I Do..

We live in the 21st century and yet Weddings are the culmination of a woman's life.A conversation with a close friend in my terrace sipping tea led to the unravelling of this mystery.

Why does the life of every woman encircle the concept of a wedding? Why are we dreaming about the perfect man to spend the rest of our lives with, from the day skirts turn into salwars?Why is the wedding day the most special and treasured day of our lives?

Yes it is true, you can oppose it or you can ignore it but Marriage is the line every woman has to cross to be on the other side of the bridge.
It is still a bridge over troubled waters and there is little calm beyond the line, neverthless you need to cross it.

I have often noticed friends of mine, metamorphise into brides-to-be and then settled comfortably into the shoes of home-maker, mother and a partner.
There are always things to worry about and the lines on the forehead hardly ever crease out but maybe its the idea of a couple that makes us run faster to the line.
The pact of love and hate, to lean on and to fight. To love and to be loved is probably worth the entire cosmos.

Woman today are crossing all boundaries and manning space shuttles. Some are governing countries but there are still those sides to them longing to get home into the strong arms of their partners.

Two of my friends are getting married by the ring of the new year and am really excited for both of them. Ah!!! The metamorphosis again. Does marriage kill the adventurous spirit in you? Well when you chain one the other gets unleashed :)

A toast to a life of fun, laughter, tears and love. To be together till death do you apart!!May the insanity and pleasures never end!

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Tantalizing Twenties

Some call it Quarter-life crisis. A phase where everything and nothing meets your approval, where you always seem to be in search for that quintessential something which is called the call of your life. A point in time when nothing you do at work gives you sense of accomplishment and you keep going. Life characterised by giant see-saws swinging back and forth between intimacy and isolation.
A very interesting definition for this is given by Wikipedia. This article examines the emotional, financial aspects of this crisis situation.

This is the point in you life where you want to travel from the Himlayas, to the Amazon, from the Artic to the Oriental. I still have 78 places to visit before i die.PHEW! There are always more things to do in life and i find myself in constant dilema of whether i should or shouldn't. The million dollar question of To be or not to be. Fortunately, am flanked with people who give me their unconditional support in letting me grow so quarter-life crisis seems more like growing up for me :-)
While am still figuring out the way to untangle myself from this web,life goes on!

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Postcard from FIJI

I felt like adding some color to my blog. So here goes.

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Google - The creation and the creators

I cant remember the last time i picked up a book which talked about the history of a corporate. The Google Story which talks about the creation of the Google empire is one fascinating read. The determination and the passion two Stanford graduates had to create a multi-million dollar worth empire truly amazes me.
Grab your copy today.

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Food Fetish

Uptill now i always thought i was hardly adventurous when it came to trying out different cuisines. The easy excuse was being a vegetarian.
But in Hong Kong, although the choices are limited for a vegetarian, i have learnt to try my hand at different cuisines. So here goes the experience.


Itadakimasu - Japan
SUSHI is a packing of fish with rice.As the fish ferments, the rice produced a lactic acid which in turn caused the pickling of the pressed fish. Ofcourse there are vegetarian alternatives to this ancient culinary art. What we had in a Jap restaurant, is an egg sushi and a cucumber sushi.Apparently these days Sushi is customised and vinegar is added to the sushi rice to produce a pleasant flavour of tartness. Along with Sushi one gets a WASABI Sauce. I say simply beware of this. Extremely pungent, this is the Japanese horseraddish. Unmindful of its flavour i simply ate a chopstick full and in a second my nose was hanging free of my face. It took me a full minute to recover.

Bon appetit THAI.
We walked into a Thai restaurant the other day and was simply taken aback by the ambience. It was pleasant, most restaurants in Hong Kong are noisy and cluttery.
We first explained to the proprietor that we were vegetarians. He was eager to please.The first dish that arrived was scrambled eggs with bitter gourd. One mustn't think of this as a weird combination. Its sinfully delicious.
The main course had the THAI GREEN CURRY and steamed rice. Although many of you would have had this in India, what we had was exquisite. The blend of the coconut milk with the vegetables was just perfect. We almost licked the bowl of the curry.
I was simply bowled over by Thai cuisine.

Sihk Faahn - CHINA
This is the what i eat most of the time. There are some specialites in Chinese cuisine too.
I will start with MOON CAKE. This is a special chinese dessert made during the mid-autumn festival.They are round or rectangular shaped pastries.The egg yolk in the center signifies the moon.(Its a full moon day during which the autumn festival is celebrated.)Traditional mooncakes have an imprint on top consisting of the Chinese characters for "longevity" or "harmony" as well as the name of the bakery and filling in the moon cake. Imprints of a moon, a woman on the moon, flowers, vines, or a rabbit may surround the characters for additional decoration.
As part of the chinese cuisine we get many rice paste dishes similar to idiappam in india. Except that they have a samosa kind of shape and are filled with sauteed vegetables and spring onion. Delicious.

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East meets West - Welcome to Hong Kong

When i stepped foot in Hong Kong, i dint quite expect to see what i saw.
Yes Hong Kong reminds me so much of Bangalore - Concrete Jungles, mind-blowing traffic, N+1 Shopping malls and an almost oblivious crowd.

When we were on the way to the hotel from the airport in the express we saw a few apartments that would have put Indian Puravankaras and Brigade Groups to shame.


For the first few days everything around me was moving in a fast forward pace. People here walk, eat, work and talk at an amazingly rapid pace. Am not speaking relatively mind it.

We even got lost one day while trying to get out of their metros and a kind lady helped us with a map 45 minutes later since we couldn't stop anyone to ask for directions.

