Cut Short

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We constantly try to get rid of our short-comings and many a time do things to hide our short-falls, but in the process we somehow accentuate the very same weaknesses of our-selves. A person with receding hair line would try to grow his hairs long or a person with glares to get rid of those. A person with average appearance can go for plastic surgery or in nut-shell there are always short-cuts available but those do not help in most cases. In the mean-time we tend to hurt ourselves. But the real way of living life is to laugh at the problems thrown to us by life. So as a new year resolution we can pledge to live and enjoy our lives to the best and try to suppress the negativity as we ought to highlight the positive. Lets cut short the pain, unless you enjoy it as a way of living.

Happy New Year to all my friends.

Merry Christmas : Missing Orkut

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Late Merry Christmas to all my friends on Orkut and everywhere else. Orkut turning troublesome, can not access my account, so sorry if you were waiting for my replies (even though I don't deserve so much consideration!). Please stay in touch through mails, instant messages or blog comments. Missing you all.

Happy Diwali

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A very very Happy Diwali to all my dear friends and readers of this blog. But once again it is gonna be a dirty environment, still we can make a little difference by using less of crackers and indulging in more fun activities. How about community cracker activity, in which people join together to enjoy crackers. In any case it is on personal will. But I would like to suggest my friends to plant a tree or do some thing which may help improve environment and get us rid of rising demon, we know as Global Warming. May the festival of lights brings more joy and fun in everyone's life.

Blue October

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The month of October turned out to be a lengthy and long drawn proportion. Year's sixth month with 31 days was appearing to be stretched beyond its length. With all my friends messed up and busy with their assignments and exams it appeared to me as if I was the only shit on planet Earth with no work to do! On this third rock from Sun I followed a good-for-nothing routine toying with some violent video games that appeared to me my own story, with little modification of course. Online communities and chats being only only social articulations I felt deserted in vast expanse of the universe. Deriving some inspiration from television programs like Love Story and Dill Mill Gayye and late night television and some sort of study I managed to kill time. With my friend Nilabh visiting me almost daily to meet our friend Abhishek, I was relieved a lot as we got to hear his funny, innocent and amateur and green experiences about girls in his college. As the month progressed lack of response on SMSes and crunch of time with friends started tearing me apart. this was the time the game Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas came to my rescue and some other creative activities like fulfilling my long pending ambition of creating a website helped me get rid of some negative thoughts. Now as the Blue October is over am really elated and am thinking was it that bad or in real it was far more productive than any other month of this year.

Date Yourself

Many a time we feel very depressed, lost and worthless. We feel lack of that feel good situation or sometime we wish to do a lot and find lack of control on our own lives, and in many grim situations we want to be that happy go lucky guy we saw in a 80s movie last night. Many a time I think that it starts with a momentary diversion and may sometime take weeks before we come back to normalcy. I have learnt that in most cases it can be easy to come out of it, what we need is a little bit of self help. A date with your own self can be pleasure. It is worth walking down the lane all alone to your nearby park and have a chat with yourself. It may seem pretty funny but walking on park's pavement while speaking to your own self, assuring yourself of self worth and beauty of life is great fun as you are confronted with many arguements, different views develop within your being and you begin to appreciate natural beauty around you. Thinking about your last visit to North Campus , Lodhi Gardens, India Gate, South Extension or that McDonald's' or Eatopia visit while you had enjoyed the climate as well as glimpses of beautiful girls passing by can be a rejuvenating experience. The sweet memories of your first entrance exam or watching that beautifully crafted flick, even though you have watched it 20 times before, is something you can trade anything in your life for. Once you learn to talk to yourself you will be the happiest person on planet Earth. Even a Soduku in yesterday's newspaper or an article about sensuality, fashion, global warming or anything can change your mind set if you let it do wonders to yourself.
So go on and pamper yourself. Love thyself, love life and you will be on the top of the world. And don't forget to plan a bit about the future. Be positive and laugh away at the situations thrown to you and celebrate your uniqueness.....
Enjoy your date!

Suicidal Tendencies Of A Young Nation

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Happy Independence Day to all Indians on 60 years of Indian freedom.

In past 60 years the country has progressed a lot and is now recognised to be a booming economy, but the reluctantly slow pace of growth is something that bothers all the citizens even on 61st independence day of the country.

In all the sixty years the policies of government have been really conservative and slow in execution. Till date our government hesitates taking many a steps which may prove determinant in country's growth pattern. This can simply be attributed to governments' protectionist policies, which inhibit the development of a competitive market.

Some of the facts that indicate reasons of country's growth are listed below, if frequent policy changes are not made on these topics it may seriously affect social, economic as well as political growth of the nation, called INDIA, which is still in its infancy.

