I am no VIP

Bolt in Perspective

2008-08-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

The first week of the Olympics is over and there was a clear Champion Olympian in Michael Phelps. It was to be his Olympics, an achievement the likes of which we might not see in many years. Then week 2 began and mon, did it begin with a Bolt! The Lightning Bolt came out of nowhere to eclipse Phelps' thunder. Two different sports and there should not be any comparison or debate. They are both

IF

2008-07-06T22:33:00.000-07:00

Last night, through all my jet lag, I stayed up till 2am India time watching what I now in all my awakeness believe was the greatest moment in sport. After the three set thrashing in the clay of Roland Garros everyone knew the winds of change were blowing. Indeed it was. The whistling wind was there playing its part in this carefully choreographed moment in history. I called a three set Nadal

Is Federer his own biggest challenge? Conspiracy theory

2007-09-10T20:14:00.001-07:00

10 Grand Slam finals in a row. 5 Wimbledons in a row, 4 US Opens in a row and 3 Australian Opens. Even 2 French Open finals. 189 consecutive weeks as World No.1. Mark Philippoussis, Marat Safin, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, Marcos Baghdatis, Rafael Nadal, Fernando González, and Novak Đoković. 12 finals, one five setter. Only 26 and already 35 million dollars in earnings. A couple

Nagging thoughts

2007-07-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

This is my take on life... A never-ending self improvement process.WHY?Because we must! Everyone of us wants to be better. Wants something better. Either do what we do today better or do something else which is better. - So is this the most important question and is this assumption true? Do we need to believe first before anything else?WHERE?The future state is where we want to get. A better

Sivaji - First Review

2007-06-14T23:48:00.000-07:00

I live in Chicago and yet I saw one of the first shows worldwide of the Tamil movie Sivaji. It was a 10 pm show and the time now is 1:45 am. If I am up writing this review it is because I am now a Rajnikanth fan as much as I am a Kamal fan.Like a true critic let me start with what I didn't like. This is one of Shankar's weakest movies in terms of plot and storyline. That's pretty much what I

Untitled

2006-10-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

Last week, I visited the Art Institute of Chicago with a friend of mine. Between 5pm and 8 pm, the entry is free though us turning up at that time was more coincidental than penury. Also, our visit to the art museum itself was due in part due to our lack of decision making skills and in part to it being closest to the train station. Everyone knows that art is like beauty. It is all in the eyes of

KANK STANK !

2006-08-12T10:20:00.000-07:00

Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna (KANK) - Review This is possibly the most advertised and well promoted movie in a long time. It has more stars than can be seen on most nights from Gurgaon. It is supposedly the most expensive Indian film made with a budget of over 70 Crore (~ USD 15 million) most of which might have gone towards paying the stars. The songs have been repeated

Time to grow up

2006-07-15T06:56:00.000-07:00

The World Cup is over. It was a fun month while it lasted. Lots of goals were scored, some magnificent, some cheeky and some lucky. Lots of news stories were written, lots of photographs were clicked and at the end there was a winner and a lot of other good teams. Sadly, it's over now, and I can't remember any of it but that last 3 seconds of headbutting that has been played over and over

Recall value

2006-05-08T00:17:00.000-07:00

Everyone by now has heard of Kaavya Viswanathan. A month ago, few knew of her, even fewer knew she was in Harvard, and even fewer knew she wrote a book. Can't stop. Even fewer knew she got a half a million dollar deal and even fewer knew she signed a movie deal.Today, she is all over the place. Opinions differ. She is young, a genius, a thief, a liar, a victim. It doesn't matter. She is THE FACE

Fibs

2006-04-24T04:32:00.000-07:00

Anewphenom.A poem,written in simplemath. Read on or create your own.Math is not easy. Writing poems even harder. Now Gregory started this craze, and I can't stop.Waiting for that someone perfectDoyoueverthnk aboutyou and me or us?Do you ever wonder aloud?Isleepat night,hoping fora miracle. ThatI wake up with you in my arms.Whenwillwe betogether?When will we be one?When will it be two hearts in

Run or you'll be tagged

2006-04-24T00:40:00.000-07:00

Running and catching was always a favorite game of mine, with all its variations, especially Chains. I remember playing Chains even in 9th grade and 10th grade. I wish we could play agian. But this is the age of the Internet, and apparently, these games are played online.I got tagged by Jim! So for you Jim, here is my list. I hate lists, so I've made modifications.Guilty pleasuresFrench FriesBack

Shame Shame, dirty shame!

2006-04-14T01:29:00.000-07:00

Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Mutturaju died on April 12, 2006. He died of a heart attack and was almost 78. He didn't smoke or drink. He acted in over 200 movies and he mostly never smoked or drank in them either. He has won 10 Best Actor Filmfare awards which is the second highest in the country. (No prizes for guessing who has won the most with 16) He was also a talented singer and he practised

Life with Google

2006-04-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

I still remember the day I went to my friend's house to create an email account for myself. Sadly I don't remember the year. Probably 1998. After a few frantic minutes of searching for ids with all combinations of my name and scorning those with numbers in it, I decided that the best one would be calvin_hopes. (calvin_hobbes was not available). So there I was Mr.Calvin Hopes at Hotmail.com. I

Skyrocketing salaries: The real losers - last year's graduates.

