Friday, December 29, 2006

Beautiful like a dream!!!




Shot from Santa Monica Beach (Baywatch fame) in Los Angeles! The hispanic influence in the state of California is unmistakably visible everywhere including the names of the places. This includes San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles...

I happened to read about the famous Californian Gold rush of 1840's. And that paved the way for thousands of migrants to this part of the world. The point to note was that only in 1850, California was included as a state in United States. Till then it was mostly under the rule of spanish emperors. That explains the background for the movie "The Mask of Zorro"...

The main year of the gold rush was 1849. And the migrants of those years are called Forty Niners. This helped me understand why the Football team of San Francisco was named as 49ers. They have fallen of the heights that once they owned, though...

This gold rush was one of the reasons for California to be also known as the Golden State...

And the majority of the migrants were Chinese who came here to do the hardwork of making the way in the mountains and valleys of this beautiful land, for laying railway lines. And anybody who comes to San Francisco can easily make out the abundance of that lineage...

After the gold rush, it was the agriculture which lead the way for Californians, which in turn lead to the rise of entertainment industry, culminating in what we now call as Hollywood. Then it was the turn of computer revolution to help California remain the richest state in United States of America. This is really the land which inspires and supports peoples' dreams. And they love to call it as the American Dream!!!

Saturday, December 23, 2006

World Cup!!!

Sreesanth helped the Indian cricket followers, including yours truly, to raise their expectations about a great series victory in South Africa. And I really believe that if the South African batters fails to apply themselves then that is well and truly possible. And the part played by Ganguly and Laxman was really big considering the batting collapses in the onedayers. And this leads to me a question of selecting a team for World Cup for next year...

Damien Martyn, Shane Warne and Glen Mcgrath has just initiated the end of era of a great set of cricketers. I am sure this world cup is going to be the last of a lot of giants of the game including Lara and Tendulkar. This is their last chance to get their hands on the ultimate price.So from an Indian perspective, let me try to see which could be the best possible 16 that can help Sachin achieve this glory...

Sachin,Rahul,Yuvraj, Dhoni, Kumble, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Sreesanth and Munaf patel select themselves to the 16. That leaves place for another 7. And out of this seven, I would like to have 4 batsmen, one wicket keeper and two bowlers...

And the recent SA series has rocked the selectors with the question of whether to go for youthful exuberance or time tested experience. Laxman and Sourav will surely lend that extra confidence for the team in their middle order. Sourav is one of the greatest oneday players india has ever produced. And he proved in SA that there is still some thing left in him to contribute to Indian cricket. And I, for one, believes that Sourav will be more effective in onedayers than in tests. So going by the attitude that he has shown in SA, he will be able to do far better in West Indies...

And then Laxman is one batsman who has immense respect all over the world, except in India. Whenever people talk about his chances in onedayers, they put the point that he is slow in the field and between the wickets. This is true to an extend. But his replacements are capable of some 40 runs + 20 runs saved through their fielding skills. But Laxman is capable of scoring more than those 60 runs which forces me to give him a chance in this world cup. And if he is not selected by selectors, then he will become only the second batsman after Barry Richards not to have played a world cup, of course I am talking about batsmen who are respected and feared all over the world...

Then comes the third batsman which should be a toss up between Sehwag and Gambhir. If Sehwag continues his wretched form in onedayers, he might not play in the world cup. But he is one player who can win matches single handedly. And West Indian pitches will make it tough for the bowlers to aim his ribcage consistently. This will give him some respite and if he can capitalize on it, then India could not ask for a better player. Also he has this ability to break partnerships given a ball in his hand. So let's keep faith in him.

Now the 4th batsman, I would select Dinesh Mongia ahead of Mohd Kaif, for his ability to bowl a bit and also to dominate attacks. And Dinesh Kartik will be my Sub Wicket keeper.

