Awesomely Pathetic Lives: The New Year Water Crisis

First of all a very Happy 2009 to everyone who is reading this post.

After the reader response that I got (1 comment :)), decided to write more about the adventures of our awesomely pathetic trio of heroes i.e. Niku, Funkaz & Deyus.

Disclaimer:
What follows has been exaggerated to make it more realistic. Otherwise readers might think that this account is a figment of my imagination :P

Now it was New year's Eve. Normally people go out, party, hang out with friends and do other exciting things at this point of time. But then our heroes are not exactly like any normal people. They have to do things differently. They did go out. But as the stroke of midnight approached they went back to their high abode. They were facing a crisis. Shortage of water, the most important need for mankind. So with their empty buckets they went down and brought up some water for extreme emergencies. New year was ushered in during this exercise. The customary new year wishes exchanged but carrying heavy buckets wasn't exactly the proper way to do it. Worse was to follow on new year's day. The first thing our heroes did on new year was to run off to a friend's place in Purani Dumbai area to take a bath (Deyus was to be credited for making this arrangement).

P.S. Interesting old story
Once Niku & Funkaz were coming up to their flat. They were once again terrorized by the girl with the big dog. However once out of earshot and inside the safe confines of their high abode, Niku came up with this gem, (referring to the four legged creature terrorizing them) "Is that a b***h or a son-of-a-b***h?"

Their 3 Awesomely Pathetic Lives

Disclaimer:

The characters and events mentioned from now on are fictional and purely a figment of my imagination. Any resemblance to real people and real life events is totally unintentional :P

This is the story of 3 young gentlemen. They led their own lives totally unaware of the others existence for the first twenty odd years of their time in the world. Then fate intervened and they had a similar goal in life. Fate intervened again and brought them together in the same I-school. And it was fate again ..... two years down the line when they were picked up for jobs by the same large conglomerate (the-company-which-must-not-be-named). It brought them to the big metropolis of Dumbai, the city of dreams.
Now that they were working at the same place, they decided to rent out a flat (After all the-company-which-must-not-be-named did not provide them accommodation on a long term basis). But finding a place to live in the metropolis of Dumbai was not an easy task, a task made more difficult by the presence of someone else. Yet they managed, with the help of an agent whose extra-terrestrial looks were straight out of the sci-fi movies. But they had a huge falling out with the agent soon after. After being thoroughly abused by Funkaz & Niku, the agent took solace in the comforting words of Deyus.
Oops!!! I forgot to introduce our 3 heroes. So here goes
Niku: The tall fellow with already greying hair. Likes a peaceful, organized and comfortable life for himself. In reality a pretty lazy person. Hated his previous work, so is prepared for anything which the-company-which-must-not-be-named can offer. Takes pride in having amassed a big bank of useless information over the years. Before joining was told by pretty knowing people that his life was going to be hellish and tough. Reality was totally different. Work life (touch wood) has been pretty unlike described earlier.
Funkaz: The taller fellow with already receded hairline. Tries being funny and irritating at the same time with his wisecracks. Has a weird tendency of declaring every girl he sees as his "bhabhi". He had no idea what he was getting into after accepting the offer from the-company-which-must-not-be-named. Fun is something which has certainly gone missing from his life these days.
Deyus: The tallest fellow. Another store house of irrelevant and useless Data on anything and everything under the Sun. Has an unhealthy appetite for the most pathetic Hindi movies. Makes big plans which get scuttled. Orders the most exotically named dish in the menu. Deep inside him lies the desire to dance at friend's weddings. To fulfill this desire he constantly pesters the other two to get married. But so far wisely they have avoided this trap.
The 3 major issues in their lives
1. Increasing waistlines
2. Receding Hairlines
3. Girls (or rather the lack of girls)
Now coming back to their first house. It was with difficulty that they could find a place to live. But eventually they did find an awesome place. A 14th floor creek facing penthouse. in a building named after the third tallest mountain in the world. The view is awesome and rent was quite cheap (compared to other places in the megapolis). So they moved in. Then they learned more of their surroundings. The house had a huge nallah by the side. The lifts occasionally did not work (At those times, our heroes turn into mountaineers). There was an issue with the pigeons of the area too. They (i.e. the pigeons) decided that only birds can have homes at these heights. So they regularly fly in through open windows in the mornings. A pair of owls also have their nest there. Also a huge honeycomb. Now for the people. Now there was a collector in the building too who would keep on asking whether they had paid up for the pujas (even after they had). Another resident is a girl with a big dog who have a habit of terrorizing our heroes in the lift. And there are others too.
Social Life
In the neighborhood, the Purani Dumbai area where they live has 5 malls & 4 multiplexes (at the last count) where our heroes spend their Sundays. So their main social activity consists of going to malls and taking in the sights and scenes the places have to offer. Occasionally they go to movies also. Last movie being "Dostana" (:P). However their lonely and pathetic existence gets brightened up by the visits from fellow I-school mates, who drop in occasionally.
Office Life
Niku: Its awesome as he has got back in touch with some older mates of his.
Funkaz: Gets to hear pearls of the most beautifully phrased and pleasant sounding words in the office. An office which he has made his virtual home.
Deyus: The blue-eyed boy. Takes leaves anytime he wishes and has dealt in billions till now.
The Early DaysIt seemed to Funkaz & Deyus that Niku was known to everybody in Purani Dumbai. According to them he would win any election easily if he decided to contest from the Purani Dumbai area. 
The Current Pathetic Scenario
Internal communication takes place through Gtalk.
They discuss about the activities of Peter Petrelli and Barney Stinson (for the uninitated, the fictional characters from foreign TV series Zeroes & How I Met Your Father respectively).
Niku has begun pondering over the big issues of life, including his own existence and the meaning of life etc.... (Result of having too much time in his hands). And uses the term pathetic a bit too often to describe their lives.
Deyus is chatting and chatting and chatting and chatting..... (lives in a virtual world more than the real)
Funkaz does'nt get the time to think now. He is very busy with his work.

