Saturday, November 22, 2008

Reel to Real Politics: Will he take the plunge?

Bal Thackeray has been praising Rajni a little too much. Right from the Hoggenakal issue, which he praised Rajni for and stated that the Big B should follow in Rajni's footsteps, to the very recent view about Rajni's duties in Tamil Nadu being over, Thackeray has been all praise for the superstar who is Marathi by birth. Is there something brewing here or is it all just a lot of words being spoken? We have had a lot of news doing the rounds about how Rajni's fans are urging him to join politics. The mass following for a single person in Tamil Nadu has never been so great after the iconic MGR, who was loved by one and all.

I guess we need to watch this space to see if Rajni will indeed enter politics, be reluctantly dragged into it or just abstain from it totally. My bet is on Rajni entering politics with a bang. Wonder if it will, in any way improve the present situation and if we TN will get a very charismatic leader eventually. Well, if he decide to run for CM then his political speeches will be worth listening to, especially because they will sound extensively like many of his movie dialogues. :)

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Sparkling dreams.

There I was, lying down and looking up into the beautiful sky. Several white objects sparkling in the sky. But then I realised the objects were getting bigger and some were disappearing only to reappear in spots nearby. I sudden chill creeped into my shoulders through tiny gaps under my shirt. My thoughts raced back a few minutes and I was walking towards the library from my supply chain management class. It was snowing and mildly and I was witness to a beautiful evening filled with dark skies from as early as 5 in the evening.

I was almost at the library when i saw Her. There she was, getting covered with snow with every passing moment, looking really elegant. I had fallen in love with her instantly. Those well rounded curves, the sparkling eyes shining in the artificial evening light, the mesmerisingly silky skin. What more can a guy ask for?! I was immediately drawn to it and with a quick start began racing towards her as she started moving away. What I did not realise was that I was wearing worn out sneakers and on a pavement filled with snow it was not going to be of much help. I could take only a couple of steps before losing grip and dancing around in a zig zag manner to balance the bulk of my body without falling down.

Somehow I managed to remain standing and started going after my target again. But Her 350 horse power engines were too fast for me. Yes, all this while I had been talking about the Porsche 997 Carrera S. A masterpiece from the Porsche stable that any car fan would like to own. I did not even get a chance to click a snap standing next to the silver car. A missed chance indeed! With that disappointment playing on my mind I made an erratic turn towards the library and......

"Hey Vats.. Vaaaats!! Get up da.. What the hell are you doing on the pavement?!", my friend called.

It then dawned on me that I was lying down on the pavement next to a street on the university campus after having slipped in the snow. The sparkling objects were beautiful snow flakes descending from the skies. A familiar sight for the past few days, I had not been lucky to get such a view. I slowly started to feel colder when i realised that tiny flakes had sneaked into my pants from under my sweatshirt during the fall. With some help I managed to get up and start my walk back to the library. With a statistics homework and assignments in both supply chain and economics due for the coming week I had to endure a long night at the library. But every now and then the Carrera S flashed across my eyes. At least I knew which car i want to buy when I become a filthy rich guy. But before that, I would have to complete my master's program and finish Grad school, starting with the never ending stream of assignments which will thankfully end in the second week of december. Probably after that, I can chill out in the sub-zero weather at Syracuse.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

What we need to learn from the Aussies.

Over the past couple of years, we have had several on-field incidents between cricket players from India and Australia. There is one point that we need to carefully notice and that is the fact that invariably it has been the Indian players who have been fined and banned. Rarely have the Australian players lost any percentage of their match fee or been banned from playing in any matches. Be it Harbhajan being banned in Monkey-gate, or be it Gambhir being banned for elbowing Shane Watson, or be it Zaheer Khan being fined for taunting Hayden after his dismissal in the second test of the ongoing test series between the two nations, its always been our very own Indian players at the receiving end.

Is there something we Indians need to learn from the Aussies? I guess we need to learn one very important thing and that is "HOW NOT TO GET CAUGHT?" The Australians have mastered this art all too well. It was Shane Watson who started to flare Gambhir up, with Simon Katich also joining in. It was a sensational reply from Gambhir with a hammering pull shot off Watson's bowling on his way to scoring a dazzling double century. But on his way to the landmark, he also left a blackmark in the form of the elbowing incident.

Mike Hussey has accused Gambhir of being on the lookout for opportunities to intimidate players from the opposition. Now what he does not realise, or probably does not want to mention is that Gambhir has been made to think like that because of comments from the opposition. He is still a young player and the young blood in his veins seem to be flaring him up. Rarely do we notice the experience lads like Dravid, Ganguly or Sachin react in such a manner. They have been there, done that, and know very well how to tackle the situation.

The Australians have somehow become experts at sledging their opponents and provoking them into sayiong and doing things that warrant legal action, while they get let off with only a word from the umpires on the field. When the players are questioned about their integrity, they lack the patience and composure to answer the questions in a dignified manner- Ponting of course. They call the opposing captain's complaints unwarranted, even if a player from their team spits at a player from the opposition- Lara's complaint about Mcgrath spitting on Griffith.

If I am not mistaken I think Ponting made a comment when Ishant Sharma was dismissed as the nightwatchman in the second innings of the third test. It sounds funny does it not?! Of all the people to sledge after dismissing, it has to be Ishant Sharma, the tailender. I guess Ishant will be sensible enough to take that as a compliment to his batting skills. I think the Indian players need to learn the art of not getting caught for any aggression from the Aussies, or give up any aggression and stay calm like the seniors in the team, or do it the best way- let the bat and the ball do the talking.

An interesting final test on the cards, lets hope we bring home the Border-Gavaskar from Oz land. Its been wuite a while since we had it here.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Life's Good here...

Finally, I get some time to write something. Life on the busy lane has started for me, with classes on four days of the week, from Monday to Thursday and part-time job and Seminars taking over Friday and the weekend. I do not have any day which is completely free and I am surprisingly not unhappy about it. I guess with the weather getting colder by the day I do not wish to venture out and see the tourist locations on offer in the North East.

After the initial homesickness and loneliness life now feels very good. I guess one of the main reasons is the fact that I am enjoying my courses and class work. The teaching here is very good and more than how well they teach in class, their ability to make you work towards deadlines in the form of assignments and homeworks gives the additional push required to make you learn the subject well. Only now do I understand how all the toppers, Fundoos and so called Padips(Nerds) felt while being good at what they did best. It is actually a great feeling to learn on your own and do the assignments for the following class.

