Not so nice girls...
I have it all in my head but i don't know where to begin.Like always.Let's just start by saying that all dawned on me when i started speaking to Zoe the other day.She said you know what babes? Preity is such a nice girl, I am not so nice and she guffawed.Yes, not so nice girls laugh out loud.Maybe we are not the typical version of an expected role model of an Indian girl !! (Gimme a break from them anyday!)...
I was always taught to be independent , fair , humble.And yes I can vouch for that in myself and all the girls' today who are my friends and i actually relate to.We are those who are never sorry for decisions they have taken and do admit to mistakes they have committed.We believe it is a part of growing up.We are the types who wouldn't take anybody for a ride nor try to manipulate people to have their own way.We do it on our own and probably sometimes better than the way others might do it.We believe in thinking for ourselves.We are the types who miserably fail in making the right noises seeing other people's kids maybe because we are not such ardent fans of howling kids !People do not like us because we get competitive.When the competition gets tough , we might just get a little more tougher.And we are definitely not soft-spoken ! We speak our minds and fiercely stand for what we believe in.Submissiveness was not engineered into our genes.
Well whatever I have penned down till now might seem like some really mean people and I happen to be one of them and so are my friends?
But let me tell you about another side of these not so nice girls.
Their friends mean a lot to them.They treasure their friends because they have seen enough of the real bad world around them (and i emphasize on 'enough')to appreciate their friends.
They work hard , they fight fair and they fight square for what they believe they deserve without resorting to feminine charm or wiles.They fall in love yet they can accept a rejection with just another smile and say I will find my own destiny.They are not your typical damsel in distress and never would be.Maybe they won't laugh at your stupid jokes,but when you need cheer on a bleak wintry morning of life they will always be your friend.
So is that being not so nice?
~A,not so nice....
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow Roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars, and in the middle, you see the blue center-light pop, and everybody goes ahh..."
from On the Road
~ Jack Kerouac, A's alter ego ?
from On the Road
~ Jack Kerouac, A's alter ego ?
Sunday, September 14, 2008
My Today
I try my best today
So that it brings a better tomorrow
Because this is the time for the best and not to be pushed off until a tomorrow
Which none has seen.
So I keep tomorrow at the scale of 'better' and the present today at 'best'
I prepare for the worst 'coz that's what the realist in tells me
Yet with the hope that nothing wrong is gonna happen in that enigmatic tomorrow
Foolish I know
But if it was all about reality then how do miracles still happen
The miracle of life , the touch of blessing , Meeting of loving hearts..
~A, garnishing life with reality and hope..
I try my best today
So that it brings a better tomorrow
Because this is the time for the best and not to be pushed off until a tomorrow
Which none has seen.
So I keep tomorrow at the scale of 'better' and the present today at 'best'
I prepare for the worst 'coz that's what the realist in tells me
Yet with the hope that nothing wrong is gonna happen in that enigmatic tomorrow
Foolish I know
But if it was all about reality then how do miracles still happen
The miracle of life , the touch of blessing , Meeting of loving hearts..
~A, garnishing life with reality and hope..
Thursday, August 14, 2008
"Independence"...
As we stand at the threshold of 61 years of independence today i am set into thinking what does independence mean to me ? A nation's independence trickles down to each and every citizen of its country.A nation's persona is a part of that country's inhabitants' character.Our great fathers freed us from the oppression of the British.Even though we were not under a slavery regime physically; we were slaves of a suppressed mind.Somebody else made decisions for us.And that according to me is the greatest bondage-to be deprived of.."Independent thinking" ..Independence on this 15th of August means power to independence of thought.The power to being individualistic instead of being passed down blindfolded opinions.If we look back to the recent past even after years of independence we lacked the ability to actually prove that we were independent.Foreign Investors were resisted by politicians till a free market was declared in the early nineties..Paranoia ?..When computers were considered a possibility in the eighties to be brought into the nation, the idea was scoffed at by saying that 50% of the population lived under the poverty line and how would computers remediate that ?..Righteousness?.. But if we look back today just because some visionaries dared to be different then, we are where we are today.Today we claim ourselves one of the most fast paced economy in the world.Why ? The service industry proved to be a boon to the Indian Market.It established the world over what we can be in terms of competency and quality.But while we celebrate this i realize that (independent thinker that i claim to be ..) we are yet to go forward.Traveling opens your minds to other's opinions , their ideas.In my short life till now, meeting many people from different parts of the world, I realize my country's worth.Culturally I hold India in the highest esteem.None has what we have.The strongest fundamentally if you know what to embrace.However let's not blindly glorify what we have' coz we are not free of our demons either.Let's try to annihilate evils like female foeticide, dowries,killing in the name of religion,casteism as our independence greys. That would in actuality signify a strong growing independent country with the largest democracy with high caliber for maturity. Economically I know we are the leaders in service industry, the haven of outsourced labor. But are we just that ?Isn't it time we thought for ourselves to give rise to new ideas rather than to execute some outsourced work from foreign shores. I am not here to write an article on what we lack or to preach .It's my responsibility to do every bit I can for my own country like any other.And when I look around i think the winds of change are here.My generation holds the key to a more daring and successful India.And it makes me really glad that I am a little bit of India's historic bouncing back and I have every chance as the other to contribute.We are daring to dream , daring to think,daring to do and raring to go.We are finally absorbing our independence in the right sense to march to where we actually deserve to be.Let's make a little pledge to ourselves that every year this time we would save a little bit of time to introspect where we are and destined to be so that the dream which our nation's fathers dreamt for us would no longer be a dream but a successful reality..I pledge...
~A,proud to be an Indian.
As we stand at the threshold of 61 years of independence today i am set into thinking what does independence mean to me ? A nation's independence trickles down to each and every citizen of its country.A nation's persona is a part of that country's inhabitants' character.Our great fathers freed us from the oppression of the British.Even though we were not under a slavery regime physically; we were slaves of a suppressed mind.Somebody else made decisions for us.And that according to me is the greatest bondage-to be deprived of.."Independent thinking" ..Independence on this 15th of August means power to independence of thought.The power to being individualistic instead of being passed down blindfolded opinions.If we look back to the recent past even after years of independence we lacked the ability to actually prove that we were independent.Foreign Investors were resisted by politicians till a free market was declared in the early nineties..Paranoia ?..When computers were considered a possibility in the eighties to be brought into the nation, the idea was scoffed at by saying that 50% of the population lived under the poverty line and how would computers remediate that ?..Righteousness?.. But if we look back today just because some visionaries dared to be different then, we are where we are today.Today we claim ourselves one of the most fast paced economy in the world.Why ? The service industry proved to be a boon to the Indian Market.It established the world over what we can be in terms of competency and quality.But while we celebrate this i realize that (independent thinker that i claim to be ..) we are yet to go forward.Traveling opens your minds to other's opinions , their ideas.In my short life till now, meeting many people from different parts of the world, I realize my country's worth.Culturally I hold India in the highest esteem.None has what we have.The strongest fundamentally if you know what to embrace.However let's not blindly glorify what we have' coz we are not free of our demons either.Let's try to annihilate evils like female foeticide, dowries,killing in the name of religion,casteism as our independence greys. That would in actuality signify a strong growing independent country with the largest democracy with high caliber for maturity. Economically I know we are the leaders in service industry, the haven of outsourced labor. But are we just that ?Isn't it time we thought for ourselves to give rise to new ideas rather than to execute some outsourced work from foreign shores. I am not here to write an article on what we lack or to preach .It's my responsibility to do every bit I can for my own country like any other.And when I look around i think the winds of change are here.My generation holds the key to a more daring and successful India.And it makes me really glad that I am a little bit of India's historic bouncing back and I have every chance as the other to contribute.We are daring to dream , daring to think,daring to do and raring to go.We are finally absorbing our independence in the right sense to march to where we actually deserve to be.Let's make a little pledge to ourselves that every year this time we would save a little bit of time to introspect where we are and destined to be so that the dream which our nation's fathers dreamt for us would no longer be a dream but a successful reality..I pledge...
