Doing

When was the last time you did something for the first time?
Today. Last week. Last year.

What are you waiting for?
Next day or next life.

Carter Coaching Classes

I teach Jholi Gola aka Basket Ball for you Hindi impaired imbeciles. I make you sign contracts (in triplicate, if you are in India). I also make you quote poetry and force you to have a high GPA. For this I get nothing, no Oscar, no award, in my Jholi. Not even Angelina Jolie. Next movie or next life, Amen.

I am Samuel son of Jack and though I am father of one of the players in the movie, thats no feather in my topi. Cos I don't wear any. The birds of same feather flock together in pubs, streets and do drugs. I am here to stop them so that they don't die of bandook ki goli. No Homicide, only suicides. Play gola. Run with Lola. Run you will for I will make you run for the entire running length of the film. Its a moving picture, you idiot.

Because the players are bursting with hormones, I teach them the moves of the game and codeword them after my non-existent sisters. The scum bags, they let run their fantasies wild courting the gola and yell for my sisters during the game. So much for winning. No Sir, its not only about winning. You gotta have a good GPA, remember. All play, no classes and lo, Jack (not my father) is benched till he has good grades. Fair trade, no. This Pappu has to pass his tests before he passes the ball.

Y'all dogs, if you wanna learn from me, you go watch Coach Carter. I bet you if you are disappointed then its 100 suicides for me.

Before I call it quits, I leave you with "Our deepest fear"

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Cinema Paradiso

Trust Ambani to think BIG. After BIG Entertainment, BIG Music, they come up with BIG FLIX. Those who have tasted blood in celluloid with Blockbuster stores know what I am talking about. A DVD/VCD rental service, with an online, phone and SMS feature to order for free pick-up and drop facilities with no due dates. Matra rupaye 299 mein ! I can avail original DVDs rather than pirated ones available at the local DVD store. Whoopee !!!!

"A small step by Ambani, A giant leap for my kind"
I know this was bad. But its way better than Ravi "Lalit Modi is Moses" Shastri. For a movie buff like me this is God sent. For that I will definitely watch Bhakta Prahlada in orignal as my obeisance.

As far as my experience, it has been satisfying apart from a little clunky website. That's nitpicking, I know. If you are residing in any of the cities that has BIG FLIX stores, I strong recommend that you go for it. Its show time, folks.

The seamstress

A veil of the beauty, the cloth had hubris,
With the cursed wind the fortress breached,
Scarred by the evil eye, the beauty laid,
She took respite in the raging blade,
One drop at a time, the shine is replaced.
One tear at a time, the cloth disgraced.

The cloth is weary and torn in grief
The blood, sharpened by knife, is relieved
One stain at a time she washes
One sin at a time she cleanses

One stitch at a time, the seamstress weaves
One wound at a time, she heals

Statue-tory warning

Mayawati wants it big. Yes, its statue time in Mayan civilization. Mayawati wants her bigger than Kanshi Ram. In a fleeting moment of englightenment, she did not like herself and her expressions molded in metal.




And maya-nagari Mumbai wants Shivaji's statue bigger than that one in Chennai for the other Shivaji "Mind-it" Rajnikanth. Sorry, it wants bigger than that of Statue of Liberty. What difference does it make.

The pigeons are one happy lot, though. At least somebody will benefit. But what if they complain: Bhala mera putla uske putle se chhota kaise ?



In other story, petrol goes high by Rs 5 and diesel by Rs 3. That still does not explain low traffic on my blog. It crawls.

IPL notes

Now that IPL is getting over with only knock-out matches remaining, I had few things to talk about.

1. After more than dozen league matches where each team plays against all the other teams, it does not make sense to have semi-finals.

Imagine, in a freak game today, Rajasthan Royals loses to Delhi Daredevils in the first semi-final. They have won convincingly against all the other teams barring 3 loses. It would be a real let-down if they don't play in finals.

Yes, semi-final knock-outs add that extra drama and spice to the tournament. It seems very unfair if the best team of the league loses out because of a bad day.

2. The finals should be best of three matches instead of one. One at home, one away and third at a neutral ground. Sort of a level playing field. Again the same theory applies that the team should get a chance to claw back in. One bad day should not be a decider for such tournament.

3. With no semi-final rounds and each league match is important. There should be spare days for matches that were abandoned because of Lord Indra's whim. I am not saying that the next day should be kept free which may be improbable with such a busy schedule. After every leg of the league, there can be a week or half off where those matches that were abandoned can be played.

Look what happened with Mumbai Indians (14 points), Delhi Daredevils (15 points) and Kolkata Knight riders (13 points). If KKR vs DD matched had not washed out and if KKR had won, there would have been a 3-way tie between above teams ! So much fun.

