Chauka..

4 jobs I’ve had:
well tough one.. cant think of any part time also..
its just 1

• Infosys - out of college
  

4 films I could watch again and again:
ohh.. there are so many..
i will list the ones which I have watched over 50 times

• Border
  
• Dil Chahta Hai
  
• Rang de Basanti
  
• Lakshya
  

4 places I’ve lived in:
Lived > = 1 month.. except for my home town chandigarh

• YamunaNagar - 4 years '90 - '94...
  
• Hyderabad - Infy training - 4 months
  
• Mysore - almost 2 years
  
• Bhillai - 1 month training at Bhillai Steel Plant
  

4 TV series I like to watch:
Not much of a TV buff I am

• FRIENDS
  
• great Indian Laughter Challenge
  

can't think of any other which I regularly watch


4 places that I’ve been on vacation to:
THere are 40 actually..so i will mention 4 states instead of which I have seen many major cities

• Rajasthan - Jaipur, JOdhpur, Udaipur, Ajmer, MOunt Abu
  
• Tamil Nadu - Chennai, OOty, Madurai, Kanya kumari
  
• Himachal Pradesh - Shimla, Kufri, Chail, Kullu, Manali
  
• West Bengal - Kolkata
  that covers North, South , EAst and west
  

4 websites I visit everyday:

• orkut
  
• Blog - mine and others
  
• Rediff
  
• Yahoo
  

in that order


4 books I’d love to read again and again:
not read much of non fiction

• India Unbound - Gurcharan Das
  
• The Godfather - mario Puzo
  
• Kane and Abel - Archer
  
• The Firm - Grisham
  

4 favorite dishes:

• Butter Chicken - specially at Sher-e-Punjab dhaba in sec 35, chd
  
• Rajma Chawal - no surprises
  
• Mutter paneer
  
• Aloo ka parantha ( Home made) with a tub of white butter(Home made) and a big glass of lassi (feeling sleepy - me too)
  

4 places where I’d like to be right now:

• Shimla - with friends on Mall road beatng the heat
  
• Lake, chd - with the college gang
  
• on a adventure trip to any where
  
• Mysore - just to be with ol friends
  

4 people I’m gonna tag:

• Amrut
  
• KT
  
• Rompy
  
• BHarath - long time since he has written a blog
  

i Lay waiting

I lay waiting for it to come
Mind Heavy
And body numb..
I stared at it
And saw what I was going to be...

I saw it in the eyes..
A scary face
But Soothing voice
What was it telling me..
I couldn't make out..


I was taken close to it..
An attempt to go far...
It's voice became clear..
And I knew what I will hear..
An Angel in White covered my head..
And sadly announced.."Brought Dead"

Music...

Music has been a part of my life for long now. From the early days in class 11th when I used to hear radio every morning 8.00 AM and record songs to a old battered cassette over and over again. To the college days when the computer came into my life and its around 15 GB was filled with songs . To present day where there is a stack of CD’s piled up with songs under variety of Old Songs.. bit old.. bit new.. new .. latest.. under headings like Hindi – film, Albums, Punjabi, English Rock, Soft rock, English Soft, Ghazals etc etc…
It used to be a selected Movie Songs 8 years ago.. then as friends came into lives.. with their own interests and choices – it kept on redefining my tastes and adding to the kind of music I heard.
Today with several genres under my interest list..its a matter of mood. I have the flexibility to change the music in accordance with the mood and be familiar to the song I am hearing and basically like it.
Some persons which were important musically in my life:

Rompy: At Mysore I was known as the source for all songs that any one wanted. But the source had to be fed too. Well, Rompy is usually the first person I look to for any demands made to me by others or even by my self. The reason is pretty simple. I guess he is the person in this world with who my music taste matches the most – from Ghazals to Rock - everything. So any day, if he pings or tells “abbey!! Vo gaana sunaaaaa!!!!”, I without hesitation ask him to send the song. And I can’t find many instances where I did not like the song.

One song which, on hearing, reminds of rompy– Dil de diya hai from Masti – I really don’t know why!!!! May be we heard it a lot of times in his car.

Amit: the Mohd rafi fan. I guess he would be the second person with whom my music interest matches. I got a first real taste of mohd rafi after coming in touch with him. But the genre of music common to us is limited to slow hindi/English or ghazals. He is more into Udit narayan/kumar sanu fan club.. Never heard him hear rock music.

One song which, on hearing, reminds of Amit: Jagjit Singh – har taraf har jagah beshumar aadmi..I guess because he introduced me to this ultimatteee ghazal....

