Being from India, we love cricket and worship cricketers. And sometimes, we like to play too. So, we are participating in a 7-a-side soft-ball tournament here in Bahrain. A total of 60 teams are participating in the tourney and we played our first match last night. We lost it successfully, but at least we did give a tough fight to the opponents(my favs for the title). Batting first, they made a not-so-tough 52 runs in their allotted 6 overs while our side managed a convincing 45 runs in the same number of overs. Well, the nest match is on 28th of this month and wish us all the best.
And now, let's go to a strange issue that raging in some hearts in India. One Mr Shah Rukh Khan(in short SRK) was frisked at an airport in the US of A. Ok, the airport authorities did detain him for a couple of hours and checked his credentials blah blah. The only problem is this SRK guy is a super-star or a Badshah of Bollywood(naah, I'm an Aamir Khan fan). Fans started protesting this act and started burning effigies of the govt of US of A. TV channels started flashing the news of this footage in "exclusive bulletins". Bollywood bigwigs are interviewed, politicians were asked questions and people are made idiots.
But what's the big deal in the airport authorities doing so? Clearly, not everyone knows what Bollywood is or who SRK is. He's just one of those guys traveling through their airport. Is there any point in this whole incident for the entire nation to stand up(or rather sit n watch those stupid news channels broadcasting this)? Aren't there more issues that are bothering the nation?
Just in the past one month, more than 22 farmers committed suicide in the state of Andhra Pradesh courtesy poor rainfall and increasing debts. I saw in a regional news channel yesterday that a farmer set fire to his crop after a very less output(I don't exactly know the term). No one cares about issues like this. All we care is when a celebrity is detained in an airport or a famous cricketer scores a duck or when a politician is making useless comments etc. God save India.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
My Idol is back for me to worship
Well folks, first of all, belated Friendship Day wishes to you all. I know that I'm late, as usual, but as long as something comes from your heart, you are never late.
This post is for the return of my idol, known as Micheal Schumacher. Me(in fact none in the world) didn't even think of this dramatic return, even in our wildest dreams. If it was not for Felipe Massa's unfortunate accident at the qualifying session of the Hungary Grand Prix, I would not be writing this post.
This man, Micheal Schumacher(fondly called as Schumi) is not just a human for me. Something beyond that. I don't exactly remember how I came to know about this guy or his hunting ground(F1 races), but since 2001 or so, I've been following up with his races. My heart used to jump with joy when I read about his wins in the newspaper(that time, I was doing my engineering in a rural area). I used to plan my trips to home accordingly, so as to watch the F1 race on Sundays.
Ah, all this is making me feel nostalgic of those beautiful days. None of my friends used to watch F1(as you know, cricket rules an average Indian's brain), and I used to try hard to get into the love of watching this sport. Some used to argue with me that F1 is the most stupidest sport ever, as the same guy(Schumi) wins every race in the same car(Ferrari). That was his impact on the sport. I can vaguely remember that the F1 bosses even changed the rules of the game in 2004, to make it more interesting for viewers(naah, just to end Schumi's supremacy, if I'm not wrong).
It was my dream then to witness at least one F1 race with Schumi in it, but he retired at the end of the 2006 season. I saw my first F1 race in 2008, sadly and his absense is obvious. It's not the same as before. I started confining myself to newspapers and website reports about F1 races, rather than sitting in a couch and watching it tensely on TV. But everything is going to change, if all goes well on August 23.
PS: God, please help me in getting out of the office in time to watch all the races that Schumi is participating.
This post is for the return of my idol, known as Micheal Schumacher. Me(in fact none in the world) didn't even think of this dramatic return, even in our wildest dreams. If it was not for Felipe Massa's unfortunate accident at the qualifying session of the Hungary Grand Prix, I would not be writing this post.
This man, Micheal Schumacher(fondly called as Schumi) is not just a human for me. Something beyond that. I don't exactly remember how I came to know about this guy or his hunting ground(F1 races), but since 2001 or so, I've been following up with his races. My heart used to jump with joy when I read about his wins in the newspaper(that time, I was doing my engineering in a rural area). I used to plan my trips to home accordingly, so as to watch the F1 race on Sundays.
