Flying High

A few things always amused us being when we were small filling us up with excitement which cannot be experienced in present day world… It feels proud to be a part of the Golden 90’s before technology took over… It feels special that I did enjoy my fair share of outdoor sports when I was small… A few fantasies still remained, one of them being travelling by an Aeroplane… The faintest memories was several years back and I surely can’t remember the faintest of details about the first time I actually boarded one, though I still remember seeing and climbing a flight at the Naval museum…

Turn back to the present day world, Yes…The moment is finally here when I shall undertake the much anticipated journey by flight… Something that I wished for so long but was not able to undertake…My first flight I should say coz I simply can’t remember the last one and it is excitement galore… A trip to Hyderabad beckons before I get back to Pune to complete the last lap of MBA and set foot into the Corporate world…A world unexplored so far but posing its own fair share of surprises, excitement and challenges…

I look forward to this trip with my parents as a welcome change and a chance to explore a new place and hope that it’s a journey worth living over and over again…Adios till then…

Quote- Unquote:
Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward for there you have been and there you will always long to return…

Mahatma Gandhi - The Forgotten hero

Gandhi Jayanti is observed in India, on October 2nd, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, with reverence all over the country...Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also known as 'Bapu' or 'Father of the nation', has to be credited a great deal to us living in a free and independent world today...

An inspiration for the nation but slowly turning into a forgotten hero. May be it is time to pause a while and have a look at his ideologies and follow them, if not wholly but substantially...That one needs to change to tread on the path of truth and non-violence is understood but this is for the own well-being. Forgiving can be looked upon as a sign of maturity and not of cowardness. One needs to evolve with time but the moral and ethical values should remain intact as that is what is going to take us forward...

A mad rush behind Gandhi’s currency notes is in place already and this has indeed blinded the people to an extent that one’s family could get sacrificed for the same. May be, this was not the way it was visualized to be but this is where we have come... The future could be bad if not worse... The world is today a place where a person who speaks the truth may end up bearing the brunt of all but this should not stop him from moving forward on this path. Fearlessness can drive one forward...

There is indeed a need for “Munnabhai Returns” may be to get Gandhian values back into the society. Till then, it looks tough if not impossible...

  

Quote Unquote:

Whenever you are confronted with an opponent. Conquer him with love

Twitterati - The unexplored

A month long break from blogging for reasons best known to me and I am already feeling that I am missing something. That’s why returning back was so important to me on a personal front... Social Media has really evolved with time and has created trends which everyone believed are here to stay. But sadly, this has not been the case... Orkut met its death... Yahoo lost its way... Bing never really picked up...

Shift a few years forward and we had the rise of Facebook, Pinterest, Quora and many more…The summer internship gave me with ample amount of breathing space to venture into these and explore each of them to the fullest... However Twitter still remained untouched (Though the account existed, never kept it active)... May be it was bound to happen that I would get a much needed break into the Twitter world but never really put any serious effort into venturing into it... That’s when Communique14 happened...

The International Telecom Seminar presented me with the opportunity that I was so waiting – A chance to be a part of the team to manage the media desk of the event and handling the official twitter account. With stalwarts from Twitter on stage, may be there was no scope for mistake after all…Experience would have been handy but we did manage to pull it off without the same… 2 days and 1063 tweets was the final outcome and we were pretty much buzzing around throughout the batch as the “Tweetus” – somehow I am falling in love with this name and does give me a sense of achievement and looking forward to more such opportunities.

A time to share my twitter link : https://twitter.com/DARPANKAMAT

Quote- Unquote

You create your opportunities by asking for them AND grabbing them as and when they arrive... 

A heart touching story #3

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door.

Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.”

He said, “Then I thank you from my heart.”

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit. Year’s later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.

Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case. After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room.

She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She began to read the following words:

“Paid in full with one glass of milk”

Signed, Dr. Howard Kelly.

Moral : Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind. No act of kindness is ever wasted. Smile. Be Kind.