~A,proud to be an Indian.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Pursuit of HappYness...
Ravs and me are kindred souls when movies are in question.We are like a pair of siamese twins joined together at our movie taste.Well to start off something new , we decided we would take a week's pick and recommend each other movies we had seen (...not just off IMDB but movies we had personally liked and even though hard to recall we would try.. our best).My first movie was the "The pursuit of HappYness"..Critically acclaimed, loved by the masses and inspired by a true life story I was yet to see it for myself inspite of the rave reviews.So when Ravs reccomended I was quick to check it out.I luckily got a dvd print and nothing seemed better.
I had seen the actual Chris Gardener in an interview and was finding it a little difficult to accept Will Smith in the role.But as the movie went on the lines faded and i was more and more absorbed in what the movie had to say.We humans believe that the hardships we face are unique to us and probably no one would understand.We sometimes ; and not always look back on our hardest times and think that none has faced what we have.But seeing his story only makes me realise that "Truth is stranger than fiction"..Had this story not been inspired by a man's life where he is bankrupt , has an estranged wife and evicted in a span of four months preceded by a really tough time of trying to make it in a business I would anyday not buy the story.
Things which touched me most was his almost dogmatic determination in keeping his son and not letting go , not once does he let his miseries overshadow his want of doing something.He goes through a grueling finance internship just on will power and undeniably the most determined frame of mind.He takes on things with cheer and his personality is his sunshine as he trudges through the tough times.Nothing bogs him down ! Absolutely nothing ! And that's what affects people around him and makes them take to his persona more and more..The triumph of human spirit is the essence of this movie ! And to juxtapose this learning with a verse i heard in another great movie Pulp Fiction :
"Ezekiel 25:17. The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."
I believe there is no black and white personified in this world.I believe in the intangible.Think about it.We all desire the intangibles.Don't we ? Love , respect,happYness,passion,power...These abstract lines depict the intangibles of human frailty and also at the same time the humane power.What I make of this verse is that the righteous man is the one who realizes he has this power capped within himself ..the power to do something, to power to create, the power to win and keeps the passion to take it forward.The inequities of the evil men is the one who tries to dissuade you from doing the same,wants to instill in you that you can't do it.The miseries and the failures are the inequities beset in our path and we need to shepherd ourselves out from this valley of death(I say thus because a life without goals is no less than being trapped in a valley of death)..
Pursuit of HappYness (wrongly and intentionally done so in the movie) is actually a clause in the Declaration of Independence by America's one of the greatest thinking mind...Thomas Jefferson.I wonder what ticks those great minds who can inspire generations and think thoughts that can hold universal appeal even in posterity..Then again it is said about Jefferson by president Kennedy when he invited 49 nobel laureates to the White House :
"I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House — with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone"....
I think someone like me can only wonder at what goes on in great thinking minds ?
~A,trust the thinking mind...
Ravs and me are kindred souls when movies are in question.We are like a pair of siamese twins joined together at our movie taste.Well to start off something new , we decided we would take a week's pick and recommend each other movies we had seen (...not just off IMDB but movies we had personally liked and even though hard to recall we would try.. our best).My first movie was the "The pursuit of HappYness"..Critically acclaimed, loved by the masses and inspired by a true life story I was yet to see it for myself inspite of the rave reviews.So when Ravs reccomended I was quick to check it out.I luckily got a dvd print and nothing seemed better.
I had seen the actual Chris Gardener in an interview and was finding it a little difficult to accept Will Smith in the role.But as the movie went on the lines faded and i was more and more absorbed in what the movie had to say.We humans believe that the hardships we face are unique to us and probably no one would understand.We sometimes ; and not always look back on our hardest times and think that none has faced what we have.But seeing his story only makes me realise that "Truth is stranger than fiction"..Had this story not been inspired by a man's life where he is bankrupt , has an estranged wife and evicted in a span of four months preceded by a really tough time of trying to make it in a business I would anyday not buy the story.
Things which touched me most was his almost dogmatic determination in keeping his son and not letting go , not once does he let his miseries overshadow his want of doing something.He goes through a grueling finance internship just on will power and undeniably the most determined frame of mind.He takes on things with cheer and his personality is his sunshine as he trudges through the tough times.Nothing bogs him down ! Absolutely nothing ! And that's what affects people around him and makes them take to his persona more and more..The triumph of human spirit is the essence of this movie ! And to juxtapose this learning with a verse i heard in another great movie Pulp Fiction :
"Ezekiel 25:17. The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."
I believe there is no black and white personified in this world.I believe in the intangible.Think about it.We all desire the intangibles.Don't we ? Love , respect,happYness,passion,power...These abstract lines depict the intangibles of human frailty and also at the same time the humane power.What I make of this verse is that the righteous man is the one who realizes he has this power capped within himself ..the power to do something, to power to create, the power to win and keeps the passion to take it forward.The inequities of the evil men is the one who tries to dissuade you from doing the same,wants to instill in you that you can't do it.The miseries and the failures are the inequities beset in our path and we need to shepherd ourselves out from this valley of death(I say thus because a life without goals is no less than being trapped in a valley of death)..
Pursuit of HappYness (wrongly and intentionally done so in the movie) is actually a clause in the Declaration of Independence by America's one of the greatest thinking mind...Thomas Jefferson.I wonder what ticks those great minds who can inspire generations and think thoughts that can hold universal appeal even in posterity..Then again it is said about Jefferson by president Kennedy when he invited 49 nobel laureates to the White House :
"I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House — with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone"....
I think someone like me can only wonder at what goes on in great thinking minds ?
~A,trust the thinking mind...
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Ramblings of a restive mind....
I am drenched in the addiction of poetry as that is my only relief
What an irony ? Me who has never believed in the power of words but the power of fist
Left in the company and crutch of words today
I am a man trapped not only in being but in soul
Bearing the burden of my cross every single moment
If time would allow I would reverse its course
Again, would i be able to think with the clarity & conviction i do today?
I realize as i sit in this dark corner
Staring at the clouds drift by through my cell window
I understand so many things clearly today
But all lies futile as my life is in tatters
And i have myself with my mundane verses for my company
But not a soul to hear a nobody's ruminations
~A,being in somebody else's shoes
I am drenched in the addiction of poetry as that is my only relief
What an irony ? Me who has never believed in the power of words but the power of fist
Left in the company and crutch of words today
I am a man trapped not only in being but in soul
Bearing the burden of my cross every single moment
If time would allow I would reverse its course
Again, would i be able to think with the clarity & conviction i do today?
I realize as i sit in this dark corner
Staring at the clouds drift by through my cell window
I understand so many things clearly today
But all lies futile as my life is in tatters
And i have myself with my mundane verses for my company
But not a soul to hear a nobody's ruminations
~A,being in somebody else's shoes
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
"What to do" ?