2006-04-10T00:03:00.000-07:00

"MBA graduate sets new salary record.""I am 23, I have an MBA and I earn 5 Lakh Rupees a year.""My daughter finished her BA and then did her MBA from Indian National Management Institute of Moradabad and now is working for a BPO."Yes, we've heard it all. India is the new hotbed for MBA dreams. Forget work experience, forget even having any knowledge of companies or management, today an MBA degree

Mind vs Brain

2006-03-28T04:26:00.000-08:00

Say the color of these words:Red Green BlueBlue Red Blue Now again...Red Green BlueBlue Red BlueThis was an interesting experiment I came across. This is the Stroop task. It's always a little depressing for me to find out I haven't got the best control of my brain. Call it ego, call it stupidity, call it impossible, but I believe I should be able to make my brain do what I want. Then one day I

J for Joker, Y for Yuppie, O for Orangutan, T for Tramp, H for Halfwit, and I for Ignoramus

2006-03-24T03:52:00.001-08:00

Did you read the one about 11 year old Hari Bhanot suing Naukri.com for using the name Hari (Hari Sadu) in their ad? Newspapers should drop their sensationalism a notch and rewrite the title as "Father of 11 year old sues Naukri.com for name use" because isn't that the truth? Let's not drag the poor kid into this. We all know, this is not about him.The father is suing Naukri.com on behalf of his

The dilution of emotions

2006-03-08T03:38:00.000-08:00

Consider this. Yesterday, three gangsters were killed in an encounter within two kilometers of my apartment in Gurgaon. The three had more than 30 cases of murder against them, more cases of rape and were on Delhi's most wanted list. I saw the aftermath of the encounters on my way home from work, with hundreds of cops crowding and barracading the roads. I read about it in the paper this morning.

Let's celebrate Mediocrity!

2006-01-30T23:31:00.000-08:00

Before I start my rant, I will give you all a heads up. If you like Sania Mirza, or dare I say, love, then stop here. This is not for you.Sania Mirza, the tennis darling of India, was awarded the Padma Shri award this year. It is an award given by the Government of India generally to Indian citizens to recognize their distinguished contribution in any sphere of activity including Arts, Education,

Pbase Magazine

2006-01-11T22:57:00.000-08:00

Issue Number 4, of Pbase Photography Magazine was released yesterday.A year ago, in December 2004, I took a whole month of India related photos. The theme was to take a picture a day, with each alphabet of the English language, and each picture telling a story of India.Last month I was contacted by the editors of the magazine, asking me if they could feature my gallery in a new section called

New Year Resolutions

2006-01-09T00:10:00.000-08:00

Here it is, the new year. Well, it came a week ago, but since that went by in a literal haze, here I am, slowly getting into the groove. First of the agenda, The Resolution. The first question you are always asked in the New Year is, "What are your resolutions?" I don't remember the last year that I made resolutions. I never know what to resolve to do.This year I decided to research a little.

The year end list

2005-12-28T02:25:00.000-08:00

Another year winds down, and again I sit wondering where all the time went. People usually do a self analysis on their birthday, counting the things they have done, and regretting time lost. For me, it is always at the end of the year when I reminisce most. Before I make new plans, let me take stock. And what better way to do that than make a list. I actually made 2.A. The 4 things that I wasted

Rape - whose fault is it? - An analytical study

2005-12-26T23:51:00.000-08:00

Fights of any kind has a winner and a loser. One gloats at the end and the other walks away a little less confidently. Last week I found out that there is a fight that can never have a clear winner, as neither contestant will ever give in. An "over-possessive" father (as claimed by the other contestant) and a teenage feminist daughter (as claimed by the father).The catalytic incident.Prathiba, a

Ego Day

2005-12-09T01:26:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I met someone who was very happy to proclaim, loudly I must add, that she shared a birthday with Aishwarya Rai. If you don't know who that is, never mind, you probably already have everything you need in your life. I wasn't sure what she so happy about, maybe she hoped that she would in a few years magically look like Aishu (Ya, that's my pet name for her), or dare I say, maybe

2005-11-30T23:32:00.000-08:00

Something different. Here are links to some of the best ads on TV.GMCLevisLeeVictoria Secrets 1 Victoria Secrets 2

Trumpet blowing

2005-11-14T00:07:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we all fall prey to great media coverage and loud trumpet blowing. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to visit the new Akshardham Temple in Delhi. For a week, I had read nothing but of the magnificence of this 'monument for the ages'. Read one here... The newspapers, online channels, even forwards on my corporate inbox, were all filled with stories and pictures of this heavenly

In the waiting line

2005-05-26T03:43:00.000-07:00

"Do you believeIn what you seeMotionless wheelNothing is realWasting my timeIn the waiting lineDo you believe inWhat you see" - Zero 7 (In the waiting line)The only thing I hate more than waiting in queues is having to wait longer. Incident 1In Gurgaon, India, arguably the fastest growing city in Inida, the roads are all very wide. They are a minimum of three lanes on either side. Given such good