The people here dress similar to the Europeans but the streets are crowded and noisy and makes you feel right at home.


Dal fry and rice in Hong Kong. Yeah you can have it anywhere in the world these days so why not in the dragon country? We found a Kashmir Curry place although i tasted Thai, Japanese and Chinese Cuisine first.

Tommorrow is the Autumn Festival a kind of a family reunion day - Thanksgiving. They have a dragon show and a lantern festival from morning to midnight. This is the Discover Hong Kong 2006 special.

Am all set to party so let the show begin.

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A Great Way To Fly

People who have travelled through Singapore Airlines would definetly agree with me that it is a great way to fly.

The staff are amiable and dont frown on you when you ask for an extra glass of water.
I had some bitter experiences flying Lufthansa and i wasnt cashing on all the free beer mind it!! Just one cup of water.

Anyways, singapore airlines had me enthralled from start to finsh.

They have more leg space in their aircrafts. They even give you a vanity pouch with socks and a tooth kit.

You have menu cards for supper and lunch and the food is good. Its not like dining in Sahibs sindh sultans but what more do you want when your amidst clouds.
They screen some really good movies on air. I managed to watch Break-up and The devil wears Prada on air.

All in all am totally looking forward to flying Singapore Airlines on my way back.

Thumbs up to them!!

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Raindrops on Roses..

What is it about rain that cheers me up?
Being in Bangalore, Rain, is an everyday phenomena. But that doesnt diminish the enthusiasm that raindrops bring.

People always picture a rainy evening with Bajjis or pakodas and a steamy cup of coffee. Imagine a rocking chair and a book to read. That makes the picture complete doesnt it. The smell of the earth, the trees and plants all smiling and clean, people oblivious to the rain and walking around, children jumping into puddles.
It brings joy, a sense of overwhelming joy in my heart.

But not everyday i have the time to stand and stare at these simple yet pleasurable scenaries. Sometimes i rush home in the rain because dinner needs to be done or i dash to my stop otherwise i would miss the shuttle.

Yesterday it rained in Chennai(my hometown). My mom and i had all the time in the world to simply stand and stare. It was then i realised all the money, the hardwork would mean nothing if life isn't filled with simple moments of joy like this. Even if i worked my whole life i wouldn't get the satisfaction if i dont appreciate the beauty in front of my eyes. Maybe life is not so complicated after all, maybe we have complicated it somewhere along the way.

"Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens,
.. these are a few of my favourite things."

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Star Wedding

Tinsel Town Weddings always carry a lot of glamour and a star showdown.
Surya and Jyotika tied the knot on September 11, 2006.

This wedding was happy to most fans of Surya and Jyotika. Their love story was known for many years now.
Happy couples, happy fans and one big happy wedding.

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Who Am I?

I took this personality test to pass time on a monday morning.
The first one with 9 questions had me as JFK

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

and the second..

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

It also tries to find your personality match with a movie.

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

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Clutters in my mind!!!

I am thinking about...
why the world isn't flat..

I said...
Leave me alone!!

I want to...
be able to disappear when i want too and also get into people's mind to know what they are thinking.

I wish...
we could rewind or fast forward life..

I hear…
noise from inside my mind all the time, constantly..which doesnt make sense.

I wonder...
how and why?

I regret...
that i have something to regret!!

I am...
what i am.

I dance...
to the rain and the songs which can make me to tap a leg!!

I sing...
pretty well ;-))

I cry...
Consider anything, only dont cry.

I am not always...
this beautiful

I make with my hands...
BEEP!!BEEP!!

I write...
to empty the dust collecting in my mind and to throw the anger out. Mostly because i like to write.

I confuse...
hmm...am slightly confused now.

I need...
what you cant give me.PEACE as of now.

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Muted Dreams or Soaring Faith?

Sometimes when am all by myself with no sense of time and space(these moments i truly cherish), i wonder who am i? There is always this sense of identity we want to associate ourselves with. It has nothing to do with being successfull or not, it has something to be able to define yourself with.

Its very abstract, all of us want to be happy(in our own terms).We want to be able to make that connection with ourselves where we can sit in a comfortable silence and not feel lonely. We want ourselves to be able to feel the pride and a happiness that comes from within.

Some childhood memories, some mistakes ride past me when i sit and gaze at those solitude moments. I never knew there would come a day when i would look forward to reading Bharathiyar kavithaigal and be able to say it.

There is a sense of difference in the Generation i see today. We are not scared of what we are. We take full responsiblity of the actions and the repurcussions.We have a certain sense of self-worth. We are not confused but struggling to prove a point.

In one of the coffee conversations with my bestest friends, i reasoned that the cause of constant turmoil for the generation of today is the fact that we do not see eye to eye with our family. Yes, we dont.We have laid our own principles for our lives and it is (alarmingly)different from those of our elders.
We are able to decide between the good and the bad and the right and the wrong.
We are more tolerable and more reasonable. Infact, i have been living with my room mate for two years(harmoniously) which has made me more adapatable and accomodative.
It is very difficult for my parents to understand my goals and sacrifices and it is very strange for me to make them see it.

This is the sense of conflict and somewhere in this whole battle one of us lose.Not always but sometimes. Somehow for me it is difficult to live a life without passion. I have made many mistakes and sacrifices not because life became that much easier but because that was the right thing to do(for me).

I dont see my buddies everyday, infact we are all geographically very far apart, but i know that somewhere within me a piece of them lie and vice versa. We are willing to learn, from our mistakes and from others. I'm beginning to think that we would bring a new dimension to this world. A world where people can live by their own rules. Most of my idealogies about religion and caste shock my parents, but that doesnt change mine.