A heart touching Story #2

A long time ago in China, a girl named Li-Li got married and went to live with her husband and mother-in-law. 

In a very short time, Li-Li found that she couldn’t get along with her mother-in-law at all. Their personalities were very different, and Li-Li was angered by many of her mother-in-law’s habits. In addition, she criticized Li-Li constantly.

Days passed days, and weeks passed weeks. Li-Li and her mother-in-law never stopped arguing and fighting. But what made the situation even worse was that, according to ancient Chinese tradition, Li-Li had to bow to her mother-in-law and obey her every wish. All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing the poor husband great distress. Finally, Li-Li could not stand her mother-in-law’s bad temper and dictatorship any longer, and she decided to do something about it.

Li-Li went to see her father’s good friend, Mr. Huang, who sold herbs. She told him the situation and asked if he would give her some poison so that she could solve the problem once and for all. Mr. Huang thought for a while, and finally said, “Li-Li, I will help you solve your problem, but you must listen to me and obey what I tell you.” Li-Li said, “Yes, Mr. Huang, I will do whatever you tell me to do.” Mr. Huang went into the back room, and returned in a few minutes with a package of herbs.

He told Li-Li, “You can’t use a quick-acting poison to get rid of your mother-in-law, because that would cause people to become suspicious. Therefore, I have given you a number of herbs that will slowly build up poison in her body. Every other day prepare some delicious meal and put a little of these herbs in her serving. Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspects you when she dies, you must be very careful to act very friendly towards her. Don’t argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her like a queen.” Li-Li was so happy. She thanked Mr. Huang and hurried home to start her plot of murdering her mother-in-law.

Weeks went by, months went by, and every other day, Li-Li served the specially treated food to her mother-in-law. She remembered what Mr. Huang had said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her temper, obeyed her mother-in-law, and treated her like her own mother. After six months had passed, the whole household had changed. Li-Li had practiced controlling her temper so much that she found that she almost never got mad or upset. She hadn’t had an argument in six months with her mother-in-law, who now seemed much kinder and easier to get along with.

The mother-in-law’s attitude toward Li-Li changed, and she began to love Li-Li like her own daughter. She kept telling friends and relatives that Li-Li was the best daughter-in-law one could ever find. Li-Li and her mother-in-law were now treating each other like a real mother and daughter. Li-Li’s husband was very happy to see what was happening. One day, Li-Li came to see Mr. Huang and asked for his help again. She said, “Mr. Huang, please help me to stop the poison from killing my mother-in-law! She’s changed into such a nice woman, and I love her like my own mother. I do not want her to die because of the poison I gave her.”

Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head. “Li-Li, there’s nothing to worry about. I never gave you any poison. The herbs I gave you were vitamins to improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and your attitude toward her, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave to her.”

Moral : Make a conscious choice to see the good qualities of the person in relationships , act it out, if necessary  and gradually and surely let time heal relationships…

The day I got drunk

I start this one with a Disclaimer: Drinking is injurious to health and that’s precisely the reason why I quit drinking...A college festival may be not the right time to get drunk as well especially with girls around...But, Yes I did it...Mama’s boy actually got spoilt that day...

It was the day of the college festival and few of we friends decided to have a look variant “Sur”, something that is not addictive and non-injurious...Indeed, it’s not but the ‘nashaaa’ that it causes picks up with time and you get high before you even realize...And to top it all I was having a deadly mixture of virgin mojito and sur with a lot of ice in it...A cocktail in the true sense and fireworks were bound to follow that day...

I was pretty normal I felt but came to know of what I did the next day from one Miss Shainavi Juvarker, my friend whom I regard as my own sister...The problem with me has been that I don’t have a real sister so she kind of makes up for this... However, I did some dances in the park where the event was held, skipped a few benches by jumping over it...My friends did indeed have a tough time controlling me...

