At Loss of Words

Mr Terrorist - I am alive what more can you do?

Mr Politician - I am alive despite you.

I am a Mumbaikar.

These words mean a lot, written by a survivor. One could imagine the pain and trauma that these poor people might be going through. But it is very disheartening to know that these selfish politicians using it to their advantage when India should have stood united. One says "Such things do happen". Probably an alien who was never an Indian, just a animal who didnt have the sixth sense and didnt understand the impact of the killings. These are the persons who should have been at the Taj.

Alarm bells ringing all over India. It is time for some proactive action by our Government which should take some stringent steps to avoid such mishaps in future.

Hope the world stands united to remove terrorism.

With Due respect, A SALUTE TO ALL THE BRAVE OFFICERS who have laid down their lives and to all those who made it sure that Mumbai is safe from the hands of those bastards. My sincere condolences to all those who have lost their lives in one of the worst attack.

A request to all the Indians:-
Please do pledge in and do your bit to help our own brothers and sisters regain their normal life.

Bidding Farewell to God of Off-Side

India's most successful captain, the God of off side, one who changed the face of Indian Cricket has retired and will no more be seen in the International arena.

What a life of Cricket he has had. DADA as he is favouritely called by all, made his debut against the Australians, but fell short of runs and was thrown into a shell for 4 years. But despite this, he made a strong come back by hitting a century against England in his Debut Test match at Lord's in 1996. There has been no looking back since then.

He made a revolution in the Indian cricket when he took over the reins of captaincy from Mohamed Azharuddin. Just when it looked as if Indians would win no more matches, he led the team to the famous win against the Australians at home when the Indian team beat the World champions and won the historic test series 2-1.

He led the team by example, nurtured and extended his fullest support to all the younger players, showed his aggressiveness when needed the famous being when he removed his shirt at Lord's Balcony when India thrashed England by chasing 326 in Natwest Finals in 2002, just because Andrew Flintoff had run bare chest in India.

After being dropped from the team in 2005, he re-emerged from the ashes by hitting an half century in his come back match. From then on, despite the consistent criticism showered on him, he has replied patiently by scoring heavily in most of the matches.

Few moments which is close to my heart:-

- The rain of sixes during World Cup 1999. He would stand confidently after hitting a shot. This exposed the pain and agony in the eyes of any of the opposition.

- His 183 scored of 158 balls against the Sri lankan's. What a stunning performance.

- His every stand as an opener with Tendulkar, especially when the duo stood together for 196 against the Kenyan's. Though it was against minnows, it was a treat for the eyes. Their highest being 258.

- Removal of his T-shirt in the Balcony of Lord's when India chased 326 for victory.

- His recent century against the Australians in Mohali, his 85 in Nagpur and though i didnt want this kind of farewell to Dada, the most saddest a duck in his final innings.

The final innings when he walked in for fielding and received a salutation from his teammates, would have been watched by many with a heavy heart. India's most successful captain, having won 21 tests and 76 one day internationals under his captaincy, scoring more than 18000 runs, 11000+ runs in ODI and 7000+ runs in Tests, averaging more than 40 in both forms of cricket, he definitely has proved himself as a worthy cricketer who in the history of world cricket would be placed as an successful cricketer and captain.

As God had said, it is time for celebration as one of the most successful cricketer has taken the toughest decision of his life and we all should support him.

Today as he sits back and takes a deep breath to see how his cricket life had been, it would surely give him some peace and satisfaction.

Though we would get no more of the lofted sixes, the square cuts and the square drives, you would still be remembered at heart as one of the greatest cricketer India has produced.

GOOD BYE DADA.

Anti Joke on Sardarji

I heard a beep from my mobile. It was the sound of an sms. It was a forward. I had recieved similar kind of forwards many a times from my friends. It was a joke on a Sardar. Though i laughed it off, my other part of my mind was just racing to find out the reason on why these kind of messages are being forwarded, targetting a particular group of Indians. What will he go through if he reads these kind of messages. What if we were being mocked in the same way. Another famous mockery prevailing around is "Barah Bhaj gaye kya (Has the time struck 12?)". The truth behind is just before Pakistan was separated from India, the people used to harass the women. For their protection, the women used to ask the Sardarji's for their help. And the Sardarji's used to launch a Gorilla attack on those offenders exactly at 12 in the night. So before leaving our country, they spread this word "Barah Bhaj gaye kya" to mock those Sardarji's. And the practice continues. I really dont know whether what is stated here is correct, I just read it somewhere and it sounds convincing. And are they really foolish enough to be mocked at. But the answer is "No". I had attended a session sometime during my college days. Dont remember what session it was, but the same question had arisen. The speaker had asked 2 questions which made me shut my mouth and think about this. One "Have you ever seen a beggar who is a Sardar?" and the second "How many of us could prove that majority of people in the Army are not Sikh's?". I decided on that day, that i would never forward a joke on Sardar come what may. This is a small issue, but are we not showing our disrespect to our own fellow Indian. Wouldnt it be good if we stop forwarding such messages.

