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...

I would one day write on "Being Let Down..."

~A, a promise to remember....

"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....

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

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

Perfection is thy name...King Federer....

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.

http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/articles/2007-08-17/200708171187376791244.html

~A, King Federer's fan....

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

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 !!

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...

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...

Smile...
Somehow i have stopped smiling.Like innumerables in Bangalore today i have simply stopped feeling.Like the ad goes if you were to describe yourself in a song,what would you use? I would say -Numb.Where are my days of endless chats with friends,where is the feeling of adrenaline rush at the prospect of something new, where z the excitement of tomorrow?Like David Brooks wrote in the NYT, i really feel my generation has been stuck in the odyssey age.The age where you are confused, try out double careers,where stability is seen as a comfort zone (and scoffed @)and the urge to move in and out of things happen more and more.And to add to David's perception where people have just simply stopped deriving happiness from simple pleasures.
Today is a sunday afternoon.When my mom recounts her days of youth on a sunday afternoon it almost has a surreal feeling today.Lying back in your bed,the Phillips record player playing Rhinestone Cowboy in the background and staring at the ceiling or endless discussions and arguments about almost everything under the sun with her siblings.I hardly see my sister.We hardly talk to each other.Its once in a year that i meet her.I miss what we used to share once.I miss those unaffected big laughs,never never ending chats.Are the bonds weakening?
Is all this worth for what i am pursuing?? Now all i think about is myself.My career.What i need to do next?I need to do better than the person next to me.I need to achieve standards.I set targets for myself and dream and strive to achieve those.Is that so bad?Why do i have to give up all i love for that?Why cant i have the best of both worlds?Why do mum and dad have to be away from me?Cant i have it all?
But today i am at that point where i cant give up my dreams.I just cant go back.But the heartache lingers that in the pursuit of dreams i am leaving behind so much..I wish i could have it all.

~Lara,the dreamer.

Colours of Raigarh.......

Tapan returned home weary and tired.Another day went by without any business.Not a single piece of saree got sold today.His family had been in this business since time immemorial.His father,grandfather,great grandfather and time till you could trace back had all been saree merchants.His grandpa would tell him stories about how his ancestors would dress up the queens with their exquiste sarees.And how with change those sarees had come to adorn ordinary people as kings and queens fell with upheavels in history.Colorful patterns;floral designs, polka dotted,geometrical shapes was what he understood.His father would bring in rich quality yarns of cotton,chiffon,georgette when he was young.The smell of those fresh bales still stuck to his senses.He knew of no other trade than selling sarees.It was not simply a business for Tapan Rai anymore.It was his way of life.The village women would wait for him to make his weekly round when he came in with his cart and set up shop under the banyan tree that stood like the old guardian of the village.The gentle breeze would carry the whiff of new sarees and the excited women folk would come out in groups to the cart near the tree.The young womenfolk would be all abuzz with excitement.The older ones would chide the young ones at their restlessness but what everybody felt was the beauty of the colors,patterns and endless yards of cloth around them.But things were changing.
Life was not so colorful as the sarees that were laid out in Tapan's cart.The crowd was much smaller.The smiling and bright faces were not there.All he could see was a pall of gloom.A fear of what tomorrow brings.Crestfallen mourning faces.Red shrieking sirens in the air.A small sound would scare all.More than colors he could see the white on women.The village was empty of life and soul.The war had killed their spirit as it killed their loved ones.The wives,daughters,daughter-in-laws,mothers had to everyday bid goodbye to their sons,brothers,fathers.Coffins arrived in lots everyday.Heart rending cries echoed in the air.The empty souls showed in their empty eyes.His heart broke at the sight today.He called out to his wife as he stopped ruminating."Shradhaa";he said"Pack those white cloth bundles tomorrow.I need to go back to the village".

If astronomy is your cup of herbal tea, you can check this out....

The outer space simply fascinates me like any other of my kind....My attempt at picking up this fascination to a hobby with the sunday morning cup of coffee and one day maybe who knows what..Just like i would like to define death as a miscalculation of a fraction of a second i strongly define life as 'Opportunities'..Make the best out of it with whatever possible..

http://www.astronomyforbeginners.com/astronomy/howknow.php#radearth

Oh how time flies..but some things never change....

