Wimbledon 2010... lots of memorable events. Federer failing to make the semifinal of a Grand Slam after a long long long time. John Isner and Nicolas Mahut playing that marathon 11 hour match. The women's section has been really boring though. The upsets have stopped surprising everybody because they have become so common. And as usual we have Serena Williams bulldozing her way past everybody and in yet another Wimbledon final.
Full credit to one little known Philipp Petzschner. It was a sight indeed seeing the long lost serve-and-volley game being put to such effective use. Damn it.. its good to just see someone attempt the serve-and-volley as almost everybody is content to keep putting ball after ball in the opposite court. The very essence of Wimbledon is the serve and volley. But very few playing it. That is why I Was a great admirer of Frenchman Fabrice Santoro a.k.a The Magician. That guy would attempt drop shots on the opponents' first serves'!! A brave man indeed!
Just where have the pretty faces in Womens' tennis gone?! where are the new Kournikovas? All I see nowadays are big burly Europeans with horrible grimaces and painfully loud grunts. Tennis seriously lacks the pretty faces.
Tsvetana Pironkova... the semifinalist is a pleasant enough face. As usual we have very pretty Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova. Elena Dementieva to some extent... but absolutely no drop-dead-gorgeous women. Caroline Wozniacki, the ill fated Dane who partnered Sania Mirza is one helluva nice girl. She managed to smile through the whole match. If it was me with Sania, I would have beaten her to a pulp because of the sheer number of unforced errors. Well done Wozniacki!
I remember a certain Czech player.. Likhovtseva, a leftie who was pretty good looking. Justine Henin was not too bad herself. Anyway, I hope we get to see more pretty girls playing more pretty tennis rather than big, burly, muscular women trying to tear the fur off the ball.
Keep the Serve-and-Volley alive!
May RAFA lose!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Books that I read...
This is probably the twentieth that I have attempted to write something on this blog. The nineteen previous times, I spent looking at the monitor with a complete blank expression waiting for something to miraculously appear on the screen. No luck so far.
One cn say I have made some use of the holidays so far. That makes a few extra hours spent at home even more tiresome to spend. Read quite a lot of novels since the exams, most of them begged, borrowed and stolen (then duly returned back of course!) Will try and summarize the few that were good.
1) The Palace of Illusions - Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni...
Heard of "The Mistress of Spices"? the Aishwarya Rai starring English movie? The book was authored by this lady.
The Palace of Illusions is the Mahabharatha itself. The only change is this time, the story is being narrated by Draupadi. The narration is beautiful. Though somewhat blasphemous, it captures the more humane parts of the epic which I'm sure our grandparents conveniently forgot to tell us. Not a book recommended if you are a staunch believer of the devoutness of Draupadi. Truly, the Mahabharatha revolves around Draupadi. A book worth reading.
2) The Jeeves Omnibus - Pelham Grenville Wodehouse...
Amazing writer! Looking at his face you will never imagine that he is the kind who can make you execute a proper ROFL. His witticism coupled with an amazing sense of timing makes him one of a kind. Go read his books for a true feel of comic writing.
3)If you love someone... - Harimohan Paruvu...
The second book of the author. The first being "The Men Within". A short novel which is a love story with a difference. It is not the stereotypical teenage boy meets teenage girl - they fall in love - get married - lose interest in each other- finally love conquers all kind of story. A very refreshing take on love, life and sacrifice. A must read is you are a die hard romantic. (have always been amused by this phrase "die hard romantic", it sounds ironic)
4) I Robot - Isaac Asimov...
Isaac Asimov is a genius. These stories revolve around the three laws of robotics which govern all robots working in the world. The earth now has colonies on the Moon, Mars and Mercury. The stories are narrated by Susan Calvin, a RoboPsychologist. Weird term.. but a very nice read.
5) One Amazing Thing - Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni...
What do you do when you are stuck amidst the ruins of the Indian visa office in America after an earthquake with people from different ethnicities all having no hope of survival? you sit in a circle and tell each other stories from your life. Beautiful storytelling this time as well.