Last but not the least, there was this one incident with a close friend(obviously I would not like to reveal her name for privacy reasons) whom I went on speaking to...I am pretty normal with her on most days, however I reportedly praised her a lot that day, starting from her hair, asking her all sorts of stupid questions...I was also interested in knowing more about her earrings, gosh...I was uncontrollable...I still respect her for maintaining her cool and answering me patiently because as they say, never provoke the drunk, you never know what they will do...

Though I did subside down in an hour or two and my friends informed me(Ki maine ladki chedd di in their words) of what I had actually done, I did feel bad about it and apologized to her, there and then...To top it all, she offered me her tiffin with grapes in it which did make me feel better...In all this while, there was a  case in which I asked my friend to get me an ice cream, he did get it and while returning back stopped to speak to a girl...I shouted on top of my voice, “That’s my ice cream, better not give it to her”...To this day, I curse you Shainavi...You could have easily prevented something like this from happening...I was your responsibility and you betrayed me Big Time...

Quote-Unquote:

A drunk driver is very dangerous. So is a drunk backseat driver if he's persuasive.

My First Dance Steps

Dancing is something that comes naturally to some people but it takes quite a herculean effort for people like me to come out of their shell and make an entry into the dancing world...May be I ll need special shoes to teach me the actual art of dancing...

But I did take some baby steps that day...An uneventful day which ended in a trip to the capital city as it always does...We were sitting outside a small temple drinking water from my brown colored bottle that a person randomly approaches us and says “Dha Rupiya???” and we outright reject him...Then we notice that there is an aunty staring at us from the balcony with suspected eyes...Why on earth would the aunty be bothered if we don’t give money to a street side person... It was only later that we realized that he was the society and asking us a question ”Daaru piya ???” It took some convincing to prove our innocence including asking him to drink the same stuff that we were drinking...And yes, it was indeed water, certified by the watchman eventually...

The night moved on and a visit to Miramar beach followed...There’s a stage outside it from which the CCD stands quite visible...It was a place where I had my first Live Show with my buddy Kapil aka MLA sahib...A normal dance followed by some violence with Kapil landing his dhai kilo kaa haath firmly on me...It is something when you are prepared for something that you can defend against an attack of this intensity but warnings are rare in today's world...May be it was a revenge for the sins that I had committed knowingly or unknowingly...

To this date, I accept that I am not a good dancer and I never will be cause “Pappu Can’t Dance Saala”...May be there will be a time when I actually will, may be in future but till then, I am happy the way I am...

Quote Unquote:

Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance

I, Me, Myself

Some of the things I have learnt during my first 23 years on this planet...

Parents

My parents have always had it harder than me. As a kid I always felt that money grows on trees and would be annoyed when I didn’t what I needed. However as time has passed, I have realized that they have done their best to get me where I am today. And my parents grew up without mobiles, internet and every other thing I take for granted nowadays...

Time

No matter how much money I make now, a few things will not return back to where they were whatever happens. If it was possible, I would have surely turned back the clock to my childhood where it was all so different and so much more fun. I can never go back and do things I did not care about at that time, the things that I should have done and some mistakes I should not have done. Seriously, I now realize that it is just about living the moment to make it count big time...

Friends

Money can’t buy you happiness but friends can...A Little thought on the question “What are some things people lose that they regret the most?”  The answer obviously is that as one gets older, one makes fewer friends and the innocence of the old friendships will cease to exist... I still would like to hold onto to the ones who seriously care and would always be there for me come what may...

Anger

A sincere apology from the bottom of my heart to all those people with whom I have had both physical and verbal fights over the years, It was never intentional... But the fighter in me does jump out at each available opportunity. May be that’s why I make more enemies then friends but I hope I don’t add more enemies to that evergreen and long list...

Acceptance

I accept that I am overweight and whatever I do won’t help me shed those extra kilos, not that I have not tried. I have failed a lot in this regard but I do realize that I am best the way I am and would love to stay this way...

Hobby

A few months down the line, I should pick a job for myself but I hope that the grind of the Corporate World does not take the life out of me and would surely like to continue this new hobby of writing that I have picked up...Whether I succeed or not only time will tell...

