Blasts in Mumbai again.. Leaders silent

Terror strikes Mumbai again. I am feeling so close to the Naseeruddin Shah in "A Wednesday". It is at times like these that people look up to their leaders with hopeful eyes, people that they have chosen and elected from many. We choose our leaders so that they protect us from harm, comfort us when we are tense, inspire us when we are downcast, calm us down when we are hyperventilating and fight for us when we are attacked.
At times like the present, a strong message from our leaders to these terror outfits, telling them that there shall be no rest till we have exterminated these parasites from our land and that we should not panic would have really brought a little belief and strength in the our minds which are right now wondering that - till when is all this going to keep happening to us. The answer is right there - till we let it happen. Till we don't send a strong message out there that nobody can do this to us and get away with it.
Update: The PM has just addressed the nation and told us to be calm and harmony so that these terrorists do not succeed in their nefarious design.
WTF! No mention of defeating them and prevention of further such activities. Few sons of bitches are killing my countrymen out there like dogs and I'm supposed to remain calm. Shouldn't I look up to my leaders for seeking revenge and protecting us.

Sati still happens..

Its shameful to know that even after so many years of education and women empowerment, sati is still occurring in parts of our country. Who is blame for all this?
Renuka Narayan points out the guilty in this article that she wrote for Hindustan Times.
While reading through the article on Wiki, I came across this.
Apparently, Brahmin scholars of the second millennium justified the practice and it was lauded by them as required conduct in righteous women, and it was explained that this was considered not to be suicide. It was deemed an act of peerless piety, and was said to purge the couple of all accumulated sin, guarantee their salvation and ensure their reunion in the afterlife. The height of fundamentalism, stupidity, rigidity and lack of common sense just boggles my mind.
Also, the quite a few of reported cases come from the region of Shekhawati in Rajasthan, a region known for also providing the largest number of people to the Indian Army (can't see any connection here or make a funny comment).

Encouragement for obese men

All slightly obese men out there, if you have a slight amount of apprehension regarding your growing belly, this article should put your mind (and belly at ease).
Apparently, having breasts sightly smaller (or larger) than your girlfriend is not a bad thing after all.

Hitler's only ball

In the news, it has been confirmed that Hitler was monorchic i.e he had only one ball. Well, guess now I can't say "Hitler had balls".
Over time it has been established that Hitler was sexually abnormal and that probably he never consummated sex with anyone. Few theories floating around are, he had homosexual tendencies (as he spent a considerable part of his life with them), he had an incestuous relationship with his cousin, he had a relationship with a 16 year old child, he got off on peeing and stuff on women and various kinds of obscene, unpleasant theories based on some unverified, unreliable information.
Looks like he decided that instead of screwing woman the normal way, he is going to royally screw the world. And by God, did he succeed.

Requiem for a dream

One of the most disturbing and wonderful movie I have seen. Just re-affirms your faith in the beauty of life :P. Provides an insight into the minds of people and you connect more with them since you are more aware of their desires, motivations and limitations.
A must watch for it does not show you what you want to see but the truth.

Bond.. the eternal charisma

A very noteworthy article on James Bond and Quantum of Solace for all the Bond fans. Love the part "Daniel Craig, the new James Bond, has many invigorating strengths, but I doubt that the ability to deliver a déclassé sexual pun with a twinkle in the eye, and somehow escape with dignity intact, is among them." Just my thought exactly. That was an art that Pierce Brosnan excelled in. I still distinctly remember the piercing glance that he gave to Denise Richards in World is not enough when she came out of her radiation costume in exceedingly hot hot pants and say in response to her cutting introduction -
That would be me, Dr. Christmas Jones and I don't want to hear any jokes.
- I don't know any doctor jokes

Before Sunrise..

It's ironic that I am at a loss of words at the end of such a dialogue driven movie. I just didn't want the movie to end. Why do movies have to end? Or more specifically, just in case Karan Johar decided to take these words to heart, why did THIS movie have to end?
Yes, it's fantastic to imagine that a girl you just met would get off on a random station with you, but then, isn't that what we go to the movies for. To extend reality to the point where it seems reachable while you are watching the movie, but as soon as you step out into the real world, you think "hmm.. can/will that ever happen with me".
Julie Delpy is beautiful in a sweet, exotic way that only french can be. Sigh!! The conversation is realistic and the ambiance perfect(it's Europe for chrissakes!). I was just mesmerized and intrigued by the intensity of dialogues. They seemed to be so philosophical in nature and profound in thought. Just makes you wish that you also had a greatest night like that where you were just together and discovering each other through soulful, intense conversation and even more intense kisses. Just walking around Vienna knowing that this is their only night together and that they might never see each other again.
At the station, when Ethan Hawke is about to leave, you don't want the movie to end as you are now a part of the two lovers who do not want the sun to rise. And when the movie ends, you feel emptiness around you, a sense of loss of a magnificent experience that just stimulated your mind and blew your heart away. A feeling of "are they never going to meet again. They were so perfect for each other". Of course the skeptics will say that such experiences occur only for a short period and it's impossible for them to stretch over longer periods of time say - your whole life :P.
Of course, they meet again in the sequel "Before sunset" (which I saw just after that), but this time the spark is there, the chemistry is there but just that they have grown older and well - things are not the same anymore and you just cringe at the thought of "what if they had never separated in the first place?"