It always comes as a choice between making your dreams come true by holding faith in what you beleive or savrificing your dreams for a sense of temporary relief.

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Venice

When i told people that i visited Venice, the first question was 'Did u take the gondola ride'? The answer was a NO and an added wait for the prince charming to accompany me. With Venice on the list for the city of love, no point taking a gondola ride alone.

I landed in Venice without a good night's sleep and catching a good hour of it even if it meant stratching myself on the railway platform din't seem very disgusting.
I have to remind you that when ur in abroad, things are almost always spotlessly clean and i took that as an excuse.



The first sight of Venice took me by shock. I stepped outside the train station and bingo there is water. No roads but canals. Now this is truly a water city.
Being built on water, Venice is a romantic place.

But something told me Kerala was better.

I want to write more, but this post has been lying here for long so before it rust and melts i publish :)

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WORLD CUP 2006

ITALY - The proud winners of the FIFA World Cup 2006.
Zinnedin Zidane's fabulous career comes to an almost choking end.

For the good of the game, ITALY has a reason to celebrate.

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ITALY - Rome

Roman Colosseum


The Colosseum was designed to hold 50,000 spectators, and it had approximately eighty entrances so crowds could arrive and leave easily and quickly. It was inaugurated in 80 AD.

The Flavian Roman emperors built the Colosseum of Rome for entertaining their subjects with bloody games where Gladiators fought wild beasts.(Quite similar to Russell Crowe in Gladiator).

There is a cross inside the Colosseum which the Pope visits every friday owing to a popular misconception that hundreds of Christians were killed by lions. The visit of the Pope in itself could be a fabrication.

Rome is filled with places of historical importance and it is important one does the homework before visiting this place or you would'nt be able to appreciate the splendour and wonder of this place.

It is also said that Italians have a spritual breakdown when they leave Rome.
We all know, Rome wasn't built in a day.

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A Time To Remember

When you're in a country hosting the biggest sport of the year, its difficult to ignore the euphoria. Its quite contagious and before u know it, your part of it too.

Germany Vs Argentina was a match that would go down in history as a nerve cracking match. Germany struck thunder and got past to the semi with Argentina wondering what had hit them.

When i reached the Market Plaza where there was a big screen and a maddening crowd chanting deustschland, cries erupted. By the time, i could get a peek at the screen i had realised it was Germany 0: Argentina 1.
After that there was no looking back for Germany.

Ballack and Klose teamed up to make the score equal and they kept it that way all through the extra time.


The match ended in penalty shoot-outs. Not my kind of way of winning game but anyways. When Argentina missed one which was Germany's card to the semi-finals, a whole nation celebrated. Ballack, Klose and Lehman were heroes and there was a thunderous applause in Berlin, we could hear it all the way through Walldorf - an otherwise quiet town.



A moment of victory, a sense of euphoria and a glorious record. Germany beat Argentina. As happy as i was for Germany, they deserved to win, i couldn't beleive Argentina had lost. Many of them were sure that it would be a Brasil Argentina final.
Germans celebrated for the team and Klinsmann was the mastermind.



A few days later, they lost to Italy. But the team had much to be proud of. I would never forget my stay in Germany this time. They made me do a follow-up on soccer and i even knew a few rules of the game. Now its the run up to the finals and all i can say is may the best man win.

World cup, Germany and me were not such a bad combination after all.

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Ice Caves in Austria

Eisriesenwelt Werfen - The world's largest ice cave.
In 1879,Anton Posselt, a natural scientist from Salzburg, pushed 200 metres into the darkness of the caves and officially "discoverd" the Eisriesenwelt. The cross inside the cave almost at the beginning is the mark he made exactly where he discovered the cave.


From 1924, for about 25 years, the only way to reach the caves was on foot. It is a steep uphill climb.Our guide, Sandra, showed us the path which people used to climb on. Thank god for the developments, i definetly wouldn't have made it to the caves. From 1953 it was possible to drive up the Eisriesenweltstraße in a single lane.In 1955 the cable-car provided an alternative to the steepest part of the climb, reducing the time taken from one and a half hours to a matter of minutes.



From the parking area, everbody has to walk for about 20minutes to reach the cable car. After descending the cable car, another 20 minutes of walk brings you to the foot of the cave.



As soon as you step into the cave, a blast of cold air hits you. For a second i thought i would freeze right there. But its only for a second. We are handed with small lamps to light the way through the cave and while climbing the steps.
It is zero to minus one inside the cave and the warm clothes saved us from being frozen inside the cave.


The caves are formed naturally. The snow from the alps melts throuh the creeks and starts collecting inside the caves and the wind blowing shapes them. I also witnessed what i read in school - Stalactites and Stagmatites.
Walking through the caves, climbing the steps was a nerving experience.


Mother Nature is indeed spectacular. The ice caves are a must-see in everyone's list.Walking down the caves, it was difficult to quieten the rush of excitement.
The sights, the caves and the ice are still slide showing in my mind. :)

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Destiantion Belgium PART II

Next in line was the GRAND PLACE.
It is necessary to view the grand place at night. It is breathtaking. The four sides are so massive and towering down on you, all you do is look up in awe and admire the work of the hundreds of sculptors. It is the most beautiful medival squares of Europe.

We visited the Grand place twice. Once around the evening and once close to midnight.
You need to sit down and admire the guildhalls and drink the spectacular sight. It is truly relishing.