Punnu: Quite similar to Amit… he has been a fan of nadeem Shravan types music. Don’t know much about now.. but in college it used to be the case.. he is also not much into rock or English.. I have memories of hearing Movie Songs on his compu most of the times. Punjabi songs is an addition which were not there in amit’s list of genres.

One song which, on hearing, reminds of Punnu: Tum Dil ki Dhadkan mein – Dhadkan..
Again don’t know why.. but he was very fond of this song..

Vishesh: I would be ever grateful to him for sending me 3 Nusrat Fateh ali Khan Ghazals/Kawaali – some of the best I have ever heard. Also the interest in Punjabi music – which was rare in Mysore was regenerated by Vishesh. He also has a wide variety of genres in his list some of which are quite different from mine – Rap for example. I tried enjoying that.. but cudn’t. Meaningful lyrics are important to me which rap doesn’t provide. Infact, it is amazing Vishesh can hear rap(not much of a lyricists delight) and also Nusrat with its excellent lyrics.

One song which, on hearing, reminds of Vishesh: Whenever I hear Nusrat Sa’ab’s Ho jave je pyaar.. te sona bhul jaanda or infact Bindrakhiya’s Tera Yaaar bolda…

Tanny and Train: They introduced Rock music to me. I always thought of rock as unnecessary high volume non sense… which actually made no sense.. but train and tanny asked me to try and concentrate on the music instruments.. the guitar, the drums… - then it will sound wonderful.. and indeed does if you carefully listen to the excellent guitar play..

One song which, on hearing, reminds of Tanny/Train : Niravana – Come as You are.

Lolly: Last but not the least.. lolly – the biggest source feeding the Hard disk with new songs in the early years of my Computer Life and thus forming a basis of my music interests today… He was least into Hindi Movie songs. But you could find a whole lot of Punjabi and English songs on his machine. In fact most of the Collection presently on my Hard Disk is by his virtue. (Of course except the Hindi ones). The last gift from him was the super hit number from Jal – Aadat si ho gayi hai.. Which among the other songs of Jal was part of life for around 4 months.. non stop.

One song which, on hearing, reminds of Lolly: Nachange saari raaat - stereonation– I guess it was one of the first song heard on his compu.. and heard it many times.

Security...

With the advent of Technology, there is an increasing threat to security – in every way… more threats by terrorists – who can much easily be connected and hence coordinate through use of the information highway.
Also, as more and more work is being carried on by electrons, it quite often results in invasion of privacy of individuals – by unknown people who can use the information for anything they like.
It can be for fun as well as for some serious damages.
One important task that has been taken on by the Internet revolution is the e-banking.
Though, I have to admit that this importance is limited to a very few set of people. More and more people are hooking on to the net but few really trust banking transactions like buying online tickets, funds transfer between accounts or paying bills online.
One is circumspect while doing this – after all it’s a matter of your hard earned money. What if the money lands in some other’s account? What of some one hacks your password and transfers all your money into his account, what if some one gets hold of your credit card number. All the fears in this regard are valid too. With increasing users, the anti-users are also increasing.
To prevent this and encourage consumers to use better and easy facilities, financial organizations continuously try to make the online transactions as safe as possible.
Ok.. enough of all this background work.. I will come to what happened with me.
I am a net savvy person. Everything from booking tickets to funds transfers or bill pay has to be through net only. It is a hassle free and quick way of doing things. (though I have faced some interesting hassles but they have not deterred me much)
So yesterday I had to transfer some money to a friend in Mysore. But he was not in my Payee List. So I had to Add him.
When I went to the “Add Payee” Section it had changed drastically. Now, you cant simply add in a Payee in 1 minute and make the transfer. Reason: What if someone else gets hold of ur password. Just logins in, adds himself as payee and yo.. ur account has been emptied in a matter of seconds. Though that would also require your Transaction Password and ATM debit card to be with the hacker.
To make matters safer, now to add a payee there is a complex procedure. You add a payee and then you have to get it authenticated by an Online Bank Officer. (there is 1 more way through mobile but it takes 5 days. So I took the former). Now I called up the bank Officer.

Me: Hi. I have registered a Payee for funds transfer. And want to authenticate it.
Bank Officer:Sure sir. I will do it. You need to answer some general questions.

VIVA time.. I had not given one since my college days.
Me: go ahead.

BO: Whats your Account number.
Me: 015XXXXXXX .

BO: ok. Your full name.
Me: (that’s an easy Viva) Sidharth Bedi

BO: Your date of birth
Me: 27 may 82.

BO: What is the complete address you mentioned while opening the account
Me(thinking):It is a Mysore account. Did I give the home address or office? Home address has less chance. It should be office.
Me: It’s Infosys Technologies Limited, Mysore.

