Main Hawa Hoon Kahaan Watan Mera - Ghazal

Well to say that I have come a long way would be mildly understating the fact that a couple of years ago the only songs you would find playing on my laptop would have been classified under the heading "Metal". But nowadays a different genre of songs can be found on my laptop too. As my previous post would have pointed out, this genre is "Ghazal".
So in keeping with my new found admiration for ghazals, I stumbled across this gem of a song by Ahmed and Mohammed Hussain, called Main Hawa Hoon Kahan Watan Mera (which basically means "I am the wind, where is my country?"). Well to say that I stumbled across it would be wildly inaccurate as the credit should go to Ranjeet Rajwada and his rendition of the same song on an episode of SaReGaMaPa Singing Superstars.

Even after searching for the lyrics on the internet I could not find any... which is a sort of injustice to this beautiful song. So here are the lyrics, as I understood it. (Do feel free to correct them if I am wrong)

Main Hawa Hoon Kahan Watan Mera

ab kahaan hoon.. kahaan nahi hoon main
ab kahaan hoon.. kahaan nahi hoon main
jis jagah hoon wahaan nahi hoon main

kaun awaz de raha hai mujhe
koi keh de yahaan nahi hoon main

main hawa hoon kahaan watan mera
dasht mera na ye chaman mera

mai ke har chand ek khaana nashin
anjuman anjuman suhan mera
dasht mera na ye chaman mera
main hawa hoon kahaan watan mera

barg-e-gul par charag sa kya hai
choo gaya tha use dahan mera
dasht mera na ye chaman mera
main hawa hoon kahaan watan mera

mai ke toota hua sitara hoon
kya bigaregi anjuman mera
dasht mera na ye chaman mera
main hawa hoon kahaan watan mera

har ghadi ek naya takaza hai
dard sar ban gaya badan mera
dasht mera na ye chaman mera
main hawa hoon kahaan watan mera
main hawa hoon kahaan watan mera


The original song can be heard here.

Awaargi - Ghulam Ali

First of all, I'd like to start off by saying that may Octopus Paul rest in peace. Rumor has it that he tried to predict Rajanikant's death when everyone knows that Rajanikant died 10 years ago but Yamraaj still does not have the courage to tell him. Anyway, may he rest in peace, not that I (or the Germans) liked him much.

Anyway,coming to the title of my post today, Awargi, it is a song by Ghulam Ali.. well one of his very best in my opinion. Somehow, this song struck me when I first heard it and I could not get it out of my mind at all. And like good wine, it just keeps getting better every time you hear it. So I thought I'd dedicate this post to this amazing ghazal by Mohsin Naqvi and sung by Ghulam Ali about Awaargi (wandering from place to place).

Lyrics :

ye dil ye paagal dil mera, kyun bujh gayaa awaargi
is dasht mein ek sheher tha, woh kya hua awaargi

(awaargi : wandering; dasht : wilderness)

kal shab mujhe beshakl ki awaaz ne chaunka diya
main ne kaha tu kaun hai, usne kaha awaargi

(beshakl : with no face)

ek ajnabi jhaunke ne jab poocha mere gam ka sabab
sehera ki bheegi ret per, maine likha awaargi

(sehera : desert , jhaunke : gust of wind)

ab main samjha tere ruksar pe til ka matlab
daulat-e-husn pe darbar bitha rakha hai

(ruksar : face)

ye dard ki tanhaiyaan, ye dasht kaa viraan safar
hum log to ukta gaye apni suna, aavargii

(tanhai : loneliness; viraan : empty)


logon bhala us sheher mein kaise jiyenge hum jahaan
ho jurm tanhaa sochnaa, lekin sazaa awaargi

(tanhaa : alone; sazaa : punishment)

kal raat tanha chaand ko dekha tha maine khwaab mein
“Mohsin” mujhe raas aayegii shaayad sada awaargi

(raas aayegi : will like; sada : always)