Indian Olympics in Future

A foreseeable topic. But before coming to the main part, one question i would like to ask. Does anyone of us know these people; Naadimuthu, Chitra, Sakthi, Murugan, Sivasundaram. Frankly speaking i didnt know any till today. They are none but who have taken India to great heights and not having got any support from our government. Naadimuthu - 37 medals (25 Gold, 7 silver and 5 Bronze), Chitra - 2 Golds (World Ranked 6th in Weight lifting), Sakthi - 9 Golds, Murugan -  2 Golds, Sivasundaram - Represented twice for India in Football. The list is fewer in Number, but the feats they have achieved is just enormous. Are these people really getting the necessary support they need from the government. Could only 1 Abhinav Bindra emerge out of more than 1 billion people. Is it only because he could set up his own field for shooting. How many people have the fortune to set up their own grounds to achieve something in their life. It becomes the due responsibility of the government to set up the proper infrastructure, give proper training and encouragement to these folks to emerge as a winner and bring laurels to our country. Looking at the other side, are these people stopping just after achieving at the national level. They should give up their best in order to achieve the gaint. I believe with the individual's aim along with the proper support of the government should get us more number of Golds in any forms of game be it Olympics, Commonwealth or be it any other.

ச-ரோ-ஜ

"SAROJA saaman nikalo". Do you remember this line. - Then this is where the title SAROJA was picked up by Venkat Prabhu for his second directorial venture. After watching movies like Muniyaandi...., Satyam, Chi Thu sorry Dhaam Dhoom, this movie came as a biiiiiiiiiiiigggggg surprise to me. I had planned to watch this in local Chengalpattu theatre but happy that i got to see it in Mayajaal First Day Night Show.

This movie is a Racy thriller. Right from the word go , this movie would be sending chills down your spines. Oh my god did i say that. Well this is what i had thought when i was seated in the theatre just before the movie started, but there was something else in store for me "COMEDY". Such a beautiful and practical narration. The movie starts in a quite distorted way (this is what i felt for the first few minutes). But as the movie proceeded, the director proved me wrong. He has tried out differently by blending different stories together and providing the right mix to the audience. Right from the introduction of the Heroes, the comedy time starts. The way everyone behaves even during crunch situation just adds beauty to the film. The way Premji adjustes his hair just before he openes the eye knot of the girl whom he tries to save, the way SPB Charan is tugged on both sides of the hole in which he is struck, the way of introduction of Shiva (i dont know how it will be to look at this guy in a serious role.), the courage the new comer shows, and few of the dialogues that still lingers in my mind.

"Yen sir intha Train Chennai ku pogatha?"

"Sir enkitta rendu purse iruku. Naa venumna ungalukku oru purse tharen sir"

"Rendu Andhra brothersum nalla hyderabad biriyani thinga thaan laiku."

"Sir rendu perum damages share pannipeengala."

I know this would make no sense to those who have not got the chance to watch the movie. But once you see the movie, you would just laugh it out. The other persons who are to be congragulated are Yuvan and Sakthi Saravanan. Yuvan, for giving the right music and the right inclusion of background scores especially when Premji sees a girl. And Sakthi Saravanan for his Camera work. More than half of the movie have been shot at night, this might have been really tough. On the whole, this movie is a comedy racy thriller and the Director is back with a Big Bang. This movie according to me deserves a 5 star. There might have been many flaws in the film, but to me i could just notice the plus in it. Congrats to Venkat Prabhu on SAROJA.

I still remember, in some Chennai 600028 function Rajnikanth made a promise to Venkat Prabhu that he and KamalHaasan will surely attend a similar kind of function if his second movie proves to be a success. This is going to turn true for Venkat Prabhu.

Kudos to entire team for giving out a good film.