6) The Immortals of Meluha - Dont remember the author :P
This is Shiva's story. Written by someone who obviously has no sense of the devoutness which comes with the name "Shiva". The first of a trilogy, it tries to tell us the story of the lord of a mountain tribe who becomes the savior of an advanced race called Meluha.
Looking forward to reading more books. I'm reading "The temple goers" by Aatish Taseer. The book has started promisingly. Let's see if it lives up to expectations.
Good night folks! X men origins on TV now. Dont want to miss it.
Ciao
One cn say I have made some use of the holidays so far. That makes a few extra hours spent at home even more tiresome to spend. Read quite a lot of novels since the exams, most of them begged, borrowed and stolen (then duly returned back of course!) Will try and summarize the few that were good.
1) The Palace of Illusions - Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni...
Heard of "The Mistress of Spices"? the Aishwarya Rai starring English movie? The book was authored by this lady.
The Palace of Illusions is the Mahabharatha itself. The only change is this time, the story is being narrated by Draupadi. The narration is beautiful. Though somewhat blasphemous, it captures the more humane parts of the epic which I'm sure our grandparents conveniently forgot to tell us. Not a book recommended if you are a staunch believer of the devoutness of Draupadi. Truly, the Mahabharatha revolves around Draupadi. A book worth reading.
2) The Jeeves Omnibus - Pelham Grenville Wodehouse...
Amazing writer! Looking at his face you will never imagine that he is the kind who can make you execute a proper ROFL. His witticism coupled with an amazing sense of timing makes him one of a kind. Go read his books for a true feel of comic writing.
3)If you love someone... - Harimohan Paruvu...
The second book of the author. The first being "The Men Within". A short novel which is a love story with a difference. It is not the stereotypical teenage boy meets teenage girl - they fall in love - get married - lose interest in each other- finally love conquers all kind of story. A very refreshing take on love, life and sacrifice. A must read is you are a die hard romantic. (have always been amused by this phrase "die hard romantic", it sounds ironic)
4) I Robot - Isaac Asimov...
Isaac Asimov is a genius. These stories revolve around the three laws of robotics which govern all robots working in the world. The earth now has colonies on the Moon, Mars and Mercury. The stories are narrated by Susan Calvin, a RoboPsychologist. Weird term.. but a very nice read.
5) One Amazing Thing - Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni...
What do you do when you are stuck amidst the ruins of the Indian visa office in America after an earthquake with people from different ethnicities all having no hope of survival? you sit in a circle and tell each other stories from your life. Beautiful storytelling this time as well.
6) The Immortals of Meluha - Dont remember the author :P
This is Shiva's story. Written by someone who obviously has no sense of the devoutness which comes with the name "Shiva". The first of a trilogy, it tries to tell us the story of the lord of a mountain tribe who becomes the savior of an advanced race called Meluha.
Looking forward to reading more books. I'm reading "The temple goers" by Aatish Taseer. The book has started promisingly. Let's see if it lives up to expectations.
Good night folks! X men origins on TV now. Dont want to miss it.
Ciao
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Ai Karamba!!!
I guess nobody apart from Deepak G and Swaroop Rao know the rough literal translation of "Ai Karamba", so the rest of you please think of this is just another exclamation of sorts.
Attended what might probably be the last FYI quiz. The two quizzes held there were very good if one could get over the irritation of going so far... all the way to Indranagar.
The quizzes was more entertaining than informative and would have got a definite "A" or even an "X" rating by the censure board if it was a film. What else will they do if the quiz expects you to know how the braille or 3D version of Playboy looks? And that is only the tip of the iceberg.
Came to the sudden realization yesterday that the moment of truth is just a couple of days away. Still have to do a bit of research about which colleges are good and most importantly what course I should take. Doing nothing seems to take away most of the time nowadays, which is kind of ironic because that is exactly what we should not be doing. It was easy for Frost to choose from 2 roads. He's lucky he never wrote the CET and had so many roads to choose from.