Two bowlers are also pretty easy to pick. I will go for Ramesh Powar and Irfan Pathan (If he recaptures his confidence in his bowling a bit..) which will give a pretty good balance to this Indian bowling attack. So my team for world cup goes like this:

Sachin
Sourav
Dravid
Laxman
Yuvraj
Sehwag
Dhoni
Kumble
Harbhajan
Zaheer
Munaf

Dinesh Mongia
Dinesh karthick
Irfan Pathan
Ramesh Powar and
Sreesanth.

Even though the first eleven looks a little older as most of the players are on the wrong side of 30, each one of them are capable of destroying the opposition on their own...


Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Nothing Else Matters!!!

I am not getting my own words to put in now. So I thought I will put in some one else's words. After all I just want to remember something down the years when I see this blog again. Atleast I will remember that I liked this song...

Nothing Else Matters!!! - Mettalica.

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
and nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
and nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
and nothing else matters

never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
but I know

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
and nothing else matters

never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
but I know

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
Trust I seek and I find in you

Every day for us, something new
Open mind for a different view
and nothing else matters

never cared for what they say
never cared for games they play
never cared for what they do
never cared for what they know
and I know

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No, nothing else matters...

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Careless!!!

I knew that life is a great leveller, that we will have some good times now, but expect some bad times also. This is what life has taught me. Even after knowing this I goes overboard at times due to sheer arrogance or carelessness. And then life will remind me of that simple truth by giving me a small jolt which helps me shed all those and stay focussed. This is a similar incident that happened today...

For last two weeks the amount of work was less compared to my first two months at onsite. And I started to relax a bit and take things for granted. I started to behave as if I am some one great and I can manage most of the things...

Meanwhile I got a mail from the company HR saying that I am supposed to write on internal exam before this appraisal for better results. I applied for one exam and started preparing for that. In fact I didn't prepare, but I got the mails and user id and password for the test. The test was scheduled for today morning...

Last week, while I was talking to a good friend of mine here, he told me that he also have the test on 15th itself at 10.00 AM. I was happy, coz he is very familiar with SF and he can find the test center very easily and moreover I was happy since we both had same timings for the test. This means that we can go together for the exam...

Days passed and came Monday. I was just two days away from the exam. I started dowloading the material and started to prepare. I kept an alarm for the eve of the exam to remind myself to take all the necessary things like ID, invitation printout etc. I was very happy with myself that I am planning things very well...

But I did not study anything that day. Then there was only one more day left for exam and I had 4 big modules to cover. I became a little sceptical. I planned of going home early and working from home. And I came back from office by noon and started preparing. I was just going through the materials fast just to see everything at least once before the exam. By 8.00 PM the alarm rang and I took the necessary things for the exam...

Wednesday - The exam day. I had kept the alarm at 6.00 AM. Woke up by 7.20 AM. Nowadays, even I am a little lazy. :-)). So got up and got ready, went through some more material and I told myself that no matter whatever happens, I have done enough. This is a trick to eliminate some tension before such exams and all...

Since it was supposed to be at 10.00 I relaxed and came out of house by 9.15 AM. The friend had to go early. So I had to find the place myself. But since the building was just beside the metro station, I found the place very easily. I was there by 9.45 AM, still 15 minutes to go. I was again proud of myself for timing everything so perfectly. Now just one more hurdle, I told myself...

I went to the exam center and I gave my invite letter to the receptionist or manager as no one else was visible there. She asked me which is the time slot for my exam. I said "10.00 to 11.00". She asked my name again and looked at her list. Even I looked casually into that and there I saw...

Arun Jose T F - 9.00 AM to 10.00 AM....

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Some Crap...

