tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78127187388669781832024-03-05T15:07:20.941-08:00Confluence of ThoughtsLucidity on Complicated MattersDhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-8768086225898305302015-06-15T12:44:00.001-07:002015-06-15T12:44:22.748-07:00Social? Hardly!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We call it social media, but are we blanking out the very
essence of social norms and etiquettes while using it? Our pervasive usage of
social networking applications, be it whatsapp, facebook, twitter or foursquare
has led to a situation wherein we are in ‘virtual’ touch with our friends,
family, acquaintances and community. However, that touch is bereft of the human
element. And sometimes, that touch is the most important. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Last week, my friend had a bad cold. She put it up on
facebook proclaiming her illness. The post attracted fair amount of attention
from the usual crowd of male admirers and words of advice. Later, she claimed
that no one actually came to pay her a visit and the only person who helped her
the most at that time was her maid!<o:p></o:p></div>
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IMHO social media biggest application is communication when
distances are an issue. People are increasingly using it as a substitute for
human emotions and memories. People click photographs at a party or an outing
not for memories but to post them to facebook. People gauge their popularity by
the number of likes they get for a facebook post or the number of retweets/
followers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Is that wrong? Maybe not. People increasingly have two
personalities – One is the virtual personality and the other is the real world
personality. The problem will come when the two will clash. The most dramatic
change is to circumvent difficult portions of real world interactions by simply
retreating into the virtual world. This is seen often at social gatherings
wherein people retreat into the virtual world if they are not interested in the
ongoing conversations or activities. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As I said earlier, Social media is a great tool to ‘enhance’
old friendships. However, there is a new trend to ‘friend’ people whom we don’t
know or know through somebody. This can be attributed to social protocol but
there is still no accepted protocol on how to treat these new ‘friends’. An
acquaintance of mine refers to them as her ‘fans’. These new found friends
possibly offer an outlet to have offhand conversations without the demanding
nature of friendship. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It is difficult to sustain this barrage of electronic media
as a substitute for real world interactions. In fact, internet addiction is now
treated as a clinical disorder (<a href="http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cpb.1998.1.237">http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cpb.1998.1.237</a>).
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What is needed is balance between the virtual and real
world. As Lara Croft says in Tomb Raider – “Nature is about balance. All
the world comes in pairs”.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This balance is precarious and needs constant leveraging to
bring it to the moment of equilibrium. Virtual world may lead you to a
delusional state of mind and behavior wherein you can find real world too
‘real’ to handle. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So go out there and smell the air. And when you come back,
do post about this blog!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-36860184103225174182012-10-03T02:39:00.002-07:002012-10-03T12:39:24.538-07:00Music and Freedom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: #d9ead3;"><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Music and freedom have always
gone hand in hand. Freedom from persecution, freedom from annihilation, freedom
from segregation all have had music as one of their ancillary weapons. </span><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Music
has a unique quality of stirring the very basic and essential of human needs –
Freedom</b></span><span style="color: #20124d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Most of the songs of the bygone era were more about freedom from oppression,
a kind of a rebellious ode to the society that enslaved its citizens. Only
recently, music has progressed to the mind’s trapping of the freedom. In this
author’s humble opinion, the hippie era was instrumental in liberating the
slavery of the mind by its conscious mind and enabling it to be free. Free as
the mind can be. Hippies lived music and
in some places sought it as a replacement for drugs / alcohol. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #d9ead3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #20124d;">An inspired quote says</span><b> <span style="color: #38761d;">Mind can
be free only as far as it can fly</span></b><span style="color: #20124d;">. This suggests that the mind is capable of
flying and testing new boundaries to itself. Music is one of the wings on which
it can undertake this journey. Some people undertake this journey farther than
others. The only reward of going far is the reward for oneself. The mind rises
up and there is an inherent self-satisfaction which is felt by the mind. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #d9ead3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #20124d;">Most people </span><i style="color: #20124d;">‘listen’</i><span style="color: #20124d;"> to music, but very recently do they </span><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">FEEL</span></b><span style="color: #20124d;"> it. This feel of
music comes very rarely, and may I add, is slightly less rare when the
recipient is under the influence of alcohol or other euphoria inducing substances.
But these substances are not a pre-requisite
for feeling music. In fact, we routinely see women getting all psychotic and becoming ‘spirit’
driven souls when engrossed in a religion discourse which involves music. Case in point
being the various musical discourses / festivals throughout India. You must
have seen the various swaying women (and men) in their religious fervor and
gaiety. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #d9ead3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #20124d;">This relationship between music
and the liberation of mind is a very poorly understood one. One can ask any
number of respondents for the answer and scarcely he / she shall receive the
same reply. It is a good thing that its
not understood, otherwise it would have been documented and processed. Then,
</span><b>the whole power </b><span style="color: #20124d;">of music would have been lost. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #d9ead3; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">‘It has to set you free’</span></b><span style="color: #20124d;"> – Jim Morrison
in the song ‘The End’. Thanks to all the musicians who have enabled the lesser
souls to undertake the journey towards liberation. Maybe that’s the theme to the song by Ac/ Dc –
‘For those about to rock, we salute you’</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com0Jammu32.7266016 74.857025932.6197371 74.6990974 32.8334661 75.0149544tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-56622691103085928462012-09-23T13:00:00.001-07:002012-09-23T13:00:19.301-07:00Freedom - 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The call which came to me one fine evening, when I was in
one of my customary euphoric sessions, </div>
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The caller - ‘Are you free?’ –<i> Is any one free? Anytime? Bulla ki jaana main kaun.’</i></div>
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The euphoria is a lingering feeling though it may be short
lived. The external cacophony of sounds seem like a far off sound, the kind of
hallucinations which come to the thirst wanderer in a lost desert. The euphoria
is a mixed feeling of being in control but also being free. Paradoxically you
are forced to still comply with the social norms. This is the very essence of
being in euphoria. Self servitude is the highest form of deity. </div>
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How to forgo this societal binding? How do we encounter the
truth? It’s an acerbic feeling to know, realise and understand the lack of
truth in our life. Truth is omnipotent. The truth is evident, but cloaked. Cloaked
under multitudes of rituals, false impressions, and a general idea of ‘How to
live life’?</div>
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To truly discover your potential and raw power, then shed
off these masks and disobey the existing norms. Be free from any binds. That is
when A man is totally free!</div>
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Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-37498970881671875972012-03-15T00:59:00.002-07:002012-03-15T01:13:19.440-07:00Who is the aam aadmi?<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">After seeing the drama unfolding around the rail budget, the query that is coming to my mind is the identity of the 'aam aadmi'? Who is this aam aadmi? How do we define him? Which section of the social strata does he belong to? Or is the aam aadmi a he or a she? How does he travel? What does he treat? <i>(Aam aadmi = common man)</i></span></span><div><span ><i><br /></i></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Is an aam aadmi in Kolkatta equal to the aam aadmi in Mumbai? Is an aam aadmi in a small town in Bihar the same as an aam aadmi in Manipur?</div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Is there aam aadmi in the naxal hit </span>territories? Do they exist there?</span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">The answer is - There is no aam aadmi in India, but we ourselves. Paradox? Let me explain. We see ourselves as the aam aadmi. Everyone you meet will pretend to be concerned about the aam aadmi, however deep down we feel we 'ARE' the aam aadmi. </span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">You go to the vegetable market to buy vegetables, you see the prices have gone up. You say "How will the aam aadmi survive?" You go to shoppers stop and see a way too expensive watch, then you dont say the same thing. Therein lies the difference. We are all aam aadmi when it comes to necessities, not when it comes to luxuries. </span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span >There is no stereotypical aam aadmi. This concept of the common man has been fed to us by economists, political activists and administration. This concept leads to bracketing of the population, which essentially controls the popular mood by directing the ire from their decisions or opinions to the aam aadmi.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Sample, -'Oh you are not ok with the road block, but the considering the aam aadmi's interests we have dug up the road.". </span></div><div><span >'The rail way hike is rolled back due to the aam aadmi's interests'.</span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Crap, total crap I say. We should reject this notion of the aam aadmi and say that classify us according to the social / economic / political strata. </span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div><span >Ps - The only common man / aam aadmi I know is the central figure in the cartoon by RK Laxman.</span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div></div>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-59705459738791137432011-02-11T04:58:00.000-08:002011-02-11T05:05:44.313-08:003 idiots<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ7lR8MlERqgfkTaXt0aa_7ljo5viWE6rDBU08rsaGsoxzIxI9Ejxbh_7X1um07QxLDWA8lultV9-qW83Qv2wn-yU4SHCpQDmpLLTLBT9kLyi11SXS7yg8p1NflJQEUNfukhLk0KTQhPc/s1600/10022011143-744314.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ7lR8MlERqgfkTaXt0aa_7ljo5viWE6rDBU08rsaGsoxzIxI9Ejxbh_7X1um07QxLDWA8lultV9-qW83Qv2wn-yU4SHCpQDmpLLTLBT9kLyi11SXS7yg8p1NflJQEUNfukhLk0KTQhPc/s320/10022011143-744314.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572417462070985682" /></a></p>Encountered this at bandra station. Though the photo does not do them justice, but they were oblivious to the hustle and bustle all around. The so called 'dogs life' is better than the rat race at least!Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-88779300383483567152011-02-08T03:35:00.000-08:002011-02-08T03:36:12.153-08:00Parasites <p style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif; color: rgb(153, 51, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><font size="4">All the encroachments near Kurla station remind me of parasites feeding on the host. Eventually, at the point of no return the host's body gives up and dies and the parasites die or migrate. The parasites at Kurla station will soon have to suffer the same consequence. With huge traffic jams and brimming crowds, administration has already started to look out for alternatives. The alternatives include the metro link, the santacruz- chembur link road. But when will these proposed alternatives become reality is anybody's guess.</font></p><p style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif; color: rgb(153, 51, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><font size="4"><br></font></p> <p style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif; color: rgb(153, 51, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><font size="4">The encroachments also remind me of the paradox – "To save 1000 lives, can you take one?" In this context, can the administration decide to relocate the inhabitants (who will not give up without a fight), to accommodate the comfort of the majority? Or will the administration have enough guts to take on the dissenting majority? Who is right in this?