Proud moment

Finally, a set of keywords put my blog on top Google search results. :D
Those keywords are " beating the bishop iit".
I find it hilarious that this set is so rare that it my blog is the first on search results. Kind of seems like one of the most popular activities on campus. :P
You can find the post Beating the Bishop- Cardinal Sin here.

I hate IIT

I hate IIT. I hate the fact that I have had to waste years of my youth on something that is so fucking brain dead. Why did I spend two precious years of my life in one of the best schools of the country doing absolutely nothing? I didn't attend school much or its classes. Didn't take part in any extra-curricular activity. So many opportunities of exchange programs, debates, quizzes, drama, sports, concerts, parties gone waste - and why?? Not because I wasn't interested. Maybe not one of the best that were there in school but certainly with a potential. There was no better school than that to explore myself.
Why didn't I try wooing a girl there when I had full two years instead of making attempts now at a 3 day college festival where I randomly decide on a girl to talk to and it never materializes into something. Why didn't I make friends there with whom I could have gone partying? Why didn't I go on a exchange program there when I had the chance? Why didn't I play for four years of my life, something which I loved doing? Why didn't I learn a musical instrument in school?
Ohh.. yes, I was too busy studying for one of the most fucking prestigious examinations of the country. For entering a place where you are allocated your branch not on your interest (Ohh.. no, at IIT they never follow the "do what YOU want to do" principle), you are allocated branch on your performance in an examination which never told you about your interests at all. The place which for reasons I cannot fathom is compared to the best in the world - though mind you- only by us. Not by anyone else. It's a place which subsidizes education to ridiculously low levels which is just pure stupid charity because none of its alma matter bothers to give a token as a symbol of gratitude. They come here to leave. They have no gratitude for this place. This place only gave them a platform that was much higher than those around us. It did not change them or make them better in an way. It was just there. A tunnel you have to pass.
We are part of this process because we have always been a part of this process. Ever since in school, we have followed a chain that decided our path for us. If you (un)lucky enough to be one of the (so called)bright ones, you are forced to tread an even narrower path. You do what the bright student before you did. If he joined some coaching, so do you. If he changed cities, so do you. Ultimately, if you are bright enough, you make it to the hallowed portals of IIT which are infamous for reducing your interest in academics to levels that no one deemed possible.
You are stuck in the narrowed path once again. To do something here that that helps you get the best job -again according to other people- be it very high CPI, your talent in something or some "managerial" post that you managed to get yourself by politics. If you realize that may be this place is not for you as you do not want to do any of that stuff, you are in the middle of a fucking bridge where you don't want to go forward as that's not where you want to go nor can you turn back as that effectively puts to waste your whole life and you don't know any other path to take if you go back. You would have known your path if you would have paid attention to yourself in the first place. I sometimes think that compliments and wishes given by your relatives/neighbors/random stupid people you don't know are a curse as they make you believe in that ideal that you feel you should live up to even if that's not who you are. Why the fuck should I do academics/science - just because I get good grades in it. Do I have to officially suck at something so that I then look for something that I am really passionate about. It would have been better had I not gotten such good grades in school. Maybe then I would have explored myself and found something that my heart wants. Maybe if hadn't started performing "averagely" in IIT, I would have stuck with this even though I wasn't happy. I would have gone on to lead a perfectly normal, average life that almost everyone who leaves from here does. A well paying job, a house, an arranged marriage and the brand of IIT on our back that automatically certifies that you should be worshiped by people who are enamored by it or be stereotyped as self-centered, stupid ass as most of the wiser people (specially girls) in other colleges do.
So how do I find my vocation? I don't know. I am as clueless as the guy who didn't do well in school and is now somewhere in some random college (note the condescending tone in my voice). And to top it all, I didn't have fun (fun that I wanted to have) in life. That fun now seems like a basic necessity of life. The mind always seeks to fulfill that requirement first. I am fucking 20 for God's sake. When is there going to be a time when I get to do all the things that I want to do? People tell me that you explore yourself and find what you want to do? I don't know. And that doesn't seem to be important right now. I am just going through the motions. After all, if I could resist every temptation that the city of Delhi was offering, I can certainly pass years yearning for those temptations without ever getting them. There is no purpose in life. Only the purpose of relaxing, something that is not on the bridge. It's there just besides you but off that bridge. You have to jump off the bridge to go there. But that's never gonna happen. Only when that happens in your life will you even think about the higher motives of life. Right now, everything is on hold. Except time..

Obama

Obama has won the U.S presidential elections. I am glad. I have listened and read his speeches and he is one of the most brilliant orators I have seen. His ability to stir up something in the hearts of people and make them believe in themselves is exemplary.
Wish there was someone like that in India as well, who would remind us to cast our differences aside and realize that we are one nation, one country and one people.