"What is real? How do you define real? If you're talking about your senses, what you feel, taste, smell, or see, then all you're talking about are electrical signals interpreted by your brain." - This is the dialogue that I had used to start my seminar on virtual reality during my college days. Of course, this is not an original; but lifted out of 'The Matrix' movie... I was watching that movie today for some time and dialogue between Neo and Oracle goes like this - ORACLE: I'd ask you to sit down, but you're not going to anyway. And don't worry about the vase. NEO: What vase?
He turns to look around and his elbow knocks a VASE from the table. It BREAKS against the linoleum floor. ORACLE: The vase.
NEO: Shit, I'm sorry. ORACLE: I said don't worry about it. I'll get one of my kids to fix it.
NEO: How did you know...?
ORACLE: What's really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you still have broken it if I hadn't said anything. [Courtesy: imsdb.com]
What would have happen, if oracle had not told neo about that vase? He would not have turned around and he would not have broken it. I guess that is the reason for people believing in palmistry, astrology and all. They will hear about some thing from some one and they take their decisions based on that, which in turn will lead his life into the same route that was told to him. And this will prove that whatever was predicted to him has come true...
Or some times it might happen that down the years you will start to relate things that are happening now to the old prophecy. Either way the belief of the person in things like palmistry and astrology will increase. I also like some one saying things that will happen to me in future. It is very interesting...
Last week my roommate was saying that he has started to find that the Today's Fortune which is shown in orkut is saying the truth. He gave me an example that, one day it said "Good news will come through mail". And guess what, he got his extension of US permit on that day itself via UPS. What a coincidence!!!
Now I was just thinking that what matters in this world is the perspective. If you have the right perspective, then you can see only positive things happening around you...
Confused? I am good at confusing people. That is the way to look at that in a positive manner. I could have told that I am not good at explaining things clearly to people.
Another thing that I had noticed is that we have to put a conscious effort to achieve most of the things in this world. ie, If I have to be bold, then I need to pull up my socks and say to myself that I am brave. And venture into things that you are scared of. For example, when I did sky diving, I was so scared that my face was totally pale. But once I was in the middle of it, I started to enjoy it. So that fear is out of my way. That is what my best friend used to say to me- "Just believe that you will be able to do it and I bet you will do it..."
I am stopping this here before you people start breaking your monitors, I am not very good at philosophy... :-))
I just remembered one more thing that puzzled me when I was a kid. The people in TV used to talk to me. I mean how do they know that I am watching this program when they say thanks for being with us??? You think I was an Idiot then? Well, I would like to think about it as my ability to think like that rather than just enjoying what is shown in the TV. See, I told you I am a positive guy :-)) ok, I am stopping...

Sunday, October 22, 2006

DON - The review!!