In my Statistics course, I am proud to say I am among the students who understand the subject well and do the assignments with relative ease. To my surprise, well actually to me shocking surprise, people here are using even my solutions and guidance to complete their assignments and to prepare for the weekly quizzes in class. A feeling that cannot be easily explained takes over when such a thing happens. It was not so long back that I, as a student of NIT, Trichy, used to rely upon others for the assignment and not care one bit about doing even a little part of it on my own. We used the few hours just before submission deadline to copy down from the people who had spent a night or two completing it. Sometimes we even managed to persuade the teacher to postpone the submission date for the simple reason that we had been lazy enough to not even copy the assignments.

Well, coming from that system I choose to look at the situation here in the US as a welcome change, because the primary reason I am here for is to study. Only while doing these courses do we people in the India also realise how monotonous our system in India is. Even mathematics was a subject which was made theoretical by the teaching methods and there was no effort taken to make the students develop an interest in the subject. If such a thing had been established in our system then I could have probably waived off an entire Statistics course here and taken up another course of my choice. But, the fact that I did not put in a complete effort during my under-grduation in this course has led me to take up the course and learn it properly on this occasion.

As for my part-time job, well I finally have permanent shifts at a Dining hall( The US version of our Indian college Mess) and my job involves handling anything and everything that people eat. Being a vegetarian, I initially expected that it would not be a comfortable and pleasant experience, but the fact that we handle all the stuff using gloves and also that all the food is processed and refrigerated, nullifies any odour the food stuff may have. On the whole I have no qualms about my work apart from that it does take up my weekend and also that it is a tiring job. Working in the salad bar can be fun, as some of my friends working in other universities' dining halls will agree, because it involves cutting nice fruits and vegetables and since the work involves all fresh items, the job in itself feels fresh.

Well, I have my dining hall shift starting in half an hour. Though its only a 5 minute walk from the library I am in, I will be going early so as to avail the luxury of enjoying free food in the dining hall. It is a tricky proposition because we need to figure out which stuff is vegetarian and which is not. That is what takes a while. :)

Friday, August 22, 2008

Something is not right

Sitting in a dark room with just my laptop monitor illuminating the hallway, a sense of loneliness has finally taken over. I do realise now, how much I miss my dear own India and all those people I used to either meet or be on the phone with. My parents, whom I did not miss much when I was doing my under-graduation in NIT, Trichy are on the other end of the globe now and I can feel their absence to the fullest. Homesickness!! I guess it has finally entered my life.

I have had a mixed second week in Syracuse with a lot of stuff happening. From attending orientations and being served very nice Indian food to not being able to sleep on a friday night when I have nothing to do, I can only agree to the fact that my week has indeed gone well contrary to my current mood. I have finally managed to end my part-time job hunt by landing myself with a few shifts with one of the dining halls in the University campus area. It comes with a handsome pay of 8.8$ per hour. Apart from that, I have managed to apply for my Social Security number and have cooked a dinner for five singlehandedly. With only my classes to look forward to and with noone to speak to I seem to be lost for words. the Requeim for a Dream theme music playing in the background only adds to my mood.

Being suddenly thrown out of immediate contact with "My World", as I would like to call it, brings back only those fun moments I have had in plenty and immediately the current situation hits me in the gut like a solid punch! I have to say this place is doing all the possible things to keep me occupied with some work or the other, but I have managed to hit an alltime low. there is only one thing that makes me feel glad and that is the fact that I am slimmer and trimmer than the average American person. Every second person I see is fat and bulky and when I say bulky I mean it!! They must weigh at least 300 pounds or 125 odd kilos. :)

But that does not stop me from walking at least 6 miles everyday and trying to find time to visit the gym to play some squash. I know many of you have been looking forward to hearing a lot about this place and how different it is. I promise to write a lot more in my future posts. For now I just wish to throw my loneliness at you so that I can feel better and approash my next few days in a relieved manner.

I am sure I have spoken on behalf of most of my friends who have come here and are missing all the friends and parents from back in India. Please do let me know if I have correctly echoed your sentiments.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

My Second First Week in the US

Well I finally managed to somehow reach "The Land of Dumbasses" taking a couple of Lufthansa and United Airlines flights. On the whole it was a very comfortable journey bringing back haunting memories of the night of 30th when I was stranded at the airport with nowhere to head but back home. This time though I was intent on getting to the US and to my university at Syracuse. When my wait finally ended at around 6pm local time on the 8th of August -well that reminds me about the special date on which I travelled, 08-08-08. How many people can boast of an immigration stamp which has this date on it?!! To say I was only a little excited when I got down at the Hancock international Airport would be an understatement. I wanted to look around the campus right away and see how different the place is. I was dropped home by a very nice Indian couple whom I came to know through my father. They were really helpful and full of warmth. It was only when I was taking a ride with them did I realise that I was not the only one who felt that there is a dearth of good films coming from Kollywood. They also felt the quality of music in films nowadays is below average.

I had landed on a friday evening and would not be able to report to the university till the morning on the following monday. So I decided to go shopping with the guys here and they took me to Walmart. The first impression one gets when he steps into this store is WOW! Well, at least that is how I felt when I went around the place. Such a huge shop with a very high variety of goods all available at cheap prices and in excellent quality. It is not easy to describe such a store and give the best and excat idea. One must be there to feel the brilliance and grandeur of the place. As for me, I picked up loads of stuff from a comforter to a pedestal fan to a floor lamp to basic stationery and some eatables for our house. I came back home to realise how big the mattress I have is. It is a KING size mattress which means its bigger than two single beds put together. It takes up 70% of my room and is the most comfortable mattress I have been in.

Then came Monday morning and I reported to the Center for international services and finished my paperwork in a jiffy with assistance from my good roommate Mr.Anand. I did not fail to notice the free candy on offer at the Center and grabbed a couple of 'em. I also got a chance to visit the Library and make use of the internet facilities there. It is an excellent facility with everything right from a common printer to photocopying machines. But as it is the case in all places acrosses the US it costs to take printouts or make copies.

Apart from attending several seminars and getting paperwork done the other thing I have been running around for is an on-campus job. Its the one thing that has been evading me for a while. I have even been given an employment letter but then later rejected shifts for the job. Running from one end of the campus to the other has become very common. The only respite is that the weather is cool and pleasant and the campus is really beautiful. Though I claim the weather is very pleasant it is very unpredictable and it can go from being hot and sunny to dark and cloudy with thundershowers in a matter of minutes. It was on one such day when we decided to play football with a few seniors and a couple of Professors in a nearby ground. Though it seemed to be a fun experience for a few minutes it turned nasty with very windy and heavy showers that took quite a while to subside.