So this is the the sum total of the current awesomely pathetic existence of our lead trio.

P.S. This blog post was inspired by a friend's post on similar lines.

The Chase: Victory at Chennai

First the bare facts. India beat England in the first test at Chennai by 6 wickets chasing 387 in the fourth innings after having conceded a 75 run lead in the first innings. The sensational run chase was kicked off in the most imperious fashion by Sehwag and the rest of the team built on the start provided by him. There were good performances all around by the Indian players except Dravid. Yuvraj Singh cementing his place in the middle order and Sachin Tendulkar scoring the match winning runs to reach his 41st century. It can now be safely said that the Indian team is on a roll and is looking good to replace the Australians as the numero uno in all forms of cricket.

However this victory was not about cricket alone. The test occurred in the backdrop of one of the most horrific terror attacks in the country. The England team had abandoned the one day series midway and left for home. It was a good decision as cricket was the last thing in anybody's minds when the commando operations were going on. However it was a much braver decision to return to the country for the test series. The matches were rescheduled but the fact that the match took place at all was considered a big victory for all concerned. The England team is easily the most admired team to have come to play in India in recent times. The match is easily amongst the best test matches ever played. And it was a perfect endorsement for test cricket itself. And the perfect finish was provided by Sachin Tendulkar, himself from Mumbai, scoring the winning runs.

Now coming back to the cricket. So many times in the past we have seen India buckle under the pressure of a big run chase in the fourth innings. In fact when the innings started, my expectations were a fighting draw at best. But Sehwag simply turned the game on its head with his audacious innings for which he rightly got the Man of the Match award. However more importantly, the others built on the start provided by him with support from Gambhir. Yuvraj and Sachin put the finishing touches with a huge partnership for the fifth wicket and ensured that the match was won. Sachin silenced his critics by scoring his 41st century and winning the game for India.

