New Year soon?
Damn, 2003 just flashed past! Did I even cherish the few important moments? No, but who really does?

Must make good plans and, more importantly, implement them in 2004.

Or is it better to take things as they come along?

Professors!

Teaching is a noble profession, some people say. But are teachers noble? Sure, students may not respect them, but then, why should they?

You have teachers who don't really care to help a student in any way other than what is within the curriculum. On a teacher's desk, I spotted a booklet by an NGO, about what voters should know. I asked her if I could go through the booklet. She flatly refused. I requested her again, with another please. No prizes for guessing what her response was.

And then you have teachers who are the least organised, mix up lecture timings, and then expect students to be experts at time management.

Glass houses... stones...

Just had to vent.

Now What?

Before we know it, the Commonwealth Games will be here. And they will be making new flyovers, sports complexes, and what-not all over New Delhi, all at the tax-payer's expense of course. And the bill? We probably can't even imagine.

So here we are, making flyovers to show off to other nations, when we don't have even a single pothole-free city. And what about the villages which don't have roads at all? And then there's a new sports complex set up, in Lonavla, Sahara's Amby Valley to be precise. How about encouraging sports at the school level to make most of it? All we did in school was marching (left, right, left!) and langdi. Only the students with pushy parents got special training privately.

And while we will be serving the who's who from the sports world exotic dishes along with Evian, some people will be wondering when they will get a steady supply of running water, and enough electricity to light one bulb...

Let's Censor!

The Government wants to censor television now.

If these idiotic norms are implemented, we won't be able to watch A-rated movies on TV anymore. Imagine not watching Satya or other such movies.

What's happening to the country?

Money, Money, Money!

It seems that Anil Ambani was voted by the youth of India as an MTV icon. I'm sure that's because he has loads of cash, and which young, hot-blooded young person would not like his father to do all the work and get his money in inheritance?

So now, Telgi is all over the papers, and not a single feature on him fails to mention how much money he earned. And since the young are so crazy after money, I wonder if he will be the next MTV icon? ;-)

Confused

A strange thing happened today. I came across a picture in a magazine which exactly reflected what I have been wanting to do since the past few days. Is it just a coincidence, or is it a sign that it will happen? Or maybe I'm thinking too much?

Disappointment

I guess everyone knows by now that Matrix Revolutions is really quite a damp squib. There's too much of action with sentinels, mini-cannons and shells, almost like a war movie. There are hardly any fresh and profound philosophical insights. And all the shelling and machine-with-tentacles sidelined Neo (Keanu Reeves). The last fight between Smith and Neo are quite insipid except for a few frames. Nothing like the action sequences in the previous two movies. :-(

But if you're a Matrix fan, you'd watch it anyway, so go ahead. But don't expect much.

PS- On the positive side, I watched it on the IMAX screen, so the movie experience was not all that bad! :-)

Yipee!

I'm going to watch The Matrix: Revolutions tomorrow, and though I've heard it's not all that good, I'm ready for some great action sequences! And frankly, The Matrix: Reloaded is the only action movie I liked! :-)

Another Year

I met Hrithik Roshan! I remember the last time I met another hunk from the movie world- Rahul Khanna. All my friends were jealous (but of course!).

Hrithik seemed quite down-to-earth and polite. And though photographs were not allowed on the set, he happily signed autographs for us!

Now who else can boast of meeting Hrithik Roshan on their 19th birthday, and he wishing you a very Happy Birthday? ;-)

So Far, Yet So Near

When I read about a fire in San Diego, California, I ignored it. But when I opened an e-mail from a friend in the US, living in San Diego, I went back to the news report.

I read the e-mail with horror- it's pouring ashes on his house. His friends living close to the area on fire have been evacuated and still don't know what happened to their homes.

When someone close to you is hurt, it hurts you. And when you are hurt, it pains so much that you are embarassed to display or share it. You are hidden by the veneer that is your face.

Good Read

If you want to read a book that has adventure, action, drama, excitement, across-the-continent journeys, international conspiracies, and compassion, I'd suggest A Thousand Suns by Dominique Lapierre.

For a while, I couldn't believe it was non-fiction!

Punishment?

What's the punishment for stealing a bicycle? In Bihar, it means having your eyes gouged out.

Unbelievable but true.