On another day I went to the Gym with my friends here and we were dumbfounded by the facilities there. What was on display was a few basketball courts, some squash and racquetball courts and a huge gymnasium. We were so overwhelmed by it all that we played basketball, squash, racquetball and then went out with the seniors to play football also. We were thoroughly exhausted and were expecting a comfortable ride back home when the seniors instead took us to a volleyball court when it was getting really cold. We were in our shorts and a strong and cold breeze was blowing. What was worse was the fact that we had to remove our shoes to play on the sandy courts and it had rained that morning, which meant that the sand was wet and very cold. Once all of us got back home that night we just cooked something in a hurry and ate it up and went to sleep very early.

If its one thing I like about this place and dont like at the same time its the bus service. Many a time they are irregular and not on time, but this reminds me of India which makes me happy. :) Speaking about India, there is a very new and young Indian student Association here at my university and we decided we needed to clebrate August 15th and remember the day when we got our independence. I should say it was a fun experience with a small snack arranged- in this country snack is biscuits, cookies, cheese, salami. After the snack we had a nie speech by one of the freshers here for this Fall and we followed that up with a pretty good rendition if our National Anthem. Am sure Mr. Tagore would have been proud of us. :)

The best structure on campus would be the Carrier Dome, where all the football(American football- gosh i hate it when they call football soccer!!) and lacrosse games take place. It is a splendid piece of work and you cant take your eyes off it for a few moments. Syracuse has a great sporting history with one of the best basketball teams, a superb lacrosse team and a well respected football team. Please do catch the upcoming film called The Express to know more about Syracuse university and a special football player back in the 1800s. Am sure you will find the campus green and beautiful.

Well, I guess I have written a pretty good amount of stuff as part of my first actualy week in the US. I actually call it My Second First Week in the US for reasons my previous blog would have explained. It has been fun so far, but once classes start is when it gets all busy busy and hopefully with an oncampus job I should make some money for myself. Lets hope for the best. I will keep writing about my life here heeding to the request of some people in India who wanted to see Syracuse through my eyes. :)


Thursday, July 31, 2008

My First First Week in the US

Flying over the Atlantic in a nice flight with some nice european air hostesses tending to my needs. I can also see a huge mass of water below me. What lies ahead is the 'Land of Dumbasses" as one of my friends calls it. A land where it is totally different from the one I have been in all this while. The flight would soon land in the capital of the Big Apple and I would set foot onto the stupid superpower called US of A. From there I would be taking a flight to Syracuse where I will be spending most part of the next two years doing my MS. I have a lot to look forward to since Syracuse is apparently a beautiful city and the university is one of the oldest and finest. And its situated in New York state. I would be a mere five hours drive from the City that never sleeps-NY City. Times Square, Wall Street...... an endless list of amazing things to look forward to. On the other side I need to drive only for a little more than two hours to get to horseshoe falls or Niagara falls as it is known to all. Its going to be one hell of an experience living and studying in the US. So much to look forward to and its all just a few hours away. Its going to be a dream come true. I am going to have an awesome time...................................................... SLAP!!! "Get up da... Its 12:30pm!!"

Back to reality!! Harsh reality I must say. I am still in my same old bed in my dusty room cursing the strike going on at Frankfurt. I spent most part of the night in the Check-in area in the Anna International terminal. All packed and set to make my first visit to the US, I entered the airport and slowly made it through the snakelike long queue to the counter only to find out my connecting flight from Frankfurt to Washington DC has been cancelled due to the stupid strike at Frankfurt. They took my ticket and asked me to wait for a 'few minutes'. I waited with a few other people who had the same problem. A bunch of eight who had a connecting flight to Atlanta were also stranded and sidelined because of this issue. The Lufthansa people took their own time to set things right. I was there at 10:45pm. After a while we were asked to move from where we were standing because they were setting up that space to check in passengers for another flight to Dubai. We were just being pushed around like mere pieces of baggage and not given proper information as to when we would be put on a flight. It took them quite a while to find out they could not put us on any flight within the next few hours and that I would have to travel the following day.

I was keeping myself occupied by making phone calls to tell my friends I would be in India for at least another day. My parents and relatives were waiting eagerly to find out what action was being taken by the Lufthansa officials. It was 1pm and still they had not found an alternate arrangement for me. The patient lad that I am, I did not create a big scene over there. It took a lot of pressurising and some blasting from my father to finally get me a ticket to my final destination. They handed me my new plan at 3:15am! What an experience! more than four hours at the airport on a night when I knew in a short while that I would not be travelling anytime soon. The flight plan they had come up with was not favourable and my dad took it up with our travel agent and came up with the plan of having me flown into the US on the 8th of August. So here I am, sitting at home with a very funny feeling.

Having said Goodbye to the whole of India, it feels very weird to meet and speak to all of them again and tell them I got screwed by a stupid workers strike in Frankfurt. Every few minutes I just think about what I am going through and laugh my ass off, for that's all I can do. What a superb way to start my journey to the US. What was supposed to be my first week in the US, I am now spending in Chennai. God knows what more he has in store for me. I will just hope its all positive this time. And that I dont have to do a Tom Hanks(The Terminal- for the uneducated) role again and that I can write what I have written right at the top when I am actually on the flight to the US.


Monday, July 7, 2008

Long live the Rivalry! All Hail Fed vs Nad

The score was 8-7 in the fourth set tie-breaker and Nadal was serving to take the Wimbledon gentlemen singles championship for the first time in his career. At this moment only one amazing moment came back to my mind. The 4th set in the 1980 marathon five setter between the great Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe. McEnroe took Borg to a tie-breaker and in a similar situation fought off Championship points that Borg had and forced a fifth set. I wondered if Federer was looking to do the same and take it to a fifth and final set against the unrelenting Nadal. And it did happen, with Federer playing some mind-blowing tennis to win the next three points and push the final into a fifth set.

What a comeback the spectators were witnessing. They had already earned their money's worth when they saw both the players play out-of-the-world tennis in the first three sets in which Federer showed his determination to come back from being two sets down (4-6 4-6) to take the third one in a tie-breaker 7-6(7-5). And now with every additional point being played, each person sitting in the stands of Centre-court at the All England Lawn Tennis Club was sure that they would witness one of the greatest comebacks in a Wimbledon final and also that they would probably witness the best ever Wimbledon final in the modern era. Federer, according to me, played the best tennis he has played in the year 2008.

