looking for the elusive no. 7 for India, Jadeja has been pursued a lot and people will start asking for a ROI.

So what is the route, I think we have to follow the same model of 2003, when selfless Rahul Dravid took the gloves which allowed Yuvraj and Kaif to play together, and remember the daunting innigs Kaif would play.

In the current scheme of things, we have Kohli and Rohit Sharma who can play at no.7, Kohli obviously is a better fielder and a more aggressive cricketer. Rohit Sharma however allows for the option of few overs and can finish better.

So for me it might be Rohit Sharma in this model.

The other model is ofcourse look for that 5th bowler and and the allrounder, in that case It would be either of Pathan's ( I want Irfan to be given a chance) or Jadeja. Ashvin is also a contender.

Now the look at bowlers,

4 bowlers- one medium pacer and one spinner select themselves the other 2 are dependent on the combination we get out of our allrounders and part time spinners.

So lets put a batting order later, Harbhajan and Zaheer are first preference.

Now, If we take in Irfan, I can look at other right hand bowlers- Ishant Sharma , Sree Santh, Mithun, Praveen Kumar namely, but if we dont I think Nehra should walk in. It makes it little weird to have 3 left armers. In case, we pick Irfan I think I ll put Mithun ahead, he can bat a bit helps.

The spinner, well If Jadeja comes in, no need for a spinner at all. Pick a medium pacer, but if he does not, look at Amit Mishra or Pragyan Ojha.

Now, I am gonna present 2 XI- the first is the likely one by selectors and the second one is what I think can be also looked at.

1. Sachin

2. Sehwag

3. Gambhir

4.Yuvraj

5.Dhoni

6.Raina

7.Jadeja

8. Harbhajan

9. Zaheer

10.Nehra

11. Ojha/Praveen Kumar

Another one

1.Sehwag

2.Sachin

3.Gambhir

4.Dhoni

5.Yuvraj

6.Raina

7.Rohit Sharma/Irfan Pathan

8.Harbhajan

9.Mithun/Jadeja ( if Irfan plays and is bowling well enough then we can play the extra spinning option over Mithun)

10.Zaheer

11.Nehra

~Ak

Zulqarnain Haider!

2010-08-09T10:31:00.002+05:30

An interesting name is my first comment when I hear this!

He is the new wicketkeeper batsmen Pakistan have in their ranks, and I have a tale to tell about him. Kamran Akmal has been quite a sensation with bat all these years for them and is pretty much fixed there, but there s always someone behind you.

I was pretty curious about this youngster ever since I read in some article that he was a member of Pakistan under 15 team, this to me means he has been a good player always.

And then I read that he has said that he would like to make a 100 and take 10 catches. So to say, catches and pakistan dont stick together right now( I hope I have to bite my words though), but Zulqarnain haider did play an innings worth a 100. And true to my commitment to my favourite form of cricket I witnessed the innings.

On a king pair, He was given out but thanks to the UDRS a career has been made or saved.

What followed was dodgy, stand and stand still determination. The innings had a character, a boring one but with every ball he blocked I found it more interesting, his smile alongside was of a young innocent cricketer.

88.

and definitely it would have been more had Ajmal not got out, which forced him to play shots( this is one thing you ll learn Haider that you still did not need to play the shot).

but thats only hindsight ,

He might still be far from a permanent place in the team in any form of the game, but he is going to be there.

Well played !

a good test match innings

~Ak

~Somehow my love for test matches just does not get over.

Greatness has a cutting edge, an ability to recognise itself

2010-07-28T10:02:00.002+05:30

Greatness has a cutting edge, an ability to recognise itself...

Greatness has a cutting edge, an ability to recognise itself....

Greatness has a cutting edge, an ability to recognise itself...

This is a line I read in one of the articles in cricinfo, today morning.

It instantly has clicked a trigger.

Well, it might be about me or about many like me, It might be about us or many like us, but its true.

As we grow up, even if we sit in same office as others, even if we do the same meaningless work as others, or if we live in same house as others, eat same food as others, there is something.. something in the mind.

The sheer sharp and acute thought, that we are destined for more.

I would narrate a feeling I would have gone through innumerate times in past, It s like this- Often we are in similar surroundings, but others are caught up in it, I feel above it. I feel its just a phase, and I will glide through.

Most of us have similar feelings, If we do is it about the title line of the post.

~Ak

Its story time..

2010-07-01T14:08:00.002+05:30

Well,

been some time that I blogged.

I am in a pretty interesting office and I feel that the characters here make for a nice read.

As best of the posts till date have been characters, the TAS induction days.. the killer, john and 2,5 kgs wala post..

It s time to write again.

~Ak

IPL 3.0

2010-03-14T10:30:00.003+05:30

Hi all,

lot of my friends are asking, why am I not writing about IPL like previous year.

well,

IPL 3.0 is not exciting to me somehow,

I can figure out a bit why so, but as it is.

This year wont be writing much about it, heard Yusuf Pathan made a 37 ball 100.

Nice, must have been a great innings.

For now, I just wana lie down on bed and try to sleep.

~Ak

I am missing rain.

2010-02-28T12:21:00.005+05:30

its been some days, no signs of raindrops.

I hope they come rather soon this time, I really feel I need rain.

rain rain come again,

lil romu wana dance again

~Ak

Celebration of batsmen-ship

2010-02-26T11:51:00.007+05:30

I write this in response to a request, from 2 of my friends .

Its about my impressions of great men, who have often made the willow seem like a wand in their hands.

Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara, two of my favorite cricketers.

In my early days in cricket, i was a big fan of the aura around Lara, the high backlift, the flair, the bat speed and the exquisite shots. He would make fielders look like spectators and batting music.

Some of the innings which he has played are just so much West Indian.

I have been somehow always in my life a guy who would be awake till 3am, and thus have seen quite a few of the of the exceptional, the series vs Australia stands out. A fractured wrist and a 150 odd to save the match shouts at me that he is a super human.

I have been biased towards Lara all my life till now, I feel the real test of a batsmen is Test Cricket and an on song Lara just beats everyone around hands down ( remember the SL series),

Century's and doubles at mood of him, sheer talent.

In the contrary, when I think Of the little master, accumulation of runs, innovation and perspiration come to my mind, and then the innings which stand out is 1998 Sharjah.

Even before we debate out the contrasts there are similarities in men, and they are more important to me as a cricket lover.

The determination of them as individuals is an observation which stands out and differentiate them from other mortals, those of us would remember 400* will vouch for the fact that Lara makes it look more easier than any one on this planet.

The ability to carry an entire nation on their shoulders, I would hands down tell Tendulkar has carried more weight, just sheer weight, being the hope of India for decades now.

And among many others, the person who motivates the team while still on crease, and I think that Lara has probably struggled with a weaker team in his latter part of life, while Sachin in his last few years have had a dependable batting line up.

In recent times, however the great Sachin Tendulkar is leaving us speechless, I still tend to take a stand that he is probably not the level in test matches to what he is in one dayers.

But the 2oo, the first one in ODI cricket is quite a statement,

After struggling a bit, with words I feel it was a celebration of batsmenship.

More than anything, the man who most deserved it has cut the ribbon, and the quality of it was every clap worth.

And it again has opened Lara Vs Sachin debate for me, and after hear Tendulkar talk in the post match conference; I have a case to build up now.

The length of the career and consistency across it, and If you ask me I would stay fitness is just a necessity for it, the key factor here is motivation, hunger and the passion for improvement.

There comes a stage when you just cant touch perfection, what Sachin has done is upscaled it with every passing day in his career.

The judgement, starting from reading the pitch, is there a single in it?, how many runs should I take in this over, when to pace it up, and so much more. Over the years, there has never been a better reader of the game than this man, and that is cause he still treats himself as a student of it.

The adaptation, Sachin over the years has not only adapted to bowling surfaces and opposition bowlers, but he has also adapted to his body, changing bat, changing formats of the game( read IPL, T20, Quick test matches), opening partners, captains, coaches,and the moods of the nation.

This quality alone just make me grasps in awe ( the only other player who comes close to him is Sanath Jaysasurya)

and hard work, which many of us dont realise . Sachin is easily one of the most hardworking sportsmen around. 2 years ago, going through continuous rehabs Little master realise that there are no bowlers in this world who ll get him, it is the body. What we are seeing now is the man who would have spend hours in gym to make sure he comes to field and plays for us.

I choose to say that he is the world's greatest ODI batsmen ever .

~ did you realise how simple were the 4 things which he has differentiated himself with

~ a trademark of SRT has been how he has been able to make complex things simple

~Ak

~ RESPECTS

no tittles !

2010-02-09T15:34:00.001+05:30

मेरी किस्मत खुद पे हंस ही दी आज, !!

.................................

ऐ खुदा कसम है मुझे,

खुद को इस लायक बनाऊंगा,

कि किस्मत खुद पूछेगी,

बता क्या जिस्मत है तेरी ...

इस बंजर शेहर के दिल में ढूँढूं मैं गीली मिटटी का मंज़र ...

~Ak

--
Check my blog at http://ir0cker.blogspot.com/

God !!

2010-02-08T15:38:00.001+05:30

Pls give me a reason to smile,

anything absolutely anything on earth .

~Ak

A usual day, things I miss from IIM Calcutta..

2010-02-07T14:38:00.006+05:30

Hey all,

It s been days I have posted something on the blog .. usual I guess by now.
As we grow old, life gets more complicated.
family, brother, sister, Girl friends, other female friends,friends, colleagues, a lil bit of work, you etc etc.

And slowly slowly, time just runs out, I am a living example of it now.
My day passes in talking to myself about things I did wrong, things which I dont know why was I doing, At times It just passes away running here from there.
But most often now it passes very slow.

Today has been a little different day, I slept late.
Typed an email which I intended to send to someone some 15 times, could not write anything substantial to make an impact, kept switching between Dad, Rahul and Richa on phone in night.
And then me and Rahul watched a sitcom.

Today morning has been weird, I am yet to get up from bed. I am lying down, have had a few phone calls from morning. Have upset a few people, looked at old mails, read and re read them. Finally send the email though it will not make an impact, checked my official mail once, no mail on it, got up once had to go out, dint go.
Am also on a fast for last 7 days now, I don know why I am doing it, but its just a way to please myself that I am doing something.

But the fact it is at 3pm, m still in blanket on my bed and am not feeling bad about life. I also just watched a movie on laptop.

I have alot of guilt in me, ofcourse I would. I have a lot of grief as well.

I have started realizing what is life, Its as much as about what you have as what you dont have.
I realize till few days it was about What I dont have.

But today,

I still am not sulking,
I am taking rest.

~Ak
~ yaar, I wish i could do something :)

Whats wrong with the bowlers of world...!!

2010-01-11T18:12:00.002+05:30

Well the world cricket is getting a little more intriguing now, England might win a test series in SA in some days... Pakistan continues to amaze the world with sheer talent it has and the tendency to just not be able to be a team.

Hmm

but there is something seriously wrong in the subcontinent, India, Bangladesh and Srilanka are struggling to produce bowlers .... !!

Zaheer Khan gets beaten like he is an old Srinath, Nehra seems to run in hard and then get hit harder, Ishant Sharma has lost himself, Malinga is injured , Murali is now the no.4 spinner in SL,......

I suggest lets have a re look, In last few games the batting seems to win,not any team. Such has been the impact that bowlers dont even chance themselves below 300.

This might be a result of some pitches which are flat, some sloppy fielding and having very good batsmen, but this is a cause of something which is far more alarming.

I have a neighbor, Lets call him Anil Kapoor.

Anil Kapoor has a 6 year old son, whom I have been talking to since he started talking. His name is Bunty.

Now this dude and me are instant hits, and somehow the cause has an effect in his life.

Bunty, at the age of 2 wanted to fly a plane, thats the only big thing he had seen. Then when he was 2 and a half years old we took him to Chinnaswamy.

I bought a bat and ball, the bat he never touched...

lost one ball soon after...

2nd one too...

4 years old he could rotate his arm.....

4 and a half, he would consistently bowl straight at a 10 yard pitch rotating his arm...

5 years old, he wanted to play for India and bowl Ponting out.

5 and a half, He knew whats out swing, he could tell whether the batsmen is LBW or not, he would shout at Zaheer to bowl yorker and a slower one...

6 years old... he does not watch India bowl, he has changed his mind.

He wants to become a left handed opening batsmen in T20 for India..

~Ak

Long time dude !!

2010-01-01T23:51:00.008+05:30

hey Appu !!

long time man !!

how are u ?

These words fell on my ear, when I was walking around the corner yesterday.

no blogging these days !!

and I realise how stupid life has been to me over these last 2 months.

the worst is I cant even blog about it ...

anyways , welcome to 2010.

I badly wana blog but so tragic have been things that just cant write em.. fooled around ... lost friends.. career motivations .. have to live like a coward now .. scared to be myself ..

So but I still badly wana blog .. its first day of 2010 ...

So, let me talk about somethings I like ...

Cricket ... driving .. music ..friends ...life ?

Life ...

A trip to Kanha,

I had the fortune of visiting Kanha national park this November ,,,

I reached there around 2 am in night ... It was the most beautiful sky I have ever seen in my life..

The sky shown bright.. no clouds ... and stars so close as if they would come to talk to me..

Next morning, I hit the safari ..

The open gypsy, the thrill of being in the jungle...

I spotted a bear, but unfortunately no tiger .

On my way back to Mumbai... I also visited the Jabalpur's beda ghat .. Intriguing .. I found it ..

...

And then the review, the sharing of learnings .. the cribs .. the good ones and the stupid ones..

My life seems to come a full circle, when I got my 3rd project with Titan in Bangalore, I wanted to work with Titan for this one. It is considered to be one of the best companies for marketing, and I am still kinda enjoying the work :) which is a good news because 6 months after MBA if u feel like not working pretty acceptable ...

My personal life is a shit, meanwhile .. I guess all of the people in my age group will say same.

I dont enjoy with friends anymore rather it seems to me that they are weird, not happening.

Oh yes !! I surely want a change, what kinda change .. fuck ... no one knows!!

Haan, whatever happens, I seem to continue with streak of making bonds with people.

The new very good friends are people from Dindori, Amit, Bobby, Monica .. And I do miss the life in Dindori ..

It was awesome being in that environment, zero complications , sweet simple life and good people...In last few days in Titan I seem to enjoy being with Harsh, Manish and Kanika, early days though.

Bought a new guitar as well ...

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS ..

I think I have entered that phase of my life, after youth !!

godspeed dude !!

This year, I wana live ... JUST LIVE ..

~Ak

My learning's from Archana ...

2009-11-26T12:05:00.004+05:30

Archana has this beautiful ability to observe, my first learning was that.

Archana ?

She was project guide in Dindori, a district in eastern MP.

I would often walk alone from office to hotel in night, talking to myself and thinking where did I move today, an inch was a mile here.

So everyday I would learn, think and learn more.

My intentions were weird this time, I wanted to maximize my learning.

Learning about the sector, about the industry, about the economy, about the work... just learning !!

Archana changed it all in 10 seconds .. 4 words from her and I knew that learnings are going to be diffierent, they are going to be about myself.

The internal struggle had resurfaced...

The belief that to grow I need to absorb vs the feeling that to grow I need to emit ..

the continous struggle that whether the world needs me more than I need it ..

Archana had put back those questions on my face, just when I was at peace being the creature I was, just when I was becoming the pathetic normal human being .

I still am entangled...

Answers are hard to come by, and when I am looking answers for inspirations they just don come across ...

Archana again ...

a few more discussions and I realise she is the complete circle ..

The answer to inspirations .. she gave me ..

the struggle to beat the debate ..everyday .. every hour .. every minute .. struggle within her ,, with the world ..

I had an hint, the answer was in me .. answer was in fitting smaller pictures into bigger pictures ...

The answer was in her .. in everything around her ..

Thanks Archana ..

Bhupesh was correct, we were here to value add, not add value ... U precisely did that to me !!

~Ak

Dindori ke din ..

2009-11-25T21:38:00.001+05:30

Jabalpur airport reminds me of the imphal airport some 10 year ago, There is one flight that lands in the day and there are less taxis and more passengers there.

As the small aircraft landed, we collected our luggage near the aircraft itself, I came out and looked around for taxi. A taxi wala came to me and said taxi chahiye kya?.

My first shocker came when he did not where Dindori is, He said 250 Kms and he said 7 rs/km( Non AC)

Sounds more na, Anyways the negotiation done , rate agreed 6 rs/km. As I was about to leave the airport for Dindori, a co passenger approached me saying that is it a possibility that I drop them to Hotel Jackson in Jabalpur. As It turned out to be I was travelling with GM new project Mosaer beer who till now was in TATA power. After dropping them to Jackson hotel, me and the cab driver Kanojiya set out for Dindori.

The road to Dindori was brilliant and smooth. We reached in no time, thanks to the guidance of Pavitra, I was in the office of Pradan within 3 hours of leaving airport.