DAY TWO
We had breakfast and strolled around to figure out where to buy passes for teh day's tour. While on our way we hit the St.Michaels Cathedral. It around 300 years to bild this incredible Gothic cathedral.
We had to hit our head in our stupidity for not brining our cameras along. Never ever do that.

We further strolled along to visit the Belgium Center for Comic Strip Art. This is dedicated to Herge the creator of Tintin. You will se miniatures of tintin, tom and jerry sold as souveneirs. The museum itself is decorated very innovatively and has information about how cartoons are made from start to finish. Teh sketches, motion pictures and the script. Very interesting place to visit.

We then went Lock, stock and barrel to visit the other sights in Brussels.
Atomium is a wonder to visit.

It was built in 1958 for the International Exhibition. It is a model of nine atoms of an iron molecule magnified 160 billion times. You can climb four of these items with high speed escalators and ofcourse the stairs. The highest atom offers a panoramic view of the city.

Right next to the Atomium is the Mini-Europe.
Here all the important monuments and structures throughout the europe are scaled down and if you cant visit the entire Europe this would a quick finish. While the Eiffel Tower model is a poor representation, the Big ben is scaled down to the minute detail. Definetly worth a stroll.

There ends our trip to Belgium. It was a good time spent with Good company amidst breathtaking sights.

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Destination Belgium

Last weekend i was in Belgium - land of chocolates and beers.
Belgium is situated between Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg and France.

I went directly to the capital city - Brussels - administrative capital of the EU.
Many had told us that there was nothing picturesque to visit in brussels but this trip proved them wrong.
Usually, when we go travelling we always have a list of places to visit and then the time-lines and we hop on and off the buses.
This trip was different. We dint have a plan. We knew the important places to visit but we dint know where they were located. In all, we stranded in the streets of Brussels. And to add more excitement, very few people in Belgium can talk English. Merci and Bon Jour the only french i knew wouldn't help either.

We were five in all. Alex a chinese, who was lost in his thoughts but never failed to notice his bretheren. Sumeet the when-in-doubt-ask guy, who always loses his way, we found the secret story though. Billu the man, who needs a top view to find his way or he needs a formula to compute the distance between tha place we are and where the car was parked. Bina with volatile memory and an ever evaporating sense of direction and me - i was the one with all the information which can be credited as useless :)

So we set sail.


From German to Brussels, it takes approximately 4 hr and 30mintes. Traffic is relatively slower on the Belgium bahn. But its a picturesque drive, if u dont doze off. We were drinking in the country side and adoring the cars that zipped past us. With indian music in Germany we were in love with EUROPE.
(If you dont have navigation in your car, map24 would be useful)


The first of the places we saw was the BELLEVUE Museum. There is an entrace fee of about 3 euros and when we went inside, we were wondering why we ever came here. When you dont read your history books properly this museum was a wrong place to be in. I found it totally boring until i saw the old style telephone and a radiophone.
Outside the museum, one can see the entire palace of the king. I wont say anything about the flags. (see previous post). It is a nice cobblestone pathway and the palace looks huge and mammothical. Make up your mind before you step in :)


We decided that we wanted to see the Mannekan Pis. This is a really small statue of a boy pissing. I was shocked to see so many tourists looking at this boy. We even joked that the next time people would come around seeing a dog peeing in the lamppost. Anyways, there is some story behind it all. Apparently the belgians beleive this boy has saved their country from being plundered or ravaged by fire. Its a good luck sign to them. The road signs are really tiny and by the time we got there we all were mighty tired.

If there is one thing that leaves me on a perpetual high, its CHOCOLATES. When i saw the chocolate fountain in one of the shops in Belgium, i even forgot to close my mouth.We tasted some of their handmade chocolates and ummmm.. they were yummy. So i grabbed a few for moi.
(To be Continued...)

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Belgium Vs Germany

While in Belgium do not get worried about why the German flag is flying so high.
It is easy to get confused.
GERMANY
BELGIUM
While we were wandering in Brussels, we stopped at the king's palace and were wondering why the German flag was placed there.
We stopped a lady and asked her if it was a german king. She must have thought that we had sub-zero levels of history knowledge, 'cos she laughed and said - 'Thats the Belgium flag'.
Whoever said, when in doubt ask :(

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Willkommen nach Deutschland

I landed in Germany amidst frenzied football crowd.
I still haven't got sight of Ronaldinho but havent given up yet :D

I stay in Walldorf, a quiet village so to say.
But with Worldcup in Germany, not a single place is sparred.
Yesterday at 12.00 in the night we heard a vroom of cars with flags and fans screaming. France and Korea - 1 -1.

The sun doesnt set here until past ten and its a little weird to retire for the day when its so bright outside. I hear the europeans like this. There are times in winter when the sun never comes out (like in Sweden). So they look forward to the summer. And once summer comes they rent caravans and set out for a vacation to the beaches and the like where there's plenty of sun. How much i take the sun for granted and curse it :D

I have also realized the Germans are pretty good at driving. On the Autobahn, you can drive the fastest in Germany. People change lanes depending on their speed and the speed of the car behind to leave way. Its amazing. Also when you cross the border to a neighbouring country you will know the difference.

Germans are also more organized and meticulous about their lifestyles. There is no commotion and everthing is almost always in order. Being in a foreign land open your eyes to a plethora of things. My first lesson here has been time is precious so dont take it for granted.

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For Business & Pleasure

Worl cup stadium in munich at night
Am off to Deutschland to watch the Worldcup(am an optimist) and do some business.

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SACRIFICE

A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.

In solitude moments, i think aloud of this one word that alludes me.
We all make sacrifices, some small and some strong.
Some are life altering and some make life easy to go by.

