After a Looooong time!

Hi

I am blogging after a loooooooong time.Dont know what kept me from writing .Today feel like writing something.

You know these days when I open any newspaper,news site (Indian of course) I just find distressing news .News which will make my blood boil with anger.

I mean lets take the "Vande Mataram" fiasco.
Govt imposes a rule that Vande Mataram should be sung in every school on a particular day .And suddenly this priceless song becomes the centre of controversy. Cmon guys we have better things to do in life!

Govt forcing people to sing is a joke!(What about our freedom?) And then the protests against the "song" is even more hurting.

People who say "We are not going to sing the song because of the lyrics" are the same people who are ready to sing any bollywood song with very bad lyrics (to the point of obscene lyrics) .

"Vande Mataram" is a beautifully penned song made for the country not religions !

The whole mess was totally unnecssary .What to do!(sigh)

This happens only in India :)

Chalo then
Till next blog
Tata

FootBol

Hi Everybody!

Long time .There is no exscuse for not blogging :).One sport which I never watched thinking it would be boring was football.I was aware of the latest where abouts,few names from the field..the peles,maradonnas,the beckhmas,Zidanes but didn't appreciate the sport itself much.

What a change of heart world cup has imposed!! I really enjoyed all the matches.Enjoyed the nuances of the sport. Truly understood what offside means at last! :)

The team which was a surprise packet was Ghana .They played very well and competed with top class teams with elan.We enjoyed the Brazil -Ghana match a lot (Please don't see the score!!)
The only problem with them was that they couldn't finish what they started (Couldn't convert opportunities to goals)

I personally wanted Brazil to win ,because I always that Euopeans feel a bit proud about their football . It was dissapointing to see Brazil lose the way they did. They simply didn't show even a glimpse of their talent.They simple passed the ball around.Where was Ronaldo,Ronaldinho?

After Brazil's exit France seemed to be the favourite.Nobody spoke of Italy as potential winner.
All I could hear was Germany,France!!

After Germany's exit it was simply France all the way thanks to the football powerhouse ZZ.

and what a final it was .Zidane screwed up France's chance at winning by some silly head butting?(These are the words which keep repeating :) ) . And the Italian team was no less.
They showed that they were truly champions by converting all their penalities shootouts.

Fabio Grosso will be remembered by Italy for a long time!That man who pushed Italy to the finals ,the man who had the last goal of the tournament !!.

The great Zidanes,Ballacks,Beckhams,Ronaldo's could just sit and watch the fun from their rooms (including Zidane who must be in the locker room :-) ,thanks to the color red!)

This world cup showed that it is not enough if you play well,if you can't play with your team if wont help much.

Nobody is greater than football nor their country!

Ciao :)

Da Vinci Code

Disclaimer : This is not a review. All written below is purely non-fictional :).Ok just kidding.

I have read the book and I must say that the book belonged to "Cant keep the book down till you have read till the end" category .I have never come across this kind of thriller combined with religion combined with symbols combined with Maths.

I dont know if you can call Da Vinci Code a timeless classic or compare it greatest English books of century or the longevity of this book but the fact is it is the best seller of the decade,it has reached the most the people ,it has done something to the reading fraternity.

And the movie which has come out.Already the top critics of the world are pouncing on it.They dont like Tom Hanks hair ,to the length of the film etc etc.

People from all over the world are protesting about the movie.

I am not a literary critic so I dont know how much book stands in comparison to other books or how much it has helped the English literature move forward.

I know that the book has me think about some things,made me sit up in nights to finish it ,to get dissappointed with the ending ,to understand more about the symbols,to understand France,to understand Da Vinci and some his paintings.

So what am I trying to say ?

I am trying to say that the book has done something to the world in its small way.
Dan Brown needs to be applauded for the amount of furore he has created for past three years
for helping other authors who write the same genre(is there a genre?) to be noticed.To bring up the sales of rival books :)(The trial ..remember?)

As they say you can hate it ,love it ,blame it but you cant ignore it.

The New bus in Bangalore

I am sure anybody who is working and travelling in bangalore must have noticed a jazzy looking red volvo bus around the city. Well this bus was introduced by BMTC in January.

Today I had my first journey in the bus and I must say I am impressed. The rates are not too high when you compare them to an auto or city taxi. Yes they are higher than the normal BMTC buses but I feel the difference is quiet nominal.

Let me describe the experience.