Bull's Eye

On 11th of August 2008, a new page in the Indian history was opened and a new topic written in it, a 25 year old young lad the reason behind. Yes ABHINAV BINDRA a roaring Singh of Punjab has clinched GOLD in men's 10-meter air rifle event, fulfilling the wishes and prayers of billions of people and Independent Mother India getting her first ever Olympic Gold medal in any individual event. The shooting ace placed fourth in his entry to the final, shot off to fame with him hitting nearly the bull's eye at 10.8 (the maximum being 10.9). With Bindra equally placed with Henri till the last shot and needing 10.4 in his final shot to win the Gold, he shot a massive 10.8 which brought him into the limelight. His hardwork and determination have definitely made him go places. The Silver and bronze were bagged by Zhu Qinan of China and Henri Hakkinen of Finland respectively.

As he had said "I have worked hard for this. It was my day. I have always believed that I could do this and am happy to have done it. I have been in the sport for ten years, and I know that the difference between winning and losing is not much. I didn't do anything very different today" it was his day and he deserved to win and he won. He has made both his family and in turn his country proud. Hats off to him for his achievement.

This win has raised the hopes of India and it should definitely trigger the spirit in all those participating in the Beijing Olympics. On part of India, it should certainly give a face lift to all the sports and sportsperson instead of concentrating on a single sport.

Few Achievements of Abhinav Bindra:-
- At 15, being the youngest participant at the 1998 Commonwealth Games he won a bronze in the 2001 Munich World Cup with a new junior world record score of 597/600.
- In the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, competing in his pet Air rifle event, Bindra won Gold in the Pairs event and Silver in the individual event. During a purple patch, Bindra won six gold medals at various international meets in the European Circuit in 2001. He was conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for the year 2001.
- On July 2006, Bindra became the first Indian shooter to win a World Championship gold in Zagreb betttering the previous record held by Dr.Karni Singh for winning Silver in 1962.

Interview with GOD

The GOD i am referring here is Ananya, 10 month old daughter of my sister. Who else can be described as GOD?

On 30th of July, i was supposed to work from Sholinganallur, so i had gone to Sholls office. And from there called up my sister to tell her that i would be coming home that evening. I spent nearly 2 hours in her home and that 2 hours i just couldnt take my eyes off her. The first 15 minutes she was very reluctant to even come near me(poochandi nenaichirapa), but the rest of the time she got into the play. Very active, kept me on the move for nearly half the time(making me move. saritharathila edatha pidachitta.), never sat in one place, the way she dodged her dad's hand just for listening to a serial's song, the way she used to struggle for separating the cap from the pen every time it was given to her, and the most beautiful of all the way she flashed her innocent smile and posed for all the photographs that i took which none could have matched. Simply enjoyed the full 2 hours watching the beauty.

My Possession - When i go out

The things mentioned below are just the ones which i generally like to possess while i go out... I make it a point not to forget these before i start somewhere...

1. Cellphone

As i had mentioned in my previous post, i am crazy about cellphones. Dont ask me why because even if you ask, i wont be in a position to answer as i dont know. From the time i have got my cellphone, i think i would have forgotten to take it along with me for a maximum of 4 or 5 times that too only recently while starting to office because of my laziness which in a way affected me indirectly.. But twice i took the pains of coming back home from office borrowing my friends bike just for the sake of taking back the mobile...

2. Watch
During my college days, one could see my watch tied to my wrist for a minimum of 15 - 20 hours a day even during my sleep, but the one i am wearing now being costlier i wear it only when i go out. And one thing to be noted here, this watch is not mine but my dad's which i suttified. So extra careful vera ethum illa...

3. Goggles
Style ma..... Well those who know me would have easily guessed it by now that i was talking about my spectacles. Simple reason because if i dont wear my glasses, enaku kannu theriyathu...

4. Purse
This, i have started lately only from my office days. There was a time when i didnt even like the idea of keeping a purse till i entered the arena of office campus. But somehow compulsion from many turned to possession. One could find a lot of things in my purse, waste papers, my license, debit card, visiting cards, photos and the most important of all MONEY...

5. Comb
irukara mudiya vachu style panna thaan... Actually speaking writing this word took me nearly 10 minutes of my time. Only the word seepu kept popping up in my mind. I nearly went to the extent of googling that i remember the word....
:-)

Onsite - Is it worth?

Good Question. Well no appreciation from others, so self appraisal. This might be a common topic, but the reason why i had chosen this topic to write is one it has been a long time i wrote and the other one of my friends has gone onsite recently and the problems of
being in onsite has made me write about this.