He proved why he is the champion that he is by repeatedly saving break-points and closing the door for Nadal each time. How he did this is a different story altogether. He served those impeccable aces when he needed them most- the most significant being the four that he served in the third set tie-breaker itself- and also played some sensational ground strokes to keep Nadal in check. From the point when Federer forced a fifth set, there was only one thought running through my mind and that was - Is Federer going to win the match and set a new record of six straight Wimbledon titles to beat Borg's record of five and do it in an Epic battle like the 1980 finalhe won against McEnroe?? Well, the answer was a disappointing NO. I sat through the whole match which lasted nearly 4h 40' and when Nadal served out to take the final set 9-7 I realised that there was never going to be another better Wimbledon final for a long time.

Federer may have lost to Nadal after staging the greatest comeback, but according to me he has announced his return to form with a classic display of his skills. I believe he is better equipped to face the Hard court encounters that will soon resume as we build up to the last Grand Slam event of the year at Flushing Meadows in New York City. Nadal on the other hand has shown to the whole world that he is the one player who can keep improving with every single point that he plays and at a young age of just 23, he has a lot of tennis left in him. I believe he will remain the undefeated man on clay for the next three years at the least and will easily surpass the record that Borg holds at Roland Garros with six titles against his name.

I am soon heading for Syracuse University situated in Syracuse City, situated about five hours from NY City. I was planning to save up money to visit the Flushing Meadows next year to witness the great Roger Federer play in the final at the Arthur Ashe stadium at a minimum cost of 80$(thats a lot, but to see such tennis be played I consider it dirt cheap :) ). But having seen the quality of tennis that these two greats have brought out of each other I am thinking about reconsidering my decision and making a trip this year itself to the Championships to witness another staggering display of tennis. Will I get tickets after going there is a big question but if I do and provided that my parents agree, I will be the first person into the stadium on the day it will happen. For all you know maybe noe of them may not even make it to the finals with a player like Novak Djokovic around, but if either of these two players plays even half as well as they did against him then they will easily breeze past him. Such is the quality of these two greats.

I had earlier written about a great rivalry between these two players that has grown and grown over the last few years(The Great Rivalry that is... dated June 8th) and while I was writing that piece of text, I deliberately shied away from comparing this rivalry to the Borg-McEnroe and Sampras-Agassi ones. But now I am proud to say that this rivalry has reached the same standards, if not bettered them in terms of the sheer brilliance of the tennis, the emotion in the games, the extent to which each player pushes his own physique and also the magnificent tennis that each player is able to force out of the other.

Long live the rivalry and may these two entertain each and every soul that comes to watch them play(Well I want to be one of them... :):) And I am hoping to soon be one too!) and bestow upon them the best quality of tennis they can deliver.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

QUOTA QUOTA QUOTA!!!

Am back after a brief hiatus. In my last blog I discussed how the absence of a state-wise quota would affect the student mix at the NITs. Today I would like to take up the issue of the most stupid move yet to be made by the ruling government's HRD ministry. The proposed introduction of SC/ST/OBC quota for lecturers and assistant professors in the best engineering institutes in our country aka the IITs can possibly have only one effect- The standard of teaching will come down. The great professors and excellent faculty at the IITs has been their treasure. It is a matter of pride to one and all that these brilliant brains have stayed back in India or have come back to their home country instead of staying abroad in the universities where they may have attained their PHDs from.

They command a lot of respect and are able to rake in the funding required to carry forward all the research work that is going on in the IITs today. These R&D efforts have worked wonders in small and big ways. They have incubated several small but fast growing organisations from their own laboratories and are the base foundation for the way our nation's people are slowly being recognized on the global R&D platform. The cheap, intelligently made handy products are well appreciated and several other countries have started requesting for more such customized products. All this has been possible because the professors and researchers have constantly been churning out ideas with their brilliant application skills.

These esteemed members of the faculty have even turned down plum offers from new private engineering institutes and have stayed back in IITs because they realise the quality and standard of these institutes and want to enhance it further. But this stupid move to bring in 27% OBC, 15% SC and 7.5% ST will only anger these members of the faculty. And how will the administration choose which ones to send out and which ones to keep?? It is a move that is purely political in nature and will only draw flak from even the students who hail from those communities. The students will know the professors under whom they want to pursue their courses and they would always prefer that the quality of the professors is good and not that they are from a particular caste or community.

What angers one and all is the fact that the recent moves made by the government are all only going to degrade the standard of the IITs on the world stage. At a time when these premier institutes are gaining a good stead across the globe such a move is bound to only delay the same. It will take much longer now for foreign students to choose these engineering colleges as their destination to do pursue their education in. What the ministry claims is that if it finds a dearth of asst. professors and lecturers after a year then they can remove this quota system and revert back to the situation that prevails now. The thing they dont realise is that once some of them leave from there, it will be a dent in their pride and they may choose not to come back to the IITs.

The current sentiments echoed by the IIT directors council is very correct and I believe it should be taken up seriously. There should not be any such quota system introduced among the faculty. Lets just wait and see how this issue pans out.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

What's happening?!!

Not so long ago the central government announced that the other-states quota has been abolished from the admission into NITs. The reason behind this was that less talented and less deserving candidates from other states have made it into the NITs through this quota leaving better candidates high and dry. It is true that this has been the case with some states. But what this brought to the NITs and its students is a great diversity. There were students from all parts of the nation- Assam, Sikkim, Kashmir, Andaman, Gujarat etc.- and the students who made it in from these states were among the best talents. Only in very few cases were these students below par. As a student who has just come out of NIT, Trichy I believe that the peer group of which I was a part- NRIs, students from most other states and several from my very own school and city- was excellent and my learnings from the institute and the people who studied with me can be matched by no other place.

But soon all that is set to change, since from now on there shall be a 50% quota for the state in which the particular NIT resides and the remaining 50% shall be admitted through only on an All India Rank basis irrespective of which state the student hails from. Has the government not noticed or does it just choose not to notice that a majority of the top rank holders(AIR Top 1000) come from the states of Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan and that this quota is only going to result in the loss of the great diversity that the NITs have been boasting of. What is even more funny is the case of NIT Warrangal, which is situated in Andhra Pradesh and hence will have a 50% quota for its students. The remaining 50% will also comprise mostly of students from the same state especially because it is the state which is able to produce the ranks. I guess simple math will result in NIT Warrangal effectively ending up with 100% state quota. This is not to say that the students from Andhra and Rajasthan who are performing well are are not worthy candidates, but I would like to stress that those students who are performing well in both their Board examinations and are able to cough up excellent ranks in these competitive entrance tests don't get their due.