Finally back to my room..

Ever since I have been back from vacations, I have spent almost all my time in the lab. This period in between Diwali and winter break is probably the most unpleasant phase ever. This semester I'm really feeling the heat.
With a couple of quizzes, an assignment submission and a project preview demo gone by,
I am still faced with a prospect of couple of more quizzes, couple of assignments, a project and of course the endsems about which I have no clue whatsoever.
Meanwhile, thinking about my winter vacations.
Don't want to go to Silvassa. Absolutely nothing to do there.
Want to go to Delhi but have nowhere to stay.
Dehradun is an option but can't stay there for too long as I want to practice ballroom dancing for MoodI.
Which reminds me: Anyone(female) knowing/interested in salsa and is interested in participation please contact me.
Random blog but I'm too sleepy to write more. Phew..

Last lecture by Randy Pausch

Just saw the video yesterday. Transcript here. Inspiring to say the least. A few quotes that I would like to quote.
"When you are screwing up and nobody's saying anything to you anymore, that means that they gave up."
"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. They are there for us to show how badly we want something. They are there to stop people who do not want it badly enough. They are there to stop the OTHER people."
"Be good at something. It makes you valuable."

Fading into history...

Ganguly announces his retirement. A really nice post evoked nostalgic memories.
Memories of the one night in July 2002 in Dehradun when a young 14 year old sat glued to his television set cheering his team in the final. After a disappointing bowling performance, he is a bit subdued as his team is left chasing a mammoth score. However, the eternal optimist in him doesn't die and his faith in the batting line up of his team has not wavered. He lives with his Grandparents and mother and the norm is to sleep early. They tell him to go to sleep. It's dark outside and he has school tomorrow. But how can he miss India's batting. After all, it's the FINAL. It doesn't matter to him that the chase is humongous. It doesn't matter if the team has a reputation for being bad chasers. It doesn't matter if the match is happening in the Mecca of cricket, in a foreign land - a fact that already puts India at a disadvantage considering it's poor track record abroad. It doesn't matter if the team is also renowned for 'choking' in the finals. There is still hope.
It must have been with more than just hope that the Captain of the Indian Team, Sourav Ganguly, addressed his team. It must have been Belief. Belief that refused to take into consideration that the odds were against his team. Belief that they could chase down the target and light up the faces of millions of 14 year olds who were stuck to their television - hoping. I don't know what he said to his team that day but it seems that a couple of youngsters shared his belief.
The chase begun and what a night it turned it out to be!!
The thread of hope turned into a strong rope with the amazing start given. His eyes lit up and his belief grew strong. Dramatic turn of events and the rope was cut into a single frayed thread. All hope was dangling by that thread. The lights in the house were out. Yet the 14 year old sat faithfully in front of his television. His optimism was diminished, his mind was troubled at the thought of yet another final's defeat, every fibre of his body said "Go to sleep.. It's gone". His mother echoed the same thought from her room. But some force refused to let go. He continued to watch hoping against hope. The task was getting more impossible by the second.
Hold on. Wait a minute, tide was turning. Two young men were turning it on at the crease. His brow cleared a little. An occasional smile flickered across his lips. His heart started beating louder. Was it possible? Even after so much had gone wrong, can the match be won. Can everything be good again. Every ball was a prayer. Gasps escaped his throat involuntarily. He was as much part of the match as the players. Sweat creased his brow. But he didn't move an inch. The desire to itch his back was great but if he moved, the dream might end - such was his superstition and the amount of sacrifice that he was willing to make for his team.
Match neared it's end. His heart was beating frantically now. His movements were animated. He was thinking- We could win. The desire was beyond imaginable levels. The rest as they is history. As Kaif scrambled for the winning run, I leaped up with joy and a roaring whoop. So did millions of others across the world. Ganguly was there in the stadium topless and vociferously mouthing those words that I had recently come to use. Just to be a part of that moment bad-mouthing the English was a dream. A dream I was part of. A dream that was made sweeter by Ganguly's antics. A memory to remember.
GreatBong puts it wonderfully well. A few snippets I found lovely.

..After all, once “there is nothing left to try, there is no greater power than the power of goodbye”
It is strange this strong emotional connect we feel with sportsmen, a bond even stronger for those sportsmen you grew up with. he ones for whom you put down your books, against your better judgment, the night before the exam. The ones for whom you stayed up all night, even knowing about the early train that needs catching. The ones whom you argued for (and against) with your friends over a cup of tea on rainy afternoons.
He goes on sentimentally about his beloved sportsperson and his memories. Memories which are vividly etched even in our memory. Memories of his brilliance

..And most importantly memories of Sourav walking the earth with barely controlled aggression—the kind that made you stand up from your sofa and shout “Give it to those bastards”. Of never backing down from a fight. Of taking off his shirt in the holiest of holies, giving a metaphorical middle-finger salute to the Old Boys of Lords. Of uniting a team torn asunder by match-fixing and welding them into a team that, win or lose, would never give up.

