There is a pleasure

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep sea,and music in its roar;
I love not man the less,
but Nature more,
From these our interviews,in which I steal,
From all I may be,
Or have been before,
To mingle with the universe and feel,
What i can never express,
Yet cannot all conceal.

- Lord Byron

Return of the Prodigal...

It's been over one year, one year and four days to be exact (ref: heart of a champion), when I promised to myself, that I would never to watch Indian cricket again...but I really couldn't!! As the Men in [Black and] Blue played one series after another..I realized I had lost the interest in the game.. the passion I had for the team was no longer there.

Honest talks had given way to 'SPEAKING RIGHT'...the huddle had given itself away to petty politics..just one big muck and a lot of mud slinging..finally when the team was cremated four to nothing during the African safari..it was time for the return of the Prodigal

Out of the airplane to the ground, and then a courageous 83 to boot that, set the tone for the revival of Indian cricketing fortunes. Young hearts took cue, and there we saw the most amazing turnaround, shepherding the tail brilliantly, the Indian team responded with their first victory at Potchefstroom, South Africa.

The first test was another witness to the strength 'SOURAV GANGULY' brings to the team, especially to those with burning fire in their hearts and we all know how the next Sree [after our very dear Srinath of yore], responded beautifully after Ganguly's resplendent innings.

Just to quote Muhammed Ali .."Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even."

But for dada..the match was never even.

The heart of a champion

There were countless thoughts in his mind, but he had to let them be, he could not rely on them now! There was no time for it. He needed to be strong, strong at heart. He had to muster all he had. There were too many of them, too many heartless people thirsting for his failure. Some were people in great power, and some were those who LOVE to hate.

They were just a bunch of ruthless people, all waiting to finish him.

Vulnerable, we are but mortals, all of us have our weakness.

The opposition erupted into raptures, as a lone figure walked into the field. His enemies smirked, knowing this was their day.

He had a weakness and the opposition knew it all too well.

Though his thoughts were weighing him down, his heart was true. He fought them hard, giving his enemies no respite. Light was slowly giving away to darkness, but the warrior was firm.

On the other side, his comrade were felled ruthlessly .

Finally darkness clouded over, it was time for rest.

They had failed to finish him.

The battle began early next day. The early morning was the perfect time to exploit the warrior’s weakness. They tried, tried hard, but to no avail. He had battled them all too well.

But, suddenly, the champion fell. Fall, did he, but not before wearing down his enemies, not before he had put his side to safety.

He was my hero for years, and always will be. He had the heart of a fighter and the spirit of a champion. A great leader and a just man. He had taken charge of a group of directionless souls, and moulded them into a great unit. He has too many enemies now. Sooner or later, they are bound to prevail, but for me, he lives on.

Thus goes a quote ‘Everybody loves to see a hero fall’. But not this time..not this time.

Madly in love..

A song from the past..will always linger within ..everytime you see her..

OST Notting Hill

She
May be the face I can't forget
The trace of pleasure or regret
May be my treasure or the price I have to pay

She
May be the song that summer sings
May be the chill that autumn brings
May be a hundred different things
Within the measure of a day

She
May be the beauty or the beast
May be the famine or the feast
May turn each day into a heaven or a hell

She
may be the mirror of my dreams
The smile reflected in a stream

She
may not be what she may seem Inside her shell

She
Who always seems so happy in a crowd
Whose eyes can be so private and so proud
No one's allowed to see them when they cry

She
May be the love that cannot hope to last
May come to me from shadows of the past
That I'll remember till the day I die

She
May be the reason I survive
The why and wherefore I'm alive
The one I'll care for through the rough in ready years

Me
I'll take her laughter and her tears
And make them all my souvenirs
For where she goes I've got to be The meaning of my life is

She She, oh she

Being in love

You wake up to a very abnormal day, getting late for work..you rush into everything..till time stands still when you're waiting for your bus..

Then.. you see this girl..

You really don't know what to do..what to say..just seem to forget everything.. now so eager to be late to work..so that you can get a chance to get a glimpse of her...

You desire nothing more from life then..

A few days later, your logical sense tries to take over you..and you fight it everytime..everytime you get restless waiting for that fleeting moment in eternity..

Your senses are to numb to react...to react to anything material..you are so lost in the beautiful world you've created within you..

Through the ages.... there have been countless people who've had this feeling within themselves..countless odes written..it's a moment so pure..so untouched..it's your own world..

It's like another new born..unaware of the scheming ways of the world..of the mind..

It's upto us to protect it..nurture it..help it grow strong and true..make it able to stand the test of time..

Many of us realize the meaning of what we possesed only after we've so carelessly given it up..and when we do our world turns upside down...we are so lost ..so out of control in life..

Writing this.. just got something into my head..an interesting tale..