Hmmm, let's see if I can write a movie review... And when you write a review it is very easy to criticise. But that is not the reason why I selected this movie as the subject of my first review ever, I mean a written one. This is just a stunt to fill something in this blog of mine as I have not posted anything for a long time. I am not getting any other good subject to write over, what to do? Oops! Now I got one, anyway since I have started on this, I will continue. I hope it is not a crime to post two blogs in a single day, so that I can post one more...
The movie Don starring Shah Rukh Khan and directed by Farhan Akhtar (A personal favourite) released here yesterday. And me and my roommate thought it would be better to watch it on the friday itself so that we don't waste much time on the precious saturday and sunday. So we went straight from the office to the theatre with the laptop bags hanging on our shoulders. There is a funny side to this laptop bag. For mine, it does not have a laptop inside. I am in two minds to write it here or not. What the h**l!! I usually carry the laptop bag to carry my lunch box, my notepad and some other documents that are needed. Yeah, go ahead and have a nice laugh!! :-(
So we caught the Fremont train which goes in other direction than that to our daily destination Daly City. What? No, I was not trying to be rhyming, it is the real name of the place where I stay, 20 minutes away from San Francisco by train. So after spending around 45 minutes in the train, we reached Fremont. We had another plan also to buy some Indian groceries. But by the time we came out of the theatre, the store was closed. I know, I know, I am supposed to write the review. Hold on, Please!!!
So the show for DON is there at every hour since it is a multiplex. so we reached there by 6.40 and decided to go for 7.00 PM show. After standing in the queue when I reached the counter came a shocking news. The ticket for DON is available only for 12.00 AM show. I was not sure what to do, and I came out of the line. If we are going back without watching this then it will be another 6 hours' exercise to come and watch it again. But there was no other way. So we decided to watch Jaan-E-Mann by Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan. Was hoping that atleast there would be some comedy in it. What else to say, two people who came to see the most hyped movie of the year are being forced to watch a movie that I had not even heard about. With a heavy heart I went to the screen #7 which will be screening our movie...
Suddenly a crooked idea struck me. I was in two minds, whether to go ahead and do it? I was afraid of getting caught in the process also, which will be a shame to the company for which I am working. Its motto itself has the phrase "Driven by values". But as I am more selfish at times, I decided to take the chance. The thing about multiplexes is that once you are inside, you can go ahead and watch the movie in any screen. It once happened in bangalore that with the ticket for Rang de Basanti, I went and sit in a theatre screening 'Goal'. I realized this after seeing the movie for 5 minutes only. Till then I was thinking that this was a trailer. I ran out of the theatre to the correct one and luckily the movie had not started...
Oops, I think I am deviating from the topic again. So I went and sit in the screen#3 along with my friend and was praying to god that the seats don't get filled. Like that the first half an hour of the movie went by and I could not enjoy the movie as I was completely tense. Then I realized that the seats will not get filled. But why??? Was it because the people who had done the online reservation could not make it in time? Or was it a trick from the theatre people to get some people to watch other movies also. because they are quite sure that people will come back to watch DON again. You never know what was the reason for the seats not getting filled. So I consoled myself saying that I had paid money to watch the movie, so there is nothing wrong with what I did. Or was it wrong? I don't know!!
Regarding the review, I could not get a good review from any site to copy paste. So please bare with me. I will be more prepared next time when I am writing a movie review :-). But one thing has to be said, Farhan Akthar did really well to make some one like Shah Rukh Khan look so stunning and Stylish. Hats off to you, Farhan!!!

Monday, September 11, 2006

Las Vegas!!!

First long weekend in US and no prizes for guessing where I spent it. And literally it is the place if you want to 'spent' something, one's time or money! Here one can get anything in this world that can be bought by money, even if they don't have mastercard. They just need money...
It was a very gruesome trip, had to travel for around 12 hours in car, that too without much sleep. You know what, it is not a problem for me, even if I don't get sleep for 3-4 days. Don't believe it??? May be I am not as much good with telling lies as I am with sleeping. And had to endure the same 'torture' on our way back also. Since it was a long weekend, it was like all roads were leading to LV. And we even had traffic jams...
The most important gain of this journey was to get a hand on "how to ride car in US". If not practical, at least I learned some theory lessons. The concept of freeways, exits, ramps and the importance of Google Maps and a Navigator. If you don't know, Navigator is a guy who sits beside the driver to help him to be on track and at times to be awake...
We reached there at around 3 AM and immediately came the first uppercut on the chin. This doesn't mean that there are more uppercuts to follow. The hotel, in which we had our booking, declined of having made any such reservations. Luckily, my friend had the support phone number of the site through which we made the reservations. And after 30 minutes, the receptionist allowed us to check in. And it was wonderful to get a bed, at that point of time...
And I happily obliged to my body and slept till 11 AM. By that time I lost sleep thinking that have I come all the way to LV to spent time sleeping? Nay, I said. And I told the same to my friend who was sleeping next to me. And he also woke up, albeit a little disappointed that he is losing something very important. We got dressed up and was ready to 'experience' LV...
And the moment I step outside, I felt like I am in Chennai. I haven't experienced this much heat anywhere else. There it was, Arizona desert in full steam. We had to walk to get to the hotel were our other friends were staying. And it was like hell. And to add to that, it was like walking through some desert and not like walking in the middle of a city. There were only 10-20 people who were out there walking. Then I slowly realized that in LV nobody wakes up and comes out of their hotels unless it is 2-3 PM. I was unhappy with myself for getting up this 'early'... And I walked all the way to the hotel named 'Stratosphere' and I was getting inside a casino for first time in my life...

Saturday, August 19, 2006

First Experience!!