I have no prior experience of enjoying the facilities/ enjoyment that onsite would provide. So some of the probables which would or could make onsite interesting.
- First and Foremost one gets to lavishly feast on the huge amount of money he/she earns.
- Lots of new and wonderful places to be visited.
- Journey by Air
- Helps during Marriage Proposal
- Food
- Strict timings of not more than 8 hours.
- Internet
- Strictly for Guys -------------------(Up to you to fill it)

Let us take point by point and analyze.

First point is commendable. Worth going onsite for that (only for that). You can play with money once you go there. But as money comes one has to spend (vazhkai oru vattam, innaiku irukarathu nallaiku irukaathu, innaiku irukaathathu nallaiku irukaama pogathu). The expenditure varies on the place where you are posted. One short story which comes to my mind straight away (will keep it short) is
Two Bedroom Flat (Many might have heard of this).
A person goes onsite with the dreams of earning lots and lots of money. His dad would have brought a one bedroom flat with his hard earned money after retirement. But this guy after all the hassle's ends up buying only two bedroom flat. He could have earned more if he had stayed back. Is it real worth to go onsite just for that extra bedroom. I would prefer to stay back.
But this doesnt mean that who ever goes there ends as an spendthrift. One of my colleague has saved nearly 15 lakhs in his short period of 2+ years. He has cleared off all his debts. He could atleast breath some sense of relief now. And from now on what he would earn will be for his own and his family.

Next, i would prefer to onsite only for this. One gets to see a lot of new places. But one question that lingers in my mind when i think of it, Have i seen all the places in my own country. The answer is NO. BUt still everyone has his/ her own reasons for going onsite.
One small question which would come to everyone's mind, if i had to go to onsite only to see the places there, why cant i go on my own. The answer here is quite simple, If i go on
my own i will have to spend more. But i would certainly be saving a lot if my company sends me there.

For those who are travelling for the first time and a long journey, it would be mixed emotions, kind of excitement, thrill combined with fear in their mind. Last week one of my friend was supposed to travel to Chicago and he was going to board the plane for the first time. What he had in mind was only fear on whether he will reach there without facing any problems on the way. He had hell a lot of questions like how he is going to travel for this long, will he face any problem while clearing his visa check etc etc. Those who are frequent travellers may feel bored or some may even have the passion of flying. And lot of rules and regulations that are to be followed visa verification, two or three stops in between, full journey inside the flight, only the sky, flight members and the crew members for company throught the journey. Might be really difficult for those travelling.

I dont know how far it helps for ladies, but for guys it surely becomes a point to boast. Even if the guy doesnt reveal, the first thing that the girl's side would come to know is
the guy is working in US and it would be safe for her to get married to that guy. But one thing that the parents fail to notice is whether the girl and guy would make a perfect pair. Just because the guy is working in US, Everyone thinks he would make a perfect Bridegroom for the girl (Well i dont want to dwell into a totally new and different subject. May be i can take this offline). Again this is not targetted. It might or might not be true.

Food - I would like to totally go against this. It would be very difficult for a normal person to get accustomed to the food there. My friend who had recently gone to Onsite was really petrified when she found out that for just having a Dosa she had to travel a long distance(i dont know how many Kilometre's) there only to find a single Indian restaurant. The food that she takes to office is curd rice and pickle's. The best part is she has to cook her own food. A person having got to enjoy a wide variety of food here in India refusing everything here and going there just to have curd rice. But there are some food buff's who like all the pizza, burger etc. Well i don't like any of those.

Here comes the interesting part. Many people brag about having got a new laptop before they go onsite. It is a devil in the form of disguise. Do you really think you would have to work only for 8 hours. Boss then why are you given those Laptop. Work from home for full 24 hours. And those scintillating night offshore calls (Scintillating - Obviously Sarcastic comment). You never know when you will get a call and what the offshore has in store for you. People here think that people going there just pass their time, but as the famous saying goes the other side of grass is always green. I have heard people spending their full nights in office and turning up in home only for 2 or 3 days in a week. One of my friend in Las Vegas just sleeps for 4 -5 hours a day(the same person who used to sleep for a minimum of 8 - 10 hours in India).

The Internet is the only entertainment you would have while in home or in office. I have heard folks downloading movies every night and watching it. It is like the office throwing
a single biscuit and getting the work done equivalent to that of earning a full biscuit packet (It might or might not hold any relevance here. Sollanum nu thonichu sonna).