I hope I did justice to the lyrics. A few words I had to google to find out while different versions of the song have different "shairs", so a certain discrepancy is to be expected. Still, I would like you to tell me if I went wrong anywhere since I'm poor at Urdu. Here's to a gem of a song.. and yes I've come a long way from listening only to metal :P

Ayodhya Verdict

So today is the day that the High Court Allahabad gives its verdict on the Ayodhya case. The whole country is kept on alert fearful of riots and all news channels are full of the same news.
What I want to ask is... whats the big deal ? The way I see it, whatever be the verdict, the case will be taken to the Supreme Court where it will drag on for another 10 years.. or more. So its really a bit redundant at this point.

As to the actual verdict, it can be read here http://www.allahabadhighcourt.in/ayodhyabench.html

And now, since I am the smart ass that I am, I shall tell you what should have been the best verdict. Something that would have been useful for all humanity and India in general. Something that should have been thought of a long time ago.
Give the land to the municipality and build a big sewage treatment plant there. There cant be less of those anyway... the more the better, plus the hot steaming pile of bullcrap that is the Waqf board and the hindu radicals can also have a place they can call "home".

Hmm now that I think of it, I should be given the ultimate decision making power in this country.

Signing off with the immortal words of Dr. Harivansh Rai Bachchan

Musalman aur hindu hai do, ek magar unka pyala.
Ek magar unka madiralaya, ek magar unki haala.
Dono rehte ek na jab tak mandir mandir masjid me jate.
Bair badhate mandir masjid, mel karati madhushala...

Dabangg ...and other random stuff

Ok before I begin, though it pains me to say it, I'd like to say it seems Everton can't.

Since I have nothing better to do (I could be studying for my exam but, meh..) ,I thought I'd get in a random ramble on my blog.
So I just watched Dabangg, and let me tell you.. Salman Khan is THE MAN. There is awesomeness in everything that he does. Be it delivering dialogues, beating up the bad guys or doing a ridiculous dance... there is no one who can pull it off better than him and still come out on top :D . Full on entertainment, with bad jokes and bad acting, both so bad that its funny. Awesome though it was, Dabangg in my opinion isn't a scratch on the pure awesomeness that was WANTED (again the salman khan one, not the angelina jolie one). Now, taking nothing away from the intellectual shite that other people make, these are two movies that you would pay to watch, and I feel thats how it should be. Go out, have fun, laugh your butts off.

Anyway, deviating a bit from movies, most of you know that I have a weird set of things, a ritual if I may, that must take place before any exam... otherwise I don't do well in it. I've gotten a lot of shit about it... but hey, its always worked and you never mess with what ain't broken ! Plus when you don't really prepare well, and are staring into the deep dark tunnel of no hope, superstition is THE way to go. :D
Seriously.
Which brings me to something else.
"Ok.. just message me when I have to call next" ...is a seemingly innocuous statement. Maybe a helpful friend, you may assume. But then when someone who never EVER calls says this, then you can't help but wonder... is this person calling me as if its being forced onto him/her ? Because if thats the case, then there is something wrong somewhere. Shouldn't a friend just call you as a friend.. no strings attached ? Maybe the person did not mean it that way. Maybe that person called just because I said so. I don't know. What I do know is that there is one person who I am NOT messaging before my next exam.
What a difference just a line makes, doesn't it ? Well, often its a line that makes or comes to define a book or a movie.. isn't it ? Be that as it may...
Until the next post.

I'll be back. :)

PS A shout out to my chaddy-buddy for calling :D

Everton FC : Will they or Won't they ?