Ehmm... How will it be??? Will it be exciting? Will it be unforgettable?? Any thing first in life is supposed to be unforgettable. And I was also excited. May be a little bit nervous, but still I was happy for myself. There was that Adrenalin rush as the moment came closer and closer...
I arrived there with Vivek and Visakh. And it was comforting. But I knew that they will not be there when that moment comes. I will be left alone to face the truth, bitter or sweet. And the moments spent with them let me relax a bit. It was not the time to think about what is going to happen, I kept on telling myself...
It was around 8.30 PM and it was really dark. Also it was time that I had to be alone, albeit for some time atleast. So I thought, now that the time has come, I will just take those little steps towards it. So I bid adieu to both of them and walked to what seemed like a tunnel of light. Alas, it was only a door. Yes, the door towards the first Airport lounge that I have ever seen in my life. The security checked the tickets and let me get in. Hmmm, It looks like a small shopping mall only...
I went straight to Jet Airways counter and there they asked me to go and get my check in baggage scanned. Then I remembered that Arun had told me to get the baggage scanned first before checking it in. so I went to get it scanned and check it in. And I was waiting in the lobby for my time to board the first flight of my life (To be continued)...

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Ouch, it hurts!!

This is one of the phrases that I have been using a lot lately. Not because I am a moron and people around me doesn't like me. In fact I am someone who does not cause much harm to others unless I feel that they are trying to harm me. Enough of this self boasting, I suppose...

Coming back to the main issue, it was paining in almost all of my Joints and Muscles so much that I started to realise that there are more joints and muscles in my body than what I had thought before! The reason for this was a glorious football match. The story goes like this...

On Friday evening, when I reached home after work, there was no current and it was around 7.00 PM. And it was very dark inside. Out of my laziness to light a candle and sit inside the house, i chose to sit outside and enjoy Radio City FM and some moon light. It was wonderful with some cold wind also blowing across. Then suddenly I came across some announcements about a football match in the Radio...

The match was organised by Radio City FM, Bangalore on the same day as that of World Cup final. It was as part of their Fifth anniversary celebrations. And they were looking for people who were willing to be part of that.I found it an exciting prospect, to meet some RJ's, have some fun playing football and there will be some goodies that will be given away as part of this...

All this prompted me into sending a message telling them that I am ready to be a part of this. But I did not get any call from them during that day. I forgot about it. Next day I went for a movie with a friend of mine and I got a call from Radio City, and I was all pumped up. I couldnt wait till it was sunday morning so that I could go there...

But everything did not go as I had planned. I went there along with two friends of mine and in all the excitement I didnt even had my breakfast. It was supposed to start at 11.00 AM, but finally it got underway after 12.00 PM. And I started to run around with all my energy that is stored as Fat in different parts of my body, mainly abdomen area lately. But soon I realised the amount of stamina I have as I started to pant like a dog...

It was not very embarrasing as most of the people who were there were like me only, some even worse. Suddenly I realised that the girl in the opposing team is causing our defense a lot of problem. I decided to control my offensive instincts and will dedicate myself to the defensive duties...

And I decided to mark her closely. No.... I never had any other intentions other than the fact that I will not have to run too much if I am staying only in the defense. the game went on and then came a high ball from the opposing camp. I saw that the girl in question is going for the ball, and me too went for it. It bounced in front of us and I tried to head it...

Dishum..... A leg with football boots came and hit my face. I was totally frozen for a second. Then I realized that it was her boots and that my lip is bleeding. It hurt!! I would have been fine, had she told me a sorry atleast. But then that didnt happen. And my body was aching like anything, when I was coming back. But my ego was more hurt!!!

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Disconnected!!!

That's is exactly how I am feeling now after my company decided to block access to Orkut, the networking portal...

It was like I am addicted to Orkut. It helped me keep in touch with a lot of friends whom, I thought, I will never meet again or will never have contact with. But then came this wonderful portal which helped me connect with a lot of my long lost friends and acquaitances...