The Five Places

Its that time of the year, when lists are drawn, a time to remember what happened. So I am also going into the spirit and take a trip down memory lane. But with the simple life that I have I don't think an year in my life would be worth an entire blog post. Instead decided to put in a post about the five places which I believe have had the most role in shaping me into whatever I am today. By these I refer to the five schools/colleges which I went to. So here goes.

1. Biharilal Khandelwal Comprehensive Public School, Kanhan (1986-88, LKG & UKG)

My first school in Kanhan, a small town near Nagpur. The place where I learnt the alphabets and numbers. To be honest twenty years down the line I do not have too many memories about the place. I remember my first teacher (Ms. Julie), the school's location besides the Kanhan river and the railway line on the other side. I have faint recollections of going to school in a rickshaw. I can recollect the rabbits and the school gardens. For memories all I have are the two report cards and a class photograph (in which I locate myself with some difficulty).

2. Woodlands School, Patna (1988-1992, Std. 1-5)

It was a return to roots when the family shifted back to Patna. I got enrolled in Std. 1 with only 3 months left in the academic year. But still managed to clear it (I was good then :)). Cleared 4 more academic years in the school. From this point on I remember all my teachers. The school did not have any building of its own and separate classes used to run in various rented rooms across Rajendra Nagar. The school though had its own playground with a basketball court. Made quite a few friends here. Still am in touch with a couple of them, thanks to the social networking sites. Unfortunately the school closed a couple of years back. For memory sake, I have the school report cards, class photographs and the little trophies I won during my stay there.

3. Loyola School, Jamshedpur (1993-2000, Std 6-12)

Easily my favorite amongst all my schools. I spent the most time here and feel that this is the place that has played the biggest role in shaping me. The first thing I fell in love with were the school buildings and the huge ground. The friends I made here are still connected. Almost all the memories are still fresh. This was my first time in a boys only school (the previous 2 had been co-ed). The memories I have with Loyola are too many to list down, the buildings, the grounds, the libraries (there were 3 of them), the clubs (around 30 at last count), the events (both inter-school and intra-school) and many more. I took special pride in representing and winning for the the school. The collective joy the entire school took in your success was a feeling which has no parallel. Loyola taught me to believe in myself. After all if you do not believe in yourself , then who will. The school started in 1947 and still is going on strong. And hopefully will go on and on. My memories include report cards (again), the photographs, the various medals and certificates, the honour cards, the yearbook... As I write this I can hear the school anthem going on in my mind.
Till the echoes ring again

4. Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad (2001-2005, B.Tech)

This was one place where I never really wanted to go. Well, after all when someone prepares for IIT-JEE, then you would want to go to an IIT. But having cleared IIT-JEE with a rank of 2724, the IIT option got closed. Not intending to drop another year, I took up the Petroleum Engineering course at ISM. It was an entry to a totally new world. My first time outside the safe confines of home. The age of 18 was the right time to take these first steps into the real world. The campus spread across 200 acres with buildings dating from 1926 to some under-construction did not really seem a home away from home in the initial days. After all, ragging (though much milder than expected) does not make one feel at home. The sight of seniors would be enough to send anyone running for cover. But as time went by, the place did become home. In fact, the number of mid-semester trips to home reduced from 10 in the first to none in the last. This was the place where I got a chance to meet people with varied backgrounds. People who had got together for similar goals. Also this was the first place where I really thought about what I want to do with my life (that I still don't know is another issue). The memories of ISM, well, the semester grade sheets (:P), the certificates for extra-curriculars, the photographs, the degree certificate (:D), the job treats at Mani's Cafe, Ramdhani, the mess, watching cricket in the common rooms, the first steps in connecting to the world, my first computer, the trips to Dehradun, Gujarat and Mumbai for training (:P), the slogging during the semester times and the fun at all other times, the elections and the games of poly-poly, Pratibimb & Srijan. ISM was the place where I got a reputation of being a decent quizzer. And it was also the place from where I got my first job. As I look back they were four truly memorable years.