At the end of school...the wise teacher tells his students to pick up the tallest shaft of wheat from the field and get it to him..

As the students went along the field, they saw many tall shafts but did not pick it up..thinking they would find a taller one..in the end many did get anything back to the teacher....

He sent them out again..

This time..everyone..got a shaft of wheat..even though they were not the tallest..

....Hold on to your love and let it grow....cause the happiness you were looking for ..was always right beside you...

Emptiness..

A few people are very special. But, they never realize it and we are too drunk by our worldly pursuits, to even notice it.

A friend of mine left Bangalore recently. Even though he was facing the worst troubles in life, you could never see it. You could only feel happiness being around him.

Some people felt, the cause of the troubles was his own doings, but I know, it's not because of his folly, it really cannot be. Nor was it his lackadaisical attitude, that many people credit his state to.

Many people reach great heights in their career, but their achievement hardly means anything to others. In most cases, it only ignites jealousy and unhealthy competition. I wonder, how many friends do these people have, who feel a void in their lives when they move far away. I bet, you will not find any. You know it's true.

But there are a very few people, who can make an unselfish bonding with anyone in an instant, even a lesser number of people who can create happiness, even in midst of all gloom.

As my friend moves away from Bangalore, I know something greater awaits him. Here comes my friend lucky 'Kolkota', take good care of him.

' We are but travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend' - RL Stevenson

Bangalore Rains..

I am in my balcony sipping a warm brew, as the rain falls over the rough tarmac, and the scent of the warm summer lights up the evening.

Away from the maddening trafffic of the city, I enjoy the beautiful moments between me and the rain.

Beautiful moments..right..that's what they are, when you are safe at home.

Loud blaring horns...bad drainage..heavy rain! A commuters nightmare! How bad can it get..You are stuck cause the traffic is worse than a sloth bear..and you have the rain sloshing you wet...Think you've handled the worst, time to think again, the sturdy looking tree next to you may just fall on you...Yeah..it cannot get worse than this...

Welcome to Namma Bengalooru

Looking for Progress?

Well son..what do you want to be when you grow up? ...Obviously a 'Software Pro' Dad!..Ah...so obvious….That's the next gen job! Easy to land up with one..GREAT pay and one helluva funtime.. (discounting the tiring night-outs in office..)

If you chance to go to PVR at Forum, during a weekend...try throwing a piece of rubbish down! Aha, you can be sure...90% of the time it's going to hit a software guy...Looks like fun, so many software guys at Forum! The flipside dude, aren't we losing out people..who can build industries! Where are all the entrepreneurs going...? Is everybody looking for the easy way out?

Well, the son continues with his Dad’s business..but what about new ones..isn’t there room for any? Who will build the next Reliance? Searchin’ for answers?

A scary thought…just for the heck of it..What’s goin to happen to all the NRI’s (Newly Rich Indians), if the software market crashes…surely..’Forum’ will be empty..and Bangalore’s real estate..is going to crash hard (deserves it)…but then…where are our own Indian Industries…Forget the shopping Malls and the restaurants…where are all the manufacturing Units..??

We NRI’s surely don’t want to be on bench minus the pay…

Time to put your thinking cap on! I am sure we’ll come to a logical conclusion, Cause..aren’t we a country high on intellectual capital? Hey..Anyone wanna THINK..?

Note: No offence to the Software pros..I too belong to the same herd

Mark their Words...

The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other,
as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood,
And I--I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference




If - Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Turn the wheel ...dammit..

The wheel can turn...but when?

As a young bangladeshi kissed the turf at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff....you could literally feel the energy vibrating through the entire Bangladeshi team..it was a sight to behold..they had played their hearts out..and beat all odds to come out trumps. You could feel the wheel was turning.....
Life ...life is a game of sorts...you win some..you lose some..but..it is important to make winning a habit..and come back stronger on losing..
Till yesterday..I presumed..Sania was just another media hype !! But at the 'Centre court' as she played..there was something..you couldn't help notice...there was this teenager knocking hard on the doors of stardom... If she hadn't played the first set so casually..maybe she would have won..maybe the doors would have opened up faster for her..! But at the end of the high energy drama ..you could feel...you could feel, she would be someone to reckon with..soon...

In our lives, we come across many moments..when we say to ourselves..'Had I put in a bit more effort ...I could have certainly done a lot more better'...Dont you feel that these are ways to spoil ourselves just a little more....! Remarks to console our sorry self...to pity ourselves. Instead..why dont we put in our best at the first oppurtunity! Why don't we say to ourself..'Whatever..I do, I am going to give it my best..each and every time'. Why don't WE ! ...May be this is human nature..

For those looking for some inspiration need not go far beyond Kiplings 'IF'..but..the scenario described is too theoritical to be true. But..if we can put in our best to follow what he says ...then..surely..'Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!' .