The way out.

For the last few days, I am caught in a dilemma. The fact that I have given myself enough liberty to let my horses set off, I feel a bit constrained in getting out of typical thought process. I have tried almost everything (even some unmentionables), but they have evaded fruition. So, I come here with a hope, a hope that I will have something to break off from these cobwebs and shackles which have constrained the way I think.
Businesses, as they say, are engendered in mind. Mere whims and fancies won't help them realize into reality. The ingredients which go into making a business great are umpteen, some innate and some borrowed, but the underlying principle behind all of them is an idea. So, how do we pick that diamond among various pearls which embellish our constructive way of thinking? Mind you, it's only one and it's very objective. Your diamond will entirely be different from others' choice! So how do you prepare yourself for the pursuit of that ultimate jewel, if there's any? Precisely these are the thoughts (among many) which have pushed me to take this course. I am not seeking any particular idea, but ways to identify those!
When you go out to a market, you will find hordes of business men, busy and successful in their own ways and definitions. The one at the kiosk, too, is a businessman. What if he can't boast of earth shattering revenues, it's his own doing! But then again, we have two sets of outlook for this. One is being pursued for subsistence and another for passion. Is there any ideology, which can assign a degree of "holier-than-thou" factor to both of these? If there is one, it is inherently flawed. Both are being driven by desire. One comes from material desires and other comes from your inner desire. It's your desire which keeps on pushing you to go for your goal. Pursuit of passion is not everyone's cup of tea. When you are doing well, it's more difficult to virtually renounce what you are having to go for something whose yields are all in numbers of probability. These unchartered waters are for those who are really driven by passion and bedazzled by it, so that they can't see any reason beyond what appears to be their domain. And it is here where you are tested out of your comfort zone. A mathematical wizard being put to test on his views about zoology. A summit unseen and unheard of before, waiting for only such guys. The glory associated with such a feat is unparalleled. Nothing to take away from the success stories of the general ilk, they too have their reasons to continue doing what they have chosen to do. But, I am looking for something which will test me thoroughly for something I never had any prior experience of doing, and not for something which I would always know that I was capable of doing. It's a different fact altogether that the later will come automatically with experience, lest you have not failed to achieve such a thing.
Is there any novel idea of arriving upon a winning idea? I know for sure that there's no definite formula for it. Success is not a function of predefined inputs. When I say this, I don't want to imply that there are no precursors to it. As they say, hard work, indefatigable attitude et al sure make up for the success. But it's the degree of sincerity attached with each one of these traits, which ultimately decides the color of the outcome. "I am sincere" just won't work unless you have found out the degree of difference in your sincerity and those of others who are fighting it out with you to assail that elusive peak! Greater the difference, greater are your chances of being the ones to arrive early!
What are the odds of unearthing such an idea? It's not that I am lacking in ideas, but can't decide upon its worthiness! I start with the simplest of them all and turn to look at the various levels of difficulties it might have to face. This is precisely the phase where most of my ideas wither away. It has happened inummerable times and I will not let it carry on. There has to be a stop somehwhere. And I need that guiding light. As they say its more likely to come from within, I am eagerly waiting for that to happen and would let my horses loose. Let them pick something for me. It is time!!

This is what happens when we are happy.

Here's my take on what would have happened on a little known website when the news spread that Sachin has got to the magical score of 200!
*********************************************************************************

IndianForever: Hail the master, he has done it again!

IFeelLuckyToday: Woahhhhhhhhhhh! It was as if the GOD desecended on earth to play this innings.

IMReasonable: Yeah it was a great innings nevertheless, but to call him a GOD is a bit going overboard. We should enjoy what he has done, but please don't call him a GOD.

ImAnOZ: True mate! What's the big deal if you get to last 50 overs. I'm bloody sure if Punter fella gets a chance like this, he will screw some A$^#*.

IndianForever: Hoho.....Look who's speaking!!Let Punter handle our spinners first, then we will see what he does in his baggy green trousers (apart from what he did against our Chutku Ishant).

 IMReasonable: I'm not gonna fall for this bait, but he sure is mortal like others. I have highest regard for him as a batsman, but to refer to him as a GOD is stretching the things a bit too far. A 194 is only 6 short of 200. So all those batsmen who got close to 200 have to be praised for their efforts.

ImAnOZ: True ya mate!! @IndianForever: Punter doesn't need to show anything. Let your 5 footer face Pidge and score off him.

IFeelLuckyToday: Hell! I was gone for 5 and you guys started vomitting shit. @IMReasonable: i doubt your nationality!

SalmanKhan: Tendulkar is the greatest.

20yearsOfCricket: Hail the GOD. @SalmanKhan: Are you the one in Veer?

IMReasonable: To hell with what you think. My nationality should be of no concern to you!