All in all, it has been a satisfactory tournament. Going with the performance, Rajasthan Royals should win. But its not over till the last ball is bowled. Cricket is suppose to be a game of uncertainties. So expect some surprise.

Chala Murari Hero Banne!

So what's happens when Om Prakash Makhija gets a chance to be Om Kapoor[1] ?
He overacts to the hilt as if there is no tomorrow.

That's what I did when I was part of a TV quiz show based on Bollywood aptly titled Bollywood Ka Boss. It's hosted by Boman Irani.

Did I win and was the hero or I just ended up being the guy in a suit in fourth row behind the star ? You will know in the 12th part of the following video. To use a cliche, it does not matter. I used 39 seconds of fame out of my quota of 15 minutes.

Watch out in this video where Boman introduces all of us.




All the parts are available at following links.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12


[1] - Om Prakash is a junior artiste (also known as bhai log in slang) and Om Kapoor is a super star in Om Shanti Om.

Tale of Indian cities

Paul Graham in his latest essay begins with "Great cities attract ambitious people".

You always need a tipping point for anything to get effective, be a philosophy, a style statement or a revolution. Cities help in building a critical mass of people. and that critical mass acts as a tipping point.

Do Indian cities attract ambitious people. Do they have the right critical mass.

I am sure Bombay used to do. People coming from UP, Bihar, Punjab, from everywhere to become Bollywood stars. Or more enterprising lot from Gujarat or Marwar riding their luck on Dalal street. Sadly, Mumbai attracts hooligans. Holy Guns! From Maximum city to minimum tolerance.

Bangalore attracts cheer leadars. Yeah, it still has a high influx of every one and anyone who wants to ride the IT wave. Does it really attract the most ambitious technologists.

Ahmedabad, my home town, attracts all the Schumachers and Raikkonnens with license to kill. Of course,you have to drive on the wrong side (i.e. the correct side in US) to really reach your final destination. Lan(e)s are for computer networks. You see, Ahmedabad is closer to Amrika than anywhere else.

So who does your city attracts ?

On a side note, the more I travel the more I see that cities in India are losing their individuality. All the buildings look the same wherever I go. The clothes that people wear or their life style is not very different from city to city. There is no differentiation left. I don't know if that is something to worry or cheer about that finally India is becoming a homogeneous country.

Chak De! revisited

When you are the brand ambassador for mobile services company as well as company that makes handsets, the benefits are many including a very very long text messaging service feature available to you for free.

And what do you do with it is send a very very long text message.
So that the rest of us can read that very very long text message.

Read SRK's SMS to his Kolkata Knight Riders team after all the controversies and losses.

"Story time boys... I told you if you keep losing you have to bear with my long, boring msgs.... This is your punishment.... Many times I have made movies which don’t do well.... When I’m doing them, of course, I don’t know they won’t do well.... The story is written by somebody else and I just do my bit as an actor. But I have a way of dealing with flop stories..., I try my best to keep my character in the film at a level that it makes a failed story also special for me...."

“I enjoy the work.... I make jokes about the failure.... And, of course, feel awful about it too.... So, right now, all of us have become part of a failed script... A bad IPL script.... Let’s try and keep our characters worthy of still looking back at this story and remembering it as a special story becos we all worked very hard at this....

“So, chin up and don’t spoil yr character in the next two games.... Let’s go out with a bang and not a whimper.... In films, we say u r only as good as yr last film.... So let’s make the whole world know how good we r in the last (maybe not) two games...

“Also, do ignore all this bit about Dada, me and John having issues.... It’s a normal thing in the world.... People like to hit you when u r down.... So, we will be hit.... No stress.... It will make us stronger.... The only way to avoid this is to win.... That’s one of the reasons why everybody likes to be a winner....

“On the other hand, the beauty of failure is that it brings people together.... So, let’s stick this out together.... You know me well enuff to know I am not the kind of owner who has issues with the team ’cos of losses... I am too much of a sport myself to get beaten by defeats.... Like you guys are.... Like Dada and John....

“I am still trying to understand the code of conduct expected of me at the matches of the IPL.... ICC... Etc.... After I understand it, I will decide whether to accept it or not.... Till such time, I will be with you guys at the hotel... in the meetings etc., but won’t come for the matches.... So, please don’t ever feel it is anything to do with us as a team....

“I am as dedicated to my Knights as I am to my kids.... Only, I won’t be coming to the class room till the headmaster’s rules are understood by me.... I am a bit anti-Establishment kind of a guy, so I apologise for this quirk to u all.... So, head’s up.... Have a good match and let’s make 200 runs tomorrow.... This 150 seems to not work any more....

