Where the mind is without fear....

What has this world come to?? Darwin says we have evolved... common sense says that we have become civilized... Civilized! My foot!

Chaos still reigns. Terrorism still triumphs. Whether we agree to it or not is a different matter altogether.

Couple of days back, tragedy struck the innocent residents of Jaipur. 7 bombs exploding within matter of minutes ... dead bodies strewn everywhere... survivors without limbs... and a letter - A letter that declares that the terrorists have triumphed once again! And that they will continue their terror activities till Indian economy is destroyed.

This letter was all about arrogance. It also hinted that the attack was so meticulously planned and executed. But, why? I don't know.

All I know for fact, as I am an Indian, is that India will never bow down to terrorism. The fact that Mumbai, after the blasts that took place in 2006, didn't even need couple of days to recuperate and springboard back to its normal routine speaks for itself.
This is what a friend had to say after the blasts in Mumbai

"What happened yesterday was horrific… The death toll is sure to reach 200 (unofficial more than 500 dead and 800 injured)... It could have been one of us.. We are back to our own offices hoping everyone around us is safe.... We carry on with our regular lives just a day after our “nervous system” the Mumbai metros are bombed.. We carried on with our regular lives just a day after our houses are flooded with water... We carried on with our lives just a day after some SENA people burnt buses and other thing just to prove a point... And we still carry on as though nothing happened. "

Mr. Terrorist! If you are reading this, I confirm you that our faith cannot be shaken by such despicable acts of terrorism. What you term a religious war is nothing but acts of cowardice.
I do not know your religion or your nationality. But, one thing I know for sure is that terrorism has no nationality. It has no faith, religion or caste. It is not a religious war that you are waging. It is a farce! Just like any other scam to make money or build power.
Mr. Terrorist! India is a very big country and a very sound economy. If we close down all ties to Pakistan/Bangladesh (whichever country you belong to)? Just imagine that we (India) stop importing stuff from your country, helping your local talents (singers, actors, musicians, comedians alike) to serve Bollywood and earn moolah...
And in case, Mr. Terrorist, if you are from Pakistan; Just remember that one half of your cricket team is participating in the Indian Cricket League, the other half in the Indian Premier League. And your hockey players have already been a part of the Indian Hockey League!
How will you thrive, Mr. Terrorist?
Does the thought send shivers down your spine? I know it will. Because, Mr. Terrorist! You know you cannot survive?
You will die. Not as an individual, but as a nation.

As Tagore once wrote:

"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action---
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. "

I pray that God opens your mind and thoughts and that you will realize the way to true faith and victory.

Cheers to us Indians. Cheers to Life!

Rosh

Back in business!!!

Hello friends!
Your Truly, after a long break of silence, is back in business.
Alas! The same can't be said about the ICON players in IPL. Players of the likes of Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid, VVS Lakshman, Anil Kumble being reduced to mere carricatures of themselves.

I pray that Tendulkar doesn't get fit in time, so that he is spared the shame.

20-20 cricket is being hailed as the next big thing after - Norbit. Agreed, that the Test matches are becoming monotonous, and do need some sort of change. But changing the meaning of cricket itself is not an answer.

20-20 in small portions is ok. With England and Carribean following the IPL way, I guess, the new lot of cricketing faces will never be able to comprehend the true meaning of cricket. Cricket will lose it charm and will become synonymous to a beach party or a Bollywood extravaganza.

In 10 years time, Test cricket as we know it would be completely taken over.(I pray not!) We might have a curtailed version of 20-20, with innings of 5 overs a side. Rotten idea! But from the state of things, quite possible.

I am sure that the new generation - NextGen will have a lot of fun watching and playing the so called game of cricket.
Amidst all this, there will still be a certain few who would claim to have lived the game!
Cheers to Sachin!

P.S> My wife, if she reads this, will surely ask - "If you are so against this form of cricket, why do you still follow it?". The truth is; hate howmuchever i may, I would still follow any match where I can see my favourite cricketing legends play. Warney bowling against Lakshman/Sachin, McGrath irritating the batsmen with is machine-like bowling, Jayasurya hitting the ball all around the part... WOW!


Cheers to us all.
Rosh

Saza-e-Work

Hello friends.
Wish you a very Happy New Year.
I know its coming couple of weeks late. Sorry bout that!

My New Year has begun like this:-

New Year...New Work...New Project...
Wife at Home, Me in Office...
Routine? Daily? You ask..
Daily...Hmmph! Well you could say almost!

I sincerely hope that this New Year has much more to offer than the newly bestowed knack of finding and accumulating official work.

Have a Good Day..Good Afternoon...Good Evening... Good Night.. whichever suits you best!

Cheers,
Rosh

Jingle Bell Rock

He: When I say Jingle Bell! You say Rock!
He: Jingle Bell
We: Rock

This was how Billy Yesudian a.k.a William Tell started his rocking performance yesterday at our office campus. People especially enjoyed his "Cinderalla" song.