A two week sojourn...hmmm..I guess I am lacking inspiration. I am amazingly at a loss of ideas on what to write.I simply stare at the screen.So many things have been happening in the recent past yet I am unable to zero in on anything concrete to make it a nice piece to read.Let's see..Ya i know what I can write about ! I can write about my roomies who have been asking me to write so many testimonials or atleast a piece in my blog.Oh wait ! Still better maybe i can write on our trip to Six Flags where Fiona threw up on one of the crazy anti-gravity rides and missed an unsuspecting spectator below by inches when he ducked by giving one of those typically "matrix" acrobatic duck.Well maybe not.I still don't have the keys to the new apartment and i don't wanna be locked out by writing this.Maybe I should choose something safer.What about my employer?I have been working for her for about a month and while she has inspired me to pick up "Devil Wears Prada" ; I , on the other hand amazingly amazingly set her on an inspiration ride by my very presence.No! Hold on.I am not on an ego trip.The very moment she sees me she gets ideas on how to make me work more.Ab,could you please get the flyers made ? And yes, once when you finish could you please take care of this lamp?Yea right ! Some 100 years old smoke emitting lamp that needs water as its constant feed ! Gimme a break or I am gonna break that antique piece..Hmmppfff! Maybe i shouldn't go there either in my blog because i will end up with a never ending bitter tribute to my employer and i don't want to spend my emotions on her.Not a good idea ! Then what about the movie I watched yesterday ? Casablanca..A great romantic movie.A classic.And more than anything I fell in love with Humphrey Bogart.Well nah ! What's the use of cooing over a character when none exists in real life ? Forget Casablanca.Maybe i should write about the latest book i am reading.Murder at maggody.com. It is about a small village in Arkansas where computer revolution has recently invaded the place and a murder is about to take place(I am assuming 'coz I am still reading the book) in some website address ? Ahem..Doesnt sound too promising.What else is happening in my life ? Hmm what about the fact that i got my hair colored blond :-) ? Well not a good idea either to discuss since I have been reluctant to step out of home for the last 3 days and let's not discuss the success or the lack of it in this mission unaccomplished.
Oh ! Forget it..I just can't make up my mind and as a woman I have the prereogative of being fickle minded ;)..Not bad gal.Carry on ! Long live the gibberish !
~A,Clueless...
A two week sojourn...hmmm..I guess I am lacking inspiration. I am amazingly at a loss of ideas on what to write.I simply stare at the screen.So many things have been happening in the recent past yet I am unable to zero in on anything concrete to make it a nice piece to read.Let's see..Ya i know what I can write about ! I can write about my roomies who have been asking me to write so many testimonials or atleast a piece in my blog.Oh wait ! Still better maybe i can write on our trip to Six Flags where Fiona threw up on one of the crazy anti-gravity rides and missed an unsuspecting spectator below by inches when he ducked by giving one of those typically "matrix" acrobatic duck.Well maybe not.I still don't have the keys to the new apartment and i don't wanna be locked out by writing this.Maybe I should choose something safer.What about my employer?I have been working for her for about a month and while she has inspired me to pick up "Devil Wears Prada" ; I , on the other hand amazingly amazingly set her on an inspiration ride by my very presence.No! Hold on.I am not on an ego trip.The very moment she sees me she gets ideas on how to make me work more.Ab,could you please get the flyers made ? And yes, once when you finish could you please take care of this lamp?Yea right ! Some 100 years old smoke emitting lamp that needs water as its constant feed ! Gimme a break or I am gonna break that antique piece..Hmmppfff! Maybe i shouldn't go there either in my blog because i will end up with a never ending bitter tribute to my employer and i don't want to spend my emotions on her.Not a good idea ! Then what about the movie I watched yesterday ? Casablanca..A great romantic movie.A classic.And more than anything I fell in love with Humphrey Bogart.Well nah ! What's the use of cooing over a character when none exists in real life ? Forget Casablanca.Maybe i should write about the latest book i am reading.Murder at maggody.com. It is about a small village in Arkansas where computer revolution has recently invaded the place and a murder is about to take place(I am assuming 'coz I am still reading the book) in some website address ? Ahem..Doesnt sound too promising.What else is happening in my life ? Hmm what about the fact that i got my hair colored blond :-) ? Well not a good idea either to discuss since I have been reluctant to step out of home for the last 3 days and let's not discuss the success or the lack of it in this mission unaccomplished.
Oh ! Forget it..I just can't make up my mind and as a woman I have the prereogative of being fickle minded ;)..Not bad gal.Carry on ! Long live the gibberish !
~A,Clueless...
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
"Naked Walls"
Suddenly i feel like today is a day out of a movie.I am sitting in an empty room on the floor.I can hear the jabbing of the keyboard echo.So quiet is the room.Few stuff lying around.Waiting for my friend to help me move.The walls are stripped of any adornment put up in love.I suddenly feel like a stranger in this place i used to call home.I check my mails.And to my surprise I see a mail from my best friend De.Yes we have not caught up with each other in years.We just happen to know each other's little corners in this globe but it has been really really long since we actually spoke about our lives , our dreams , our miseries.As i pen down about her I mention... my " best friend"..Subconsciously...It is always that way with people who might not have been there with you on each and every occasion of your life but people who have actually always been there .De and me were inseparable in school.We were in the same section for ten years in a row.We were contrasting in every aspect of our personality.We were Laurel and Hardy (actually !..) :-) . We loved each other and we competed with each other like we hated each other.We have had our share of fights and our really special times which weighs out much more than any squabble we have ever had.As i think back I am really surprised at how we could be such good friends and such fierce competitors.We were so young but we understood the fine divide and remained forever friends.I still remember days when I used take part in debates..perform poorly and she would still give the loudest clap..The day when the teacher bashed me with harsh words and I cried for the first time in school and she just sat with me silently till I knew that it was ok and things like that happened..Yes maybe we are not there for each other like that anymore.We might have drifted apart now.. Not because of any personal hangups.Life happened.Life has strange way of throwing things at you.Destiny had different things planned for us and we moved different ways.But I always cherish our friendship and the times we had and I am so optimistic that one day in this life we would be the thick friends we were..Sharing every bit of our respective lives...By the time I finished the last line of her mail I was silently weeping and so was she as she wrote me those most genuine thoughts I have ever heard in a long time.
I now realize when you leave a house and move to a next you can probably take away all you have with you and the naked walls wouldn't remind anyone of you.But people who are in your heart and happen to go different ways in life make beautiful colorful walls with sparkling memories.They just make sunshine shine better..Shine On ! Tats what she said to me...(Thanks De for being my friend.. always..)
~A, your mail touched my soul..
Suddenly i feel like today is a day out of a movie.I am sitting in an empty room on the floor.I can hear the jabbing of the keyboard echo.So quiet is the room.Few stuff lying around.Waiting for my friend to help me move.The walls are stripped of any adornment put up in love.I suddenly feel like a stranger in this place i used to call home.I check my mails.And to my surprise I see a mail from my best friend De.Yes we have not caught up with each other in years.We just happen to know each other's little corners in this globe but it has been really really long since we actually spoke about our lives , our dreams , our miseries.As i pen down about her I mention... my " best friend"..Subconsciously...It is always that way with people who might not have been there with you on each and every occasion of your life but people who have actually always been there .De and me were inseparable in school.We were in the same section for ten years in a row.We were contrasting in every aspect of our personality.We were Laurel and Hardy (actually !..) :-) . We loved each other and we competed with each other like we hated each other.We have had our share of fights and our really special times which weighs out much more than any squabble we have ever had.As i think back I am really surprised at how we could be such good friends and such fierce competitors.We were so young but we understood the fine divide and remained forever friends.I still remember days when I used take part in debates..perform poorly and she would still give the loudest clap..The day when the teacher bashed me with harsh words and I cried for the first time in school and she just sat with me silently till I knew that it was ok and things like that happened..Yes maybe we are not there for each other like that anymore.We might have drifted apart now.. Not because of any personal hangups.Life happened.Life has strange way of throwing things at you.Destiny had different things planned for us and we moved different ways.But I always cherish our friendship and the times we had and I am so optimistic that one day in this life we would be the thick friends we were..Sharing every bit of our respective lives...By the time I finished the last line of her mail I was silently weeping and so was she as she wrote me those most genuine thoughts I have ever heard in a long time.