1. The government finance policies are not of the calibre required to compete with developed economies and major threats like China.

a) It still doesn't permit 100% FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in many sectors and thereby prevents generation of precious revenue.

b) The GDP growth rate isn't able to break 8% barrier for a long time.

c) Major employment is still in Primary sector (about 60%).

d) Per capita income in terms of PPP ( Purchasing Power Parity) is about $2400 which is less than half of biggest rival, China.

e) A whopping 33% population lives below poverty line, i.e. earns less than $1 per day.

2. Social sector reforms are unexpectedly slow.

a) Country lacks in proper execution of population control strategies, while with a whooping 1 billion population and 1.8% growth the nation is the nation is on course to become largest in terms of populace.

b) Female sex ratio at 933/1000 males is a grave threat.

c) A low education rate of about 65% is something not to talk about.

d) And still the governments promote the caste system by planning to execute almost 50% reservation in all centrally funded institutions!

e) Medical facilities in country are not upto the mark as indicated by the facts like infant death rate in country is 63/1000 births and the labor death rate is unexpectedly high at about 540/100000.

3. The infrastructure in nation has just begun to develop and is critically insufficient in meeting demands of the growing economy.

a) Roads are not very well built, highways are carrying loads beyond there capacity, rural connectivity is not of good quality, cities are witnessing a crunch of road length.

b) Power scenario in country is a serious concern. Proper electricity is a distant dream in rural India while urban regions too face acute and frequent shortages, all despite long existence of these problems.

c) Rural teledensity is a serious concern in modern India, Internet and access to modern communication facilities is very low.

4. Insurgency and Terrorism are biggest problems in the country. The government is not strict enough in taking action against these anti-national elements. To this date even Naxalite groups like MCC are threatening nation by bidding for control of states like Bihar. The problems of Jammu and Kashmir are long persistent.

And the list continues...

Facing such grave and very relevant threats country still contents itself by using self-promoting labels like Knowledge Economy, Software Giant, Super Power in making.....

Well it is time for us citizens to re-define our role in our lovely India's development, hoping the best for my dear country on it 61st Independence Day.

Zip Zap Zoom - 2

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Remember last Zip Zap Zoom post? Well nothing rogue like that this time around, but a funny incident from streets of Indian capital, New Delhi.

Well on August 07 '2007 me and my friend were out again, like we often are after dinner. On his scooter we left for the nearby street food place, where he binged upon Burgers and then we were off to have Mango shake (something we consider an important part of our health regime!). Done with all this, now we were back on city streets.

After riding slowly for sometime we decided to go to a major city artery, just to pass over the flyover he likes. Looking at the airplanes in the sky (which were taking off and landing at a nearby international airport, as Delhi gets a major share of its international air traffic at night.) we were enjoying our ride at a comfortable speed of 50-60 kmph. Passing over the over-bridge we were discussing our way back and things like how air planes look great in between light clouds.

After zipping past the flyover we took a U-turn from under the next bridge, which is meant to take traffic across a railway line, and came back to the same street but this time to go back to home. Halfway on the bridge we were enjoying the picturesque lights and night traffic, full with heavy vehicles and call centre cabs, when a horn from behind alarmed us. to give him way we increased the speed of scooter we were riding and changed lane. But to our surprise the guy was tailgating us and honking continuously. We naturally were a bit afraid because of recent road rage incidents in city, but keeping calm slowed down and looked back to find a Sardar in his late 20s following us on his cruiser Bullet.

He increased the speed of his bike and came beside us to have a conversation. "Where is the helmet?", he popped the question. Nilabh replied that, "We have not got it, it is at home". To which he argued, "What it is doing at home? Studying (probably recognizing that we are students) or what?". Again Nilabh replied, "Yeah am studying", misunderstanding him. The Sardar, by now determined to make us realise the importance of helmet, argued with us for accepting his words and promising to use helmet next time. Ultimately, for nothing else but to get rid of this conversation we promised him the same. Now satisfied he again increased speed of his bike to zip pass us. After he left we realised that we had come far ahead of the place we had to turn from...

So the moral of the incident: Wear helmet, whenever you are on a two wheeler or else be prepared to be advised by a wise, knowledgeable Sardar.

Happy Friendship Day

 
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Hey all my dear friends, a very very happy friendship day to you all. May you all get what you aspire for in the life. And as we all know life is great only till we all are together. So please make sure to keep on sending those sweet scraps, cool mails, naughty and funny SMSes and very desirable calls! Once again Happy Friendship Day to all my dear ones.

A Little Nokia Fact

 
Image Courtesy : KhE 龙, check usage terms before using the image.