I have still not gotten over the stupid habit of not acting earlier and then regretting later. A million thoughts of "If only I had been more serious..." have been giving me some sleepless nights. Guess I have not earned the right to sleep peacefully. Its amazing how all the supposedly age-old-stuff we mocked a few months earlier seem to be grinning maniacally at us. Our elders are right. There is no substitute to hard work. There is no luck in this world and you never get anything that you don't deserve (Note: all this doesn't apply if you are Siddharth Mallya). I kept thinking, coaxed by many a speech from influential speakers that today's demand is for "smart workers" and not "hard workers". What all of them conveniently failed to say is that average guys like us cannot be smart without our share of hard work. The reason is so absurdly simple ( it strikes me now! Ai Karamba!) for a person to be smart, he needs quite a lot of knowledge which cannot be got by birth. He has to slog, learn and then reap the benefits. Farming in one's own backyard is much more reliable than expecting the farm to come magically in front of you, completely laden with ripe produce, when you need to harvest. The produce appears if and only if there has been some ploughing, some labournig, some seeds, some fertilizers and lots of more hard work.
How can Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita, ask us not to expect returns on our hard work? Whatever we do in life is in always in expectation of favorable results. Isn't it?
And when there are a series of results that don't go your way, then the only logical interpretation is that there is something wrong with ourselves. Unfortunately this realization is coming very very late.
But then, there is always a new beginning to look forward to. Something that, unfortunately, I will not be able to go to without any regrets. Without any compromises. Without holding my head high.
Ai Karamba! Yes.. it hurts.
Attended what might probably be the last FYI quiz. The two quizzes held there were very good if one could get over the irritation of going so far... all the way to Indranagar.
The quizzes was more entertaining than informative and would have got a definite "A" or even an "X" rating by the censure board if it was a film. What else will they do if the quiz expects you to know how the braille or 3D version of Playboy looks? And that is only the tip of the iceberg.
Came to the sudden realization yesterday that the moment of truth is just a couple of days away. Still have to do a bit of research about which colleges are good and most importantly what course I should take. Doing nothing seems to take away most of the time nowadays, which is kind of ironic because that is exactly what we should not be doing. It was easy for Frost to choose from 2 roads. He's lucky he never wrote the CET and had so many roads to choose from.
I have still not gotten over the stupid habit of not acting earlier and then regretting later. A million thoughts of "If only I had been more serious..." have been giving me some sleepless nights. Guess I have not earned the right to sleep peacefully. Its amazing how all the supposedly age-old-stuff we mocked a few months earlier seem to be grinning maniacally at us. Our elders are right. There is no substitute to hard work. There is no luck in this world and you never get anything that you don't deserve (Note: all this doesn't apply if you are Siddharth Mallya). I kept thinking, coaxed by many a speech from influential speakers that today's demand is for "smart workers" and not "hard workers". What all of them conveniently failed to say is that average guys like us cannot be smart without our share of hard work. The reason is so absurdly simple ( it strikes me now! Ai Karamba!) for a person to be smart, he needs quite a lot of knowledge which cannot be got by birth. He has to slog, learn and then reap the benefits. Farming in one's own backyard is much more reliable than expecting the farm to come magically in front of you, completely laden with ripe produce, when you need to harvest. The produce appears if and only if there has been some ploughing, some labournig, some seeds, some fertilizers and lots of more hard work.
How can Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita, ask us not to expect returns on our hard work? Whatever we do in life is in always in expectation of favorable results. Isn't it?
And when there are a series of results that don't go your way, then the only logical interpretation is that there is something wrong with ourselves. Unfortunately this realization is coming very very late.
But then, there is always a new beginning to look forward to. Something that, unfortunately, I will not be able to go to without any regrets. Without any compromises. Without holding my head high.
Ai Karamba! Yes.. it hurts.
Monday, June 7, 2010
The power of tears-- part deux
It has been quite some time since I last put up a post. The negativity in the air is reaching very high proportions which has been a contributing factor in lessening my urge to blog... not to mention tired limbs and lots of nosy interferences. The gossip bugs have gotten their ugly heads out (for once its not about me :D) and long buried dissatisfactions are surfacing. All in all, not a very convenient time to get the creative juices flowing.