BO: I want the complete address.
Me(thinking): what the hell !!what was it.. some 210.. manikonda village… hootagalli….was this hyd or mys..ohh 210, manikonda was hyd.. hootaglli was mys.. what was before that .. bull shit my memory.. 2 years I’ ve been there and now cant remember.. lets try.
Me: its Infosys, hootagalli, mysore.

BO: that is not the complete address. Shall I try another Question
Me(relieved): yes. PLzzzzz..

BO: What is your permanent address?
Me: (yes.. yes.. yes.. I know this one). H.no..XXXXXXXXXX, Chandigarh.

BO: ok. On which address do u receive your Account statements.
Me(thinking):when did I receive a statement. I always check it online. Ohh.. one statement comes in mail.. but that is for other account,..Me(mumbling): I don’t get a hardcopy.. I always check online..

BO: That doesn’t match with our records. I will ask another ques.
(déjà vu… I am in a college viva… I am sure about it.. Prof is staring me with a contemptuous look.. ‘if u don’t answer this then god help u’ )
BO: What are the documents you gave while opening the account.
(no.. no.. no.. I have started to believe that I am a hacker trying to hack some Sidharth bedi’s account)
Me: photo copy of I card.. and… and.. I don’t remember. It was 2 years ago…

BO: I am sorry sir. Then u have to tell the ‘Complete’ Address.
(I am in KBC… Amitabh bachchan is asking me the ques.. there is that spooky music in the background… spot light is on me.i have used my 2 lifelines..
I have to answer it correctly.. so I go for the third lifeline- SPARSH(infy intranet)… on which the address of all DC’s are written)Me: Just a moment. I will tell you.

BO: ok. I am on hold
Is show pe Samay ki koi pabandhi nahi.. aap jitna marzi samay le sakte hain…I check out the ‘complete address’ address and tell him.
Me: Infosys Technologies Limited… Plot No. 350-354, 368-372, 376… hebbal electronic city.. Hootagalli.. Mysore.. 571186..

BO: sir can you repeat the Pin code.
Me: 571186

BO: Sorry sir that doesn’t match with our records.
Me(pulling my hair apart): 570018????
(that just came out of the blue from some part of the memory where it had registered itself)

BO: OK sir. Now can you tell me the phone number?
Thankfully I remember the phone number. Because I had just updated the phone number on ICICI site and replaced mys number with chd number
Me(thinking): it must be the Mysore number…Me: 988XXXXXXX.

BO: This doesn’t match with our records. Do u remember any previous number
(I am going to kill him. Then I remember I have just changed the number).
Me: 9872XXXXXXXX

BO: OK sir. What is the account number you are adding to your payee list.
I tell him along with the name, nickname of the account holder.
BO: ok. This has been approved. You can go ahead and make transfers now.

Is it?? Is this real????
I have done it..
I have passed the VIVA!! Yahoooo……..

Baffling...

Sometimes Strange and extra ordinary things happen which forces us to think – how much is there what we don’t know about one of the most complex mechanism found on Earth. We are forced to sit back and ponder over human brain – using the same grey matter.
Is it mere coincidence, or the brain posses’ powers that can transcend thousands of miles and contact other human minds – more generally someone who is close to you.

Has it not happened during pre-mobile era that the landline rings in its usual shrill tone..and u instantly know – it is A or B… you pick the fone..and yo – u r correct!!!

Or does it not happen that you are sitting with friends..and two of you suddenly start humming the same song, wickedly at the same moment.

This is shown many times in movies also.. the one I can remember is Kal ho na ho
I, personally experienced this a LOTTTT of times – I am dialing a friends phone.. it is busy.. I try again.. its busy… after a few moments – the same person calls u.
“Arrey I was dialing ur number only”, u say.
“And so was I”, comes the reply

Or in case of mail… you compose a mail.. send it and a nano second later you see a mail in ur inbox – from that person.

Also in case of Chat..it happened.. I was chatting with a friend… suddenly, out of the blue both of us wrote – “today the weather is very good..”
The weather talk didn’t come into chat not 1 time before or after this happened.. only once it did and at the exactly same time.

The most recent experience which baffled me.. there was no contact with a friend for a quiet some time. Then one night I have a dream – with me and the friend having a good time.. and next morning I have a message staring in me in face… no prized for guessing who it was…I was like… Whatttttttttt.. How….???

I have come to believe that something is indeed there… Brains do interact at a level – we are unaware of.. in a manner unheard and in a way – unexplored.

Tagged...

Well.. I have also been tagged... for the first time...
though I understood what it is but wud really like to implore further..