Pradan...

As I climb into the office of the NGO I don’t have any expectations, it is a decent place. A big room at the entrance with a round table, then a room inside with a few desktops and then a kitchen, and then a small room and then a big room, and another big room and another big room.

I know it sounds like lot of big rooms :P

So my first day in office starts, Pavitra briefs me about the project in about an hour or so,and then she briefs me about the people in office, it is going to be interesting. The challenge is not in work, the challenge is in the fact that there are multiple stakeholders including Pavitra, all of them have a different working style.

I chose to be like a sponge, usual about me in the starting of assignment. Don’t express your opinions, take everything as it comes. ABSORB like a sponge.

As the day 1 rounds up, I meet Amit, the chief accountant here. Later on I meet other people here. Jyothi, small thin frail girl, who is our to go to person in case of logistics. The day winds up with a bit of badminton. I have never played badminton in my life, and am looking forward to it now. After the badminton we want to have dinner, with Bhupesh.

Bhupesh, a character in the story who is as intriguing as the project itself, he reminds me a lot of Abhishek Taparia. 6 feet 2 inches probably, very thin and one standard dress code of a Kurta over a Tshirt, Bhupesh has got his own style of mixing or not mixing up, I kinda like his attitude though. He seems to be very dedicated and knowledgeable about what he is doing. Bhupesh seems to be initial touch point and source of knowledge for me and Pavitra.

We talk to Bhupesh about various thoughts which have crossed our minds, he is upto the task all the time. As we talk more, we make a plan for the field visit to Rampuri, the karmbhoomi.

Bhupesh agrees to take us to the village next morning at 8 am. We were suppose to get up and catch a bus to Mandla, get down at Sallaiya and then there is a 2km walk on the kuccha road to Rampuri. Bhupesh will come in a bike and meet us there at the kuccha road at 8:30 am.

Pavitra has the habit of getting up early or at least earlier than me, she is the one who woke me up in the morning. We quickly got up, and walked up towards the Mandla naka. We got an auto towards the bus stop. The bus which we got into was a little better than my expectations, a morning bus thus we got a seat and some company. Mr. Sampat Soni, sat next to me in the bus. He interviewed me quickly, I realize by the end of the project I would have been interviewed some 100 times, invariably the first question is always about my caste.

Sampat Soni started talking about how big a man he is in Dindori, He told name of Uma Khampariya who is a relative and owns land in Rampuri.

So we had our first name in village, Uma Khampariya.

We got down as sallaya, there was a 2Km kuccha road to the village. After we had walked a bit, we saw the first glimpses of the village. It was a pleasing site, I felt nice and good.

When we reached the village, we had no one to ask for or ask to. We had heard Gulzar ji talk about Parmu Kisan, so that was the first name we talked about in the village. It was the first house which we stopped at I guess.

Parmu was not at home, his wife was. There is something remarkable about the villagers, which strikes you within a flash. They are receptive to you, the most simplest of lot. They don’t come to you with a suspicion.

Nisha didi is the CO of the village, she was able to tell us a few more names, including the name of the village master.

We came back to village, to the house of Parmu Kisan, he was not still here. We decided to split, Pavitra was going to spend more time with the wife of Parmu Kisan as this house was going to be a base of our activities in the village.

I walked upto the school and then from there asking people I reached home of the school master. It was a start of an association,we gradually were to become good friends.

Master Pusham told me a lot about village, we even sat and made the map of village. The key challenge for him is to get children to school, he is also over worked. He has to fill all forms of everyone in village, one big work is the category certificate, which he keeps on roaming around for.

There is one more master in the village and a madam from village only.

Rampuri seems to be a good break from life .

~Ak

Is Diwali a license to pollute ..

2009-10-19T21:46:00.002+05:30

I am quite sad, I have been around Mumbai in Diwali.

All I saw were marvelous crackers and beautiful glittering lights.

I was walking across Marine drive a few hours ago with Richa, and we barely could walk.

There were these kids, their parents, everyone bursting all sorts of crackers on the cemented road.

And then we came to a spot where there was so much smoke that I could not breathe. The sight but was a uncle, aunt and kid coming out of a Skoda and throwing noise bombs on road. It was a sight which I felt like going and slamming them from. They appear to be from educated families, have a good understanding of environment and things like green house effect etc.

I looked at sky, its full of smoke.

I wish I could do something, there is not much to do for me is it, I already dont burst crackers.

But anyways, if anyone does read this . Please go through following links

http://pranavshah.info/2006/10/21/diwali-festival-of-child-labour-pollution-and-insensitivity-towards-animals/

http://fusions.wordpress.com/2007/11/11/tragedy-buried-in-happiness-child-labour-in-sivakasi/

~Ak

boy in shop !

2009-09-17T12:58:00.007+05:30

In my engineering 1st year my father was posted in Manipur. I had gone there to spend my vacations.
Manipur is a small place, and there is not much to see in the city. The market reminds one of Guwhati... there are lot of vehicles parked here and there... hustle bustle in the morning and fairly quite in evenings.

Suddenly I heard a screeching sound, a jeep ran over a woman ... oh !!
and also her small girl. People rushed to the spot, the jeep guy left his vehicle and ran away. He would have been beaten to death otherwise.

people rushed to the spot...I also ...

It was bad, it looked like they are dead or will be in a few hours, ambulance... poilce .. came in about 15 mins.

I walked away towards my house, though I was a lil disturbed I quickly forgot it and got engrossed in the cricket match on TV.

2 days later ..

I was in a shop in the same market....
I was walking around , when I saw the shopkeeper give some money back to a lil boy

The boy couldn't have been more than 9 years old.
The shopkeeper said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll.
The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand.Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to.'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for christmas.
She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.'
I replied to him th at maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all,and not to worry.
But he replied to me sadly. ' I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.'
His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My Sister has gone to be with God.
Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.''

My heart nearly stopped.

The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the market'.
Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me 'I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me.'
'I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.' Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.

I was reminded of the accident.

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. 'Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?'' 'OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough.' I added some of my money to his with out him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!'
Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!''
'I also wanted to have enough money to buy a chocolate for my mommy,
but I didn't God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a chocolate. My mommy loves chocolates.'

next day I read in the newspaper, in that accident in the market the little gal had died and the woman was in coma, the family decided to remove her from the life support system as doctor s had given up on her recovery.

~Ak

Robbed in train !

2009-08-30T15:44:00.010+05:30

So this is about the trip to the Modern engineering works, Mallapuram in Kerela.
One of the trips to god's own country ... the first one for work.

The day was .... someday...

Let me introduce the Mr. Anand Kankaria.
Mr.kankaria has been a part of my project as a unit leader.... unit ... hmmmm .. Karnataka...

So he was before this a unit leader for Kerela, he is a pretty good guy, cool, nice and easy. His presence often has a calming effect and he is awesome with excel.

He had to ramp up Kerela and being the good guy he is, he asked permission for me also from the Boss.

We in morning had packed our luggage and were mapping converters in kalashipalya, from there we went to Yeshwantpur rly station.
as we reached the station we still had some time with us so we went to ISKON temple, the temple is quite a marvel, thoughI feel that it no longer gives the feelingof peace.

So we packed our dinner and went ahead in the train. We were in AC 3 tier.
We were in berths closest to the door, at times that really gets irritating.

We parked our luggage, and then went ahead and sat on the side berths next to our seats.
We had upper seats, I was on the side of door and and Anand on the other side.

Me and Anand started talking about life and incidents, Anand has travelled a lot in recent years, Chennai- Bangalore must be like office to home for him.

He started telling tales of these travels...

the relevant one goes like this..

" anand was coming to bangalore from chennai, he was carrying a nice fancy looking suitcase and a company provided laptop.

He boarded a bus from nearby his house to chennai bus stop for the bus to Bangalore.
At the intercity bus stop, he put his luggage in the bus and came out of it. We all do it ..

Not when carrying laptop, hmmm ...

So Anand was having a cold drink looking at the door of the bus,... suddenly someone asked him about where he is going etc... that person was 25 26 years old guy, he kept on talking for 2 3 mins.. and then suddenly disappeared.. Anand thought it was fishy ..He went into the bus and the luggage was not there.!!"

later on he told me, how Mr. Amit dey helped him get the laptop waived off ..

Aftet this story we shifted to our respective berths.. I kept on thinking about it...
My bag had a company laptop, a digicamera, a seagate, and a couple of handsets among other things ... scary it was ...

My bag was kept below my berth, if some person comes from the other end of the compartment, my bag would be first in the line of sight and being a strolley it would be very easy to take it and walk out of the door. Anand s bag was kept next to it and then a co passengers big bag.
I normally would keep my laptop below my head.. today I dint...

I started discussing with Anand and said then got down to take my laptop out.

When I was doing so a thought struck me, I took my bag and placed it between the two bags of a family traveling with us...I told so to Anand ..

In the morning, Anand wakes me up...
" aapne mera bag bhi hataya hai kya ?"
" no .. "

I quickly came down ... and his bag was not there .....

we were almost at thirur ... 2 mins thirur ...

I was glad .. I had removed my bag .. even Anand was glad that I had removed my bag ...

we filed at complaint with the police station...irony was one of his sandals was stolen too ...

for the rest of way, we were sorry and glad that the bag and only the bag was stolen ..

~AK

My 1050 steps to Jog falls !!

2009-08-13T19:07:00.006+05:30

Hi,
I had gone to Shimoga for the retail run ( though after the terrible stomach infection now I feel I should not have). We have a converter in Sagar some 80 odd kms from Shimoga city.

I visited Sagar, seems to be a nice small town. Everyone knows everyone, one lane roads and nothing noticeable about it.
After about spending a few hours with Irshad bhai, as I was about to leave he said that If I have come till here I might as well go to Joga( that is the way they pronounce it their)
Joga is 15 kms from Sagar and here we were on our way, me and my driver Prasad.

On the way to Joga there is not a single place where you can see the falls, which is a little different from other falls i have been to. Kempty falls can be seen almost all the time across the hill and so do Rajdari.

However when I reached Jog, It was quite a sight. The view point is directly opposite the point from where the fall starts falling down ie there is a valley between in which the fall is there.

I took some photos, some nice ones. Wish could upload them.

So while i was standing the child in me got a lil curious, Nowadays I have become old. I tend to behave as some corp psuedo guy very often.

But i decided to descend down, I asked people .

1050 stairs.
1050 was do able i thought and hey !!
lets go !

I asked Prasad, He was not all interested in coming.

I said fine, I had not had breakfast and lunch . It was 130 pm and I am not sure I should go .
I looked at the falls and I knew I wanted to look at it from bottom, from more close.

when I had taken about 250 odd stairs, I felt like stopping.
Should I go ahead ??

They had marked the stairs with numbers ! thank god !

I kept on going.. very fast ... there were people on their way up, a few of them looked fatigued.
They were sitting on stairs and were sweating so much . I was all in formals, was looking odd !!

I felt so stupid for people, if they cant why do they try.

Anyways, I am a hero...a nature tourist... I have this habit, when I am doing things alone. I imagine situations and live them.

So i came close to 900 stairs and it still looked far, actually pretty far.
Its surely not 1050 steps, anyways ..." ab tho jana hai yaar"...

I went till the last step .. they were about 1600 stairs ..
Now water...

To reach the base of the falls one has to walk in the water, dirty water full of germs and insects :p
I was in formals, had to meet a few people on my way back as well.

I decide against it..

Yeah !!
I DECIDE NOT TO DO IT !!

So i retrace my steps back... climbing stairs can be a tough job ...
I realized...
very quickly I must add.

200 steps up and I had to feel it.

I could not climb further, I realise my stamina has gone down
I actually cant remember ever climbing so many stairs in my life.

It read 1300 steps ( The steps are numbered from top to down)
I was exhausted, I looked up.
sat on the stairs for some time, was hungry, thirsty and exhausted.

I stopped at the first shop on the way up, sat there.
I asked for a lime glucose soda.

These shops are quite interesting, there are 2 or 3 of them on the way up. Standing on a few broad curves you get absolutely everything from a frooti to a jeans and and a mobile charger.

as the shop guy opened the soda bottle, it burst. There were glasses all over the place. His hands were torn, some pieces came and hit me as well, luckily one hit on my forehead just above the eye.
So here was a tragedy and I was still thirsty. So I ate some glucose, took a water bottle and paid him 20 bucks and started again. This was about 1100th stair.

I think I managed 50 stairs before I felt I cant go on, I halted ...

After a while I took 10 more steps..
I think I reached 800 like this only, carrying a bottle was also feeling heavy.

at about stair no 800, there was one more stopover shop. But oh! It was closed. I sat there for some 20 mins. Just sat.

After I started walking again, I was sweating alot. I usually sweat more than others.

I reached another shop at about stair no 500. Infact exactly 502 nd stair.

I took a frooti, drank it. I took a lime glucose soda... and another one..

I would have walked just 15 more stairs that I realized I simply cant. I checked my phone, no network . I was thinking of calling my driver.

It seems only BSNL works there.

Finally I decided lets break it.
50 steps at a time, It was still alot. So 15 steps at a time.

I managed to go uptil 150 odd like that, stopping walking ... Then at 150 there was a stall of cucumbers...

Pheww!!
Never have i cherished a cucumber so much, for 40 bucks I ate 2.

Now I could see the top, I managed to catch some momentum and finished the stairs. When I reached the top, I was wet with sweat. But suddenly I was not tired, I was walking happily chirping and saying it was fun.

I met Prasad, I said "who told you it was 1050 stairs ?"

~Ak
~But It was fun, If I happen to be on a good broadband connection I ll upload the pics.

Most happening day of my life!

2009-08-08T01:16:00.013+05:30

The date is 7th august ...

The day started as any other calm day, I somehow managed to pull myself up from the bed in morning. Did not shave, was simply too tired for it.

Called for breakfast, my experience with Pooja International hotel has been good till now, the food they serve in the restaurant is quite good. I ordered an omelet and a coffee. To my shock the food was not even worth a bite and the coffee was served in a shady container. I had a bite of the omelet and left it.

The sales guy was ready in his room, He is one person I really found very annoying. Anyways it was already 9, we had to leave and reach Jagulur taluk and start work. I was hoping to cover two taluks and then go to chennagiri to meet the people in society .

The moment we reached the Gandhi circle, this salesman asked the car to stop and said " Sir, I will have breakfast" . I was like all hell s gonna break on him. Here is me, empty stomach on road since last 4 days and have to reach Mangalore by night and our dear friend wants to have breakfast.
But I have somehow become very patience allowed him to do so, and he took half an hour more.

we left the city around 11 and finding our ways through the villages reach jagulur. It was a small village, I dont think even more than 10 T sells their on average.

I had checked out in morning itself, cause I dint want to waste time to go to hotel though Mr. Salesman was insisting I dont. I realize it was a great decision.

Lo but the salesman wants a drop back to Davangere, I said fair enough. I was suppose to meet the president of this tomcos society in Chennagiri( 50 kms from Davangere) at about 330 pm and it was 130 already..

No .. no .. my friends it takes more than an hour to travel 50 kms.

So we drop him there and head towards the destination. Its 215 pm in Davangere and the sales man says " Boss you are late, ask him to drive fast"w

My driver Kempegowda jee is a gentleman, so gentle that speed is a new concept to him.
But I have due respect from him, very very experienced. Not a word ever from his mouth, No suggestions no arguments. ONLY DRIVING.

We lost our way once ... but we reached the destiantion somehow at about 445 pm . 1 hour 15 mins late.

The President, the director and all of his staff was waiting for me, They had plans to belt me up.
The reason - they thought that I was some salesman from the distributor, ( history : till 4 years back they would take our products until once they apparently in their words got cheated by the him. They hate the distributor). I had a gut feeling of this, so I was at my pseudy best. I was in a banker collar, dark big googles, an imported motorola which I never use and my sexy shoes.

The moment they saw me , I had an air about me. I was posing so atleast. I went ahead to president, told him am not from steel but am a TAS guy.

I talked to explain him what is TAS etc and what role do we have in country s future.

I actually used a pen and paper for it .

Soon I was in a conference hall, talking to the whole purchasing committee of the society.

I called for my laptop showed them the photos of JSR CSR activities of steel, told about khopoli etc. I convinced them we want to do good of poor. Then I took their brochure, It was in Kannada. But asked for their annual report, here they were telling me all about them.

I said I would forward the case of doing some CSR here in the company( which I will for sure).
After all this It was almost 6 pm, I told them I would leave now.

Their purchase director asked me " Sir what about the wire?"

I told" oh Ya! you dont purchase TATA na anymore, what was the issue"
He says" Sir we want to buy TATA only, but we dont want that distributor entering our society
" I said sure I ll ask someone to get in touch with you.

He - " Sir we have a purchase committee meeting now only we have to decide, we would like to buy 50 Ton"

I said .. fine .. cool .. we will get back :)

and then the car again ....