What did get some of the ice thawing was a function I attended today. It was a relative's 70 year's shanthi (more specifically Bheemarathi shanthi). All I did understand is that I was going to get some good free meals. As with most people I went to claim my meal today and after going through the initial overdoze of monotonous carrer counselling, I found my self seated amongst my cousins. One of my cousins, a young girl of around 8 was crying incessently. What does the father do about it? Takes out his wallet, stylishly fishes out a 100 rupee note and the crying stops instantly.
If just whining will get me a 100 bucks.. that's half my pocket money by the way, I will be happy whining just once a week. Something like a ceremonial weekly whine.
Is it a healthy sign to keep stuffing your young daughter's hand with cash every time she cries? After a few minutes I realized that the crying was for the cash and nothing else. The rest of us looked at each other in wonder. I was utterly disgusted with the upbringing that girl has had. It is definitely not her fault though. She knows that the reflex to the stimulus of crying is cash in her palm.
I have visibly turned a few shades darker on account of playing in the sun. Seeing my name in the newspaper after a long 3 year wait was a good feeling. Hopefully there'll be an increase in the size of the print in which my name appears. (:P) If anybody has the patience check out TOI, june 5th, last page under KSCA leagues, under brief scores, the last match
Tasted red wine today! It somehow tasted like the sweeter ayurvedic "kashayas" that I'm used to drinking.
Cioa... may you not be bored!
What did get some of the ice thawing was a function I attended today. It was a relative's 70 year's shanthi (more specifically Bheemarathi shanthi). All I did understand is that I was going to get some good free meals. As with most people I went to claim my meal today and after going through the initial overdoze of monotonous carrer counselling, I found my self seated amongst my cousins. One of my cousins, a young girl of around 8 was crying incessently. What does the father do about it? Takes out his wallet, stylishly fishes out a 100 rupee note and the crying stops instantly.
If just whining will get me a 100 bucks.. that's half my pocket money by the way, I will be happy whining just once a week. Something like a ceremonial weekly whine.
Is it a healthy sign to keep stuffing your young daughter's hand with cash every time she cries? After a few minutes I realized that the crying was for the cash and nothing else. The rest of us looked at each other in wonder. I was utterly disgusted with the upbringing that girl has had. It is definitely not her fault though. She knows that the reflex to the stimulus of crying is cash in her palm.
I have visibly turned a few shades darker on account of playing in the sun. Seeing my name in the newspaper after a long 3 year wait was a good feeling. Hopefully there'll be an increase in the size of the print in which my name appears. (:P) If anybody has the patience check out TOI, june 5th, last page under KSCA leagues, under brief scores, the last match
Tasted red wine today! It somehow tasted like the sweeter ayurvedic "kashayas" that I'm used to drinking.
Cioa... may you not be bored!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Symbiosis
Symbiosis!! I remember atleast one word from bio! I'm proud of myself.
I was cleaning my room today morning. As is the case in every room cleaning attempt, amidst dirt and dust and screaming parents, there is the chance for every teenager to irritate his/her parents by doing exactly what he was told and nothing more. Today was no different. I started with the fan and came down to earth and promptly ended the show with the traditional sweeping and swabbing. I heaved a very audible sigh of relief. Just when I was about to go downstairs and demand my rightfully earned glass of coffee, my father pointed to the windows with the usual, when-will-you-learn face.
Looking out, I saw loads of spiders with their cobwebs almost covering one of the windows. I thought a lot before removing them. Apparently they did not look good and was looking extremely dirty (I had to agree with them, it did look bad). But everything ugly is not useless. Those cobwebs were protecting me from mosquitoes and flies and many other insects. The few times they did try entering my territory, they were swept back and now the spiders had learnt their lesson, they did not invade my territory and were protecting my room from many insects. I on the other hand was delaying the inevitable by allowing them to prosper on my window sill for as long as possible. It was a perfect symbiotic relationship.
Are aesthetics the only things that matter? Do we never consider the use before we brand anything useless?
Man trying to protect the environment is like a little child playing with its building blocks. It keeps making everything fall and fall again before finally coming out with the right design and then abandoning it. WE are now in the blundering stage where we're concerned with ripping things apart and then realizing that what it was is much better than what we will ever be able to create. What happens by itself is much more exciting than anything we can simulate.