5. Indian Institute of Management, Indore (2006-2008, PGDM)

Unlike other schools, this was the one place I went by my choice. Of course my choice had been limited to 3 by a few small mistakes (Basically, the choices were IIM-I, IIM-K or continue working in OIL). Continuing working wasnt really an option and after a little deliberation I chose I ;). So 20 months were spent in Planet-I. Wouldnt really go into too many details about my stay there (Already covered). I did feel at home at I from the very beginning. However one thing that the place did do was open up the world. Now I knew more about the options existing in the world than earlier (leads to more confusion actually, I still dont know what I want to do with my life after all). But the time was wonderfully spent. As for memories, photographs & videos (too many of them, but dont want to delete a single one of them), the walks down the hillock, the night quizzing sessions (my reputation as a decent quizzer remained intact), the movies and serials, the occasional trips to the city and outside; All still very fresh.

So this is it. These are the five places which have shaped me. The post went a bit long but I dont feel I have done justice to the subject.

P.S. I would like to get in touch with people with the same shared meories, specially relating to BKCP & Woodlands. So anyone who reads this please feel free to cotact me.
P.P.S This post took up nearly 3 hours of a Sunday evening (phew).

Pain, Anger...

It couldn't have been a more ideal Sunday morning. I woke up to slightly overcast skies with a cool gentle breeze blowing across the creek. The most perfect morning one could say. That is till I picked up the newspaper. Now that the operations are over, the true magnitude of the losses are coming to light. Page after page was filled with reports of the casualties and pictures of the damaged interiors of the Taj and Trident. Stories of how people had been killed brought about an unexplained sadness to me. I didn't know any of them personally. But the manner of their death filled the heart with sadness. The losses have been huge. And the pleasant weather, providing a respite from the November heat, just seemed to mock everyone.
Afternoon brought the news of Home minister Shivraj Patil's resignation from the Cabinet. He has resigned on moral grounds. There have been a spate of serial blasts across various cities this year. It took over 200 deaths and a 60 hour seige of Mumbai for his morals to rise. Frankly speaking, he should have been fired long ago given his pathetic track record in the ministry. That the UPA government has finally become fully aware of the terror threat can be seen from the fact P.Chidamabaram has taken over in Patil's place inspite of the ongoing global financial crisis.
And speaking of politicians, every word spoken by them fills me with anger. Whether it is RR Patil's description of the attacks as a small incident, or Narendra Modi's antics during the crisis. Politicians cutting across party lines have at least this feature in common. At a time when people should come together, they are busy with their own political games. Disgust and anger are the emotions they bring to the mind.
So on one hand there is pain and sadness at what happened and on the other hand disgust and anger. Hopefully things will sort out soon and return to normal. Life will go on though it would never be the same for those who have had to personally face these harrowing experiences and those who lost their near and dear ones.

P.S. The last couple of months, one man had been virtually holding Mumbai hostage championing the Marathi cause. But has been keeping strangely quiet this time around. Wonder what are Mr. Raj Thakeray's of the current crisis?