Apart from Billy, WoW (Women of Worth) band based out of Chennai also performed a few traditional and contemporary Christmas numbers.

The highlight of the show was Benny Prasad - India's most travelled musician - internationally acclaimed guitarist who performed at Sydney and Athens Olympics as well as 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Even thought I wasn't there to witness Benny's performance, I know he would have Rocked too.

I think I hear Santa singing.
Santa: When I say 'Ho Ho!' You sa 'Ha Ha'
Santa: Ho Ho!
Me: Ha Ha!

Cheers to every one! May you and your family have a wonderful Christmas.

Merry Christmas friends.
Rosh

Priceless!

Wifey, looking at the lovely Pears soap : Why is it that the soap has dissolved from one end?
Me : Pata nahi yaar! BTW, Is that the left or the right side of the soap where it has dissolved?
Wifey, with an 'Are you crazy' look on her face : I dunno.
Me with a straight face : Left.
Wifey, with more 'Are you crazy' look on her face : Why? How?
Me : Because that is what is left of it.
Wifey , all appreciative : That was a good one!
Me, taking a bow : Thanks.

Pears transparent glycerine soap : Rs. 35
Matching Soap case : Rs. 50
Expression of wifey's face when I, finally, managed to crack a Non PJ : Priceless!

More British Fun.

There is more to British apart from their choice of choicest surnames and their tendency of naming their houses, lanes, parks, streets, towns and what-not after parts of the human anatomy (Please refer to my previous post).Scots hate them, and so do we. We all know why we hate them, but why the Scots hate them is a very funny (madeup) story.

Lone long time ago, when the Scots and Britsh were close friends, The Scottish king( For convenience and due to lack of any creative ideas, I name him King Scot) had a whim. He wanted to name all the lochs(lakes in Scottish) in Scotland. He asked his wise high priest, Mr. Wise for help.

Mr. Wise, was wiser than what his name suggested! I mean extremely wise! He told the king that he should bring in a British Mapmaker to do the job. Mr. Wise knew that the British were in the habit of conquering kingdoms and drawing maps of it. And that they were good at it - both conquering and Map-making.

It was a brilliant idea. Allowing Britishers to draw a map of Scotland, without allowing them to conquer it! The king saluted the idea. It was a brilliant plan. King Scot sent a messenger to the Queen of England; addressed henceforth as The Queen.

The Queen was more than happy to comply with King Scot's request. She asked her leading mapmaker, Mr Super Map to help the Scots draw their map.

After three days of hectic travel, Mr. Super Map reached Scotland along with the messenger. He was overwhelmed by the spectacular welcome that was arranged for him - Women, Music and Wine!

That very night, a heavily drunk, Mr. Super Map started his task of drawing the map. He started naming the lakes - Loch Katrine, Lock Lomond, Loch Ness (famous for the adorable 500 tonne Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie as he is fondly addressed), Loch Fyne, and so on and so forth till he was totally depleted of ideas.

He had 2 more lakes to name but he did not know what to call them.

Tired, drunk, and emptied of ideas he decided to name one as Lochie (Yeah! That's right! Lock Lochie :-) and the other one as Lake of Meredith.

Now you know why the Scots hate Britishers.
- What the hell is one 'Lake' doing in between so many 'Lochs'?
- And what kinda name is Loch Lochie anyways? Would you like it if you were christened Tom Tommie or worse Hank Hankie?

The story has a gruesome ending with Mr. Super Map losing his head so I am skipping the details!

But as I mentioned earlier, from that day onwards, the Scots and the British are at loggerheads with each other.

Cheers,
Rosh

I see. I laugh.

****No offenses meant to anyone****

In Indian Context :-

• Poonam Cootan sarees. 75% off.
• Ganesha Loandry
• Roti Land Dhabha - Cool Chilld Bear here
• Kim Herbal Beauty Porlaur
• Ashok Palace Resturant - Ashok Palace Restorunt (They put the board twice with different spellings, hoping to get at least one right. But sadly, it wasn't to be)

In British Context :- (They know their spelling all right! But what's wrong with their brains? Why can't they seem to have decent names to their lanes and streets? )

• Crotch Crescent
• Lady gardens
• Squeeze Guts Alley
• Saggy Scrotum Cross (I am not making this up. This landmark is in Kent)
• Nutter Lane
• And who can forget the famous 'Back Passage' in London

You can find many more crazy town names @ http://www.townpages.com/. I bet that once you got through a few of these pages, you will be ROFLYAO.

And to add icing to the cake, they have pretty funny surnames too

• Ryan Sidebottom (Current English cricketer.. Brilliant Bowler.. Wacky hairstyle)
• Harry Balls
• Timothy Rothenchild
• Minnie Shatter
• James Schuh

Got any more to add to this list?

Cheers,
Rosh