Maybe the most appropriate question is "Can they ?". Arguably for the first time since David Moyes took charge of the blue side of Liverpool, Everton have, at least on paper, a squad that seems to be the strongest in recent memory. While all the hype this season has been around the rise of Tottenham and Manchester City, and rightly so, Everton have gone about their business in a quiet manner. The acquisitions of forwards Jermaine Beckford, Joao Silva and Magaye Gueye for almost no money may raise questions about the ability to challenge the hegemony at the top of the table, but let us not forget that in David Moyes they have a man who unearthed the likes of Joleon Lescott, Phil Jagielka, Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Marouane Fellaini. Not to mention the grooming of talents like Wayne Rooney, Jack Rodwell and Leighton Baines to name a few.
While Manchester City have splashed the cash and Tottenham have made noises about big name acquisitions, Everton has quietly secured the services of Jagielka, Rodwell and Arteta on five year deals. In Yakubu and Saha, they have a potent strike force and no one can doubt the aerial and goalscoring threat that Cahill presents. The three new signings along with Victor Anichebe and James Vaughan add much needed depth in the final third. In midfield, Moyes is spoilt for choices as Mikel Arteta, Steven Pienaar, Dimitar Bilyaletdinov, Rodwell, Fellaini and Leon Osman all fight for a starting berth. At the back Moyes has the assurance of Joseph Yobo, Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin, Leighton Baines, Tony Hibbert, Phil Neville, world cup finalist Johnny Heitinga, and the highly rated youngster Seamus Coleman. The signing of Slovak keeper Jan Mucha gives a much needed back up for the ever present Tim Howard. This is arguably the best squad David Moyes has had at his disposal, and lets not forget that Everton were the only team to "break the top four" before Tottenham did it last year. With a better team, maybe it is not much to dream of a challenge for a top four finish, with qualification for Europe a minimum expectation.
Last season was blighted by injuries to a big part of the squad which resulted in players being played out of position and sometimes even being not match fit. Once the injured players started returning, Everton made an amazing surge up the table (which included victories over Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford and a dominating draw against Arsenal at home) to finish just one place adrift of their local rivals, Liverpool. If Everton can maintain the run of form, and keep a fully fit squad for the major part of the season, they might just be the surprise package of the season. Lets not forget that Manchester City may need time to gel and Liverpool are in a process of rebuilding. Martin O'Neill leaving Aston Villa and the departure of James Milner leaves them in a tight spot. Tottenham may have over achieved last season and they arguably do not have the squad to compete both domestically and in Europe simultaneously as the season progresses. Taking all this into account, this just might be the year that David Moyes and his men in blue finally come good. But they cannot afford to drop points like they did at Blackburn in the opening game of the season. The Toffees have the squad to bounce back from the defeat and mount a serious campaign... and if the squad list and the pre season results are anything to go by, they might just be the value for money bet that you are looking for this season.

How To Know When...

How to know when you are a guy studying in an IIT...

When, at any given point of time, you open your chat list to always find around 50 people online but only 3 or 4 of them are girls.

Guti Haz. - A Tribute

Roughly about a month ago, I was in Madrid and as any football fan would, I found myself roaming around the Mecca of football, Santiago Bernabeu. Love them or hate them, you cannot deny that Real Madrid F.C. is the place where every footballer worth his salt dreams to be. They are what Led Zeppelin was to rock n roll, what the Lakers are to the NBA, what arguably Austin was to WWE... they are in short, THE Franchise. So there I was, in the Bernabeu, and I happened to walk into the player's section of the museum where all the kits and details of the players are archived. Everyone was taking pictures of the kits of their favorite players and I immediately looked around for mine fearing that there may be a lot of people there. After all this player, along with a cetain Raul Gonzales, has been here for more than two decades and is arguably synonymous with the club. Then I realized... the crowd was somewhere else.

Now the thing that struck me most was not the fact that all people were crowded around Cristiano Ronaldo's or Kaka's boots and kit, but the fact that this person's kit stood alone, and almost to a certain extent, neglected. Was I merely lucky or was it a sign of the times ?