</font></p> <p style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif; color: rgb(153, 51, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><font size="4">Ok. The traffic jam in Kurla is almost over. And so is this blog!</font></p><p style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif; color: rgb(153, 51, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><font size="4"><br></font> </p> <p style="font-family: verdana,sans-serif; color: rgb(153, 51, 0);" class="MsoNormal"><font size="4">Kitna hua, boss??</font></p> Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-84677536167154251582010-10-11T03:31:00.001-07:002010-10-11T05:32:08.093-07:00I still love Cartoons<p class="MsoNormal">While on a day out with Aayush and Isha, we started a trivia quiz on cartoons / shows. Though Aayush was the clear winner of that particular tournament, I started to think about cartoons and their impact on our childhood. No matter what your nationality may be, or the culture you belong to, comic strips and the cartoon characters in them are one of the most universal forms of humor. These little bits of visual humor are mirrors of our daily lives. They give us life's lessons, urging us to think about the foibles of humanity, to laugh at ourselves, and sometimes even to shed a tear or two. Not only do cartoons and the characters in them transcend nationality and cultural barriers, but they also cut across all age barriers, from the two year old toddler watching animated cartoons on the TV screen with rapt attention to the large numbers of adult viewers following the saga of The Simpsons in primetime shows.<br /><br />Here are some of my favorite cartoon shows which I confess that I still see today:<br /><br /><b>Bugs Bunny:</b> This slick, conniving, insulting, sarcastic, clever carrot-munching rabbit has to be one of the all-time favorite cartoon characters in the world. Who does not know that distinctive Bugs Bunny line: "What's up, Doc?"<br /><br /><b>Tweety & Sylvester:</b> These are another inimitable pair of cartoon characters. This is another comical case of the villainous cat chasing the cute little canary, with Tweety always ending up safe at 'Home Tweet Home', escaping the wicked 'puddy tat's' claws. My favorite part - that adorable Tweety line: "I tawt I taw a puddy tat… I did! I did!"<br /><br /><b>Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble</b>: This is another great cartoon duo. Remember this cartoon's signature song - "Flintstones... Meet the Flintstones, They're a modern stoneage family. From the town of Bedrock, They're a page right out of history..." and Fred's catchphrase - "Yabba-Dabba-Doo?" The cartoon is an account of the daily lives of the stoneage couple Fred and Wilma Flintstone, and Barney and Betty Rubble, their best friends. All of them live in Bedrock, a prehistoric city, but have to deal with the problems of the modern-day life of the working class. Instead of a cat or a dog, they have a saber tooth tiger and a baby dinosaur as family pets. In 1962, Pebbles appears in the series as the daughter of the Flintstones, and in 1963 Bamm Bamm makes his appearance as the adopted son of the Rubbles.<br /><br /><b>Daffy Duck:</b> True to his name, this black little duck was daffy indeed, with his hair-trigger temper, enormous ego and blind covetousness. Although Daffy was popular indeed, with the introduction of Bugs Bunny a year later, he always played second fiddle. But that secondary status was in itself a great source of laughs.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Swat Kats</span> - T-Bone and Razor in their mean aircraft, out to fight the villains of Katdom. I remember there were villains like Darkcat, Professor Viper. My fac line was the commissioner's line - "The enforcers will handle this".<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Captain Planet </span>- Who doesnt remember the cartoons opening song - "Captain Planet, he's a hero, gonna take pollution down to zero". I remember this show because it introduced me to the idea of recycling. The 'raddiwala' was the captain planet for me! So with our powers combined?<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"> There really are so many lovable cartoon characters: Mickey with his girl friend, Minnie, and a bunch of friends like Goofy, a highly popular cartoon character by himself, and Horace Horse Collar, and Pluto, the dog. The space-age Jetsons and their electronic gadgets like Rosie, the robot housemaid. Donald Duck and his girlfriend, Daisy Duck, along with his three nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie. Plus Scrooge and the Beagle Boys. Then there are Popeye, Felix The Cat, Tom & Jerry, Woody Woodpecker, Yogi Bear & Boo Boo… the list can go on and on</p> <br />Ps - Questions from last night (Dont use Google)-<br />1. What was Popeye's adopted Baby's name?<br />2. What is the Powerpuff girls' father name?<br />3. Which was the 1st cartoon to have a Indian character?<br />4. What was name of the air specialist in the centurions?<br />5. What is the name of Richie Rich's butler name?<br />6. The only show in which Baby's where the stars?Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-34644575153123085382010-07-13T05:25:00.000-07:002010-07-13T05:31:04.563-07:0010 things To remember the 2010 FIFA World CupAfter a month of football action, the 2010 World Cup is over. Sure, Spain won the cup, but there is more to the world cup than just winning it. What are your 10 things that even after 10 years, you will remember about this cup? I am listing mine –<br />1. OCTOPUS PAUL – The invertebrate had a 100% record in forecasting matches in this world cup. Had he been a human, there <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDnKVLEzlxtJ743ujuWiwcqI44SdDp1WdsyWAsXGwMDYMUt03am6UbZ8FSH-1XmCOiqda1KnLVE5iptCgswLFRWTWGP7067GHbWQZ266ids8hdYfXV2HRgn6u6Y5j9EQ1Ep1NOrDCSlg/s1600/fifa-world-cup-south-africa-2010.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493366233016015698" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 355px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKDnKVLEzlxtJ743ujuWiwcqI44SdDp1WdsyWAsXGwMDYMUt03am6UbZ8FSH-1XmCOiqda1KnLVE5iptCgswLFRWTWGP7067GHbWQZ266ids8hdYfXV2HRgn6u6Y5j9EQ1Ep1NOrDCSlg/s400/fifa-world-cup-south-africa-2010.jpg" border="0" /></a>would have been cries of divinity. I googled for an average life expectancy of an octopus, and it seems he will be with us forecasting for a little more time yet. Paul predicted German wins over Australia, England and Argentina, and it all came true. It predicted a defeat to Serbia that came true too. I hope his talents lie in the cricketing domain too.<br />2. Germany 4 Argentina - GAMES of this magnitude can often be dull, sterile affairs, where two giants cancel each other out completely. The game between these two giants never had a chance of being that way. Six days after turfing England out of the World Cup with a magical display, Germany cast their spell on Argentina with a brilliant quarter-final performance. Argentina were buried thanks to a third-minute goal from Thomas Muller and two second-half efforts from Miroslav Klose either side of one from Arne Friedrich. Even Diego Maradona would had appreciated it had he not been in the opposite dug-out. Given all the trash-talking that was done by both sides, given Maradona's spat with Thomas Muller and given that these teams had a history between them, it was surely a spectacle.<br />3. French Revolution - IN 2010, we witness the modern day French Revolution. This time the French football team provided the ammunition against, well, the French football team. In-fighting. Wasn't that the bane of Dutch progression in tournaments for many years? Now that they aren't busy fighting with themselves, look where they ended up. France, on the other-hand, have been the most tedious and excruciating side to watch in this tournament. Much has been written about Nicolas Anelka's spat with Raymond Domenech. The stream of invectives that the Chelsea striker launched at his coach, resulted in his withdrawal from squad by the French Football Federation after he refused to apologise to Domenech. With Anelka's withdrawal, most French players refused to play under Domenech against South Africa. No less has been written about captain Patrice Evra leading the players' walk-out from training on June 20 in support of Anelka. With Evra dropped in retaliation, the rest of the squad showed little desire to excel and were it not for goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and several unlucky bounces, the margin of victory for South Africa would certainly have been enough to progress to the knock-out stages.<br />4. The Frank Lampard goal - FRANK Lampard's chip, which hit the crossbar before landing behind the goalkeeper over the line, was ruled out in one of several controversial decisions at the World Cup in South Africa. It reminded of the goal awarded to England against west Germany in the 1966 world cup. Fate, it seems, like luck, evens itself out.<br />5. MELO: FROM HERO TO VILLIAN - FELIPE Melo went from hero to villain in a matter of minutes as favourites Brazil were stunned 2-1 by Holland in the quarter-finals.The midfielder provided the exquisite through-ball for Robinho to score the game's opening goal in the first half as Brazil threatened to run riot. However, the game turned on its head when Melo scored an own goal in the second half, and was later sent off after losing his cool and stamping on the legs of Dutch midfielder Arjen Robben. The goal was later credited to Wesley Sneijder<br />6. Vuvezela – The annoying noise robbed the broadcast of any crowd jeering, booing or applause. If not for the commentary, it would have seemed like a swarm of angry bees. I found out today that the vuvuzelas are originally manufactured in China! And we thought it was African!!!<br />7. The hand of Cheater – There will always be one hand of God. And then there will be the hand of the cheater. Suarez robbed Ghana (and Africa) of a chance at history. It was only fitting that Uruguay were eliminated in the semi-final. As my mom says, cheaters never win!<br />8. Diego Forlan, Gourcuff, C Ronlado, Villa, Van Persie – Apart from their attacking skills, they are pretty attractive (according to all the ladies). Now that is not a thing to remember the world cup, but due to them, ladies took a pretty keen interest in the world cup.<br />9. Big names failing to fire – All the big names did not fire in this world cup. Too numerous to write here – Henry, Ronaldo, Robinho, Gerrard, Cannavaro etc. Ironically, the favorites won the world cup.<br />10. SHAKIRA WAKA WAKA – Going by the number of people having it as their caller tunes, it would seem that India is a football crazy country and not cricket crazy. There was the little item of Shakira getting sued for the song, but hey who gives a damn when she sways her body. She’s right, Hips don’t lie!!!<br />Wait, I forgot the Jabulani. But hey who wants to remember it anyway???Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-60496768375370818992010-04-07T23:17:00.000-07:002010-04-08T02:35:32.092-07:00The TalismanIt had been a particularly hectic week in office. Work was piling up and there were deadlines to be met, mails to be sent and documents to be re-read. On top of that, I was getting a terrible headache. Even after downing a tablet of dispirin, there was no respite. At about 5pm when it became unbearable, I decided to call it quits and go home early for a change. My boss, being a very understanding fellow, acquiesced and I left for home. <div><div><br />The walk to station was filled with visions of work and thoughts of intricacies of the corporate culture. Once again, I thought “I was not born to do this!” I was plagued with self-doubt over my career plan, over my current position, my long term goals, my financial condition, in short everything and anything negative. The 10 minute walk elevated my pessimism and reduced my morale. Even the normally chirpy songs on my Ipod were of no effect. I soon switched them to Hemant Kumar & co. </div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong>The transformation was complete.</strong> </div><div><br />The train thankfully was empty (at least according to Bombay standards). The emptiness in the compartment seemed to reflect my inner emptiness. There were a lot of thoughts floating around in my fuzzy mind. The lack of ambition, some social faux pas, the emotional barrenness, the purposelessness of my existence were some of the threads in the mind. It wouldn’t need a psychologist to diagnose a bout of mild depression. </div><div><br />The non-depressed portion of my brain was sending out SOS by the dozen. Some mood alleviator hormone must have been triggered temporarily which suggested me to go and stand near the door. The rush of wind against your face is always a feel-good factor, I reasoned. Instead of the usual ‘Born to be wild’ (by Mars Bonfire) song which comes to my head when the wind rushes past your head, I could only hear the thoughts floating and hovering. They were pulling me back into the abyss of melancholy and misery. My eyes had a far away glazed look in them and nothing was in focus.</div><br /><div>Suddenly a foul smell emanated and s<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32Lsjr4MHS5SqyVULJAbdprqY5nLuc4EfG4XbkQf4jcECbzbvWcpGnsxWT_5CHAeh2YHCwu2Yu00LQ3w2W8YWptJE6folXa-ywhyphenhyphenfJJKgh8D_spbj21W0RvLvqO1YGIpnNbGXmuK2I90/s1600/06042010115.