A City Under Siege

28.11.2008

The siege of Mumbai continues with reports of firing and explosions at the Taj still coming in. Though other attack sites have been seemingly liberated, all this has taken too long to resolve. So far I have not heard of anyone I know amongst the casualties but still cant be too sure regarding that too. Although I have had no direct involvement with the occurrences in the city, still there is a constant thought at the back of my mind. My mind keeps wandering back to the attacks and I have been checking the news sites throughout the day. Today morning while going to the office, i realized that though I had checked the internet for over an hour, I had totally forgotten to even check my mail. Had actually logged on to the news portals the first thing after waking up today Even in office the day was spent, checking the news sites with little work getting done.
However there are a few things about the current situation which have really sickened me.
Firstly the coverage by the television news channels. They have been relaying information to the world as they would for a cricket match. Headlines like "Operations headed for a dramatic finish" look good in sporting arena, not in real life where many people have lost their lives and many more are still in danger. Also the news channels have been openly discussing the operations strategy, showing live pictures of commando movements, talking to terrorists and worse spreading rumors. There seems to be no self-restraint.
Next on the list are the politicians who have already started the blame game, with the opposition calling for the government's head. The political game has begun with the eyes on the ongoing state elections and the coming general elections. And we have our home minister, Shivraj Patil discussing the movements of NSG commandos with the media.
And lastly the general public who have been following and watching these events like they would be watching a movie, except that this is real life. And are doing their part in spreading the rumors.
Confused, Angry, Helpless... These are the words which I could use to describe my emotions right now as i go to sleep
Hoping that the dawn brings better news.

WHY????????

26.11.2008: A Wednesday (Is that any coincidence?)

Just as I was in the euphoric mood celebrating India's 5th consecutive win over England, a new alert flashed on my screen."Shootouts in Mumbai, 15 injured". Did not pay much attenton to it as it seemed to be some gang war going on from the description given alongwith. But soon the alerts frequency increased at an alarming rate. With eah alert painting a grimmer picture. The moment the words changed to "Terror Attacks in Mumbai", I decided to watch the streaming webcast of the news (No television at home, these are the times when you really miss it). I sat glued to the screen as the true magnitude of the events taking place about 40 kms from me came alive. Terrorists had attacked some of the most important locations in Mumbai including The Taj hotel and CST station. The pictures showed bodies being taken out of the Oberoi Hotel. And the details of the attacks at all the locations began to emerge. It was rivetting to watch but there was a sense of despair as I went to sleep. Just could not believe that this kind of thing could have happened.
Woke up today morning when the phone rang. It was a call from home. Soon there were a few more calls from relatives and friends. There was a general sense of shock among everyone I talked to regarding the events. On switching on the live streaming, more details emerged. The worst part was hearing about the deaths of the senior police officers involved in the operations. When I reached office, the mood seemed tense. The attacks seemed to be the only point of discussion with the work being put on hold. The entire day in office was spent reading the news and checking for updates. To see the pictures of the Taj Hotel on fire was specially distressing as it is one of the iconic images associated with the city of Mumbai. Anyways left office early when the news came in that everyone had been permitted to leave early.
Terror attacks have been carried out before in many places of the world. Mumbai has had to face serial bomb blasts in 1993 and 2006. There have been serial blasts across various cities in India this year, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Agartala... (seems to be an unending list). But the attacks in Mumbai this time have been different. Unlike earlier time when bombs were planted and serial blasts had taken place, this time seemed more like a raid, with terrorists with guns and grenades shooting, killing and taking hostages. They chose to attack the city's iconic locations like Taj, CST, Metro Cinema, Cafe Leopold, Nariman House... As I write this the attacks are still on and its been almost 24 hours now since they began. It has been one of the most planned terror attacks carried out.
There have been other repercussions of the attack also. The financial markets are closed. The England tour of India has been cut short. Chapions League has been postponed. (I support both decisions). Never before has there been such detailed coverage of Indian events across the world. Though this could be mainly due to the fact that there were quite a few foreign nationals amongst the hostages and those killed.
Now for my questions. I know there wont be any answers for this but still...
WHAT is the point of all these attacks? Does killing of non-involved people justify anyone's cause?
WHERE is our security mechanism to prevent these attacks? IF, we have any, that is?
And most importantly, WHY???????