Jose Maria Gutierrez Hernandez, or Guti to all Real Madrid fans, joined the club at the age of 9 and came through all the youth structures till he broke into the first team at the age of 19. With his amazing skill and talent, he could have been one of the best players ever.. but he was always overshadowed. Anyone who has seen his backheel pass to Zidane against Sevilla will have that piece of play forever etched in memory... and more recently his blind pass to Benzema at the Riazor, which helped Madrid break a two decade duck against Deportivo La Coruna, flatteringly called "the Heel of God". Maybe words cannot do justice to the amazing piece of brilliance.. as Goal.com put it..

"No one saw it coming... no one. When Enzo Maresca cleared the ball away from the penalty area, he must have thought that the danger was over for Sevilla. Cicinho had put in a cross that Zinedine Zidane had failed to control and the Sevilla midfielder hoofed the ball away, but only as far as Guti. 25 yards out, with a host of bodies blocking his view and with his back to goal, surely Guti couldn't do anything except spread it wide?

Wrong. Guti did a 'taconazo', the outrageous back-heel split the Sevilla defence, Zidane was at the end of it and Real Madrid were on their way to bagging all three points. Guti conjured up the unimaginable, that one moment of genius that etched itself forever in an observer's memory. That pass, and that pass alone, defines Guti, the temperamental genius who could never fulfill his gift, the "eternal promise".

One of the best final passers that the game has seen, maybe he was always destined to be overshadowed by names like Figo, Zidane , Beckham and more recently Ronaldo, Kaka et all. Today after 20 years at the club to which he gave his all, he is deemed surplus to requirements, his kit stands alone... not appreciated by the younger fans, the neo-galactico supporters. But this is a man about whom Zidane and Ronaldo (the Brazilian legend) had nothing but praise. Maybe he represents a dying breed of players, those that believe that, in the words of Danny Blanchflower, ‎"the game is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom"..for whom its as much an art as a sport. Maybe he is too old for the fast paced game that is championed today. Maybe. Maybe not. As he moves on to Besiktas for his swan-song, it is heartening to see that atleast he gets recognition while leaving... the eternal curse of the genius. Till then I'm happy I got the time to take a good pic... :)

From the amazing solo goal against Bilbao or the delightful volley cum lob against Villareal to coming on as a substitute and single handedly beating Sevilla to that amazing night against Valladolid where he scored 2 and created 4 in a 7-0 mauling...you can't help but wonder what he could have accomplished had he the same dedication and determination as Raul, another legend. Xavi, Iniesta, Sneijder who ? But sometimes its just not meant to be...

Here's to one of the most talented players of his generation. Take a bow Jose Maria Gutierrez Hernandez !

5 Reasons why I did not want Spain to win the World Cup

Let me start by saying that even on paper, I believe Spain were the only team really deserving to win the World Cup. Uruguay, Germany, Ghana all lit up the World Cup with their play but in the end they either over achieved or were stars in the making who will rule in he coming years. But for now, the superior team won. Still that does not stop me from putting forward my 5 reasons why I did not support Spain a.k.a. THE 5 (or more.. its just that 5 is a good number. I like it.) REASONS WHY I DID NOT WANT SPAIN TO WIN.

1. Sergio Busquets. Dont like him. Nor should you.

2. Iniesta is a very good player. He dives a lot. How can you criticize Robben and not Iniesta ? And to say that Iniesta dives less is wrong on two fronts. Firstly, he dives more. Secondly, you dive once or you dive ten times doesn't matter. Bottomline is that you dive. He is a horrible little cheat who is constantly rewarded with free kick after free kick for his diving and playacting, not to mention the fact that he can get away with his petulant little kicks on the opposition when a match official has the gall to not make the call you want. Again Iniesta is a really skillful player and really good with the ball at his feet but maybe sportsmanship doesn't come naturally to many. Holland were disgraceful yes but so were Spain with this man leading the way. And just because he is Spanish doesn't put him above reproach, sorry. (P.S. before someone brings up Ronaldo's name, this does not concern Ronaldo at all. Yes he dives. He did not dive in this WC. The only reason that he gets criticized *more* than others is because he scores 40 goals a season and has a magnificent right foot, very good left foot, power, pace, bags of skill and brilliant timing in the air... in short he is better than you can ever dream to be.)