A close look at the candidates from Andhra and Rajasthan will show you that more than 70% of them are at least a year or two older than the normal candidate and that they have been doing nothing else but prepare for these entrance tests after finishing their high school. This is what led to the IITs placing an upper cap on the number of attempts that people could give for the IIT JEE. Several reports have come in over the last decade or so claiming that many of these students from Andhra and Rajasthan have not been able to cope with the competition at the IITs and have buckled under pressure. Now that this new quota regulation has been impressed upon the NITs also, it is only going to dilute the quality of students and hamper the fast growing status of the former Regional Engineering Colleges(RECs).

I truly believe that the batch that was admitted last year into the NITs will be the most luckiest, since they are likely to be the last batch with the most diverse student population in their batch. As mentioned earlier, it has several advantages like bringing together people from all parts of the country. The bonding among students goes just beyond caste and religion. It is a period in their lives when we learn anything and everything. And being part of such a diverse group only enhances the cultural learning and brings to light the several values that people from various parts of the nation nourish and cherish.

I am sure that I echo the sentiments of many other students when it comes to all these matters because there is not a single student I know, who has spoken in support of this move by the government. Taking a closer peak at all this only makes me think more on the political lines. Why the hell is this ruling government taking atrocious steps with the sole aim of winning more votes for the upcoming elections! I believe I am very lucky to be out of the system before it was pushed down to such levels by the HRD ministry.

I started off writing this blog after reading the new quota system(SC/ST/OBC) being introduced in the IITs for the faculty. But I shall hold that topic for discussion on a later date. For now I think it is something we should all think about. Do we want this continuing to happen??

Monday, June 23, 2008

In Love with Cricket

I was 12 years old people, when I was so crazy about cricket that I even ended up writing a poem. So here it is, my only work of poetry.

In Love with Cricket

Oh, Cricket is a spectacular game,
I fall into a trance when i hear its name,
If i were given a bat and the bowler a ball,
I'd make a score big and tall.
If i were granted a boon for Boon,
To play superbly,I'd surely swoon,
I'd like to represent my country,
And go an test debut and hit a century.
And even in my one day debut,
I think i'll hit a century too.
I may become a spinner,
Since he always turns out to be a winner,
I really like to bowl a yorker,
Which now isn't bowled by Prabhakar.
I could tryout a beamer,
Or who knows? - may be the seamer,
I can bowl the out and in-swinger,
And i could invent an on-swinger.
That's it from me, the little don,
Ans may cricket continue for eons.



PS: I was 'little' back then.. :P

Friday, June 20, 2008

One step at a time

To all the few people who still visit my blog, I would like to apologise for the absence of posts after June 17th. I have decided to write only when I feel like I have something nice to write about. I do not wish to write for the sake of writing. I have taken this decision with a view to writing more general and non-biographical stuff from now on. Will write something nice pretty soon.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Choti Si Love Story......

Once upon a time in a small village there was a well built guy who was studying in a well known engineering college. Velu nayaKKar(VN is what I shall call him from now on) hailed from the the nearby city which was close to his college. He was excellent in his academics and was planning to do a MS in the US of A and he had laid the perfect platform for it by getting a very good GRE score. I his pre-final year he took up a very important responsibility and joined a group of 10 others who had also taken up the same role for their own departments. This group gelled together very well and they had great fun with each other.

Their frequent visits to a very nice coffee shop slowly brought out some facts about a very special friend of VN. He used to speak to her regularly on the phone. AJ as we shall call her, was studying in a college nearby VN's and hailed from his school.She was someone VN called a very good friend and nothing more. Her placement season had started and she was gearing up for it. VN was a pillar of support for her and would keep feeding her tips and confidence boosters to equip her for the competition ahead of her. He also had another cousin of his studying in the same college as AJ's but he never cares to ask her about her placements or try to find out if she has been preparing well.

The placement at AJ's college kicked off and VN got all tense. This was a big surprise to all his friends GoBu, google, bumbum, AG et al. They all, though harbouring doubts in their minds about his feelings for her, would keep asking him why he was getting tensed up for his friend's placements. He would just escape by giving some silly reply like- "Close friend da". Company after company came and went and AJ was not making it through. VN would speak hours put together on the phone to console her and motivate her for the next company in line at her college.

And then came the fine day when AJ successfully made it through the recruitment process conducted by a company with a lot of Scope for performance and growth. VN was delighted on that day and even went to the extent of treating his friends Frisky and Baggar to ice-creams for her placement. All the 10 others in his group were taken aback by this action. More than being taken by shock they were all surprised and their doubts about VN's feelings for AJ were cleared up now. they could clearly see that VN had a very special in his heart for AJ, who people now believed was his long time crush.

The more funny thing was that from a few days prior to her placement, VN had taken a vow to have a shave only on the day she got placed. And the day after AJ got her job, Vn finally got rid of his horrible unshaven look and seemed to have a head half the size it was without the shave. One other day at a restaurant in his hometown, he was enjoying lunch with his friends when one of his schoolmates walked in and greeted him. Their conversation shifted toward his girl and this schoolmate also made fun of VN with AJ. The blood in his veins rushed to his brains and in a fit of rage and a wild swing of his arm to call for the waiter, VN had knocked out a few thick glass tumblers from the table and in the process breaking them.

Well, now all that his friends hoped for was a bigger treat from VN after a successful proposal to AJ. That is yet to happen people. And when it does, I shall inform you all about this Choti Si Love Story......

Monday, June 16, 2008

National Anthem(By Vidyasagar??!!!)

For the first time I got the opportunity to handle the music and computer support for an event at college. When the topic came up I was very eager to grab the chance and when I expressed my willingness, I was readily accepted for the job. With great excitement I set foot into the venue and set up my laptop and interfaced it with the audio system present in the hall. The students were all trickling in one by one and taking their seats in the hall. Sooner than we expected all the important people had arrived and the event kicked off with the inauguration and special lecture going off well.

Then it was time for me to play something during the snacks break and I used the superb 'Sand animation' video to keep the crowd entertained for a whole 10 minutes. After this break, Mr.Murali conducted a very nice group activity, basically a case study to help the participants develop their teamwork and leadership skills. Well that was the whole objective of the entire event. Brasstacks, the annual leadership skills development event conducted by Rotaract clubs from various colleges was, for the first time, conducted by the Rotaract Club of NITT. As a proud member of the club, I got the opportunity to rub shoulders with fellow members from the Roratact clubs of Urumi Dhanalakshmi College and National College. The participants were members from several Rotaract clubs which came under District 3000 region, which includes colleges from cities like Madurai, Dindigul and Trichy to name a few.

