Just Wondering

The world is saying Thank God Its Friday while me is saying "हे भगवान्, अभी फ्रायडे ही है!" The angst of working (correction - going to office) for 6 days a week. Sitting all alone in a conference room, which is getting colder with every passing moment, waiting for a meeting to end in the next room, cant help but wonder

"Am I going to get bored to death or will I freeze to death?"

Not sure which is worse.

The Weather Forecast

Weather forecasters are a much maligned lot. Nobody says that they are ever right. When they are right, nobody notices. When they are wrong, everybody does. Yet the profession has still survived. And people do check the weather forecasts. 

Mumbai residents though do not need any weather forecaster. They can safely say, "It will rain the moment I step out on to the road". (during the months of June to August).

Here is a picture of a weather forecasting stone in England (found this via a forwarded mail)

The Language of India

A little conversation today made me wonder what is really the language of India.

I was approaching Raghuleela Mall (Vashi, Navi Mumbai) when I was stopped by a lady in an auto.

Lady: "Excuse me, is this the Inorbit Mall?"

Me: "No, Inorbit is on the other side." (while pointing towards the general direction)

Lady: "Thanks"

Now, there is nothing much said here. But the entire conversation was carried out in English, not Hindi nor Marathi. Two Indians in India holding a random conversation asking for directions in a foreign language. Just made me wonder "Is English now becoming the preferred language for general communication in India.?"

Lonavala Trip

July 18, 2010

A day trip to Lonavala with some friends. The drive from Mumbai was great and the weather was simply awesome. It rained just enough to make it pleasant without creating trouble during the drive. So our lot drove though Lonavala & Khandala, took pics and ate the famous Chikki also. Here is a little photo collection of the place. Best part of the trip, it was random and just happened.

The Drive

The clouds, the hilly terrain, the winding roads

The misty weather

Khopoli township

Trees in Water

A post about the trip would not be over if I do not mention the most popular reference, the Khandala song.

My Day of the Bandh

Monday, July 5th, 2010

Bharat Bandh called by all opposition parties over fuel price hike. The bandh could be called a success. It certainly disrupted my life a bit. I did not go to work. First time since my days in Assam has any bandh had any effect on my life. Last time it was in February, 2006. ULFA had called an Assam bandh and my flight from Kolkata to Dibrugarh via Guwahati was halted in Guwahati itself. Alternative arrangements were made to reach Duliajan next morning by road. But that is another story for some other day.

Coming back to the Bharat Bandh. I wasn't sure whether I should step out of house or not. So I did a quick SMS survey of a few friends and colleagues asking them about their plans. The responses were as usual mixed. 

"In two minds, not sure, wait and watch".

"Not going, not that brave"

Some called to say they would be going. 

And finally came the answer "Just reached office".

Now reading this range of response I decided to look out. The traffic was much less. I could see a bunch of policemen also. Public buses plying on the roads. Though they were fewer in number (so it seemed to me) and there were certainly less people in them. I almost made up my mind to go. But at that moment also decided to switch on the TV. Switched on to the news. All I saw was a local train being stopped, buses being pelted with stones. Our round the clock news channels were certainly making all eefforts to motivate people to stay at home by showing repeated clips of violence at public transport and the deserted roads in Mumbai. And so the mind was made up. No way I was going to go out now.

And I also wondered "By not going to work, was I a participant in the protest movement, and supporting the people who called the bandh, or had I simply taken a personal safety decision?". This question I put on Facebook and Twitter. There were a couple of interesting replies.

"Neither... you are simply bunking"

"You are not wrong"

I am not sure what, if anything, was gained out of this bandh. Seemed to me a massive exercise in futility. Nothing really happened. With no elections in the horizon, the government can simply ignore such activities. Many people took it as an extended weekend. Loss to the exchequer must have been huge though. I used up a leave.

And for the people enforcing the bandh, it must have been a really LONG day at work.

Hand of God or Hand of Devil

World Cup Football, 2010

2nd Quarter-Final, Uruguay vs Ghana.

Last minute of Extra-Time. The sores are level at 1-1 after 120 minutes of struggle in which the teams dominated in phases. Ghana make a last ditch effort to score the winning goal. Off a free-kick, the ball floats in dangerously in the penalty box. After multiple hits around the penalty box it is finally going into the goal, with the goal keeper beaten. But before the ball could cross over the goal line, Uruguayan player Luis Suarez blocks it with his hands and prevents it from crossing over. A deliberate handball and a foul. Suarez is immediately shown the red card and Ghana awarded a penalty. Ghanian striker hits the crossbar and the ball goes over. And the referee blows the whistle. The game went into a penalty shootout which Uruguay won 4-2 and proceed on to the semi-finals.