3. Italy are criticized all the time for their catenaccio system. What Spain play is just a form of anti-catenaccio. The only difference being that Italy defend while Spain retain possession. Oh, and by the way, retaining possession does not equal attacking football. Before pseudo-intellectuals come up with the technically beautiful and tactically superior argument let me just say the Italian catenaccio system's success is based on two things : being technically and tactically superior. If you appreciate one and not the other then you are a stupid poser. If someone gave me a penny for everytime Xavi passes sideways to Busquets and vice versa, Bill Gates would have had a competitor.

4. Just because its become a fashionable thing to say that you support Spain even when you have no idea what position Javi Martinez plays in or who he is for that matter. (He played in THIS woorld cup for heaven's sake). I am willing to ignore the fact that 90% of them can't even name 5 players from FIFA WC 2006.

5. Did I mention Sergio Busquets ?

6. Barcelona. The football club (apart from Messi) has no class. I have said it for a long long time and now atleast the Arsenal fans (if no one else) will agree with me. Loudmouths like Pique and Xavi make it worse. (Before someone starts about Real Madrid... yes they are bad in this department too but they don't claim otherwise. Barcelona, on the other hand, are two faced.)

7. Their opponents, Holland. If you noticed by now that my dislike has very little to do with the footballing aspect but more with other things, I would like to ask one question... what has Spain ever given you ? Let me say two words that should make you pledge eternal support to Holland... Amsterdam. And Heineken.

8. I did mention Busquets right ?

Dedicated to facebook.

everyday someone pokes me. i poke them back. repeat cycle in 2 days. wtf is this "poke" thing anyway ? in the meantime.. i poke you again. its like night of the living dead. just with pokes and no brain eatings. thats disgusting. not the pokes. the brain eating i mean. or is it the poke ? i have too little work. POKE.

R.I.P. Octopus Paul

It perhaps needs no explaining that Octopus Paul has overnight become a huge celebrity but as a German supporter (yes I hate Sergio Busquets that much), theres nothing better that I'd like right now than octopus soup. Not just any octopus soup, but Octopus Paul soup and I daresay every other German supporter on the day would agree. But then again, did we really need an octopus (yes an OCTOPUS) to tell us that Spain were the superior team ? If we did, then the world needs a major reality check ! For me Germany had lost the match with the suspension of Muller and no matter how important Ozil and Schweinsteiger are to the German team, Muller is the man who does it. Without him, the counter attacks just lacked that pace and focus. Be that as it may, come this weekend, we shall crown a first time champion in either Netherlands or Spain... which brings me to the point that I have a problem with. Read the next line carefully (I shall even highlight it for you) :::

On the 11th of July, either Khalid Boulahrouz or Sergio Busquets will be crowned the champion of the World !

Please, read that again. Let it sink in. Now say those 3 words... WTF ??!!

ADD : Attention Deficit Disorder (?)

First of all... A NEW LOOK ! WOOHOO ! Instant like :D.

Anyway, I was just randomly surfing the internet when I came across a list of things that are supposed to be 'indicative' of whether or not you have ADD or attention deficit disorder. So I think to myself, I have no work as of now, nothing to do, well lets see if I qualify or not. So here's what I found out....