Regarding this particular blog.. I have been tagged by Amey

Now What is this about...
I have a set of Questions (from Amey)..
now I run my playlist on Shuffle.. and as an Answer to each Ques I put the song being played(which is ofcourse random through the list)..
the Answer song may be absurd.. but some of them seem like perfect answers...

so here they are.....

1.How does the world see you?

24x7 i thnk of you!!! - 36 china town

Oh!! So everybody thinks of me 24x7.. cool.. I am flattered..

2. Will I have a happy life?

tere naaam humne kiya hai... jeevan apna saara sanam – Tere Naam

how can I be happy if I have done this????

3.What do my friends think of me as?

ladka bada anjaana sa hai - KKHH

my friends would know better ki why I am so Anjaana sa.. and baigana sa!


4.Do people secretly lust after me?

ladki kyu .. na jane kyu…. ladko si nahi hoti… - Hum tum

hahahha… what an answer by Winamp….


5.How can I make myself happy?

ishq ne tere .. ishq ne...kar diyaa diyaaa bekhabar!! - ahista ahista

less chances I can be happy – again as in Q2… Love comes accompanied by its opposite - Happiness


6.What should I do with my life?

khoon chala... badan se tapak kar.. - RDB

I am the power…. I will change the world.. carry onI???


7.Will I ever have children?

maahive mohabataan sachiyan ne... - kaante

mohabbatan sachiyan ne..The love is true… then why the stupid Ques…



8.What is some good advise for me?

hum na samjhe the... bat itni si.. khwab shhesshe ke duniya pathar ki.. Gardish..

never heard of the song before.. but it says a philosophical line – “Khwab Sheeshe ke.. Duniya pathar ki.” Dreams is like a brittle glass and the world is a big Stone.. they will never let you live your dreams..


9.How will I be remembered?

masti ki paathshaala - be a rebel!! - RDb

ok.. I will be remembered as a rebel… I don’t mind… cool with me!!!!


10.What's my signature dancing song?

mere khwaabon mein jo aaye.. aa ke mujhe ched jaye – DDLJ

‘ussse kaho kabhi saaamne to aaaye….’


11.What's my current theme song?

dheere dheere se meri zindagi mein aana... – Phool aur Kaaante..

agar saaaamne aaye(Q10) to dheere dheeere se aaye… taaki zor ka jhatka dheere se lage!!!


12.What do others think is my current theme song?

pyaar to hona hi thaa.... - pyaar to hona hi tha

pple are already thinking that saamne aaa gayi!!


13.What shall they play at my funeral?

maine dil se kaha dhond laana khushi.. na samjh laya gum , to yeh gum hi sahi...- Rog

ppl will be sad at my funeral… should not be… it should have been a tadak bhadak gaana..


14.What type of men/women do I like?

nach baliye.... - b&B

The dancing and singing one - Rani Mukjherjee kinds… infact any will do!!


15.How's my love life?

tadap tadap ke tune.. HDDCS

hahahaha…. Again a very intelligent reply from Winamp.

Going at 105

The breeze is wind
The road narrows down
And surroundings blur by..
I am Going at 105..

The fuel burns harder
Giving a foul odor
No.. the meter doesn’t Lie…
I am at going at 105

The steering shakes with excitement
The engine thunders
Making the black clouds Shy
Yes… I am Going at 105..

The mind is blank and eyes focused
The muscles are hardened
But the soul ready to Fly
Oh… I am going at 105

P.S: A tribute to my 17 year old Maruti 800 which I forced to touch 105 km/h for a good 30 – 40 seconds while going back from office last evening.

Back to 'Office'

It was like Back to Office today – the real office, if I may add.

After the miniscule office at Mohali, it was time to stretch ourselves to the huge office at Chandigarh.

After working in the colossal 250 acre Mysore campus, it didn’t seem like I was going to office at Mohali which was like smaller than even 1 wing of the Mysore’s 1 building and where you didn’t see more than 5 pple at 1 go.

So it seemed like really going to office on coming to Chandigarh office – with the usual buzz, hundreds of people around

Though the actual Infy building is not ready yet, but the Chandigarh operations are being carried out of DLF building opposite the Infy Titanic. Titanic because the ‘concept’ of Chandigarh DC complex is that of a huge Ship – with all the chimneys etc also in place. The DC, may be, symbolizes the Titanic size of the company.

The office inside also has an openly feel to it against the claustrophobic office at Mohali. And the cubicles are also 10 feet long, having a capacity to accommodate at most 7 persons. Though the ‘Titanic’ building follows the same 4 persons/cubicle concept. But these stretched out cubicles are sure a change from the regular ones. On the flip side, I am on the 1st floor and rest of the friends on Ground floor. Also here I am in this 7 person cubicle whereas in Mohali I had the privilege of a corner 2 person cubicle all by myself.