Perfection

I am not perfect and never will be. Things will be incomplete and there will be problems galore but how these are dealt with is what matters in the end... Failures will happen when there are too many things attempted. The biggest lesson learnt, “Learn to let go. If it comes back, its yours. If it does not, it was never meant to be yours”

Quote- Unquote:

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. – Steve Jobs.

An Inspirational Story ~ Weakness or Strength

Sometimes our biggest weakness can become our biggest strength. Take, for example, the story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study Judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese Judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move. “Sensei,” the boy finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?” “This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know.” – the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training. Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. “No,” the sensei insisted, “Let him continue.” Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind. “Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grap your left arm.” The boy’s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength. 

Moral : Sometimes our biggest weakness can become our biggest strength. ~ Get Inspired ~ Inspire others 

A Day to Remember #MBA #BAWARCHEESE

Over the course of my life, I have experienced many days of happiness which has given me fond memories and they all had a unique ingredient that separated them from each other as each was a distinct experience in itself...

The 23rd June 2014 has become a part of the same, a day that I shall remember with extra fondness, a day that will occupy a bigger space in my heart, the day I as a part of an amazing team set up a stall and lived the dream of being an entrepreneur for a day...A Great Effort by the team consisting of Ayush, Sahasranshu, Chirag, Kajal, Nutan, Amita, Gesu, Nilay, Ajesh, Mahesh and last but not the least, ME...Sparsh Fun and Food Carnival gave us this wonderful opportunity to raise money for a social cause. The money generated to be given to an NGO. So all of us were up for it to ensure that we gain maximum out of it...

The first thing was the decision on the type of stall and obviously the answer had to be a food stall considering the type of foodies that we are... The next was to decide the menu...Following a lot of deliberations on the same, the menu fixed was Burgers, Wraps and Masala/Lemon Drink…Pav bhaji had to be dropped for the sake of convenience...Funds were raised in the most convincing fashion and there were as many as 10 stakeholders who were ready to invest in it for the sake of friendship and for business as well...But the name of dishes and the stall was yet to be decided...Bhaiyajji would not let it name by his name making it tough to come to a consensus...Finally the name decided was Bawar-Cheese...The dishes were named as Sunny burger and the drink as Leone drink but considering the family audience that may have visited us, the idea was to be scraped and decency prevailed while deciding the name...

The procurement happened on D Day and everyone was put to work, be it cutting veggies or lifting stuff or decorating the stall...We were all set to go...I still did not believe that it was to happen and didn’t know whether we could actually succeed... But Ayush put all these doubts to rest with the way he cooked the food...Gosh !!!That was some cooking and he resembled a pro in each sense...The ball was rolling and we were all set to “Rock N Roll”...We were open and were soon flooded with orders...We were actually running overfull and were finding it tough in all respects...Be it fund collection or be it delivery...With the entire manpower at work we did manage to get through it with a few hiccups and may be a few abuses from the crowd...

Sold out in an hour and a half...I mean this was something serious...It was working...People indeed liked our food and kept coming back for more...The 2nd round of procurement followed a similar trend by getting sold out in an hour...The remaining tikkies and all were sold as a new dish Cheese Breadiana- a name coined by Chirag...And even this sold in large numbers and we were done for the day- Both physically and stockwise...

It was indeed an eventual day...We did break even and contributed to the cause in the process...It was indeed a day that brought smiles to SITM and more importantly to the students of Lavale...The greater cause of serving the needy still remains and this initiative is sure to go a long way in doing the same...Way to go S.P.A.R.S.H...Celebrating Life...

Quote- Unquote

The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.

A trip to Remember #2

MBA was always bound to happen sometime or the other but maybe I felt the earlier the better and attempting to get there was always the plan... SNAP was the way to get there and attempting it the first time did demand a bit of seriousness which was though missing in me then...No regrets as such but may be something different could have happened if I had actually been a bit more serious...