If there is one enduring legacy of Dada, it is that he taught an almost perennially defeatist Indian cricket team “to believe” (For those who have sat through wimpy, gutless Indian performances through the 80s will appreciate even more the truth of this statement). ...
Why just the Indian cricket team? Putting on my pop sociologist cap, let me say that Sourav’s place in history, more than as a cricketer, is because he embodied the “in your face” spirit of the economically resurgent nation of the 1990s-2000s— a young nation eager to throw off the Gandhian ideal of turning the other cheek, a confident nation no longer ashamed to pay back the opposition in its own currency.

One more from the Fellowship of the Rings

Sam: It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines it'll shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something even if you were too small to understand why. But I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand, I know now folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?

Sam: That there's some good in the world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.

LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring

Saw Fellowship again a couple of days ago. Yes, I am really jobless and this doesn't explain my poor midsem marks. Some quotes that I love from this movie.

Gandalf:
Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends.

Frodo:
I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf:
So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.

If anyone hasn't seen the trilogy-- you suck!!
On a more polite note, you are highly encouraged to see it. :P

Active weekend!!

After a full weekend at home, I am back in campus to be slaughtered for the coming weeks. I visited an old age home and was struck by the amount of sadness and cheerfulness at the same time in the place. There's something that stirs up inside you when you see a elderly person who has done and achieved a lot in his life, full of anecdotes, vivid experiences, memories and plentiful advice just reduced to a weakling in a tiny room, ousted from his own house by his own children.
I caught up with an old friend of mine, now in NDA. Just how different their lives are. Sigh!! You envy them and you feel sorry for them. Envy for the level of fitness they have and the uniform they are going to be wearing at the end of their tenure. I, on the other hand shall pass out as just another un-groomed, unfit, non-mannered engineer with a salary package to inflate my tummy and reduce the hair on my head.
Had dinner at Mainland China. A very fine place for chinese, though very heavy on the pocket. Had duck for the first time. Liked it!!
Saw "welcome to sajjanpur". Definitely a one time watch movie. Lots of social messages beneath the peals of laughter. Amrita Rao looks her best ever (personal opinion). Very cute and appealing. Loved the lyrics of the song played expressing the inability of Shreyas to express himself to her because of the circumstances.

"Man ki gali mein chor chhupa hai
Nisdin chaahe hai kya kaise bataye
Hichkichaye tadpa jaaye
Dil ki baaton ko hothon pe na laaye
Dil ki baatein jitni
Hmm.. aankhein kehti apni tu ban na paaye"


Have had similar feelings myself when have been unable to put my feelings into words, being too scared of rejection or maybe just apprehension. Nothing pinches your heart than the thought of "what if I had told her". Would something have happened. You shall never know and find out.
Another first for the weekend: came back via train on an unreserved seat. Went and took a seat in the reserved compartment and waited apprehensively for the rightful owner to come and claim his/her seat. Nothing happened and I fell into a deep sleep after the train started moving. However, it was too good to last. Barely, an hour had passed that I was woken up the man and his family. I got up quickly, conscious of neighbors watching me. Spent the rest of the journey standing. Sigh!!

Frustration!

Love the following image. Hopefully, just a figment of imagination else anybody taking fast Rubik's cube solving classes.

Ponderings of the (un)troubled mind

Very recently, at our department freshie welcome, a professor when asked to say a few words managed to convey the following message across. I'm not completely sure whether this was intended as it was interpreted by me :P. But then, it's MY blog.
He said that our generation knew what we wanted (I'm sure he was speaking in terms of percentages) and worked hard to get it. According to him, we are working too much (don't we all agree). The society is exploiting us and making us work too hard. He told us that we shouldn't let ourselves be exploited.
Another favorite quote of mine that I frequently muse on is "This too shall pass". A very effective antidote to any kind of nervousness, tension, sadness or general frustration. Let's not get intimidated in any way by our circumstances.
Is this just a coincidence that all these thoughts rise to the surface only during the troubled waters of a mind plagued by the mid-semester examinations.
Today was my first mid-sem. Needless to say how it went. :)

Google Chrome

After a lot of excitement, hoopla and hope that all my browser worries shall be laid to rest forever - not much to mention though - IIT splashes cold water over all of it. I can't install the Google Chrome while inside the campus :(
If anybody has managed to unlock the secret of this, please share.
Update: Yes, I installed Chrome using offline installer and yes I was very disappointed to discover that it doesn't work properly in campus. Thanks to all the people though who suggested it to me (but no use finally). :(

Beating the Bishop: Cardinal sin

Thanks to India Uncut Blog I stumbled upon 'Masturbation is evil' site which proclaims that masturbation is evil. It's a wonderful read and should go a long way in terminating this social evil that has taking hold of our society - especially among people who are in the sexually active age-group. It clears away the myths that surround us.
Few extracts:
Myth: Masturbation is harmless.
Reality: Christianity proves that chronic Masturbation causes weakness, depression, forgetfulness and nearsightedness.
Comment: Since when did Christianity become a research group investigating claims.

