20-20 is ours!!!!

One more blog among the millions that already must be posted on the blogosphere by others. Still this is indeed a special moment for every Indian and the cricket team, to come out of such a bad phase ( the last world cup) and win the 20-20 cup!!!
Full credit to the guys for this handsome performance..
Though don't relax as a tougher task is coming up... Australia's tour of India. After their defeat in the semi's they must be already be sharpening their swords for a revenge..
Cricket enthusiasts see the schedule below of the Aussie tour.

Matches	Date		Time	Venue
First ODI	29-Sep		14:30 Local	M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Second ODI	2-Oct		09:00 Local	Nehru Stadium, Kochi
Third ODI	5-Oct		09:00 Local	Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad
Fourth ODI	8-Oct		09:00 Local	Sector 16 Stadium, Chandigarh
Fifth ODI	11-Oct		09:00 Local	I.P.C.L. Sports Complex Ground, Vadodara
Sixth ODI	14-Oct		09:00 Local	Vidarbha C.A. Ground, Nagpur
Seventh ODI	17-Oct		14:30 Local	Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Twenty20	20-Oct		19:00 Local	Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai

Enjoy..

6,6,6,6,6,6 yuvraj's six sixes

Great stuff there from yuvraj in the 20-20 match... we Indians are so intense about our sport (read cricket) that this feat would have had people crying, dancing, laughing and another 100 or so emotions at the same time...
Best part we won the match...
Well done Yuvi.. keep it up
All the best India
latest update..
India defeated SA and now are up against an in-form Australia to fight it out for the final berth..
Chak de India!!!

Back after a break, and reading Shantaram

Hey,
I'm back after a loooong pause. Some reasons for this break,
1. For a change had some work
2. was reading a lot during office time so writing was second priority.
3. Shaku Aji passed away on ganesh chaturthi...god bless her soul..

It was a overall boring and morose month. Work (though not much of a challenge) was keeping me busy.
I also read 'Shantaram' during the last week. I was curious about for quite some time and finally got the e-book. I read it non-stop for 7 days till I finished it (I have this fanatical habit of completing books once I start reading) E-books is not a preferred mode of reading (gimme a paperback any day) but it provides an excellent option to pass time at office when you don't have much to do.
Coming back to Shantaram, its about an Australian fugitive trying to escape from the authorities and lands in Mumbai(then Bombay) on a fake passport. His weeks stopover extends into months and years and finally he spent about 12 years in Mumbai. During those years he formed close bonds with many people like Prabhakar, Abdullah, Abdel Khader and Karla to name a few all playing different parts in his life here. He also learnt to speak marathi and hindi. His fugitive and financial status compelled him to live in a 'zopadpatti' where he even started a free clinic for the slum dwellers. Through Abdullah he slowly became close with the Mumbai mafia and underworld and the don Abdel Khader. He works as a gun-runner, black-marketeer, counterfeiter and all this slowly builds up quite an adventure.
The most powerful sentiment that flows in the book is an over whelming love for Bombay and is literally crammed with really good quotes and humor. I was laughed till my stomach hurt during his experiences at Sunder the village but also was close to tears during some emotional scenes. His style of writing is very good (except lengthy accounts of discussions with Karla and Khan which seem to drag) and keeps up the readers interest till the end.
To this blog readers, I would say an interesting read if you can spare the time (its about 1000 pages)
I have been downloading a lot of e-books in recent times. From Ludlum to Kipling and Shakespeare. You can look up books on
www.esnips.com

Cheers till next time and I hope to post another review of a book sometime soon.
Ganapati Bappa Moraya..Pudhchya warshi lawkar ya!

Day of mixed emotions

Happy Birthday Dad! Wishing him a very happy birthday!

And at the same time my heart goes out to the innocent people killed last year in the train bombings. May god give those unfortunate families the strength to come through it.

