Singapore - Losing her virginity in the night

Oh its awesome !!! Look at that circuit.... never has an F1 race made me go so ga-ga over it.... I have not stopped talking about it for the past three months. Its the Singapore GP of the F1 season and its a night race... yes my dear...its a NIGHT RACE !!!!

The speed demons will be zipping over the streets .. you heard me right... the streets of the wonderful city at night.... Singapore is the second of the only two street circuits in the F1 calendar and its the first night race....
Speeding in daylight itself is a nerve-wracking proposition. And here there are a bunch of fanatics who are thinking of driving at 300kmph in the night !!! And there are a million other fanatics like me who are grinning from ear to ear at the prospect of a historic race ... ALL IN THE DARK!!

The city is hosting her first street race and that too at night - this is so commendable of Singapore. Hail the officials for having the guts and the confidence. I wish it all the success and I hope all the people in Singapore appreciate this historic event. How I wish I could be there .... anyway no doubts that I would be glued to the tv today and tomorrow.

I couldn't contain my excitement and hence typed this early morning without even getting ready of office.....what the heck !! Man has stopped building the Taj Mahals, the pyramids and the Collosseums... but the pursuit to build something that still trascends the boundaries of comman imagination still remains. We, the modern humans, are still building, creating and conceptualizing some path breaking things. The romanticism has still not died out of us. And that's why the Chandrayaan must happen. Its to satisfy our inner child... to explore the exotic, to create the exotic and this race too is a tribute to that breed of exotica. Its intoxicating :-)

I am blabbering... I think I must better switch the tv on to spare my blog of more tautology ;-)

Pop !! God gives the answers !

A dear one asked me, "How goes life?". Now what is new in this question? This is the most cliched, over-used, under-rated and self-analytical question that all of us keeping using as a greeting. When we ask someone "how's life?", we never intend to get an honest reply.... most of the times, "life's good", "nothing new machan", "life's rocking" etc kind of replies. I somehow end up thinking a lot each time someone asks me this question. And give an honest answer which sometimes embarrasses the other person since they would not have bargained for an 'introspective insight' into my take on my life. Lolz!! well, I find delight in that quandry that the person faces. Devilish ! Lol !

If someone asks, "Kaka, how are you?", I would spontaneously reply, " Am good." But not so for the former question. Lolz !!
Anyway, as I said, when as usual I was wondering about this question.... I got this :


A Professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see & asked the students
"How much do you think this glass weighs?"

'50gms!' .... '100gms!' .....'125gms' ...the students answered.



"I really don't know unless I weigh it," said the professor, "but, my question is:

What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?"

'Nothing' …..the students said.

'Ok what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?' the professor asked.

'Your arm would begin to ache' said one of the student

"You're right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?"

"Your arm could go numb, you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis & have to go to hospital for sure!"
….. ventured another student & all the students laughed

"Very good.

But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?"
asked the professor.

'No'…. Was the answer.

"Then what caused the arm ache & the muscle stress?"

The students were puzzled.

"What should I do now to come out of pain?" asked professor again.

"Put the glass down!" said one of the students

"Exactly!" said the professor.

Life's problems are something like this.
Hold it for a few minutes in your head & they seem OK.

Think of them for a long time & they begin to ache.
Hold it even longer & they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything.

It's important to think of the challenges or problems in your life,
But EVEN MORE IMPORTANT is to 'PUT THEM DOWN' at the end of every day before You go to sleep.

That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh &strong & can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!


So, when you leave office today,
Remember to….
'PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY! '


So then I got the answer to my question. I replied back:
" Hakuna Matata"

"What you dancing for, kiddo?"

Nauseous !

That is how I felt when I saw the pictures of the kids jumping around, celebrating the verdict of the Central govt. to allot land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board ! What are they being involved in this for? What do 5 year old kids understand about religious politics, agendas and propagandas ? Why are they so blatantly celebrating the ‘victory’ of ‘Rama’ over ‘Rahim’ ! It just saddens my heart.

Have we descended to such levels wherein we involve our innocent children in fighting for such base and immature causes. I still remember one member of some agitating group in Delhi giving sound bytes to the media that he knew that the bandhs and strikes were causing inconvenience to the public, but then to right a wrong or to fight for a cause, people will have to bear with such inconveniences and make such sacrifices. ‘sacrificies’? boy are you serious … I just shook my head in disgust.