Myth: There are bigger problems than Masturbation, like drugs and AIDS.
Reality: Experts estimate that there are at least 150,000 Americans masturbating RIGHT NOW! Masturbation costs American businesses at least $3.14 billion in lost productivity every month!
Comment: Wonder how much does India or China suffer because of this evil!!

Myth: Masturbation is a "Victimless Crime."
Reality: Theological experts on Masturbation have come to the conclusion that Masturbation is what is known as a "gateway" sin. This means that Masturbation leads to more serious offenses. In fact, practically all rapists, Sodomites, child molesters and pornography addicts started out as Masturbators.
Comment: Hearing about the group Masturbators for the first time. Do they have regular meetings and stuff. What's their agenda??

Myth: But everyone's doing it!
Reality: Surveys have repeatedly shown that up to 5% of Americans don't Masturbate.
Comment: Aren't 5% people the one who can't rather than don't. We do have a fair share of senior citizens.

It goes so far as to even proposing a solution.

How to stop the current epidemic of Self-Abuse...
..If we are to get tough on Masturbation, we must eliminate Masturbatory paraphernalia. This means outlawing such things as:
..
2. ALL indecent art. This includes paintings, sculptures and photographs. We don't need the Victoria's Secret catalog! Simple, modest underwear would sell itself and minimize unGodly temptations.
Comment: Looks like glossy and attractive magazines are going to go through a lean period
3. Certain food. If we outlaw dildos and require that all sausages, cucumbers and carrots be sold pre-sliced, we will make it much easier for the women among us to resist the temptation to Masturbate.
Comment: My favorite part. Let's also ban bananas, peanuts and lollipops. Let's raze down Eiffel Tower, Qutub Minar and Washington Monument. Let's stop building rockets and submarines.
They get a bit strict here..
..
Zero Tolerance! Zero Tolerance has been a rallying cry in the War On Drugs, and is a policy that should be enacted immediately in the War On Masturbation! Any amount of Masturbation is too much! Any person caught touching his or her genitals without a solid, medically-approved reason should be imprisoned in a boot camp. We will teach our children that God did not give us genitals for entertainment. Way to go!!That should put a stop to all the 'funny' stuff going on

They have even given Scientific PROOF!


In fact, it also goes on to say that chronic masturbation is the cause of assault on America.

MASTURBATION EQUALS VIOLENCE! How can any honest person believe otherwise in the face of the overwhelming evidence presented here? The one thing that the authors of these messages have in common, other than the fact that they are all seething powderkegs of homicidal fury, is that they all MASTURBATE!

LIBERALISM EQUALS VIOLENCE! Note well the Liberal political philosophies parroted by so many of these diatribes! This proves more than ever that ALL Liberal political movements, including Feminism, Communism, Kalistaism, Vegetarianism, the Democratic Party and the current "Peace" movement, are nothing but violent death cults fueled by the evil hatred that comes from Chronic Masturbation! Can anything be more chilling than a warning that you are on a list of victims to be "killed by people with open minds and accepting personalities?"
Is there anything left in this world that hasn't been blamed for the assault on America??

Really happy to see that number of people subscribing to my blog has gone up to 2. The first one being myself :P.
I thank the subscriber for considering my blog worthy enough, and please please let me know who you are.

Sex in Olympics

Recently I came across this very interesting and enlightening article by Matthew Syed in The Times through Mr.Amit Verma's India Uncut blog.
I am putting up some extracts here.

I am often asked if the Olympic village - the vast restaurant and housing conglomeration that hosts the world's top athletes for the duration of the Games - is the sex-fest it is cracked up to be. My answer is always the same: too right it is....
There are the gorgeous hostesses - there to assist the athletes - in their bright yellow shirts and black skirts; there are the indigenous lovelies who came to watch the competitions. And then there are the female athletes - literally thousands of them - strutting, shimmying, sashaying and jogging around the village, clad in Lycra and exposing yard upon yard of shiny, toned, rippling and unimaginably exotic flesh. Women from all the countries of the world: muscular, virile, athletic and oozing oestrogen.
It was not just the guys. The women, too, seemed in thrall to their hormones, throwing around daring glances and dynamite smiles like confetti. ... the mutual longing so evident it was almost comical. It was an effort of will to keep everything in check until competition had finished. But, once we were eliminated from our respective competitions, we lunged at each other like suicidal fencers.
..A British runner said: “The swimmers finished earlier in the week and it was like there was an eruption.” For some reason the International Olympic Committee insists on bunching the swimming events towards the beginning of the Games with the inevitable consequence that the aquatics folk get going earlier - sexually I mean - than everyone else.
There is a famous story from Seoul in 1988 that there were so many used condoms on the roof terrace of the British team's residential block the night after the swimming concluded that the British Olympic Association sent out an edict banning outdoor sex. Here in Beijing, organizers have realized that such prohibitions are about as useful as banning breathing and have, instead, handed out thousands of free condoms to the athletes. If you can't stop 'em, at least make it safe.....
I am not implying, for one moment, that every athlete in Beijing is at it. Just that 99 per cent of them are.