At about 630 om we left for Mangalore.
I asked Kempegowda jee , " sure .. we will make it "

He said " parwah nahin sir"

And then the journey started..

I called up the distributor updated him of my situation and the day so far. He said "good, you ll enjoy the drive. It s very green , but it ll be night or else you would have really had fun on the ghats looking around"

hmmm
I said nice... it was actually very green..

wait he said .. ghats !!!
OMG ...

It was raining by now also a bit..
We were passing through Tipti ( or soemthing like this forest), It was very green and beautiful. This is the reserve forest area famous for certain animals which I think are not there really
Anyways I shot some amazing videos while on move, It is a very green stretch and I was enjoying it.

At about 7 , kempegowda jee started having trouble with his stomach. He stopped, vomiting, and nausea. Looked like a case of food poisoning. We stopped at a small place, He had some tea, I was getting worried. I realised it will be late by the time I reach Mangalore. I need to look for a place to stay beforehand.
No network in phone... I have 4 sims ... Airtel, BSNL, Vodafone and Indicom ( data card).
No network ...

I was driving now... I was tensed also cause I knew If i even hit someone here I ll be killed. The incident of wednesday was not out of my mind.

Anyways as the climb toward Augumbe started I started loving it .. it was some 9 pm I guess.

I love driving on hills, infact I think I am quite an expert. Here the boards etc were in Kannada though.

Augumbe is a hill top, My driver said it is 21000 feet high, I am yet to verify that, and the sunrise and sunset are famous here.

Suddenly as we turned around the hill I could see nothing.. fog ... fog...
visibility as poor as I have ever seen in my life, I have been in delhi, Dehradun so you can trust me it was bad. I felt I cant drive anymore... just simply cant.. Then Kempegowda jee took the seat and my god. he drove brilliantly, very cautiously, beautifully and convincingly.

It took us some 1 and a half hour to pass through the dissent of the hill.

When we hit the normal visibility again I asked him should I drive, he said he was fine and we went ahead. Still no network ...

Luckily I had asked a friend to call up Ginger in Mangalore in afternoon itself and requested a room. They needed my employee ID which Saurish send me in no time .

But ... Will we reach Mangalore...

Its about 1145 pm now and we are mighty hungry, I dint have any lunch also . The driver thankfully( or unfortunately If it was the reason of poisoning) had some food in Chennagiri...

Tyre puncture !!..

well I must tell you I was expecting it.. and wow!! network in phone too ...

I called up Vishal and Rahul, I needed phone number and address of some hotels in Mangalore.

Killer as usual never responds when you are in some urgency.
anyways Vishal did so I now had address of Ginger and also a couple of hotels If i need in Karkala.

After the change of tyre,

we set on the road again, we were moving nicely. Till...

we lost the way, its all forest area and suddenly we came across a tri junction.

And now ... My driver just told me he cant really read kannada.

It was all over for a moment ... bu then we decide we will try something. No network again !!

we had to go via karkala, and my driver was sure one of these ways go to Karkala and one to Udupi.
we chose left...
we were looking hard at every milestone to see if we get to see Mangalore, the numbers were written in english and the name of the city in Kannada. it started from 32 and was going down.

Finally we saw a lorry on road ahead of us, as we were approaching it it slowed down. Very suspicious indeed. It just stopped dead in front of us when we tried going by its right.

A man came out, a young boy. He asked " Ikdiya karkala idiya?" I was like .. OH !!

anyways we continued, kempegowda jee using his six sense concluded we are on the right way.
Once we reached Karkala, Kempegowda jee found a dhaba kind of thing, He packed himself a parcel saying that if he eats now he ll feel sleepy.

From there it was a straight road only couple of choices to make which Kempegowda jee did well...
we reached Mangalore in an hour, Ginger is pretty famous, as we entered the city we asked one of the auto guys and he guided me.

I got a double room because of being a TAS guy ... that is their version of a employee discount.

Its about 4am .. in Ginger Mangalore ...
I am tired ... will leave the hotel at 7 am to go to Bunder market and a few more taluks near Udupi.

Its been a day I wont forget in my life !!

~Ak

My experiences with K'nataka - 1

2009-08-06T23:16:00.003+05:30

wednesday, 5th of August.

I left Blore early morning 6am, in enthusiasm I rarely exhibit now.
The first dampener came when I got to know Davengere is 275 Kms away, reached the place around 12. I met the converter and we decided to explore the market.

first shop on the left, Harsha h/w.
While I was talking to retailer, a man started shouting at me in Kannada. He was shouting some abuses and saying " why do you talk hindi, go back to your country if you don know Kannada"

I said " namge kannada gotthila" . He had a bundle of wire in his hand, he banged it on me and pushed me. He was shouting some anti Hindi thing and then the retailer came in between. This time the man pushed the retailer behind started shouting " Jai Kannada" and within a moment or two they were 12 15 men there in the shop.

I was scared to death, the retailer was lying on floor, these men had encircled me. All of them were waiting for one of them to hit/push me first. The sales man with me, unfortunately for me and fortunately for him was in some other lane.

I had no clue what their intention was, to burn me, to hit me, to snatch my stuff or two simply hang me to the wire. Here I was a symbol of the protest of Kannada against people of different country.

I shouted back at that man " Yen kashta" " namge karanataka moor divas idiya, salpa kannada gotha "

This convinced few of em to retreat leaving 2 or 3 men. The first guy still there. This time he pushed me, I dint move an inch also , I took out the leather belt from my trouser and folded it in my hand. I looked at him in chiranjeevi style and shouted get out at 3 of them ( I had seen a couple of policemen coming in the shop).

This was the first incident of the day, for the rest of whole day. I was in a shell, not talking properly to dealers , converters etc till the time I was in that area.

Today evening there was one more unpleasant incident, which I am too tired to type right now .

But to be honest, I was scared, very scared today. I think I was more scared than this only once when in Kamakhya devi temple I saw some devotee monk running towards me with iron rods aiming at my eyes, that day my dad was around. This the learning from life was around.

~Ak

Mere TATA dost !!

2009-08-04T03:26:00.004+05:30

I am now almost 50 days old in the group.

Normally for me 50 odd days are alot... I can turn tables in it .. get to know people .. do all networking .. impress gals .. make frens with guys ...

but here I am, all lost .. 24 days over .. nothing achieved .... Absolutely nothing in the project ...
50 days on the group ... nothing notable done too ...

As you would read it .. you would say what the hell dude !!
Why you think as if you are the only sensible person on earth and rest all are idiots ... The question is just too bright ...The metaphor is not " mere" it is rather " TATA dost".

When I was young, I always wanted me as the only guy in army ( read company). I would do all, put the tent, make the weapons, kill the enemies and marry the princess too.

When I grew older, I wanted a team ... a few friends cum colleagues ... trust not skill was the selection criteria .. I assumed I had all the skills in world.

Further up the mountain, I realise it takes an army to win battles, but I wanted to be a part of the small elite group in the army, the skilled and privileged ones.

a Little ahead .. I realise am not alone ... there are quite more like me and hence a bigger elite group.

But we are left alone ... as my first dream was .. to be on different missions..

~Ak

I stand for you !!

2009-07-23T22:49:00.001+05:30

There have been various occasions in my life when I have thought of life like this....

I feel like telling you, just look around . I am sitting here only, why are you unaware of me, I am not that bad.
There might be various thoughts in your mind, what world will say to you will be so many things .
Ask yourself, I am yours or not .. thousands of friends you have , in that mob I stand behind you .
ceremonies, parties, school, college .. people came and went ...
But since you have come... nothing went ..

Dont look around, maybe next time when we meet..
I was not that bad !!

the whole world wants to see you smile, I also stand ... in the queue ... in the end of it ...

standing ... waiting .. in the end ...

~wish could ever tell her ...

~Ak

I miss those days of induction !!

2009-07-23T20:52:00.002+05:30

Here I am, sitting in a room.
a 60 volt bulb in room, no AC, one power point and a small bed.
This room is a room I would exchange for any room I have seen in my life.
The light itself is so depressing ..

As i type this I read mails of all of us, and I realize it was fun, I always knew it would end. Me and the bhaiyyaji would always discuss that we want it to get over.

But Now I sit across alone, the fact that I am tired makes me sulk more. I have titans staying at 20 kms from me and whole set of friends in city which is 30 kms from here. I can go anytime If I want to ...

But I dont, I simply cant.
I sit here thinking about not of retailers covered, the tonnage of wires in state etc etc.

I think a bit more and I recollect all of you, boardroomy, TFH and goodguy. Amazing room mates.

AY now slim and tall guy awesome friends ... TvDH .... Bhiayya ji ...

and how can I forget suttaemo and sabu, the legendary _____ of my story.

It was fun watching yellow and white talk, JD asking questions. It was funnier watching wasooli talk ...

I think I enjoyed most the conversation with one of blue twins, and at a different level with goodguy ...

Jo bhi ...

its over now ...
work has hit me ..its hit me worst...

already tired ...

~Ak

10000 Hits ..

2009-07-23T20:44:00.002+05:30

My blog crosses 10K hits tonight, I guess a milestone.

It s been a year since I started it, I think first post was somewhere in July '08.

It has seen so much, I feel that I have had a channel to communicate and talk to people.

I thank all of you who read my posts ...

Keep reading ..

~Ak

TAS'09- 40 +1

2009-07-12T08:55:00.000+05:30

Hi,

So as the things come to an end ..

I would have loads to write about, It will take me some time but I will pen all the things.

Since my last post there has been many changes, clear group formation and now people accept it, the funda of AY and now slim of 10 +1 is out and public. Till now I have been advocating the fact that TvDH is the shrewed and smart boy, but now we have more contenders.

Of late I have been impressed by namesake dancer, He comes across as the always cool buddy and is quite a guy, perhaps bst about him is the way he just not react to anything. I found a word for him, seasoned.

Our journey till now Pune- Mum- Kol-Jamshedpur- Noamundi/Bokaro-Kol- Mum- Bhuj-Mundra-Mum-Hyd .

The filtering mechanism has started, and no one has any doubts about certain people that they dont wana be with them. White and Yellow are emerging as irritant colours. Goodboy and sincereboy2 have improved a lot.

Not many people know the way the system works, in fact certain people believe that it does not work at all and have given up. But the likes of TvDH who now is also a bit dangerous and AYnow slim, the tall guy, the stheto etc are already on work.

TFH is by far the most talented guy, but then god does not give everything to one. I have noticed one thing. I see very less of mobileberry nowadays, he just slips in somewhere and is seen very little. I wonder what he is upto, he has talent much more than TvDH, its just about using it .

One day in a room full of younger men, we discussed a lot of things. One of them was who all we will meet in the review after 2 years. I wish I would have recorded it ! but the reasons of boardroomy were quite amazing. In the Delhi palace we found a place where we would steam all our frustrations into vapor and as he said, bitch about the ____. Its a new and interesting concept.

Among the 14, I hardly notice things. That job is TvDh's .

But I think I can make perception.I have begun to appreciate Voice and her ways. She is a wonderful company in flights. The DM, Blues,yellow and white still steal the show !!

~Ak

TMTC, its just about done.

2009-06-23T19:45:00.005+05:30

TAS batch of 09 as we are called is almost done with its stay at TMTC.

One thing for sure is we all had good food. The cute host, ( I remember some of the ladies in the batch calling him cute and wondering how he smiles every single minute of the day), the sweet desserts and delicious Non vegetarian food are a treat to be with. The sessions were quite introspecting. But not to my amazement had variety of responses. I over they years maintain insightful as my standard reply. But then things need to change.

Today was easily one of my most relaxed days in TMTC, got up when around and proceeded for breakfast. We visited the office of TATA Bluescope. It was nice one too !!
We started with warming ourselves with a game of TT. Me and wasooli teamed up against AY and now slim man and the good guy. We lost but I played TT after long. Following it was a session on the company. I could see the people were tired after yesterday's movie and could barely keep their eyes open but one boy simply refuses to relent. TvDH continues to impress me and I am becoming a fan of him as well. One of the most subtle observations was wasooli. He slept through the lecture got up at the end of it, asked some question as well. Then when the next talk started he slept again, got up went to loo, took 22 mins to come back and again later contributed in discussions.

There are clearly factions emerging, I know lots of people are making an effort to ensure it does not happen but then hysteresis place its role. Sometimes you see it, sometimes you dont.

Anyways today was fun, and I had a cheeky time observing people, simply observing them.
When the big boss was talking, I saw the white and flower playing with each other's feet ( I guess so). The big boss saw it twice and unnoticed it. I felt bad for him too. Then white slept. I have hardly talked to her but somehow there is something different about her than last time we met.

Don't know much about yellow though.

As we came back on lunch table, It was a delight. TMTC kitchen seems to outdo itself every meal, if there was a TBEM exercise on it, It must be in highest band. The Dal Makhani was simple awesome, and the karari bhindi rocked. Not to forget the butter chicken too. .

We move to Mumbai in a time of 2 days, I have made some good friends over the stay, met a few of most amazingly talented people. At the same time I have learned a lot by simply being with them. Namesake dancer, TFH, TvDH, Sutteemo, lazy sailor, Inhouse bartender, Geeluwhiz, Serious boy 1 and 2, good guy, mobileberry, upside down, the tall guy, Sabu, stetho are quite impressive. The way a few of them come across is in itself a learning for me. Photenthu today said a very interesting thing to me and I thought about it for quite some time.

I realise that the other 39 friends of mine are like mirrors, I find my reflections to look at with different angles and perspectives.

Of all the people I thought death metal is alike me a bit but after what photenthu said to me I feel we are all alike and all different.

~Ak

The legend of Sabu..

2009-06-22T19:40:00.003+05:30

This one is about 20 odd young men and women, as they braved thunder showers to walk in the arthur's forte. Little did they knew one of them will be a legend by the end of the day ...

The life has its own ways and little did he knew he would be talked about tale by the wee hours of morning.
The legend goes by, In the dungeon of arthur's forte was the setup. It was criss and cross, tit and tat the way arrangements were made.

These men all young and energetic and women all excited and happy assembled around the table and the tales started.
Sabu of all of the people was in the corner, under the stairs . Under the stairs was a bar, a small little one. It seemed like it had been years before someone used it. The day started, TFH was in a partymood, he took namesake dancer and decided to play lets shout dollars. It was quite an experiment but then..... . Below the AY and now slim man was planning how to keep the slim machine on. The tall guy keeps helping him in all ways he can.I could notice that suttaemo and upsidedown never leave each other, and the stethoscope sticks around too. I, the tall guy, sabu and the mobileberry sat together opposite the bar. The gals distributed themselves across the two tables and the starters rolled in. AY and now slim man had the food under his control. He was calling shots at history, the ecstasy of cooking and frying the legends was making him do each one of em twice.
Meanwhile sabu was guzzling down, the tall guy was with us. Where did the mobileberry go. He mysteriously disappeared many times in between the party and whenver he did he was never alone. Ofcourse !.

TFH had his share of wines and was settled in a corner, Stetho was having fun with the food. The wasooli was calling shots along with Mobile berry at the bar accompanied by our own in house bartender. The party was getting better. I am weird am I not .. At times you would see me just about laughing at anything and at times just shut all day. Today was neither. Encouraged by upside down I danced a bit too. Suttaemo will still not leave him.
Sabu was still guzzling. wasooli was in mood too. Sincereboy1 was behaving as good as he can trying to be with the HoT most of the time. TvDH is smart, I ve begun to appreciate it. He knows it best and uses it best too.
Sabu was guzzling.

Then food came, as we also watch the pakistan team play well to trounce SA in T20 semis we ate food. Cooked in European history and fried in the legendary king's secret recipe oil, the AY and now slim man played the host. Nice guy hmmm ..
In house bartender was having his time at the corner most position of the bar. Never saw him away from it.
Mobileberry made sure we repeat tequila shots, He is a good guy too, don feel like saying a no to him. Meanwhile photenthu was on a mission, It was a snap every 30 seconds.

sabu was still guzzling.

The dinner over, must add we missed the out of world comments of the boardroomy, fever had to touch him at the wrong time.

Sabu was still guzzling.

As and when we decide to walk back, Sabu ...
as all he had guzzled starts coming to him, was transforming into a robo.. a robocop style walk called HoT.

He was the first among the young men and women to establish the brand, and you know when its guzzled up it needs no marketing. By the time he confused ways, walked across, addressed people by other names than theirs the legend was already spreading.

People will say Sabu ko pakdo, little fools we knew that legends are not held.

The legend of Sabu was here and would it stay....
The scream will vouch for it two days later, It was here to stay.

The legend goes like, drunk and drunk.. danced and dazzled... the white women screamed when they heard the legend. and the nail in coffin was put by Sabu himself when next morning at breakfast table he asked AY and now slim man did he hear the scream, the AY and slim had not only heard it but carried Sabu all the way from scream to his bed.

The legend of Sabu has thus arrived !