Nonetheless, the journey to Kolhapur for my first attempt at SNAP was always going to be a new venture in itself and something new to explore...The bus journey with one of my most trusted friends Pushkar was to take me there...The foodies that we were, and will always be, had a merry time as expected...The journey was a pleasant one nonetheless and may be it was a sign of things to follow...

Kolhapur was explored in whatever little was possible in the limited time we had with no tension of the exam...The almost free stay @LIC Guest House made me wonder how cheap was actually cheap...I mean 3Rs. a day for the room was something serious and unimaginable in today’s world...All money spent on chicken, chicken and more chicken to satisfy our tummy to the fullest...May be I have not had so much chicken in my life in 3 days as I had during those 3 days...Heavenly Stuff indeed !!!

The exam went on, may be not as expected, but we were happy nonetheless...Post the exam, we were all free and nothing much to do as the bus was scheduled for the night...That’s when the idea came to the mind to get a bit dirty...Not in the true sense but by seeing something which was dirty in itself...Yes it was the “The Dirty Picture” in one of the low third grade theatres...Watching a movie like that among a raunchy crowd like that getting the full feel of the movie...Some experiences that stayed etched in the memory for a long time and a strong recommendation that all should try experiencing this...

All said and done, the trip ended as well as it started...The exam was a disaster and I didn’t make it but I did fight on to live another, fight another year and get in the next time, though I had definitely taken a small baby step towards my dream...Here I am, this is me...

Quote Unquote:

Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

13th June 1999...#THE GREATESTMISS

I still have faint memories of the game and it has been replayed time and again and has indeed become a part of the Cricketing Folklore...May be day that fortunes would have changed for a nation so much in a fix that everyone felt, may be, they deserved better...The chokers tag lived on with South Africa that day and it stays etched with them…May be its meant to stay this way for long and nonetheless they have found out enough ways to justify the same...

Rewind back in history to the 1999 Cricket World Cup...

The key moment came perhaps the night before, at a team meeting where Shane Warne cautioned his mates not to walk if they happened to hit a catch to Herschelle Gibbs. "He has a tendency to flick the ball away before accepting it properly," said Warne, only to be greeted with mocking laughs...

This was a do or die game for Australia and it’s a known fact that Kangaroos fight the hardest when cornered. So, in a thriller, they duly did - leapfrogging South Africa in the process, and loading the dice heavily in their favor for the semi-final which eventually helped them get through. South Africa batted first on a bouncy Headingley pitch and rattled up 271, despite the return to form of Warne. Gibbs, with his own customary brilliance made South Africa's only century of the tournament and the innings was well finished by Klusener. A chase of 272 in a crunch game is always meant to jangle up the nerves...

Australia's response was mirrored by doubt - Adam Gilchrist bowled, Mark Waugh run out, and Damien Martyn lofting a catch to mid-on. When Waugh strode out, with the board reading a poor 48 for 3 in a knockout game, Australia's hopes appeared to be in tatters. "Let's see how he takes the pressure now," taunted Gibbs. Waugh urged a struggling Ricky Ponting to go for his strokes, showing the way with some punishing shots of his own. They were steadily progressing further...

Waugh had made 56, with the score on 152, when he flicked a Lance Klusener delivery to midwicket. Gibbs took it, but in his anxiety to celebrate with a skyward hurl, he dropped the ball. Waugh's reaction has gone down in the annals of the game as one of the most amazing comments made. Though he admitted later that it was stupid, he told Gibbs: "I hope you realise that you've just lost the game for your team"...

With his captaincy on the line, Waugh had indeed played one of the greatest innings ever seen on the World Cup stage with an awesome 120 not out. Not only did it keep Australia in the Cup, it did put them above South Africa in the Super Six stage even though both eventually qualified through the stage. However this game would have a monstrous significance when the two sides tied in the semi-final four days later and Aussies went through in a great fashion. Australia did go on to win the World Cup then and may be the History stayed on with South Africa…They were out to create history and ended up setting something not so memorable for them...