No Nokia phone in asia bears a model number with digit 4, simply because it is considered to be a bad omen by many people in the region.
 
Nokia is a Finland based cell phone giant operating worldwide from Helsinki.

Save The Planet

 
Image Courtesy : The Duke of URL on Flickr, check usageterms before using image.

Surely we can make the difference and it is easy, it does not takes too much off efforts and still has many benefits. We together can prevent global warming and it is always a win-win situation. A little extra effort to stand up and switch off the appliances not in use saves us money, can be healthy by including a little physical effort in our daily lives and very much importantly will save our planet from the disaster, the global warming! So why not join hands and play our roles and make that little difference.
 
Some suggestive links for more info are -

Australian Government's Cool It Site

Wikipedia Global Warming Info

Global Warming

Share with us more suggestive links through comments.

Everything Is In Our Own Hands

Have faith in your own self. It is only we who craft our destiny. Nothing influences our lives more than our own will. It is we who can make all the difference. The key to success lies solely in our attitude. We define the life.

We hold the key to our future and we are the rightful owner of tommorrow. Only we need to let our imaginations loose, leave our thoughts to fly and just follow the positive paths. We need not to perish under the wrath of negative thought because we can change everything if we just make a humble beginning. We should not hesitate when it comes to looking for the positive inspiration, it simply serves as fuel for a radical beginning. Understanding our potentials can get us in a truly advantagenous position and believing in our own self is just the beginning we need to make, everything else, including success, comes along as byproduct.

When it comes to our own lives, we are the almighty and sole determinor of our own lives and as the video says we can fly!

Zip Zap Zoom At 90KMPH

 
Image Courtesy : Shiratski on Flickr, check usage terms before using the image.

On July 2 me and my friend, Nilabh, went out for our daily night walk at around 9'o clock. He had his scooter on which we drove to nearby street food place. He is a great foodie and eats like a hobby. Then we rode to the park, where we sat on grass overgrowing due to early monsoon rains. Sharing talks about days happening and a few past memories along with some future plans is now almost a routine with us. Looking onto distant stars and venus, our favourite these days, and moon is what we find interesting. Of course there is lot of "Boy Talk" and girls are always hot topic. But cars, bikes and other rides are what we like more, because girls are something we are not totally into which and that we lack "many" good experiences! Anyway for us "Money is what matters more!" and that is how we console each other. Coming back to the night's proceedings, after about 45 minutes we left the place to go for a ride on his LML NV. Soon we were zipping around on the main road because of a bigger promise of fun. On the road we were still looking at the moon, which was looking like a pizza hanging in the sky! He was driving coolly like always but suddenly accelerated hard to reach a speed of 90kmph on that undeclared highway. Still talking and chatting randomly we were zooming past the establishments on the roadside, there past a bunch of trees, a bus stand, some fruit vendors and a gas station. Then started a flyover we wanted to avoid and thereby took the side lane where a biker suddenly veered left from his path alarming us to avoid the collision. Nilabh gave his final try to avert the disaster while we were apprehensive of our chances of avoiding the hit. In a blink we zoomed past the bike and just could not believe what could have happened. All the memories of wrecked vehicles went before eyes like a movie. Suddenly we were more thrilled and excited and a bit fearsome because of the incident. I reminded my friend that only the driver is responsible for pillion's safety and he acknowledged my concerns by maintaining a decent speed of 40 kmph till we reached back to our homes.
 
The driving experience on Delhi's brightly lit roads is amazing and something for which youngsters like me crave but it becomes a responsibility to ensure safety of self and others as some time enjoying life in limits is more worthy.

Over all the evening proved to be a perfect one but like always as it is with real non-existense of background music, those beats with speed, tones of excitement, metallic sounds of agony etc, played spoil sport.

Posh Living

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Recently I visited Council of Architecture, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi. The 45 minute bus ride brought back to me the memories of the days when my father used to take me out to places like Railway Museum, air Force Museum, Exhibition Grounds.... I could easily realise what I was missing for so much long a period of life. Beautifully paved vistas of Central Delhi in a sunny backdrop left me mesmerised. The cosmopolitan attitude of the area reminded of an era when country used to be more conservative. It could only be a possible site in Chankya Puri or Lodhi road to see a girl in her early 20s making splashes in her Bentley, a rare scene on Indian roads in any case. Newly erected bus stands and Delhi Metro's sign boards were giving a foresight into city's future, which is fast gearing up for its date with Common Wealth Games in 2010. At the same time couples cuddling each other in demure surroundings of Lodhi Gardens were justification enough for the Taj being in India. The environment at restaurants like Eatopia was enough to brave challenge from global biggies like Mc'D, simply on the firm basis of the fact that the crowd gathering at the place was far more hip, classy and lively. It can be amazing for anyone that still many of the front runners in managing the nation operate from beautifully crafted buildings of the region. The bureaucratic setup is intricated in the area's very being.