~Ak

~ all characters in this post are fictitious and have any co relation is merely a chance.

Chris Gayle !! One of those men ...

2009-06-20T18:57:00.004+05:30

I like Gayle...
I like him alot ...

There is something about him .. The Gayle style of batting is ferocious, belligerent and DECISIVE.
And ofcourse the best part of it is decisive, for all of us know If he hits it it stays it, But what I like about him is the mood part.

I know people will say in the professional part of the game there is no space for mood, but is not it the style statement of this man that he continues to play as per his mood ... They are people calling for his head, the fact that being a captain of a test playing nation he said he does not like playing em etc etc..

But then you gotta admit the attitude of the man himself for no one wants to bowl to him, a look at his face in that KKR dress in black with that bandanna behind his head was no less than a demon going to crack the balls out there.
But there are sides to it .. He is one of the batting geniuses of his time, captaining a team next to only Pakistan in unpredictability. He is one of the best 1st slip fielders and most stable West Indies captain in last decade or so. Look around west indies, He is last of those tall men which when walk to field the spectators shudder, the bowlers fear and more importantly gives his team confidence. I have heard opposing captain go on records saying that " till he ( gayle) was around we knew match could have gone anywhere" , " Once we got him, we knew we had a chance" . He is a terror, threat and at the same time an opportunity. An enigma at times when you look at him he is an entertainer, he has the ability to crack jokes which only he laughs but seeing him laugh all the other laugh too, with that heavy voice and accent he is a tough guy to speak to but to listen to him is a delight.

I tend to relate to him ... the way at times he is misunderstood, talked too much about ... then hated .. then called for head...I tend to see his glimpses in me .. because it is often said when he hits and hits well that this is Gayle s outburst, reply to .... It is wrong.. people fail to understand he is batting and he is enjoying it.

Well whatever it be .. He is one of the game s biggest entertainers and fittingly one of those men!

the Battleship !!!

2009-06-20T16:02:00.002+05:30

Grow up !

So often I feel like saying to myself..
or why so serious ?

Why do people fail to see whats coming at them, I said it in college as well, to friends and batchmates.
It becomes so evident in the elite group as well, Its bewildering the thought process and quite weirdly kiddish at times.
In these turbulent times which people claim are almost over, I still find it difficult to look around me. The sheer sadness that some of my batchmates are not having great professional life. The fact that life is still difficult around and above makes me constantly think about what I need to do.

Effort ... a bit more .. more and more... for every one guy who eats lavish food there are 10 who stay empty stomach, for every smile I have there are 10 tears some one sheds... I go down with sorrow, the sorrow of people around me ... sorrow of my fellow countrymen.

I pledge to strive towards the goal of bringing joy to world and people and my dear friends please constantly remind me of this pledge.

~Ak

TMTC - Greatest encounters...

2009-06-19T00:15:00.004+05:30

Today was a very eventful day, but such is the impact of the last 120 odd events that I completely ignore the the first two sessions.

I had Dr. Irani standing infront of me answering our questions, the feeling was like as ... History took a shape of man and was talking to me... Some of the statements left me gasping is it reality !.

For when HoT read an intro it seemed like an essay, It was not of a man it was an intro of an institution. I dare compare it with what would be an intro of the whole indian steel industry for a man who epitomizes it all was standing infront of me...
The grace, class, simplicity and knowledge. I got floated into an era of hitlers and napoleans the way they would be .. and then I realise what greatness is, the modesty and simplicty about you being what you are and what you aspire to is a trademark of a great man and I could see it staring out. For not even once his highness would blink an eye when he spoke for all he spoke was flashing before his eyes like he had seen it all. There were no rumors, anecdotes. They were incidents of his life. I for a moment felt how would have Nehru and JRD talked about tax, incredibly I could see them speak . Manmohan Singh being talked by first name, Tony blair sitting across the table..

I am mighty impressed and the simple learning was .. I have a long long long way to go ...

अभी थो बस मुट्ठी भर ज़मीन है हाथ में , आसमान नापना अभी बाकी है .... !

~Ak

First day !

2009-06-17T08:21:00.002+05:30

Y'day I arrived very late in night, it was almost 130 am . The misfortune of the day crept in the wee hours of 15th as well. They expected me to arrive with a identity card having a different surname, well but I did not meet up the expectations. So there was a lil bit of negotiations to get in the room.

In about 15 mins, I was in D1. Nice looking room, I somehow felt bigger than last time.
Just connected the internet first things first, good guy helped me with that. India was about to lose to England and thus ended the T20 world cup for us.

Next day was a medical examination or rather i should say a an examination. We went to the Gems & Melody nursing home. And started with a series of tests. We were suppose to carry A and B samples from the toilet with us to the nursing home.

The nursing home was quite long, went long ....One of the incidents of the day was when Angry and now slim young man got pricked on all possible spots for his blood and then incidentally became the second victim of couple of insects who were roasted into the Dosa at the cafeteria.

We came back after the first blood test and had lunch at TMTC. After lunch we went for the tests again and to our expectation the 1st batch was still on. The day idled of talking with ppl somehow and finally TMT happened for us. A long queue , each one went inside. Stripped. Strucked. Made to run, speed controlled and then blow and suck.

when we came back we had a session by HoT. Interestingly done . He gave a welcome to all of us, He seems to be good in this art of saying a hello. He then followed it up with interesting exercise of drawing something.

If i would go philospical I would talk about painting urself on canvases but I wont as I have no real mood.
What followed was interpretations and explanations.

Started with a Just do it, which came from the deep dungeons inside of Wasooli. And had some wonderful ones like the lazy sailor's 30 min what to do talk. T(all)D(ark, very) and H described himself as bold and beautiful. AYM( angry young man) made an effort to.

Interesting were some paintings, none more than the Bigfella who made a face which I failed. The good guy made a sweet one to trying to cook a pizza and paratha in the same pan at the same time.
They were alot more...

but I guess you would be equally bored by now .. so sometime else ..!

~Ak

Did they miss Symo!....

2009-06-09T12:23:00.002+05:30

Well as i write this the Aussies are on the way out of the world cup. T20 seems to have caught the imagination of every team but them.

Why did they lose?
Match 1 - Gayle had a point to prove, after the test series with England, Gayle was often mocked for his comments on T20 as the format he likes and the aussies were just unlucky to fall in the way.

2nd match was more of the match the could have tried winning. Murali and Mendis were the impact to be negated by someone who makes a reverse impact. With almost a half IPL under his belt, Symonds is probably the best spin player on the team. He has got good footwork and demonstrates a nice technique to play the flighted bowl. He has the ability to reach the pitch of the ball.
With an average of 48 and a strike rate of 170 in T20Is, Symo could have been the missing link.

~Ak

ICC world cup T20 XI

2009-06-07T15:59:00.003+05:30

John asked me to pen down my thoughts on this ...

I was thinking about it and well its quite a challenge.

So here s an attempt to make the dream team to play ICC T20 cup finals this year,

openers- Well, when during IPL I made one, I had Gayle in it. He still maintains the cut, simple reasons. If he hits, its hit. He is consistent enough. He is my man to field at slip and can bowl 4 over of darts and can bowl in death too.

The second one is a bit of fun, lets look at people around. Sehwag and Gambhir, Gibbs, Smith, Mccullum, Haddin, Watson,Jayasurya, Warner... all of em quite scary. if I just had to pick a batsmen, Sehwag might make the cut. But then Haddin and Mccullum can keep. Gibbs in awesome fielder. But I will pick Watson. clean hitter and 4 good overs and a very strong arm. He is a good foil for gayle too.

3 BATSMEN- Well AB devilliers is in, Yuvraj Singh is in. They are better and have very proven track record.
The next one is a wicket keeper in middle order, Mccullum and haddin make strong cases, but I think the choice is between Dhoni and Sangakaara. Both leaders as well. Dhoni just about makes it ...

Now the dangerous floaters- YUSUF PATHAN - none in the world more deadlier, if he is there even for 4 balls it can mean 20 crucial runs.I am going to use him whenever a spinner is bowling and a wicket falls in 1st or 2nd bowl. Am sure no captain ever will bowl a spinner with this guy on crease.
The next choice is between dangerous Morkel and Hazardous Afridi. David Hussey is also considered.
Had it been 50 Over match hussey or Morkel would had got the nod, But afridi s world no2 wicket taker in this format and boy he can hit it far too. Welcome to my team Afridi.

Now is a toss up which has to be taken, to include one more batsmen bowler and 3 bowler or go with 4 regular bowlers. If it had to be 4 bowlers, i ll pick Murali, Vettori, Fidel edwards/ Jerome taylor/Umar gul and Lasith Malinga.But this will mean vettori at 8 and Murali at 9. So I need to find a medium pacer who can bat a bit or look for any other option.
A perfect solution could be fit and in form freddy, but now lets look at people who can match upto him. Kallis, Oram, Pathan, Bravo, Morkel.... well I think it s a tough choice between the faster bowlers and maybe Morkel or Kallis. I think Morkel being a left handed batsmen and quicker fielder gets the nod.
Incidentally this team neither has T20 s best bowler nor the best batsmen, but it does have some of the most multi talented men on display and some furious hitters.

So the team is like
1. Gayle
2. Watson
3. AB Devilliers
4. MS dhoni
5. Yuvraj Singh
6. Yusuf Pathan
7. Shahid Afridi
8. Albie Morkel
9. D Vettori
10. Muralidharan
11. Lasith Malinga
..

Dhoni might want to open the new ball with Malinga and Watson, get in Morkel early and keep slinger for death. Gayle and Pathan can ball their darters in powerplay if needed and the middle overs are in best hands of Murali and Dan. Not to forget Afridi.
The bowling can be made better by leaving out one of Pathan/ afridi/ Morkel to draft in a fidel edwards or jerome taylor. And Batting by a David Hussey .

~Ak

Farewell @longhouse

2009-05-30T15:50:00.003+05:30

I sat with beautiful people, and they have indeed made it very memorable for me.

Ashu ma'am is a beautiful person, the way she brings happiness to the place she is quite spectacular. Actually wanted to sing when she asked down stairs but then talks shifted. So what happened.
A party was arranged , everyone had fun.
But to have people like Mr. Anshuman Das, Rishi Das, Meghnaa Ma'am and Ashu ma'am come to greet a 24 year old kid is so nice. I could never believe it and then I realise whats my biggest learning from this organization. It works like a family, sweet and cute one. The chat on coffee did not look like a business talk, it was like a some house discussions. Anshuman Sir offering us a coffee downstairs was a gesture which speaks volumes about the man he is.

for him, I am just an intern and for me he is an inspiration. Jim, Jack and Martin continue to impress me. They are too good guys to be with . And so were Samarth's tatoos. WOW!! liked em ..

So my days here are over. Well finally .
Its been good. Would love to come back here and spend more time and then would add value. Till then
Alvida longhouse.

~Ak

~Respects for everyone, one of the rare places in my life where I liked everyone.

a fence full of holes

2009-05-29T11:54:00.002+05:30

" There was this gal and her mother who lived in a village, the gal was like me. She would lose her temper so often.
So her mom told her that every time you feel angry go and hammer a nail in the fences behind the house. The first day she hammered 37 nails. Slowly there came a day when she did not hammer a single nail. She came and told her mother.Her mother said .. Good.. now you need to correct things, its like that in reality also. So Now everyday when you dont feel angry take one nail out. It took far more longer to take the nails out, and even when they had come out. The fence was full of holes.

~Ak

Last day at Longhouse

2009-05-29T11:30:00.002+05:30

Its been quite a nice easy experience, and the firm and the people deserve a thanks from my side.

I came in around 1030 am, the first guy in my team. One of my biggest learning has been that in this industry all the work happens post afternoon, and its quite understandable as well.

I dont feel nostalgic etc, like I always used to feel. There is a spring and energy in me, I am waiting for Lord. He said we will do some work on a document I send him yday. Hope he comes soon. Have to settle lot of things today .

~Ak

John, Killer and 2.5 kgs ...

2009-05-28T12:43:00.005+05:30

This is #34, 21st cross, 16th main, MBT colony, Ganbalore.
I have been here for quite sometime and now these are my last few days...

So ?
There is stunned silence in the house, a normally dull evening...
I am inside, alone. It raining a bit. Am chatting to Prashi ma'am.

Her status says TGIF.

Suddenly, a bell rings .. rings again.. louder.
looks like its being pressed by a 'heavy hand', walks in DiCanna.

I like DiCanna, he is fun to be with. He would walk in talking on his S(low)73. He walks across, still on phone. For a while I am alone again but the heavy presence is felt. Then he comes and sits across " Aur batao, kab aaye tum".

I look at his s73, looks like it has been subjected to pressure close to 2.5 kgs/cm square. Anyways " Hum jaldi aagaye the be" As if I ever come late. " Kya plan hai aaj ka" " Dekhte hain be, aane do un logon ko"

In about 15 mins, DiCanna has changed his formal attire. In comes " chal kuch khake aate hain" ..
I am a game always to go out, never does it happen that I say a no to going out.

We go and hog on a puchka at gulabjamuns, The one thing about the other 3 is that they have puchkas without spice, maybe they are not used to the chill(i)ness about puchka.

Anyways by the time me and DiCanna come back, he is again on phone. I at time get surprised such a big A gets lost in the house.

For next few minutes we just do random bakar, " abe tum sale bakchod ho" DiCanna says this often. Then there is a l(una)ight bike at the garage pee(p)ing weak horn. In comes Killer M, this guy has got style written all about him. One amazing thing about Killer M is the way this guy carries himself( into the house).
He is esentially one of the 2 self proclaimed studs, the other one being me. Me and Killer M have quite a history, no .. not that ways but basically you can comprehend we are old friends. Killer M comes in the house with music pumping his ears, on a good day he would rarely acknowledge your presence in the room, its not meant to insult you its just not his style. But on (stomach) upset days, you know he had a hard day today. TGIF.
Its a good day, and thus Killer walks straight into his room smsing his day to Baskin Robins. He would change his smart attire into a D(irty)Tshirt and a 3/4 which is probably stiched for 3/4 of it. Had I not lived in the hostel I might have some eeks but I am cool and anyways I am huge fan of Killer M.
So Killer M comes and sits with us, on a good day " wassup" with smsing and on upset days " phhruuuaa" ( a typical sound which he makes with his lips fluttering against each other). Meanwhile DiCanaa is on S73 again. He is quite fond of it, it seems so atleast. I like DiCanna a lot though, he loves eating and is the only guy in these 3 who can eat all the beautiful delecacies in world.

So Killer M says to me" Kya haal hai be", I am now sure when he says that I always say " how was your day".
It seems he always wants us to ask about Baskin Robins or Pretty Scoops. I am not sure though what makes him more happier. By this time Killer M is hungry and a nosense bhaiyya is at home. Killer M has this habit of shouting at nosense and nosense is upto him . I at times fail to judge who gives better entertainment, having said that Killer M is a rockstar . He would give it all and still love it .

So the time passes off, random talks coupled by sophesticated inputs from KIller M seem to be the order of the day. TGIF.

Well then DiCanna gets a call from John T, " custard yaar, marwa mein milega " . John T is out with his gal, I dont know much about ther except the fact that she and John T recently went to sandy beaches and the fact that she lives on grass... I mean is vegetarian. So John T, a stylish lover he is will complete a romantic date and the a great hearted friend he is will make sure we also party. I admire John T for multiple reasons, He is an understanding chap, and knows when is the limit. He does not have sophistication's of Killer M or the cuteness of DiCana but he has got a style of his own .

Then the bike honks at garage, John T in the house means a lot to us, 1s things 1st It means Killer M among others can have dinner. John T sits on the royale sofa on which only he sits. Somehow we all sit in the fixed places. I like an aligator or a crocodile, though I liked being called ajgar would lie on the bed, John T on Roylae, Killer M on the sofa and Dicana ..... err .. cant remember .. I think he is inside or outside, he is on S73.

So John T is here , its almost like the music of Amitabh Bacchan in the movie D(jh)on. He is tall, dark and works for harry potter. Or rather on days it seems like he does harry potter .

for the first time when four of us at home, I feel like TGIF and so the other three too.

Its time for some beer, Oh.. I don drink beer .. anyways on good days Killer M says " 2 carlzzzssbergea for me" well I know its tough to comprehend, for people who would never be class of Killer M it s carlsberg.
Well but on upset days its nothing much .

when 4 of us are together the action shifts to Killer M s pursuit Pretty Scoops or the Baskin Robins.
Killer M always has a latest story when he gets disappeared and gets lucky. The fun part is the story is in pieces, few with all 3 of us and we try to fit them , time and again helped by the blushing smile of Killer M .

Meanwhile Killer M is smsing all the time, DiCana is using his S73 and John T has a chinky to talk with.
They all disappear on phone for a while .. a lil more while ..

finally on a good day , Killer M .. comes out .. he shaves !!! and .. Thats euphoria for John T and me, its a party we wont let it go by is it ?