“We have nothing to lose now, except our character.... Let’s not lose that.... Lov... SRK.

A prayer

Nasrun min Allahi wa fathun qareeb
Help from God and victory is close!

- As Saff Sura 61:13, Quran

The Insignificant period

Eons ago SUN systems proclaimed that "We are the dot in .com" which has got nothing to do with this post. Except for the fact this post talks about the dots in Gmail.

As per this entry @ Gmail Blog, the dots are insignificant in Google's grand scheme of user ids. For this periodic loss, Google gets benevolent and allows extra pluses in your identity. It all evens out in Googlic form of justice. World is not fair, they are +f.a.i.r. And lovely, no!

For some body like Mallika Sherawat has ID say google.mallika@gmail.com, it can also be represented as go.ogle.mallika+just+dont+tell+your+girlfriend@gmail.com

So much fun this is.

Making of a Prophet

by Bertrand Russell.

"Ignore fact and reason, live entirely in the world of your own fantastic and myth-producing passions; do this whole-heartedly and with conviction, and you will become one of the prophets of your age."

Did Raj Thackeray read it, I wonder.

I found the essay via PickTheBrain blog. Do visit the site. It has got some real good articles on self-improvement. No, I am not kidding, really.

Cricket De Grace!

Why Dravid is not held equally responsible ?
Those who are following IPL know what I am talking about.

I don't think any body is following Bangalore Royal Challengers. Nobody is after them even in the points table.

Mallya sacked Charu Sharma for the poor performance of BRC. Dravid and Sharma chose the right people albeit for a wrong occasion. He could not sack the best looking guy in his team as the team plays like they are modeling for the Kingfisher calendar. Sunil Joshi was found doshi of being incapable to do that either.

Same goes for Ganguly. You cannot touch Ganguly in Kolkata Knight Riders who pisses off the other team by coming late on the pitch. And pisses off his players by not able to bat, field or bowl. Some would wish that he would be late enough to skip the game

Moving to our very own Re-Lax-Man. As per the grapevine, some body in his team went a la Bhajji and hit him hard so that he sits out for the rest of the matches. Everyone claimed it to be an accident including Bhajji. The same day Deccan Chargers won against Chennai Superkings.

The Master Blaster is in pain. He is hit where it hurts the most. Silly, he is losing out on the moolah of 40 million rupees. Though he was lucky that he was spared the wrath and with the Sardar gone, the team is now a-sardar (effective) and on a remarkable turnaround course.

That IPL is a ring circus camouflaged as war zone is a foregone conclusion. Now who concluded that, you may say. Yo Einstein, it's me! Koi Shaque.

The collateral damage has been the best four Indian batsmen. Its no surprise that their respective teams are in the bottom half of the points table. More importantly, in a way it was not entirely of their own making or was it. Being an Icon has its price, sometimes it brings the end quicker. Just like a T20 match.

Q and its A

What should I do with my life ?
Most of the time, it ends up being a rhetoric.

Po Bronson in his book tries to make the question accountable and appealing. I am mid-way reading it. I strongly recommend it.

There is no (f)art of living pravachan or self-madad techniques. It is definitely not a Chicken Soup for Soul where alls-well-that-ends-well. Mere dost, picture is always baaki in most of the stories in the book.

The stories vary from poignant to mundane to inspirational. It is not a step-by-step guide to find yourself. It is more of a snapshot of a phase in life of people who really asked the question. Many are still searching for an answer.

The answer is somewhere within. Sometimes, it takes a lifetime to search over there.
That, mere yaar, is the gist of life. To ask the question for which you can spend your entire life looking for an answer.

Winning colors

My friend, Umang, tells me the success behind Chennai Super Kings uninterrupted winning run in IPL. Its the color of their kit and attire.

Any team that wears similar colors as Australian cricket team, wins. Different hue is acceptable :-)



I think it is substantiated by the fact that Mumbai Indians wear blue, what Indian national team wears (though not the same shade of blue). They have lost all their four matches.

The start-up

Life is like a start-up. You start off with something in mind but end up doing something totally different as the market (read life) dictates.

I had a plan, a perfect model for my life which was suppose to reveal on its own. As a kid, wanted to be in army and then wanted to be an electronics engineer with a short spell in the middle where I wanted to be a chemical engineer and eventually ended up doing electrical engineering. Then wanted to study but worked for some time. But then I did study computer engineering with seed funding from my family.

Followed my heart to do nothing and did precisely just that. Finally started working for reasons best known to me (or not) and then went on to join a start-up for again the same reasons as above.

I am slowly inching my way from red to black. The RoI is still to be recovered and break even is far off. When will I make it to getting listed in the history remains to be seen. Because it was never a question of whether I will but when.