Me trying to suggest that we stop our rip-n-study philosophy is foolish because we have advanced quite a bit in that technique. Trying to work out another techniques will take time and energy.
I miss my dear spider friends now. Them and their awesome designer cobwebs. The cobwebs which would shine like silver in the moonlight (or tubelight :P).
I broke out of this reverie when the cobweb cleaning stick was thrown at me. Then without a second look, I cleaned the cobwebs.
God help me this night!
I was cleaning my room today morning. As is the case in every room cleaning attempt, amidst dirt and dust and screaming parents, there is the chance for every teenager to irritate his/her parents by doing exactly what he was told and nothing more. Today was no different. I started with the fan and came down to earth and promptly ended the show with the traditional sweeping and swabbing. I heaved a very audible sigh of relief. Just when I was about to go downstairs and demand my rightfully earned glass of coffee, my father pointed to the windows with the usual, when-will-you-learn face.
Looking out, I saw loads of spiders with their cobwebs almost covering one of the windows. I thought a lot before removing them. Apparently they did not look good and was looking extremely dirty (I had to agree with them, it did look bad). But everything ugly is not useless. Those cobwebs were protecting me from mosquitoes and flies and many other insects. The few times they did try entering my territory, they were swept back and now the spiders had learnt their lesson, they did not invade my territory and were protecting my room from many insects. I on the other hand was delaying the inevitable by allowing them to prosper on my window sill for as long as possible. It was a perfect symbiotic relationship.
Are aesthetics the only things that matter? Do we never consider the use before we brand anything useless?
Man trying to protect the environment is like a little child playing with its building blocks. It keeps making everything fall and fall again before finally coming out with the right design and then abandoning it. WE are now in the blundering stage where we're concerned with ripping things apart and then realizing that what it was is much better than what we will ever be able to create. What happens by itself is much more exciting than anything we can simulate.
Me trying to suggest that we stop our rip-n-study philosophy is foolish because we have advanced quite a bit in that technique. Trying to work out another techniques will take time and energy.
I miss my dear spider friends now. Them and their awesome designer cobwebs. The cobwebs which would shine like silver in the moonlight (or tubelight :P).
I broke out of this reverie when the cobweb cleaning stick was thrown at me. Then without a second look, I cleaned the cobwebs.
God help me this night!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The Big Question
Course or College? This is probably what half of the second PU students think about every morning right after getting up. This is probably what the rest of them should also be thinking (other than IIT desirous who are sure of getting in).
Until yesterday I was pretty sure that I will choose Course over College, but now I'm not so sure... I will try listing out pros and cons of choosing either College or Course and then conclude something.
Course over College....
This is for people who are already decided on what course they are going to take. It is not for people like me who just want to get Engineering over with and move on. People who are ready to choose course over college are pretty confident and passionate about their choice. Unfortunately I'm not passionately about any such course, nor do I think I will be too. Course over college is either for people who know they are going to get that particular course (read very high marks) or for people who just want to study a particular course to spite their near and dear ones (read antisocial, stubborn).
College over Course....
This choice is mostly by people who are neither here nor there (read average marks, like myself). This is the ideal choice if you want to boast of the college you are in and shut your trap about the course. This is for people who are not passionate or completely decided about the course they want to take up. This is for people who have had no divine intervention or dreams in the middle of the night (something short of getting up and screaming "Eureka").
After a lot of thinking "'ve decided to choose college over course, for any of the following courses.... E&C, CS or IS
What say??
Until yesterday I was pretty sure that I will choose Course over College, but now I'm not so sure... I will try listing out pros and cons of choosing either College or Course and then conclude something.
Course over College....
This is for people who are already decided on what course they are going to take. It is not for people like me who just want to get Engineering over with and move on. People who are ready to choose course over college are pretty confident and passionate about their choice. Unfortunately I'm not passionately about any such course, nor do I think I will be too. Course over college is either for people who know they are going to get that particular course (read very high marks) or for people who just want to study a particular course to spite their near and dear ones (read antisocial, stubborn).