And this was not the case with only me. Almost all of my friends also had the same effect. Even though, there are still some who doesn't want to fall into this so called 'Trap'...

Coming back to me, now it is almost like all my contacts have been severed. I know there are mails and messengers and telephones for me to keep in touch with all those friends. But there is something about this site, which makes me very comfortable while using it, dont ask me what???

Now I feel like there is no use with all the internet connectivity that I have in the office.I am feeling this strong urge to go to a net cafe, just to do some 'Orkuting', as some like to call this...

I am waiting for my friend to get this Laptop that he has ordered for, so that we can get net connection at our home itself. And which will in turn help me get back to full time 'Scraping'...

Now the final question is, "Is this an illness, doctor???"

Monday, June 19, 2006

I am a Fan...

Finally, the soccer world cup is underway. I was planning to write something about this even before it started. But some unforseen circumstances delayed it till now...

As I had wished for, my favourite team Argentina is doing well till now. They played like a dream in there last match against Serbia and Montenegro. The commentators were searching for superlatives to describe that performance...

They made Serbia and Montenegro look like a second grade team. Let me make it clear that during the qualifiers S&M topped the group that consisted of Spain and Belgium, that too without even one defeat. Spain had to play playoffs to reach the world cup. So S&M is not a weak team. But nobody could have stopped Argentina when they are playing at such sublime level. I just hope they have not peaked a little early...

I was wondering what is it that makes me a fan of Argentina. I suddenly realized one proverb "First impression is the best impression". Then I understood why I love Argentina, Maradona, Mohanlal, Steffi Graf etc...


When I started to follow football, Argentina were the reigning world champions and Maradona was the best footballer of that time. So in Italia 1990 they were the favourites to win the cup. But they were beaten by Germany in the final. Still the newspapers and T V had made an impression in my mind...


Like wise Steffi Graf was the queen of tennis when I started following tennis, so she became my favourite.


Coming back to world cup, this is the first world cup in which I am seeing so many matches, and I am really enjoying this. I hope Argentina makes this world cup unforgettable for me...

Monday, May 08, 2006

Sunday Sermon...

Yesterday was sunday and I went to church as usual. But decided to go for 9.00 AM mass as I had the liberty of using bike to reach the church. There during the sermon the priest narrated a very touching story, which I thought I should write here...

It is about 'Naranathu Branthan', one of the biggest stars of Kerala's Folklore. He is considered as an insane person by most of the people, but he is saner than all of them. He has his own views about the things that goes around and his own ways of doing things. He was considered to have a lot of magical powers.The story goes like this...

There was a guy who was very devoted to Naranathu Branthan. He wanted to be a disciple of him and wanted to follow his foot steps. He asked Naranathu to bless him by taking him as his disciple. Naranathu agreed. The guy started practising all the things that Naranathu was doing. A few days went like that...

One day they went for a very long walk. And since it was summer, they felt very thirsty. They saw a house and decided to ask for some water. The lady of the house gave them 'Sambharam', diluted butter milk. Naranathu took the glass and drank from it. Seeing this the disciple also did so...

After some distance they were thirsty again and they saw a person bringing Toddy, a traditional beverage that is taken from coconut trees. Naranathu drank some of the toddy and our hero also followed the suit. He was very happy and satisfied with his life together with his master...

They continued their journey and need I say that they again felt thirsty. So they went to a nearby building. When they reached there, they found that it was a ironsmith's work place. There they asked for water. The ironsmith was not in his elements. He asked them to drink the Molten iron. Hearing this Naranathu took some molten iron and drank it. Seeing this the disciple ran away...

He was there to enjoy the satisfaction of having butter milk and the fun of having the toddy. But he was not ready to have the heat of molten iron. The message from this was that we should not only enjoy the best things but should be ready to take in the worst of things also. It was a great message to have on a sunday morning...

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Chelsea... Chelsea...