Ah, all this is making me feel nostalgic of those beautiful days. None of my friends used to watch F1(as you know, cricket rules an average Indian's brain), and I used to try hard to get into the love of watching this sport. Some used to argue with me that F1 is the most stupidest sport ever, as the same guy(Schumi) wins every race in the same car(Ferrari). That was his impact on the sport. I can vaguely remember that the F1 bosses even changed the rules of the game in 2004, to make it more interesting for viewers(naah, just to end Schumi's supremacy, if I'm not wrong).
It was my dream then to witness at least one F1 race with Schumi in it, but he retired at the end of the 2006 season. I saw my first F1 race in 2008, sadly and his absense is obvious. It's not the same as before. I started confining myself to newspapers and website reports about F1 races, rather than sitting in a couch and watching it tensely on TV. But everything is going to change, if all goes well on August 23.
PS: God, please help me in getting out of the office in time to watch all the races that Schumi is participating.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Love Aaj Kal - Loss of sleep kal night
First of all, I apologize for not being here for the past few weeks. Life seems to be f@#&ed up big time, like never before. But now, I wanted to enjoy life as much as I can and hence I assure you that you are going to read a lot of crap here from now on.
Last night, we had late dinner as one of friend is going to India on vacation and we had to do some shopping. On the way to the restaurent, we saw that there's a premier show of the much awaited "Love Aaj Kal" at midnight(here in Middle East, Bollywood movies release one day before, but this is much before the Indian release as I'm talking abt Wednesday night and the movie is going to release on Friday in India). Anyways, me and the friend who's going for vacation thought of giving it a try, even though I have to get up as early as 5 30AM to get to the office today.
And there it is, a premier show with only 25% of the theatre filled. We can sit wherever we want, put legs on whatever front seat you want - what else do we want? Coming to the movie, it's a matured love story, so matured that the hero first makes love to a girl and then loves her(at least, he thinks he's loving her... yawwwnnnn).
The story is simple: The movie starts when a boy(errr.... man) meets a girl at a party and wins her with a not-so-convincing manner. They end up living together for some days(n weeks and months) and then they decide that they are going to break up. The boy(errr again, the man) is a happy-go-lucky guy(who tries to be super cool) who suggests that they throw a party to celebrate their break-up. Everybody is surprised(except me n the other audience) and there goes a lavish party. The next morning, the owner of the hotel tries to question this man(I got it right this time) about his relationship with the girl(arey yaar, they celebrated their break-up in your restaurent and you are questioning their relationship now) and gives him some tips. He narrates his love story to the hero. The rest of the story is supposed to be a comparision between the Aaj ka love story and Kal ka love story(beleive me, I can't compare even a single instance of both those stories).
The plus points of the movie are:
* Both the lead actors played their roles very well(even though I felt occasionally that Deepika has only two emotions in the movie: Amusement and Sadness).
* The songs of the movie are superb. One of the best in recent times.
* The photography was excellent. The locations(supposed to be UK) were too good.
* The comedy was good in bits n pieces.
* The biggest plus point for me is the duration of the movie, a good 130 or 135 minutes, which is apt.
However, there are a lot of minus points too:
* The narration was too fast paced in the starting few minutes and after that, it lags drastically.
* The movie reminds you of a lot of other movies(which is not good for a movie).
* Felt that the Kal ka love story was more interesting than the Aaj ka love story.
* Also, I strongly felt that there's no need for the Kal ka love story at all. The movie would have been the same without it too.
* The climax gets too predictable.
I rate this movie 3 out of 5 and I would prefer to see this movie when I'm free and really don't have any other movie to watch.
Before coming to a conclusion about this movie, please note that the above expressed views are entirely my own and you may actually like the movie. Different persons have different mindsets and one more important thing is that I saw the movie at 12 midnight.