I stand at my stop (JP Nagar) as usual around 8:30 waiting for "that" empty bus which will take to my office without hassles.And I see this red bus approaching with a electronic scrolling number plate which reads "2" . The bus stops and the doors open (doors to the heaven!) and conductor dressed prim and proper in a white uniform yells "Majestic".I know in my heart that this goes to my destination yet I go and ask him "Does this go to so and so stop?" .He says "Yes madam". The exact thoughts in my mind at that time were "Let me try it this once and see how much it costs and generally go thru the experience".

I get into the bus and pleasent music welcomes me along with cool air coming out of the AC.

I find my favorite window spot (Yes like everyone I am also obsessed with window seats! :-) )

The change I had in my hand (9 rs to be exact) ,which I keep before hand to buy my ticket before boarding the bus , I put it back into my purse thinking that the price of the ticket is going to be too high!

I take a new 50rs note from my wallet and hand it over to the conductor.He smiles and tells me everybody in the bus are giving either 100 or 50 notes (I think all are thinking like me!) and he has no change left.I ask him how much is the ticket and he tells me 15rs.I was like wow!! this is cool.I give him the change he wants .

An uncle sitting in the opposite seat smiles at me with a nod and tells me "I dont mind spending few extra Rupees for this"! I agree with him.

We come to Jayanagar stop and the busdriver announces in mike "Jayanagar 4th block ". It is ala USA style . Many approach the bus ,some climb without asking anything to the comductor some ask the price and then get into the bus. One guy almost gets in and then decides not to booard this bus!(India is diverse you see!)

I reach my stop in flat 20 mts and I am not sweating or pushed by anyone.

My stop comes and I get down.I feel very happy :)

Well that was my experience .Now what I feel is BMTC should continue this service and I am sure many will like it and will at least try it.It is for people like me who doesn't mind spending an extra Rupee but definitely not too much.(Especially to auto wallahs)

It is a good deal for me!

I know that this kind of service called "City Liner" and "City Express" was started in Andhra Pradesh Govt and was discontinued much to our disspaointment .

I hope this doesnt happen to Bangalore.

So all the Bangaloreans who travel by bus please please try this bus (It is not expensive at all!)

:-)

So much for a BUS!

Blog culture!

Blog is a place where everyone can expresss themselves,can let the "steam" out, write any crap can say "Hey this is my opinion,if you don't like it go take a hike" ,abuse anybody and yet not feel guilty !.Cool life ain't it?

This is what I felt reading some of the blogs in past week.Suddenly I feel I don't belong here.Maybe I should stop blogging.

But hey this is the world of co-existence so I guess everybody has a space in this virtual real estate.Everybody is entitled to their opinion .Just because they don't match yours shouldnt stop me from doing what I am doing or what I will do in future.

What say guys and gals?! :-)

So I AM GOING TO BLOOOOOOOOOG.

Why people are so rude!

I am not sure if I am the only one feeling like this but I find most of the people I come across very rude or very grumpy faced .

I am sure many of you also would have faced this.

I go to my Finance guy for some clarification in my company (me being the "ignorant" IT person) and even before I open my mouth with my question the guy/girl already create the "unwelcome" atmosphere around.The question is answered with great difficulty (and absolutely no smile on the face) and that too in monosyllables. I mean cmon he is just doing his job,I am not asking him to carry my luggage or something.Will hell break loose if he gives a small smile at me?NOPE.Then why is he like this? I have no clue if anybody has please let me know.

Talking to HR is totally different ball game.

We go and ask them some question and they give a answer very cordially and yet with a mocking tone and yes they are smiling.But all the same you return with the feeling you were just insulted 5 minutes back at the HR's desk.

And best part is that even my driver is rude .
You tell him to drive carefully and reduce the speed the guy comes back smack with a answer that he is driving at 40 (as if 40 is not high)But if you are driving 40 in narrow roads it does matter.My husband gave me a good suggestion that whenever he says he is driving at 40 I should tell him to make it 30 :-).

How do I fight this rudeness in my day to day life? I will not lie ,I am affected by these things.Do I have in me to be as rude as they are ? a BIG NO.Then what do I do?

Write blogs like these I guess :-)

This blog I dedicate to all the people who make it a point to smile everyday at people whom they know (at least,leave alone strangers) .It helps a lot. Trust me!

And to all those grumpy faced rude people I am sorry that your life is so miserable!(Am I rude here?Maybe I am .For the first time I don't care!)

Things I would love to do!