After the group activity went off well we set up the place for the valediction ceremony. It was all hush hush in the hall with people running from one end of the stage to another. Only when I stopped my friend and asked him why all this tension did I hear the words - "The Director is coming da". A slight fear gripped me. I did not know why, but I was a little tensed. My only job now was to play the national anthem when it was called for. In all my tension I did not want to mess that up. I had queued up only the anthem in the playlist and was ready to play it when I heard the words- "All rise for the National Anthem". Minute by minute, as all the prizes were being distributed to the winners the tension in me rose and I was even sweating on my nose.

Finally all the formalities were over and it was time for the national anthem of India. I heard the announcement and immediately clicked the Play button on Windows media player and moved to an upright attention position to pay my respect for the national anthem. What followed caused me to freee in shock! The following was what I heard - " (Beats)Dhum.... thak dhum... thak thak.. Ayyarattu Naattukatta... Ayyavoda Koothukatta". I immediately looked down into the laptop and tried to figure out what could be done. Lucky for me, I found the mute person and pressed it hard. Everything grew silent and my mind chose not to hear all the ooohs and aaahs from the crowd. I managed to notice the Director's face which now bore a smirk. Every second thankfully passed like a minute each and in no time I was able to stop the song and play the national anthem.

Thats not the end of it folks, for once I played the anthem and moved again into the respectful attention position, I could hear only silence for a few seconds. Fear gripped me again and only at that moment did I realise that I had put my laptop on mute to silence the song and that I would have to bring it back to normal volume. I quickly removed the mute and increased the volume and stood upright. "Bharata Bhagya Vidatha.."- thats from where we heard the anthem, and I had no option now but to let it run till its completion. I was sweating like crazy, for I had played a horrible movie song tuned in by Vidyasagar for the movie Majaa instead of the beautiful National Anthem written by the great Rabindranath Tagore.

I was glad that the great poet was no more to witness this mistake of mine, for if he had lived to see this day he would have not lived a single moment more. :) All my fellow rotaractors had a ball pulling my leg after the event was over. I had made such a big fool of myself in front of a huge crowd and more importantly in front of the esteemed dignitaries who had taken to the dais that fine day. Today, when I look back at it, I laugh for at least 5 minutes solid and enjoy my moment of glory as the member of the Rotaract Club of NITT.

For those who studied with me in Batch 2008 at NITT, you may be able to relate to this incident as the one mentioned in the comments section under my name in our "Reminiscence '08". If there is one thing I have learned, its that the national anthem was not composed by Vidyasagar. :)

Sunday, June 15, 2008

EURO EURO EURO!!

I guess its finally time to pour out my views on the most happening thing in the sports world- EURO. Holland on a rampage, sensational playing from Portugal and Spain, some of the best goals, great saves, horrible defending, even more pathetic finishing - we have had it all.

Ronaldo has shown the whole world why he deserves to be adjudged the best in the world right now. His impeccable skills and his amazing ability to effortlessly set up goals for his fellow teammates to score is surely going to intimidate any opposition. And he is not the only star in his team, which boasts of Deco, the gifted midfielder with a Brazilian origin and players like Simao and Nuno Gomes who can, on their day, deliver the killer blow to their opposition. This automatically makes the in-form Portugal team one of the favourites to win this championship.

The Spanish Armada seems to be doing really well too. Their smooth and swift movement on the football field, as always, has been very beautiful to watch and with players like Torres and Villa's prolific scoring up front they look a better unit than they were 2 years ago in Germany. But the Spanish have always known to choke once they get past the group stages. We shall soon know
if they have what it takes to go the distance and make use of every opportunity they are presented with.

The Flying Dutch!! Well I think the rest of the world has spoken a lot about them already. Arjen Robben and Van Persie with excellent support from the likes of Sneijder, Nistelrooy and Van der Waart look all set to rattle any opposition's defense. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if they lift the coveted trophy at the end of this month.

I must commend the efforts of some goalkeepers in this tournament. In particular, I would like to cite out the match between Italy and Romania which ended in a disappointing draw. The goalkeepers from both teams made some breathtaking saves and Buffon's penalty save just proves why he is ranked high among the best in the world.

I dont want to speak out all that i have observed because I feel the media has already done that well. The match I am watching as I write this post(Czech vs turkey), I think will go down to penalties. Both the teams lack pace in the midfield and their strikers are not the best finishers around. It should be an interesting watch nonetheless. Both the teams will give their all to this match and will want to go through to the knockout stage. I particularly liked the confidence exuded by the Turkish players during the pre-match press conference. I believe that may be a key factor that could help them

Lets see. In a couple of hours we will know which team goes through. And in 3 days time, when the group stages end, we would have witnessed some very entertaining and gripping contests, especially in Group C where Italy takes on France, and I hope to be hungry for more and more of this contest.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

We lost, yes... but its for our own good.

Hmmm... I believe this loss actually augurs well for India. The billion people in our country were on cloud nine after the Bangladesh game before the finals of the tri-series that just concluded. They felt this team was on its way to unseen glory. Praises were thrown in for the team from every corner of the nation. And I actually believe they did not deserve all of that. The Pakistan team were very complacent after their comfortable victory over the hosts. And they were buried dead by the Indians who fired as a unit. But it was all just too good to be long lasting.

If they had won today, then they would have been hailed as one of the best ever teams. And the media would have celebrated them like they achieved a phenomenal feat. But now that they have lost, I think it is only right that the media take note of the successful players from this tournament and not criticise their loss in the finals, after they were touted to be the favourites. All the players are slowly recovering from their IPL hangovers.

They will now sit down and analyse their bowling, which still lacks that sting. They are unable to contain the opposition when they start scoring at a good rate. Now that they have been silenced, they can start over and prepare well for the Asia Cup, which is of more importance. I believe they have a very good side which can bring home the trophy. This loss today shows the potential of the Pakistan team. And this can easily be bettered by the current Indian team. They can, through proper discussions and observations make out the strengths and weaknesses of this Pakistan side and use this knowledge against them in the upcoming Asian championship.