Last night, we had late dinner as one of friend is going to India on vacation and we had to do some shopping. On the way to the restaurent, we saw that there's a premier show of the much awaited "Love Aaj Kal" at midnight(here in Middle East, Bollywood movies release one day before, but this is much before the Indian release as I'm talking abt Wednesday night and the movie is going to release on Friday in India). Anyways, me and the friend who's going for vacation thought of giving it a try, even though I have to get up as early as 5 30AM to get to the office today.
And there it is, a premier show with only 25% of the theatre filled. We can sit wherever we want, put legs on whatever front seat you want - what else do we want? Coming to the movie, it's a matured love story, so matured that the hero first makes love to a girl and then loves her(at least, he thinks he's loving her... yawwwnnnn).
The story is simple: The movie starts when a boy(errr.... man) meets a girl at a party and wins her with a not-so-convincing manner. They end up living together for some days(n weeks and months) and then they decide that they are going to break up. The boy(errr again, the man) is a happy-go-lucky guy(who tries to be super cool) who suggests that they throw a party to celebrate their break-up. Everybody is surprised(except me n the other audience) and there goes a lavish party. The next morning, the owner of the hotel tries to question this man(I got it right this time) about his relationship with the girl(arey yaar, they celebrated their break-up in your restaurent and you are questioning their relationship now) and gives him some tips. He narrates his love story to the hero. The rest of the story is supposed to be a comparision between the Aaj ka love story and Kal ka love story(beleive me, I can't compare even a single instance of both those stories).
The plus points of the movie are:
* Both the lead actors played their roles very well(even though I felt occasionally that Deepika has only two emotions in the movie: Amusement and Sadness).
* The songs of the movie are superb. One of the best in recent times.
* The photography was excellent. The locations(supposed to be UK) were too good.
* The comedy was good in bits n pieces.
* The biggest plus point for me is the duration of the movie, a good 130 or 135 minutes, which is apt.
However, there are a lot of minus points too:
* The narration was too fast paced in the starting few minutes and after that, it lags drastically.
* The movie reminds you of a lot of other movies(which is not good for a movie).
* Felt that the Kal ka love story was more interesting than the Aaj ka love story.
* Also, I strongly felt that there's no need for the Kal ka love story at all. The movie would have been the same without it too.
* The climax gets too predictable.
I rate this movie 3 out of 5 and I would prefer to see this movie when I'm free and really don't have any other movie to watch.
Before coming to a conclusion about this movie, please note that the above expressed views are entirely my own and you may actually like the movie. Different persons have different mindsets and one more important thing is that I saw the movie at 12 midnight.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Some sort of celebrations
Everybody says that it's the big day for me. But not many friends have called to wish me. So, the celebrations have been dull.
Yes folks, it's the 4th of July. Another year passed by in my life and I've turned one more year older and it's just 73 years more to complete the century for me(the only big ambition in my life these days). As one of my blogger friend wrote in her blog, it's not important how old you become, but what matters is how wiser you've become. I hope I did some justice to those words.
Well, I've cut a cake arranged my friends, last night. It was yummy. And right after a couple of hours, Indian cricket team won a tense match against West Indies. What a start for the day!!!! But the rest of the day(till now), has not been so good. All my close friends here have work these days. So I was all alone from morning: chatting, reading news etc.
A few close friends called till now, but none of my best friends called me. Seems that they forgot the occasion. So just like every year, I'll wait till the night and remind them on my own. Till then, let me indulge myself in the fantasy world of gaming.
And hey, wish me all the best on the occasion. All you Blogger friends gave a new dimension for my life and altered my thinking capabilities. Thanks a lot for that. Life is not the same since I entered the Bloggerville.
This is the cake I've cut last night.
The strip on the cake reads: Happy birthday fun Sathi.
The reason: I try to be funny always.... :(
Yes folks, it's the 4th of July. Another year passed by in my life and I've turned one more year older and it's just 73 years more to complete the century for me(the only big ambition in my life these days). As one of my blogger friend wrote in her blog, it's not important how old you become, but what matters is how wiser you've become. I hope I did some justice to those words.
