Qayamat Se Qayamat TakAndaz Apna ApnaJo Jeeta Wohi SikandarSarfaroshLagaanRang De BasantiAnd Now,Taare Zameen Par!We have been fascinated by the bubbling young boy in QSQT and delighted by the stomach-aching comedy of AAA. The ultimate spirit of competition and the riveting climax of JJWS have thrilled us to the core. The honest and dedicated ACP Rathod of Sarfarosh is still fresh in our minds. We...

This post is dedicated to all my dear friends who are indeed the wind beneath my wings! (As one of my dearest pal once pointed out)6 days to go: Well I don’t have a best friends list in particular. But if I had one, ‘Sid’ would top it any given day! No I would not go waxing eloquent about him. His orkut testimonials serve that purpose. So as we met in gurgaon, there was a surprise awaiting me. My...

Do you like Music?AndDo you like to Dance?If the answer to both these questions is NO, then please don’t read on. (It’s not worth the pain!)But if you answered YES, then: Let the Music play and Dance to the tunes of MAD in a trance…The atmosphere is Rocking! Sound levels are hitting maximum decibels. Lights are at their flickering best. On the disc floor: Body is moving at top speeds. The head is banging up and down. The hands are in perfect synchronization with the leggy mechanics. The bends are rotating and the curves are revolution(ary). The heart is pounding and the pulse is racing. The Dance Club is freaking out, the floor is creaking and the shrieking crowd is going crazy. The adrenaline rush is on: For the last 300 minutes!!!Welcome to the M A D world of “Music And Dance”…This was...

“Good-Bye”And with that one last word, she was gone…Around 2 months ago:I was stumped by that one-liner flashing on my computer screen. It read- ‘Would you like to be a buddy, Jitin?’ The question was asked by my manager. On first thought, I took it as some sort of mistake. So, I reconfirmed and to my amazement, it was intended at none other than me. I thought for a split second and then answered in the affirmative. How I relish that decision now!!Miss Patricia Wang (or ‘Pat’ as I call her) graced India with her presence on the night of 15th October. My colleague and great friend ‘Sohail’ accompanied me for her pick-up from the air-port. I knew her face but carried a sign-board with ‘Patricia’ written on it, just in case! Suddenly a cute girl walked out of the airport with an intriguing expression...

The story-teller is back…It is always a pleasure to be back in Doon, even if its only for a few days. And once this sweet period is over, I have to rush back to gurgaon. And I am not really fond of it. But alas! You don’t have a choice. So as I geared up for the monotonous journey back – all alone, I had no idea what was in store for me…There is just one direct bus shuttling between the two cities. Officially, it leaves from ISBT at 11pm every night. For any ordinary bus, reaching 10-15 minutes in advance would have sufficed. But, then this is no ordinary bus: Welcome to the Bus Extraordinaire (BE)!Infact, some of my well-wishers had already advised me to reach ISBT earlier. This meant: 9.30pm to be on the safe side (90 minutes before the scheduled time!). Anytime later may jeopardise my...

I was LOST:‘The vagaries of an uncertain mind’ had taken over…Suddenly there were too many questions and too few answers???There was too much to do & so less time to do it…I was always one step short and everyone else seemed to be a step forward!Everything was becoming unmanageable day-in and night-out!Something was wrong, very wrong somewhere!The smiling face had LOST its charm, work was assuming gigantic proportions and to top-it-all, I even freaked out at one of my dear flat mates (without any reason).Life was going haywire, spinning out-of-control, never like before!& then happened the unimaginable: I LOST myself physically: on that dreaded night, I bled like it was going to be The End of Days! Courtesy, my flatmates it became nothing serious…And that was the wake-up call for...

I call ‘it’ the “Blogging syndrome”. Now, this refers to a curious situation in which a blogger can’t stay away from updating his/her blog after a specific duration (Otherwise there is a big crisis!). This time-period may vary from being few hours/days to maybe weeks and months. He/She has to religiously follow this regime or abnormality beckons! Its latest victim is “yours truly”. The time-frame happens to be a couple of weeks or there-about. So here I go again…The purpose of this post is two-fold:1. Ofcourse, to remind my dear readers that this patient is a severe case of BGS. Infact, it is fast becoming an epidemic in the blogosphere. So fellow bloggers: Beware!2. To answer the eternal TGIF (Thank God Its Friday!) question:What are you planning to do this weekend?Now, this is a rather...

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For once, the whole India came to a standstill…From the valley of fear Kashmir to the Tsunami hit Kanyakumari…From the deserts of Rajasthan to the wild beauty of north-east states…The celebrations boomed: Everywhere!Now this word ‘everywhere’, when spoken in context of our nation assumes mammoth proportions. It refers to millions of people of different religions, cultures and geographies. Even their...