The so called Food Court here is worse than the Food canteen (Court) at Mohali. Actually it is make shift and not a proper one so we can expect some drastic improvements there.

The car, though is much happier here. One, it will not have to travel through the grueling distance in rush hours and encounter 9 traffic lights. It has to stop at maximum 2 crossings. The distance is less by around 5 kms and it can run above 80 speeds - free like a bird. Add to it the basement parking, where it will cool its heels the whole day to get ready for flight back in the evening.

NCERT - Right or Wrong???

As we sat watching CNN-IBN, KT remarked on the new controversy brewing,
"A new one today. The rate at which they are able to find new controversies is amazing".

"What has happened now", asked Akash, cutting salad for dinner.
"Arrey the same news which came in the morning - about changes introduced in the NCERT syllabus", KT elucidated

“Ya.. it was a big headline in newspaper today. What are they saying on TV”, I called out from Kitchen.
“these 2 persons have been invited for the kind of debate – Yogendra Yadav and J.S Rajput”
“Yadav is an intelligent and a sensible person”, I said coming into the hall.
“The whole thing is being politicized again”, KT scorned.
“Rajput is right. All this is politically motivated”, Akash pitched in.
“How can you say that?”, KT asked.
“They have added those Gujarat riots and Ayodhya issue – both anti-BJP points”, Akash answered.
“But 1984 riots have also been included dude!” I countered. “And I guess that was a black mark on Congress rather than BJP”

“But they are focusing mainly on the BJP issues. I am sure the 84 riots will be a small para and the other things whole chapters.”
“How can you say so”, KT also disagreed with Akash. “Yadav says that the new material will be written in a total non partisan manner”
“Yes and not even the first draft of the book is out. Moreover he said that no party, person or community will be mentioned”, I strengthened the point.
“Oh! How considerate”, Akash said sarcastically. “they will mention the year of riots, the place and the reasons for riots. How difficult it is to find out who are the benefactors and people behind it”
“Then let them know. Something wrong was done and some one was indeed responsible. Everyone knows then why not mention in the book” I said, with temper on the higher side.
“But what is the point in teaching children - the next generation about such riots and all. We should forget the past and move forward”, Akash said sensibly.
“Well!!! They ought to know about it. The next generation needs to know what mistakes our fathers and forefathers have made and they were indeed mistakes. How badly such actions affected people”, KT made his point.
“yes! And they also need to learn that such mistakes are not to be repeated ever again’, I agreed.
”But wouldn’t it result in making a unnecessary false impressions of various political parties and communities in the minds of youngsters??”, Akash made a valid point.
“I guess that is why they are not mentioning any particular party or community”, said KT
“But it is easy to find out man!!!”, Akash countered
“The onus is then on the team writing the books then. If they can write it in a way such as it serves the purpose of a learning experience instead of forming a negative or biased opinion against any one, then it will be a positive step.”, I concluded the discussion.


- A previous contoversy involving NCERT and Edcuation Ministry

Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna - as I see it!!!

The first thing I did after watching KANK was join the “I hate Karan Johar” community on Orkut. I am really struggling to find a reason that why his movies are such a hit. But, its after all a matter of perspective. When soaps like ‘Kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi’ can be hit so can karan’s movies.
Coming back to KANK, the storyline was so pathetically predictable that the long 3 and a half hours were a complete waste of time and money. in the first 10 minutes you come to know what is going to happen for the next 22 reels.
Adding to the storyline the acting of the protagonists were the same we have all seen again and again and again over the years. Shahrukh, though playing a different character than an adorable lover boy, has the same set of expressions – already seen a lakh times, winged arms while singing and that pathetic weeping scenes that have become regular now. I am shocked when I hear that “SRK made my actually cry” statement.
Rani and Priety give him company in some of this crying and though Preity is that bubbly extrovert woman (nothing new in that too), but Rani Mukherjee has hardly given a single smile in the whole movie. She has cried, cried and cried more. Abhishek is cool – I really think he should shave at least in scenes where he is getting married. Amitabh, is the only saving grace for the movie as he lents a sense of humour in the usual slow paced and boring movie. I was expecting some support in this regard from the usually humorous Kiron Kher but alas..!!!!!
Coming to the story, it is one which Bachelors like me can hardly relate to. May be that was a reason that I found the movie boring. But I really don’t think that married people in India will also identify much with the movie which is about love happening outside marriage. . The dialogues were superfluous – nothing new to karan’s movies. Many of my friends and I tend to remember dialogues from the movies we see and then test each other with questioning about the movie name. But I don’t recollect movies like Kuch Kuch Hota hai or Kabhi khushi kabhi gam featuring in such quizzes. This is simply because they are so heavy dialogues that it requires special powers to retain them in memory. The same will happen for kANK – I am sure.
Now coming to some positive points – visually the movie is a treat to eyes. The grandeur sets, the beautiful outdoors – all very pleasing to your senses. Music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is hummable but not a everlasting - for me it will be off my playlist within a few weeks. Costumes are always high point in Yash Raj and .Dharma Productions. In fact 1 major factor that I go to survive SRK movies is his dressing sense. In KANK, Abhishek has some nice jackets in his kitty. The big buckle belts, it seems are back with both SRK and abhishek adoring it. Big B’s dressing also vary from loud reds to sobre greys. Priety takes a bold and beautiful look.
The overall pace of the movie was slow and the 3.5 hr duration was a back breaker. Some songs were tooo stretched. Some body tell KAran that you don’t need to play the whole song in the movie. Cutting a para here and there doesn’t hurt.
All in all I am not going to watch the movie EVER again. And I would prefer watching RDB 30th time or Border 150th time or Lakshay 100th time any day rather than KANK.