I now realize when you leave a house and move to a next you can probably take away all you have with you and the naked walls wouldn't remind anyone of you.But people who are in your heart and happen to go different ways in life make beautiful colorful walls with sparkling memories.They just make sunshine shine better..Shine On ! Tats what she said to me...(Thanks De for being my friend.. always..)
~A, your mail touched my soul..
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
"No Such Thing".....
"Welcome to the real world", she said to me
Condescendingly
Take a seat
Take your life
Plot it out in black and white
Well I never lived the dreams of the prom kings
And the drama queens
I'd like to think the best of me
Is still hiding
Up my sleeve
They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
But something's better
On the other side
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
just to lie you've got to rise above
So the good boys and girls take the so called right track
Faded white hats
Grabbing credits
Maybe transfers
They read all the books but they can't find the answers
And all of our parents
They're getting older
I wonder if they've wished for anything better
While in their memories
Tiny tragedies
They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
But something's better
On the other side
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you got to rise above
I am invincible
As long as I'm alive
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just to lie you've got to rise above
I just can't wait til my 10 year reunion
I'm gonna bust down the double doors
And when I stand on these tables before you
You will know what all this time was for
~A, Invincible as long as I am alive....
"Welcome to the real world", she said to me
Condescendingly
Take a seat
Take your life
Plot it out in black and white
Well I never lived the dreams of the prom kings
And the drama queens
I'd like to think the best of me
Is still hiding
Up my sleeve
They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
But something's better
On the other side
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
just to lie you've got to rise above
So the good boys and girls take the so called right track
Faded white hats
Grabbing credits
Maybe transfers
They read all the books but they can't find the answers
And all of our parents
They're getting older
I wonder if they've wished for anything better
While in their memories
Tiny tragedies
They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
But something's better
On the other side
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you got to rise above
I am invincible
As long as I'm alive
I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just to lie you've got to rise above
I just can't wait til my 10 year reunion
I'm gonna bust down the double doors
And when I stand on these tables before you
You will know what all this time was for
~A, Invincible as long as I am alive....
Sunday, July 13, 2008
A weekend to remember.....
When i was boarding the bus at NY Penn Station Thursday afternoon , all I was thinking of was that I would be meeting Lis and we would have long long heart to hearts as we always do.Excited is a word that would fall short of what I was feeling .Kept on calling Lis just to let her know that yes I was finally coming to Fairfax... Country Roads , Shenandoah,Rhinestone Cowboy were just like natural tunes on my lips...Whatever gave me the feel that I am going far far away from the madding crowd ..If you happen to see Lis's and my profile in the popular social networking site, I feel our music choice just reflects where we stay and how life is around us..
The eagerness of a long weekend...A calm was settling around me and i fell asleep..The bus stopped at Maryland to drop off a few merry passengers probably visiting friends and family..Maryland meant DC was near and I was getting happier by the moment.Soon I was at New York Ave and there was an instant buzz.I guess the very hint of NY means a lot of noise.DC looked like a mela ground and everybody i met on the way to the Metro Station was actually looking for the Metro Station. Snaking my way through the crowd and eventually jumping red and orange lines I arrived at Fairfax.Lis came to pick me up in a green / gold line bus. Nice seeing her after a month.We made hurried plans of what to do the next day.We wanted to see the fireworks from Lincoln Memorial that was for sure. Mon z arrived from Philly and she called up Shal.Shal agreed to join in and so did Sona and Ini..
Made way to the Fairfax station on th 4th and we met Mank and Vaib.Boarded the heavily crowded train to DC.Soon we were joined by Ravs and Sag and a couple of scary gals.They wanted to take us to some never never land restaurant (walking.....!!!!) and when we refused i thought we would land up with some bruce lee kicks..Mank commented that one of the gals looked like the popular soap vamp...Komolika and we were in splits..Tat kinda broke the ice..We walked the streets of DC at night with my stilletos in my hand..and headed towards good 'ol reliable MacD..Just hogged and hogged...I have never seen such towers of ice cream and without any compunctions gobbled it down..Conversation got interesting and somehow we ended up christening Mon as Chirpy..After that there was no end to the rounds of teasing..We reached Fairfax and the walk home was really long...Big fan of ghosts that I am I was so excited when we decided to walk back home through the stretch of forest to have encounters of a different kind...I simply simply loved it..Ini was scared and the guys tried to make things worse for her...They just let out werewolf cries..Finally recahed home..Promising to meet up the next day , we bade goodbye.
Next day we went for a cruise in the Washington National Harbor and the day ended with a big bash at the Tandoori Nights in Arlington.We all paid for our own and actually handed out around 10 credit cards ..The maitre d' was kind enough to understand ..but Tandoori Nights was not the finale to the day.We met up again at Shal's place and started our discussion on the supernatural.Shal spoke about his real life experience.Ravs said that whatever happens in life happens for a reason.Maybe not for tomorrow but for many years later..Basically the butterfly effect..Things got interesting and we parted with a promise to discuss more on the same...
And as if to reinforce what we had spoken the night before something happened the next day.My bus timing got pre-poned and i needed to get a printout.Being a Sunday everything was closed.Was heading back disappointed from Staples when Lis and me met Ravs and Sag.Ravs said he would offer us a ride to Lis z school so that we could take a printout.And as we drove to GMU we laughed at only how we had discussed the night before how everthing happens for a reason and the reason for meeting kind Ravs was a ride to school ? :-)
Well though it seemed like that , I know why I met those wonderful people that weekend.I was meant to meet some nice friendly souls who make your life better.Yeah old friendships are like great wine but fresh ones are like the touch of a gentle zephyr.I cherish that weekend.And I always count my blessings for all the friends I have at this point in time in life ..
~A, Everything happens for a reason...
When i was boarding the bus at NY Penn Station Thursday afternoon , all I was thinking of was that I would be meeting Lis and we would have long long heart to hearts as we always do.Excited is a word that would fall short of what I was feeling .Kept on calling Lis just to let her know that yes I was finally coming to Fairfax... Country Roads , Shenandoah,Rhinestone Cowboy were just like natural tunes on my lips...Whatever gave me the feel that I am going far far away from the madding crowd ..If you happen to see Lis's and my profile in the popular social networking site, I feel our music choice just reflects where we stay and how life is around us..
The eagerness of a long weekend...A calm was settling around me and i fell asleep..The bus stopped at Maryland to drop off a few merry passengers probably visiting friends and family..Maryland meant DC was near and I was getting happier by the moment.Soon I was at New York Ave and there was an instant buzz.I guess the very hint of NY means a lot of noise.DC looked like a mela ground and everybody i met on the way to the Metro Station was actually looking for the Metro Station. Snaking my way through the crowd and eventually jumping red and orange lines I arrived at Fairfax.Lis came to pick me up in a green / gold line bus. Nice seeing her after a month.We made hurried plans of what to do the next day.We wanted to see the fireworks from Lincoln Memorial that was for sure. Mon z arrived from Philly and she called up Shal.Shal agreed to join in and so did Sona and Ini..