What is it that makes us sacrifice?
Is it easy when it is for people we care about?
And sometimes i wonder, why do we do it?

Some sacrifices are simple and silent that we hardly notice and some are painful and etched in our memory forever.

When a mom sacrifices a meal to feed her children its a silent sacrifice. Nobody awards her for that simple feat. Its the love she gets in return.

When a man dies in enemy lines, the whole nation rewards him. For a life lost and to me war can never be justified.

There will come a time when each one of us will make a sacrifice. Life is never easy.
Sacrifice is a word that symbolises pain, in one form or the other.

Sometimes we fail to notice the little details of life.
When i get to live life only once, sacrificing things near and dear to me would mean rubishing the very cause of it.

Why do we do it then?

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Whats in a number?

Maradona - Number 10



David Beckham - No 7



Ronaldinho - No 10



Rossi - No 20



Ronaldo - No 9

And then the King of Football



PELE - NUMBER 10

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Germany Vs Costa Rica

GER CRC 09 Jun Match 1 Group A :Kick Off Time: 18:00
Venue: FIFA World Cup Stadium Munich
Referee: ELIZONDO Horacio

The waiting finally comes to an end as hosts Germany get the 18th FIFA World Cup™ finals under way against Costa Rica at 18:00 CET on Friday before a capacity crowd in Munich.

Germany qualified automatically for the 2006 FIFA World Cup as the host nation. Costa Rica finished third behind the USA and Mexico in the CONCACAF Zone, sealing a berth at the finals with five victories, a draw and four defeats in ten qualifying fixtures.

The sides have never previously met at full international level, although they have twice crossed swords at FIFA U-20 World Championships. The Ticos won 2-1 on both occasions (Doha/Qatar 1995 and Lagos/Nigeria 1999).

Catch all the football mania starting tommorrow.
Am all geared up this year.. So let the game begin!

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Golden Ball Winners

The adidas Golden Ball award is presented to the outstanding player at each FIFA World Cup™ finals, with a shortlist drawn up by the FIFA technical committee and the winner voted for by representatives of the media.

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My First Podcast

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Listen with maximum volume :)

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The Great Indian Monsoon

If you have to understand India, you first have to understand the effects monsoon has on the indian soul.

There's some charm in watching the rains, the leaves are washed green and they are happy having a good bath. The water gushes down the road with a speed making you wonder who's chasing it. The water kisses my feet as i wade my way home.

From when i was a little girl i love standing in the rain near the gate. We used to have a neem tree, huge and big and though my mom used to scream, my sister and i would occasionally have our clandestine meetings with the rainman. Now i walk back from the stop to home getting drenched in the rain without a care in the world.

The gurgles of the cloud, the hand that clasps the thunder and the lighting strikes are one of the best to watch and relish.

I love to shake the braches of the tree after the rain ceases, to have my own shower.Who says you cant have your moments of joy?

I have come to love rain in a very soft way. I like kids jumping into the puddles splashing water, the flower vendor trying very hard to balance the umbrella and sell flowers, the vegetable cart hurrying to cover the vegetables.

There is an urgency to shelter everything from the rain, yet there is a pleasure to get drenched too...

Now is the time for The Great Indian Monsoon. A time for rains, water, joy and simple pleasures in life. Welcome again!

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Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi

For those of you wondering what the title means, this is a tamil movie name.
Vadivelu, a famous comedian stars as the hero and is supposed to be a full-length laughing riot.
Non-Tamilians(am i being over-confident here??) you might not get a kick out of wathching this trailer but the rest, as we say in bangalore - Ensoy Maadi

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Managing your managers

Welcome to the world of IT.
A word of caution
Its common place to have managers who screw your happiness, make you forget that a day has 24 hours and damn it you have other things in life to do!!

There are managers who cant spell communication and god forbid some wouldn't have even heard of motivation.

Not all are bad, so there's hope in this planet.

Its only at times, you have these people who call themselves managers because they have spent more time with the keyboard than trying to make sense of what the role demands.
I recently met one such weirdo.

He's an amusing piece of work. Just minutes before, you would have explained why a certain thing is difficult to solve and the problems involved. You just have to wait to catch your breath and you would find a mail in your inbox asking the same things. You think its a mistake.. Nope. You see he suffers from short term memory loss. So what do you do next time. If your smart enough you would stick to mailing him.

Well there are other such incidents that make me wonder if the designation of a manager is one sans brains. According to me the ad for a manager in the IT world should read like,

Moderate communication skills.
Well-versed in sending, updating, deleting meeting requests.
Should suck at inter-personal skills.
Conduct meetings without any agendas and keep rambling for any period of time.
Be good in playing the ping-pong game with onsite.
Should be totally unaware of the project he/she is supposed to manage.

Ofcourse there can be more additions to this...
Some people even learn to sideline these weirdos and get brownie points.

Dont start pitying us, 'cos we are the breed of sheep who wont protest but we are good at cribbing and wiling away time cursing our fate.

May be i will write about the future of this IT world someday.
Its difficult to manage people who lack sense.. and its difficult to manage your manager.
Now now, is there a difference. SMILES

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Time rolls

Last year this time, i was one of the frequent flyers of KPN Travels. I think i would have donated close to 10 grand with my visits to Chennai. It was never tiring but full of enthusiasm and fun. My only sister was getting married to a lovely man.

Sometimes i think if it was anybody else i would have fought with him for stealing her away from me. But my brother-in-law is cool. He loves playing cards and has a witty sense of humor and he is family. We dint even have to take any efforts in making him a part of it. It all just fitted.