But there were some highlights in the near 4 hours spent at the Theater – they were trailers of Kabul Express and Dhoom2. Kabul Express seems a ‘different’ movie set in Afghansitan and with background of Taliban and Osama and all. D2 on the other hand seems like a rocking movie – from trailers it looked better than Dhoom 1. Really looking forward to both these movies.

Exploitation of Youth by Politicians

My sister got this topic to speak on in her college... and asked me to write it...so penned down a few thoughts...though I really dont believe that TODAY's youth is subject to exploitation.

Something is happening in India today which is quite opposite to the general trend in most parts of the world like Europe, China and Japan.
In such major influential countries of the world, there is a remarkable increase in the average age of the population. India, noticeably is headed in the other direction.
There is a boom in the number of young, educated men and women the country is churning out at present. The average age is going down and the new blood has taken control of the nation’s reins in its hands propelling it further ahead at a remarkable pace.

This factor has resulted in a tremendous improvement of economy, coming of various multinationals, setting up bases in India especially in IT and BPO sectors. A large number of educated youth have gained employment through this and are today standing on their feet, leading an independent life.
But as the number of such ambitious, educated and mature youth is increasing, it is also posing a problem of plenty. With the increasing work force, more jobs need to be created.
More Education institutes need to be opened. And there is a lot left to be done to satisfy this growing power of India.

The role of Government in the development and providing the correct path for these youngsters is very crucial at this juncture. And it indeed is a very uphill task. To channelise such a large amount of energy and doing it effectively is a big challenge and politicians have to act positively and with determination.
But is this really happening??

Are our politicians up to the mark in doing their job. With concentrating on keeping their position safe, they tend to indulge in certain actions which amounts to exploitation. What exactly is exploitation. The dictionary says: Exploitation is ‘Utilization of another person or group for selfish purposes’. And this is exactly what today’s politician is doing. Gaining its benefits on the cost of others. In order to please a set of vote banks, lives of the next generation pioneers of the country are jeopardized. It is made insecure by changes so gargantuan that it is difficult to eat those changes without having a stomach. You have guessed it right. I am talking about the return of Quota Raj – brought to the fore a couple of months ago which suggested a drastic increase in the reserved category seats for higher educational institutes. It beats the basic logic of Merit which has resulted in enormous success of many of these institutes like the IIM’s and IIT’s. Isn’t this a clear case of gaining personal (or political) benefit at the cost of others – in other terms exploitation.
Youth are not as gullible as some selfish people would like them to be. Hence they are not easy votes. This is one of the primary reasons that he is at the receiving end always. That is why
different yard sticks are used when it is a matter concerning the young generation.
Quotas are being implemented for higher education but the primary education is left as it is. This results in a section of people remaining uneducated. If they become educated and well aware of the government roles in their lives, they would stand against it. Hence creating problems for the government. So keeping them ignorant is sometimes beneficial. What is this – isn’t this a greatest form of exploitation.
Such illiterate youth go on and join political parties as workers. Then whenever orders come from above, they are let into the streets where they disrupt public life, burn buses and some times kill people. What for – just because some one said it. They are unable to form a opinion themselves. They are unable to look for a reason for their doings. They are just blindly following some one. This is exploitation.
Student unions in universities and colleges which are formed as a voice of a student have been transformed into a political game field. Instead of sowing the seeds of positive thoughts and progressive ideas, many of these student bodies have become arm of big political parties and the fight for rule extended from state and central governments to student associations. The internal politics, fights which are many a time fought literally with fists and fury defeat the main purpose of having such organizations in educational institutes. Molding young students to their ideology, results in breeding of similar power hungry demagogues of future. Whereas we should be looking at educationally sound, dynamic leaders with a vision for future development.