Made way to the Fairfax station on th 4th and we met Mank and Vaib.Boarded the heavily crowded train to DC.Soon we were joined by Ravs and Sag and a couple of scary gals.They wanted to take us to some never never land restaurant (walking.....!!!!) and when we refused i thought we would land up with some bruce lee kicks..Mank commented that one of the gals looked like the popular soap vamp...Komolika and we were in splits..Tat kinda broke the ice..We walked the streets of DC at night with my stilletos in my hand..and headed towards good 'ol reliable MacD..Just hogged and hogged...I have never seen such towers of ice cream and without any compunctions gobbled it down..Conversation got interesting and somehow we ended up christening Mon as Chirpy..After that there was no end to the rounds of teasing..We reached Fairfax and the walk home was really long...Big fan of ghosts that I am I was so excited when we decided to walk back home through the stretch of forest to have encounters of a different kind...I simply simply loved it..Ini was scared and the guys tried to make things worse for her...They just let out werewolf cries..Finally recahed home..Promising to meet up the next day , we bade goodbye.
Next day we went for a cruise in the Washington National Harbor and the day ended with a big bash at the Tandoori Nights in Arlington.We all paid for our own and actually handed out around 10 credit cards ..The maitre d' was kind enough to understand ..but Tandoori Nights was not the finale to the day.We met up again at Shal's place and started our discussion on the supernatural.Shal spoke about his real life experience.Ravs said that whatever happens in life happens for a reason.Maybe not for tomorrow but for many years later..Basically the butterfly effect..Things got interesting and we parted with a promise to discuss more on the same...
And as if to reinforce what we had spoken the night before something happened the next day.My bus timing got pre-poned and i needed to get a printout.Being a Sunday everything was closed.Was heading back disappointed from Staples when Lis and me met Ravs and Sag.Ravs said he would offer us a ride to Lis z school so that we could take a printout.And as we drove to GMU we laughed at only how we had discussed the night before how everthing happens for a reason and the reason for meeting kind Ravs was a ride to school ? :-)
Well though it seemed like that , I know why I met those wonderful people that weekend.I was meant to meet some nice friendly souls who make your life better.Yeah old friendships are like great wine but fresh ones are like the touch of a gentle zephyr.I cherish that weekend.And I always count my blessings for all the friends I have at this point in time in life ..
~A, Everything happens for a reason...
Thursday, July 10, 2008
"Unwearing The Veil of Illusion..."
Life has passed on by..
And i have passed many a years wearing rose tinted shades..
Foolishly swept time under the carpet thinking of the times when love was mine
A naive and young heart then...I now know otherwise
That love was never meant to be mine
And as I see the ashes lying around
I know that my chances are gone..Life went by
And love never was and never would be mine...
Never was and never would be mine....
~A,Anonymous...
Life has passed on by..
And i have passed many a years wearing rose tinted shades..
Foolishly swept time under the carpet thinking of the times when love was mine
A naive and young heart then...I now know otherwise
That love was never meant to be mine
And as I see the ashes lying around
I know that my chances are gone..Life went by
And love never was and never would be mine...
Never was and never would be mine....
~A,Anonymous...
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Wouldn't trade for anything else....
Happiness inspires never-ending desires of attainment within us.Everybody wants to be happy.Or anybody you meet on the streets would never greet you with a "I am not fine..."Everybody says I am fine.What drives the world? Money,Love,Power,Sex,Ambition...But what do they lead upto? In one sentence- the elated euphoria of being happy.Nothing makes you happy like the very hint of happiness.
But happiness feels so superficial.How can you feel , how can you have sensitivity when you are always happy?Pain is the true essence of life.Life without pain cannot keep you grounded.Life without pain cannot make you appreciate the fine nuances of this beautiful world.The best masterpieces in life are inspired by pain.Pain gives you focus.Hurt makes you the person you are.It helps you think.Brings emotional maturity .Makes you open your eyes more to the cosmos around you.
Pain makes me a better person.Makes me real.
Cut me like a knife anyday..
~A, can't live without a pinch of pain...
Happiness inspires never-ending desires of attainment within us.Everybody wants to be happy.Or anybody you meet on the streets would never greet you with a "I am not fine..."Everybody says I am fine.What drives the world? Money,Love,Power,Sex,Ambition...But what do they lead upto? In one sentence- the elated euphoria of being happy.Nothing makes you happy like the very hint of happiness.
But happiness feels so superficial.How can you feel , how can you have sensitivity when you are always happy?Pain is the true essence of life.Life without pain cannot keep you grounded.Life without pain cannot make you appreciate the fine nuances of this beautiful world.The best masterpieces in life are inspired by pain.Pain gives you focus.Hurt makes you the person you are.It helps you think.Brings emotional maturity .Makes you open your eyes more to the cosmos around you.
Pain makes me a better person.Makes me real.
Cut me like a knife anyday..
~A, can't live without a pinch of pain...
Sunday, June 22, 2008
"Kill Bill"..
I watched Kill Bill Vol 1 in 2007 and not many minutes ago finished Kill Bill Vol 2...There was an intended gap in watching the movies.More like the eagerness of lovers that is fueled by an interlude..Well a movie like KB and made by QT deserved that kinda break to get full appreciation.And now having been done with both the volumes and truly gripped by both , I just could not wait to pen down my enthused emotions even as I am @ the wake of dawn...
Beginning with Volume 1 , I had no clue about KB as I had never watched a QT movie before.But it dint take me much to figure.The movie is inspired by Martial Arts, Shaolin Temple.But it is not just another action movie.I was taken aback and yet instantly gripped by the way Uma Thurman kills the first viper of the DiVas Squad.Just out and out a killer and right in front of her daughter's eyes.She goes something like .."When you grow up you will wanna meet me.I will wait for you" And that z there to it ! No justification, No soothing words. I knew the movie was different instantly. Yes the movie has a lot of gore.But gore has style in it.
The martial arts fight inspiration of the movie with the caucasian edge kinda wraps up really well.Every move , every weapon depicts a different style.Repotedly QT spent around $ 65,000 for swords and accessories for this movie.
The action moves and fight scenes are surprising.Since a squad of killers are portrayed , the ease with which they handle an attempt to murder , a gunshot , a sword fight is really terrific.They are the best in the business and they actually justify every action move.Amazing !!
QT actually picked up bits and pieces while making this movie.The yellow tracksuit Uma wears on her way to killing the Krazzy88s is a direct tribute to Bruce Lee who wears it in the Game of Death.
In Vol 2 , I like the way Bill is more in the picture.They share a great chemistry of love and hate.She couldn't love another than Bill and she couldn't help but Kill Bill.That z a part of the essence of the movie.They were equals.
I loved the way Superman's character was analysed and how he justifies that just like superman's alter ego of Clark Kent was a critique on weakness of man, Beatrix Kiddo's running away to be a country lad's wife was a critique on normal people.She was born to be a killer and she admits she enjoyed killing people on the way as she made her way to Bill.
The final cresendo comes with Uma killing Bill and he asks her "How do I look?" and she says "You look ready"..The emotions are portrayed with very subtle tears without any dramatic effect and yet gets all the emotions through to you.