~Lara the trojan warrior....

i am back again after a long hiatus.i guess it has become a habit for me as i sit to write every blog.i am away for long and when i return life has changed for me in a little way or the other.
i had planned a lot for this year.i wanted to write my gre and i have written.i wanted to fly to Germany and surprisingly i got the chance to do so.The feeling of landing up in foreign shores had been a long term wish for me for quite sometime.Coming from a middle class background some dreams seemed quite out of reach when i was a little girl.However my mother taught me to dream.Always! She said if you don't dream,you don't aspire.And if you don't aspire you never gonna learn nor dare to do things in life.
The moment when i got the news was quite numbing.i wasnt expecting it at all.But the moment it was out that i would travel,i just dint know how to react.i was ecstatic.i might seem very burgoise in penning down such feelings but this is how i exactly felt and i am gonna say just the way i felt it.My parents had tears in their eyes when they heard this.My mom always had big dreams for me.She is a brilliant lady but being a homemaker for more than 30 yrs is not a very enterprising job.even with my one year and a half of work i am already thinking of the next step.i wonder how mom feels at times?
Not to move beside the point,7th of July finally arrived.A hectic day ensued in office and finally at night i left for the airport.Deba and kk came with me and it felt good to have them beside me.My colleagues brought whole of their families.So we got quite lost in the maddening crowd :).
Finally after all the formalities,we sat down peacefully waiting for the flight at 11:30.Spoke to all my loved ones.Mom,sis and etc.How time flies!Finally the call was there and we boarded sharp on time..The next morning when the LH 755 landed in Germany it was like a dream come true..i just couldnt believe it..i had made it on my own and there is no feeling greater than being able to live upto your dreams! May fortune always favor the brave like it always has....

~A,all-about-myself

Finally back again; i have been away long..the queen is back with her razzmatazz..Its been really hectic ever since i departed. Well to begin with the big yellow taxi was ready to pick me up on my way to the Thomson Prometric Airport. Well i departed home a little early, thinking it would be safe to arrive a little ahead of time. Everything was in place.My tickets,my duffel bag and my job was clear.All i needed was a smooth drive to the airport with my friend Deba.However as i was about to leave,the phone jingled in my purse.I thot who could be this? Deba's name was blinking on the white mobile screen. As soon as i picked it up, she spoke excitedly.Sorry A. I cant make it.An emergency has come up.I was disappointed.We had planned for this trip from january. but i could understand.i said dont worry. i will be on my way alone.And as i sat anxiously in the big yellow taxi alone, i finally felt that i had grown up.Taking a big step in this world , completely alone. Just me and my shadow for my friend. The ride was bumpy,confusing lanes, filled with moments of anxiety.And as i was approaching the airport, my heart pumped faster.How time flew.I was finally here.To face my destiny.To challenge my fears and meet life head-on.i went with all my armor.Soldier in armor,solitary soldier.

I checked in.My credentials checked i sat down.Was waiting for the call.Finally i was ushered inside the giant aircraft.i was travelling alone.i took my seat.i had the proverbial cold feet and even hands too.The crew was very hospitable.but they cldnt help me calm my nerves.My fear for flying was rearing its head.And suddenly like it came it was gone.The anxiety disappeared.i convinced myself the beauty i would experience in the joy of flying would be much more than fear would ever get me. finally i was making peace with my fears.exorcising the demons of uncertainity and anxiety.And yes,beautiful did i land! i finally made it alone.Conquered my fear of the unknown..However the hand(or rather the trident ;-) that helped me i would forever be grateful to..

~lara, the returnee from exile

"The Blooker Prize"

A 32-year old New Yorker who spent a year trying to master every recipe in a book of French Cookery has become the inaugural winner of a prize devoted to books born of blogs. Julie Powell, a frustrated unpublished author approaching 30 in a dead end office job,came up with the idea of attempting to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child's 1961 cookbook Mastering the art of French Cooking.
Her husband suggested chronicling her eforts online,where her musings on life,love and cooking drew an ever-larger cult following.The blog led to a publishing deal: Julie and Julia:365 Days,524 Recipes,1 Tiny Kitchen Apartment and it sold more than 100,000 copies.
Julie Powell claims that she had no idea wat a blog was until a week before she actually started writing.

She is quoted as: The medium really liberated me and motivated me to do the work and not obsess over the details.The community aspect of blogging and the intearction with others kept me honest,kept me writing and kept me from sinking into my habitual self-loathing.

The prize was established by Bob Young who made a fortune from his Red Hat Software Business.

To find out more about the The Blooker Prize:

http://lulublookerprize.typepad.com/

~A ,The blogger Enthused

A Big Yellow Taxi...