On many occasions only the fact that we want to be part of such a rich and posh way of living, we wish to inherit this great legacy is enough to boost peoples' desire to live and gives a feeling of being able to conquer the world....

Summer Day Out

 
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On June 08 '07, I got to venture out on Delhi's roads on scorching summer day. The blistering heat could make even the most enduring ones to run for cover.

I live in a bustling colony in western Delhi and had to go to Vastukala Academy, aside temples of educations IIT-Delhi and JNU, to collect result of architecture aptitude test.

So I got up a little early in the morning, expecting to finish my work and come back to home by 2'o clock in the afternoon. Having done with things like breakfast, etc. I ran out of home to catch bus that would leave me at Dhaula Kuan (DK) interchange. It was already 11:30, but I was enjoying the ride; as to passengers surprise the driver of the DTC bus was driving nicely and I could even spot a few good looking girls. Moreover summers are my favourite season, everything being hot, bright and windy. Sooner the bus reached DK and I got off it.

Now I was waiting for next bus to arrive, but to my dismay it was not a very pleasant experience because the Sun was shining harshly enough to melt the asphalt of roads. It was very panicking to stop and wait for a ride while the mercury soared to 44 degree Celsius and loo, hot seasonal winds, blew uncalmly.

To manys' respite the bus was there after about 10 long minutes. I hurriedly boarded it and was happy to find some shade. I found a seat and sat calmly sure that it will take at least 30 minutes before I reach my destination. Through the way I glanced the magnificent reformations the city was witnessing in a bid to prepare well for the Commonwealth Games 2010. The bus zoomed through bustling commercial areas and calm residential colonies of South Delhi. I was disappointed to see encroachments and dirty shanties just beside R.K.Puram, one of the most refined localities in the city. The bus took a turn to Vedant Desika Marg and my mind started reminding me of leaving the bus and as per my habit I de-boarded a stand before (more because of my fear of being lone one to leave and thereby ignored and taken to the next stop!).

So I was here in front of Physical Sciences Faculty of JNU. After waking down the lane about 200 metres I reached my destination and straight away asked the administrator to give my score card. He printed it immediately but as per "Indian tradition" didn't give it to me before another 1.5 hour, the reason being it was not signed by the head of the institution.

Soon I found that i was not the lone one waiting for the signs, but there was a bunch of about 8-10 students! Many others were waiting for there turn for exam. So I could pass time listening to them, having chats with few ones, planning about return, cursing the system and very pleasantly checking out the beautiful girls, etc.... But as the time progressed it was becoming difficult to bear the delay. And it all ended only when few guys started something like a little agitation (not the Rang De Basanti style, but just a simple negotiation). And now we had our score cards with us, at 89/200 my score was average considering the topper could manage only 117.

On my way back I had to walk about 500 metres before I could find a bus stand. Very annoyingly I had to hop onto the bus while it was still running. The rest of travel till DK was fine.

It was about 2:55 and the hot weather had started taking toll on me. With no snacks or drinks for last 3.5 hours I was feeling uneasy and in a hurry to reach home as early as possible. But the whole thing went wrong when I mistook route number 568 to 588 and boarded the wrong bus!

The bus this time was a real hell, the staff of bus was 4 people strong with each one smoking proudly (I hated them for this) and stopping the bus for uneasily long intervals of time. but it ended soon and I was on my way to home, on another bus followed by a 15 minute walk in scorching sunshine!

After reaching home I was happy and comforted as I could sit on my PC and enjoy playing the race game abbreviated as NFS-Most Wanted!

