Where are you, oh sleep!

So at these wee hours of the night, the sleep's totally deserted the deep recesses of my eyes, and the mind tosses between the thoughts of gulping down a valium or two and the impending Logistics Management lecture at equally wee hours of the morning. Random thoughts get entertained by the mind, and like unwelcome guests, refuse to leave the coziness of the cerebral. Realistically speaking, the thoughts are not all random. Some are those that have permanently decided to reside there, like tenants gone bad, and nothing can be done about 'em.

Absolutely nothing.

But to kill this bout of temporary insomnia, I try to think something good, something that would not strike the mind like an earthquake measuring 8.4 on the Richter Scale, and my friend's reception immediately strikes my mind. It was yesterday.

And the best part of the reception was that, I was the only one from Mumbai to be there, the rest had already remained present for the Bangalore leg of the same. So, needless to say, I spent quite sometime alone. Looking around at people, observing mannerisms, and amidst all this, couldn't help but appreciating the fact how pretty my friend looked in the wedding dress. It was really good to see the two of them together. And it was even sweeter to see that my friend actually made her brother sit with me for almost the entire duration of my visit. So that I do not get bored. :-) Appreciated. Greatly.

And as I walked upto the stage, to meet the couple, the first thing she says is, "You put on so much weight."

Yeah, that is true. Couldn't be more true. Probably start gymming once I am done with placements. Probably next year. Probably once I resemble Adnan Sami and my girl friend also decides to disown me like his did. Probably.

But that, and my perennial cold problem, did not deter me from having a large slice of ice cream. Not one of my favourites, which usually is the special Malai Vanilla from Naturals', but then butterscotch ain't too bad either.

Anyways, coming back to the wedding, it was really a nice, simple affair, and something that I thoroughly enjoyed and cherished, amidst the so-called placement fever. The exit from there was rather abrupt when a phone call from folks told me that they had been locked outside without any keys to enter. Rushed back to get home.

Tomorrow is a short day, a lecture and couple of pieces of cloth to be 'shopped' for the interview day after. Apaprt from that, a potentially exciting match in the offing, for which I should be glued in front. Some preparation for the another potentiall explosive day...day after, where the grey cells could just be tested beyond the realms of cricket.

But I guess, the high from watching an India-Pakistan match may just help me. Or at least I hope it does.

For now, the bed beckons.

Mumbai.

The lady graced this city by her presence, and made me think.

For a change that is.

Now, while I am not 'politically-inclined', I do have an upper storey that ticks, and chugs along, and thinks about issues that are in no way connected to me. Or at least directly. And yes, when one speaks about Mumbai, getting graced by a lady, and politics in the same breath, it is all too evident that I am alluding to Mayawati's trip to the land of dreams.

The land that is going to the dogs. The land which is bursting at it's seam. The land which was once a heaven to live in (yes, it was, not so long ago), but now, with the invasion of some 'aliens', it has ceased to be one.

And natives of this city would know what I mean. Probably people who haven't seen this city earlier would shrug off the claims of making it a Shanghai, which I quite laugh at as well. This city has no longer remained what it was, and the reasons are quite aplenty, none more than political.

Vote banks have led these guys - read politicians - to 'invest' heavily in them, and in absence of any 'regulatory' body, the innocent have suffered. And it was all too evident in Mayawati's rally, or the idea behind it. You can, for that matter, substitute her with anyone else, it does not matter. There are people by the hordes that join such rallies, most of them, if not all, frm the not-so-affluent class. Get swayed by the talks, by the promises, by the assurances and by the rest of the inspirational talk. And to add to this, i.e. to the vote bank, there are more such people who get encouraged to join the brigade, from the different parts of the country. And they make it their home.

Now while it is alrite for people to enjoy their slice of pie from this city - after all there are no visa norms to shift cities - the demand is far outstripping the supply, and at a rapid pace. Uninteruppted Power, Clean, potable water and last but not the least, something that resembles a faint definition of pure air is all dwindling. And no, I wont talk about roads or the traffic, because it has been spoken about far too often. But yes, with passing years, I can barely think of something good about the city, something that I cherish and can boast of. To my friends from the different parts of the country. And that is sad. The times that I try not to be indifferent to this, my heart bleeds.

In the end, an anecdote that keeps repeating so often, that it's often become a joke. When asked what Mumbai has to offer it's tourists, a sightseeing location, most of us answer, 'have you tried the local trains during the peak hours?'. Probably people are just being funny. Or sarcastic. But one rendezvous with the trains could be enough to last the life time, it is definitely not for the faint hearted.

I feel for the city. I really do. And the only thing I could probably do is take it (the shit) or leave it (the city). Something tells me that the second option could very soon become reality.

Well.

he hears silence speak to him. he hears it out patiently. it is dark.

inside and out.

he sits on his couch.

wondering. what could have been.

what the future holds. and what it does not.

but there is a calm. no storm. no worries. no nothing.

it would soon be time to go.

he knows it. very well.

he waits.

Of cakes...professors...and lectures that were not!

This one takes the cake. And the pedhas. And ladoos as well.

As most of you would know, I am in my fifth trimester of MBA. Well, if you didn't, you did now. Plus, it also means you haven't been following my life too well. That is so not caring. Bloody Bull.

Anyways.

