Hereos do fall.....

By himself, Sachin has all the rights in the world to become what he wants to, if and when he retires from active cricket. Even if he wants to join, as the Big B once called it, the cesspool of politics.

But he should not accept the Rajya Sabha nomination offered to him by the Congress party. If it has been offered in the first place that is. Because i am dead sure he is just a pawn to distract attention. To attract his followers for votes to Congress. And i am somehow not convinced that this decision coming up on a day when Congress was getting screwed all over is a mere co-incidence.

In an ideal world, Tendulkar will come out tomorrow in a blazing press conference and make it clear he is not in the fray, its all a frame -up , speculation and so on.

A long time back, i had told a friend 'heroes do fall' when she suspected a particular person she idolised was acting a bit different.

I hope my hero doesnt fall.

It's not an ideal world.

Woh mera tha, yeh batana ajeeb lagta hain….

tha jis ka hath hamesha hamaray hathon mein ....

abh us say hath milana ajeeb lagta hai ...!!!

Rare Pic of 'Taj Mahal' and its Garden, 1880's

Look at the bloody symmetry !!!!! 

Serendipity.....

Neeta Volvo did not do it.

Nor did Indian Railways.

Nor did ay hotels, restaurants, offices or places where people get upgrades for no extra effort or cost.

Well, Kingfisher sending me to Delhi in business class, at ticket cost of 4k!

And i get something i have always desired, leg room!!!!!

Serendipity - a pleasant surprise that you come across by accident, or something to that effect.

Whatever it is, feels good. (Though the accident in this case has some other victim - Kingfisher!)

Doesn't take much to make me happy, does it?

Stuff i worry about at night....

Early this week, Indian Express printed a report saying the government was spooked because some units of the army headed towards Delhi one night a few months back. Alarmist and stupid are some words that have been used to describe the report. Highlights mistrust and lack of communication between government and armed forces and all that. (I can only hope no one gets spooked when i head to Delhi next week. If at all, i hope there is co-operation, free flow of information, analysis and report writing!!)

But it is just plain politics. I tend to agree with a DNA article other day that implied its MMS making his chair safe with such leaks and like. A very good profile of MMS in Caravan magazine presents you the facts of how he has behaved under different leaders and times - Indira Gandhi, Emergency, Narsimha Rao, Sikh riots, Rajiv Gandhi, Janta Government, Nationalisation, Globalisation and all that. And it lets you decide about him. Read. (Read Caravan anyway, good stuff)

My dental treatment is postponed because of this Delhi trip. So i'll be seen with a broken tooth at Akash's wedding. But having done the full payment in advance, i am sure i'll get it completed. Unlike last time, when i told the dentist "shaam ko aata hu" and showed up last friday, a good 2 years later.

I have been thinking what gifts i have recieved from family, friends, colleagues, clients and relatives over the years. Not much. On an unrelated note, i quite liked the black Nokia Lumia 710 that Baba has bought...good bargain at 15k. Despite the touchscreen.

I was telling someone other day, between the core 5 TA members, we have now covered most of the world. Me - India. Akash - Africa. Clinton - Europe, Australia, US. Silky - Middle East. All of us have been to SE Asia. And Baba lords over Thane now!

How expensive will Brazil be? Looks like a place worth going. (not just the beaches, loads of other things too shown on TV).

Just no good movies nowadays. And no company either.

I am considering selling of bike. Poor thing just stands for many days and battery is discharged. No kick start is a pain. Might as well have someone use it properly. Know anyone intrested? Good condition, needs usage.

I say project management is same as people management. Some disagree.

Why do people look at cricket as Test/ODI/T20. Its bat v/s ball. Skill set v/s skill set. Equal fun in any format.

Been trying to put together a list of 50 things to do before i die. 7 of the 13 listed so far are cricket related. 3 cars related. 3 travel related.

I think one of the things i ought to add is a non-medicinal, non-harmful, non-addictive solution to insomnia.

Dard baantne se kam hota hain…..

I am pretty sure all of us have, at some point of time, pulled out a nail from wood.