Results Day

 
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I woke up early, not usual for me. No, I was not worrying about my high school results, but I had another goal in my mind, to catch up with my friend as he comes to collect books from me at 7:30 AM. I do another thing against my routine and brush up my teeth early and after getting fresh venture out with books in my hand, it is already 7:40 and I am late, very common with me. Thinking that my friend must not have arrived I walk towards the skating rink. And suddenly at next turn I find him coming. The sun is bright in the sky and you can feel the summers Delhi is known for. We greet each other and start moving towards my house while discussing some unnecessary stuff. Suddenly we plan to move back and go to his house to get books I need from him. After taking books from his house and meeting his family we come back. He glances the clock in his mobile and finds it is 7:58, our results will be on net in two minutes! At my home I jump towards my PC to log onto the 'results' site, while my father says he has already checked it on cell and I ask him to keep it to himself. First I check my result and find that at a measly 68.2% it is still good. The next moment we all are congratulating my friend at his excellent performance, he scored 89.6%. Now the flood of phone calls begin, with my close friend being the first and he tells me that he scored 87%. After checking results we plan to go out but find it better to stay at home and enjoy a flick. After my friend leaves I am now thinking about future and asking myself to clear the enterance exam which approaches in two days. In morning I take up the newspaper and ignore some early morning calls. At 11:00 AM I call my friends and have chat with them, there are all sort of news some good, some bad. to everyone of my friends I ask to concentrate on future and enjoy. Till evening rest of the day is creepy, except few of my friends visiting then and now. I do not feel like studying and have sleepy eyes. In evening I try to study a bit but am tempted to design few graphics on PC. Orkut is a regularity and today was no exception. By the day end I have my dinner and manage to learn attempting few questions. Before sleeping I am still thinking that we all will be together for the last time soon when we collect our mark-sheets from school and venture onto different paths in life.

Really life is very strange and beyond comprehension.

Feel Of Power

 
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This incident dates back to my class III days in junior school. I was appointed monitor of my class and thus had to shoulder responsibility of managing class in absense of any teacher. At that time it was considered hip to be monitor of the class, so I was more than happy for the duty entrusted upon me. I used to hold a wooden scale in my hand and would leave no opportunity of beating it on a desk in the front row. Many a time the noise orf the stick was far more than that caused by my friends and therefore I was left flabbergasted 'what the hell I was doing?' Remembering those days I think how stupid I would have looked stopping children from doing what is there nature! But the next moment it comes to my mind that the whole reason, for which I behaved like that, was the feeling of power which I used to get by proving my control over a huge group of about 40 fellow students...

I Pass Time

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I always liked fun flicks. In tense times films in any case are best pass time. Since my childhood days I have been a great fan of all time best "feel good" movies like "Khoobsurat", "Golmaal", "Chupke Chupke", "Milli", "Bawarchi", "Munnabhai MBBS", " Lage Raho Munnabhai", "Malamaal Weekly", "Hungama", "Hulchul", "Hera Pheri", "Rang De Basanti", "Khosla Ka Ghosla", "Garam Masala" etc. The obvious reason being the flow and fun way of life shown in these movies provide you an optimistic outlook towards life and you forget all your pains, at least for a short period of time. Many a time I think if there were not these movies life would have been much tougher. These movies make you think good and thus induce a new creativeness in your being, which is far more better than being a lamenting soul worth nothing! These flicks help regain lost confidence and thereby let a person be more worthy in life.

Let Me Share A Story

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An old memory is repeatedly clicking in my mind, let me share it with you all out there and may be we will be able to recognize the fact- "What is told to us amd situations we go through have determinal effect in shaping our views..."
Summers of 2004 I had joined ICCAM summer camp for the first time, which that year was hosted at Youth Hostel, Mussouri, a Himalyan hill station. our group comprised of 22 students of class IX-XII. The second night of 9 day stay in Mussouri and there were huge rains and a characteristic power cut. The vehicle movement on highway passing in front of hostel had diminished because of late night and bad weather. Most of the group was fast asleep thanks to hectic schedule everyone had, but Ashish and his group was not in mood to sleep and was busy chatting, majorly jokes and teasers. Everything was usual till Bhandari got a glimpse of two red eyes glaring at him and his group from widespread dark outside the window. He was left dumbfallen and was too much horrified to speak anything. He didn't utter a single word till his friends shook him by hands. He in a confused tone asked them to keep quiet to avoid attention from spirit outside the window.The laughs and whispers of friends were replaced by deep silence.All of the four were highly teriffied to think anything meaningful and were perspiring in their beddings on that cold night.No one made any move, expect fearful shiverings, for next 15 minutes when a car zipped through the highway, precariously paved through the great lower Himalyas, flashing its lights on the trees in front of hostel room's window and thus revealing the ghost, which was nothing but a monkey who had taken shelter on trees to avoid heavy rains. Every one in the group heaved a sigh of releif and soon fell asleep. The next morning as they shared their story with everyone in the room, there were debates and disccussions on the existence of ghosts, exchange of personal experiences etc.
While some just enjoyed it as entertainment, others were more serious and some like me were busy seeking views of people and inviting others to share some thrilling stories of unearthly experiences!

Written In A Classic Mood

 
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A person who loves to live in a state of constant self imposed depression! It is just that I love mild pain as it provokes me to do something to avoid it. It is like some steroid, which enhances performance of a maniac like me. I find no harm in using this expression as by my conventions it is more fun and encouragement.