There are lots of trivia in KB and another one was when the credits were rolling up..As the viper squad names roll up, there are strikethroughs in the name.When Daryll Hannah's name comes up, there is a question mark.Coz they dont actually show her death but her pain on the way to death?Implying she might or might not be dead while for the rest it is sure they are dead..Well tats my interpretation ...
QT has done a great job.Gore gets a new style....
~A, like the way Bill was killed....
I watched Kill Bill Vol 1 in 2007 and not many minutes ago finished Kill Bill Vol 2...There was an intended gap in watching the movies.More like the eagerness of lovers that is fueled by an interlude..Well a movie like KB and made by QT deserved that kinda break to get full appreciation.And now having been done with both the volumes and truly gripped by both , I just could not wait to pen down my enthused emotions even as I am @ the wake of dawn...
Beginning with Volume 1 , I had no clue about KB as I had never watched a QT movie before.But it dint take me much to figure.The movie is inspired by Martial Arts, Shaolin Temple.But it is not just another action movie.I was taken aback and yet instantly gripped by the way Uma Thurman kills the first viper of the DiVas Squad.Just out and out a killer and right in front of her daughter's eyes.She goes something like .."When you grow up you will wanna meet me.I will wait for you" And that z there to it ! No justification, No soothing words. I knew the movie was different instantly. Yes the movie has a lot of gore.But gore has style in it.
The martial arts fight inspiration of the movie with the caucasian edge kinda wraps up really well.Every move , every weapon depicts a different style.Repotedly QT spent around $ 65,000 for swords and accessories for this movie.
The action moves and fight scenes are surprising.Since a squad of killers are portrayed , the ease with which they handle an attempt to murder , a gunshot , a sword fight is really terrific.They are the best in the business and they actually justify every action move.Amazing !!
QT actually picked up bits and pieces while making this movie.The yellow tracksuit Uma wears on her way to killing the Krazzy88s is a direct tribute to Bruce Lee who wears it in the Game of Death.
In Vol 2 , I like the way Bill is more in the picture.They share a great chemistry of love and hate.She couldn't love another than Bill and she couldn't help but Kill Bill.That z a part of the essence of the movie.They were equals.
I loved the way Superman's character was analysed and how he justifies that just like superman's alter ego of Clark Kent was a critique on weakness of man, Beatrix Kiddo's running away to be a country lad's wife was a critique on normal people.She was born to be a killer and she admits she enjoyed killing people on the way as she made her way to Bill.
The final cresendo comes with Uma killing Bill and he asks her "How do I look?" and she says "You look ready"..The emotions are portrayed with very subtle tears without any dramatic effect and yet gets all the emotions through to you.
There are lots of trivia in KB and another one was when the credits were rolling up..As the viper squad names roll up, there are strikethroughs in the name.When Daryll Hannah's name comes up, there is a question mark.Coz they dont actually show her death but her pain on the way to death?Implying she might or might not be dead while for the rest it is sure they are dead..Well tats my interpretation ...
QT has done a great job.Gore gets a new style....
~A, like the way Bill was killed....
Monday, June 09, 2008
You will be my ain true love....
One of the best movies ever...English Patient
You'll walk unscathed through musket fire,
No ploughman's blade will cut thee down,
No cutless wound will mark thy face
And you will be my ain true love,
And you will be my ain true love
And as you walk through death's dark veil,
The cannon's thunder can't prevail,
And those who hunt thee down will fail,
And you will be my ain true love,
And you will be my ain true love.
Asleep inside the cannon's mouth,
The captain cries, "Here comes the rout,"
They'll seek to find me north and south,
I've gone to find my ain true love.
The field is cut and bleeds to red.
The cannon balls fly round my head,
The infirmary man may count me dead,
When I've gone to find my ain true love,
I've gone to find my ain true love
~A, The romantic
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Weekend @ ImaginAsian...
Yesterday was great...a really exciting friday....twas my first flick in nyc theatre ImaginAsian , 59th St..Well honestly the theaters in india have done quite well...PVR z are huge both in infrastructure as well as the experience.. ImaginAsian is smaller than a PVR or Adlabs but the best part of the entire evening was the mix we had yesday evening...The spicy tadka...Tthere was a motley of people in the crowd..New Yorkers who werent Indians but were with Indian friends..The subtitles do help them..Desis who are on business visas with their wives and family in tow..Couples socializing over a movie...30 something singles who immediately reminded me of Carrie , Charlotte , Miranda and Samantha of Sex and the City fame..Generally a huge crowd...all from different walks of life but mostly all desis...Some were the condescending desis who couldnt resist a snide remark or so at us for being so obvious and loud in the hall...but wat the heck ? Who cares ! We were a huge group of eighteen people and esp students...Arent we supposed to be loud ?! :-) Well we were loud but our intelligent inferences throughout the movie kinda sent their grey cells for a brainstorm ride and they quietly accepted that we had what mattered..
I loved the girls in accent who couldn't stop cooing over Abhishek Bachan..Ttats wat i like about handsome guys.Girls just cant stop drooling over them...Accent or no accent ! And to the added bonus the movie was too good...A real Ramu comeback..I guess genius always speaks thru actions and not thru words as some Khans would learn the hard way..They couldn't stop their malicious remarks...Wasn't easy to digest even though it had the disclaimer tag of being "meant to be rude".Overall we enjoyed like never before.And then we walked all the way back to 33rd street station loving every bit of the city as we always do..Bloomigdales , A&F,GAP,Banana Republic just lured our minds ; couldn't lure our pockets though...But the city breathes life and lets out steam(literally, u can see manholes pouring out steam from the subway).You fall in love with NYC right away...I guess NYC is my lady..Have to wait to see LA till i can croon the song LA is my lady.As of now i am gonna hold onto my love before i move on..
~A, unabashed lover of new york city
Yesterday was great...a really exciting friday....twas my first flick in nyc theatre ImaginAsian , 59th St..Well honestly the theaters in india have done quite well...PVR z are huge both in infrastructure as well as the experience.. ImaginAsian is smaller than a PVR or Adlabs but the best part of the entire evening was the mix we had yesday evening...The spicy tadka...Tthere was a motley of people in the crowd..New Yorkers who werent Indians but were with Indian friends..The subtitles do help them..Desis who are on business visas with their wives and family in tow..Couples socializing over a movie...30 something singles who immediately reminded me of Carrie , Charlotte , Miranda and Samantha of Sex and the City fame..Generally a huge crowd...all from different walks of life but mostly all desis...Some were the condescending desis who couldnt resist a snide remark or so at us for being so obvious and loud in the hall...but wat the heck ? Who cares ! We were a huge group of eighteen people and esp students...Arent we supposed to be loud ?! :-) Well we were loud but our intelligent inferences throughout the movie kinda sent their grey cells for a brainstorm ride and they quietly accepted that we had what mattered..
I loved the girls in accent who couldn't stop cooing over Abhishek Bachan..Ttats wat i like about handsome guys.Girls just cant stop drooling over them...Accent or no accent ! And to the added bonus the movie was too good...A real Ramu comeback..I guess genius always speaks thru actions and not thru words as some Khans would learn the hard way..They couldn't stop their malicious remarks...Wasn't easy to digest even though it had the disclaimer tag of being "meant to be rude".Overall we enjoyed like never before.And then we walked all the way back to 33rd street station loving every bit of the city as we always do..Bloomigdales , A&F,GAP,Banana Republic just lured our minds ; couldn't lure our pockets though...But the city breathes life and lets out steam(literally, u can see manholes pouring out steam from the subway).You fall in love with NYC right away...I guess NYC is my lady..Have to wait to see LA till i can croon the song LA is my lady.As of now i am gonna hold onto my love before i move on..