Everybody has a wish list ,I too have many :) .These are somethings which I don't do outof fear ,some because it is not practical ,some because the right time has not come for it.

1.I would like get a lifetime free membership to all libraries in the world.

2.To be able to travel all over the world anytime I wish to without any constraints.(Office goers will know what I mean)

3.To be able to drive a car anywhere anyplace no matter how heavy the traffic is .(The basic thing is that I am dead scared to drive! :) and yes I have license to drive..)

4. Eat Pani Puri always yummy..(without falling ill,upsetting your stomach,thinking about cleanliness,dont want it on a plate whew so much for pani puri :) )

5.To own whole of Agatha Christie collection.

6. To be able to go to any book shop and buy any book of your choice without ever seeing the price tag on it.(How many times I have done that)

7. Would love to travel in Hill Station train (Blue Mountain,Himalayan queen) .Never got a chance to do so.But I think it is possible if "someone" out there is reading this .

8. To be able to dance as if nobody is watching you :)

9. To give a public speech in front of say a crowd of 1000?

Well there are many more but I will stop here .

Bye

Some books I treasure

I read good amount of books but I wouldnt put my self in the category of "voracious" readers. If I am hooked on to a book I can finish up pretty fast otherwise....you know what !!

But here is a list of books which I treasure and they have influenced me in some way or the other.Here I am going to exclude all the books I have read in my childhood.

1. R.K Narayan collection : I started with Malgudi days relating each story with the DoorDarshan episodic programme and thoroughly enjoyed them. The simplicity of each story influenced me a lot. Here is a guy who writes stories as if it were picked from two people in conversation on a street. And some of his novels and stories were 20 years ahead of its time. I remember reading a book called "GrandMother's Tale" and kept thinking how forward the book was. So I would suggest readers to read at least one of R.K Narayan books .(I am sure half the India has read already :) ..appealing to the remaining half!)

2. Dale Carnigie's How to make friends and influence people : I can't tell you in words as to how this book has influenced me. It has taught me the art of making friends ,the art of knowing people ,to empathize ,to develope compassion. I remeber one line from the book which is very good:

"When in conversation try to find out more about the person rather wait for a chance to speak about yourself.Ask more questions about the other person's intesrests and likes and before you know the other person is doing the same" :)

3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: My first classic book.I am huge romantic books fan and this book is like epitome of romance for me.I am sure most of you know the story .Its about two individuals who are in love with each other but let pride and prejudice come in between them . The Hero(Yes he is a hero :) ) is Darcy full of pride and wouldn't accept the fact (even to himself) that is he in love with the beautiful,lovely,intelligent Elizabeth. Elizabeth in turn is prejudiced against Darcy .How they cross the hurdles with bunch of other characters forms the story . One favorite line from the book is :
When Darcy proposes to Eliza she tells him "Even if you were the last man on the earth I wouldnt marry you" and guess what happens at the end :).

4. Agatha Christie series : From early on I used to like these detective stories and have read "Sherlock Holmes" series. But I love Agatha Christie books. I think she is one the most intelligent writers of all time.Her books are the highest sold books after Bible . Her principal characters in each of her series are Poirot,Jane Marple ,Parker Pyne and some more . My favourites are Poirot and Ms Marple. Ms Marple is the underdog who lives in St Mary Mead and yet can solve all the problems put forth to her no matter where they occurred. She was first introduced in a book named "Murder at the Vicarage".A very good book. I have read lot of Christie and my dream to own all the books Christie has written.I am working towards it :).

I will add more in my coming blogs.


OH I forgot to add as every girl would 've done I also read lot of Mills and Boon (though now the frequency has reduced :) ).

Tata..till next time..

Acheiving

I have always wondered why there are few achievers in the world .And
we all dream to become big one day in our life yet very few reach there.

Why is that the case. Is it the way we look at success. That is ,what is success for you may not be success for me. Does the difference lie there?And how much is intelligence related to that?

I have always felt that I should be either on the side of success or side of failure and always I find myself in the middle.A path for the mediocre. I think most of us are on that path. The question is why .Why there are so many mediocres?

I still haven't found any answers for that but a close friend of mine keeps telling me that the mediocre people are the reason why the world runs smoothly.Maybe that is true.
But does that mean we stop ourselves from going higher?

My first blog

Hi All

This is my first blog. I am very excited to start one. Hopefully I can use this medium to express my thoughts and know more from you all about it.

Talk to you all :)