As Harsha Bhogle has written in his column on espnstar.com, there is a nice pool of about 20-25 players which the Indian selectors can choose from. It has a very good mix of experience and youth and this is very essential in building a well balanced team for the not-so-far-off champions trophy and the 2011 world cup scheduled to take place in the subcontinent. MS Dhoni is a worthy captain and I believe he can, with a little learning, marshall these Blues to a successful campaign in both these big events.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Medi(a)ocre...

Kindly read the Breaking News and Headlines in the pictures shown below:







Very nice is it not?!!!! These pictures, I received today from a friend of mine. At first, I was shocked to see how stupid these news channels could concentrate on even the most idiotic matters to the limelight. I feel that the public anger against today's media is totally justified. We the people, have every right to question the competence of these umpteen news channels that grace our TV screens day in day out. I would like to say that at least one of the above pictures does look suspicious, with a possibility that someone may have morphed the news line into the picture. Still I was really put off looking at these pictures.

But then i remembered about a channel called 'Headlines Today'. I recollected how well they discussed the MMS scandal. They attracted all the viewers to their channel, not because the discussions and arguments were informative, but because they screened a slightly(very slightly) censored version of one of the famous MMS's where a naked girl is making poses for the cameraman lying on a bed. From that day on, I have never ever tuned into that channel. Because I always knew they are up to no good. I am sure that last night 60% of the airtime would have been spent discussing the costliest film that hit the cinema screens today.

I believe that there are very few news channels that still hang on to their credibility. One of the them is CNN-IBN. Everything right from the reporting to the language and quality of presentation are better with this particular channel. It is one of the very few channels that people immediately tune to, be it the daily dose of news or the exceptionally accurate Opinion polls before the elections.

Many of the channels today have been started with one sole aim- to make big bucks!! And that they are able to provide some Mediocre news coverage and exceptional entertainment coverage. I doubt they will showcase the growing inflation as a concern on par with a bleeding finger that Aishwarya Rai suffered during some shoot.

Well these channels ever improve their standard to serve the people better??
Only time will tell!



Tuesday, June 10, 2008

My Finest Entertainment Experience... Not quite

Today me and my friends decided to go watch the latest sequel to the Indiana Jones trilogy. The venue was the Satyam Cineplex, and we were looking forward to a enthralling experience with excellent visual and sound effects aided by the new RDX technology employed by one of the most famous multiplexes in South India. We were a big group of 12 guys who had assembled at the venue well ahead of time and had purchased the tickets worth 90 bucks a head. We were very eager to take our seats in the Satyam hall in the cineplex - capable of hosting 1200 members for a show it is one of the biggest screens in Asia.

The previous day we had doubts if we would get tickets for the movie since it had shattered all Box-office records world over and carried excellent reviews. As we entered the hall we were greeted by the last few frames of the Trailer of 'Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na'. I was a little disappointed to have just missed it since I wanted to listen to the music-composed by AR Rahman, the maestro- that the trailer would carry. I also was surprised by how empty the hall was. We were seated in row M and all the remaining rows in front of us were all completely empty, but for the Rs 20 tickets right up front.

We took our seats and waited for the long series of advertisements that would usually follow. But this time it took a little longer for the screen to change from its blank state. We decided to make use of the short delay to get some drinks and popcorn from the atrociously high-priced food outlets of the cineplex. We waited for ten more minutes and were still faced with a nice blank screen and complete silence in the cinema hall. We then decided that our great icon from college, his highness, the Great MANUJ should be remembered and honoured in the cinema hall. This idea arose he was present in the same hall seated in the balcony area with a ticket worth 120 bucks. So, I just called him up and asked him to peep from the balcony area to right under the balcony where we were all seated as one big group in a single row. The moment all the people around me noticed him they all went up in unison - "MMMANUUUUUUUJJ!!!!". The guy was totally embarassed and went right back to his seat. Only moments later did we notice that the whole crowd in the hall was looking in our direction. We had realised how famous we had made Manuj!

A few minutes passed and we came back to our normal state and only then did we realise that 20 minutes had passed and the gigantic screen was still blank and nothing had appeared since the 'Jaane Tu...." trailer. All of us in the hall were now getting frustrated and restless. The people in the rows right next to the entry doors were being offered free popcorn to make up for the delay. Time just kept passing. We were enjoying our popcorn, no doubt about that, but more importantly we wanted to see the movie. It was almost an hour past the scheduled starting time of 1:15 pm when the theatre employees finally informed us that the screening was cancelled and that we could collect our refund from the ticket counters! Everyone was thoroughly pissed and stressed out after wasting so much time in the hall without having even witnessed a single frame of the movie.

Finally, we all decided to proceed to I-NOX to watch the same movie at 4:15 pm. All went well at the I-NOX multiplex and the movie experience was thoroughly satisfying as far as the quality of the hall and media systems were concerned. But there was one thing that still irked me , and that was the prices of the food items available. It was even higher than what rates were quoted at the Satyam cineplex. While a 650ml cup of Coke costs 45 bucks at Satyam, a 400ml cup of the same costs 50 bucks at I-NOX!! We did not feel too hungry thanks to all the free popcorn we were showered with, especially because it lasted till the gates to Citicentre. :)

I think the owners of Satyam cineplex are really lucky not to own the same facility in a country like USA, because then such a technical lapse would have resulted in a severe consequence. The moviegoers would have happily sued the owners for mental torture and walked away with thousands of dollars. But they are in such a nice country like India, where Free popcorn and ticket refunds are enough to keep the people quiet. This is not the first such occurence. One of my friends who went through the same experience today with me had gone through a surprisingly long 75 minute intermission while watching the new Narnia movie.

Thanks to all this I will, for the first time in my entire life, think twice before booking tickets at the (in)famous Satyam cineplex. Not quite my Finest Entertainment Experience(Something the cineplex boasts to offer to its customers).

About the movie, I think its been really well made to suit the aged Harrison Ford who has given an inspired and breathtaking performance. I would recommend this movie to all moviegoers since it was a thorough entertainer which made me laugh on more than one occasion with its witty dialogue and kept me interested in all the action sequences which had us guessing as to how the great Professor Henry Jones would get out of each situation.

Verdict for the day: Watch Indianajones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull at I-NOX preferably. :)

Monday, June 9, 2008

"If you wish today(june 11th)..... Its Two days(too) late!!! " :)

It was the day we were planning for, with the gifts all ready. The cake already ordered, and the venue all made to look normal. No traces of a surprise party to be thrown. But the room next to this one was filled of activity, full anticipation on all the faces. Very crowded and host to the excellent chocolate cake that Classic Foods had baked on our orders. One by one they people started trickling in.