So, here I was, 5th trimester. Where people almost stop worrying about studies, lesser about exams, and mostly about the pay packages and profiles. Of the jobs. And the placements.

But I think I have broken all barriers today. I forgot that we had a subject taught by a particular professor in this trimester. Err no, I did not forget the name of the professor. Or of the subject. I forgot that we actually had this subject.

So here is how it peters out.

It is 12 in the night. I log out of my lap top last night. Tired and exhausted of four successive days, of being at home and relaxing. So had to sleep. Lights off. Cozily snuggle up my bed.

Ten minutes into my thoughts for the day, something strikes. I get reminded of a professor. Let's name him X. So, I remember Mr. X. For no apparent reason. Or rhyme. Didnt I hear someone say that he would teach us again this trimester. But then, I had not experienced him so far.

Huh?

I am awake now. Fully. Lights on. Laptop opened. Turned on. Not me, the laptop buddy.

Log in to my gmail. Search for the time table.

There it is. Shocker. I have missed 5-6 of his lectures so far. Out of 10 that is.

Because I didnt know we had such a subject this trimester. I groaned.

Damn.

My future is bleak.

Updates...and more!

As one would have noticed, the gaps, in terms of days between two articles are not as little as they were earlier. And that s for a reason. Not because I got that ever-so-famous writers' block. In fact writing is one of the reasons for the prolonged absence.

First of all, my first article's got published in a cricket magazine, Cricket Today, and it really feels good. Then again, there are miles to go before I sleep. Or rather, many deliveries to be bowled before the umpire calls it over.

The second piece of good news is obviously from M&M, but there is a story developing there as well, which I would post soon. Need to get certain things out of my way first. There are a couple of other things brewing as well, but given the paucity of clarity, I would get to them soon. Here itself (that's like they say, watch this space for more, it already seems like I am getting into marketing rather subconsciously!)

And now I also need to make a special mention of a dear friend, who's sms goes like this:

"Hey Sexy! Hope u had a BLAST in Diwali. Was bz with family and so couldnt wish u, but haven't forgotten u:-) Best wishes to u and ur family :-) Heard the good news, congrats :-) As for people who see the glass 10% empty, dont fret too much about them. Send them to me ;-)"

If you missed it, that is exactly, four emoticons in one sms. Yeah, this ain't a chat, but an sms that was sent to me. FOUR emoticons in one, and surprisingly only one exclaimation. And people who know him, would have guessed by now, who is he.

Deven, who else.

Unfortunately, I cannot share some of the e-mails that he's sent me, but I can assure you, that the count would then have been about the number of words in a sentence of exclaimations, and smilies and the rest. So you may end up saying that there were four words in that sentence full of smilies and winkies.

Sorry Deven, couldn't let that one go ;-)

Well, the placement season begins in....well don't know how much time from now. Actually noone knows. So I could be pardoned for that. But hell, I should be free to watch India play the Aussies and the Lankans in the tri nation tournament in Oz.

That is it from my side, should be back with more, till then keep reading my columns on
www.isport.in

Why does one do this?

This one has been playing on mind for a long time, and guess this is best place I could get it out. The trigger was obviously the behaviour of one particular personn, and that person's reaction to a situation which would have made anyone happy. Or should I rephrase that as "should have". The incident was a big one, and in all probabilities, a long cherished one, by the person in question.

The initial reaction was that of happiness and joy associated with it, with a tinge of pride, which is pretty normal. After that, the person also thought about the so called negative repercussions to the same. If at all one could term them as that.

And the same came out. The not-so-positive event associated with the incident came to the fore for that person. The person was sad. Not a lot, but enough for me to think about this behaviour. If not the back seat, happiness was no longer in the driver's seat.

And very frankly, I wondered why. Why did the person, and in general, why does the person behave in such a thankless characteristic. I use the word, 'does' here, because, I have observed the person for a reasonable period of time, and I can safely say that, the person belongs to the breed of people who look for negatives even the best of news. And that is what shocks me, surprises me, and makes me question the person.

There are tons of people there, out in the world, who lack the basic - by basic one means, the 'necessities of life' - amenities, who struggle to make their ends meet, and here we have someone, who, come what may, would always end up being the morose self, that the the person is always known for. I really wonder why. Why can't there be some more self contentment, a feeling of being relaxed with the good things, and a capability of seeing the glass, 90% full, rather than 10% empty?

I really wonder why. Feel sad about it.

In the end, I really feel sad.

Diwali Feast?

Tomorrow is Diwali. For me it is today.

Three matches, and a potentially explosive news.

The first one is on it's way, woke up at 5 to watch Aussies take on the Lankans. As I type this, my dull, deary eyes only get more red. One country I want to visit, and soon. Australia.

The other two matchs are between India and Pakistan (obviously!), and SA and NZ. Both at approximately the same time. Diwali at it's best.

But the biggest of them all is the appointment of the Test Captain of the Indian Team. This ones going to take reams of pages of followup. No two ways about it, especially now that Tendulkar has sprung a surprise on everyone.

I rub my hands in glee, and lick my lips in anticipation.

This is what they call Diwali Feast! ;-)

Another Review at Shvoong!

Second of my reviews at Shvoong.com

http://www.shvoong.com/internet-and-technologies/news/1700985-http-content-ind-cricinfo-com/

By the way, I like that name, Shvoong! ;-)

Review on Shvoong.com

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Black Jack, the Game