Today’s youth is a very Aware youth. He is mature and getting increasingly understandable of what is affecting him. With the advent of technology, Internet boom, blogs , hundreds of news channels pouring in news 24/7/365, a youth today is able to form his opinions and more importantly express them in a right way. He has the ability to question the motive and the reasoning behind the logic of actions taken by the government. This increasing awareness is very important both to the development of a person as well as the nation. It will make the workings more transparent and a direct impact of this will be reduction in exploitation – not only youth but everyone. The future is fresh and bright and the onus is on US to mould it our way. For this we not only need to keep an eye on our surroundings but actively participate in the policy making. Only criticizing the politicians is also not correct. We should be a part of them and stand for what is correct - this while being honest and true to heart. Then only we can see the dream of a developed nation come true!!

Funny....

Some things happen in your daily routine that make you smile – what we can call situational comedy. Thalir once wrote a Blog on some of these funny situations and goof ups in our daily office life.

Starting yesterday and continuing today, I also experienced a funny turn of events.
Ok this is what happened.
I was assigned a task by let us say PM1(Amitabh Bacchan). It was an urgent requirement. I was asked to take the code etc from ML1(Shahrukh Khan). Shahrukh is usually very busy and has loads of work. Whenever there is an issue, everyone is asked by seniors to contact him only. Ok. Now Shahrukh gives me the code etc. This is not the normal setup we usually do. It is somewhat different. As I am setting up the code (right folder, correct classpaths etc), some doubt arises. So I get back to SRK asking about this Doubt.
As usual, he seems very busy. He quickly tells me that the file ‘A’ needs to be modified (which by the way I knew) and to send the file to SE1(Salman) who will do the modifications. I send it.
So the cycle till now is Amitabh --> me --> SRK --> Salman

Now, I have a long discussion with Salman on MSN and then on Phone.
An excerpt:
Salman: Shahrukh had done a similar thing. You can ask him.
Me: (smiling at the irony) He only asked me to contact you.

Salman is not able to provide a satisfactory solution. I try some things myself but to no avail. The problem is at 1 of the 2 places – the server (controlled by Sallu) or the file ‘A’ which has certain settings dependent on the server only.
I try to contact Shahrukh again, but he has left for the day.
As I near my EOD, I finally decide to ask Amitabh Bacchan only.
So it is Amitabh --> me --> SRK --> salman (who has refereed SRK) --> Amitabh.
Now Amit jee has a look at the error.

Me: So this is the error.
Amit jee: I guess u shud ask Shahrukh or PM2(dharmendra)
Me: Shahrukh has left for the day.
Amit jee: it seems dharam phaaji also has gone.
So I also leave for the day, with instructions to contact Dharmendra in the morning.

Next morning, it is Dharam phaaji’s turn to enter the picture.

Amit jee --> me --> SRK --> Salman (who has refereed SRK) --> Amit jee (refers SRK and Dharam phaji) --> garam dharam

He looks at the error. Gives some indicators at what could be the problem. I listen patiently despite knowing where the problem was. It is very advisable to shut up and listen when a more knowledgeable person is speaking, even if you already know what he is saying. Sometime during that listening, you may hear something seemingly inconsequential. You give it a try and yo!!.. it works!

But no such inconsequential hearings came out of our discussion. Now Dharamendra asks me to mail the file to ML2( Kajol)

There is no response from kajol for a long time so I refer back to Dharam phaaji to refer any one else. PM3(Rekha) comes to stage now.

Rekha mails back with Kajol and Shahrukh (again!!!!!!!) in CC.

Kajol meanwhile asks SRK (off the record) to see the issue as he has already done it.

So it is back to Shahrukh.

He contacts me!!
The cycle has turned full circle

Amitabh --> me --> SRK --> Salman --> Amitabh --> Dharamendra --> Kajol --> Rekha --> Kajol --> SRK

Shahrukh now tries to solve the problem – cannot.
SRK: I guess we need to ask Dharam phaaji about this.
Me (pulling my hair): I have already done that.
SRK: ok. Then we need to ask Karan Johar. I will consult with Kajol on this.

Will Shahrukh and Kajol be able to find a solution. Will Karan Johar come into picture. Will Salman be able to get a meaty role in all this.
Will I be able to finish the work????
Watch out this space for the answers!!!!!!!

