Underdogs no more..

The FIFA World cup is coming to a close tonight. Its been one hell of a month with 32 countries fighting for glory. India is not really the football fanatic country (with cricket being the poison for sports enthusiasts....i think that has something to do with the Brits ruling us for 150 years...). But then we have states within India who have a passion for football. Kerala and Kolkata (Calcutta if you're not looking for political correctness), are examples of such states. Both are communist states with a lotta strikes happening either way. Added to that, the fact that football is revered and Pele & Maradona are gods here, It's a no brainer to conclude that its a virtual holiday season in these parts. Mumbai views the World Cup phenomenon as a social meet, with friends hanging out at pubs for drinks and cheering the teams they have very little idea about. Well, thats a generic view though we do have people following the sport with equal passion. The favorites for this year's cup were Brazil, Argentina & Germany for most fans and Portugal, France and Italy for the lesser few. This World cup has history in the making as none of the major teams came close (with Germany coming close to it by clinching the third place title) Now we have Spain and Netherlands fighting it out for the ultimate glory. Both were the underdogs throughout the competition, with Spain never reaching the finals and Netherlands having a chance to win the title after over 30 years. It is pretty cool knowing that eitherway its pure entertainment and fun since there wont be much heartbreak over which favorite team would win (with all the favorites out of the tournament anyway). I know I will be happy with either win because I will be cheering now for game and not the players (would be awesome if the Dutch takes the cup though :P ) Will write more after witnessing history being written. It has begun....

Surprise!!

Surprise!!...That's something people love to hear.....well most of the times...unless you're surprised by the fact that you have become bankrupt or something...in which case, it totally sucks!! Well I just celebrated my birthday recently and that is the word that, well, took me by surprise. The day started off pretty well and the plan was to have a quiet time with one of my closest friends. To say the least, that was the plan in just my head. Unknown to me, she had something else planned......obviously!! So we are there with a plate of nachos and a drink and all of a sudden I'm blindfolded by some hand and realizing later on that I'm surrounded by my gang of close friends yelling (yeah you got it) SURPRISE!!. Needless to say, I was stunned. I probably understood, at that very moment, what it feels like to be frozen in time...(Like the sloth in Ice Age). What followed after that was some more moments of me frozen in different poses and good food and a lot to drink. Needless to say, the birthday went very well.
What surprised me truly was the love and affection that i saw within the gang that day. The warmth that could be felt being within that group...those moments of laughter and fun. This is where I belonged, that group of friends not just mere friends.....they are family now. I know for a fact that there is a much stronger bond that ties us together than just that of friendship. It is perhaps the best gift that anyone can have. A gift for a lifetime....I am blessed...To the ones who make life worth it...love you all...

Resilient Soul...

This blog is about something that is close to my heart as a human being. Its about a student of architecture from Mumbai who has been a victim of the recent attack on a passenger train in West Bengal. The groups that attacked may have their justifications for it but then it is not good enough as many innocent people were victims of the tragedy. They may have emphasized some point they wanted to prove through this deed of theirs but then again at what cost. Back to the student in question, she is a talented person and excels in her studies. From what I hear, her work is impressive and among the best in the class. So how did she qualify to be traumatized by this act of violence?....she shouldnt have been.... To get a grip of the tragedy, this is what she is left with-- an amputated right arm, broken hips and surgeries involving her limbs. Perhaps I feel much for her because she is a student of the college I belong to...but then again she deserves a fighting chance. hence the purpose of this blog....its a call to everyone out there, anyone who can contribute to the treatment of this girl, feel free to leave a comment to this blog with your contact details, we will get in touch with you. Monetary help will be much appreciated (current estimates for her treatment with the prosthetic arm stand roughly at Rs. 1 crore). If not, then any help in kind (treatment, counselling, physiotherapy or even the donation of a prosthetic arm) will be much appreciated. This is for someone who would rise against the odds... this one is for Shreya Sen... to her resilience..I havent seen her or met her for that matter but I hope this blog helps her in some way, no matter how insignificant..(for my part, an amount from the projects that I do will be forwarded to her treatment). Its time for us to rise up and do the right thing.
Do visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/SHREYA-SEN-SUPPORT-GROUP/131548410190475 for more info and contacts.