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457648044579979474" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh32Lsjr4MHS5SqyVULJAbdprqY5nLuc4EfG4XbkQf4jcECbzbvWcpGnsxWT_5CHAeh2YHCwu2Yu00LQ3w2W8YWptJE6folXa-ywhyphenhyphenfJJKgh8D_spbj21W0RvLvqO1YGIpnNbGXmuK2I90/s320/06042010115.jpg" border="0" /></a>hook me from my stupor. What I saw or to be more precise, what I perceived was a whole populace living in between the train tracks. Though I had been passing through this area for the last 6 months, the scene had never registered with me. I could see children lying on the tracks, men ambling on, teenagers puffing on their <em>beedis</em>, women sitting and tying their daughter’s hair. Despite the sully environment, they looked at peace, if not content. What is their secret, I wondered? </div><div><br />Suddenly in a flash, I remembered the <strong>Gandhiji’s talisman</strong>. Some random synapse must have triggered the memory retrieval. The same talisman which used to be printed on the front page of our NCERT text books. The same talisman which we once read and never understood. The same talisman which was forgotten in the rush for marks, money and power. I remembered the talisman and a feeling of peace came over me. It was an awe-inspiring moment in the most unlikely of places. I felt at one with myself. The dragon of reservations and fears within myself were slain by the shining knight with his weapon of the talisman. I took a deep breath and mumbled a word of gratitude to Gandhiji. Though I may not subscribe to his political views, I had been turned into an instant fan of his spiritual outlook of life. I understood then that no matter what we do or what we become, there will always be some time when the self is in need of a crutch. That time, your spirit and your mind will come to the rescue. </div><div align="center"><br /><strong>Gandhiji’s talisman</strong> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85twtp52V3FEPEJ-KfOICVzVu7gn_w32nIh_f5OYftcFGntrVphuafSvuUUucCwr_hgaAPFc5wgxypUQx1Mk_-d7UP32Hyd2ZZDQs8t9_3COXUGOv62JFY7BAYQKIKiE68T7ezg-SeEo/s1600/untitled.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457648054068548754" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85twtp52V3FEPEJ-KfOICVzVu7gn_w32nIh_f5OYftcFGntrVphuafSvuUUucCwr_hgaAPFc5wgxypUQx1Mk_-d7UP32Hyd2ZZDQs8t9_3COXUGOv62JFY7BAYQKIKiE68T7ezg-SeEo/s320/untitled.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><em>"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away.</em></div></div>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-56298589199368320432010-03-28T05:47:00.000-07:002010-03-28T05:53:50.438-07:00Games Indians Play<p class="MsoNormal">The book of the same title has the introduction: “A rare attempt to understand the Indianness of Indians – Why we are the way we are.” What makes this book different from other self-congratulatory books out there is that it is</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">a)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> A</span></span></span>Written dispassionately ( a good sign)</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">b)<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Uses economic theorems like prisoners dilemma and game theory to provide an insight.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now most of us are not familiar with game theory and prisoner’s dilemma (Wikipedia has some excellent articles on it where it is explained in detail). However, the author V Raghunathan has very cleverly managed to explain in a non economist manner. While you do get a feeling that the problem in Indians was analysed effectively, the elusive solution could also have been attempted at. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The most potent was Chapter 6: Self- Regualtion, Fairness and Us. The chapter starts off with the famous poem (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_they_came...</a>) and then the various malaises affecting Indian society is listed. They vary from</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">1.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Exploding population</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">2.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Abject poverty</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">3.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Pathetic basic education</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">4.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Woeful primary health care</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">5.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Scarcity of clean drinking water</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">6.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Unhealthy pollution levels</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">7.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Near absence of the justice delivery system</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">8.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Runaway corruption</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">9.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Creaky infrastructure</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2"><span style="mso-bidi-mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-latin;font-family:Calibri;"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">10.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>Criminalization of polity</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yet all of the people I have met say that “we are proud to be Indians”. This relationship is more like of a parent with an unruly child. The parent knows the child is unruly, however makes no effort to stop him and cannot love the child any less. The dilemma facing the parent is somewhat like us Indians face, though on a billionth level. At the risk of being branded ‘anti-national’, I would say that I am not proud of India. This was not the India promised by our forefathers and certainly does not look like becoming one in a hurry.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Another quote from the book comes to my mind – “Indians are privately intelligent and publicly dumb”. Correct. We will use our intelligence for our own individual gain but never use it for the society. We take pride in our country running ‘democratically’ despite using all our powers to subvert the essence of democracy and republican outlook. We take proud in our ‘morally superior culture’ yet all our leaders, who are supposed to be the face of the public, show our ‘superior’ culture to the maximum. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">“India is a functioning anarchy’- Gabraith. I love India, but not this version. I love the idea of India, not this one. I love the way we Indians have a ‘jugaad’ for everything, but not when it is used to subvert the law. I love the idea of democracy, but not when it is “Bye the people (spelling Bye intended), Off the people, Far the people”.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I love India, that’s why I feel this pain. What can I or you individually do? What????</p>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-33148103441534238882010-01-12T08:04:00.000-08:002010-01-12T08:21:58.578-08:00Humara Bajaj<div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">2 icons of Liberated India retired last year- the ubiquitous Bajaj Scooter and the peppy Maruti 800.</span></span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">If you would have grown up during the 1970’s and the 1980’s, you would have seen a slew of advertisements with the tagline ‘Humara Bajaj’. It quickly became a stereotypical image: father on the wheel, mother on the pillion, younger child standing in front with head bobbing out, older sibling squeezed between mother an</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">d father, everybody with their arms around each other for balance and protection, epitomized the complete Indian family, “Hum do Hamare do.” (We two and our two)</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">It was idyllic. Needless to say, the ad tag line `Hamara Bajaj’ (Our Bajaj) translated into brisk sales. There was a wait period to own the scooter, courtesy the Licence Raj. My father often used to tell me that in the late 1960’s, a </span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">father used to book a scooter for his new born son and hoped to get the delivery by his son’s 15th Birthday.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">People were not in such hurry back then either. In the typical family (again the ‘dum do, </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9Iwf_yZnOtHBtAUxLsOa5D3N-ND8K4ZsxKMPWj6sM-yMVsM6wx4RvfqxAldxgChM43sq1Yb4BcCcejGIK6F7nhORud_XtcUk9K24cC-wTMY779443WXEYi42mbwprEM6rssCI5thM6w/s1600-h/193173840_2d77824d14.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9Iwf_yZnOtHBtAUxLsOa5D3N-ND8K4ZsxKMPWj6sM-yMVsM6wx4RvfqxAldxgChM43sq1Yb4BcCcejGIK6F7nhORud_XtcUk9K24cC-wTMY779443WXEYi42mbwprEM6rssCI5thM6w/s320/193173840_2d77824d14.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425889158200332178" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">humaare do’ image) the father was strict, a follower of the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi or Jawaharlal Nehru, could have typically worked in a government department, or as a university professor or even a merchant; the mother, a housewife or a teacher, dedicated to the family spent hours in the kitchen, cleaning the house and going to Kitty Parties once a month.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">The unified aim of the husband-wife duo was to ensure their children a good education to turn them into engineers (via cracking the joint entrance exam) or doctor (via the equally difficult MBBS entrance exam) or make it to the IAS, the top government job (via the even more difficult UPSC exam).</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">With such a focus on education, a fair amount of the hardworking and lucky ones did make it and many of them went to America, the land of opportunity, to become software czars, top cardiologists, reproducing kids in turn who today call themselves ABCD (American Born Confused Desi), driving big BMWs or Mercedes Benz and collecting bikes for passion that probably cost more than their grandfather’s whole lifetime income many times over.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Some of the kids called their parents over from India selling off the Bajaj scooters as junk, while others forgot about the elders, providing endless sob story themes for Hindi movies.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">In the 70s Bajaj scooters symbolized middle class stability, although the engine placed on one side, made the machine unstable. And in the current situation of rashly driven powerful vehicles and 24-hour call center cabs, two-wheelers are very unsafe. But, it also reflects a different mindset, another India and a new era that fancies faster motor cycles and bigger and better cars.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Meanwhile, the Maruti 800 was launched in pre-liberalized India in the ’80s. The Maruti 800 was the pet-project of Sanjay Gandhi, though he did not live to see it materialize. The 80’s was the time when the License Raj prevailed to shackle any enterprise, when access to state authority or the ability to grease the wheels of the bureaucracy with money counted for everything — owning a telephone, a passport, a driver’s license or a gas connection and a house. The Babu (read lower government official) was King and the Sarkar (the Babu’s boss) was the Emperor.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">The bulk of youth (everybody could not make it to IIT or IAS or MBBS) aspired to be part of this hierarchy and wield the power to dole out telephone connections or hand out nationalized bank loans and progress in life. Another quote from my father – ‘In those days, there were 2 people you were supposed to know – One was the Babu to get the government business done and the other was the SBI bank manager to get the financial business done.’</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">In a way the spiffy, cheap interiors, quick pick up, not very expensive Maruti 800s that took on the ambling Ambassadors and Fiat cars that dominated Indian roads was the first challenge to the Raj, though there were car quotas still and one needed to bribe a Babu, mainly by offering foreign made liquor bottles or the good old Gandhi Currency.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">The Maruti 800, fast, flexible and individualistic, though a tin pot compared to cars of today, indicated the ’90s and new millennium. Today a typical middle class Indian family travels in a snazzier Maruti Swift or a Hyundai I-20, financed out of a quick processing private bank, visits malls during the weekend, watches high priced multiplex movies, while the kids gorge on pizza and burgers, probably from McDonald’s, home delivery or take away, resulting in new age problems such as obesity and hypertension.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">The parents lead jet setting corporate lives, grapple with deadlines, keep global times; some fight lifestyle related heart problems and hypertension, while others spend time at the gym or spa to de-stress and detoxify. Telephone connections are not a problem, bank loans are available online, cars can be brought off the shelf like a pair of jeans. Jeans themselves can be bought on EMI’s.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">There is freedom to choose. Love marriages are on the rise, so is the visibility of gays and divorce rates.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Discussions center on Nehru’s affairs with foreign women, rather than his beliefs and vision. Gandhi is remembered in context of Bollywood masala flicks such as Lage Raho Munnabhai.