Mesmerized...

If you ask me to single out a reason to spend the rest of life in Chandigarh today, I would probably say – Sukhna Lake
The man made lake stands majestically in 1 corner of the city beautiful. I have been to lake thousands of time and not 1 time it has failed to impress me.
Scores of Chandigarhians throng the picture perfect setting everyday for a variety of reasons.
You can be there with a group of friends to make hullah.. or sit quietly on the edge of water with your loved one
You can run 4km on the jogging track or have a leisure stroll on the road necklacing the lake.
You(Kids) can enjoy the joy rides or can just sit in the nature’s lap admiring the beauty.

It was around 7.15PM today when I reached the 1 km mark while jogging and the scene which met my eyes left me spellbound – literally. I tried to capture it in the camera but no matter how beautiful the photos may look, it doesn’t do justice to the atmosphere which one feels in the midst of the gorgeous setting.
I just sat there completely immersed by the gargantuan Blue colored Himalayas, a thick green cover of trees at its feet. And both of them casting a sensuously strange colored shadow in the light bluish waters. The blue cloudy sky with orange thrown in a truly artistic fashion completed the setting. And I sat there, mesmerized by the spectacle. It was a rare few minutes when the mind was blank – no office, no home, no future, no past or present. Just the magnificence of Nature.

20-20 or 50-50??

Too Slow… Meandering… Boring…. Action less…. Lacks Pace…. These were some of the comments which our ‘Unofficial’ National Game cricket got during and after the Soccer World Cup (American ‘Soccer’ sounds better than our ‘Football’.. Doesn’t it?)

In Soccer there is non stop action for 1 and a half hours – there is continuous dribbling maneuvering, attack (both on the goal and the players)… whereas in cricket it is a long drawn battle lasting 8 hours..
It’s difficult to get away those 8 hours of the busy lives and devote them purely to a cricket match. Not that people don’t do it. I myself have done it innumerous times but its tough – really.
So to make the game more interesting Cricket has been narrowed down further. It was done once earlier, when ODI was introduced in 1971 on an international level. And now with India approving to field its best team, the further narrowing has been almost complete. The new version is 20-20. The 20 over – 3 hour game is indeed a highly shortened and an exciting mode of entertainment. The basic demand of the game being to score maximum runs in the 20 overs with batsman dominating on a batsman friendly wicket and only 1 way to go – the boundary.
What will be the result of such a change?
From the spectator point of view it is Highly entertaining – flourish of Runs, lots of 4’s and 6’s and flamboyant, aggressive and arrogant batting will be on display specially from the players like Sehwag and Dhoni. Without a care in the world about losing their wicket, the red cherry is destined to be literally slaughtered. This would further invite much more audience.
But on the flip side, it has the potential to wreck havoc for One Day Internationals.
The ODI is fast becoming more into a 50-50 game. 300 runs becoming a norm, more than 400 runs scored by teams - it is very rarely we see Bowlers winning matches.
It is very necessary to score runs quickly. What I fear is that with this attitude becoming ubiquitous in world cricket, a time may come that they permanently reduce the 50 overs to 20 overs as the small game is bound to bring in more revenues, advertising and crowds. As the number of matches increase, ODI’s value will decrease.
The youngsters will be keen to become a batsman rather than a bowler. The motive will be to score runs – anyway you can rather than learning correct techniques of playing.

ODI checks temperament of a player. An ODI champ is the one who balances his skills with the character.
In a 50 over match, it happens a lot of times that one team lands up in dumps but still it has the opportunity to stand up amid that destruction. And when it does stand up, it raises a Hero along with it - the beauty being that the Hero is different each time. This game of rising, failing and again rising is what makes cricket UNPREDICTABLE. And it is due to this attribute that we love cricket. And it is this very attribute which I feel will be missing in a 20 – 20 match.
There would be no sudden changing of gears, or waiting for centuries with sopped breaths, or bowlers planning their wickets (4 overs/bowler in the match), no respect for the preciousness of your wicket, less specialized bowlers and less stress on fundamentals of cricket.

I am not at all against 20-20 version. But don’t let the spirit of a One Day International die.

Yes, it is difficult to sit and see the whole cricket match all those hours especially with offices to go to and colleges to attend to. But I have little doubt that when a cricket tournament starts (which is pretty soon) students will be crowded at the canteen TV, the IT offices’ internet networks will be jammed by thousand refreshes per second being happening on cricinfo/cricbuzz.com, the TV shops will have the ‘passing crowd’ crowded outside their windows and the whole nation will literally come to a halt if Sachin is on 99.