Inspiration

"I would not have written Eragon if I had gone to public (state) school."
-Christopher Paolini

Christopher Paolini is a 19-year-old who recently published a fantasy book, Eragon, the first of a trilogy. He hated reading as a child. This young home-schooled fella has been on tour, and once arm-wrestled a six-foot something farmhand to sell his book!

What I like the most about his surprise success story is that he started writing at the age of 15.

Maybe it's my turn now! He doesn't seem to be a bad mentor at all, does he? :-)

Recap

I told everyone I had paratyphoid. What I didn't say was that I had two diseases simultaneously- jaundice and paratyphoid. So since August 25, I have been on a diet of liquids (coconut water, juice, glucose water etc.) and oil-free food! And I cannot eat out for at least another month...

Everyone asks me how I fell sick since I eat only at good restaurants, and not too often either. Well, it all depends on what you mean by a good restaurant. If you think Taj and Oberoi are safe places to eat, think again. They are empty during the week, so when you go there, most of the food is stale and just re-heated! It's the same for other restaurants too, but if they are always crowded, then the food is little less staler. But if you go to Santosh Sagar or some other Udipi joint, the food is absolutely fresh!

I am still quite weak, so my vacations will be quiet. Learnt a couple of good lessons in the past couple of months. Health is wealth, after all!

Left Out

For once, left-handers all over the world (including me) can celebrate, because it's Left Hander's Day! :-)
I completely identify with this column. And I discovered that Prince William and I have something in common- we're both left-handed.

Encounters with the Indian Press

For anyone who wants to freelance as a writer, here's some terrible news.
"Only an optimist would try to freelance for a living..."

Blogging Stories

Just did a search on Rediff for Net Guide features on Blogging. A few good ones:
http://www.rediff.com/search/2001/oct/12blogs.htm by Nidhi Taparia.

http://www.rediff.com/netguide/2003/mar/22iraq.htm by Anita Bora.

http://www.rediff.com/netguide/2003/jun/12media.htm by me! :-)

Unrequited Love!

If you love or have a crush on someone who doesn't reciprocate, then this is the site to visit.

Teen Torture

In America, parents send their troubled offspring to Jamaica's Tranquility Bay - a 'behaviour-modification centre' which charges $40,000 a year to 'cure' them.

This story in The Guardian describes the 'resort'.

Great Reporting

The fundamentals of great reporting by John Simpson.
(Via Joshua Newton)

Good read, especially for aspiring journos like me!

Sliders

Maybe the concept of Sliders could be a true one. This explains how.

Concentration

For concentration exercises:

A few exercises

Exercises on a Acne website!

For referees, but can still help!

Good website

RIP

In 1997, everyone in my class talked about Kalpana Chawla. At that point, I wanted to be an astronaut, of all things, and she was my role model.

I have given up that dream, but not the role model.

CNN reports on the tragedy.

HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- The seven astronauts aboard Columbia were killed today when the space shuttle shattered about 38 miles over east Texas as it was heading toward Kennedy Space Center in Florida to land.

No one knows how it happened, amd that probably makes it worse- to think that something as major as this happened, and we have no clue how or why.

Just shows how weak we really are.

Asereje!

The English translation of the Ketchup Song. Though not in cent per cent English, the lyrics now make more sense- at least I know what I tap my foot too! (Or dance to sometimes!).

Flash

Blast in Mumbai's Vile Parle suburb. Details still coming in.

Am I safe anymore? I wonder.

I get the same feeling I got on December 6, 2002.

Say "Sorry"!

On April 17, 2002 a 500-pound American bomber accidentally killed four Canadian soldiers walking along a ravine in Afghanistan. Three of those perished were below 25.

Yet, yet, the Canadian families have not received an apology from the American side.

All they got was a video footage from the warpane camera seconds before their loved ones died.

Court martial is not enough, is it?

And is US of A too proud to admit its fault... once again?

Don't Tell me What To Do!

USA says, India do this, Pakistan do that. Just when I begin to think we've had enough of Big Bro, or rather, Dad, telling us what to do, USA says India should resume talks with Pakistan.

So should India obey Daddy, or play the role of the peaceful kid meekly explaining why he can't do it, or be a rebel and say, "Don't tell me what to do! I'm not a kid anymore!"