Now comes something that is not really a surprise but a point that makes you ponder

..however, it is worth noting an intriguing dichotomy between the sexes in respect of all this coupling. The chaps who win gold medals - even those as geeky as Michael Phelps - are the principal objects of desire for many female athletes. There is something about sporting success that makes a certain type of woman go crazy....
An Olympic gold medal is not merely a route to fame and fortune; it is also a surefire ticket to writhe.
But - and this is the thing - success does not work both ways. Gold-medal winning female athletes are not looked upon by male athletes with any more desire than those who flunked out in the first round. It is sometimes even considered a defect, as if there is something downright unfeminine about all that striving, fist pumping and incontinent sweating. Sport, in this respect, is a reflection of wider society, where male success is a universal desirable whereas female success is sexually ambiguous.

Read the rest of you so desire. Pretty informative, I must say. This makes me ponder- why was Abhinav Bindra in such a hurry to return home!! No wonder, 4 of our hockey coaches made it to Beijing, even though our team failed to even qualify. Now, let's not judge them- they are supposed to see, observe and learn moves and play ball. Phelps made 5 new world records and Bolt 3 in this olympics for being the quickest in their respective fields. Hopefully, Phelps and Bolt do not do everything at that speed. :P
P.S::: A lot of people might ask- how to gain access to the Olympic village??
Sad news people, only representatives of the country - by that I mean only the participating athletes and coaches are allowed. Time to bring out those 'forgotten' running shoes I say.

Bolt and relay

Bolt won his third gold of the Beijing Olympics in 4x100m relay race, thus helping in setting up the 3rd world record in sprint event. The quartet of Asafa Powell, Michael Frater, Nesta Carter and Usain Bolt completed the race in 37.10 seconds, as compared to 37.40s set earlier by the US.
I really don't know how the relay timings work and the technicalities that go into increasing speed, but I can straightway see the average time of a single partner to be 9.27s, surpassing the individual 100m WR of 9.69 by Bolt himself by a long distance. It means at least a couple of sprinters must have surpassed the WR easily.
It's amazing to see that the individual times are not mentioned in the relay races. For me, they epitomize the feeling of team spirit. You really have to marvel at the event which brings together the fastest racers of a country, each having to give their absolute best to bring home the Medal. One error, one off day and it's all gone.
The platform which brings together Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt to give their best for each other and their country must have inspire some awe. The two rivals supporting each other and wishing well for the other is magnificent. Let us savor this feeling of team spirit and toast to it.

Jaane Tu...

I saw Jaane Tu.. during the holidays. Twice actually, in theater. However, thats not because I became a big fan of the 'romantic teen' movie. It's a light, happy film with an ending we all know before the movie has started. It's a decent watch and thankfully does not go off the track in between (goes a bit wayward but manages to hang on). The reason(s) why I saw the movie twice are two. I am not mentioning the first( my close friends already know that :P). The second reason is that I had met the cast of the film - all the snaps are there on facebook. The experience of watching a movie changes after you have seen the cast up close.

Which reminds me to tell a lot of people the story of how it happened. As we all know (or some of us at least) that I was in Pune in my vacations. My bua lives in a posh colony and we had gone there to celebrate her birthday. Incidentally, and the cause of it all , Aamir Khan's sister also lives in the same building a couple of floors below my bua'a place. Jaane tu.. had just released and the whole cast was in town to promote the event. They stopped by Aamir's sister's house for drinks and dinner. Needless to say there was additional security in the colony and when they arrived, we could hear the commotion right up the 7th floor- where we were. My cousin and her friends rushed down like all (new) star-struck kids. So did my MOM!!! :P
I followed a long time later when my mother forced me to (not that I didn't want to in my heart but was acting nonchalant). Since they lived in the same building, all of them graciously invited us over. The first thing I notice as I enter is the shaven head of Aamir Khan. He is serving himself some biryani. Then obviously, the whole cast-each one of them looking much better than on screen.

Seriously!! Genelia is looking really awesome and Imran Khan is looking really cute (my sister said that who almost fainted in my arms after getting his autograph which is her most treasured possession). I didn't know who Abbas Tyrewala was (for the ignorant- he is the film' director). Afterwards, I was told that the talkative baldie clicking away was him. Genelia was remarkable.
But, Sugandha was a revelation. Looking very classy and stunning. She was intelligent and easy to talk to. Oh Yeah.. she plays Shaleen in the movie- the girl with colored hair. In my second viewing of the movie, my attention was fixated on her rather than on the main leads. The rotdu of the movie was present as well.
A number of girls were there looking really delighted on seeing Adonis himself- Imran Khan. Their Pics have come out really nice. My sister is looking so gleeful. Almost satanic. I really tease her about it.
So thats all folks!! Hope your curiosity is satiated.

Giver of rain-Malhar!!