Quote- Unquote:

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake

FIFA World Cup 2014

A truly amazing football spectacle that dawns once in every 4years and does leave one with some really memorable and spectacular moments is finally here...The wait was indeed a bit too long but nonetheless it was a wait well worth its weight in gold...The last standing images of FIFA World Cup 2010 does remain Spain’s ascend to glory by fighting the Dutch Orange in the African jungles...La Furia Roza had indeed ascended to glory using the now famous “Tiki-Taka” and in the process had breached 12 kilometres that separated Spain from Africa at their closest point and thus spread a wave of happiness stretching all the way from Bloemfontein to Barcelona.

This was Africa's first FIFA World Cup and it will live in the memory as much for the spirit and smiles of the host nation as for the success of a Spain team. The Vuvuzelas still ring in my mind and so does “ Waka Waka”...That was some 4 years back and for a person like me who has a habit of forgetting things pretty soon, this indeed is surprising but pleasant in itself.

FIFA World Cup indeed is a time when giants fight their way to glory while avoiding the spectacular challengers. All this with just one sole aim- GLORY...That’s what drives them and watching the efforts makes up for spectacular viewing. A team rises-falls, careers are made-break and history is rewritten...A 48 year wait for Glory does not speak highly of any team and to say the least for England...May be they just needed some luck at times (with dreaded penalties) or some more co-ordination among the superstars but that’s what has never materialized...Its another world cup now and I still hope that the 3Lions end their wait for football glory...I have this desire that I can one day see England lifting the world cup- A strange expectation but quite obvious given my love for the English Premiership...

England has indeed looked promising, as always, in the build up to the World Cup but its been far too often that they have flattered to deceive...May be this is a time to actually deliver a killer blow for the world to see...

For starters, a tough Group D comprising of Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica should serve England good...The Azzuri and notably slow starters and with many players well past their prime, it would be difficult to sustain the intensity, may be Super Mario will have to drive them forward by warming up their engines well in time...Next up, Uruguay, a team with high aspirations but a lot resting on injured Luis Suarez, a departure leaving them weak upfront...If they do manage to come through the Italy and Uruguay games unscathed, then its Costa Rica last up, not an easy game by any means, but it would take a brave man to bet against them  for this game. What follows is that emerging through a tough group means Roy Hodgson’s side would be hugely confident facing a team from Group C, likely to be Colombia, Ivory Coast or Japan, Not an as daunting prospect as it appeared in the first place...

If Hodgson does go with the expected starting XI, four of their front six — Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge — will have all been an integral part of Liverpool’s title-contending side. Something that has always raised its evil head, that after competing against each other in the Premier League, the players do not mix well and play as a team. In addition, Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere aren’t exactly bad alternatives to Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho, so they should be more than a match for most teams in an attacking-sense... It could very well be Rooney’s last chance for glory at World Cup given the newly found emphasis on youth. In addition, the understanding that the Liverpool players will have built up will work to their advantage, as will their renewed determination to win trophies after the Premier League narrowly eluded them earlier this season... Defensively also, they are not as weak as they would perhaps appear on paper with Joe Hart returning to what he does best and Gary Cahill, Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka having good campaigns with their respective teams... The chokers tag does remain firmly with them and may be its high time that the tag is taken of them...

England’s world cup preparations have indeed gone on pretty smoothly and this is a lot to go with the mood in the camp... The players appear happier by actually enjoying themselves and surely gone is the sullen arrogance of some seasoned internationals who have quite often given the impression that they had little to prove... For a start the youngsters in the squad seem to have energized the mood in the camp and they look like players who are genuinely excited to be involved. History does say that come the big occasion, in business, politics or sport, experience is your strongest card but Roy's kids could dispel myths that experience always trumps age...A group of boys can truly turn to Men by going for glory...