"Why so late da?? We have been waiting for you... And Where the hell is Ashish?? Not yet come?!! Late as always... Call him da!!! "

"Hi Vatsu... I am coming man... I am outside TP only... Had some work in octa..."

That monday morning was full of activity and everyone was doing there work a little too sincerely in the Office room since they wanted to make "The old man"(As Cecil[senior from Mech] calls him :P) happy and also not to give away the impending surprise. It was the first and last time we would, as a team have an opportunity to throw a surprise party for this person we respected and regarded highly. We wanted it to be as perfect as possible. SK had called and expressed his sorrow for not being present able to attend the occasion.

"Finally!! Ashish has come... Are we all ready to do this?? Ok check if sir is there..."

After casually walking into the office room, I found that he was not there. He had been in that big wheel chair of his just a couple of minutes prior to that moment. Then we heard that he had just gone out and would be back soon. This wait added more to our tension and we were too eager now. An hour had already passed from the time we were supposed to spring up the surprise celebrations. 15 minutes passed and finally The Old man finally walked in and took his seat. I walked back into the next room and closed the door behind me.

"Ok people.. He has come. Time to do it.. Come on"

We picked up all the necessary things and as a big group assembled in front of his big table. The cake was placed on top of the glass slab and he was pleasantly surprised.

"Happy Birthday Sir!! A very Happy birthday to you!", we all said in unison.

He initially had no words for a few seconds, but a few moments on he said :
"Oh! What a pleasant surprise?!! I never expected this!! Thank you so much!! But I am sorry to say ITS TWO DAYS TOO LATE!!! My Birthday was over on the 9th of June itself! "

Terror and shock gripped our faces!! We had absolutely nothing to say! We were short of any words!! The only thing we managed to utter was a muffled "OHHHHH!!". After a few seconds we all git back to our senses and realised our blunder. We all passed on our apologies to the Old man who now said that both us and our seniors had committed the same mistake. We felt a sudden hollow within us and did not know how exactly to react after hearing those words from sir's mouth.

But the great man that he is, he brought us into cheerful moods by expressing his happiness at being totally surprised. He then cut the cake and kicked off the party, one surrounded by an invisible cloud of disappointment. How could we have done something like this??!!! But then we moved on and gifted sir the books we had neatly wrapped. He was definitely not expecting this and was taken by further surprise. This brought us back to our spirits and we motioned for Sruti to do the honours with the cake. She ceremoniously cut the cake into a uniform grid of pieces, much like she managed to do several times in the following year.

Thinking back 364 days from today, it all seems so funny and stupid. How we had made the mistake of finding out the wrong birthday and goofing up what should have been a very special day for the Old man. The old man, of course, is none other than Dr. A.K.Bakthavatsalam. Our mentor, our guide, our teacher, our friend, our Head. We owe so much to this man who has inculcated several good habits, values and ideals in the lives of all those who are part of STUD BATCH '08!!! Am sure I am speaking on behalf of all of them when i say He is the best for the job of finding jobs for the students and no one else can take that place.

But today was very different. I made sure I wished him at 0000 hours by message and then gave him a call when he was treating all my juniors at Sangeethas as he always does. A couple of my friends almost made the mistake of forgetting this special day. June 9th, a date that shall never be forgotten for all the reasons I just wrote about. But I am quite sure there will be at least a couple of defaulters who will call up on the 11th and wish him(thanks to the fake orkut profile showing it as 11th).

Well here is a modified version of our theme song for all those who commit that mistake:

"If you wish today(june 11th)..... Its Two days(too) late!!! " :)

Happy Birthday Sir!! Many more happy returns of the day!! :)

Sunday, June 8, 2008

The Great Rivalry that is...

Fresh out of the french open final where Fedex was thrashed by the Raging Spanish Bull Nadal, I have accepted that Rafa(as people call him) is the undisputed king of clay. I believe he is the only worthy man on the face of this earth to deserve a shot at even coming close to breaking Borg's record of 6 french opens. The level of tennis he unleashed in the final was simply a class apart from anyone else on the ATP tour right now. I think even the great Bjorn Borg would have been totally impressed with the strokes in this 22 year old's repertoire.

He had the audience spellbound right from the word go. The Federer Express was derailed pretty convincingly by the World No. 2 with renewed vigour. But what was really nice to see was the words that the two players had to share at the presentation ceremony. Federer was very quick to commend Nadal and mention how great and unbeatable he was on clay, while Nadal sprang a slight surprise by extensively praising Federed for being a great player, the World No.1 and an excellent competitor.

Nadal with his new and improved game which boasts of extra-special shots from his backhand seems to be better equipped for Wimbledon this year. The rivalry between these two greats of modern day tennis is all set to go that one step higher. If the two players play to their abilities then come 6th July and we should witness a breathtaking final between the man in his three-fourths and the Swiss maestro with the best single-handed backhand. It should be an awesome treat lasting two weeks from 23rd June culminating with the final for all those ardent tennis fans.

There is not much doubt about a good performance from Nadal, but the doubts arise with the five time defending champion, Roger Federer. We have to say his form this year has been dismal to say the least. He looks much more beatable even at Wimbledon. But the Swiss smartie will be looking to turn the tide and go past Borg to take his 6th consecutive Wimbledon singles title to regain his form. He will also be aware of the challenge he is likely to face from the youngster he lost to at Melbourne this January. Novak Djokovic has proved how tough and intimidating he can be as an opponent.

Whichever of these players - Nadal, Federer or Djokovic- comes out victorious at the most prestigious and respected Grand Slam Tournament this July, the overall winner will be the Game of Tennis and its numerous fans across the globe. Guess we will just have to wait n see...

But for now... I guess I wil just enjoy the great football unfolding at Euro 2008 for the next 3 weeks. It should one cracker of a tournament.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

At last i am here..

Its something several people have taken to. Right from the famous celebrities who brave the flashlights from the cameras to the happy go-lucky college dude sporting his Tantra T-shirts and i-pod. Blogging is something that seems to help people freely express their thoughts and views and have some fun by poking jokes at their friends.

I think this blog is something that will help me kill sometime everyday till at least i fly off to Syracuse, NY. Please try to appreciate my writing, for its never ever been commended by anyone i knew at college. I must say i was surprised to score a 4.5 in my GRE analytical writing section, cos i really felt i did not do total justice to that stupid para of an argument.

For those people who want to take a trip down memory lane at NITT i can promise that my blog will do a good amount of justice on that front. Anyways, welcome to the blog of TP anna. :)