So finally the wait is over. Chelsea held on to the English Premier League(EPL) title that they won last year after some hiccups towards the end of the season. And that too in the most heartening way. What is better than defeating Manchester United 3-0 at stampford bridge, Chelsea's home ground. That settles for some time the debate as to which is the best club in EPL now...

People who are envious will say that this was a championship which was "bought" with the Oil Currency of Roman Abrahamovic. Hold it!! Chelsea is still not the richest club in the world and it will not be for some more time. But it has done something which even Real Madrid is not able to do...

Real Madrid is also known as the Galacticos, means stars, I guess. That's very true. Just take a look at that line up and you know that they are aptly named. What with Zidane, Ronaldo, Beckham, Carlos, Robinho and not to forget Raul, the darling of Real fans. But still they are not able to win any cup for that matter. Why?

The differnce between Chelsea and Real Madrid is that, for Chelsea the buying of players is done by Jose Mourinho, their coach. But for Real Madrid, it is there club presidents who buys the players. Its a matter of winning another term as president of the richest club for them. So they buy all the big stars to add to their biodata. Also they are looking at stars who can increase their business...

But for Chelsea, Mourinho knows his game plan, he knows what type of players he needs. So he chooses players based on his requirements. Unfortunately for Real Madrid there is no one to do such a thing. The Coach for Real Madrid keeps changing after every three defeats. A bit of exaggeration, I confess, but the scenario is pretty much like that. So the new coaches will have to formulate strategies based on the stars in his hand rather that what strategy he likes to use against different teams. The aging of stars also does not help...

I hope, Real Madrid understands this as soon as possible and re-establish those glorious old days of 'The Galacticos".Mean while let me rejoice the fact that My favourite team Chelsea is on the top of EPL once again...

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Am I confused?

Today, 29 April, Elections to the state assembly is going on in my legistlative constituency. But I am here at Bangalore. I had a chance to go home and partake in this very important event. But my laziness prevented me from doing so...

I am still not able to make a decision as to whom I would have given my vote to. On one side is a person who has represented our constituency for last 15 years. On the other side a former corporation mayor. Its not the personalities of these people which is creating all the confusion, but some other issues...

On one hand is the issue of drinking water. Still the people from my place has to walk atleast half a kilometer to get the drinking water. This problem was not this grave untill last couple of months. Its not the distance to walk that matters, but the distance to walk carrying the vessels. Even this is not available all days of the week. Mind you I am living in the corporation limits of the biggest city in the state of kerala and not in any remote village...

While some people dont even get water like this. They will have to wait until a tanker truck comes with drinking water. There they will have to stand in queues. At times it is a mess out there with every one trying to get as much water as possible before the tanker gets empty. Believe me there are instances when even Police had to be involved to get some Drinking water, a primary necessity...

So the question arises, should I give my sitting MLA another chance to give us some drinking water? I am sure he could have done something to solve this problem to an extent...

On the other hand, the other guy is from a Party which has sort of vowed not to allow any sort of industrial development in the state. Myself being a part of services industry would certainly like to work out of my home town or atleast home state. When all the other states in this part of the country are making rapid strides in this arena, we are lagging behind a good 10 Years...

This anti development ideology is vindicated saying that they are trying to uplift the down trodden sections of the society. Hell with it. I am not saying that they should not be uplifted. But in this Fifty years of governance none of the parties, including this party could not do much, given the kind of resources available for this Gods own country. I know that a guy who is not even voting does not have the right to criticize those governments. But I regret the fact that I am not voting...

So the verdict is that, yes I am a little confused. I dont know whether my perspective should be a micro one where I should look to see if my parents and neighbours are getting proper ameneties or should it be a macro one where I should consider the broader picture, including the chances of advancement of my state. I dont know yet!!!

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Happy Easter!!!

I don't know much about what is the real problem in Narmada Sarovar Dam. I may be writing this after listening to only one side of the story...

But one thing that has caught my eye over last few days is the defiance shown by a lady against the all powerful government of India...