But wait, Killer M has got otheer businesses too. He s feeling like playing guitar, oh yeah its Pretty scoops bday too. Killer M just has learned how to play Happy birthday on guitar, So he plays the guitar at 12'o clock to please Pretty scoops. and suddenly he zips up ... the jacket I mean and rushes to the ladyPM city. He has to do lot of work and come back by 3 am.

TGIF

John T and me have a casual chat centred about Killer M, DiCana joins in too. It feels like a friday now. Its 2 am i guess and we still chatting a lot. Its my last few days at this place and am enjoyin it bigtime

TGIF.

and tomo is saturday .

~Ak

people at longhouse...

2009-05-28T11:34:00.002+05:30

Jim, Jack and Martin !

the three people in my team here are quite fun to be with ...

Jim is thin and slim quite experienced in life. One of the most amazing things about him is that he is chill, he is relaxed and calm. I like him cause at times I wish I was like him in certain aspects, I wana learn those from him.
Jim s got quite an amazing style of thinking and looks to be quite dyanmic. He is one of the first people to echo the word lord when i coined it.

Jack is a character and one of those persons who makes people smile. He is bit like me, eats all the time. enjoys food and stuff.. drives a bike around on the same roads. But he is a very caring chap, goes out of way to help people and is one of the most remarkable contributors in a discussion. I love his passion for cricket.

Martin is the heavy weight. He is a stud and what I like about him is that he knows that he is a stud,he reminds me of the carefree elephant who romps on the jungle as if its his own , well jenny is lucky .

~Ak

Gilly did a warne..

2009-05-28T11:23:00.003+05:30

Some time wrote a post called Is gilly doing a warne !!..
Div had his own sweet notions about it though, today a week over. I obviously have been a bit busy. But it had to come.
Adam Gilchrist, showed why is he one of the greatest cricketers in the world. Sheer testimony to what are his inspiring skills, he inspired a team placed last to lift the cup .
He is not some joker in the pack, lifting the man of the series himself, just a little shy of orange cap. Such was the domination of DC in the tournament presentation ceremony, Rohit picking Citi under 23, RP the purple cap.

A few very amazing aspects of his captaincy were they ways he made some people perform, Gibbs innings stands out as an example of it, taking nothing away from gibsy playing alongside gilly has helped him a lot.
And ofcourse Symo, He would really be glad to be captained by Gilchrist after being dropped out of ashes, He has got quite few things to prove and be rest assured he would have no mercy.

Some of the players who have probably been inspired for their life are the young indians in the team, am sure Harmeet singh will remember this final all his life and this would be as good as he as ever got.

Pragyan ojha, on form and song he is India s no 1 spinner, while he displaces Harbhajan singh or not is what dhoni would decide but If you pick gillys hat he might.

The biggest gainers have been him and RP.
I wish Gilchrist all the best in life, hope we see him again in IPL and champions trophy.

this tournament will be remembered for retired people, Hayden, Kumble and gilly .

~Ak

If you respect Gilchrist !

2009-05-23T13:03:00.004+05:30

I did not write last few days partly because RRs lost and partly because It was just too good to write about and I felt I might not do justice what absorbing cricket was getting played. But yesterday when Gilchrist demolished DD I felt I should try atleast !!

Well, Now lot of people will say this and that, But for sure DDs knew Gilly was a threat, No one else. Gibbs, rohit, Symo can do what gilly could do and still they did not play a man who would bowled thousands of overs to gilly in nets, weird !!

Anyways, Well played Delhi. Am glad Sehwag found some form, and that atleast some player in India T20 team has some form. I will talk about this later.
Yesterday I think the the turning point was first over of Dirk, Destruction of your best weapon was what gilly did in that form, there could have been a turning point when Gilly got out but Symo played well enough just to avoid it and by the time he got out It was all over for DD.

The key takeaways from this match...
The players who have ruled the world over years, established their class are simply too good. Gilly is a big match player, He showed it today.
There is one more big match player in symonds and wait for finals. He looks a little disturbed from the Ashes team, but cheer up mate, go and give it a hit and play well.

for gilly I think its going to be last bit of competitive cricket this year, Good luck mate .. RESPECTS and thanks for playing that well.

~Ak

What happens next in IPL, complete scenario analysis.

2009-05-18T18:06:00.002+05:30

I made an excel sheet and did scenario analysis, this is what the teams need to do to reach semis

1) CSK - its simple for them, they have two matches, with KKR and KXIP. Win either of them

2) KXIP - a)if they win their match against CSK, they have qualified.
b)if they lose, they would want both RCB and RR to lose their matches , a lil unlikely
c)If they lose, RCB wins one and defeats DC. RRs lose. Then 2/3 teams from KXIP, DC and RCB will go in along with CSK and DElhi.
d)If they lose, RRs win and RCB win one to defeat DC. Then 1/3 teams from KXIP, DC and RCb go in semis. other 3 being RR, DD and CSK.
e)if they lose, RCB win both its matches and RR lose to KKR. Then 1/2 teams from KXIP and DC go on Runrate; others being RCB, CSK and Delhi.

3) RRs- a) They need to win, If they lose they are out .
if they win and either of DC or KXIP loses its match they are IN.
- If RCB wins both its matches and KXIP loses its, then RRs are through. Others being RCB, CSK and DD
- If RCB loses its both and KXIP loses its then Its RR, DC , CSK and DD in semis.

3)DC- they need to win, if they win they are through and RCB is out.
if they lose then,
-RCB wins only one. RRs lose.KXIP loses Then 2/3 teams from KXIP, DC and RCB will go in along with CSK and DElhi.
-RCB win both its matches and RR loses.KXIP lose, Then 1/2 teams from KXIP and DC go on Runrate; others being RCB, CSK and Delhi.
-RRs win.KXIP lose.RCb wins only one.Then 1/3 teams from KXIP, DC and RCb go in semis. other 3 being RR, DD and CSK.

4)RCB - If they win both they are through.
if they lose both they are out.
if they win one against DD
-RR's win against KKR. They are out.
- If KXIP wins they are out.
- if RRs lose.KXIP lose. 1/2 of RCB and KXIP will go
If they win one against DC
-RRs lose.KXIP loses Then 2/3 teams from KXIP, DC and RCB will go in along with CSK and DElhi.
-RRs win.KXIP lose.Then 1/3 teams from KXIP, DC and RCb go in semis. other 3 being RR, DD and CSK.

~Ak

Thriller !!

2009-05-15T13:19:00.002+05:30

both were thrillers, I missed the match between CSK and RCB though followed it on cricinfo from office, but I made it a point to watch the next one. The wizard v/s the god.

Incredibly and as Warne said you gotta give it to the guys, RR's just about hung in and MI's like my previous post said choked in.
Whatever happened both the matches were thrillers, the only difference was that in morning it went the batting side way and in evening the bowling side way, funny game is cricket.

well .. CSK ..
Just a reminder to them that they need to improve a bit more, and RCb they are inspiring alot of people now, I will stress again that CSk needs to get Ntini in the team .Look at their line up, they dont need so many batsmen, if 8 cant , I am sure 9th cant too. Interestingly hayden clicked again and Dhoni thinks he s too smart,I still advocate the fact that Badrianth should be at 4, not Dhoni. why does MSD does not understand such a simple thing. frankly I don care who s opening with Hayden, I don mind if they send up anyone, Parthiv seemed to be good.

well it should be
Parthiv, hayden, raina, badrinath, Dhoni, Morkel, as 6 batsmen and Ntini, Murali,Jakati, Tyagi as 4 bowlers and then play any more extra batsmen or bowler in form of Balaji. I feel playing a batsmen will be a lil more sense.
For RCB, Rosco is the guy, and well its always going to be a tussle to have Jesse ryder in and out, roof van der merwe seems to be lil lucky for the team.

As far is the next match goes, I think Sachin got it a little wrong, Jayasury should open, he is very very used to it, well what trigerred this move could also have been Nayar's not so great run with the bat. Anyways hard luck Mumbai, It was a fantastic match. I at one time though Munaf was given the over with Nayar on strike,
He made the most of it,but somehow the Royals kept their head and Mumbai did not in the last over, thats precisely the diffference .

But it still is so open .. and I am waiting for KKR to spring that surprise, somehow upset one team.

~Ak

Bad Umpiring -3

2009-05-14T14:45:00.001+05:30

Bill Bestwick Middlesex v Sussex 1936

A heavy drinker, Bestwick had to have a minder with a player to ensure he stayed off the beer, although more often that not he managed to give his sentinel the slip. After retiring, he became a respected umpire, but in 1936 he attracted the ire of Gubby Allen when he gave Denis Compton out llbw. Compton, 18, was making his first-class debut for Middlesex and batting at No. 11. A furious Allen remonstrated with Bestwick, who, in a refreshingly honest reply, explained that he was dying for a pee and that he would have wet himself had he not ended the innings.

~Ak

Weird umpire -2

2009-05-14T14:43:00.001+05:30

MV Nagendra India v England 4th Test 1976-77

As a Test batsman, Mike Brearley needed all the breaks he could get, so it is perhaps understandable when his usually clam exterior was ruffled when he edged Chandrasekhar to Viswanath at slip on what he believed was the half volley. "There was not another pair of eyes on the ground who thought it had carried," observed The Times. To make things worse, as he sat eating his lunch Nagendra came over and said: "Mr Brearley, I am very sorry. I knew it was not out, but I felt my finger going up and I just couldn't stop it."

~Ak

The most Bizarre upmiring decision -1

2009-05-14T14:37:00.001+05:30

Bapu Joshi India v West Indies 5th Test 1948-49

India set about chasing 361 in even time in Bombay to level the series, and made a really good fist of things. With 15 minutes left they needed 21 runs. West Indies wasted time with drinks and field changes, but India were left requiring 11 off two overs. They got five off the first five balls and then, to the batsmen's disbelief, Joshi called time and whipped off the bails. Not only had he miscounted the number of balls in the over, but he had miscalculated the time as well. The West Indies fielders left the middle to jeers and cat-calls

~Ak
~India were devastated after this and Bapu Joshi had a very hard time with the team manager

IPL 2.0 .. just about there..

2009-05-14T13:26:00.000+05:30

The Delhi and deccan match had all of it, a performance by a Dinesh Karthik, the least expected one and then the heavy hitting by two power hitters in Deccan.
The key was however Delhi just hung in, Symo would have swept the match same way Rosco did vs KKR, but the key was Delhi s bowlers were still bowling sense and not knee high fultosses.

Delhi is through to semis, and the rest is so open, with some handful of games left any one except KKR can still make it to top 4.
Today is my big match, MI vs RR's

Am such a big fan of RR's the reason being htey are so much like me, less in talent, underrated but very inspired. They win on skills like team spirit, the inspiration and the commitment. They dont really win on their talent, they have too less to win on it.

The other match, well if CSK gets defeated it ll be huge upset, though they will be lokking to win it and seal the semifinal spot.

If Shane warne does not play, Henderson will get a game. I hope he makes the most of it, he s a good T20 player and now is the time he needs to come good.The two players which RR's will depend heavily
on are Smith and Yusuf Pathan and if even one of them fails it could be Mumbai all the way, Mumbai on the other hand look like clear favorites.Their bowling seems to have got an dege with Harbhajan back in form.

But I still cant believe Shane warne wont play a master stroke, he is a inspiration which at times can act on th eplayers to play beyond the skill they have.

Good luck Pathan ! for me you are the only guy who can do it ..

~Ak

a Kiwi story..

2009-05-13T12:46:00.002+05:30

Well, Brendon Mcullum is a sorry figure.

he is not one of the cricketers who is very shrewed or cunning. He is just another good player and thats why I feel sorry for him. He would have never wanted to captain the KKR side, It would have been a BUchanan step. And I feel so shitty about Buchanan, I mean what crap, what are they trying to do.

Yesterday, It was not Rosco who made RCB win it was really irritating bowling by Agarkar and Ishan Sharma. Look at what Agarkar was consitently bowling.. knee height fultosses Gosh.. bowl after bowl .. and Ross taylor plays the swing over mid wicket well, He plays that only well.

Ishan sharma probably is spoiling his chances of playin in T20 Wc, by being in company of Agarkar.

Anyways Its tough but i guess these bowlers needed to stop a bit before very ball think a bit and then bowl. One would expect this from bowlers at this level.

The other match well MI's sealed it well, though I feel it was Bravo's brilliance more than anything else which led the mumbai chase. And there batting order still not has very settled look

It was good to see Harbhajan run into some kind of form, I think he needs to stop talking and work hard on field abit, these guys seem to have an inflated ego, the likes of harbhajan and yuvi.
they need to be a bit down on earth .

Well today's match is a potential powerhouse match, It will be a a battle to take an edge between two of the stronger teams in tourney. !

~Ak

Are the teams getting their combinations right!!

2009-05-12T15:36:00.001+05:30

Its the 4th week of IPL, One month of crazy cricket, but are finally the teams getting their combination right.

Not many, the rule of 4 almost seems to be perfect so as to not everyone can play.

Deccan seems to be a team which has its combo right now, Fidel edwards has left for national duty and that allowedRyan Harris to get a few games , but finally the player i like alot gets a game.
C Vaas swings it in the first time he bowls in IPL 2.0 and nicely done.
And the toss up was between Smith and Gibbs,and they i guess made a choice by picking in form guy.

But i think this toss up will repeat and we will see Gibbs also get a game or two.

Delhi, they look like slambangers,Nehra is in spell of his life and although they do have an amazing line up,
I think Its also alot of Nehra s effort which is why they sitting at top.
The moment sehwag gets fit, he is in team. He will replace Mithun Manhas or Warner. I think he will replace warner and get vettori in.I know this Drik Nannes is playing well but I want to see Mcgrath. I think Mcgrath and Vettori can make life really difficult and both of them are
warming the bench so the 4 outsiders should be AB, Dilshan, Mcgrath and Vettori.

KXIP- Get appam out of the team, play anyone instead. They seem to be correct on their 4. Katich, lee, Jayawardane and sangkara. If they have a replacement maybe swap Sangkara and get in Abdulla.

CSK - they seem to be the team which is tipped to win IPL and lot of it has to do with MS, I think they gotta devise something to get Ntini a game Maybe play an extra batsmen in place of Goni or Balaji they anyway dont ball 4 overs and get Ntini in place of Oram or Morkel.
So it shud be Hayden, Murali, Ntini and Oram/Morkel.

Royals- I think they have got a setback with no Shane watson coming . It is difficult now I guess, Warne Smith , Carls and .. maybe Morkel.. it does not matter there best performers are Indians

MI's - Looks like they are struggling too, no one to back up Malinga. I think they have taken pretty much the correct 4 in Bravo, jayasurya, malinga and duminy. Sachin needs to fire.

RCB and KKR .. well not much to write about though !

~Ak

Sachin Tendulkar at no 4 .. !!

2009-05-09T14:16:00.000+05:30

Why !!
Why

there was only one thing which was happening good and that was JP Duminy batting well in middle order, and
he s sent to open.

Pinal Shah at no 3 is an attempt to make the line up a little longer, but I really feelthey dont have the bench. I think its curtains for MI's.

Look at Delhi, they had Vettori, Maharoof and Mcgrath sitting out. Dirk Nannes continues to impress but at some time you have to give Mcgrath his share. David warner is quite a fielder and with AB
and Dilshan fielding looks sharp .

Coming back to MI's why would a Tendulkar bat at 4 in a T20 he is still world's most succesful LOI opening batsmen
..

I hope these guys settle it out fast.

~Ak

Boom bam dhadam dhoom dham ...

2009-05-08T16:24:00.001+05:30

That was CSK vs Punjab, poor bowlers.
What was a display by Hayden was made gala by Dhoni and Katich almost made a mockery of it.

But when it looked like KXIP will win it, MSD played the trump. Even a school kid knows that Prince of Charles
cannot play against spinners. Raina knows it well too, well T20 you might see lot of teams do this India's Yuvraj
singh.
All in all a good thriller of a match, only change could have been Sangakarra in place of Karan Goel in that
batting order.

But, CSk wat is wrong man !! Gony .. and Balaji.. We want some Ntini now .. !! some fire power and Ntini is a
good fielder too .

~Ak

Who will Lalit modi want to win IPL 2.0 ?

2009-05-08T16:11:00.000+05:30

Interesting isnt it?
Now from where does this come suddenly,

yesterday within space of a week, two of the most potent discoveries of tournament have been
reported for a foul action.... both came from Rajasthan royals... both were doing exceptional .. and Royals was winning
Shane Watson initially cleared to play for RR suffers from a groin quite mysteriously and he refuses to debate the CA decision

Clearly Lalit Modi wont want RR's to win IPL, ofcourse if the same team wins in twice the tournament fails to generate
a bit excitement, like an Ashes where Australia wins everytime.

