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.