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">The ones who have made it bigger via the stock market or real estate windfalls, commute in bigger Honda cars or even a BMW and travel abroad for holidays and spend evenings at expensive clubs, discussing art investments.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">Lest we forget, India still has a huge mass of people who still live in poverty in abysmal socioeconomic circumstances, though as the new-age Babu’s would like to make you believe that the times are changing. The middle class may be travelling on the expressway of freedom of choices and fast money but it is the real India in the rural areas, which is crying out for its own icons of liberation. Liberation not from the stifling Babu-dom or the License Raj but from the repressing poverty they have been subjected to for the last 60 years of independence. Let us not forget that.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">The era of Bajaj Scooters and Maruti 800s is history. As the British saying goes – “The King Is Dead. Long Live the King.”</span></span></div>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-83260088083587858322010-01-01T22:54:00.000-08:002010-01-01T22:57:53.268-08:00The last wishWhat do you do when you are leaving your organization? Get your financial details updated, serve the notice period, give KT, write the customary goodbye mail to all colleagues. <div><br /></div><div>But there are some great souls there who regard colleagues as friends and go beyond the goodbye mail and write masterpieces. One of my friends, Surender alias Pinku wrote this gem of a mail when he was leaving Satyam.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Title: The last wish</b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><p>Two years ago we joined a new college.</p><p>To earn a few penny and gain some knowledge.</p><p>Far from home in the cold chilly weather</p><p>At heaven of STC we all got together.</p><p> </p><p>The morning rush with the roommate</p><p>Racing with others for not getting late</p><p>The torture started at the strike of Seven</p><p>We survived by keeping messenger online</p><p> </p><p>The afternoon session was really overkill</p><p>Since Cafeteria food was indeed a sleeping pill</p><p>Submitting the assignments n projects was a total waste</p><p>As we followed the magic trick of copy-paste.</p><p> </p><p>The junk forwards continued to flow</p><p>We waited whole week for the new movie show</p><p>Along with friends when everything was quiet</p><p>We roamed around the campus till the late night.</p><p> </p><p>The modules and compre didn’t let us sleep</p><p>Some cleared away while others had to weep</p><p>Results came out, no more hosting</p><p>We had to leave, as per the posting.</p><p> </p><p>Battle for Projects then began soon</p><p>Mailboxes spammed by every goon</p><p>Giving last look to the gratifying paradise</p><p>The Satyamites(ELTP) left with the watery eyes.</p><p> </p><p>We all settled down in the different places</p><p>Though memories of Hyderabad left in the traces.</p><p>New friends and colleagues now we have made</p><p>The old intimacy is slowly going fade</p><p> </p><p>2 years gone by since we had a start</p><p>Moments of past is stirring my heart</p><p>In the noisy world today am losing my mind</p><p>The last wish I make, if time could rewind……….</p></span></div>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-87059354020674184822009-09-15T03:00:00.000-07:002009-10-26T00:18:08.904-07:00Book novels kitaab text etc<p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">I am generally considered to be a bibliophile or in other words a ‘bookworm’. My advice is generally sought out on matters related to reviews of books, asking about an author and all other sundry matters related to the collection of written texts. Though I don’t profess to be an all knowing Guru of book-ish knowledge, still I enjoy the tag. What I don’t exactly enjoy is answering the same old query almost everyone asks, “yaar, which book should I buy / read?”</p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">If you think its easy, well, retrospect! For I may recommend a Mills & Boon to my young cousin, however I would recommend the <i style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Bhagwat gita</i> to my old uncle. The trick of the trade is, my readers, to know the likes and general dislikes of a person; the personality in short. </p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">That’s what gets me wondering – Is there no such list which can cater to all & sundry without prejudice to sex, age and proficiency in the English language? There are many such <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html">top 100 lists</a> out there on the net but nothing for the <i>junta</i> who are willing to read but don’t know what to read.</p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">Thinking of all the books I have read, heard or even just skimmed through, I can list some books that can cater to this vast segmented populace. This list is for the general public who want to read a book, but don’t consider themselves to be avid readers. The list is from my limited repository of books and excludes books which I <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">have not</span> read. So if you think some book is missing its rightful place here, please do drop a note.</p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify">So read away:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><br /></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><o:p></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">1. <a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_Farm">Animal farm</a> – George Orwell.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-size:+0;">2. </span><a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alchemist_%28novel%29">The Alchemist</a> – Paulo Coelho. </p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><o:p></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-size:+0;">3. </span><a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings">Lord of the Rings</a> – JRR Tolkien.</p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><o:p></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-size:+0;">4. </span><a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_vinci_code">The Da vinci code</a> – Dan brown</p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.25in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><o:p></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-size:+0;">5. </span><a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Walk_to_Remember_%28novel%29">A walk to remember</a><span style="COLOR: rgb(102,51,102)"> </span>- Nicholas Sparks</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify">6. <a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kite_Runner">The Kite runner</a> - Khaled Hosseini</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-size:+0;">7. </span><a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_A_Mocking_Bird">To kill a mocking bird</a> – Harper Lee</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-size:+0;">8. </span><a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Short_History_of_Nearly_Everything">A short history of nearly everything</a> – Bill Bryson</p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><o:p></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-size:+0;">9. </span><a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Archer">The collected short stories</a> by Jeffrey Archer</p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><o:p></o:p></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.75in; TEXT-INDENT: -0.5in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style="font-size:+0;">10. </span><a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Island">Treasure island</a> - Robert Louis Stevenson</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.75in; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6p-5a2zCXYdSlvF2L4JhkGEqCwn-NENTLb-Za9J0d7qS6wtAqOUEXI-AANHiII-XV2snMK7AMTnBPzX8sLxm_A1YADrzbNxMyx_qk9zgZZvkfpKq-he32yVmtKjLsYVoQ9j_TfXovoE0/s1600-h/archer.jpg"></a> </p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal">I have left out classics like <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Atlas Shrugged, Fountainhead, Lord of the Flies, Pride & Prejudice</span> among many others. It wasn’t that they were not deserving, but they would not fit the reading list of the general population. But, I would not like to discourage anyone from reading further. If there is a specific genre you are looking for, please see this useful page: - <a style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold" href="http://www.penguinclassics.co.uk/static/cs/uk/10/minisites/classics60birthday/whatsyourpassion.html">Penguin List</a><o:p></o:p></span></strong></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal"><br /></span></strong></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><strong><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal">In the end, I ask everyone reading this page to take a minute and just <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7812718738866978183&postID=8705935402067418482"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">COMMENT</span></a> on <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">what your favorite book is</span> till date. Thanks<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p><p class="MsoNormal"><strong><o:p></o:p></strong></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden"> <div id="refHTML"></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden"> <div id="refHTML"></div>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-60621618277495515732009-08-22T21:15:00.000-07:002009-08-24T02:55:22.369-07:00We The Women<div style="font-family:arial;"><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-size:130%;">Relationships fulfill our very basic need : companionship. And, relationships are also something that need constant work to go on. In his last post, Dhruv enumerated some male faux-pau. It got me thinking about yet another important part of a relationship : equality. And, being the feminist that I am, I think both the gender need to accept responsibility of how the relationship is going. So, we the women also need to understand where we go wrong, too. I tried a few things : </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Q76cn8so8cEXfur0dAODCi9MgNJs4t3KfFUVs4PNPd-xhyphenhyphenyktgFCsM3h49MbgdWub4_iykoXsL7pFoGJ3yR-UTenLSs-4hL0eyZuCFoxc5qXTfEy8T8ymmoznEHgVb1zBq7DQ9suws0/s1600-h/mail.google.com.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 92px; height: 131px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Q76cn8so8cEXfur0dAODCi9MgNJs4t3KfFUVs4PNPd-xhyphenhyphenyktgFCsM3h49MbgdWub4_iykoXsL7pFoGJ3yR-UTenLSs-4hL0eyZuCFoxc5qXTfEy8T8ymmoznEHgVb1zBq7DQ9suws0/s200/mail.google.com.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373465814440577042" border="0" /></a></div><p align="justify"><strong>1) Does He ever understand/ Think/ Feel ?</strong> : After a fight, women usually complain of the guy's super-sonic brain speed. The common pattern of cribbing is " he <strong>never</strong><strong> </strong>understands what i feel and think." Well, gals, i guess the synapses in emotional areas form a bit slow in them, but then they do. Thankfully ;). Only, till the time the bell rings we are too pissed off to talk about it.<br /></p><p align="justify"> </p><p align="justify"><strong><br /></strong></p><p align="justify"><strong>2) The <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAqQ4XPDSWYAZXM2XpRXlcURE2I7rFSyH717FSFjTp8Goe1qF0qTSP2nBNL4bJp05mhzcmYcPrY1n1NSWiaUTShHU-gmXXbuTg5_rHpd6Q0MLRm2qs7eJSq8ff4flCj2q2T8P4Rbum_9x/s1600-h/0117whatiloveaboutyouhenryisyoureanobrainer.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373011944136772514" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 234px; height: 279px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAqQ4XPDSWYAZXM2XpRXlcURE2I7rFSyH717FSFjTp8Goe1qF0qTSP2nBNL4bJp05mhzcmYcPrY1n1NSWiaUTShHU-gmXXbuTg5_rHpd6Q0MLRm2qs7eJSq8ff4flCj2q2T8P4Rbum_9x/s320/0117whatiloveaboutyouhenryisyoureanobrainer.gif" border="0" /></a>Verbal Language Expression</strong>: Most females are better in communicating. This owes to better communication between two halves of the brain. And, expression of love in most of the females has variety. The guys get chastised when they donot match our level of expression. " If i can do it, why cant he? " Well, the fact is, they cannot match our levels , it would be such a waste. So, we need to moderate our expectations. They do it when it really matters ( only, mostly and hopefully ).</p><p align="justify"><strong>3) Catastrophising and Overgeneralizing</strong> : So, if you are seeing a guy whose expression of love ( or absence of it) gives you a heartburn , you will tend to catastro<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiaFQjeGVRWfsuYLLwzfQjiIS_tA9ikPay8ONvjaDWQSQ8gxl7f7-OXptOsHKFe1DjNL8HYW9V7AaIET1fD24c8LfP7YP7PacP-YlqKQY-LgIkECEZpTq3Efc4aPQqWNIVaypuEOiV9D-y/s1600-h/gfon114l.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373017848517219858" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 320px; height: 288px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiaFQjeGVRWfsuYLLwzfQjiIS_tA9ikPay8ONvjaDWQSQ8gxl7f7-OXptOsHKFe1DjNL8HYW9V7AaIET1fD24c8LfP7YP7PacP-YlqKQY-LgIkECEZpTq3Efc4aPQqWNIVaypuEOiV9D-y/s320/gfon114l.jpg" border="0" /></a>phize. We all know how well they express it when there is a chase to acquire you but then there is a steady decline. And, we start thinking that the guy doesnt love us as much. Well, if the guy is really into you, better look for expression of love in kind or acts, you"ll se plenty. Words are just one way to express. May be, OUR favourite way.