Modi would want lot of people in the semifinals and finals so he would like team with South Africans..

Bangalore has a lot, Chennai had Morkel and Ntini, Delhi not really .. Mumbai has duminy.. Deccan has Gibbs ..
So from Modi perspective it should be Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Deccan. I said these 4 cause they qualify having
a big big world audience.

We will see, IPL is poised to bring in some surprises, lets see.

~Ak

The Royals demolish the Royal Challenge of Bangalore...

2009-05-07T20:43:00.002+05:30

Superior performance.
Need I say more, a near perfect match of Warne and co.
The key things for RR's is that they somehow seem to have Ojha and Smith looking good now.
It is very vital for Royals that Smith gets some scores in, with Shane Watson expected and Ojha batting well.
The batting suddenly looks much better and clicking well.

The Warne & co. might be peaking at the right time.

~Ak

Is Mumbai Indians the Indian team of late 90's ..

2009-05-07T18:59:00.001+05:30

I know it might look a little irrational to draw parallels, but..
If someone says " Sachin out and match over what comes to your mind" .. the Indian team of late 1990's
and ofcourse the Mumbai Indians...

Well, As far as it goes about IPL2.0 Now, I am loving it. Today RR's will beat the RCB and the tournament will get
super IPL.

I think the problem for MI's is that they are bottom weak, I mean they have nothing great in lower order.
Saurabh tiwary .. has miles to go ..

Wonder if they can have a Bravo bat a little down,and get a Nayar a little up.
They ofcourse missed Zaheer Khan, but then they simply have no bench strength. Well I guess they need to build
now, I mean look at a Delhi, mcgrath waiting .. Deccan .. no place still for Chaminda Vaas and CSK .. keeping Ntini out

.. the IPL is getting more exciting now and we look forward to some good matches.

~Ak
~ Am more and more impressed by Duminy, he needs to work on finishing skills a bit more but its just about there

today Mumbai takes on Deccan ..

2009-05-06T14:30:00.002+05:30

A lil bit of advise to the khuda,

Let Malinga open the attack, he had new ball when your team was winning.

~Ak

Gautam Gambhir slipped the match through kolkata butter fingers..

2009-05-06T14:29:00.000+05:30

It was almost like a viral infection, butter.. from hands to hands to every KKR hand in field.

I read somewhere that Delhi should be awarded 1 point, -1 to KKR :P
on a note, It was good to see Wan Myk standing up to play well he surely his making sure people notice him in this format.

One has to feel sorry for Mccullum, Moise henriques had finished and it looked like KKR will make a game out of it, but somehow the ball kept
popping, slipping and dancing in air.Not much could he do except may be take that catch, It is a little sad when the captain himself is not playing great
he simply cant command his troops. Poor smart boy, he has never captained any team, you need to be someone to captain a Ganguly in a Kolkata team.

Am not saying its Ganguly who is playing some game, but it is just too tough to take over from Ganguly. Mccullum knows it better now.
And for Buchanan, hence proved he is an idiot !! I am just irritated with him even when they show him on TV its displeasing.

I really wish though that Ishan Sharma starts getting some confidence and springs in a match winning performance,if we have to defend our world cup title

Its not simply KKR's tournament. I hope they salvage some pride before they go, cmon boys stand up together once

~Ak

RR thrash Punjab .. ! or did Yuvraj thrash Punjab..

2009-05-06T13:48:00.000+05:30

Well, a game where the tactics played a bigger role then skill, ofcourse
Gibbs walking into some kind of form does help.

Well the story is in 2 parts,

1) Shane Warne, the Charisma sees it well.. Ojha opens the batting and strikes well, better than they had ever done.
and then Singh playing his first match of the season takes 3 for 9 including a wicket of first ball.

2) Yuvraj Singh opens with a spinner in seam friendly conditions and then demotes .. further demotes self in batting order
. Well the answer to first one is Yuvi was just trying to do something which he thought could be smart and the second one, well
guess he thought he ll do a Yusuf Phatan by coming when Required runrate is 14 and smash everything for sixes.

The whole idea here is that Yuvraj needs to promote himslef if they are chasing 200+, Its no real use keeping him till the end, the match
was already decided by the time he came to crease even Geoffrey Boycot's mom would tell you that.

Anyways the Warne show continues, Am glad to see Jadeja perform well.. for I want him to play in the T20 world cup team, You would say where is
the place. I really dont know whether any one would agree but I think an inform Jadeja might be better than a out of form Rohit Sharma or
Yuvraj singh.

For Yuvi, dude.. you are not a captain material, try consulting more with Sanghkara and Jayawardane. Learn from them !!

~Ak

The doctor who was a victim of love, then lust and finally power !!

2009-05-05T17:50:00.004+05:30

Dr. Teja sat in a corner of the hall, this was an operation which was suppose to be easy, a routine heart by pass surgery, wonder what
wrong.
What possibly could have gone wrong ? everything was fine, the heartbeat, pulse everything looked okay.

" Ravi , are you okay ?" a voice wakes up Dr. Ravi Teja, standing infront of him is his wife Dr. Sweta Paleke.

Sweta and Ravi went to college together in the city of Bangalore in India.
In college they hardly would get to talk to each other however both of them had silent admiration for each other, After that Ravi went to London for higher studies, and Sweta Moved to Chennai.

Both somehow they maintained contact, Ravi also came to Bangalore to attend Sweta's marriage with Pranay. Pranay was a business man in Bangalore and It was a love marriage. Ravi started practicing in Bangalore, He was a qualified heart suregeon now.

Very few people know this while Ravi was in London, Sweta had proposed to him on phone and he had accepted though he never knew that Sweta was playing with his heart.

Pranay and Sweta seem to get along well, Ravi tried approaching Sweta got turned down and after this he tried avoiding her.
Pranay had a life full of bad habits and one day owing to all of this he was in operation theater;Ravi was operating on him.

Somehow the simple operation became very complicated and Pranay could not survive it, Sweta was devastated However the presence of Ravi in town helped her.

1 year later they were married.
But the marriage seems to be a little unlucky for Ravi's career,today was 43rd death in 50 operations he had done since.

Ravi decided to quit .

He now is happy with his wife but somehow is no longer the same person, the career has taken toll on him.

~Dr. Ravi Teja was later arrested for being responsible for 42 deaths in operation theater after two junior doctors raised their suspicions.

~In his confession Teja said he killed Pranay, that was the first time he did so and the followind deaths were subsequently done because he
enjoyed the power to give death and life to people, he felt like God after killing them. He also said that he loved his wife alot and would do anything for her

~ In an autobiography titled the wife of a serial killer which later became a movie, Sweta confesses that She had planned Pranay's death because he came to know of the extra martial affair of hers with Ravi. She said she has no regrets.

~Ak

CSK (3 wins in a row) beat DC( 3 losses in a row)

2009-05-05T16:06:00.002+05:30

So , MSD listened to yours truly and promoted badrianth, see the difference .. :)

Well the heading clearly highlights that IPL is about momentum, Its about carrying it forward.
So the CSK show gets better and RCB also makes a point or two.

But what is wrong with DC..

I said it a few posts back it is a Gilly and Gibsy show .. dint I.
So they need to fire or atleast either of them needs to....

http://ir0cker.blogspot.com/2009/04/deccan-chargers-gibbs-and-gilchrist.html

And also Fidel edwards is a loss they quickly need to overcome,

Chennai always had their top order firing, and they have discovered new bowling heroes in Tyagi and Jakati
and thus the right combination

~Ak

an IPL weekend!!

2009-05-04T12:51:00.002+05:30

I had a busy weekend so cud not write the whole weekend, but was closely following IPL and wow!!

Do I need to say anything about it, RCB is up and doing well, I think KP before leaving the tournament has left his mark on it, for the change image is KP taking new ball.
Jumbo he is so gritty man, commitment at its best I should say.

For now, Its wide open, Delhi and Deccan still seem to be favorite but emergence of CSK cant be ignored for long, I think the key with CSK is their team remains more or less same now, I wonder though we might see Albie Morkel going out to give Ntini a game.
The team captains seem to follow my blog well, Badrinath being promoted was a suggestion i gave and it seems to have clicked .
Well also it is interesting to see as the tournament progresses how more and more spinners are playing a role, part timers are doing the job, Raina for CSK, Rohit and Venugopal roa for DC.

It would be interesting to see if Warner sits out, which most likely he will but cheese what a player that guy is.

Anyways so the 2nd phase is shaping well and have a lot to look forward to.

~Ak

KKR ... aila I think SRK is planning to sell the franchise.

2009-04-30T13:28:00.001+05:30

Well Mccullum .. poor man I must say.
I am an ardent fan of Dada, for I have grown up seeing what he has done to Indian cricket. I might be raising a lot of eyebrows when I type this But I really think had he played as much as Sachin did, there would have been a few record books altered, So when KKR is not doing well
I feel a litle mix of feelings, I feel pity for Brendon Mccullum for he had to take over from the leader of all men, Saurav is too inspirational a leader for the local players and it is tough for KKR to do away with him.

I think what else is happening that none of the players is simply giving a match winning performance, had Dada won the RR's match for them, It might have transformed them.

Anyways, the bottom line is that they are at the bottom and they have nothing to really do, suddenly they dont seem to have the talent to win a match ! .. well sad .. sad... sad.. I think they are the team who have missed their NA players most.

I within circles have heard that SRK is planning to sell the franchisee and is in talks at an advanced stage with Sahara. Anil Ambani is also in contention.
maybe next year, KKR will be a better team , I seriously believe Sourav Ganguly should be the captain.

~Ak

By oh Boy.. !! A team effort by Punjab XI

2009-04-30T12:08:00.000+05:30

Well, the first encounter of the day between Mumbai and Punjab turned out to be thriller.

In the end, all the while it looked that it is just a matter of one shot difference and Mumbai will win, ll come sooner or later.
It never did and when JP Duminy holed in at the boundary it was over.

Mumbai could not chase a paltry 120, what a great leveller cricket is. Before I talk about Yuvi's boys there was one huge positive about the Mumbai chase
JP Duminy, all till that last shot of his he was there .. there and there.., had that shot been a foot higher I would have had a different heading.

This is the first time I actually saw him bat and he did impress a bit, I think Mumbai need a change in their batting order, their 4 foreign players seem to be
correct but I think they need to sort it out a little well.

I dont think its a good Idea to have Duminy, Dhawan and Nayar come after one other. I think they may try putting Nayar a litlle deep and give Saurabh
Tiwary a chance to bat a bit, I am not saying Nayar is not good he surely is my favorite player but I think having him a little deep makes sure you have a good
hitter at the bottom.

Hmmm but the Punjab XI defended really well, some team effort.
A classic example was the last two dives by Ramesh Powar, the effort and commitment was awesome.
But one thing which IPL is doing good to an Indian T20 team is that India's premier all rounder, Irfan Pathan is rediscovering some bowling form. To get
Sanath out with that delivery would have been of some help for his confidence. if he rediscovers his bowling skills, He will surely be an asset
when we go and defend our T20 title.

Yusuf Abdulla, the find of the tournament is it !! lets wait and watch and well bowled Chawla too ..

~Ak

Warne ..Did he read my blog ?

2009-04-29T13:10:00.001+05:30

I wrote a post after the last match of royals, the post was about the batting woes of rajasthan royals.
http://ir0cker.blogspot.com/2009/04/royals-batting-woes.html

Seems, Mr. Warne read it, or may be great minds thing alike.

hahaha .. just boasting..

So, Delhi daredevils have a defeat in their scorecard finally, I guess it opens up the competition a bit.
The key in this batting chase was having Yusuf down the order. I had mentioned the reason of Jadeja being above Yusuf in the order and also shane coming up as well.

I think its time to give Henderson one more shot at the pitch and Asnodkar to open, Smith stuggled through his 40 odd but made it a point to carry it through.

Wonder If having Kaif in the team would have helped.

and .. Yusuf Phatan .. pheww !! Vettori .. take that for a beating.
Interestingly now with delhi defeated once the tourney looks a little open though Delhi and Deccan sit comfortably at the top .

~AK

James and his brother ..

2009-04-28T16:14:00.003+05:30

James and Jacob were two very good friends I had made during my stay in Kenya. James was young, some 13 or 14 years old while Jacob his older brother was 25.

I will meet them once a month types but would see James often as he would come to me to learn to play table tennis.

Actually Jacob when we was younger was very fond of the game but could never play so he kind of forced James to play.

In kenya, there were 3 kids who would come to me to learn the game, James was pathetic of all, He simply did not have it in him.
So James came for 2 or 3 weeks and then disappeared, I was also kinda glad that don have to break my head more into trying to teach him basics.

Almost at the end of my stint, I was asked to organize a TT tournament for the school children, I knew that either if these two boys would win in it.. It was supposed to be a 1 day tournament with some 16 - 18 players. 12 registered but many came to see.

I was astonished to see James in the list of players, I got tensed if he played badly it would be my name that would be spoiled. But he played ..

He actually defeated all the odds to win the tournament and I was amazed, He probably would have defeated me also had I played.

After he got the trophy, the crowd asked him how did he manage to play that well.

He replied " My brother always wanted to see me playing, He died of cancer 3 days back and I know this was the first time he would see me playing as till the time he was alive he was blind"

~Ak

On IPL and Injuries !!

2009-04-28T15:31:00.002+05:30

SO freddy is gone, ...

Manoj Tiwary also is out of action. IPL can be hard on players, Praveen Kumar did not play in last match probably because of the ankle.

But whats has freddy's exit done is that the debate has been sparked again, but this time around I quite like the attitude of players. They are quick to respond and defend themselves. The argument is simple we are professionals and in such a career injuries happen, one cannot expect to we wrapped in cotton so as he is fit for the forthcoming series which is very important. What happens If the player gets injured on the first ball of that match.

I dont also like some people making allegations on players that they preferred IPL over the test matches of their country for money and then site the examples of a few Australians.

My answer is money obviously playing its own part, a key reason is also the exposure and the extragvanza. Is it not the most happening place to be in the world. Which player in world wont like to play in a team which has a Sachin and a Sanath Jayasurya or a Gilchrist and Gibbs...

You learn alot too afterall from players of this calibre.

anyways hope that these players recover quickly enough to be back in action.

freddy .. all the best .. get well soon ..

~Ak

Its My brother's Bday...

2009-04-28T14:13:00.001+05:30

Hey brother .. wish you a very happy birthday ..

god bless you
~Ak

Mumbai Indians ... crushed KKR !

2009-04-28T12:38:00.002+05:30

Well ...
well ... well..

what was on display the other night was quite phenomenal team work and clinical demolition of opposition.

Lets start, Sachin and Jayasuriya starting and playing well. ... I don think I need to talk more about the batting. Harbhajan singh at 3, I am pretty sure the India no. 1 spinner loved the chance and pheww! Did not he make it !

JP Duminy, He is supposed to be a big fish but am sure he would feel humbled and would be learning to bat when he sees the two openers of this team.

The display of cricket came when the MI's were fielding.
Well .. when KKR bats you know its only Gayle whom you need to get out, rest all RIP.

So what was amazing was to get Bravo to ball at him and the delivery which he got Gayle with was a snorter. At Gayle's hieght it got big on him, must be some effort.

Then the plan of bowling to Ganguly, the leg side field .. some approach...

rest as they say is history.
Am very impressed by the way Sachin is handling Lasith Malinga and way Malinga has responded. His action etc might be a little unpleasent but the yorkers are just spectacular and finally Zaheer has a wicket too.

In the end it was one of my 4 , Nayar who took 3 wickets .. way to go buddy.. keep performing well..

~Ak

Mumbai Indians !! खुदा है सचिन

2009-04-28T12:28:00.003+05:30

जब खुदा ज़मीन पे उतर कर क्रिकेट खेलेंगे तो कैसा लगेगा ...

सचिन जैसा !!
If Cricket is a religion, Sachin is god ! How often have you heard this ..

Yesterday, we saw glimpses of what it is like. Sublime. Serene.Beautiful.
and then the god comes back and bowls too, catches at slips also...

Such was the display of art that I am sure even the KKR bowlers were admiring it. Deity is Sachin and Divine is his art.

well played Master.. RESPECTS

~Ak

Chennai Super Kings !! MS at work.

2009-04-28T11:41:00.003+05:30

Well the CSK is not really running steam and engines, I think there has to be something Dhoni can do. Hayden seems to be doing well and Raina is also looking good. I think what they need is a little more reliability when they finish it off. And some teeth in their bowling lineup.

Well you gotta get Makhaya Ntini in, It is simple. Balaji and Gony are not doing the job. Look at the teams doing well, Fidel Edwards or a Malinga....

And I fail to understand what s Badrinath doing at 7 or 8, I think he is one of those run a ball busy players, with Dhoni going at 4 and getting out around about 12th over, CSK is just getting a little wayward in 12th to 16th over after which Morkel and Oram can hit. S Badrinath is wasted after them,so I suggest get him at 4, Dhoni at 5 followed by Morkel and Oram.