Is this the way we are thinking? Have we lost our sense of reason? I mean which cause is being eschewed here by making millions and millions of people suffer in hunger, thirst, pain and misery? Just to get a few acres of land which does not even belong to any among those protestors?

A few weeks back I had seen a protest on M G Road near Chinnaswamy Stadium. It was being staged by the Pandits (from J&K) and who were in Bangalore. I saw kids and women shouting slogans and holding placards! Why are innocent boys and girls being made a party to such innocuous protests? Is this the learning and education that we are providing our children? And why are we using children to make up the numbers in a protest march?

I wondered while I saw the children dance along with a few elders, with colours of their faces and clothes – Do they even know what they are dancing for and what repercussions it might have on the relations between different sects of people? One of these celebrating children might grow up to become a Hindu fundamentalist bragging about his childhood days’ ‘netagiri’ or one of them might just grow up to become a sensitive individual who is against such narrow mentality. Will they both be able to forget this incident for the rest of their lives?

I don’t think so.

Hop, skip, jump & fly.... !!! ;-)

Hop, skip, jump & fly ….

Usain Bolt must have cringed out in shame when he saw that athletic figure running on the roads of Bangalore. Whats the fun running 100 mts in 9 seconds in a lane where there is no hurdle… he he !!! Usainbhai, how about running at full steam on the footpath lining up M.G. Road? Hmmm… bolo bolo.. ;-)

Boy, I have had the best fun walking on M G Road in the evening time. Its wonderful, I swear ! My office is on M.G. Road near Trinity Circle. And invariably once in a while I take a walk from there to the other end of the road i.e. Anil Kumble circle. Trust me, its such a good stress reliever ! you see so many people walking around – women, children, beggars, peddlers, old couples, pimps, policemen, rich & the poor, celebrities & commoners, businessmen & loafers, students & destitues….. so many of them !

It’s a study in contrasts. Seriously ! The road is the hub of shopping and business and yet it is green enough and spacious enough ( am turning a blind eye to the Metro Rail work ). All I do is just walk with a smile on my face. You would be amazed with the way people smile back sometimes and frown the other times. Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! the older people will always smile back at you, the young teenagers will always smile back. Its only the corporate rats who do not smile back as if they are the busiest people on Earth. Whew !

Then again, M G Road is a nice mix of people wearing all sorts of clothes… the hippies, the executives, the casuals, the semi-casuals, the skimpy, the burqas, the frocks, the shorts, the birthday suits and the Armani suits… all in one single stretch !

Of course the peddlers just add to the charm… I buy a guvava and munch on it while walking down and I cant help but look admiringly at the Bangalore sky, over the Manekshwa parade ground…. One side of the road is choc-a-bloc with buildings and structures while the other side is a huge open space used by the Army & NCC. Tree lined boulevard of the Cubbon road is close by and I can already see some children making their way to the cubbon park. I turn back and see Hard Rock Café on the wayside… hmmm.. well… been long since I made it to this place… I make a note of coming there.

But then a walk on M G Road can never be complete without a visit to India Coffee House ! lolz… this ramshackle coffee house is study in permanency… seriously I tell you…. The waiters, the soot on the walls, the dirt on their white uniforms, the limited menu, the dosa sans sambar, the anglo-indian menu… boy … with all the glaring mistakes that a retailer/restaurateur can make all presenting themselves in full glory at Indian coffee house, yet it’s a study in excellence of an idea. It got the first rule of Retail Marketing right. I was taught in my b-school… the first thing that a retailer has to get right is “Location-Location-Location”. And boy Indian Coffee House got the first rule bang on !

I quietly have a coffee, throwing glances at the contrasting crowd over there… yaaaa… here too, do visit, the neo rich and the commoners… what a nice mix ! some are reading and others are just relaxing over their coffee cups… I bet a Barista or a Coffee Day can never give you such pleasure.

Oh there is the shop that me and my sister came to shop…. I remember how amused the shopkeeper was when he was dealing with Shalu (my sister ) … sorry let me not reveal the idiosyncrasies of my sister or she might just not let me into Chennai the next time am there ! ( do you get a feeling that I am afraid of her… wel.. ummm.. errr… no comments ;-)

Coming to the best part of it all… you can walk on the road, staring at the motorist waiting at the signal. You see, you can have a clear look at them. Ever noticed how the face and disposition of a person on a bike or in a car is when they are waiting at the signal… or even of a person who is inside an auto … what goes through their minds when they are alone on/in the vehicle and looking around. ??? I always try and lock my eyes with them and try and see their reactions. Its interesting. I will maybe write more on this in a later post.