College over Course....
This choice is mostly by people who are neither here nor there (read average marks, like myself). This is the ideal choice if you want to boast of the college you are in and shut your trap about the course. This is for people who are not passionate or completely decided about the course they want to take up. This is for people who have had no divine intervention or dreams in the middle of the night (something short of getting up and screaming "Eureka").
After a lot of thinking "'ve decided to choose college over course, for any of the following courses.... E&C, CS or IS
What say??
Friday, May 7, 2010
The Dejected Mind
The dejected mind can work wonders! Proof? My 2 page long poem on a certain second PU student with homicidal tendencies towards his Chemistry paper evaluators. The poem is so beautiful and so explicit that its going to be humiliating for the poem to be put up in a blog :P.
Coming back to the point, some of the greatest works of literature have come out when the guy was visible distressed. For further proofs, look at everybody's facebook updates after the results. Some bollywood songs also have beautiful sad sequences, Tanhaiyee from Dil Chahtha Hai being my favourite. It is common knowledge of belief that a drunken high often brings out the poet in the poor drunk soul, but more often than not the soul yearns for a bigger better "high" and completely forgets to cash in on his brain waves. The same probably cannot be said of the dejected soul who mostly wants to get rid of that sick feeling. Fools write about broken love and other senti stuff like that. Why write stuff that everyone's heard a gazillion times? Choose a guy or a group of guys,(or your girlfriend if you are the heartbroken-love poem writing-kind of guy) and give them a hearty earful. Let me tell you... however unrythmic it is, it will still be fun to hear.
I now understand why poets like uninhabited places. It gets them so dejected not having their fag or their bottle of vodka around that they come up with a masterpiece on some teetotaler bloke who had a lousy life as he never drank. The dejected mind also give artists the inspiration they need. A dejected mind, not having the patience required to mix and remix the required colours to get the perfect combination, often makes the artist throw his colour palate against the canvas in a fit of fury thus giving birth to a supposedly sensational piece of art which witless souls (millionaires with lots of money and no work) pay obscene amounts to buy. Till date I have not understood half the paintings that sell for a million dollars or so. Guess it takes one witless soul to understand another.
So, my dear friends... there's nothing to be lost or nothing to be ashamed of if you go into a depression at any time in your life. What matters is that you makew the best of the depression. If you are already depressed, then write a few poems, curse a few people with the bottom of your heart and you will start feeling better immediately.
Ciao
Coming back to the point, some of the greatest works of literature have come out when the guy was visible distressed. For further proofs, look at everybody's facebook updates after the results. Some bollywood songs also have beautiful sad sequences, Tanhaiyee from Dil Chahtha Hai being my favourite. It is common knowledge of belief that a drunken high often brings out the poet in the poor drunk soul, but more often than not the soul yearns for a bigger better "high" and completely forgets to cash in on his brain waves. The same probably cannot be said of the dejected soul who mostly wants to get rid of that sick feeling. Fools write about broken love and other senti stuff like that. Why write stuff that everyone's heard a gazillion times? Choose a guy or a group of guys,(or your girlfriend if you are the heartbroken-love poem writing-kind of guy) and give them a hearty earful. Let me tell you... however unrythmic it is, it will still be fun to hear.
I now understand why poets like uninhabited places. It gets them so dejected not having their fag or their bottle of vodka around that they come up with a masterpiece on some teetotaler bloke who had a lousy life as he never drank. The dejected mind also give artists the inspiration they need. A dejected mind, not having the patience required to mix and remix the required colours to get the perfect combination, often makes the artist throw his colour palate against the canvas in a fit of fury thus giving birth to a supposedly sensational piece of art which witless souls (millionaires with lots of money and no work) pay obscene amounts to buy. Till date I have not understood half the paintings that sell for a million dollars or so. Guess it takes one witless soul to understand another.
So, my dear friends... there's nothing to be lost or nothing to be ashamed of if you go into a depression at any time in your life. What matters is that you makew the best of the depression. If you are already depressed, then write a few poems, curse a few people with the bottom of your heart and you will start feeling better immediately.
Ciao
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