Hayden is by the way a treat at display ... just enjoying him bat !

~Ak

Deccan Chargers !! Gibbs and Gilchrist story.

2009-04-28T10:45:00.004+05:30

I write this as Gibbs and Gilly story for simple reasons, look at them bat. Its true for any team in T20 that If their openers are playing well that team will do well. So wat's the issue with Chennai, we will talk about it sometime else.

Gilly and Gibsy are quite a dream opening combination, but what impresses me more is the way Gilly marshals his resources in field and the way Gibbs has controlled things in middle overs. He is also their fielding captain. :)

So 4/4 is quite a statement from this team and that is helped by the fact that their top 2 3 players are with them throughout and performing well.

Its quite an incredible move to have Venugopal Rao and Rohit Sharma being brought out when Hayden and Raina looked quite threatening. I always feel I read games better most of people around me. I would have tossed it to Ojha. But one thing which is a little bewildering to me is why did Ojha bowl only 2 overs.

By the way its still great to see RP Singh take a wicket, out of my 4 players( I selected Dravid, Vettori, RP and Abhishek Nayar before the tournament started as 4 players who will do well).

Before we end this discussion a word for Fidel Edwards and DC's Fielding too.

~AK
~Well done Gilly .

Royal's batting woes ....

2009-04-27T00:24:00.003+05:30

So, another batting collapse for the royals.

So wats not happening for em, I think its got to do with absence of a certain Shane Watson.

I have a couple of suggestions for Warne
- Get jadeja up the order, he looks to be one of those tick tick players and can be handy
- Get himself also up, I think Warne can be a good batsmen and he has to lead from front.

~Ak

Is Gilchirst doing a Warne !

2009-04-25T19:43:00.000+05:30

Yeah, the match between Mumbai and Deccan has not finished yet, but Deccan has it sealed. Nayar s out just now as I type, He is one of my favorite
players in this tourney.

So wats wrong with Deccan :)
Well I guess, The change over is due to the change at top. Yeah , Gilly is an asset in any team in world.
For one thing he s doing, he is getting the balance of side very right. And everyone who gets in performs. It s was quite a decision to have in Smith
in for Styris, and whoaa! the boy performed. Quite a revelation is the way the team is doing well.

I think the key things they are doing well are
- Fielding , Rohit and Gibbs are setting standards and very well followed by Styris and Smith.
- Bowling, RP and Fidel look to me as the best opening pair in the tournament, as I had previously said RP Singh is the man to watch for.
- Spin, So Pragyan Ojha is justifying why he is India s no. 2 spinner and I must say doing it pretty well is the dude.
- Batting, Its about Gibbs and Gilly at the top. Its simple to me if one of them scores they get it well, if neither their batting fails.
Is there something else Which is needed to be done correct.

~Ak

I like Shane Warne, an awesome captain he is !!

2009-04-24T01:57:00.002+05:30

Its incredible, I write this as the match between the Rajasthan Royals and KKR is going on. And What I see is inspiration, the man was Chris gayle and the captain said gimme the ball. Opening with Yusuf was again a nice move. Pheww!!
I had switched off the laptop in between.
The match is over.. and wow its still to sink. It took some inspirational captaincy, some truly amazing batting but something which not many people will realise the fielding of RR. They were phenomenal in field, the efforts of Jadeja, Kamran etc were brilliant and RR looked like a unit.
Dada, might be feeling stupid. He was furious when Yashpal got out. It is so stupid, the inexperience the difference between an international and state level player so visible. But a truly wonderful innings by Ganguly for I don’t think anyone in KKR could have played like that. God help em when Gayle leaves.

Super over just adds more to excitement, and I think Ishan could have been a little better for the simple reason its not easy for Pathan to be on knee and smash him out of the park .
All well said and done, truly a thriller ..

~Ak

Chennai v/s Delhi

2009-04-24T01:55:00.001+05:30

It was a fantastic match, though I must admit Hayden would have been disappointed. Infact I somehow am a little more disappointed by the way dhoni is batting.Dhoni does not look like he can hit sixes, I think captaincy has taken a toll on his batting and as he more of him off lateI think he is missing the batting. Chennai had the match in hand, but morkel and flintoff somehow just dint get going. I rate Morkel really big somehow got disappointed and I think Flintoff is not really enjoying himself, he is under the pressure of his price tag.

Its quite amazing though how AB de Villiers played, I saw the innings, and WOW!! The way he paced the innings it was some statement. Its not easy to come and carry the momentum when a sehwag and gambhir have been dismissed, but hats off to AB. Indeed very well played and deservingly the first century of IPL.

But I have a question to ask whats pigeon doing on bench !!

I mean dilshan vs Warner vs Collingwood is okay .. but Dirk Kinnes and Glenn Mcgrath .. I am serioudly missing something.

So delhi has won the battle of two very strong teams, I remember in the match saying vettori is their key bowler and he proves it again.

Life at IIM Calcutta

2009-04-24T01:54:00.000+05:30

I might be one of the very few people who would not be sad to get out of this place.

I feel sad about leaving college, the independence of a room, the routine, the sleep cycles, the fun at exam times and most importantly being in the organising team of events and placement infra.

I am glad to be out of the polutu of that place, an advise to people who are straight forward and dont hesitate to oppose things which they think are wrong, dont really go to IIM C.

You would be amazed at the level of polutu happening in summer placements, If you do and manage it you will see a gal with absolutely nothing in her CV getting 6 7 extended shortlists and finally forced by placereps into one of the Ibanks at the end of the day.

You would see IIT D politics, gult gang polutu, Tam gang polutu, DCE polutu etc, so If you are from a college like mine, U invariably have to fill a form well to get a shortlist.

It might be sounding in bad taste, but then I guess most of the people who have studied there will agree this happens and it makes you stronger and better as the world outside is more unfair, as they say it is being a part of IIM C.

You would encounter weird people and that I think is fun, the people there are characters you love to admire and learn from but equal is the fun watching or talking to few of em, who are entertainers of the batch.

Its tough to be an Institute ranker, I never studied but even if I had, I would have never been one. I really regard those people high.

Without categorizing the hobby clubs there, I feel there are a few clubs which really give an opportunity for you to learn and network around and I was kinda lucky to be in most of them.

The wing concept is strong but because of individualistic natures of certain people it gets tough at times to maintain the clubs

~Ak

Office .. corporate kids !!

2009-04-23T12:40:00.003+05:30

it funny right now .. its 1240 pm ..
am sitting on my desk in a middle of a chaos, the whole office is standing.
What has happened is that in a middle of the day, it has been declared as an holiday.

courtesy elections, its funy I think its due to some govt. notice.

the HR divison send an email to the people, and suddenly the whole office is a party mood. So much energy, so much enthu .. hence corporate kids..

remember school, we would be similar.
but weirdly no one is leaving the place

~Ak

IPL .. predictions right !!

2009-04-23T11:25:00.002+05:30

So,

RP and Dravid are leading the show,

I have of late begun to read the game well, I guess its due to the amount of literature available on internet and our exposure to the world class experts.

my predictions are doing well, both orange cap and purple cap with me. Its kinda amazing na, when you ve picked out 4 players out of 160 odd and they take the top honors .

anyways, regarding yesterdays match- gilly was like before, i think seeing the aussies in dubai go down to pakistan with all sorts of an opening combination, one feels like hayden and gilly can still come back. Looking at Warne ball, who knows he might spin another ashes.

gosh!! i just get over excited.. !!

Good luck Dravid, I respect you more now .. you have my belief ..

~Ak

काश मैं मुस्कुरा सकता ...

2009-04-22T16:13:00.004+05:30

मुझे याद आते हैं वो दिन,
जब फुर्सत से बैठ के सोचा करते थे ॥

काम करेंगे तो ये करेंगे वो करेंगे |
अब जब काम करते हैं , तो कपड़े भी नहीं धो पाते
कभी कभी मन् करता है , की खुश हो ले कुछ एक मिनट
तो खुदा ये मौका भी छीन लेते है ॥

~Ak

Players to watch out for ...

2009-04-22T11:56:00.003+05:30

well, let me also enter the claim list..

These are the players the world needs to watch .. I am sure all of us will put a Viru or Gauti in it.. Its about dark horses..

1. RP Singh - He is the mainstay of their bowling and along with Fidel edwards will have to do very well If deccan has to make a mark, something in me says he will do well.

2. R. Dravid - surprise surprise, watch out for dravid, we might not see sixes everywhere but yeah class and consistency, am glad for dravid that this tourney is in SA.

3. Abhishek Nayar- My prediction is he ll make it to T20 world cup squad after this, so He will perform

4. D. Vettori - I rate him worlds best slow bowler, he will do well and so will delhi.

more later

~Ak

IPL s out and moving .. !

2009-04-22T11:14:00.002+05:30

well .. IPL is on .. sorry about posting this is so late, am not having really great time nowadays, some screwed up personal life.

So its difficult to take out a team as a crystal clear better than others, but I am impressed by the firepower Delhi has.. Gosh!! Mcgrath sitting out is a shocker and a statement of the caliber team has.. a T20 team has AB de villiers, Warner, Colllingwood, Sehwag, Gambhir ... its some force.. And these are not hitters, these are batsmen who have a very high strike rate as well as average...

I am quite impressed by Abhishek Nayar, the Mumbai lad. In last IPL also he was one of the impressive players, I think he ll make it into India. Mumbai Indians, is one of those teams which I think definitely look a little better this time around. Sachin is possibly the root cause,but I think pollock also has a huge role to play. Zaheer is a great buy and with Harbhajan singh I think its very potent 8 overs. JP duminy will have to justify his tag, he s not really looking that convincing to me. But for me, this team is about Bravo.. I like Sachin like him, he is an allrounder, one of very good ones and is an amazing character. God bless him, hope he becomes a WI captain someday.

Chennai Super kings, I dont really know. They look a good team and will prove too. But I think they are extremely dependent on Hayden for scoring runs, If he scores they ll be winning.

Well the last part of my post for my emotional favorite Rahul Dravid, the innings he played other day showed and stamped class. Good luck Mr. Dravid, you have all my best wishes and I believe in you.

~Ak

IPL !! 4 more days ..

2009-04-14T10:43:00.001+05:30

Just about 4 days more and on 18th starts IPL 2.0 . I think obviously the country is gripped by election fever, but will IPL be able to catch up their imagination is something which we will see in a week or so.

India is a cricket crazy nation, only yesterday did we win Sultan shah Hockey tournament not really much to cheer about !!!! I think its been quite some time since we last won it 13 years I guess. But then I guess its only hockey. Having played both Hockey and Cricket for my college, I also feel cricket holds my pulse.

IPL 2.0, South Africa is definitely one of the countries which have a T20 culture, so definitely the audience will have an understanding of the game. Provided the fact, Indian players do play well, we will see a fan following for Indians as well.

This is where, the status of the international cricketers comes in picture. The success of IPL this time is dependent on the TV audience where they have to compete with general elections and the audience in SA who will come and see the international players.

Oh ! Am sure you would pay to watch Mcgrath bowl at Sachin... wont u ?

~Ak

Weekend!! ...

2009-04-13T14:19:00.002+05:30

cud not get my bike repaired ...
cud not get my laptop repaired...
cud not wash my clothes ....

In short describes the weekend ... but yeah had a nice Saturday afternoon, shopping and spending time with her.

Friday was routine, went to HP service enter, not much use. its gone for long I know !!
Saturday, well met was nice ... and the evening was pretty okay meeting Gaurav Sir after long.

Sunday.. Ravish and Arpit .. UB city .. it was nice...we had more than stomach full in Rajdhani.
Then had one of these discussions with Ravish, it is so diffcult to believe but everyone in life has a difficult decision to make in life. We talked for long .

Evening was again with her. Ended up hanging around a bit of Rahul and Divy too in the night.

Today is monday, hopefully will give laptop for service, meet her and do some more work.

~Ak

Reasons I am looking forward to a weekend

2009-04-10T12:14:00.001+05:30

hi all ,
monday to friday done ...

not much work till now, but will pick up pace now.

My bike needs a service, that too badly. My laptop does not start. Have load of clothes to wash.

Need to check with the banks on Saturday morning.and hope to meet everyone :P

Lets see what I do.
Am sure that I will miss the bike service, hopefully I wash clothes or I head for a mid week crisis.

~Ak

1st day at work

2009-04-06T13:05:00.001+05:30

Hi, as it is ..

I have joined Longhouse today.
Krishna had to fly to Mumbai, so nothing really which I can do at work.
Got a crahser from Rohit about the company, work etc. , but the project .. don really knw much.

sad part is no google in office, no IIM cal website or gtalk also.
Had a lunch and now am killing time and then will go out..

Lets see
..
I ll keep the blog updated

~Ak

Ind Vs NZ, Zaheer justifies my decision to take him in my team.

2009-04-04T18:21:00.002+05:30

In the previous post, I made a test XI and this bloke called Zaheer made it a choice over Ntini, Martin, Edwards etc..

Today when he ran into the kiwi batting order, he justified my faith and choice. There is something about Zaheer Khan which reminds me of Akram, when on a high, in momentum and in rhythm he commands the game not MS Dhoni.Of late he knows himself well, when to bowl, when to rest. A man who has come of age to be India's premier strike bowler.

Today he took a few overs to gauge himself, and then settled for a shortened run up. The effort today was sharp, shrewd and well within himself.

Congrats on the 5er and well done Harbhajan Singh too.

~Ak

Convocation, the last day at IIM C

2009-04-04T17:56:00.005+05:30

Being conferred is a nice thing in life of people here at IIM Calcutta, for me just another day.

I somehow dont really have a reason to celebrate, wont have a place to stay from tomorrow. It s always nice to have an independent room of mine.

I do regret being here at times, but i have learned from IIM Calcutta.

In the convocation, what KV Kamath said was true, but wonder what was he talking. I had no clue how all that was even related to us. I get grieved at the divide which separates me and KV Kamath. He is a CEO, 5th most powerful one in INdia, chairman of CII. What I am, one of the graduating students of a MBA school.

I think a lot to pave my path to his chair, to his status.
I cant, I somehow simply cant. I try to break it into smaller goals but somehow still I cant.

I just think and come to one conclusion, someday I will stand there and tell kids below in the audi " Gentleman you have a long way to go, dont worry about recession or whether you will be a CEO or not, make sure your next job, the first day at work you are happy with what you have done and do it everyday repeatedly. You will be better than me sooner than later".

~Ak

Impostor!!

2009-04-04T01:19:00.004+05:30

Chandu is a very nice friend of mine, he has been a friend for 8 years now. We have shared so many things together, eating out, biking, traveling, drinking .... the list is endless.

Chandu lived with his parents in Allahabad, the holy city of sangam. His mom and dad are very simple people, mom is blind and cant see. There s a story of how she lost her eyes. In the Mahakumbh, some 18 years back , a stampede occurred and she was grounded and romped by many. In process, lots of dust, sand, and other things went into her eyes and she lost her eyesight within weeks of it. Also lost was Chandu along with it.

I dont really know how Chandu managed his way back to the house, but it was some 8 years later, apparently his father got him home from a school for street children.

Anyways coming back to nowadays me and Chandu hang alot together, One day we were at his home, when his mom asked him to go to the nearby shop to fetch some medicine for her. She was cleaning her husband's almirah and some papers fell, she is allergic to dust. She asked me to look for papers and put them back.

Among them I saw a death certificate of Chandu Sharma dated 18 years back.

~Ak

the convocation rehearsel ...

2009-04-03T16:55:00.002+05:30

The funny part of convo is definitely its rehearsal, Kinda enjoyed it today.
It all started at NTB, the PGP reps asking us to somehow queue up in two lines, by the time they reach the rear end there was no front end. However the managers we are, we somehow always manage. The surprising part of it was perhaps the free softdrinks :P . Yeah the IIM C doing it is quite unbelievable. Anyways , so in line we sort of marched towards auditorium and then we somehow sat at our seats. OOPS... we stood at our seats, we have to till all the junta comes and sits, then the FP, the PGDM, PGDCM, EX and VLMP in that order.

when the national anthem was going on I looked at the yellow poster behind the dias and looked at Indian Institute of Management Calcutta written behind.

I dont know what I felt, but I felt strange, somehow I am not sure of the legacy, of the fact that I should feel irritated or good or bad. But yes the feeling was of importance for only a split second but it felt like a milestone.

~Ak

My test XI.. (as on date and on form today)

2009-04-03T12:46:00.003+05:30

I have always wanted to select a team and me the world's best player in the team, captain etc..

Any ways this team is purely on players playing as on date and to neutralize the venue as much as I can , I have selected this team to play in Lords, for I think very less englishmen would make it ...

Openers ... well only a few to choose from; Graeme Smith, V. sehwag, G. Gambhir, P. Jacques. It is a little weird to see two Indians there but I guess as we talk more about the team I guess It would become clear Indians are a strong strong batting line up.