YLGMH

My best friend introduced me to this website called 'Gives Me Hope' yesterday. The website is a compilation of small incidents that have changed people's life all around. Its divided into sections for 'amazing friends', 'inspiring feats', 'random acts of kindness', etc. As a concept i find this a very nice website. Its not as sissy as people might think it to be. The beauty of the concept is the fact that its all about thanking someone publicly (publicly respecting a person who changed your perception of life) and to inspire people around the globe (people like me). The concept of it was so hard hitting that it actually made me go ahead n write a blog entry about it. A couple of entries are as follows: -

"I was recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

I told my husband I would understand if he wanted to leave, he didn't sign up for a mentally ill wife, and I have made his life hell for the past three years. 

He just smiled and said, "In sickness and in health covers crazy, too." 

His love GMH."

"Recently, I found out I have a serious problem with my blood.

I was talking to my best friend about how scared I was. I started crying and said, "What if my body starts shutting down? What if I have to be in a wheelchair?" 

"Well," he said, "I'll be the one pushing." GMH."

The part i loved most in this website was that every entry on the website ended with the 3 letters GMH (Gives Me Hope). As I said, it's about inspiring people.....about giving them hope....about appreciating the people in our lives. As I live through every difficulty in life this is the one thing that I wanna say out loud....to my family and to my best friends....your love gives me hope.....YLGMH...

P.S. Do drop by the website http://www.givesmehope.com/ and be inspired...

Working Class Hero

What is our life if we cannot look up to someone or idolize someone? I presume it to be mundane and.....well....drab. Everyone needs a hero in their lives. And that would perhaps bring your attention to this blog title. No, I'm not gonna rant about the Greenday song (even though the title is inspired from them....go ahead...sue me). But I do want to write a lot about the hero in my life. This person didn't do any extraordinary feat. He didn't stop a runaway train...he didn't fly up and pulverize the doomsday comet that was on a collision course with earth (the Armageddon one)....nor did he ever have to fight with the crazed run-of-the-mill villains (or super villains....just so that i dont offend anyone who might read this blog :P). So what did this guy do? Well, He didn't do any of the awesome CG effect stuff...he didn't need to. He did the extraordinary in his own ordinary routine way.

He shouldered the responsibility of an entire family at a very young age. Normal, you say?...well, try managing an entire household of 6 within 100 bucks a month (with savings to spare). I assure you its not as easy as it seems. This man studied with a passion and worked with just as much passion, so much so that he was a pundit with the engineering jargon (even though he wasnt one...not out of choice but out of circumstances). He could teach you the working of machines to such intricacy with such fluidity that you could not help but soak it all in. He didnt stop there...he is one of the best people i know in finance and accounts. He can analyse your portfolio and come up with options that would make any CA worth his salt run for his money (no pun intended). It wasnt all about work. He had his priorities sorted (at my age, i dont even know what the hell i'm gonna do with my life). He always knew that family came first. Everything else can wait. Thats the principles he lives by. And prinicples are what defines a man.

It is said that a man is known by his virtue and virtue we attain through our character....and character and virtue is what superheroes have in abundance. but what happens when you come across an ordinary man who has been honest all his life...lived by the rules...always took on difficulties head on...loved everyone....has integrity...and is also a genius. I believe all that qualifies that person to be a hero and so it is.....heroes in our lives...hero in my life....my working class hero...who is it, you might ask...for those who couldnt guess it by now....its my dad...living breathing real life hero. Still fighting odds...still loving all...

'What we are now is a result of the prayers of our parents...do not take it for granted' - Dad

A rush through my veins..

I am back..not with a bang...certainly not a boom...not even a fizzle (or a sizzle). But I definitely am back to writing blogs after an unintended hiatus...nothing much changed in the meantime...i mean the world is still turning monotonously on its own axis (right?)...some first world country is at war with the middle east....and the rich is still living off the poor....and we still have our very own unknown working class heroes braving the odds everyday...n now i'm back with my dose of enlightened wisecracks.

So what really urged me to this profound state of writing another (not so) enriching blog? well, i saw this movie called August Rush yesterday (must watch for music lovers). seeing the movie i realized once again how much music is a part of all of us. Hence the blog. Come to think of it, music has always influenced our perceptions and outlook towards the world around us. everyone of us grew up listening to one of the greats of the generation. be it Jimi hendrix or Clapton, Guns n Roses or Nickelback, Poets of the fall or Satriani, Yanni or Santana, they have all shaped us and a generation at large. U2 brought in a whole new revolution with their music. Oasis sang that we are all gonna live forever. Isnt it cool to know that so much can change and all for the better through music? It is this music that makes us feel alive....makes us feel a rush through our veins.... a thought worth pondering is this line from the movie that i talked about earlier - 'Music is all around us...all we gotta do is listen'