Her wedding day would be etched in my mind forever.. she looked lovely. Am not the appreciative kind, especially when it comes to my sister, then i would get a call from her asking if i was all right. But what the hell .. ;-))

Today when i tore another day off the calendar, it struck me like a bolt. Its been a year.
Has it been that long really? I guess so!! I hate calendars which have those everyday sheets you have to tear off. Then the day just ends. Not a nice feeling.

My family is not the kabhi kushi kabhi gham kinds. We tease, fight, laugh and cry together. We are not constantly updated but we are there for each other. But i realize that more than anything its family thats binds you to the world. Even when everything goes wrong, there is still one thing that lasts forever.

Weddings mean celebration. A coming together of two souls and binding of families. Its when you dont take just one person but an entire family as part of yours. My sisters was one such wedding. I still cant look at their pictures without the lump in my throat and a grin on my face.
Yes its been a year.

There are times when words fail you, when you cant pen or say the emotions that cloud your mind. This is one such moment for me. I wish them a lifetime of happiness and once again am so glad we are family.

Happy Aniversary dude and dudette !!!

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Revolution

Government to go ahead with 27% reservation
Amidst growing agitation and hunger strikes, the UPA government decided to go ahead with reservation. Clearly this would kindle the burning fire.

We spoke about brain drain, tell me what kind of patriotism would exist in the minds of youth if they are told that you did not get into a med school because your forward caste. Never mind the 99% he would have scored. These are some of the bright minds of the country.


Shouldnt the govt look towards funneling their education and help them reach the zenith. Instead it has reached a conclusion which would nip their dreams and aspirations.

Reservation is a lousy way of tackling the issue of equality for backward classes. It fails to address the root cause. Why are they backward? Is it because they did not get educated in Harvard and Stanford? Is it because they dont drive around in a merc? Primarily because they are financially backward. They cant make ends meet and have no money to feed their howling stomachs. Would reservation solve this problem?

When more a billion people can see this truth clearly, why do people in power fail to open their eyes to this truth? Vote bank i was told. Aren't we fools to vote for such leaders? Oh Yes we are, bigger fools than them.

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The Battle of life

From Steve McCurry's Journal:
Brindavan, India 1995
I was walking down a street in Brindavan when I saw her. I was fascinated at how someone in her condition could move around the ancient city streets.
I followed her and after a few minutes she noticed me. My translator explained that I was interested in her and wondered where she was going. She invited us into her home for tea and told us her story.
She told me that she had married and was widowed by age 13. In some places in rural India, being a widow carried a stigma, because it was a sign of bad karma. This woman had survived her entire life by accepting a few coins from people for whom she would recite prayers in a temple.
She had a wonderful sense of humor and I was touched by her indomitable spirit.
One can look at her image and feel admiration or pity, but the magic of the picture is its ambiguity. She symbolizes everyone who faces difficult challenges and has the will to persevere and survive.

WHITE RAINBOW is a movie based on the life of widows in brindavan. It is conceived by the nephew of the legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan - Dharan Mandrayar.
Statistics say there are about 10,000 or 15,000 widows in Brindavan, a very small town.
Why is the woman to be blamed when her man dies?

We have come past the days of SATI when women are burnt alive. Now we see living images of women lying like beggars in the streets of brindavan just because their spouse' have reached the end of the road. Why is she the vanquished?

This is not about women's liberation. This is about beleifs.
Question yourself about the thousand beliefs that encircle you and keep you tangled in their web. Are you willing to break free or can you break free? Do you have the freedom to make your own set of values and live by them.

We are the generation who have the power of knowledge with an oppurtunity to view different cultures. If we cant question the past and dictate the future for ourselves. Nobody else can.

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End of an Era - Maradona

One of colleagues told me that if i give a link to the world cup then he cant comment on it.
So here goes, my feeble attempt to revist some of the pages of this great sport.
Disclaimer: Am a amateur when it comes to soccer, but this year am more than engrossed in this sport. So any errors in judgement or events, feel free to point them out.

When i think of soccer, the first personality that crosses my mind (and many more) is none other than Diego Armando Maradona. He is a legend in this sport. Google has many videos about Maradona Vs Ronaldinho - a separate post on that.

Born on 30 October 1960 in Villa Fiorito, Argentina, Maradona went on to become one of the most famous personalities in the football arena.

Maradona is nothing short of divine in the land of Argentina.
Maradona made the ball an early friend and it was his constant companion in the games of street football that taught him how to compete with older and bigger opponents.
Maradona's physique, or lack of it, almost cost him his career.

Balance was the key - which was ironic given his struggle to find equilibrium elsewhere in life.He shot at journalists with an air rifle, insulted the pope on TV and always roused the extreme of emotions. It was impossible to stop 'El Grande' as he slalomed towards goal; and just as unerring was his accuracy from set pieces.

The last chapter in Diego's FIFA World Cup history was also the darkest. It unfolded at USA 94 where he helped Argentina triumph over Greece and Nigeria. Then, however, he failed a drugs test - showing signs of the banned stimulant ephedrine - and was banished from the competition. The team followed soon after.

Maradona was banned in 1991 after testing positive for Cocaine whileplaying for Napoli. When he returned to play in Argentina the Championship wasplayed over two league stages. He was banned a second time after testing positivefor performance enhancing drugs during the 1994 World Cup.

Its amazing how one person who shot to fame comes tumbling down faster.
Neverthless, anybody who watches him play would accept that this man was a born footballer.
His agility in passing the ball and sledging goals is quite unmatched.
The crowd erupts into a frenzied applause everytime his foot touches the ball. Such is the thunder, we hear long after he has stopped playing.