I will pick Smith and Sehwag as of now, but its difficult to keep Gambhir away. Sehwag simply because he s a right hander and even when he fails and gets out quickly he would have made a 40 or 50.

now the one down batsmen - There are quite a few, Ponting , Dravid, Sanghkara, kallis. I ll add here that we wil work out team balance and batting order again maybe at the end of discussion but as of now its 6 batsmen + 1Wk + 3 Fast bowlers and a lone spinner.
Well , ite england and seaming pitches .. Dravid and Ponting look most probable, I will take Dravid as of now, He is in great form as of now in Kiwiland

The 4 and 5 - There are many names who wil lay their claims now, to start with Kallis again, Sangghakara, Jayawardene, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS laxman, Sarwan ( he is in great form in the just concluded test series with windies) KP, Mohd younis and the Kiwi Jesse Ryder.

On form I will have to pick from Sachin , laxman,sarwan and Ryder.

It is looking like I am India biased, am trying hard but will you take sarwan over the 2 Indian names ..Not really ...
SO walk in Sachin , laxman and I think ryder for no.6...on form .. tht bloke is pheww!!

now my 3 fast bowlers, should be easy..
MJ and Steyn , they are bowling well in the current series ...
One more, well .. fidel edwards seem to be a choice , So does Chris martin of NZ, Well . its a little tough but I guess i need a swing bowler more.. so Martin or maybe Zaheer Khan of India.. or the stuart broad.. I guess its a toss up between Martin, Broad and Zaheer and well I think I will pick Zaheer.

Spinner well till Muralidharan is playing , I don look around.
Now just to add a little more ..
a wicketkeeper.. dhoni, sanghakkara, and brendon Mccullum. its very difficult but I will pick Mccullum .

So it is
1. Smith
2. Sehwag
3. Dravid
4. Sachin
5. Laxman/sarwan/ponting
6. Ryder
7. Mccullum
8. Johnson
9. Steyn
10.Zaheer
11.Muralidharan

~Ak

IPL 2.0 . in SA..

2009-04-02T15:08:00.003+05:30

IPL 2 has been a cause of lot of hue and cry recently, and in the end the venue shifted to SA. Well, definitely India would have been better but now that it is there not here lets see whats in store..

One thing for sure is that weekdays stadiums would be empty infact I don really see people flocking in weekends as well for the simple reason there are not enough people in SA who would pay to watch a match between Some chargers and some daredevils.

But yes, it is going to be another huge event on TV, last year we heard the majority of franchisees made losses, I think the trend is going to be same, However I feel that this are building years, for the likes of an EPL also took time. IPL is here to stay and to grow .It will gather a cult following sooner than later with international cricketers joining in bulk. I at times feel that county cricket might be threatened if IPL does catch the imagination and I guess that was one of the reasons why ECB was reluctant to let go its players.However as a cricket fan I want KP in IPL, I would pay to watch him bat.

In SA , the teams with SA blokes seem to have an edge, the likes of steyn and smiths .. If categorically asked I will put a couple of favorites 1) Mumbai Indians the reason is Sachin as a captain & Shaun Pollock as a mentor and Chennai Super kings for they look a really balanced team.But having said that you just cant any team out, though am not very sure How good Bangalore royal challengers still are ..

Delhi daredevils and Royals are my other two candidates.
I dont rate KKR very high and I think if anyone it has to be the Kiwi Wicketkeeper who will uplift them. Chris gayle ... maybe also..

Not much to write about Deccan chargers ...and Punjab XI..

~Ak

AUS- SA .. lots to write ..

2009-04-02T13:27:00.003+05:30

Graeme Smith .. has fractured both his hands once in last couple of months ... Mitchel Johnson.. the man who does that .. Jacques Kallis forced to retire hurt.. again same bowler..

I am a strong believer in the fact that cricketers when they wait in wings mature and become good for future, examples of a Gambhir, a Hussey , a Dhoni ... Mitchel Johnson is the latest additions to my list.

I remember seeing him bowl to Sachin and troubling him ,I always say if playing against India include a quick nippy left armer and he will trouble them so i thought he is just one of the blokes who will trouble India and then will disappear when the likes of Gibbs and Smith thrash him...
well to the pleasure of the cricket fan in me, he does not .. MJ is someone who had to wait for his chance , Brett Lee and Stuart clarke placed firmly in team and the likes of shaunt tait, watson etc .. But this guy has improved from 120s to 140s now, more sharp, more tall and definitely more effective.

The current battle between SA and AUS for No 1 in ODI is very intriguing and lots will depend on MJ.

Well talking about odds, i somehow feel that SA are better equipped and I can zero down on the man who I think causes this difference. Mark Boucher .. well he has got wealth of experience and has been a part of numerous close finishes.. He might not be the best hitter in that team but a guy like him down the order who more often that not sees his team through is very critical. Australia miss someone like him down the order !

~Ak

An old timer..

2009-04-02T13:12:00.002+05:30

T20's has helped me in one sense .. its made me realize am a huge test match fan and that they are ultimate.

I always had a feeling that T20's will never touch test matches but 50 Over matches can suffer and that most likely is what is happening.

Coming to the current India NZ test series, I bet the second test would have been a treat to to any old timer like to me, I somehow have always like Gambhir, I believe he has been developed the way likes of Michael Hussey were, He waited a long time in wings, playing and piling runs at domestic level, improving everyday. He did not burst into scene like a yuvraj or kaif did.. But he knocked knocked and got in finally ..
The innings he played was resolute,so much determined to save the match for India and you know its a little ironic that after 430 odd balls you have concentrated for it takes just one to dislodge you.
Rahul Dravid, i have been long saying he is India's best test batsmen and he just let his bat do the talking. He still has good cricket left in him.

Though the biggest praise I reserve for VVS Laxman, He is a example of batsmanship, Newzealand stil had a chance when he came in and phew!!! what batting!..

I think he just stamps his class everytime he gets into runs ..

Well done team India .. and well done Jesse ryder .. U have won hearts and imaginations.

~Ak

6th term !! to sit in placements or not !!

2009-04-02T12:54:00.004+05:30

The 6th term ..
no i2I, no carpe ...

kuch bhi nahin ..
oh wait ..
a major part of the 6th term was full of dilemma whether to sit in placements or not ..
I had my own impressions .. a consulting job has its own charms and attached was the tag of best placement from campus.

TAS was a nice place to be, and I had liked what I had been through in Magadi.
Anyways .. I make a CV .. a CV much better than summers .. for the clubs .. the company.. the PPO .. everything was good .. and a little bit of effort from Prashi saw it look realy good.

Got a Mck s/l .. the best job in campus .. and suddenly felt a lil bad for I might be a guy taking two jobs out of this place. I know it might sound weird but I was not likin it ..

Mckinsey has a charm, an amazing grooming and a class of people which are the best of best. I like the fact that life is still very open when you are in consulting, its like still in a B school only. as it is making reports, presentations etc ...

TAS, well was like ownership, factory, being an employee .. I was liking it more..

Money does play a crucial role but somehow I was able to keep it out of equation.
Dad said join TAS, it was more of a decision prompter by the perception of the non reliabilities of the US based firms in this market, But i told DAD it was McK..Dad replied so Lehman was also Lehman :P ..

Some expert opinions started coming in .. big people .. really big people .. and clearly TAS was emerging a better option..

Sunil Bhaskaran a TAS officer and now head of global wires says that partners of various consulting firms keep calling him, its not a job of position ,its a business dependent on people like the TATA's ..

Anila, 1 year with accenture says she regrets it .. consulting is proxy .. no gorund work initially atleast .. just keep making reports and ppts ..

the final nail in coffin, look at the people in consulting.. look at the alums, the batchies .. U know you are not one of them , a harsh or a Gagan Joshi the polutu kind of guys who would never actually work but lay claims on other's work ...

I made a good choice ..
and I guess the statement which made me go and OOPs was fittingly of Paras and Akshay.." TAS is written on your forehead"

~Ak

i2I .. the team was awesome !!

2009-04-01T16:42:00.003+05:30

well yeah ..
i2I was finally a huge success, I think more than it was last time .. unfortunately team Intaglio and the media dint help us much but we did manage to pull out a nice one ..
hats off to Ankit garg for his contribution to E cell IIM calcutta and it was amazing to work with him for I ve learned alot from him ..

Ankit has a style, a very easy way of working, methodical, simple and good.
He is an ideal Assistant to CEO abhi and soon might be an ideal CEO .

Someone whom I think very high of in my club activities is Paras Rawal.An uncanny style of doing things but the guy brings calm to the system. amazing ease with which he accomplishes big tasks, appropriately he is one of stars of campus next year who is going to hold a lot of POR's as well. An almost ideal guy , wish somehow we end up in same co.( yeah he is that good , that you may actually switch a firm to work with him)..

Avinash singh ... quite a simple guy , a good thing about Avinash was he took responsibility, never shied away from work. though he may not be the brightest around but someone you would always want around for the skillset possed by him.

Manish Motwani .. well .. the current E cell presi .. this guy is good, almost an idea guy to fall back on . i was amazed how he took all my responsibilities on the final day .. and best part of this dude is .. he ll fit into any team .. simply any team ..

Ashutosh Gaddodia ..

well gadodia .. he is one of the most competent guys in campus and has tremondous respect from everyone .. a truly dependable guy and a fighter!! .. in his dictionary " sab kuch ho sakta hai" I think he is one of the guys who would always say . lets try . never would say it cant be done ...

Umesh Mishra .. mishra ji ke kya kehne ... !! he is been a close aide throughout the year and his coordination ability is just awesome ... i would not have to think of anything about a work If mishra jee took responsibility . wonderful , down to earth person.

Neha Aggarwal.. the baklol of team, ever enthusiastic and a great person to look forward to .. she has been a source of energy and drive to the team ..

Tusshar bohra .. Tushar bought quite to the team someonw who would be bubbling with ideas .. he is a great guy to have around and hope he keeps on ..

sidgo ... well there are very few ppl who would know how much sidgo has contributed to club for this guy was always our advisor and the man to turn to in crisis.. amazing contacts and business sense . sidgo is an amazing team man too ..

rohit goenka .. Goenka is probably one of the best additons we made to our team and he justified the trust in him at every point .. be it anything he did, he did more than wat others thought could be done ...

It was quite amazing to work with this set of ppl !!
and good luck to them ..

am back .. and so much to write !!

2009-04-01T16:39:00.001+05:30

Hi ,

its been an age ..
am done with MBA .. convo due in 3 days time and then an exciting 2 months before I settle into my dream job .. trying to become a CEO ..

there are very few ppl in IIM C who at the end of the 2 years go where they want to, and luckily for me I had a choice of the best placement in campus and to go where I want to ..

anyways .. there is a lot to come now ..

slumdog who would never be a millionaire

2009-01-26T10:44:00.003+05:30

The eight year old boy near that traffic signal on park circus likes to call himself Javed, he says his mother gave him this name.He tells how his mom woke him up late that final morning - kissed him, maybe ten-hundred times, crying, hugging him so tight he couldn't breathe, promising she'd come back someday, but now she had to run for her life.

It was in the night, when his father had come back to home drunk . She her eye swollen in the morning as if hit by a fist because father had left his axe in the go down where he doubled up as a drunkard and night watchman. The reason? She was Bangladeshi without documents and couldn't get a minimum-wage job. She was fired from her last job a few days before, and they wouldn't pay her any back-wages. Her job? Cleaning toilets and garbage cans.

It happens all the time in kolkata town: hire illegals to work clandestinely for a while; then don't pay them. Just throw them out and tell them if they squeal you'll call the cops.
All of that meant no money to buy her husband booze. So he beat her up. Alone, there was no one to help her. Her neighbours were afraid they would be blamed too, you know, for helping an illegal. Any help she might have found was back home across border.
Her husband slept late in the mornings, a combo of nightly drinking and his supposedly staying awake all night as a watchman.

Mom tip-toed to where her son was sleeping, woke him, made him promise not to forget her. Then she was gone. Javed thought it was a dream. That is, till his Dad woke up.
Seeing her clothing was gone, he blamed his son, cuffing him alongside the head. Dad did that a lot.

2 Years LATER...

Full plaster-of-Paris casts, keeping both legs immovable, were set as high up as they could go to the top of Javed's legs. The leg casts were yellowed, smelly and poop-soiled at the top because little boys have to go rather often and busy nurses in hospital charity wards sometimes can't keep up. Plus there were only two nice nurses. The others he thought stern. He was too ashamed and embarrassed to call for them to stick a bedpan under his bottom. The old lady in the bed next to him complained all the time about the urine-poop smell. Told him he was an orphan brat. He didn't know what it meant, but figured it wasn't nice. Not something his mom would call him. All he could do was to cry, but that didn't help either; no one noticed. So he learned not to cry.

Spent over a week in the hospital, as the doctors were cautious and afraid of infections from axe wounds - especially afraid of bone infections where his booze/drug-crazed father had hacked at his five year old son's legs, just above his feet, cutting through bones on the right leg and nearly severing tendons on his left leg.

Here's how he ended up in the casts, according to police reports and social workers:

It was early evening. Javed's night-watchman father had parked himself at the condo where he drank whiskey through his shift till morning. Ever since his common law wife had bolted, he always took his son with him to work. If left alone, Dad was afraid the boy would run away, or worse, play with matches, and burn their slum shack down. So now, he took his son with him to his night watchman job.

Would leave him in a big plastic tank, hot and stuffy with doors locked. Made him pee in a plastic bag. Dad would threaten his son with the axe, said if he made a mess he would chop his legs off.

After work, most days, Dad wouldn't let the boy go to kindergarten and wouldn't even let him out of their shack, where he'd lock the door and sleep off the previous night's booze.

It had been two years since his wife ran for her life, leaving her son with the vague hope that she could sneak back some late morning when his dad was dead to the world from his morning coming-home double shot of booze, grab her son and run. But she was probably too terrified.

She never did love Javed-s dad. No, he didnt really buy her, but almost. Still in her teens, he'd grabbed her, used her, embarrassed her, then gave her a hundred taka as dowry. Any complaints, he'd report her to the authorities. And worse, she was born on the Bangladesh side of border. But she had no Bangladeshi papers either.

One night he came to the condo and began his usual drinking. Counting his money, he was short ten taka for his cigarettes for the night: three smokes for ten taka. So he accused his son of stealing the ten taka to play with other kids.

Javed bolted, but Dad caught him, held the boy down, sitting on him. Then using his axe, he began to chop his legs just above his feet.

The neighbours said it was horrible. Dad shouting, cursing, the boy screaming in fear and pain. Someone called the police, and for once, they answered immediately.

A Very Close Call

It looked like buckets of blood, but Javed's guardian angels were working double/triple overtime. The hacking missed the big arteries; otherwise, Javed would have bled to death on the spot.

Javed .. will be a good friend of mine till I like all of us forget him

He now can be found on park circus , has a shirt which he uses to clean the window shields of cars.

he asked me "Dada kahin kaam dilao na "
I felt so sad , had it been like summer placements I would have asked one of those many start ups I called to take him for I believe he is much worth than any of us for all the challenges and pressure situations we face in life, but here I could not get him a job. I only could give him my handkerchief so that he does not have to take his shirt off to wipe my bike.

~Ak

And this one is for the slumdogs ....

2009-01-26T05:33:00.004+05:30

Whenever I walk across slums, I remember an incident.

An incident which happened in Lucknow , when I was in class 2 .
I dont even remember their names , though I claim to be fantastic with first names, helps only though in my story being an anon.

So I was in class 2, living in a very posh part of Lucknow 100 mtrs of Hatrazganj.
And there were these two kids brother and sister, I so much wish I could give them names for now. But why should I , who am I to give them names.

So these two kids were from slums, and I would often see them. My house was on a ground floor and I used to be outside house a lot. Also there was verandah on the back side .

I am trying very hard to recollect how I became friends with them, but i just cant. It only makes my story better. I think the boy was a litle older than me a year or two and the girl was as old or rather as young as me .

as usual in house hold they were do small works for us , and just be happy .

One day it rained, rained alot and the whole verandah was filled with water, I guess it was a drainage overflow and the water was black and dirty .

But still we three had made some water boats and were playing in water . I had a big boat, the boy had a very small sleek and smart boat and the girl just had a paper . she could not make it better than that .

As the boats were moving in the drain , my boat got stuck on the turn and this boy's went through. He just went ahead and threw a stone on his boat so that it drowned and I still be the winner. While he did so , my ego some how inflated.

Suddenly the girl started cheering his brother and went jubilant saying his boat won the race.

I don remember what I did , but after whatever I did the boy said to me "Sir, you have kicked a hungry stomach , god forbid but I will revenge it "

And then I never saw them in my life.
Its been 15 years now I still feel the guilt of it.

And am very scared ..... someday It will rain alot and that could be the day!

~Ak