~A, unabashed lover of new york city
Perfection is thy name...King Federer....
The Roger Federer Story,Quest for Perfection
The Roger Federer Story,Quest for Perfection
When Tiger Woods achieved the “Tiger Slam” in 2000 and 2001—winning all four of golf’s major championships in a row—Roger Federer was not yet 20 years old. The way that Woods dominated golf and reignited interest in the sport certainly caught the attention of the young Federer. However, he never thought that he would ever be compared to someone as dominant as Woods.
“His story is completely different from mine,” he said in the spring of 2006. “Even as a kid his goal was to break the record for winning the most majors. I was just dreaming of just once meeting Boris Becker or being able to play at Wimbledon some time.”
Despite their different developments and the differences between their sports, the commonalities between Woods and Federer became unmistakable through the years. Like the four-time Masters champion, Federer is in full pursuit of sports history. While Woods is pursuing Jack Nicklaus and his 18 major championships, Federer is chasing Pete Sampras and his 14 Grand Slam singles titles. Both Woods and Federer are amazing because of their mental resilience, which is evident from the fact that they manage to make the most terrific shots under the greatest of difficulties.
Unlike his parents, Roger Federer is not a passionate golfer, but he follows Woods’ career with great interest. “It would be interesting to meet him and to see what he’s like in person,” Federer said in Key Biscayne in 2006.
Both Federer and Woods are clients of the International Management Group (IMG) and Federer’s agent, Tony Godsick, is friends with Mark Steinberg, the agent of Woods. In the summer of 2006, Federer asked Godsick if he could arrange a meeting with Woods.
“The next thing I heard was that Woods would be delighted to come to the US Open final,” Federer recollected. “At that time the tournament hadn’t even started. I would have preferred meeting him in a more relaxed atmosphere than on the day of the US Open final—and I still had to get there first.”
The public had no idea that a spectacular meeting was in the making behind the scenes at the US Open. After Federer defeated the Russian Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals, he was informed that Woods was going to make good on his promise. He flew to New York from Florida on his private jet with his wife, Elin, to watch the US Open final in person.
To everyone’s surprise, Woods took a seat in Federer’s guest box—which was quite noteworthy given the fact that Federer faced an American, Andy Roddick, in the final.
“The fact that Tiger was sitting there put me under extra pressure,” Federer later admitted. “It was just like when I was younger when my parents or Marc Rosset watched me play in person. You want to play especially well.”
Woods’ timing was perfect. He watched and cheered as Federer won his third straight US Open title, defeating the resurgent Roddick 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. For the third year in a row, Federer won both Wimbledon and the US Open—a record that he didn’t have to share with anyone.
While Federer briefly met Woods before the final, the two spent well over an hour together in the locker room following the match, drinking Champagne and gazing at the US Open trophy that Federer just won. Woods even talked on the phone to Federer’s parents who were at home in bed as it was nearly three in the morning in Switzerland.
“I was impressed by how much we had in common,” Federer explained when Woods was on his way back to Florida. “He knew exactly what I was going through and I see what he has to go through. I’ve never spoken with anybody who was so familiar with the feeling of being invincible.”
“It was terrific for me to see him go into my player’s box, shake his fist, and enjoy himself,” he recollected a few weeks later. “He was the loudest one in my box. I was surprised how loose he was about it. He was happy as a kid to be able to watch the final. I think we’ll do things together more often.”
The appearance of Woods at the 2006 US Open final sparked more comparisons—and debates—between the two “athletes of the century” as to who was greater and more dominant. With all due respect to Woods, James Blake came out in favor of Federer.
“In tennis, it’s a tournament where you have one bad day and you’re out,” said Blake. “That’s what we do every single week. Roger is winning every Grand Slam except for the French, winning every Masters Series tournament. That means he can’t have one bad day—that’s incredible. Not to mention he has to be out here for four hours running as opposed to walking while carrying one club—again not taking anything away from golf. Tiger’s proven himself every Sunday every time he has a lead. But look at Roger’s record in Grand Slam finals, too. In Grand Slam finals, he’s 8-1. That’s unheard of.”
The Woods camp and golf fans pointed out that the American, in contrast to Federer, already won all four major tournaments in his sport and instead of only having to defeat seven opponents at the biggest tournaments, Woods had to fight off around 150 contenders. Tennis aficionados emphasized that Grand Slam tournaments lasted two weeks and not just four days and that in tennis, having an off day is enough to get knocked out whereas in golf, players could always save the day in such a situation.
Still others highlighted the commonalities between the two. “Despite their total dominance, Tiger Woods and Roger Federer show a modest self-discipline that would have impressed the most chivalrous medieval knight,” the Daily Telegraph of Britain wrote. The Calgary Sun stated unequivocally which of the two super athletes it favored—“(Federer) is infinitely more human than Tiger Woods, more precise, more likable, more honest, less robotic, seemingly enjoying his place as a tennis player for the ages.”
The Daily News of Los Angeles, by contrast, questioned all of these comparisons. “You say the Swiss dude is definitely the greatest tennis player of all time? Good, then we can switch back to the Bengals-Chiefs. Equating Roger Federer to Tiger Woods isn’t a backhanded compliment, it’s a forehanded insult. An athlete of Federer’s all-around refinement deserves better than to be defined in terms of another athlete.”
After his US Open victory, Federer returned home to Switzerland when he received a surprise phone call. Pete Sampras, whose legacy and records were now one of Federer’s biggest rivals, called to offer congratulations.
“He had already text messaged me three days ago and now he was calling me to congratulate me personally,” said Federer shortly after the US Open. “He asked if I had gotten the message. I said I was just about to reply. It was almost embarrassing. Perhaps I should have replied quicker.”
Sampras told Federer how much he liked to watch him play and emphasized that he now was more clearly dominant than he was during his prime. “To hear something like this from him was incredible,” Federer said. “It’s never happened to me before that my earlier idol called me to compliment me.”
Sampras and Federer continued their text message relationship, with Sampras offering more good wishes over the following few months. Before the tournament in Indian Wells in March of 2007, Federer then took the initiative and called Sampras, who meanwhile announced he was returning to competitive tennis on the Champions circuit run by his contemporary Jim Courier.
Federer asked Sampras if he would like to hit some balls and train together. “I wanted to see how well he could still play because, after all, he was one of my favorite players growing up,” Federer explained. With a wink in his eye and devilish grin, he then said, “beating him in his backyard in Wimbledon was so special to me, so I wanted to try and beat him in his house.”
Federer and Sampras only played once during their careers—the memorable round of 16 match at Wimbledon in 2001. Late in Pete’s career, the two had one brief practice session together in Hamburg. “It started to rain,” Federer recollected. “I was so disappointed, but he was happy to get off.”
After their training session together in Los Angeles in the spring of 2007, Federer expressed his surprise at how well Sampras could still keep up during their practice session. “We played some great sets and tie-breaks. I’m glad to see that he’s actually still enjoying tennis.” The scores of these practice matches? “They’re secret,” Federer said. “Surprisingly, he was very good, but not good enough to beat me!”
Federer found that he and Sampras shared many commonalities and could talk in great detail of their respective lives and pressures on the tour, as well as common experiences, experiences at particular tournaments and even about players who they both played against. With Woods, this was not the case.
“Pete and I played the same tournaments and even played against the same opponents,” Federer said. “I have much more in common with Pete than I have with Tiger off court.”