What IfThe Sky was green and leaves were blue,And all the things that I imagined were true.I was not just another ordinary guy,And there was more to a conversation than a simple ‘hi’.What IfGurgaon was another home away from the picturesque landscape of doon,And the city had more to offer than lots of confusion and an aura of gloom.The people were sane enough, the weather was more tolerable & everything was not in a fix,And House no. 20 in gurgaon was somewhat similar, if not exactly like doon’s House no. 166.What IfLife was a 24*7 masti, with not so hectic office and an all-out weekend fun,And all this was an exception to the famous saying: ‘Its easier said than done’!Everyone was not in a tearing hurry reminiscent to the hustle & bustle of 20-20 cricket,And one had more time to...

He has a cellphone. But you can’t call him. His sleeping hours are in the range 0-5 hours a day. Not one minute more. He has to wake up at 4am daily, throughout his stay. But he is not sure when he would sleep at night. He lives in dehradun, but knows only one place here: Indian Military Academy (IMA). He is a cousin of mine & there are many like him!There is only one day when you can hope to...

They say: “First impression is the last impression”…But not always…For if that had been the case, this post would not have been possible!While watching Ocean’s 13 in gurgaon, I stumbled upon the trailer of Chak De! India and almost instantly made up my mind: I can live happily without bearing this stuff for sure!Well first there was Hockey ( I am a sports lover, but never have been a die-hard ‘our...

No, its not inspired from the so called numerical movies: 300 & 7 etc.Infact, ‘10’ is the product of a business analyst at work. Where ‘work’ refers to a curious analysis of the unique species in a professional environment. As I complete a half-century of eventful days with this breed of Profo-sapiens, I have suddenly become a firm believer of the saying: “Man is a social animal”! For every single...

Its Friday, the 13th ( October 13, 1307): When officers of King Philip IV of France carried out mass arrests in a well-coordinated dawn raid that left several thousand Templars in chains, charged with crimes that were never proven. Hence from time immemorial, Friday, the 13th has been perceived as a day of special misfortune.Its again Friday, the 13th ( July 13, 2007): When the witchcraft and wizards...

This post is on popular demand of my friends:Its been 10 days now, out of my comfort zone (refer my last post). And as I sit back on the cushioned chair in ‘my’ EVS office, on ‘beach time’ ( which means free time) after a long, tiring & relatively boring project ( all those adjectives are very carefully chosen), its time to introspect, circumspect & retrospect on the chain of events & their consequences too!Exhilarating: They say you have to see it, to believe it. Before joining EVS, I had a very positive feedback about the no.1 KPO in the world… & I am glad to say that EVS has lived up to its reputation! Once you enter into cyber park, gurgaon into their offices, you can almost feel the difference. Their motto is: Quality & its almost remarkable how they not only follow...

“ Ting ting ting ting…It’s been 20 min. since the alarm clock is ringing, the snooze-mode is on…Finally at 7:35 am, a still tired soul moves out from bed after sleeping for 200 minutes or so… but there are no regrets (it’s a routine now)…At a speed which would put Schumacher credentials in a jeopardy, the guy is moving out of his PG room at 7:58 am, the bus stop is not exactly a 2 minute walk, but the poor soul sprints like a would be Gatlin to reach there at 8:01 am & to his relief the company cab has not left yet…He reaches office at 8:30 am, reports at the main desk & starts working at 9am after completing yesterday’s work in a hurry! He works continuously for 10 hrs with a mini-lunch break in between. Gets out, absolutely distressed not only by the workload but also by the scorching...

Samuel Johnson, the 18th century English poet & critic, once said:“Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance”.Now, this post is on TENNIS.But it is not about the ‘genius’ of Roger Federer.It is not even about the heroics of the glam girl Maria Sharapova ( two sportspersons I have written about earlier).Nor does it deal with the Roddick’s, Hewitt’s or Safin’s of men’s tennis.& Neither it describes the exploits of the Williams sisters or former no. 1 Amelie Mauresmo or the Russian brigade: Kuznetsova, Dementeiva, Myskina, Chakvetdze etc… (this is a long list indeed).Infact, this is about the quotation of Samuel Johnson…And this perseverance was on show aplenty during the French Open’07.As for three years running now, the tennis folklore has been amazed by the sheer...

Question: “How would you describe your stay in Thapar in three words?”Answers: A Sine CurveRoller-coaster rideA learning experience…B L A C K & W H I T E…That last answer came out of the blue or did it? Well, these two colours represent the two extremes. The end-points of the line segment which started its journey sometimes during September’03 & came to a halt at the end of May’07. Now ‘Black’ refers to the minima’s of the Sine curve, lows of the roller-coaster ride & bad experiences of the learning curve. ‘White’ is the spectrum of my colorful days at Thapar, the maxima’s, the highs & the good experiences!!! So here it goes…B L A C KMy very first day at my alma mater: I had just left my parents & home far behind. I was about to enter into a new world. The fear...