Last but not the least, the omen s are stronger than ever before... The under-17s just won the European championship and that too on penalties...England are one of the only 2 teams to have beaten Brazil in recent times... Also there are a lot of comparatives with 1966- the year of England’s sole World Cup victory, Austria won the Eurovision Song Contest, AC Milan and Manchester United missed out on Europe, Atletico Madrid won La Liga, Real Madrid won the European Cup, Real Betis were relegated and Deportivo La Coruna were promoted. Some thing that has repeated in 2104...May be the “Scarlett’s Roses”(the English song for world cup) will indeed inspire them this time around...

All said and done, may the best team win...Football is a game to be enjoyed and so be it this time too...

Quote- Unquote:

Step follows step, Hope follows Courage, Set your face towards danger, Set your heart on victory...

But

Anyone can deal with victory. Only the mighty can bear defeat...

A trip to Remember #1

Travelling by trains has always been something amusing since childhood, may be due to the halo that has been built around it...They say that trains are always more comfortable than buses...May be its true as well but its takes some doing to convince me on this...All because, buses have been the more preferred mode for me, since long...

One such journey which will always stay etched in my memory forever was the journey back from Manipal(Udupi) to Goa sometime in the final year of Engineering...A visit to Manipal for paper presentation of my final year B.E. project at TechTatva 2011...There were a total of 10 of us from our college for the event...With due credits to Anusha, Maitreyee, Shainavi, Sandhya, Tanvi, Siddhart, Mahadev, Vaibhav and obviously Kapil and me...A normal journey by train and we were there...It was just me and Kapil who went by trains while others, may be took the safer and the more expensive option of going by bus...Till date, I am still surprised how Kapil actually ended up coming with me as he has long history, just as mine, of betraying people...

The event was great and to top it all, we won the second prize...Our debut paper presentation and 2^nd prize...Wow... Not a bad start at all...More than the prize, it was the way we spoke...The concepts that we invented and not only that convinced it to the judges...It was all just an awesome feeling...I still don’t know what was it that gave me the courage to speak up so freely, may be it was something got to do with the place i.e. Manipal...

With the prize with us, a celebration had to follow by a visit to the city and munching on some stuff...A call to our faculty guide and hearing him on phone made us actually realize how significant it was...A sense of accomplishment had already set in...

A train trip back to home was to follow that night...A journey back to the place we truly belong-Goa...The train scheduled at 1am at night and was to drop us at our destination at 6 in the morning, early enough for a cup of morning tea and breakfast to go along... I do know very well that most trains go jam packed and travelling in general bogies has always been a curse, however I didn’t expect it to be so bad...We hardly got inside the compartment in the first place and to think of it that we would have to travel this way for the next 5hours was something bad to think about...

We were indeed fighting to hold onto our place in the train, but somehow we did manage enough space to accommodate our healthy bodies...A few stops later, the journey eased out and we could stand in peace but may be longed for a seat, which I was pretty sure we won’t be getting anytime sooner...There was idea that we came upon there and then...We were in a general bogie and it would not be any shame to travel sitting on the floor of the train, after all there were people who hardly knew us and even if someone did, it didn't matter obviuosly...Yes, we did it and got ourselves prized seats on the floor, something that I had never ever imagined doing in my life, but as they say, when the opportunities arrive, seize it ...Some random Kannada comments here and there kept me awake and somehow the feeling of happiness stayed with me...It was only early morning when we were about to reach that we got a proper place to sit and complete the last lap of the journey...

I am pretty sure that I had got enough abuses from Kapil but it was an experience that even he cherishes till date...My idea, my execution and my mistakes but he was there at all times to support and accompany me...Way to go Dude !!!

Quote Unquote:

Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best.

Happy Birthday Dk

The date June 6 will always be special to me. A day where I celebrate my birthday even though I was not born on this day...Somewhere down the line, it’s a tribute to the people who were and who always will be such an integral part of my life...No matter where I am and in what state, I ll still be the same old person and with my same old self when with them...