Maradona - A legend !!!

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Hand of God

After keeping the mighty Argentinians at bay for much of the first half, England had started to come into their own - but six minutes after the break Maradona took centre stage.
The next 20 seconds would be imprinted on all our minds.
Steve Hodge slices the ball into his own area.
Out comes Peter Shilton, though, and he'll surely punch it clear.
But somehow Maradona - who must stand no more than 5ft 6in - has beaten him to the ball and it loops into the net.
The little Argentinian wheels away towards the corner flag to celebrate, but not without glancing over his shoulder to look at the referee.
Shilton races out of his area with his left arm in the air screaming "handball, handball, ref, he's handled it" (or words to that effect) but the official gives the goal.
The fact that four minutes later Maradona scored one of the greatest goals of all time mattered little then, it was only years later that we could appreciate the quality of that strike.
England had been cheated out of a semi-final appearance.
(Courtesy Reece Killworth )

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The Da Vinci Code

The most awaited movie this year The Da Vinci Code

I, for one wanna catch it as soon as it hits the theatre. Want to check out if the movie is as fast as the book!!! Couting the days..

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Still Standing!!!

In 2006, nearing 82, a man who did not attend the Tamil Nadu assembly even once these past five years, citing ill-health, decides to plunge into the campaign once again. He travels the length and breadth of the state, promising voters freebies that must make the state's bureaucrats wince.

On Saturday, May 13, M Karunanidhi will be sworn in as Tamil Nadu's chief minister a fifth time.

Rediff has a full fledged article on this.

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Hoganekkal

Start Time: 7.30AM
Distance: 170-200kms
Travel: Hosur Road to Dharmapuri
Reached Hoganekkal around 12.00 noon.
Pointers:
Was suspicious about two people following us till we parked the car. Later, we learnt that they were the coracle drivers :P
Its easier to pack some bread and jam or you have to wait for an hour for a not-so-delicious lunch.
Bargain with the coracle driver for Rs.200/hour for 8 people. If your bettern than me in bargaining, try your luck. Am a amateur in this.
And then enjoy the water flowing in all directions and the enchanting sights enveloping you.
Take the three hour ride - covering the falls and the island.
Island has about three-four feet deep water, where you can learn to swim, float and play and beat the heat.
Coax the driver to take you back through the falls and enjoy getting drenched in water.
A time to cherish and chill out!!
Drive back to Bangalore where the roads will tell you when you crossed the border into Karnataka :-)

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Count your blessings!!

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A Time to Rule

My roots are in the southern most part of India - TAMIL NADU, more precisely Chennai.
Nothing is more heart warming than stepping foot on this dusty, hot and active city. Its very difficult to understand the passion i have for my dear city - Singara Chennai.

Its Election time now in Tamil Nadu. No one knows how the ballot is goin to be sized. "Tamil Nadu's cliffhanger of an election"

We have been ruled by two major parites alternatively. The DMK led by Karunanidhi and the AIADMK led by Jayalalitha. Some say its like choosing between the devil and the deep sea and its really not democratic when you dont have good choices to make. The most popular channels Sun TV(DMK) and JAYA TV(AIADMK) has been airing campaigns and mostly i find it a releif that it has stopped. We have a new player in the field. Another film star turned politician - Captain Vijayakanth. It would help to have a new face and a fresh hand but will he be able to beat this race? We also have a Lok Paritran - Alums from IIT standing in selected constituencies. Would this new breed of young blood be able to shake it off?

In the next 24 hours, it would all be known. The fate of my world's best place.

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My element

find your elementat mutedfaith.com.

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Fierry eyes

Photo Courtesy : Steve Mccurry (National Geographic)

What is about this picture that makes my mind run at 100kmph?

Those fierry eyes, tattered clothes or steel like determination that it vibrates with?
The fire within her, all-consuming rage .. Do we all identify with that?

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Leave India to God!!

Watching CNN-IBN @ 8 gave me a weird line of thought. So i pen along..

"Mob burns man alive in Vadodara" - A 1500 strong mob burns a man alive in Vadodara by setting fire to his car.
The only mistake Mohammed Rafiq Abdulgani Vora did was pass through Ajwa Road's Mahavir hall crossing on his way home from work. Communal riots, fights in the name of religion is a common scene in India. Today its Vadodara, tommorrow it could be mumbai and day after in Delhi.
The clock keeps ticking and the numbers keep rolling, more senseless deaths.


"New find strengthens Darwin's theory" - Scientists recently have discovered well-preserved fossils of a fish that provide the vital transitional link between fish and land dwelling four-legged vertebrates — tetrapods
Evolution is a concept i studied when i was a little girl. I was taught that man evolved from monkeys. Is the evolution process complete? I would say not. We kill each other heartlessly, we dont care about the world, we would drive other species to extinction, we would think of new excuses to kill each other. Have we evolved?


Why has it become so difficult for us to co-exist with fellow humans? How are we able to compartmentalize and segregate our love and care based on our faith on god. Why are all our sixth senses sleeping when it comes to religion. Where did we lose it? Why can't we stop to think that this war would never end until the last man on this earth.. there can be no winners in any war.


The angry mob torched a man's car killing him.. did they stop to think that they were killing a son, a husband, a father, a brother and a friend. What does it take to stop this? An awakening?

Leave India To God.

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Rising to Power

For long the United states of America has weilded power over its latin american nations. But in the past few months, it has been releived of this power and put to rest.