During my last 4 years in college, there have been many ‘Fridays’…Even more no. of lectures in E-block… Many times my cell phone on silent mode has beeped with a new sms…But 11 May, 2007 was different from all other ‘Fridays’, & when I checked that sms on 11:55 am from one of my friends, my heart skipped a beat, a rush of emotions went through my head, the msg read:“Never again the campus shall v walk, Never again in break shall v talk. Its all over, v r leaving everything here. The end was so far, but now seems so near.” :-(And it was at that very moment, when reality hit me hard.During the next 5 min. the time had come to a standstill. All those moments of college: the good, the better & the best, the ups & downs, went through my mind like a flashback. During all these years,...

I exist in two worlds:The “imperfect” (I) world-I have been living here for the past 22 years or so. I have a permanent name here & some nicknames too. This is because I don’t have the liberty to decide about either of them. My parents decided the former one & my friends the later ones. Infact, this could be generalized to almost all my activities here, because I seldom have control over my life. I make plans about my near future & they are thwarted, not once, not twice, but again & again… till I almost give up & resign to the fate. Yes, destiny plays a very significant role here. But, the most soothing thing here is that I know for sure that whatever happens in this ‘I’ world is REAL. I can feel it, physical entities exist here & emotions have their say too. Moreover,...

As Australia marched into the semifinals of the World Cup cricket ’07 as the “ONE” & only team with an unbelievably unbeaten record yet again (the last time they lost a WC match was way back in 1999 vs Pakistan), it almost looked as if everyone else has resigned to the fate. Just have a look at the way the Aussie juggernaut has steamrolled the other 3 teams already in this event:· South Africa: They amassed a mammoth 377 against one of the best pace attacks in the world, eventually winning by 83 runs.· Sri Lanka: They routed the hapless islanders by 7 wickets in an utterly one-sided encounter.· Newzeland: Now this was one team which had blanked the kangaroos handsomely by a margin of 3-0 in the last series before WC ( an awesome feat by any standards indeed). And it is horrible to...

The last semester in college for me has been different from earlier SEVEN in more ways the one. There are 4 rules, one has to follow:First: You don’t study…Second: You don’t let others study too (in the rare case if anyone wants to)Third: You keep reminding everyone of the first two rules…Fourth: You never ever break the first three rules.But then what the hell do you do, especially when you are a hostel resident?Well either you can sleep & sleep & sleep even more…Or you can join the HBO MOVIE CLUB!HBO refers to the Hostel Box office.So I decided to go for the later option & since then it has been a roller coaster ride during this never-ending movie fest. One of my dearest friend is the organizer of this fest, in which movies are screened almost everyday, irrespective of any time...

One of the best things of being a part of chemical 2k3batch of TU (formerly known as TIET) Patiala is tha tyou get to do a lot of things that students from other branches can only dream about! Take for example theno. of so called “industrial trips” that I have been apart of. The no. stands at 5 as of now. And when youthink that some students can’t even think aboutorganizing let alone going to even a single trip, thisindeed is a big number. Infact, it is a TU record! We“chemchiz” have been to NFL nangal, a brewery inSolan, Nestle, shreyans paper mill during the courseof the last three years. The one thing common betweenall these trips was that each one of them was more enjoyable than its previous counterpart. So thebiggest challenge of our fifth trip to McLeod Ganj waswhether or not we could...

One of the dictionary meanings of “spectacle” is: An unusual or unexpected event or situation which attracts attention, interest or disapproval. And “spectacles” also mean glasses.So one fine morning while attending a lecture in college & sitting on one of the last benches (a must for a final year student), I realized that not only the words of the teacher were creating confusion in my mind but even the writings on the blackboard were blurred! It was time I had an eye check up. The result: a power of –0.25 in both eyes. Not very bad for sure. But somehow the idea of wearing new fashionable spectacles was ingrained in my mind, partially as a result of most of my friends having good looking spects already & also because I desperately wanted to know how I looked like in them! So from...

24 years is a long period of time, considering the fact that personally I have not reached that figure as yet! “1983” was the golden year in the history of India in general & cricket in particular. When the Kapil Dev led vintage Indian team did the unthinkable of beating the mighty Lloyd XI in the World Cup finals. Somebody once quoted:“Cricket is by chance & hockey is by dance”.And 24 years back, we took our chances & henceforth the crowning glory. The Heaven was indeed with the Gods!!!Come 13 March 2007, & the search for that elusive WC begins again. Though cricket is a game of shocks & surprises, still one can safely assume that the no. of teams: 16 are only for statistics. For when it comes down to listing the title contenders, we have 8 teams vying for the title:...