SalmanKhan: koi shaq!! It felt bad to see Veer not doing so good. :(

IFeelLuckyToday: No deviating from the main topic. @SalmanKhan: I watched it till interval when I was reminded of better things to do. @IMReasonable: How could we expect an Oz to shower praises on our little man?

20yearsOfCricket: @IFeelLuckyToday: How could you be so sure. He could be from Pakistan as well. They will never praise him, more so because Anwar's record was thrown out of the window.

 SalmanKhan: Well, it did better business than MNIK.

IMReasonable: @SalmanKhan: How could you be so sure. MNIK is a huge blockbuster overseas. I have watched the movie 5 times already. SRK at his best.

20yearsOfCricket: Ha! KJo wanted to make a movie like Forrest Gump. Failed miserably.

IFeelLuckyToday: No one can beat Aamir Khan. He rulzzzzzzzzzz. 3 Idiots Rocksssssssssss.

AamirKhan: Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. SRK can't act s&#!*. And a Beer was a better bet than Veer!! :P

ILiveOnMovies: I love Akshay. All the Khans nowhere seen when Akhshay Kumar come to screen. I looooveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee him soooooooooooooooooooooo muchhhhhhhhhhhhh! Muaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

IndianForever: Bhai logon, yeh ho kya raha hai :O. Where's Sachin?

ImAnOZ: ?????????????????????/

SRT: I m here friends. It felt good to whack Proteas' a$#!*. I am over the moon. But I personally like SRK. He rocked in MNIK.

These posts have been deleted because of obscene language.

Moderator: Please don't discuss movies in this thread and refrain from using abusive language in your posts. Or I will have to stop this thread.

ToHellWithIt: You piece of s$&!*. Keep you mouth shut or I'll make you pay heavily.

GandhianPrinciple: Guys please don't fight. It's a happy moment for all of us. Sachin has scaled a new height. Please don't trivialize the topic.

IamNerd: @&%^*&#^(&)(&_)&)(^*^#$(*&)#$&)&($)(*&$#_&*)$#()(&$

This thread has been deleted permanently.

I loved her.

Raghav's throat is pressed against knife's razor sharp blade which shines like a diamond in the mirror. . But the face which he sees in the mirror doesn't frighten him. In fact, he loves it. That explains the smile on his face.

"The modus operandi is quite similar to the cases we had been investigating over the fortnight. This is 5th such incident."
"Yes, prima facie it looks like that. We need to expedite this whole thing and end it soon."

"Raghav, did you hear the hot news? Some 'killer' lady in our locality!"
"Killer lady? Must be something! You are already married Pranav, leave something for bachelors like us."
"Hey, I meant a lady on a killing spree. She roams around at night and prays over her victims. I was worried for you as you return late into the night. Can't you take some time off until this thing gets resolved. I'm sure the cops are gonna find her out of her hole very soon. I 've heard she is pretty good looking."
"Hey Pranav, thanks for the concern mate! But, she can do me no harm. If she sees me, instead of making me fall, she'll fall for me."
"Ha ha! Sure thing! Where would she find a guy more handsome than you? Riya sure was a loser!"
"But, I really wonder, what makes a woman kill someone?

"So far we haven't gotten too far in this case. Apart from the fact that before Raghav was killed, 3 more attacks had happened last night. Those guys were plain lucky that they got away with few injuries which they can nurse for the rest of their lives!"
"To add to that, there are few more observations: All the killings had happened at isolated places in dark until she mustered enough courage to come this far and attack Raghav in his home. The fact that she got into Raghav's home is not very difficult to understand. What puzzles me is the presence these in here? He was a bachelor and a straight one at that. So, cross dressing is ruled out! Did she bring all these clothes in here? And forgot to collect them before leaving!"

"We'll have to wait for the forensic report."

What would that girl be like? A killer lady! A beautiful damsel, whose smile would have been enough to kill!
Why did she kill? Was she in some pain? If I could meet her, I would ask - "why do you kill when I am here"?


Would you be my soul mate? I would never leave you. I kill because it lets me live. Otherwise it would kill me. I don't kill them, I kill it!

Ready to be Seh-whacked..

Exactly 17 years ago, our country was at the perils. A lot of time has been consumed since then to dissect the very motive of the act. People were devoured, not Hindus and Muslims. And we can't seem to look any further after this black hole was created. I am not going to side with any particular school of thought nor am I going to dedicate this write-up to delve deep into the heinous intent of either parties. I just hope that we are allowed to live our lives as happily as anyone could imagine!

Thinking of happy moments, I would depart to a different territory altogether. To unite whole of India into making that collective encore is indeed a difficult task, but we had again found a man to do this last Thursday. Those who have been privy to my intentions about this man would have guessed what I mean. I have already devoted my time to write on him in the past and it doesn't hurt me even a bit to do that again.