Predominantly inattentive type symptoms may include:

Be easily distracted ..check

Miss details, forget things, and frequently switch from one activity to another ..check

Have difficulty focusing on one thing ..not really

Become bored with a task after only a few minutes, unless they are doing something enjoyable ..always, check

Have difficulty focusing attention on organizing and completing a task or learning something new ..not really

Have trouble completing or turning in homework assignments ..Check

Often losing things (e.g., pencils, toys, assignments) needed to complete tasks or activities ..Check

Not seem to listen when spoken to ..check

Daydream ...Check

Become easily confused, and move slowly ...not really, the move slowly is more out of being lazy

Be very impatient ..absolutely check

Blurt out inappropriate comments, show their emotions without restraint, and act without regard for consequences ...check

Have difficulty waiting for things they want or waiting their turns in games ..check

So that's a solid 10/13 for me. Wait a minute... does that mean that I have ADD !!!?? No way.. that can't be true because I know that I do not have.. hey what's that ? ooohhh shiny...

SHIT Happens.. but why ?

What the hell is wrong with the world ? Yesterday was like a whirlwind for me... I got to know that when misfortune falls upon a really nice person, it doesn't matter how well you know him, you get affected.

A guy you couldn't talk to because you spoke different languages and knew only for 3 -4 days, one day has to pick up his bags and just leave for Barcelona looking for a job since he couldn't find one in Valencia. He has no place to go to in Barcelona, no idea where he will get work and no money. And he doesn't have the answers to this even when he is on the bus. The last thing I remember is a forced smile on his face and him claiming that "Allah will do something" before praying and leaving Valencia.... forever (?). But behind that assuring smile I see the doubt, the fear, the hopelessness and try as I might, I cannot stop feeling gutted. All for a guy I barely knew. Was it him, or was it his situation, or the false pretense of everything being ok.. i don't know, but I could not stop my eyes from welling up. And I am NOT the kind of guy to get emotional at stuff. Come to think of it, its the second time my eyes have welled up since I can remember. Again, all for a guy I barely knew.

Then I wish a friend of mine "Happy Birthday" and I get to know that her dad died a week ago from a cardiac arrest. Right-o. Great. Now I felt even worse. And sitting on gtalk on a different continent, theres not much I can say or do about it.

So I think to myself, put on some metal and try to forget it, because like it or not, when things are not going your way, there is nothing better than metal... maybe bashing some stuff with a baseball bat but then thats just going too far. So I start my iTunes and put it on shuffle and am browsing the web just for passing the time and I come across this article in the TIME magazine about the recent oil spill and the Bhopal Gas Tragedy (read it please)... and I think.. what is the world coming to ?? Okay so I knew that the government was a bunch of inept goons, but even our judiciary is inept ?? Wtf is wrong here ?? I know it is an old story but hey, coming on top of what had just happened, it just filled me with outrage and unbridled anger. Oh and to top it off, guess which song happened to play when I was reading the article ? Creeping Death - by Metallica. Appropriate.

Which brings me to what a lot of people keep telling me... SHIT Happens. Really ?? And why ?? Why can't shit not happen ??? Even if it does happen, why does it happen to the good folk ? Why cant shit happen to fucktards like Warren Anderson and Union Carbide ? Why cant shit happen to Lalu Yadav and Pappu Yadav and Raj Thackeray ?

There is something seriously wrong with this world that we have been given.

P.S. Apparently its the great circle of life.

Viva La Espana !

Hola mi amigos !

Uno semana en Espana y estoy tratando de aprender este idoma.

Ok so I got a little help from Google translate in that. Basically its been a week since I've arrived in Spain and the moment I got here I realised how important it is to know Spanish if you have to live in this place. No one and I mean NO ONE speaks a word of English in Burjassot, Valencia (where I am) and that just makes everything a wee but more tough for communication. Dos mesas left !! I have to learn spanish !

Since my work at the university has not really started, I have a horde of time left on my hands to do absolutely nothing and let me tell you, its TOUGH. Not doing shit day in and day out while sitting behind a desk for 10 hours a day is the toughest job in the world... the only light at the end of the tunnel is that A.) I'm in Spain :P ...and B.) I'm probably getting paid for it (not that I like it though.. i think for the first time in my life, I am actually dying for some work.. which will probably be the other way around once I do start working but whatever..).