The history of June, the 6^th dates back to my 2^nd year of Engineering in 2010 at a time when we were all set and gunning to go for our final paper of Semester 4...The paper was Data Structures using C++...Arghhhhhh...I guess I do belong to that breed of engineering guys out there who can do anything but code...I thought I definitely had a life beyond coding and aimed at exploring that...In the meanwhile, I had all but screwed my C++ Internals...

5papers done...1 more to go and it was indeed the paper I dreaded the most...I somehow wished that there was a way in which I could answer only 5papers and get it done...Seriously there was no way that I could clear this and was feeling already tensed about it...There were 4 important stars in my life then 

The Byheart Queen aka Shainavi Juvarker 

The Coders – Pushkar Nagarsenkar, Kapil Naik and  Vibhav Kurtarkar

I was indeed the loner here who would surely have flunked this paper...I informed them about my troubles and went for a easy afternoon nap which I thought would make me feel better...Little did I know what was to follow...Moments later I had a dozen texts and a few calls that woke me up all wishing me for my birthday...Yes indeed my birthday which was exactly a month down the line...It was an effort by my 3 best friends to make me feel better and restore the smile on my face...I did give up all my fears then as I had nothing to loose...All I could end up is a backlog but there was a life beyond backlogs as I had already found out during the 1^st semester itself...

Till this date, I don’t know who exactly started the msg sequence of my birthday but somewhere down the line I feel that it got me the luck that I so desperately needed that day...May be something good was meant to be and it did...I ended up getting more marks then 2 of my superstars and that’s one stat that I can still boast about...Obviously I have ended up taking the MBA route and left them to code and code their way to glory which I guess will soon be achieved...

That brings me to a close...The end of 6^th June...Another year goes by and another year where I still feel I need to celebrate my Birthday today...On a day which I feel is truly mine and will always be...something that makes me feel that I am cared upon by people who matter to me and make all effort to make it special as and when they can…

Quote- Unquote:

God created you to make people happy, to make them feel special and loved. So before you do something for yourself think of what you could do for others.     

My First Love

First love could happen at any age. First romance is something so special to all of us, both emotionally and physically, that it touches our lives and enriches them forever. May be that’s what makes it duly special and something memorable...A tribute to my First Love...Something that has and something that I hope will always be with me for the rest of my life...I know that it won’t be seriously possible as it is all falling apart pretty quickly but as they say that it is not over till it actually is...Things could actually end up improving at some later stage...

Yes...I need to tell everyone about my First Love...Someone so special that I still feel proud when it is with me...And the best part of it is that it does not expect anything from me in return...Strange as it sound !!! But it’s not some girl here that I am referring to here, its my phone which completes its 6^th anniversary today...Yes it is my Nokia N95 Phone...It lives on and still provides me with a service that sometimes even my new phone can’t match, a battery life that will surely make my new phone feel jealous...

The journey began when I had taken admission in engineering at Goa College of Engineering...My first phone and the first gadget bought with my own money, the scholarship money that I had received from college...And over the course of the last few years it has stood by me in all my tough times, seen an entire engineering career, a year doing nothing at home and it continues on its journey through my MBA...May be that’s what makes it so special for me...Cause it has endured my anger at its best (At times I feel sad for handling it so recklessly), been washed away a couple of times already, been left back at a few places but returned back to me by some strangers(who later on became friends)...More than that, it is the only thing that has stayed constant in my life over the last few years...May be giving me enough reasons to feel that it’s meant to be with me for long, very long...

I surely remember the Engineering days when I used to blurt out statements like,” I’ll like to gift this phone to my kid someday”…I was surely mocked den and will continue to be in future also, but I guess the people who know the truth behind this will surely be having a smile on their faces...I guess they have realized my love for the same and it’s not wrong when people say “Aakhir pehlaa pyaar hi tohh pyaar hotaa haiin”

Quote- Unquote:

The future for me is already a thing of the past –You were my first love and you will be my last...There’s no love like the first...