Flashes in the again, but.....

... all dedicated to the best President India has ever had.

Waiting for the next President

For the records, Pratibha Patil is the person who shall take over the dignified auspices of the premises that have been home to some of the greatest visionaries India has produced. But somehow, it seems that something somewhere is missing. The pieces of the jigsaw are all there, but still, the picture is not complete.

Maybe I am waiting for a president whose addresses to the nation would consist of roadmaps to the future. One who had not only a vision of India's future, but also ideas about how to go about it. One whose life had been dedicated to the purpose of making India a developed, confident and dignified nations. One who was above all politics and dramatics that our 'men in white' indulge in. One who was as proud an Indian as can be. And above all, one who made the Rashtrapati Bhawan a 'People's Palace'.

Maybe, somewhere in the lobbies of Rashtrapati Bhawan, as the outgoing First Indian citizen packs his baggage and leaves, a nostalgic voice will call and say, 'We will miss you, Kalam Sir'.

India will miss you, Kalam Sir.

The drama and irony of the democracy

All the way, since I was a child and started learning about country and government from the NCERT Civics books in school, I had developed a deep sense of security in the system that we are so proud of... democracy. And today, I wonder...

Is the number of Indians that want Kalam out of office less than those who want a change? If yes, I sit down and shut up. But if not, then i question the very basics of the system of presidential election. Are the voices of Indians so badly lost out to political rhetorics and communal dramatics that we are nobody but numbers in the game called politics? Our votes do count. But then, is that the end of it? Our voices don't count?

Questions are many. any answers?

Advice to Team India

Everyone is doing it. So why should I remain behind?? Here Goes.

Virender Sehwag:

We like the swing of the bat.... but the ball has to reciprocate the swing of the bat... not carry on its own swing, and crash into stumps from the bat

Sourav Ganguly:
Remember just one thing... you led India to the world cup final. And also, the fact that you are wearing pads, chest guard, helmet, shin guard, even an Al-guard. And that stepping out of crease and hitting the ball for a six are not independent activities... you have to do the latter in order to make the former worthwhile. And also, dude... they don't call you dada for nothing.

Uthappa, Munaf and Kaarthik:
Enjoy the world cup. What else to tell you... your teammmates will tell you the rest. If they understand, that is.

Rahul Dravid:
Go out there on the pitch with your bags and baggage. If needed, sleep there. You are the wall. You are the spine of India. You need to stay on the Pitch. Jammy needs to lick each and every bowler out there.

Sachin Tendulkar:
You are the master. You are the blaster. Just keep urself up. There will be lesser mortals around you and you just have to live with them. Also, you have to make learn why there can be only one Sachin.

Yuvraj Singh:
Remember your name. Remember the 84 run debut. Remember the 325 Natwest chase. Remember the match winning half centuries. Challenge the impossibilities like you have always done. Just remember to be more careful while playing KhoKho next time. Glittering catches will take care of themselves.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni:
Survey the area around the stadium. Suevey all the stands. That is where you will dispatch the balls, and we do not want to lose precious moments by letting hapless opposition fielders search for the balls. And yes, your mane rocks. So do your shots. And before I forget, i think you also keep for India na? Keep it up.

Ajit Agarkar:
It doesn't matter whether you bowl in death or opening. Just bowl wicket to wicket. Wicket is a set of three wooden staffs, parallel to the ground on either side of the pitch, in a plane perpendicular to the ground. Usually it is concealed behind the batsman. By batsman, I mean the one who is taking strike. Non strikers / runners are not considered to be in front of the wickets.

Zaheer Khan:
Trapping Sourav Ganguly in County and Ranji is not enough. You need to trap Gilchrist, Gibbs, Lara, and so on. That includes players from Bangladesh and Bermuda.

Harbhjan Singh:
Bhajji, Shane Warne bowled the ball of the century.
Bhajji, Shane Warne bowled the ball of the century.
Bhajji, Shane Warne bowled the ball of the century.
Bhajji, Shane Warne bowled the ball of the century.
Bhajji, Shane Warne bowled the ball of the century.
Bhajji, Shane Warne bowled the ball of the century.
Bhajji, You are playing instead of Kumble.....

Indianisation of the West??

So, TATA bought Corus and became the fifth largest Steel conglomerate, striking a vibrant note in the Indian industry, unending rounds of applause and even rhetoric, and stories of India making its presence felt in the international arena.

Jamshedji Tata was once famously scoffed at by Chief of British Railways, who said that If India ever made steel to British standards, he will eat every ounce of it. Well, if not TATA steel, he might be eating a humble pie, to say the least.

To TATA, well done. Just hope that the champagnes don't fizz out quickly, and the acquisition reflects in the quality and quantity of the Indian products, which are still competitive only in terms of prices... so theat 'India Poised' and 'India Shining' dreams come closer to reality.

Too early to call it Indianisation of the West, but certainly one more thing that inspires Indians to Dream bigger and better.

A moment to sit back...

Last week was one of the best ones in my life as a 'Professional'. Not because of anything 'great' that I did to L&T or L&T did to me... but because i got to meet four dear old friends...

More than anything else, I realized how much I had been missing in my life...

Coz with friends, I finally had someone asking me not what I had been doing, but how I had been... someone with whom I could again become who I was... ppl with whom i could again touch that innocence that, I realized, I had long long lost in the furious pace of life that I have already started enjoying... people who could take me back in time, to the world that I miss now.

Coz after zapping around with things like job, career, future and the like, it pays to unbelong... to forget everything else and talk nonsense... to be me, again... and more than anything else, a moment to sit back and watch life go by!!!