Yesterday went to Malhar for the 3rd year consecutively (without being a participant once again). To say the least, I was very disappointed on all accounts. The crowd(read GIRLS) wasn't that great. The participation in pretty much all the events was not really up to the mark. The organization was pathetic, rude and just plain stupid. I have pretty much gotten used to not knowing which path to take as some organizer is eventually going to rudely push me off it to some God forsaken path which takes thrice the time and energy to reach the desired destination. One thing which really attracts me to Malhar is the street dance which is probably their best event with everything you look for when you come to Xavier's fest. Due to the shitty disorganized management, I was actually and literally thrown out the college even though I had a VIP pass which technically should have allowed me access inside the foyer where I could have seen the dance sitting peacefully. Such is life (read Malhar).
It has been a downhill ride to Malhar in my experiences since the time I came here as a 1st year student, full of joy, expectation, hope, ambition and innocence :P. Our group had come with carefree abandon without even possessing the small scrap of paper which can gain you access inside the hallowed walls of Xavier's where the maidens reside. We stood in the line and saw some people being turned back due to lack of Pass or just plain whim. However, we decided to try our luck. We went there and told him as a matter of fact the name of our college. He looked incredulous and then asked us again. We gave him our ID's and he took them inside and out came 5 passes along with our ID's. We were impressed with the indentation that our institute inspired in inhabitants in this illustrious land ( YES, I can do a bit of alliteration). That was my best experience of Malhar, not to mention the extremely sweet sounding and pretty girls selling us their fest magazine.
I got through in my 2nd year by pretending to be a participant in some dance or dramatics event and moving in with my college's actual participants. That saved a lot of time that would have otherwise been spent in standing the commoner's line.
This time, I had to do exactly that. Stand among the plebeians and curse the security in charges. They are very particular about security. In fact, so much so that they took off the belt of a sophie and kept it saying that it's buckle was too BIG!!! LOL!! One can go on forever mentioning the acts of sheer stupidity that these people manage to invent by the dozens every year.

Busy, Busy!!

Third year in my college life has begun. I have planned to do all the stuff that I haven't for some inexplicable reason not done in the first two.
Life's been busy so far in this sem. Haven't yet completed the Great Indian Novel which is weighing on my mind. Playing squash a lot. Went swimming more times in 3 weeks than in 2 years here. It's really exhausting at the end of the day. Will have a lot more to do soon. Got quizzes coming up. Same old story once again. Sigh!!

The Great Indian Novel

Currently, reading The Great Indian Novel. A supreme book. All out classic. An unforgettable union of Hindu Mythology and modern history. Will try and post extracts as soon as possible.

It's not who you are underneath,
it's what you do that defines you.
-- as quoted by Katie Holmes in Batman Begins

La Femme

The small, pretty hand with delicate fingers and manicured nails carefully painted maroon and dried carefully, rose upwards and slowly ran through the open black hair with a brownish tinge which fell till below her shoulder blades. She was doing this very often and I was trying my best to sneak glances at her with a "I don't care look" without seeming obtrusive or creepy.
We were both attending a lecture somewhere. We were both listening intently. Wearing a maroon colored kurta (very traditional yet very chic!) ending a little short of her knees, with a matching multani mitti colored loose salwar and dupatta to go with it, she carried it to Perfection. :P The word seems overused now that I have actually seen perfection.
She leans forward, straightens her dupatta and leans back again. She has ballet style maroon flat shoes which have a traditional feel. She takes out her feet from them for a minute. Ohh..dear God!! I fell in love with her feet. Very smooth, just like the rest of her skin. Pedicured feet with nails painted identical to the ones on her hands. Petite, delicate and stunning, I think I could look at them forever. Not to happen though, she puts them back in. However, my eyes keep reverting back to her feet again for a glimpse. It's so much easier to glance at her feet rather than turning towards her face all the time. Everything about her is mesmerizing and and her feet just reflect her stunning beauty.
Her beautiful hands move down towards her lap where she has a a book placed on top of a brown shoulder bag which matches completely with her attire. Even the book seems perfectly suitable to its immediate surroundings. I guess she could have done no wrong. Those eyes full of concentration listening to a lecture - eyes of a journalist analyzing everything word spoken. Those thin, perfectly formed lips which curve slightly at the ends sometimes to give the most enigmatic smile ever. I just can't have enough of her. I realize I can't just watch her go after the lecture. I have to do something. I try to keep my throat from becoming dry. Trying painfully hard to be COOL. Be composed and try and take any opportunity that presents itself. I rack my brains hard and fast to come up with a line, a saying, an opening - anything to talk to her. The bloody damned slow brain seems to be working slower than usual, in fact- not at all. It's also trying to concentrate on the lecture. Now, what the hell is that. Here I am with a surreal, exotic woman trying to come up with an intellectual remark that could spark off a meaningful conversation and all that my brain seems to be doing is listening to the lecture. The time was running out. She seemed fidgety. Packing her book in the bag, she looks ready to leave. I have to do something. This was not acceptable. Sure, you get to see plenty of stunning faces in MoodI, but she was something special. It would have been really sad to see her go without even talking to her. But my mind had refused to come with up with something. I know I am not an expert at making relationships out of thin air but I am not that bad at starting a conversation. This was pathetic. Never had I been so painfully aware of my inability to conjure up a line beginning a conversation. Every second seemed like eternity and the way she moved, seemed like she was going to out of there any moment now.
Well, it was good fortune that I was listening to the lecture because the opening was provided by the lecture. Some guy, heaven bless him, asked a question which brought out a similar reaction from us out loud. A one of exasperation!! My heart skipped a beat. There was my opening!! She said something to herself out aloud and I pitched in with some comment. We both started talking about it at the same time. I hoped she was unable to hear my heart beating, the exhilaration that was causing a celebration loud enough to drown out a World Cup goal. We seemed to making too much noise and were hushed up by the guys surrounding us. What the hell- I thought to myself. She said that let's talk later after the lecture. Yeah baby!! The 15 minutes after the lecture saw me trying to be at my intellectual best so that I don't seem like a jerk in front of her. I am proud to say that I held on quite well though most of my thoughts were directly stolen from Mr. Ramachandra Guha- I owe you one, Big guy- when he was kind enough to enlighten us on one of his book publicity tours at IIM Ahmedabad. She left as she had entered-quickly and gracefully- like an ethereal dream. I had a session with her again an hour later, a meeting to remember.
And the same night, a heartbreak that I haven't still gotten over yet.