</p><p align="justify"><strong>4) Assuming men are sex-starved animals:</strong> If we have had a bad experience in the past, chances are great that we"ll have problems in developing trust in a future relationship. Well, don't we all always say " I know what he wants " . This holds true especially when we are simultaneously feeling lack of tending to our emotional needs. I donot say men dont want sex from you. Poor things, just say wrong things at the wrong time, or so I feel. And that gets US going for sure. Only in the wrong trajectory. A true guy will make you comfortable, they do.</p><p align="justify"><strong>5) The Grapevine</strong> : Ahem.. We the females are social animals at the higher order I guess. Most of us discuss our boyfriends in great detail. And, also what we do. Sharing is a good thing , I know. And, all the things we cant tell you guys, we tell that to our girl friends. And, if we need to fume ( more ) and do an activity called " name calling ", we enjoy it better with our GFs. And, I accept we fell great after that. But, yes, its not always a great thing. We must know how to edit and with hold information - and yes- like good guys do. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPs81Tv2rl93mQy5zyGVn2RU6_YWZ94xDG_ALTJs417BbcL6BB4TSwgz761jA0zn7QQOKGgNkLFqPbhHV_UtokQnSc-FnCEU4pzF27ZdSlteNdpUXKcjPjPUtFwvLrGBJY42fmOWv8YpOM/s1600-h/cartoon+2.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373018656935170514" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 320px; height: 229px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPs81Tv2rl93mQy5zyGVn2RU6_YWZ94xDG_ALTJs417BbcL6BB4TSwgz761jA0zn7QQOKGgNkLFqPbhHV_UtokQnSc-FnCEU4pzF27ZdSlteNdpUXKcjPjPUtFwvLrGBJY42fmOWv8YpOM/s320/cartoon+2.bmp" border="0" /></a></p><p align="justify"><strong>6) Over-Analysis</strong> : When we face a problem in our relationship, we involuntarily take the responsibility of fixing it. Actually speaking, I dunno if the problem will be solved ever if we leave it upto you ( I think so :)) ) . And, in the process of reaching the solution we reach a stage where an issue has been pulled and examined thread-bare( with GFs' assistance ) and beyond recognition. Please lets give our important and precious brains some rest!! I am sure, the world needs us for better things :))</p><p align="justify"><strong>7) Compromising too much</strong> : As females we are more programmed to adjust and mould ourselves according to needs. But we to tend to over do it, forgetting what we used to be. A friend of mine, a very chirpy, outgoing girl became a complete recluse, always glued to her phone.With poor sleep and eating habits, she started even looking different. And more changes followed. I do question if we would want to change ourselves beyond recognition. Many girls do. Love yourself and then think of loving someone else. </p><p align="justify"><strong>8) Plethora of Details</strong> : We are definitely more verbose, descriptive and attentive to details of just about anything. And when we talk, we talk to explain it all. Needless of the need of the hour. When we are talking to our female mates, this works well. And, many times the guy will also endure being so in love. But, yes, it would be better for the guy's health ( and ours' ) if we do watch the time and mood. Guys never never can care less about so much detailing that we do. They just nod, watch next time carefully. But, just let it pass.</p><p align="justify"><strong>9) The Silent/ Sulking Treatment</strong> : Expression of anger on the guy predominantly takes two forms : Silent or <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1mhQxkdza5LsEXzQd4o4eNV8oumct5Mdqh36IUZU97syosk5bI9GAnL5i3d6Bcs4gyNZAdwg8ND-tdn56mCIoXzQjJk3g9BPxVHTbXWKGIEsF6YW-oygixyZeiYYEFADYFDsPcY43Olp/s1600-h/RELA5_demo.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373016929652997442" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 280px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1mhQxkdza5LsEXzQd4o4eNV8oumct5Mdqh36IUZU97syosk5bI9GAnL5i3d6Bcs4gyNZAdwg8ND-tdn56mCIoXzQjJk3g9BPxVHTbXWKGIEsF6YW-oygixyZeiYYEFADYFDsPcY43Olp/s320/RELA5_demo.gif" border="0" /></a>Sulking. And of course if we have been hu<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguifsVK14rLiMu1cw0MDpGlhKOkbV2IH7eZei3JOBr8FY61Jpm9ZA1tDFlJB8TdikjFtaFh6fMOu63wINzXZRciSngMxVsQL6d0JFGzqq8rL8qk273N2OC-UkvnQFCD9oaZObAF9ctAndf/s1600-h/relationship%20cartoons%2000.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373020591274063058" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 283px; height: 283px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguifsVK14rLiMu1cw0MDpGlhKOkbV2IH7eZei3JOBr8FY61Jpm9ZA1tDFlJB8TdikjFtaFh6fMOu63wINzXZRciSngMxVsQL6d0JFGzqq8rL8qk273N2OC-UkvnQFCD9oaZObAF9ctAndf/s320/relationship%2520cartoons%252000.jpg" border="0" /></a>rt ( esp when the guy forgets important days; so characteristic of guys ) this will follow. But, we again tend to over do it, hold it to our hearts and bring the issue again in the next fight. Its so natural to react like this but of course doesnt help anyone. Try more productive ways of resolution of feelings. And, try and let go faster ( very difficult for us, i know ). </p><br /><br /><p align="justify"><strong><br /></strong></p><p align="justify"><strong>10) The Emotional <em>Atyachaar</em></strong><em> </em>: Now, I dont want t<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmvxeAynU32cf-PP4rA4kDY9vM203q0zsHqlkv8J175mEGuZJqVfULPE75jMAaU7u5XGSkseyXUaUudkRo9x8tJKSuepJgck42AhFaKblKr9i8xig9rWd3d_89IaIvqCVvi8dLzwfiVnl/s1600-h/2003-01-29.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373019325008694194" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 240px; height: 320px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmvxeAynU32cf-PP4rA4kDY9vM203q0zsHqlkv8J175mEGuZJqVfULPE75jMAaU7u5XGSkseyXUaUudkRo9x8tJKSuepJgck42AhFaKblKr9i8xig9rWd3d_89IaIvqCVvi8dLzwfiVnl/s320/2003-01-29.gif" border="0" /></a>o make fun of the times when we cry and give a philosophy lecture when we feel emotional. But, in retrospect I think we can do without it. As if the guy can understand and assimilate half the things we say. And, anyone changes if you say? They change when they need to ( applies across gender, age etc) . So, here is one indication that we save our breath. And my experience tells me ( dunno if others agree), the real guy is at sea when we cry. Poor thing, doesnt know how to react, what to say or d<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMu3xaY0Lw7ljj-t32-ELXsorHuSfEiKJyB92m6Dq2LSV828JBNQg4qublEWMN_HNLvM-mN0WBigH5gTxNg70qCAgzHFw9VuOaTiUIH6AXIPk6r8nCcOQG8VRrTFfFqh9EgdFtvCUKxDxJ/s1600-h/relationship02.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373019810562876258" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 233px; height: 320px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMu3xaY0Lw7ljj-t32-ELXsorHuSfEiKJyB92m6Dq2LSV828JBNQg4qublEWMN_HNLvM-mN0WBigH5gTxNg70qCAgzHFw9VuOaTiUIH6AXIPk6r8nCcOQG8VRrTFfFqh9EgdFtvCUKxDxJ/s320/relationship02.gif" border="0" /></a>o. He is just totally in the state of shock. And , we dont help them either, rather complicate the matters by shrugging and shunning them. So, its like wanting the thing we dont want right now. Well, even i didnt know how to handle this.<br /><br />Well, I think I understood this after making these many mistakes in my relationships. And, worst is that all of us keep repeating them. But, understanding problems is first step towards problem resolution. With this post, I intend to help us all understand how contribute to our own problems. I am no expert at solving them ( rather worse) but I am beginning to try and introspect. And, my last word is, whatever we say or do, we are incomplete without these people we love and cherish. So, hold them with gratitude and respect.<br /><br /></p><p></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-16081431643696527432009-07-23T13:00:00.000-07:002009-07-23T13:25:38.226-07:00MMM : Mistakes Men Make<div style="text-align: justify;"><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///G:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CSURIPC%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:130%;">How do I get a girl to like </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:130%;">me? What can I do to let her know how I feel about her? Does she like me?</span> </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVsc4D17ihHv7gHPwp5N7tq81RuMuNW182hXSvbTTbLtwHsqufleCSrrQsIm36NJJIN6fIvdcxiJFjOjdfIzgCyB-nsb0fb6ue-zxqXcBGCsezIaE5FCxAU6c1G7bLKZiq8nietyTFV4c/s1600-h/online_dating_regular_dating.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVsc4D17ihHv7gHPwp5N7tq81RuMuNW182hXSvbTTbLtwHsqufleCSrrQsIm36NJJIN6fIvdcxiJFjOjdfIzgCyB-nsb0fb6ue-zxqXcBGCsezIaE5FCxAU6c1G7bLKZiq8nietyTFV4c/s200/online_dating_regular_dating.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361752113076488866" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">These may be most frequent questions in a single man in <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region> who is as the line goes ‘Single, ready to Mingle’. The desperation to mingle gets magnified so much that the man commits grave mistakes trying to get that special girl in his life. While I think </span><span style="font-size:100%;">what a man does in his life is his own business, still I think the majority need to be educated & informed about the faux-pas committed by them. Being a brethren of the male homosapien species, I want to help my fellow Mankind get their Womankind or atlas understand where they are going wrong in the relationship.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">While I cannot speak for women nor can a woman speak for all women, there are characteristics the majority of women want in a man. I’ve read several books, talked to ‘attraction’ experts, talked to wom</span><span style="font-size:100%;">en about what they want in a man, tested <i style="">techniques</i>, and have observed many scenarios comparing and contrasting variables men display in their interaction with women to develop a set of avoidable mistakes men can avoid to build their attractiveness towards women.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">So here is my take on the mistakes men make:</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">L</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ove is</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> not just Physical</span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_pLXbZsitK8K4P91hVPz-CTwvd6iGtb1z_3XIz8MbbUucqUESQKJAhn2_Useo1WZ_IpAwbleaOhdlJBgYBkjz52DE98gIz2-6BQfUbNqhTqHsA2GYirY-Jh1Qh1OSu1xGxTGdMWTEPAs/s1600-h/love+not+sex.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 97px; height: 135px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_pLXbZsitK8K4P91hVPz-CTwvd6iGtb1z_3XIz8MbbUucqUESQKJAhn2_Useo1WZ_IpAwbleaOhdlJBgYBkjz52DE98gIz2-6BQfUbNqhTqHsA2GYirY-Jh1Qh1OSu1xGxTGdMWTEPAs/s200/love+not+sex.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361752097735052898" border="0" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Mos</span><span style="font-size:100%;">t o</span><span style="font-size:100%;">f the men behave as a sex-starved animal. Their thinking is limited to “I need a girl, will she work?” They see women as </span><span style="font-size:100%;">an</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> object not as a person. While there may be nymphomaniac women out there who enter into relationships only for </span><span style="font-size:100%;">sex. However here we are concentrating our activities to get your special girl to love you. For that, you need to get over that sex-obsesse</span><span style="font-size:100%;">d syndrome infected satyromania.
<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">2. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Don’t be too nice but don’t be a jerk</span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">H</span><span style="font-size:100%;">a</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ve </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhro5-3kFakzY54MkvzdVetVA1rVpKMz7EUK4jSkACw_yBS65I2V0YP79kpGDx8r88G_O0W3pmuy4exwoQedKOuTHO_XajfUoe-lIMipicJRHtvdEwCJ71yMUirrAEo2V5u72TenUJEU/s1600-h/nice-guy-large.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 204px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhro5-3kFakzY54MkvzdVetVA1rVpKMz7EUK4jSkACw_yBS65I2V0YP79kpGDx8r88G_O0W3pmuy4exwoQedKOuTHO_XajfUoe-lIMipicJRHtvdEwCJ71yMUirrAEo2V5u72TenUJEU/s200/nice-guy-large.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361752105866013586" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">y</span><span style="font-size:100%;">ou</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> ever noticed that the really desirable women never seem to b</span><span style="font-size:100%;">e attracted to us "nice" guys? I know you must be saying “<span style="font-style: italic;">ALL THE TIME</span>”. Just like me, I'm sure you've had attractive female friends that always seemed to date "jerks or a**holes"... but for some reason they were never romantically interested in YOU.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">What's going on here?</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Simply because, women don't base their choices of men on a mythical ‘niceometer’. They choose the men they do because they feel a powerful unexplainable <span style="font-style: italic;">GUT LEVEL ATTRACTION</span> for them. And guess what? Being nice doesn't necessarily make a girl sense that powerful <span style="font-style: italic;">ATTRACTION</span>.