Well, I've cut a cake arranged my friends, last night. It was yummy. And right after a couple of hours, Indian cricket team won a tense match against West Indies. What a start for the day!!!! But the rest of the day(till now), has not been so good. All my close friends here have work these days. So I was all alone from morning: chatting, reading news etc.
A few close friends called till now, but none of my best friends called me. Seems that they forgot the occasion. So just like every year, I'll wait till the night and remind them on my own. Till then, let me indulge myself in the fantasy world of gaming.
And hey, wish me all the best on the occasion. All you Blogger friends gave a new dimension for my life and altered my thinking capabilities. Thanks a lot for that. Life is not the same since I entered the Bloggerville.
This is the cake I've cut last night.
The strip on the cake reads: Happy birthday fun Sathi.
The reason: I try to be funny always.... :(
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
A very late post
Dear friends, as you read this, I know that you'll feel that this news is outdated. But what can 'poor me' do? Even though the news is old, the hard-work and dedication behind that is ever-green.
I am talking about Pakisthan's vistory in the T20 World Cup 2009. Everybody thought that India and South Africa are strong contenders for the title(I thought no one can stop SA) and no one ever thought Pakisthan will be the ultimate winner. Coming back from back-to-back losses in the practice games, to win the title is not an easy task. On the other hand, our Indians never looked like champion stuff, even in the matches in the league stage.
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However, Pakisthan cricket team knew that they should win the title to regain the charisma they lost in the International Cricket. And that was how they won it. In a country ravaged by numerous terror strikes and boycott by other cricketing nations, the only thing that keeps the spirit alive is cricket.
Many of us think that Pakisthan is supporting terrorism in India, but how many of us know about their internal turmoil. Check this link for some pictures of the children effected by the ongoing military operations in the SWAT valley of Pakisthan. Let's all pray for their well-being.
Also, please find below a truly remarkable picture of a historic event that almost went unnoticed(at least by me). It's the picture of Iraqi security forces celebrating the event of US troops leaving Iraqi cities:
Also, my condolances to all the fans of Micheal Jackson. Even though I'm not a great fan of him, I always knew the importance he's holding in some hearts. I read yesterday on some website that a total of 16 suicides are reported world-wide following Jacko's death. In Australia, they even set up a help-line for fans who went under depression after this. Folks, I know how hard it is for us to digest the death of Jacko, but isn't there a family waiting for you to return back home? Please don't resort to such things.
Pictures Courtesy: Boston
I am talking about Pakisthan's vistory in the T20 World Cup 2009. Everybody thought that India and South Africa are strong contenders for the title(I thought no one can stop SA) and no one ever thought Pakisthan will be the ultimate winner. Coming back from back-to-back losses in the practice games, to win the title is not an easy task. On the other hand, our Indians never looked like champion stuff, even in the matches in the league stage.
.jpg)
However, Pakisthan cricket team knew that they should win the title to regain the charisma they lost in the International Cricket. And that was how they won it. In a country ravaged by numerous terror strikes and boycott by other cricketing nations, the only thing that keeps the spirit alive is cricket.
Many of us think that Pakisthan is supporting terrorism in India, but how many of us know about their internal turmoil. Check this link for some pictures of the children effected by the ongoing military operations in the SWAT valley of Pakisthan. Let's all pray for their well-being.
Also, please find below a truly remarkable picture of a historic event that almost went unnoticed(at least by me). It's the picture of Iraqi security forces celebrating the event of US troops leaving Iraqi cities:
Also, my condolances to all the fans of Micheal Jackson. Even though I'm not a great fan of him, I always knew the importance he's holding in some hearts. I read yesterday on some website that a total of 16 suicides are reported world-wide following Jacko's death. In Australia, they even set up a help-line for fans who went under depression after this. Folks, I know how hard it is for us to digest the death of Jacko, but isn't there a family waiting for you to return back home? Please don't resort to such things.
Pictures Courtesy: Boston
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
After all, who are we?
A couple of weeks back, there was a fire accident in Bahrain. A gas cylinder blew up in a building where more than 40 people are staying. Most of them are from my state, Andhra Pradesh in India. As soon as they heard the blast, they ran for their lives without taking care of their belongings. They lost their passports, money, mobiles and other valuables in the fire(this proves that we are humans and we care for nothing other than our lives).