That reminds me... the best thing about Spain are the people here and the roads. Why roads you ask ? Well, its sorta a little bit similar to Kharagpur in the fact that the pedestrians have power. In Kharagpur, people walking and on cycles are the Kings and cars always have to play second fiddle.. while everyone walks down the middle of the road. Its not exactly the same here but its awesome when you want to cross the street and all cars just come to a complete halt for you, unlike in India where you will probably get run over if you don't keep your eyes open and reflexes sharp :P !! Here you can walk across a zebra crossing without looking either left or right, safe in the knowledge that if there are cars there, they WILL STOP. Also trams by the way. Everyone stops. Its quite enthralling and call me juvenile or childish or just plain sadistic, I love crossing streets for no reason apart from this !!

About the people, never have I met more friendly and helpful people. In India, if you ask a random person on the street for directions and the person doesn't know, he'll just shrug and move on but not in Spain, atleast that has never happened with me. I get lost sometimes, well actually almost every other time I'm outside I get lost but then I don't know the place or speak the damn language so what do you expect ? Anyway, all the times I've asked someone on the street to help me out, basically by repeating the address a hundred times, I have ended up with a street full of people eager to not just point out the direction, but actually lead me there !! One guy in Madrid actually took me to the Metro, came with me to the train station AND bought me a ticket to Valencia, all because my bus to Valencia had got cancelled and I'd asked him how to get to Valencia !! Now that was amazing since I'd just arrived in Spain and the guy spoke NO ENGLISH AT ALL... I couldn't even thank him properly. So Antonio and Fran, wherever you guys are.. MUCHAS GRACIAS ! Then the people at the Residencia where I stayed the last week... well what can I say ? They totally made me feel at home, albeit in a different language and I met a lot of amazing people. Not least Christina, the person incharge at the Residencia who charged me only 15 euros a night when I was leaving when the actual price for a room is 25 euros per night, and thats just for the heck of it !! And all the Pakistani and Indian shop owners, Kebab and fruits and vegetable, for the numerous mind boggling discounts they gave me just because I was from India again making me feel that all these wars between our two nations is to what end ? Even earlier whenever I've met people from Pakistan, educated or not, they have always been of the same opinion, "India - Pakistan ek hi hai" , which makes me wonder if all people feel that way, then who are the one's fighting ? Of course I admit that the older generation (of Hindus from my perspective) has an inexplicable distrust of Muslims, but then aren't we the generation that is actually incharge here ?

Anyway moving on from these matters, I visited a place called the Oceanographic here, which is the largest aquarium in Europe. Now, aquarium is actually a misnomer but man was it insanely amazing !! Whales to great whites to more mundane beings like manta rays and jellyfish to creepy ass shit like giant spider crabs (they are fricking 12 ft !! TWELVE ...!), all within an inch of your face just behind that glass... it was awesome !

Having no work though ensures that I spend an insane amount of time on facebook (and I am quite sure its not healthy) , which made me realize today that I have 453 "friends" on facebook !! FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY THREE ! Do I even know that many people ???! And not only that, when you have time on your hands like I do now, you want to talk to people (no not hand gestures and broken Spanish, actually TALK)... and then you realize that out of all those 453 there are just a handful that you really want to talk to anyway. And they are usually not online at that moment... x-( . So if by any chance they are and they are busy or something, it just makes you madder.

Anyway, tengo hambre... and its off to lunch for me. Hasta luego !

Categories

In God's eyes everybody is equal.... Forsooth ! Even assuming that there IS a God, it really doesn't matter what he thinks since obviously we people have categories.

Everyone is divided into categories, albeit with different parameters each time. You have the racial categorisation, according to skin tone, according to what you study, according to what you like and even, if you go by a joke, according to whether you understand binary or not ! The Government even has us divided on the basis of what our ancestors' surnames were. So I thought to myself, when everyone is categorising people, why the hell should I be left behind ? To make it more general, I finally decided that there are 3 types of people in the world...