<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I realize that this doesn't make a lot of logical sense, and it's hard to accept but get over it. Remember: Dont go the other way & be a jerk and make her uncomfortable.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">3. <span style="font-weight: bold;">When she says No, she means No</span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9A8Pz-vVHqyhUqWXBb1H7axwvUZ0YEM62d4rN9Pz1pNZtspkf2q4LTFKZqXMMP1EFJ4o18aF4xDT-qIwFwF670vQ6-ia8p_vzxifUi1DhTzLsI832WsN6GTNVypO1kz38NZo7JkZZIi0/s1600-h/NoMeansNo+final.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 190px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9A8Pz-vVHqyhUqWXBb1H7axwvUZ0YEM62d4rN9Pz1pNZtspkf2q4LTFKZqXMMP1EFJ4o18aF4xDT-qIwFwF670vQ6-ia8p_vzxifUi1DhTzLsI832WsN6GTNVypO1kz38NZo7JkZZIi0/s200/NoMeansNo+final.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361752106861847506" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Ok. Sample question: What would you do if you<span style=""> </span>meet a girl that you <span style="font-weight: bold;">REALLY</span> like... but she is just not interested?</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I know you will be thinking: “I’ll try to "convince" the girl to feel differently.”</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Well, I have news for you... <span style="font-weight: bold;">YOU WILL NEVER CHANGE HOW A GIRL "FEELS" WHEN IT COMES TO ATTRACTION!</span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Never. If you have seen the movie “Bruce Almighty”, then you may know what I am talking about. You cannot <span style="font-style: italic;">CONVINCE</span> a girl to feel differently about you with "logic and reasoning". If a girl doesn't "feel it" for you, how in the world do you expect to change that <span style="font-style: italic;">FEELING </span>by being "reasonable" with her? But we all do it. When a girl just isn't interested, we beg, plead, chase, and do our best to change her mind. Bad idea dude.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">When she says No, it is best to back out, but don’t back out too much. Give her space & time for the feeling to develop (if it can).</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">4. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Trying to BUY her love</span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVrm_Y0XxvGZb2o9t8hUGudwKA-LOCP1LyUO69Hs12OccUUQN8GtW-nbmOpELQfRQNdk-yIks4sySZ-Y74o4bZgJnJ8CetxaZOPjIOkHPyup6G5KXoHMBYZlpZcvEH6qHAXd4TbMILNg/s1600-h/cant+buy+final.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsVrm_Y0XxvGZb2o9t8hUGudwKA-LOCP1LyUO69Hs12OccUUQN8GtW-nbmOpELQfRQNdk-yIks4sySZ-Y74o4bZgJnJ8CetxaZOPjIOkHPyup6G5KXoHMBYZlpZcvEH6qHAXd4TbMILNg/s200/cant+buy+final.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361752096401751682" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">How many times have you taken a woman out to a nice date, bought her gifts and flowers, and had her <span style="font-style: italic;">REJECT</span> you for someone who didn't treat her even <span style="font-style: italic;">HALF</span> as well as you did? For a girl, it was an easy choice to make. When you do these things, you send a clear message:</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">"I don't think you'll like me for who I am, so I'm going to try to buy your attention and affection". </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Your good intentions usually come across to women as over-compensation for insecurity, and weak attempts at manipulation. That's right, I said that women see this as <span style="font-style: italic;">MANIPULATION</span>. Don’t be extravagant. That should come later in the relationship.
<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">5. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Making Friendship</span></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I have heard countless stories from my female friends of boys coming at them with various variants of the line : “<span style="font-style: italic;">I want to be friends with you</span>”. Sorry! Your friendship is over before it could ever get started. Friendship doesn’t happen like that. It is a gradual process and it doesn’t happen in packets. It just happens. You cant force it to happen. Atleast not with girls.
<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">6. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Who the hell are you?</span> (Jaan naa pehchaan, tu mera mehmaan)</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQwbK7gALkU2kVlZ7WNyxjCAXfc-B18weUBaTX9c8mgCCMyvnrQUHu4mDf3sGXfu7Paxjt4yTlSqMM6bjiCHdLYpM76TXtleYMA8BgSHiscX8F9eeAUJic-klZVmsBiyi6UAOk7v-uorU/s1600-h/stranger.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 124px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQwbK7gALkU2kVlZ7WNyxjCAXfc-B18weUBaTX9c8mgCCMyvnrQUHu4mDf3sGXfu7Paxjt4yTlSqMM6bjiCHdLYpM76TXtleYMA8BgSHiscX8F9eeAUJic-klZVmsBiyi6UAOk7v-uorU/s200/stranger.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361753943677730706" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Most of the men think themselves of Adonis reborn. They think women are dying to talk to them. They think they only have to take the 1<sup>st</sup> step. While it is true that men have to take the 1<sup>st</sup> step, but then you have to see where the step lies. </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">What I mean to say is that Girls don’t welcome strangers on the 1<sup>st</sup> step even if they are handsome, rich or cute. While the before mentioned traits may be helpful, they don’t exactly gurantee a warm welcome by women. </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">You need to have a very plausible reason to be making a women’s acquaintance. It may be a common reference, some professional issue, some school –college link. There has to be something. A complete stranger is a bad no-no!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">7. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Thinking That It Takes Money And Looks</span> </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWUwRF-LT0qYbfj0-Bmqu5kDHIy1GuAoxSMe5M6VaIKvgi94o-r1_HHehkJspiO1-NALZaNReuIY14umjIh2OhG15jB4hj8NOQIElOqZRHb53yLLhk7q0Bm5IhZGQZakMJFCsb6e2Huo/s1600-h/moneyman.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 149px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWUwRF-LT0qYbfj0-Bmqu5kDHIy1GuAoxSMe5M6VaIKvgi94o-r1_HHehkJspiO1-NALZaNReuIY14umjIh2OhG15jB4hj8NOQIElOqZRHb53yLLhk7q0Bm5IhZGQZakMJFCsb6e2Huo/s200/moneyman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361754194058849330" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">One of the most common mistakes that guys make is giving up before they've even gotten started... because they think that attractive women are only interested in men who have looks and money... or guys who are a certain height... or guys who are a certain age.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">And sure, there are some women who are only interested in these things.</span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">But <span style="font-style: italic;">MOST</span> women are far more interested in a man's personality than his wallet or his looks. There are personality traits as well. </span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">In the end, I wont say what you should do, but I will just say <span style="font-weight: bold;">Don’t do</span> the things I have just mentioned. If they help you, please let me know.</span></p> Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-16032843091225938272009-05-19T10:03:00.000-07:002009-05-19T12:13:46.414-07:00Lost in Translation - Dogri<p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">In the foothills of the Himalayas, there is a town called Jammu in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, which I am proud to call home. There is a lot of difference between the Jammu region & the Kashmir region in areas of topography, language, politics, main occupation. However, as you start travelling down, the difference between the areas becomes fuzzier to our fellow countrymen. There is a common perception that Jammu & Kashmir are more like twin cities or they have the same behavioral patterns as per language, society, weather, aspirations. Well, nothing can be farther from the truth. Ethnically, Jammu is largely Dogra. D<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">ogri is considered to be the main language of the Jammu region. (More info on </span><a href="https://imailhyd.satyam.com/OWA/redir.aspx?C=56061edabece4919b60e3739f35c3f45&URL=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fJammu" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammu</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">)</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Wait... You must be asking "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Dogri" </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">(</span><a href="https://imailhyd.satyam.com/OWA/redir.aspx?C=56061edabece4919b60e3739f35c3f45&URL=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fDogri" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogri</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">). Which language is that? Isn’t it supposed to be the same as Punjabi?” Well, I do confess it is phonetically similar to Punjabi. But it has some nuances of its own. Every language has some words / idioms which are inherently its own. These linguistic pieces are literally untransla<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">table, for e.g. </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">duende</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> in Spanish & </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">maktub</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> in Arabic. Dogri also boasts of some unique words, which you may not have heard of or there might not be any equivalent in any other language.</span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Using some of these ‘</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">untranslatable</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">’ words in some of the other parts of the country, I have been unable to educate my compatriots about the actual meaning of the words. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">AND</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> the </span><span style="TEXT-TRANSFORM: uppercase"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">correct</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">way of pronunciation. There is a way of pronouncing even Hindi words in Dogri / Punjabi accent which make the word seem alien and sometimes phunny (Spelling mistake intended). Like 'security' is pronounced “</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Sekorti</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">", 'computer' is pronounced “</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">koumpootr</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">”, ‘announcement’ is “</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">lousemint</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">”. Coming back to the ethnic phrases / words part, I am listing my </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">top 10 ones</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, along with my interpretation on the supposed </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">meaning, pronunciation and application</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> of the words.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">1. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Khajal</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">(kh </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">{as in kheer}</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, ajal {</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">as in kajal}</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">)</span></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The art of not doing anything in particular, wandering aimlessly or as in </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">'khajal karna</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">' - making some one roam around endlessly in some vain quest. Some people have spent their whole lives being Khajal. Some words in addendum are </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Khajalpanti, khajalpann</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">. If you hear this word anywhere, rest assured that person has been khajal once in his / her life.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Used as in - "I am just being </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Khajal</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">". " Tune mujhe </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">khaja</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">l kiyaa hai (You have made me </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">khajal</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">)".</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span style=""></span> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">2. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Banda hai yaa nai hai</span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The literal translation comes out to be like “Are you a person or a barber (</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">nai</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">)?". The supposition here is that barbers are not considered as par with other people. (No offense intended). Usage situation - When someone does some work in a wrong manner or does something silly, you berate him by using this conjecture.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span style=""></span> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">3. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Baayngad </span></span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">(Bay-un-gad)</span></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">A little crazy guy (not deranged) with a penchant for pranks or a person who will do things his own way often contrary to logic & reasoning. </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Usage - " </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Munna baeyngadd hai</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, he went at 1 am at night to the railway station to drink chai there"!</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span style=""></span> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">4. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Khadpaench</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> - ( </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Kh</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> {as in khymer} - </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">ad</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> - </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Paench</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> {as ‘pench’ in penchant} ). </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">A person who is at the forefront of everything, who takes responsibility of doing things, even when he has no knowledge about it. Used mainly in a derogatory way. Usage - " Badaa </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">khadpaenc<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" font-style: normal; font-family:Georgia;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">h</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> bandya hai ( He was trying to be a big </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">khadpaench</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">)".</span></span></span></span></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span style=""></span> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">5. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Turry</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> ( </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Taree</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> rhyming with curry { with a </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">soft T</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">} )</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Tall tales or unbelievable stories / incidents. </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Usage – Basically used as a noun. E.g. - </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Turry dolnaa.</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span style=""></span> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">6. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Nagg</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> (Like ‘</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">nug</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">’ in ‘nugget’) </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">In Dogri slang, </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Nagg</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> is used to refer to a person who is good for nothing .The basic meaning of </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Nagg</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> is ‘still item’. It is believed in Dogri culture that still items are good for nothing, hence the analogy between the items and the person. A combination of </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Nagg</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> and </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">khadpaench</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> is a person who thinks he knows everything but can do nothing. </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Usage – Used primarily as an adjective. You can use it in friendly banter “</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Tu toh Nagg hi hai maaye”.</span></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span style=""></span> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">7. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Badd pandey</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> (</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Bud</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> -{as in Budweiser</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">} Pandey</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">)</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">The Dogri version of ‘Go to hell’ or ‘Shit!!!’ Used mainly in situations when something goes extremely wrong and you want to relieve the pent up frustrations. The second part of the phrase has to be said with force and feeling </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Usage – There is also a more explicit version of the phrase. In that you substitute </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Pandey</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> with a more offensive term.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span style=""></span> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">8. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Nash</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> (</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Nash</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> like the cricketer Dion Nash)</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><i><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Nash</span></span></span></i><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> is basically ill-luck. </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Nashi</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> can be used to describe a cursed fellow who brings </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Nash</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> to all his mates.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Usage - The best part of this word is that it can become a Noun (</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Nash</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">), verb (</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Nash Lagaana</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">), Adjective </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">(Nashi</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">).</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span style=""></span> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span style=""></span> 9. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Dae</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">l</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> (</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Da</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> -{as in Dad} </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Al</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> {as in Al Gore})</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><i><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Dael</span></span></span></i><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> is style or panache or fame or recognition. And everything that goes with them. When a person has </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Dael</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, he is envied for those traits. Having </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Dael </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">is like becoming an idol. </span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Usage – When someone does or has something extraordinary, like having a beautiful girlfriend, you say “Yaar, </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Dael</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> hai teri!”</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span style=""></span> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">10. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Chol</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> (</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Ch</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> {as in Chinese} </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">-ol</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">)</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Well, </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Chol</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> is an ambiguous word. In one sense, </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Chol</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> refers to rice in </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Dogri</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">. However in the current context, </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Chol </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">means humiliation. When someone commits a social s<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">lip-up, or when you embarrass someone, a </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Chol</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> is supposed to have taken place.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Usage – Suppose a guy claims he can drink 5 bottles of beer. But when he tries, he quits after 2 bottles. In that case, you can say that a </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Chol</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> has taken place.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">My request to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Non-Dogri knowing people: Please try incorporating these words in some situations and tell me the result at </span></span><a href="https://imailhyd.satyam.com/OWA/redir.aspx?C=56061edabece4919b60e3739f35c3f45&URL=mailto%3adhruvsuri1%40gmail.com"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">dhruvsuri1@gmail.com</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> OR you can simply comment here at the end of this blog.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinJY_tCO_hzuEleT_U_0MhxxDMz8Syyk3mVfs213o5zOmdu0dcw0ygP7tZv0p2lbuoXnJ-2nr3vaXDpXjeKLPW76EEnapzYlkboVupjuC_8UYlA7UUv4WMQCKuzh_36jqYUndLbdgjOaw/s200/speak_up.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337588080852598322" /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;margin-right: 0.9pt; "><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">For Duggars - Migi dogri nai aandi magar main puri koshish kiti hai. Agar koi galti hoi hai taan dasso.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Thanks to Rajnesh (alias ‘<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The Chacha</span>’), Pursharth (alias ‘<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Pascoe</span>’), Shilpa (alias ‘<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Ma~am</span>’) & Indu (alias ‘<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">JTO</span>’) for the help in collecting the words.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Lastly, I am grateful to all my friends who I was</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Khajal</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> with. We used to act </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Baayngad</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> together. Lots of </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Tarees</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> used to be told. There were some </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Nagg’</span>s</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> too who were </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Nashi</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> as well, but we said ‘</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Badd Pandey</span>’</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> to them. They would get </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Cho</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">l</span></span>-ofied. Our </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Dael</span></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> would be maintained. </span></span><br /></p>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-81070754336958217072009-03-20T06:22:00.000-07:002009-03-24T05:28:20.924-07:00Memory RemainsWhy is that we forget some things easily and some things remain with us for a lifetime? Why do some words, incidents or people provoke <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCmJtlxhPxGmPkrT9-uPrVsPwXZNa9Z5b7vgbGehwmD2GdtgDHiUpzYJdsHEYvrIPI7oPDd-K0MSKWfcmHURt8jPJjwjpaCZFH-Nd7sxdzWZhj0CQrlQ9AgegmG6NFtnY5pI09ZZewI8/s1600-h/homersimpsonsbrain.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 147px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCmJtlxhPxGmPkrT9-uPrVsPwXZNa9Z5b7vgbGehwmD2GdtgDHiUpzYJdsHEYvrIPI7oPDd-K0MSKWfcmHURt8jPJjwjpaCZFH-Nd7sxdzWZhj0CQrlQ9AgegmG6NFtnY5pI09ZZewI8/s200/homersimpsonsbrain.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315260533844335682" /></a>some certain memories? No, I am not going to be a psychologist and answer these questions. But the fact remains that memories are inherent to all human beings. There is a portion in the brain called the Cerebellum which is responsible for storing the memories. It is believed that an electric stimulus to this region will stimulate an old memory which you may have forgotten. However, we may not need something as drastic as that! Some memories remain with us forever whether we like them or not!<br /><br />Like the word ‘Beautiful’ for me. Quick, what does this word remind you of? Some old flame? An actor/actress? An amazing scenery or place? A stunning piece of art? While most of you on hearing or reading this word may get an image of a beautiful girl or a handsome guy, I on the other hand remember a spelling bee contest in my 2nd standard. <br /><br />There were 30 words to be spelt and the teacher would <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAiO-xCayji88y4xbttHlFGgH4mmz8NkuSqmFWfwVeTuAyh2atFN_0bgK0kXRnOJSW4H_IRv2opmyVl3GWA88fXOLhHYOBnLbKO9feHhIUzBXHD1VAfT0pXt2CRaalzKV6vHXFdbbox4/s1600-h/beautiful.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAiO-xCayji88y4xbttHlFGgH4mmz8NkuSqmFWfwVeTuAyh2atFN_0bgK0kXRnOJSW4H_IRv2opmyVl3GWA88fXOLhHYOBnLbKO9feHhIUzBXHD1VAfT0pXt2CRaalzKV6vHXFdbbox4/s200/beautiful.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315260530249541234" /></a>recite them one by one and we had to write our version of their spellings them down. After some tricky ones like ‘parachute’, ‘editorial’, ‘encouragement’, the word ‘Beautiful’ came. I wrote it as “Beatiful” without the U. After the test, I came out with a sense of accomplishment and triumph. On discussion with my tiny tot pals, I realized that my version of the word was incorrect. I still maintained my defense that the U is not there in beautiful. However, the English teacher being the final adjudicator, confirmed my fear. I have never forgotten the spelling of beautiful after that. I lost the contest by the way, by 1 word: BEAUTIFUL. It is funny how this word and the contest has got stuck in my memory. For me, Beautiful will always remain the fish that got away and not some petite girl. For them, I prefer the word Gorgeous, Stunning and other synonyms of The B word.<br /><br />But why do I still remember it? Was the sense of failure too strong? I guess not. My best friend ( a doctor by the way)has this explanation:<br />When strong emotions surge through us our bodies respond by pumping adrenalin into our blood stream. In addition to preparing us to run or fight, adrenalin enhances our memories of what was happening when the emotion hit. This biological response was probably a very good feature of our species. Stories create emotions too and therefore there's no surprise that we remember the best stories, they ones that touch our hearts, make us laugh or even just create a feeling of puzzlement.<br />Maybe, But I am not convinced. There has to be something more philosophical, something more random behind it. If adrenalin is the reason, why do I remember the time in Goa when we did nothing but laze around on the beach? Was it the break in the monotony from office then? <br /><br />Or maybe it is the thing with us Indians. We tend to narrow down and focus on our supposed lack of achievements (I'm refraining from using the word 'failure'). I have seen & heard people recount their tales of rejection with pride. I am not counting the traumatic experiences people have, but normal affairs with a tinge of sadness or a sense of failure. Indians tend to give air to their problems so as to (unknowingly) extract some measure of pity and sympathy from their compatriots.<br /><br />Anyhows, memories are a great thing. They serve as a reminder to our lives, accomplishments, holidays, friends, events. But the are not the only thing; like in the movie Ghajini, the character of Aamir Khan in the movie suffers from long term memory loss and can only remember the last 10 minutes of his life. Wish my boss suffers from that!<br /><br />Our short term memory is definitely better than our long term one. That is why, you may not remember this whole post but you will indeed remember the story of Dhruv & the spelling contest.<br /><br />Beautiful?<br /><br />ps- There is also a song "Memory Remains" by Metallica. Recommended.Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-45512329137800922432008-12-15T05:07:00.000-08:002008-12-15T05:19:24.251-08:00Publish this!<span style="font-size:85%;">Due to my friends' persistent encouragement to me to write a book, I find myself with lots of blank pages and nothing to fill them in! Still, I started the book about 1 week back and I just cant stop writing now. I am already now on version 1.3 and the novels supposed length has gone from 5 chapters to 12 chapters.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The plot is still not finalised. I have a point 'A' and a point 'B' but I dont know how to link the two. Still, the fight is on. The deadline I have set for myself to complete the book is by March 2009. </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Given the tight rush for the deadline, It would be encouraging if you send some ideas/ anecdotes / tips for me to work and incorporate in the book. All suggestions will be mentioned in the final draft of the book.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Due recognizance to Nitin Bhaiya, Pascoe Bhaiya, Shilpa, Priya, Pritika, Sammy, Kernel, Bhatti, Nimma, My family especially my mom for giving me the impetus and the necesary input to actually start the book. (we will focus on the finish later). Not to mention my favourite Papu Mamu.... </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Do leave your email address so I can send you the V 1.2 of the book....</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Thanks.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Dhruv Suri</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Jammu / Hyderabad</span>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-15376675450526248872008-10-14T23:56:00.000-07:002008-10-14T23:57:58.346-07:00You Are Essentially Alone<div align="justify">I remember seeing the movie “You are alone” last year. It was a chronicle of 2 people who are bored to hell and meet in Hotel Duncan. Though the movie was based on the ensuing boredom as a consequence of loneliness, however the portraits of the character were very satisfactorily captured. If you have not seen the film, don’t worry, this piece is not about the movie.