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

Ooooh, bop bop bopOoooh, bop bop bop

They took all the trees, and put em in a tree museum
And they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them
No, no, no
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot

Ooooh, bop bop bopOoooh, bop bop bop

Hey farmer, farmer, put away your DDT
I don't care about spots on my apples,
Leave me the birds and the bees
PleaseDon't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
Hey now, they paved paradise to put up a parking lot

Why not?Ooooh, bop bop bopOoooh, bop bop bop

Listen, late last night, I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi took my girl away
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

Well, don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise to put up a parking lot

Why not?They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
Hey hey heyPaved paradise and put up a parking lot

Ooooh, bop bop bopOoooh, bop bop bop

I don't wanna give it
Why you wanna give it
Why you wanna giving it all away
Hey, hey, hey
Now you wanna give itI should wanna give it
Now you wanna giving it all away
Hey, paved paradise to put up a parking lot

This is where i come in?
Another lazy afternoon today.Amazingly four days off in a row.A lot of time for introspection and retrospection. its almost been a month and i still feel numbed.life does go on as normal.it always does.my life is so important to me ans so is everybody else's when they see theirs.But when u try to visualise a cosmic picture of evrything , almost everything is invisible to the naked eye.Probably i have been following the latter policy of late. But a time comes and reality kicks in and you gotta see things for what they are.i m lying in my bed with a book.the eyes seem to be more reading the ceiling than reading the black lines in the book.When u have time to yourself so many things are percieved clearly.Ever since that day i could come up with only one question again and again..Where did i fit in all this? i was never there really.Wat did i have to do here? Wat did i get? i feel there is a hand of destiny in all that happens in your life.i keep questioning myself how did i figure? i cant bring myself to blame myself or anyone or any circumstance.i can only ask "What was my part"? Did i deserve this?When i look back everytime questions just cloud my mind..just questions...just questions..

~Lara,the soul in introspection..

Walmart in India....

i am currently reading the book 'Welcome to the United States of Walmart' by John Dicker where i can find the author describing Walmart with a begrudging respect, awe, contempt,vile to describe the opening.I never pondered to think what impact ,controversies Walmart stood to generate in the US except knowing the fact that it featured at the top in Forbes List of Fortune 500. However when i got hold of the book i really felt like finding out more. To start with:

Walmart's Profile:


Type

Public: (NYSE: WMT)
Founded: Rogers, Arkansas, 1962
Location: Bentonville, Arkansas, USA
Key people: Sam Walton (1918-1992), FounderH. Lee Scott, CEOS. Robson Walton, Chairman
Industry: Retail (Department & Discount)
Products: Wal-Mart Discount Stores ,Wal-Mart Supercenter,Sam's Club,Neighborhood Markets ASDA
Revenue : $316 billion USD ($11B FY 2006)
Employees: 1.7 million
Website: http://www.walmartstores.com/

Currently there are around 5509 Walmart stores around the world out of which 1,980 are supercenters.Walmart has expanded around the world.While in the US the natural policy would be to acquire land and build up new supecenters or neighborhood markets when it comes to spreading across the globe , Walmart believes in buying out stores and branding them with the Walmart tag.In Mexico,it bought up Cifra,brazil it was Lojas Americanas,in Germany Wertkauf,South Korea Makro,Britain's ASDA and Japan's Seiyu. Walmart is so huge that it is like a giant personality on its own and kinda feels inappropiate to call it an "it".

While on this note of expanding businesses of Walmart i was wondering what about our country?

India represents a $250 billion retail market,growing @ 7.2% a year and forecasted that modern retailing is yet to set in.

Talking about Asia and India,we see that there are around 56 Walmart stores in China and it has been a resounding success.This has lead to Walmart setting its sights in the world's largest democracy.However India already outsources apparels to Walmart from a centre in bangalore.

Walmart CEO John Menzer was in India and was in discussion with the prime minister Manmohan Singh regarding opening of Walmart stores in india.They are trying to influence india's FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) policy which currently stands at 24% so that it is increased to around 49%.Manmohan Singh was the pioneer of the globalisation policy which has really influenced and enhanced Indian Markets.

However Walmart Ceo has stated that that Walmart would make a foray into the Indian Market ,FDI or no FDI increase.

The average urban household income in India is about $3,000 a year, roughly in line with China, and the consuming class has grown from 35 million families in 1996 to an expected 80 million this year. That's roughly in line with the U.S. Menzer said: "This is a very big opportunity for us" .

No matter the opposition the Walmarts would face from the likes of shoppers' stop,lifestyle,pantaloons etc , shoppers in india always look out for the shopping experience.Yes,the Walmarts are infamous for wiping out the mom and pop business retailers,yet they continue to grow in full abandon.

~Lara,The Walmart Analyst :-B