TYPE A :: Those you don't give a rat's ass about.

TYPE B :: Those you do care about but who don't give a rat's ass about you.

TYPE C :: Those you do give a rat's ass about and they do the same.

Now Type A is the general category of life. Most people you know fall into that category and so do you when it comes to someone else. That may sound harsh but none of us is a Mother Teresa or a Mahatma Gandhi, so its true. You couldn't care less and you know it.

So we come to the people that you do care about. Now my little wide-eyed children, the fact of the matter is that most people on this category put you in their own Type A... and though it may hurt you to know this, these people are those you put in Type B. 

"And Type C ?", you ask. Well this is where you have the least number of people and these are the people that you should give priority to. Always. These people are the most difficult to find but once you do, you are richer for it. 

On a personal level, I've sort of realised that those people I'd put in type c sortof categorised themselves. What I probably mean is that you don't make such friends, you become such friends. And theres  a huge HUGE difference in making friends and becoming friends. If you try to be friends with someone, they are most likely to end up in as a type B... but when you just sort of become friends thats usually when they end up in type C. I've made a lot of friends and aquaintances but I've realised that when it comes to certain people though I am prepared to go that extra mile for them, they may not be willing to do the same for me. Which in turn made me realise how valuable those people are who will. 

I think the aim should be to kick those in type B to A because those are the ones that will let you down. And thats not through any fault of theirs, its because you expected too much where you shouldn't have expected at all. 

Well this post is dedicated to all those people in type C. I feel priviledged to have met you and to be your friend. Thank You. :)

The Return of the Jedi, well not Jedi ..but sounds more dramatic anyway.

So I have not blogged in quite a while but when one of prettiest girls you know tells you to resume writing, then you damn sure resume writing ! Even if you have absolutely no idea what the heck you're going to write about.

Anyway, something I realized as I near the end of my 3rd year of college is that at Kgp, as time goes on, I keep getting proportionally lazy and basically developing a lackadaisical attitude towards most things. Which is not necessarily a good thing to happen. But I guess that encompasses what most Kgpians call "peace". And "peace maarna" has sort of become a way of life for a lot of us. So while I've been "maaroing peace", time has gone on and suddenly I see myself entering my final year of college or rather, nearing Placement !! Looking at the current scenario of placements, well, let's just say that for Metallurgy, the best placement opportunity is at Jindal Steel... and I do not want to go to Jindal Steel !! So what's left you say ?? As I see it, there are two roads available to me then... CAT and GRE. So I think to myself... "what am I good at ?" , "what work am I cut out for ?". Due to the fact that those questions draw a blank, I decide to not bother about either of them now and open facebook to see the latest updates and spend the rest of the day doing nothing or rather, "maaroing peace".

And maybe, just maybe, the fact that I've recently been going on various trips on weekends is to escape thinking about this. But you know what ? Peace maar.... we'll ponder on that later. Talking about trips, this last weekend a few of my friends and I went to this beach some distance away from Digha at a place called Mandarmoni. Its an awesome place, almost like a backwater with no tourism and stuff. Oh, and before I forget, we went by truck. Yeah you got that right, we hopped on the back of a truck and went to Mandarmoni. I've seen it in the movies and let me tell you upfront that yes, it is that much fun.... but... it is DAMN uncomfortable. The movies don't show you that ! Its bloody uncomfortable and especially when the mercury is pushing the 40s, then its unbearable and we probably have a watermelon vendor on the highway to thank for getting back alive..well thats an overstatement but hey, as long as you get the point. But you know what, it was fun. And it may have been hot and uncomfortable, I'm ready to go it again.. it was that fun.

On a more serious note, I probably need to decide what I want to do. Any ideas ?

P.S. This is in memory of Bhaichung, the rabbit we had. He was an idiot, but a likeable one. Only two months old, it was definitely not his time. If only the idiot had know better than to run towards a stray dog. May he rest in peace. :(