Her name is Medha Patkar. I know her as the leading environmentalist of our country. She was always in the front row against any one who tried to harm the balance of nature. And I admire her courage and dedication for this cause. Her spirit never wavered in front of opposition from highest echelons of power. Enough to get a high rating in the eyes of a normal person like me who is looking for heroes to change the fortunes of our country...

She is fighting for her life in a hospital as she is on a hunger strike. And it is already more than ten days now. She was arrested and taken to a hospital. Even then she has not stopped her strike. I happened to hear her voice through one of the news channels and even though it was very weak, the words that came out of it were not weak. Here is some one who is as strong willed as any other in this world, I thought...

And this attitude is causing waves in the corridors of power and there seems to be some action being taken by the government to take care of the issues put forward by her. This shows that even at this point the Gandhian way of protests has it's own merits. It is still capable of making the deaf ears of power hear one or two things...

I wish there are more people like her in this world so that everyone around says "Life is Beautiful!!!"

Friday, April 07, 2006

An Athlete...

Let me write some thing about a person from sports world. I am a little passionate when it comes to sports....

Brett Lee!! Some one in the world of sports whom I adore.He is what I would like to call an Athlete. The energy and effervesence in him is undoubteldly much much more than what most of the superstars of todays cricket can only dream of...

There is a certain grace about this man with a boyish charm. That we can easily see from his run up to the crease. It's not like the wild force of Shoaib Akhtar, but it is rythmic. May be himself being a musician helps him attain that Rythm in every thing that he does. But once he completes the leap to the crease and releases the red cherry the heart of the batsmen leaps. Listening to the sound of ball speeding past there nose will not be music to the ears of most of world batsmen. And this is one good reason why he has become the strike bowler for Australia in the absence of Mcgrath...

Another fact is the swiftness with which he moves in the field. He is one of the best fielders to have in the out field. The ground he is capable of covering is unbelievable. Add to this the powerful arm and you cannot ask anything more from a fielder to marshal the boundaries...

One thing in which he has improved over last few months has been his batting. His average may still be similar to that of a tail batsman, it is continuosly improving. More than the averages it's his contribution in some recent exciting wins for Australia that shows the level to which he is rising.Add to this his on your face attitude while taking the body blows, here is yet another champion from Australia...

FirstRayOfSun...

This blog is for general writings! This can touch all the subjects under the Sun...
Oh! I will start this blog by writing about name of this blog itself "FirstRayOfSun". I selected this as the title because my name Arun has this meaning. According to Hindu Mythology 'Arunan' was the charioteer of 'Surya' the Sun. And in that sense Arun is the first ray of Sun...


In my mother tongue Malayalam 'Arunavarnam' means Red, the colour of horizon when the sun rises. You all may think that its the same colour when the sun sets also, but I have not mentioned that here. This is because I prefer mornings more than evenings.


Adding more to the mythology side (I love Hindu Mythology) the story of Arunan goes like this: There was a Rishi who didnt had any children even though he had two wives ( Don't ask me why ;-) So finally he gets two eggs and gives one each to both of them and asks them to hatch them so that they have children. After some time one egg hatches and there comes out 'Garuda'. Seeing this the other wife got restless and she decides to use some force. Unfortunately she breaks the egg and the baby coming out was not complete in the sense that it had malformed legs. And he is our hero 'Arunan'.Garuda goes on to become Vishnu's vehicle and Arunan, charioteer of Surya.

Arunan had this great longing to go to Kailash and see Siva. But since he didnt had proper legs he changed himself into a beautiful girl and Starts off. But on her way, Indra sees her and gets attracted to her. This results in the creation of 'Baali' the ape king.

Arunan comes back to Surya and tells him all that had happened. Surya was curious to see what prompted Indra to go out of way. So he asks Arunan to change himself into that beautiful girl. He changes himself and do I need to tell you more. After all Surya is also a Male...:-))

Another ape was created and his name was 'Sugreeva'. The story of Sugreeva and Baali will be a little bit long. so let me stop this story here. Will be back with more later....