Visit to Mandu (Mandavgadh)

I recently visited Mandu near Indore. Thanks to great guides ( my wife's cousin and uncle) I got in touch with a part of India's history.
A magnificent palace of Rani Roopmati and her husband Baz Bahadur, and a equally well constructed Jahaj Mahal. Though one thing really had me amazed and depressed at the same time was the construction at Jahaj Mahal. One great 'Darbar" or cout building was of a peculiar type. Outside the stone was red-yellow or of a granite block. Inside was all black stone and the walls were really thick. My wife's cousin probably seeing some confused expression's on my face beckoned me to follow him and took me at a ledge on the outside wall. There a stone was removed from the outer wall. And inside was a beautiful carving of Saraswati! I was flabbergasted! He told me that most of the buildings in this complex were Hindu buildings and temples and the Muslims who later occupied it destroyed the idols but retained the constructions by building over it.
I had read about Taj being a Hindu temple before but couldn't really believe that totally before.
This sight really got me thinking that was indeed a possibility. Eventually I saw around 3 to 4 places where stones had been removed to show the idols and deities behind it.
I felt sad that all Hindu history has been horribly scared by Muslim barbarism in the past. Yet our government tries to hide that just for the sake of losing Muslim votes.
I don't hate the Muslims but I really hate the anglicized and western educated so called secular Congress who is responsible for feeding false history thru textbooks to young Indians.

Hot Capuccino, Rains and a MA in Sanskrit Chaiwala

Hi!
Strange topic for an equally strange day.
After frustrating myself with some stupid files that just would'nt open, I slipped outside the office to kill time and grab a bit to eat before leaving for Pune.
I went to Eternity Mall in the vicinity and brought a take away cappuccino with me to the office after a light dinner. As soon as I entered the office all hell broke loose and it started raining for which the Gauls would have freaked out saying " The sky is falling on our heads!". I had no option but to wait for some time at the office. I was just checking out some news on the net when the chai-wala who has a small shop in the compound, dropped by to say hello. He was a pleasant fellow, but I never really had had a talk with him. I started by a casual question just to start some kind of a conversation "How long have you had your Chai-stall here?". "Its been here since the last 25 years or so. My father started it and now I am helping my brother run it." We drifted in and out of casual conversation when he dropped a bomb, he said " I am here only for a vacation. I teach Sanskrit at a college near my village to 10 to 12 std kids". I was really impressed by this. " I have completed my MA in Sanskrit and also my B-Ed. I will go back to the college when it re-opens."
This really had me floored. This man here who had a master's degree in Sanskrit (which frankly terrorized me in school) was totally at ease doing a chaiwala's job here.
I left soon after that for Pune and that conversation really had me doing some serious thinking.
Cheers!

Carnage in Virginia

A horrifying incident occurred 2 days back when a Korean guy went berserk and killed 33 people including a Indian origin professor and a Indian student girl.
My heart felt condolences to all the people killed in this tragedy and my heart goes out to their families.
This continues a shocking trend in the US where students go on a rampage killing other students.
Lets hope such incidents stop in the future and students feel safe in their Universities and Hostels.
On a happier note today also happens to be my penultimate day here in the UK. I am really excited about going back to India meeting my family and Sharvari. Nevertheless its been a good experience here and I had the opportunity to make new friends and acquaintances.
Next post from India!!
Till then, Adios!

Regards
Aditya

Back to blogging

Hello,
This is the second time I am blogging. Not my second post but my Second innings in blogging. In the first short innings as a blogger I couldnt really contribute anything worthwhile (it was about 3 years back).
After that work, courtship, marriage and other things had me pre-occupied most of the time. So internet usage was at an all time low, and it was near impossible to take out time for blogging. I am starting my second innings here and as I take guard, I hope to score a lot this time.
Cheers!
Aditya
P.S - Cheers is used in the UK for Thanks, welcome, bye, see you etc...
That was my first inter-culture lesson after coming here to the UK.
Bon Jour and Au Revior are used in France as greetings.