The trio - Cuba , Venezuela, Bolivia have strong leaders.
Cuba promised to send Bolivia doctors and teachers.
Venezuela will send gasoline to the Andean nation and set up a $100 million fund for development programs and a $30 million fund for other social projects.
Cuba and Venezuela also agreed to buy all of Bolivia's soybeans, recently left without a market after Colombia signed a free trade pact with the United States.

In every second newspaper or magazine you will find aticles about China and India and the ground breaking development, rapid growth and economic reforms. Little has been said about these Latin American nations who are making strong but steady progress in improving their worldy conditions.

Cuba's Presiden Fidel Castro, Bolivia's President Evo Morales and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez are rubbishing American policies and social reforms. Bolivia has taken a step to nationalize the oil and gas sector. Fuel prices are the highest in Europe 1.53euros/litre but in venezuela an entrire tank can be filled for less than half an euro.

The rise of the these three nations will sing high and would send a shudder to the world. USA has been the pivotal point in the world's history for decades together. Is the focus shifting? This would be a million-dollar question for the years to come!!!

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Role Models

I'm currently reading the book Freedom at midnight - it is an epic drama of india's struggle for independance. Then there was this article in hindu about the real role models of today. Where are the leaders, people we look up to and learn from. Icons we idealise?

Some excerpts from the article
"India is passing through a critical phase when the crisis of values is so serious that words like idealism and altruism sound like the wearied notes of an old song "

We seem to have a ailing memory - people who we admired a few days ago are already gathering dust and growing cobwebs in the back of our minds.

"Look around today. Who are the leading lights of any fields and what are they doing? Take a Sachin Tendulkar. I like it when he scores runs and returns back from his father's funeral the next day, and scores a century. But when my young daughter asks why does he endorse Coke or Pepsi, which we have been telling her is bad for health, what do I tell her? Who cares for a Pullela Gopichand who refused to endorse the drink saying he could not recommend something which he thought was harmful. Can we visualise a Dilip Kumar or Guru Dutt promoting products as Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan do?"

Sometimes we pass through a lot of things, a lot of images drift pass us, are we a generation lost in this, trying to carve a space for ourselves? Only time will tell.

You must be wondering why i chose the pictures of bhagat singh and rahul gandhi?
Well one was a martyr and the other .... i was trying to think of an icon i could place beside bhagat singh and frankly i cudn't find any.
These people are prob of the same age, one decided that he had to give up his life for the love of his country... do we have a youth icon who would match up to him in this day & age?
What good is the independance to us today, that which resulted from great sacrifices and innumerous deaths?

(This post wud be continued... as i turn the pages of freedom at midnight)

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Reservation!!

STAND UP and Make a Difference

Vote against the reservation bill

QUOTA CONTROVERSY: Students have reacted with shock and outrage of HRD Ministry's proposals.

"Human Resource Developmet Minister Arjun Singh may claim that it's just a proposal, but UPA Government's attempts to increase reservations from the present 22.5 per cent to 49.5 per cent in prestigious educational institutes like Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Management and other institutes of higher education, is brewing up a storm. "
-CNN-IBN

Should there be reservations in colleges? Should education be streamed and made easy for people who are economically weak? Should people be deprived of graduation jus because they were from a specifc community and not because they were not good enough?

This is a very sensitive issue, but certainly worth debating. While i was ready to pursue my higher studies, reservation was a curse for the Forward caste people. Luckily i made it to a university that had an insignificant percentage of reservation and people were choosen only because they deserved to get in.

Now, if people are economically weak and financially broken should graduation be offered to them easily? what problem are we solving by this system? We have doctors, engineers, archietects et al who have no clue about what they are doing.

Shouldn't the focus be to uplift these people so that they are able to compete with the rest of the society? By offering them reservation aren't we ostracizing them further and insulting them?

Education should be given to students who deserve to get in, this would retain the fire to reach greater heights and would benefit the country. Ensure people get in to school with reservations but colleges and universities should be spared of this reservation.

Caste and creed should not make education easy to acquire.

Let the best man win!!

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FRIENDS

I started watching friends when i was in college and they have become a part of my life. It seems to me that the characters of this TV show have grown on me. Chandler, Monica, Ross, Rachel, Joey and Phoebe are a part of my world. I've watched every episode on Z Cafe and Star World and bored my apt-mate to death. I say FRIENDS Rule. They make me laugh, smile and feel sad. I could sit tight in a place and watch friends for 2 hours straight.. no questions asked.

There are some funny things i've read abt friends. For instance, every man wants to be like joey, thinks he's like chandler but is actually a neurotic like Ross. I couldn't agree more ;-))

From cheesecakes to pumpkin pies, from frooseball to name-all-the-states games, from young girls to moms these people have gone thro a hell of a time!!

Somehow when i saw the last show of Friends i was as sad as they were .. 10 years of acting a part, its very difficult to let it go!!!

I've watched them in the Oprah Winfrey show.. i've watched the BLOOPERS and i love watching FRIENDS and sadly i make no secret of it. I wish this show is never taken off the air but i can just wish.

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INDIA - The MIRACLE.

“You want to know what India is like…right now…? Take a champagne bottle…shake it for an hour…and open the cork…! You don’t want to come in the way of the cork…!”
- Friedman, Author (The world is flat)

A method to madness, self-organized existense!!

India - 1 billion reasons to care!!!

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Ribbon cutting Ceremony

After a long wait, i gave my space a face lift.
From a colorful green, its back to black and white.

The absense of colors adds to the beauty

I cordially invite all of you to be present for the ribbon cutting ceremony @ 2.00-2.30PM .

Today is HOLI "Festival of colors"- bring them out and smear them on my face but spare my blog for it likes this serene silence.

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