Virender Sehwag did it again! And in what style? Nepolean was notorious for having been known for not having a word like "impossible" in his dictionary. The world has advanced a lot since his times, and Viru has deliberately left a few words out of his dictionary. And those of the like fear, remorse and normal never intend to return! A man is known by his deeds. But Sehwag is known for what he doesn't do! Least respect for the spinners, utter contempt for fast bowlers, not bothering for reputation and the ilk - very tough for the lesser mortals to even think or visualize. This write-up vindicates the confidence shown in him by this cricket crazy nation and my opinion about him which has never dwindled even when he was going through a rough phase in his life. He is knocking at the doors of the conglomeration of records which in all possibility will be owned by him by the time he retires. He is knocking at the doors of greatness, an enchanting spell which will be cast upon the lovers of this game, a whiff of fresh air for the asphyxiated protectors of the 5 day game and for the pure connoisseurs, who will skip a breath or two when they sit down to taste vintage Sehwag. As a certain "bradmanesque" goes for the Don, we have already displayed our wits by approbating the appellation "Seh-whack" on him. To even get to know that you have managed to let yourself be spoken in the same breadth as the Don himself should be a graduation in itself. And the list of laurels doesn't end at this. The swagger which I have spoken about in one of my paeans for him has already been in the news now with him being compared to the great Sir Vivian Richards.

So, as an average Indian, does it satiate me to see all these laurels coming his way? The answer is a simple and plain - "NO". I won't be satisfied if he is labelled as someone who could rise up the rungs only to occupy a seat next to Sir DON or Sir Vivian. I may sound a bit presumptuous, but that's not what "Seh-whack" is capable of achieving. He is on the cusp of being the greatest entertainer the world has ever seen, a player who can still pull in the masses to see the players go through the motions and more importantly, a player who is unimaginable! We have already seen a Don. We have already seen a GOD. But we want to see something which has never been there before, who can outsmart our unending desire for a greater icon, one who can make us think, as to what to call a player of his caliber. That's when Sehwag would have done justice to himself and to this starry-eyed cricket fraternity which always keeps looking for the ONE who can help this game sustain a bit longer, long enough to last our lifetime and be a source of mirth hard to find even in the remotest corners of this universe.

My wish-list:

4 triple centuries, 1 score of around 400, a double hundred in ODIs...and the list goes on. It's really a pain to be a cricketer in India, with even reasonable fans like me falling for the "I-need-more" syndrome.

Realm of defiance

21st century was always supposed to be a century of change. A change from the hackneyed customs, tried and tested solutions and most importantly, that of the psyche which will constitute the better part of the evolving thought process. What transpired in the times bygone seem to be of little importance these days! We are lucky to have survived to witness the change - the rebellion which is still being conjured by inquisitive minds. It may sound a bit disparaging to the champions of orthodox thinking, but the truth is fast manifesting itself into a notion of the future. I am given to understand that such a change is never meant to look unprecedented, and thus, requires a free mind to arrange the disparate pieces into one. I for one, may have been bred on fundamentally diverse values, but will never shirk away from acknowledging the advent of a new conduct at my door steps.

To break free from shackles has always been an arduous task. And the whole problem takes an interesting dimension when you have to get rid of a huge monkey off your back. You might get regaled with queries bordering on the validity of the rationale behind bringing a change. You may have to ready yourself to face a few embarrassing questions on why you have decided to cling onto something conspicuously so idiotic! But the consummation of a path never tread before with a great resolve is the way forward for Gen-X. The ubiquitous presence of the carriers of a brand new message amongst us is reflective of the soon-to-be-understood writing on the wall. The daggers are already out and we don't even flinch a wee bit to flout the hitherto holier-than-thou rigmarole of morality . Fingers have been used constructively to define our future, to influence and kindle young minds and to give shape to our future. Of the bunch of those fingers adorning our adroit hands, the middle finger is out in all its resplendence to mock at the very virtues of a highly placed moral ground. Of all the myriad words which Cambridge takes a lot of pains to insert in their lexicons, "WTF" and "WTH" seem to be our favourite choices.

A whole new debate will rage on this developing oddity, but nobody doubts that it's here to stay. The seed has already been sown in our young minds and we are continuing to nurture it. Some boundaries were never supposed to be transgressed. But this generation had already rejected the mandatory compliance of having to "step into someone's shoes" long back. We begin our journey from where we want and not where we are supposed to! We are already gyrating through that change and a new set up is bound to evolve. Rather than trying to put barricades in the path of this juggernaut, we would do well to consider the importance of its arrival and respect all the harbingers of this change.

To hell with the plan, to hell with the clan

I am a man of my own principles, I say that with élan

Don't preach what I must do

because we don't like when you say - "you must do what we do"!