The Ghanian players were gutted and so were their supporters, the entire African continent. They had been denied the chance to become the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals by the thinnest of margins. The Uruguayans were celebrating.

The focus though was on one man, Luis Suarez. No one is quite sure whether what he did was right or ethical. It was certainly legal. He has probably made the greatest self-sacrifice in footballing history. But in doing so ensured that his team still had a chance. And it was a chance which the Uruguayans did take. Suarez did commit a foul (a deliberate one) and was duly punished also. Ghana failed to capitalise on that.  He didn't get away with cheating. He is going to miss the semi-finals but has ensured that the rest of his team doesn't.

Ghana maybe feeling cheated. Uruguayans are celebrating. But the neutral observers have been left divided. Suarez's act is in the proper grey area. He was punished for a crime but his team survived because of his crime. In one sense the perfect crime and the ultimate self-sacrifice for the greater cause.

It certainly was the Hand of God for the Uruguayans but "Hand of Devil" for all Africa.

70-68

Wimbledon 2010, Gentlemen's Singles 1st Round, John Isner (USA) beats Nicolas Mahut (France) 

Score: 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-3), 70-68

Match started on Tuesday and ended on Thursday, with a playing time of more than 11 hours with the final set itself lasting over 8 hours. On Wednesday as the final set reached the 20 all stage, everyone's attention had shifted to Court 18 at Wimbledon. Soon the score updates and match details were pouring out everywhere. My Twitter and Facebook timelines were flooded with score updates. And at 59 all the match had to be halted due to bad light. The commentator announced that the game would resume for a third day on Thursday and reminded everyone that this was not a cricket match but a game of tennis which is going on. Thursday was a historic day because the Queen was visiting Wimbledon for the first time since 1977. But attention was totally on the goings-on in Court 18. Isner and Mahut played 20 more games before finally Isner managed to break Mahut's serve in the 138th game to win the match.

Probably every single professional tennis record got broken. Longest Match, Most Games, Most Aces (both player broke that by a huge margin). In fact the final set itself was much longer than any tennis match ever played. The match already has a wiki page of its own now. The scorecard failed during the match as it could not keep up with the number of games. And the best twitter comment was about Norwegian officials rushing to Court 18 to negotiate a settlement between the players. It even managed to steal the headlines from the ongoing football world cup.

It was a remarkable game representing probably everything that is good about sport. Two players fought long and fought hard. Neither conceded an inch but they played in the right spirit. And what really stands out is that  in the bigger context this match meant nothing. It was just a first round match. There were no trophies or big prize money to play for. The winner was most likely going to emerge too exhausted to may be even stand on his feet, forget playing in the next round. Which was exactly the outcome. Isner lost in straight sets in just over an hour in the second round. He was exhausted but he did come to play the 2nd round and completed it, thus showing true respect for his opponent Mahut. Isner later withdrew from doubles. Sometime in sports it seems unfair that there actually has to be a result. This was one such instance.

This post is for the two men who gave the world a remarkable game of tennis to be remembered forever. To John Isner and Nicolas Mahut.

Its Raining

5 nights ago, I wished it would rain. There were intermittent, sporadic showers. But no monsoon rains. At least not until today. It rained in the night, It rained during the day. And I got a little wet coming back from office. But absolutely loved the weather. There is something marvellously uplifting about the rain. The pit-pat-patter of the raindrops on the windows, getting soaked in the showers. Just marvellous. 

And the rains will make the heart want to sing. Here is list of random rain songs which came to my mind.

1. Shubha Mudgal's - Ab Ke Saawan Aise Barse
 Hoping for a great rainy season. Full of energy, this is a song celebrating the arrival of the monsoon.

2. BJ Thomas - Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head
If I am outside while it is raining, the song automatically starts playing in my head.

3. Saawan Barse Tarse Dil - from the movie Dahek
Soft romantic number, and Sonali Bendre, nothing more to be said.

4. Ek Lakdi Bheegi Bhaagi Si - all time classic from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi
Kishore Kumar, Madhubala, a rainy night, a broken down car and simply MAGIC.

5. Saawan Ka Mahina Pawan Kare Sor - from the movie Milan
Shor nahi baba sor, SOR

Let It Rain

Just Past Midnight
Lightning & Thunder But No Rain

A Cool Breeze

Body Wants Sleep,Mind Doesn't

Gmail, Facebook, Twitter All Ckecked

Daily Blog Updated

Nothing To Watch On TV

Don't Really Know What I Am Doing

Dreading The Days Ahead

And Looking Forward To Them As Well

Just Let it Rain

Homework in Today's World

Found this article here. The picture here really is the sign of times now. There is now a business in doing homework for nursery kids also.