“When I was new on the tour, I hardly ever spoke to Pete,” he continued. “First of all, he was never around at the courts, and when he would come into the locker room, everything was quiet because he was respected so much by all the other players.” Several years later, Federer finally got a chance to find out what made Sampras so unique and what brought him so close to perfection.
Before the end of 2006, Federer received another opportunity for an in-person visit with Woods. Just two months after the US Open, Federer, Tony Roche and Mirka Vavrinec followed Woods for six holes in the first round of the HSBC Golf Championship at the Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai before the Tennis Masters Cup. Woods shot a mediocre round of 72 on the day—“Unfortunately, I was hitting wild shots everywhere,” he said.
Woods finished second in Shanghai that week but Federer one-upped him and put forth plenty of fireworks en route to winning his third Tennis Masters Cup title. Unlike the previous three years, Federer arrived at the Tennis Masters Cup after an extremely successful fall season and without any major injuries.
After the US Open, he returned to Davis Cup play, guiding Switzerland to victory over Serbia—and back into the Davis Cup World Group—defeating both Janko Tipsarevic and Novak Djokovic in singles. He then traveled to
Japan for the first time in his life and defeated Tim Henman to win the title in Tokyo. Two weeks later, he won his first title on Spanish soil, defeating Fernando Gonzalez of Chile to win the Masters Series event in Madrid. A week later, Federer achieved one of his most important career goals when he finally won his hometown event—the Swiss Indoors in Basel. Federer again met Gonzalez in the final, and after his 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory, he celebrated by buying and eating pizza with the ball kids at the St. Jakobshalle. He did not forget that years before, he too was a ball kid at the event.
In Shanghai, Federer’s lone challenger ended up being Roddick, who held three match points against him in their round-robin match before faltering. After an impressive semifinal win over his chief rival Rafael Nadal, Federer trounced Blake, the surprise finalist, 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 to win the championship.
“I’ve never seen any one play better tennis,” Roche said exuberantly. The title was Federer’s first in China and his win over Blake extended his winning streak to 29 matches.
After Federer’s dream year, the tennis history books were again revised. Although he only competed in 17 tournaments during the 2006 season, he earned $8,343,885 in prize money, besting Pete Sampras’ record by nearly two million dollars. “The Masters title in Shanghai is the perfect end to an incredible season,” said Federer, who reached the final of 16 of the 17 events he played, while winning a career-best 12 titles.
With a 92-5 won-loss record, he became the first player since 1982 to win over 90 matches in a single season. Federer was also the first professional player to win at least 10 tournaments three years in a row.
In retrospect, he was only two sets shy of becoming the third man to win the Grand Slam. Had he not lost the four-set final to Nadal at the French Open, a Grand Slam would have been achieved, although the pressure he would have faced at Wimbledon and the US Open would have been, of course, much more intense.
~A, King Federer's fan....
Friday, May 02, 2008
Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like its Heaven on Earth.
May there always be work for your hands to do;
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like its Heaven on Earth.
May there always be work for your hands to do;
May your purse always hold a coin or two;
May the sun always shine on your windowpane;
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;
May the hand of a friend always be near you;
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you
You need to feel the hate to be in this cutting edge world.I despise everything with a detached superiority.Funny! What a paradox ? Despise and detached ?! Fail to understand myself at times. The more i meet people the more the hatred grows . Is this a heart gone sour ? Well maybe . The hatred makes me more focussed and all the more detached. What a commercial world ! Nobody talks without any price tags attached. Everyone needs something ! pffff... Oh those conniving ways and yet people assume you don't get it. How low can the human intel hit ? Nobody can figure out the condescending countenance i sport with a smile . Too much smothered in their egos to actually see the obvious. Hah! The rise of the ego !!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
I am in the college library...12:37 pm ..Just hanging around till 2:20 pm waiting for my interview..I just look around...Spring break is over..Classes have started full throttle.But when u look arnd u know our generation has been googled!..The serious types are proactively finishing up some projects with help from google..the procrastinators are googling at the last minute to finish up assignments..Some are just whiling away time logging into orkut , facebook etc etc with their google profiles or simply chatting in Gtalk..Boyfriends and girlfriends romancing or frens catching up..Some are updating their websites in GoogleApps..while others are trying to get cheap deals with Google Checkout..Most of us in college who don't have cars are just hinging on Googlemaps trying to figure their way around.And some like me are just passing time writing a blog about google with a google login .Arent' we just googled ? :)..Three cheers to the Google generation..
~A, free spirited like Google...
~A, free spirited like Google...
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Wow !
I have been meaning to post in my blog space for a long long time now...Phew ! I really wanted to keep a track of my "American Adventure " (as Ralf my colleague called it :))..Maybe something like an American Diary..well it has been more than two months that i have been here now..So far so good.I just landed up here all alone.People thought I was bonkers.I thought I was following my heart.Why an MS now, they asked?Why not now?It perfectly makes sense to me.I want it and I am gonna do it.I dunno where i would land up but my heart knows it is right."What about marriage"?What about it ? It will happen when it has to happen.It is not a task that needs to be done and shoved out of the way.It just has to click right.Well that z how i am.Almost everyone i met seemed to disagree.And in after these two months today i seemed to have the best American experience.And believe you me it was on youtube.Ain't it funny ?Well life is funny.There was this amazing speech by Steve Jobs.About Apple,life and death and nothing made more sense than anything in life than every word he said.He said just follow your heart and instinct.They seem to know better than you where you should be.Keep looking and don't settle.You can't join the dots looking way forward but only when you look back you can make the connection.Starting out as a young UG in engineering i was lost.Something close to my heart was missing.But when I look back today it all makes sense.Today I won't have my life any other way.There are no regrets.I have left everything behind..my comfort zone , my secure life in search for something I feel is out there.I am gonna get it.The mantra is keep looking.Do something you really love.It will eventually fall into place and one day you would just look back and connect dots of your karma.Just don't think about the results.Just stay committed, hang on there,it always does work out...
~A, the lightseeker...
I have been meaning to post in my blog space for a long long time now...Phew ! I really wanted to keep a track of my "American Adventure " (as Ralf my colleague called it :))..Maybe something like an American Diary..well it has been more than two months that i have been here now..So far so good.I just landed up here all alone.People thought I was bonkers.I thought I was following my heart.Why an MS now, they asked?Why not now?It perfectly makes sense to me.I want it and I am gonna do it.I dunno where i would land up but my heart knows it is right."What about marriage"?What about it ? It will happen when it has to happen.It is not a task that needs to be done and shoved out of the way.It just has to click right.Well that z how i am.Almost everyone i met seemed to disagree.And in after these two months today i seemed to have the best American experience.And believe you me it was on youtube.Ain't it funny ?Well life is funny.There was this amazing speech by Steve Jobs.About Apple,life and death and nothing made more sense than anything in life than every word he said.He said just follow your heart and instinct.They seem to know better than you where you should be.Keep looking and don't settle.You can't join the dots looking way forward but only when you look back you can make the connection.Starting out as a young UG in engineering i was lost.Something close to my heart was missing.But when I look back today it all makes sense.Today I won't have my life any other way.There are no regrets.I have left everything behind..my comfort zone , my secure life in search for something I feel is out there.I am gonna get it.The mantra is keep looking.Do something you really love.It will eventually fall into place and one day you would just look back and connect dots of your karma.Just don't think about the results.Just stay committed, hang on there,it always does work out...
~A, the lightseeker...
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