Another fun thing is when you are crossing the road over the zebra crossing and you see a swarm of vehicles, just waiting there due to the red light. They all would look at you while you cross the road… boy… its amusing… I try and look back at them and walk leisurely…. It’s a long stretch of zebra crossing and you can easily be caught in the jam, if you are not quick enough to cross within the stipulated time. And that is what happened to me… I was walking cooly over the crossing and suddenly I see the vehicles going vroom vroom…and I run for my life… I run like a mad man over the last 10 meters… he he he… while am running I catch a woman smile with a glint of mischief in her eyes as she is showing how not to cross the road to her 5 year old child. I smile back. Yeah right….. duhhhh !!

Whatever…. By the time am back at Trinity Circle, am smiling like a drunk monkey ! Chattering like a intoxicated baboon and looking haggard like a langoor . lolz !
That was fun ! and that is what I do every few days … I just disappear from office for half an hour or so. Switch off my phone and take a walk …. :-) all by myself and all for myself ! :-)

replacements

I was just wondering .... there is no person in this world who is indispensible ... isn't it? I mean everybody is replaced by someone else in our lives...
So... what about God? Is God indispensible? or rather... is God dispensible?

Seigneur Montrez Votre Face :-)

# Why do we need shelter from God?

My prayers are selfish. I wonder what the others come and pray for. What does the old man pray for/about? Why is the young man crying with his face covered? What do people pray for ? - Health? Happiness of dear ones? Most of them pray for others. Only I pray for myself. Only I pray for love. Only I pray for a companion. Bank balance is zero - but none the poorer.

# Why Does a Man Cry ?

He cries when he is helpless, when he finds that he was raped, mentally and physically. When he knows that he was used and abused.

#But whom does he cry for ?

One need not cry for someone. One can cry for something. Man cries when as soon as he wakes up he wishes for the end of the day.

'Merci' => Mercy

Of Sweat, Skill & Mind - And above all Belief

It is one of those times when I cannot express how happy I am feeling even though there is nothing personal in this.
Abhinav Bindra was 17 when he went to Sydney on the back of some eye catching performances that caught my eye. I have followed his progress ever since and needless to say was disappointed when he didn’t live up to his potential in the last few years. How I cried like a baby when he lost a chance to win a medal for India in 2004 Athens Olympics. I remember I took out the frustration by lapping my football ground 25 times.

In his quest for Olympic glory Abhinav had to face some uncomfortable questions when he was repeatedly on his being from a high class family. Abhinav is from a very rich family and that did help in him not being too bogged about pursuing his goals. But I used to always be wary about this chap since I thought once he failed in Sydney he would be distracted and would not reach the heights that many of his fans thought he could. But when he came back strongly in 2004, my admiration for him became more stronger. He was never my favourite sportsman, but I somehow had a soft corner for him.

Never thought he would get the gold yaar !!! whew ! a few days back The Times of India carried an interview of him, wherein the interviewer asked him, whom does he want to credit with his resurgence. He he told coolly “ I will credit only myself for this”. I was shocked to read it since I thought he was not being modest. But I guess he knew what he was saying. Its this steel that got him the gold. Lesser mortals cannot understand all this and might term his attitude as cockiness or overconfidence. Anyways its like Howard Roark of The Fountainhead…. All of us admire him in spite of his attitude. Objectivism .. hmmm

Anyways today as Abhinav has bestowed his country with a medal that will be the cynosure of all discussions ( read cricketer bashing, in the wake of our team’s failure in Sri Lanka), we can just wish for this great sportsman to carry on with this and remain focused.

I am not able to pay a tribute to Abhinav Bindra since I think his journey has just begun. Also I am too overwhelmed to write any good English. He ! He ! He ! I wish I can wait to pen a tribute to some other men and women who have gone to Beijing to vie for the glory…. Vijender Singh, Saina Nehwal, Anup Sridhar, Anju George, Rajyavardhan Singh, Gagan Narang, Leander Paes. I believe in them.

But today I am very sure that God is kind. 