Today, 10th June 2007

Boy! A lot has been happening the last couple of days and even today for that matter!
Mumbai police seem to have found the perfect solution to prevent people (netizens) from spreading hatred through anti-shivaji and anti-thakeray communities online.
Suggestion : BAN ORKUT
Wow! talk about a quick-fix solution! You trying to tell me there's no other way to continue these communities if you ban Orkut??? While we're on the discussion of Orkut by the way, the option of 'anonymous' comments on Orkut should be done away with. I mean, if you ain't brave enough to stand up and say that this is what you feel and this is what you believe in, well... shut up!
Of course, it may not make much of a difference considering that fake profiles are mushrooming all over the place, but then again... it may just be one less option to make blind accusations.
And if you feel a community or profile is offensive, flag it. Like Google said, flag it and they will look into it. Maybe a certain number of people may be required to flag it before they look into it, but then again, you've voiced your opinion.


And lets see... what else do we have? Oh yeah! Lewis Hamilton takes pole position in the Canadian Grand Prix! Damn this guy is fast! Alonso follows and so, McLaren one-two for the start of the race!
Rafael Nadal wins the French Open 2007! He took the 4 set match 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. His dominating streak over Roger Federer on the slow surface now gives him a 6-1 record in the 7 times they're played on clay. Nadal has become the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win three successive Roland Garros finals.
In the women's finals Justine Henin beat Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-2 to become just the second woman in the post-1968 Open era to win three in a row after Monica Seles in 1990-92.
And last but not the least, the embarrassing Afro-Asia Cup 2007 finally came to an end today with the Asia XI making a clean sweep of the series 3-0.

Just another day in India...

I'd just posted a day ago on the Gujjar bandh and how it was detrimental to public life, and guess what? Now we've got newspaper reports about Shiv Sena activists attacking 2 cyber cafes because in Orkut there are groups or rather communities denouncing and bad-mouthing Shivaji and their supremo Bal Thakeray.
Firstly, I couldn't be bothered if someone denounced Bal Thakeray. Him and his self-proclaimed moral police, the Shiv Sena, have created more trouble than good. Seriously, you ask me... I think they're responsible for most of the troubles.
Secondly, isn't it fair that if you claim the right to criticise, you should also perform the duty of listening? Like they used to say in our civics class back in std. 8th, 'Rights and Duties are the two sides of the same coin'.
They say freedom of speech is available to all. Is it? As long as you criticise their opponents, it's freedom of speech. Once you get to them, it's slander and against public morality.
And for crying out loud! The 'slander' they are upset about? It's on Orkut!!! Not inside those cybercafes!!!

And just when we started to think that our news channels are devoted to bringing the general public news and information about the state of our nation, WHAM! You have a WHOLE DAY dedicated to understanding public opinion about what effect the change (oh! sorry, isn't it death?) of Smriti Irani a.k.a. Tulsi in Ekta Kapoor's KSBKBT will have.
JEEZ!
IT'S A FREAKING T.V. SERIAL!

Another day, another bandh...

According to news reports, the Gujjars have finally called off their agitation and the Samiti leaders, led by Col (retd) Kirori Singh Bainsla, regretted the violence and the loss of life during the agitation.
So that's it? What about the loss to people's livelihood caused by the bandh called by them. What about the disruption in the train services and then vandalising of public property on the trains? Burning of buses? Seems to be a quick fix method every time a bandh is called. Stop the public buses, smash the windows and then set it on fire. Who will pay for the destruction of those vehicles?
If you watch closely, everytime a camera focuses on the agitators, they with get a surge of adrenaline, start shouting slogans louder and try and push everyone else away so as to come in full view of the camera recording. Not to mention the youthful exuberance in the protesters, noticeable because everytime a camera focuses on them, they start smiling as if on cue. Frankly speaking, I believe everytime a camera gets in there, they start smashing buses.
Isn't it about time that we start prosecuting them for loss of livelihood, destruction to public property and what not? You want to call a bandh, so be it. But don't force it on us.

O Captain! My Captain!

This poem was written by Walt Whitman in homage to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination in 1865.