All the people in the building are poor and all of them are dialy labourers. Most of them are run-away employees or people who came on visit visas and over stayed here. Almost all of them have large fines pending with the ministries.
As soon as we(TKS) got the news about this accident, our people rushed to the place and brought all of them to TKS premises(as they don't have any other shelter). Food was sponsored by some other NGO for them and our people took the responsibility of delivering the food. We collected clothes, blankets etc on war foot and distributed them to these 40 people immediatly. Thanks to many donors, we were able to fulfill the basic needs of those people(this proves that we are humans and we care about others too). It was heartening to see them scrambling for old clothes so that they have something decent to wear for work.
The first day was OK and then we asked them their details so that we can arrange for duplicates of passports, resident permits etc. But not many are willing to reveal these details as they are staying illegally here. Then we informed them of the possible difficulties they are going to face in the future because of their illegal stay and not a single one was interested to listen to those words. We also informed them that if they can leave Bahrain as soon as possible, we can try to nullify their pending fines, but still the response is the same(this proves that we are humans and we tend to take things lightly). They wanted to live like rats but don't want to go back to India. We don't know what problems they have in their home towns, but still it's better to leave than live such a miserly life here.
At first, they are manageable but after one day, they started demanding(kind of) instead of requesting. I was shocked by the following incident: We were distributing them some T-shirts sponsored by some other NGO and a couple of guys adamantly asked me to change the size as L size "may be" loose for them!!!!! Man, this proves that we are humans and always ye dil maange more.
Anyways, it's been two weeks since this happened and no one was ready to leave Bahrain till now. But the good part is they are back in to their normal lives and got into some other new accommodation. Long live, mankind.
All the people in the building are poor and all of them are dialy labourers. Most of them are run-away employees or people who came on visit visas and over stayed here. Almost all of them have large fines pending with the ministries.
As soon as we(TKS) got the news about this accident, our people rushed to the place and brought all of them to TKS premises(as they don't have any other shelter). Food was sponsored by some other NGO for them and our people took the responsibility of delivering the food. We collected clothes, blankets etc on war foot and distributed them to these 40 people immediatly. Thanks to many donors, we were able to fulfill the basic needs of those people(this proves that we are humans and we care about others too). It was heartening to see them scrambling for old clothes so that they have something decent to wear for work.
The first day was OK and then we asked them their details so that we can arrange for duplicates of passports, resident permits etc. But not many are willing to reveal these details as they are staying illegally here. Then we informed them of the possible difficulties they are going to face in the future because of their illegal stay and not a single one was interested to listen to those words. We also informed them that if they can leave Bahrain as soon as possible, we can try to nullify their pending fines, but still the response is the same(this proves that we are humans and we tend to take things lightly). They wanted to live like rats but don't want to go back to India. We don't know what problems they have in their home towns, but still it's better to leave than live such a miserly life here.
At first, they are manageable but after one day, they started demanding(kind of) instead of requesting. I was shocked by the following incident: We were distributing them some T-shirts sponsored by some other NGO and a couple of guys adamantly asked me to change the size as L size "may be" loose for them!!!!! Man, this proves that we are humans and always ye dil maange more.
Anyways, it's been two weeks since this happened and no one was ready to leave Bahrain till now. But the good part is they are back in to their normal lives and got into some other new accommodation. Long live, mankind.
Monday, June 15, 2009
A pictorial post
The lonely traveller. On my way to Hyderabad from Visakhapatnam.
A dead jelly fish. Felt bad that it had to die a lonely death. Who knows how our death may come?
A view of a rainy morning through a car window.
The third lady from left is a Raman Megasis award winner. OMG, she's so humble, so adorable. Her name is Mrs Shanta Sinha. She is an anti-child labour activist
I know that some of you like this picture.
Villagio shopping mall in Doha, Qatar. Image courtesy Zenoed. The blue sky you see on top is actually a poster which's pasted throught the mall giving it a street llok.
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