The last point i have lots of comments. But i leave it to you. That Fill in the Blanks is for you readers to fill up.


So coming to the conclusion part, according to me going onsite is not worth it leaving your nears and dears behind just for the sake of money. But who knows after writing this much, i may follow suit. Only my fate and the future can tell. But actually speaking, my visa was initiated 2 times in the last 2 years. Last time i lost it in the lot. And this time too the result my status is not yet updated. And the answer i expect from them is "INNUMA INDHA UZAGAM NAMMALA NAMBITTU IRUKU".

P.S --> If you find too much of software lingo, i am sorry but i cant help it.

3 C's - Important part of my College Life

Wondering what the 3 C's are. So simple and yet played a important part in my life. Ok, here we go.

The first C
Cellphone --> I was always fascinated towards cellphone. When my friends used to talk or send a message, i just used to think on when i would lay my hands on one of my own. The first time i held a cellphone of mine (my dad's, but doesnt matter) was sometime in December, 2001 (i dont remember the exact date) at around 7 - 9 PM when i was on my way from Mumbai Airport to my home. A gentle shiver ran down my body, being the proud owner flashing all my 32 teeths. Well my craze for cellphone has never ever lowered a bit from then even by 0.000001%. Though i have always wanted to keep my mobile updated with newer models (practically not possible. I know, I know, I know), something inside me has always kept me on check to control my hunger for newer mobile's. :-):-) Well coming back on how it was useful in my college days. I got my first mobile of my own was in March
4th, 2003. Just a 3315 Nokia Model, but still was of great use to me. It helped me to pass my time. I used to send hundreds and hundreds of messages a day. I had sent nearly
50,000 messages in a period of 3 months. Dont ask me how i kept of count of all these (Thats a big story again). So you could imagine the time that i would have spent on sending the messages as i had to send the messages one by one to all my friends. And even i would wonder on the origin of so many messages. But never explored it to the core. It was real fun atleast for me...

Next in line is
Computer --> Dont take me in as an computer genious. I had used my computer mainly for 2 purposes. One for listening songs and the other for playing games. And one game which held me as an captive for my 4 years of fun, BRAIN LARA CRICKET. I would play it everyday and everytime i played it i would just think of improvising on every shot that i play. Well it sounds funny even when i think of it, but that is the truth. The same computer which i had used for playing games and listening to songs is ruling my life now making me earn my daily bread.

The last but the most important C is
Charulatha --> Simple yet effective, mistakes but can be adjusted, Arrear's Saviour. These words are enough to describe the work done by the publications Charulatha. They were the one who would publish simplified writings for the sake of students. I am talking about the help extended by them during my Semester Exams. I just cant imagine the toll it would have taken if Charulatha had not existed. Every Semester the University would release the dates of the exam and Charulatha would release their own set of books. Wow, a real boon for students like me. All the important topics would be covered and in simple language. Well can any 1 expect more than this. If one can just glance through all the topics, he just can pass his exams easily. I cleared it that way. And the most important part was i had acquired the official distribution rights for supplying the books to all my friends. I had a shop SARA BOOK Centre near my home and all my friends used to order for the books:-):-). I still remember carrying 17 books in my bag to my college one day.

Well tooooooooo short to describe my blissful period.

Introduction

Hi. I really dont know on why i was hell bent on searching for the origin of Introduction. Well it originates from a Latin word introductionem(Source - Google). Why do many start with Introduction, Well may be because they want to start with presenting themselves to others in a good manner. But one question that pops up in my mind, those who know you more, are going to read your blogs and it is rarely by chance that someone unknown to you is going to come across your blog and read it (No offences meant though). But it is always good to present yourself to someone before you start with something else. Well enough of my Mokkai. Now that i have told this much, i should really go on to tell something about myself. I am Ravishankar. And the reason why i had jumped into blogging is due to Rajagopalan R who inspired me to write and a bit of inspiration from Yagnyeshwaran H too. But kudos to Naga Saravana Perumal who really re-kindled the interest in me to write again by sending the link to his updated blog. It has been a year since i wrote my last blog. And the reason on why i am starting with my introduction again is one i didnt like the link that i gave for my blog and the other this being a new one, i have decided to start over again. Hopefully those who read my blog enjoys reading. All your comments(positive as well as negative) are most welcome as it may help me out in some way to improve my writing. Thanks in advance to all those who go through my blog patiently.

And HAPPY BLOGGING (Naa enaku sonna).