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring.
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red!
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up! For you the flag is flung, for you the bugle trills:
For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths, for you the shores a-crowding:
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning.
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won!
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

After the assassination of Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, the famous Israeli sonng writer Naomi Shemer translated the poem into Hebrew and composed her own melody, making it a popular song in memorial services.

Rich story behind it. Complete details on the history of the poem and it's usage through the years can be found at Wikipedia.

For me, it was intriguing from the perspective of a seafarer. Quite interesting how I came about it actually. Was chatting with this friend of mine and I happened to ask her for one of her favourite poets. She said Walt Whitman and I just googled it. Voila!

Overconfidence...

Last evening was one I'm sure I ain't gonna forget in a long long time. Talk about being supremely confident in one's ability to plan out a sequence of events and then actually follow it out without considering the repercussions. Which was odd, because I normally take that into consideration.
Been a while since I'd met some of my friends from the dance classes I used to go to (Used to... well we'll see what can be done about that). We've kept in touch over the phone as and when we possibly could. A little elaboration here... I'd attended classes for two dances. Salsa and Tango. Salsa, I had joined with Lily, and Tango I had joined with Suman. Now over the past few weeks we had been planning on meeting up sometime. Separately. As in, I was in talks with Lily and also in talks with Suman. I know this sounds bad, ... like a two-timing jackass or something of that sort. But then again, we're just friends. So, we're just looking to catch up after a while.
So, all of a sudden yesterday evening I get this call from Lily saying there is this new Amul outlet opened in town and if I was interested in joining her and her sis, Sayali, in checking it out. So I was like, no probs! I'm there! So we planned to meet up at 1830hrs. Just as I was about to leave from home I got a call from, guess who? Suman! For some reason I had a gut feeling when I saw her number that she too would be free in the evening. And guess what! She was getting off from work early and wanted to meet at 1900hrs!!!
Aaaah! Well... how could I say no. I had no idea when I would get to meet them again.
So I'm thinking, this Amul outlet has got to be a small ice-cream shop right? I mean how long could we possibly be there? Half an hour??? So there I go all confident in telling Suman that I would love to meet her and she suggests meeting at the Cafe Coffee Express outlet (which by the way was RIGHT NEXT TO THE AMUL OUTLET!!!).
So off I am... reach the Amul outlet and I'm thinking... 'uh oh, this looks more like a fast food joint.' Met Lily and Sayali, entered the joint and ordered stuff to eat and drink. Again I'm thinking, 'this is definitely not going how I planned'.
No point on bringing it up at the last moment, so I mentioned to Lily that Suman had called and that she was supposed to meet me at 1900hrs... and so, she might join us. Thankfully the two had met at the dance class and so Lily knew who she was. 1900hrs and Suman's call comes through! I step out. Tension writ large on my face. Put up a brave smile and get Suman to join us. Thankfully, everyone gets along well.
Phew! All's well that ends well right? NOPE. Not in my wildest dreams could I have anticipated what was about to hit me next. The three of them gang up to take my case! Literally! I mean, it was unfortunate that I couldn't make it to the Tango finals because I had fallen ill that day. That topic comes up and both Lily and Suman discuss it vividly, much to Sayali's delight and my chagrin! That being not so good enough... they then further gang up to discuss ME. Bit by bit, part by part.
Much to my relief, it was 2000hrs before we even realised it and everyone had to go home! (HALELUJAH! PRAISE THE LORD!)
All smiles, everyone's talking about what a wonderful, lovely evening it's been and how we should meet up again. Me, who was licking my wounds and picking up whatever pride that remained shattered about... had just one reaction to the above suggestion. *TERROR STRICKEN LOOK*

Well, all said and done, it was indeed a lovely evening. Had my leg pulled quite a bit. But then again, how often does a guy get a chance to sit with three pretty girls and get his leg pulled by all of them, whilst simultaneously being showered with enviable attention. ;)

Things just fit?

We're in two different states.
We've never met.
We've been talking over the phone ever since the last 8 days.
Yet, I feel like I really know this person.
We talk on everything and anything under the sun (or rather, I bring up those not-to-be-discussed topics).

Sometimes, just sometimes, you end up talking to someone you've never met personally and things just fit. You just gel inexplicably.