A Cricketing Overdose

20.11.2008
8 of the 10 ICC full member countries were playing international cricket today. Only Pakistan & West Indies were missing from action, though they had been playing in an 3 match ODI series in Abu Dhabi last week only. It was an interesting day's play across the continents. Here are some of the day's highlights.
Game 1: Australia vs New Zealand (1st Test, Day 1, Brisbane): Andrew Symonds scored 8 runs off one ball, which was not accepted by cricinfo software :). Meanwhile Australia suffer a batting collapse to be all out within the day
Game 2: India vs England (3rd ODI, Kanpur): India beat England by 16 runs batting "second" to take 3-0 lead in the seven match series. The bad light robbing chances of a close finish. The ICC should make necessary adjustments to the light rules to ensure such a farcial finish does not take place.
Game 3: Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka (1st ODI, Harare): Zimbabwe lose their last 7 wickets for 3 runs with the last six batsmen failing to score.
Game 4: South Africa vs Bangladesh(1st Test, Day 2, Bloemfontein): Bangladesh continue playing like themselves and stare at certain defeat.
Seems there really is too much cricket going on.

The Colours of the Sky

Here is my first attempt at some serious photography. Pictures taken over the last couple of months by my phone camera.

The "skyscape" at the time of sunset. If you look closely you can see a plane flying overhead in the centre of the picture.

The setting Sun across the Thane Creek taken from my balcony. In the foreground is the swampy area

The one I like best. The rising Sun, taken from the window of a plane. I like the diffraction caused by the plane's wing.

The Victory

India regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the very ground they had lost it four years back. The expected clash of the titans did not take place, with India being the dominant side throughout. The Indian team registered huge victories in Mohali and Nagpur, while Bangalore and Delhi resulted in draws. The victory took India to the No.2 spot in the test rankings still 13 points adrift of the Australians.
The Aussies never looked liked the world champion team that they are. The loss of key players through retirement has severely depleted them. And with Hayden at 37, the team would be further depleted. The so called bench strength does not look that good at the moment. The batting is still pretty solid with Hayden, Hussey, Clarke, Ponting and Katich around but the bowling department never looked like being able to bowl out India. The absence of a spinner hurt them. They did bowl out India twice in the last test because of the most freakish debut of Jason Krejza, who took 12 wickets and got hit for 350 odd runs at an economy rate of around 5 an over! Also Ponting drew plenty of flak for his over rate problems and his strange decisions during the Nagpur tests. Australia look like a team in a bit of bother at the moment. And will have plenty to ponder as they go onto face their die hard rivals New Zealand next.
It was a good series for India. The batsman, with the exception of Dravid all scored runs. The bowlers all got wickets. The series also marked the retirements of two of the greatest Indian cricketers ever. Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly ended their careers with a final victory over the Australians.
Kumble will be remembered as a leg-spinner who did not spin the ball but still got over 600 test wickets and 300 ODI wickets. He will also be remebered for his 10 wicket haul against Pakistan at Kotla, the celebrations on reaching his only test hundred at the Oval, bowling with a broken jaw in the West Indies and most importantly the manner in which he carried the team after the Sydeny controvery. And he has probably contributed in more test wins than any other Indian cricketer.
Ganguly's list of memories would be even longer. A century on debut at Lord's, the big sixes of spinners, the Toronto series, waving his shirt in Lord's, his falling out with Greg Chappel and finally the comeback. And he left with a golden duck in his last innings after being in good form throughout the series. India's most successful captain, he was a fighter to the core. From the time he took over in the aftermath of the match-fixing scandal, India also began winning abroad. And he never stopped fighting and making comebacks into the team.
With the retirement of these two legends there are voids in the team which need to be filled. Kumble the captain has been replaced by Dhoni. Amit Mishra has taken over the leg-spin duties. However Ganguly's replacement is not clear.Probably Badrinath or Kaif. Also Dravid's lean patch has just continued. He might be the next in the line, though being my favourite cricketer, I would not want him to go but I cant stand the torture he is going through at the same time. The other places all seem to be in secure hands.
Now its time for the series against England which begins with a 7-match ODI series starting from 14th. Given the fact that England were shot out for than 100 by a second-string Mumbai team and India's recent ODI form, this should be another easy victory for India. My prediction 5-2 or 6-1 victory for Team India.