Questioning??

Why do my parents accept everything about me? Why don't they scold me or slap me when I behave rudely, when I argue loudly, when I sulk and take out my irritation on them, when I trouble them about every small problem that I have even though I am old enough to argue that I should be allowed to make my own decisions regarding sex, alcohol, smoking et al?
Why do I always complain about them having too much expectations from me and burdening me with their ambitions? Why do I complain when they make certain decisions about my life that I feel I should have the right to decide?
Don't they have the right to do so? Aren't they allowed to keep even a certain amount of control or have a right on us. What do they feel when they are shouted upon by something(one) they took care of since the time it (he/she) had no friggin idea about the world it had come into?
Is it so unjustified on their part to have some expectations from us when they put in a lifetime in making us what we are today? I mean we have expectations from a program (I am a programmer :D ) after we have spent 2 hours on it with a clear objective in mind. They spend two decades of their life (more for others) and they aren't supposed to have even the slightest hope of how it turns out. They sacrifice their ambitions, dreams and desires; instead they turn us into all their aspirations but we feel extraordinarily burdened by their goals that they wish we should achieve.

I am fed like I have returned from a POW camp whenever I go home. The first missed call on my cell is of theirs when I am being bashed up by my friends on my birthday. All my calls end with " lots of love". What have I done to actually deserve this?? Am I still doing something to actually reciprocate it?
Am I grateful for what they have done for me so far? Am I ungrateful or just another person in this world? Maybe my parents are like that towards their parents. Is it a cycle of thanklessness that is continuing that more knowledgeable people term as 'nature's law' and it happens in all species (almost) of the world? I don't know and I don't care. I question my identity, my existence. The quotes "I think therefore I am" or "I am therefore I think" become meaningless. I would not have been and not been able to think. I would not have been such a mentally functioning person to feel that I have outgrown my dependence on them or think about writing this blog..

I have no idea!!

As the title vaguely gives a hint(duh!) , I have no idea what to write or do with my blog. In-fact come to think of it, I have no clue as to why I am even attempting this in the first place. I guess it's just because of my innate and eternal desire to try out everything that is happening around me. It has been there for as long as I remember- for the times that I don't remember I think I must have noticed enough for my incessant crying and wailing( I was a pain in the ass then, even now I guess :D)
So instead of tiring and boring you (jobless people) with my attempts at being interesting, funny and suave leading to the post being rubbish and crap (if it isn't already), I will put in a very interesting piece of derivation that I found recently. It is original to say the least.

HELL EXPLAINED BY CHEMISTRY STUDENT

The following is an actual question given on a
University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The
answer by one student was so "profound" that the
professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet,
which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of
enjoying it as well.

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or
endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs
using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats
when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is
changing in time.
So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving
into Hell and t he rate at which they are leaving. I
think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets
to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are
leaving.

As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at
the different religions that exist in the world today.
Most of these religions state that if you are not a
member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since
there is more than one of these religions and since
people do not belong to more than one religion, we can
project that all souls go to Hell.

With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect
the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially.
Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in
Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the
temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the
volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls
are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate
at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and
pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks
loose.
2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the
increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and
pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa
during my Freshman year that, "it will be a cold day
in Hell before I sleep with you, and take into account
the fact that I slept with her last night, then number
two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is
exothermic and has already frozen over.
The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has
frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any
more souls and is therefore, extinct...leaving only
Heaven thereby proving the existence of a divine being
which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting
"Oh my God."

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A"

I am sure this was a fantastic read. Maybe I will write again once I think of something to write on (it's tough) or I come across a piece as interesting as this one :D