Not always with the right tools as well.Rulers, pens bare hands, compass? Same old method. Dig out a bit of it. Dig out some wood around the nail. Scratch the surface around, hold on tightly from one side. Give some leverage and pull!!

Tooth extraction is exactly like that.

Thank god for local anaesthesia (and maybe the little prayer i said before the procedure started), i did not really feel much of it. But i heard it all. The digging, the scratching, the leverage, the pull. And then i saw the tooth being discarded.

But once the anaesthesia wore off, the injections in the jaw to administer the anaesthesia started hurting. And has been hurting since. And now, next step would be to put in a replacement tooth……

Something like hammering a nail into wood……

Not exactly. But you get the point. And once that is done, the other tooth root canal will start. My teeth are so screwed!

And what's worse is that the teeth trouble came at a lousy point of time. March. Taxes. On Saturday, i couldn't make out what hurt more – tooth or taxes!

Anyway, sad part is, both these things have combined and taken my economic situation back to square one 1 – in the RED! So camera and /or phone plans shelved. Vo to door ki baat hain, some books i had to buy have been postponed.

On, what may or may not be, a related note, i heard the original of “I’ll survive” the other day. Nice song.

I’ll survive. Guess all do.

Sau choohe khaake…..

All my sins notwithstanding, over the last year or so, i may have have washed out all of them….. just check out the temples and holy / religious places and ceremonies i have been to !

Varanasi

Started with a visit to the Sankat Mochan Hanuman Mandir and then to the river Ganga.

The Ganga Arti. As mentioned earlier, the closest i have felt to miraculous. All the din outside, so much peace inside.

  After offering prayers at the Kashi Vishvanath Temple at Varanasi. I think i got scammed a bit by the pandits there, but i did all the relevant pooja’s and offerings there. Mom’s happy

Agra

 

At the Dargah of Sheikh Salim Chishti. This was peaceful without the noise. They are from the same family as the Ajmer Dargah. The best thing was what the priest told me (when i asked if there is any specific manner to pray) – pray as you know to pray. Wo sab sunta hain

Ayyuthya, Thailand

Yes yes, there is a religion bit in Thailand as well……… especially the Rockstar Ganpati bit But that was just on day 1……

Uttaranchal

As my then boss described it – its a religious vacation farewell package!

Buddhist Temple close to Dehradun

By the river ganga at Rishikesh.

Haridwar – this Ganga Arti isnt as grand as the Varanaasi one, but good nonetheless. Met a Turkish lady here who was astonished people drink the water and loved the faith people had in the river. Concluded my faith wasn't strong enough because i wouldn't drink the water. ( I did not even collect the water in a bottle, like i did in Rishikesh). Couldn't bring myself to drink the water in which people were bathing and immerse ashes of the dead. (See those steps in the snaps? – immerse snaps, do pooja, big arti , all there)

Vaishnodevi Temple near Nainital

Hanuman Temple close to Bhimtal.

Amritsar

The best laid plans often don't work out. Sometimes because of circumstances, sometimes because some alternative plan comes up. My Amritsar Trip falls in the later plan.

I had intended to visit Mathura over the weekend, when i was in Delhi. Couple of hours away, a day trip to meet uncle who stays there. Mom suggested go to Jhansi instead, 6 hours by train, but you get to meet grandparents. I checked what's my plan for Saturday and said ok. Planned the trip to the T. Booked to and fro tickets. Most of Friday went into that. Keep it secret from grandparents. 6AM train. Reached guest house late in the night after catching up with a couple of friends. My colleagues are still up

Colleague – Bhai, chal kal Amritsar chalte hain.

Me – Chalo.

And thats how i landed at the Golden Temple recently.

Me and Vinay stood in this crowd for 3 hours.

By far the cleanest temples i have seen, crowd management could have been better though.

Best part about travel? Meeting people like these. Travellers, these girls have seen some 37 countries so far. Nice stories to tell…..

So that's that. I guess a church remaining and i would have covered them all……. wonder if sins commited parallel to all these religious trips are also taken care of