<br />The film actually strikes a chord with everyone. It captures the rudimentary apprehension in everyone’s life: TO BE ALONE. There are some souls who advocate loneliness and seem to delight in it. As the saying goes “You are born alone, you live alone, and you die alone. If you accept this as reality, then any friendship, any relationship that contributes to your life you are grateful for. You accept it as a gift."<br />The question remains. What would ensue if you would find yourself alone? As alone as a dinosaur in the 20th century. No one to talk to, no one to enjoy your time with. Sometimes it happens in life and to no one’s surprise; it coincides with one of the worst phases in our life. We human beings having dwelled in the social setup for so long have forgotten all about loneliness. We tend to run away from it. We tend to ignore it. But the truth is there. Loneliness exists. It manifests itself in the bored housewife (Desperate housewives??), the worked to death executive, the divorcee etc.<br />Why do we experience loneliness? No other question has occupied me so consistently and no other question has led me to more diverse answers. When I was a child we lived an isolated life. But there were times, which I remember with particular fondness, when being alone was not a problem. I wandered on my own, fascinated by the variety of trees, the different feelings they evoked as I touched the bark and branches, the thorns or flowers. Absorbed in a world of constant wonder, I wasn't alone.<br />But life wasn't idyllic all the time. When I returned home and re-entered into family relationships, the feeling of loneliness returned. Psychologists may say I wasn't socialised properly. This may be true, but it is not a sufficient explanation. I enjoyed playing with my brother (that is, when we were not fighting). I loved the company of friends, but preferably not more than two or three at a time. But somehow those were times of escape. My closest friend was loneliness. My deepest feeling was that of not belonging. I took refuge in books, TV and other sources of entertainment.<br />The real problem of loneliness comes from the concept of ‘I’. I as in me, I as in the self, I as in the individual. We tend to look too much inside us that we tend to forget or rather neglect what is going on the outside. Thus, you can have a landline phone, an office phone, a mobile number yet have no one to share your loneliness. This indeed is the irony of the information age. Ayn Rand captured the fight of the self v/s the will of the society very nicely in her short book “Anthem”.<br />The compelling thought behind this piece was an oft repeated dialogue by an acquaintance, “Yaar main bore ho gaya hu (Dude, I am bored)”. The intensity by which we get bored is amazing. It is quite rightly said “Idle mind is devil’s workshop”.</div>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-50452888830306381052007-11-19T21:29:00.000-08:002007-11-19T21:41:15.496-08:00Testimonials For Orkut???<div style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">A retail chain does a fantastic marketing pitch in TV, Radio, Magazines, Internet etc. Amazing marketing. You are thrilled at the product and you want to buy it or know about it further. And so you go to the shop and….and…and…..<b style="">THEY DONT LET YOU IN.</b> Why? Because they don’t know you. Actually there is nothing up for sale there. Why were they advertising then? Oh! Just like that. They wanted other people to know how great they were. Do you think the above situation is hypothetical and does not happen in the real world? <span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">Welcome to orkut.</b></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxPVOuXMn-3yZp0eTpS12P0mk01pNYSBAlCvpYUcli2ABC4anqif4BNgCi1kG5T6cqafw3lS_RcmXGsFYeOrN6leIhFDMGTNkOXAOLFOScwFbmS_bV1hCp184fkGCZUNtCkD0WWx-CWQE/s1600-h/orkut+mtv+icon.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxPVOuXMn-3yZp0eTpS12P0mk01pNYSBAlCvpYUcli2ABC4anqif4BNgCi1kG5T6cqafw3lS_RcmXGsFYeOrN6leIhFDMGTNkOXAOLFOScwFbmS_bV1hCp184fkGCZUNtCkD0WWx-CWQE/s320/orkut+mtv+icon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134791461843759234" border="0" /></a></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">I have been spending a lot of time in orkut (also called orkutting). Maybe it’s the enthusiasm of a new found toy or maybe orkut is really addictive. One of the things that keeps me entertained on orkut (apart from drooling at girl's photographs) is the whole testimonial thingy. If you don't know what a testimonial is - let me explain. If a person has a profile in orkut - a friend of that person writes a testimonial about the profile owner. To completely define Testimonial:-</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">A statement in support of a particular truth, fact, or claim.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">A written affirmation of another's character or worth; a personal recommendation. Something given in appreciation of a person's service or achievement; a tribute.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">Tribute? Appreciation? Truth? Consider these:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">“She is such an amzing girl, everybody wants to be her friend. She is so caring, helpful, adjective 3, adjective 4…..Then ofcourse there are guys slipping in a semi-droolish "she is so beautiful" under the guise of being cool and frank but secretly hoping the girl noticed their tactful flirt. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">Some species send forward jokes or articles as testimonials… Psychos all of them….</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">Then there are some species who write testimonials in some <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOihmn6zHLXt3p7K6df2Fx1YMGAv_lmvGrGS020nujU0axDXiIBjx-GmEM6QWvyuuJ4s8CPYHs7E3nuhb2jR1XeB86Knop0m3w2_QbPh1YXkf4vXtVIhXQy-wX-cpIV4FaWFoIkM5NtvY/s1600-h/orkut+testimo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOihmn6zHLXt3p7K6df2Fx1YMGAv_lmvGrGS020nujU0axDXiIBjx-GmEM6QWvyuuJ4s8CPYHs7E3nuhb2jR1XeB86Knop0m3w2_QbPh1YXkf4vXtVIhXQy-wX-cpIV4FaWFoIkM5NtvY/s200/orkut+testimo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134791990124736674" border="0" /></a>weird shapes. I have seen testimonials in the shapes of hearts, lighthouses, dancing girls…and hold on…A cricket Bat.. I mean what the hell….On second thoughts. Im also partly to blame here too because I too had been bitten by this bug once. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">On searching I found out that there is actually a community (group for the Un-Orkut ones) which gives out free testimonials to their members…Don’t believe me? Take a look:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><a href="http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=114370">http://www.orkut.com/Community.aspx?cmm=114370</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">God bless them all!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><b style="">But undoubtedly the 2 worst (or best) testimonials I have come across are these:<o:p></o:p></b></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0cm; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);" start="1" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="">lagta hai mausam kafi sard hai,<br />Par doston ko scrap karne me kya harz hai,<br />Aap ko scrap behjna hamara farz hai,<br />kyonki aap ke id hamare pc mai darz hai.<br />Yeh scrab type karte-karte hamare unglion me dard hai<br />Itna jaan lo ae dost hamara ye scrap app par karz hai<br />Is karz ko kitne scrap kar ke chukana hai,<br />Yeh sochana ab aapka farz hai......</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">XYZ….Name saays it aal. She liking ballons very much (???) We being frainds for long time. She a sweetheaert. Thank You. (Spelling mistakes are not mine)</li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt; text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">This one is the best… Thank You??? Hahaha…..</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">One more thing I have noticed is that most of these ‘creative’ testimonial writers on Orkut are generally male of the age group (16-24). I mean God had a wicked sense of humor when he created such a sex starved species such as the male homosapien. Most men enter orkut, browsing through profiles, internet, thinking " I need a girl, will she work". I don’t mean to condescend (well! I do but that’s a separate topic) but in all honesty, I sympathize with my fellow male species. There is this overwhelming desire to get the ‘girl’ but they have to make the 'fraanship' first. So you see all these guys leaving messages "will you make friends with me" -- "can I be your friend" or even better “I saw your profile, So I just dropped in to say Hi with a hope that you will respond to this message”. So what the internet has done is bring out the male stupidity into the public domain. In my school days (Ahhh…Nostalgia) we had guys hand out greeting cards (with a passionate face), love letters (no email in my school days, no chat, no mobile - can you believe it?). The only messenger in my days was another friend who communicated 'love' and 'feelings' to this girl. The girl tore up these cards or bashed up the messenger. However, it was all well concealed and happened in private. The boy rarely suffered public humiliation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">Here on Orkut, On one hand all girls are in a centralized place and there is opportunity to flirt. But on the other hand its ripe and presents enormous scope for public humiliation. But the male of the species still bite it. They have an open profile with testimonials, brothers, sisters etc and they still leave 'fraanship' messages in unknown profiles. I have laughed so loud at certain guys begging, pleading and imploring for 'fraanship' in orkut. And I don’t blame them. We are just made that way!!!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">There are some laws about testimonial writing. They are:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><b style="">Teal’s universal law of testimonials:<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">“The number of lines in one’s testimonial is inversely proportional to the level of knowing the person who is writing the damn thing for them”<br />Hell I can tell you guys. My best friend has written one of the shortest testimonials, ever.<br />Not because they don’t care for you, it’s just that they know sooo much about you, cramming years of knowledge in a small amount of space is very hard.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><br /><b style="">Teal’s secret hidden corollary of testimonials:</b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">The sweetest and the best testimonials are inversely proportional to the level of your expectation – i.e. the best testimonials are those that come out of the blue</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><br /><b style="">Teal’s 1st corollary to the universal law of testimonials:</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">“The level of sweetness in the testimonial towards the person is again inversely proportional to the level of the writer closeness of that individual.”<br />Lol. Need I say more?<b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">For more knowledge about these laws, please visit</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><a href="http://trinityteal.blogspot.com/2006/06/art-of-testimonial-writing.html">http://trinityteal.blogspot.com/2006/06/art-of-testimonial-writing.html</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">The laws are not mine… I aint a lawmaker… yet!!!!<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt; text-align: justify; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);"><o:p> </o:p></p>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-84215597553813392252007-07-21T04:15:00.000-07:002007-07-26T00:40:22.741-07:00Why me???<span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">I fell for a girl the other day.</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> </span><a style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4A88gkVIBVI8UWasRalVKEc_sNyeWOKamSYgYlUOue6kZEsIMfRmbBadYeRQj_5AjBk3MyLTIIWVLDN4VlKkSbFd0qu4WxXr8Y9ODt-TNuG5RghIYzuWuM9Fy8biP3KG39KPBnSsvxLY/s1600-h/love-heart1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4A88gkVIBVI8UWasRalVKEc_sNyeWOKamSYgYlUOue6kZEsIMfRmbBadYeRQj_5AjBk3MyLTIIWVLDN4VlKkSbFd0qu4WxXr8Y9ODt-TNuG5RghIYzuWuM9Fy8biP3KG39KPBnSsvxLY/s320/love-heart1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089608278180046930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Just wipe that smirk off your face (If you are grinning, then its even worse), this ain't a thing to be happy about. Especially in principle. Over the years, embittered by ridiculous relationships and watching close friends/acquaintances (will write their experiences) undergo unimaginably messy and complex break-ups, or worse still, 'adjust' to painful after effects -- </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">I have willfully and cleverly chosen the single life, the carefree gait of a string-free, singularly well-dressed butterfly and the eye of the tiger ( like a survivor). </span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">That being the mantra, life's all about toppling off the wagon.<br /><br />Which brings us to line one in this piece, the confession that I was recently (Ahem!) smitten.</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">There, I said it. I met a fascinating, petite thing a few days ago in the middle of my exams, and just couldn't get enough. We talked for a little while that day, exchanged phone numbers, promised to be in touch….. On the way back home, I realized I could not stop thinking about her. I gave a call immediately I reached home & called her and started the conversation with the lame excuse “I wanted to check if your cell was working”. Oops! Anyhow, the way she laughed made it up for it. One conversation led to another and I was down and out in the mystical region of Ahem….LoVe!</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Anyway, the chick (with a nose to kill for, I kid you not) is tremendous fun. And halfway through past five on date two, the dastardly suggestion slithers onto my unsuspecting head that I might actually want a serious and long lasting relationship with her, this time around.<br /><br />Hmm.<br /><br />Damn these hormones, pheromones etc… I didn't instantly coil into a front-foot defense. She rocks, and this could just work. Yeppy! On hindsight, I remember the pessimistic portion of my brain screaming “Dhruv, Back out, Back out…Until its too late”. But being the chivalrous and brave gentleman I am, I went ahead!</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">The man-woman thing is all about balance. With the precision of a racing driver, you have to instinctively find the perfect line and then play with its limits. Go aggressive, fall behind, keep things loose or tight as needed. Some girls want a knight, some a night. You have to play your cards with 007ian self-assurance, leaping from cad to cardinal in a heartbeat. Therein lies, young reader, the thrill of the chase.<br /><br />This was the issue with other prospects as I thought…. But the issue with being in love, of course, is that you trip headlong over your own shoelaces.<br />Suddenly, I cared -- about everything. Scanning text messages for subtext & hidden meanings, wondering what she meant when she replied too quick, or too late, and then trying hard to decipher all the conversations -- why she mentions her love for the songs of Kishore Kumar(yuk!!!), gauging her level of laughter at what you consider a particularly witty routine, and whether she really wants the new.</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><br />When in a fix, your logical abilities go for a toss. I was desperately seeking counsel from my closest lady friends (never, ever, take a man's advice when it comes to relationships) who all seemed to react in the same fashion. They sat back with a smug smile, laughed their heads off and told me, with their best the-hunter-becomes-the-game phrase, that the tables had turned. </span><a style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq39ZpCJZThNQ3GINLVd9w6twtYW3bu4hLVFf_nQwbQ6Ajcsg0vkNImAhBpO-01CMUmZZ4hYq2i3E1r80oB8rfCfD2MozjNU_zDTGZe0URF-1mtHb_4l8q3DkftWvf9DbMv5Bc1WCNl0s/s1600-h/Love+or+Hate.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq39ZpCJZThNQ3GINLVd9w6twtYW3bu4hLVFf_nQwbQ6Ajcsg0vkNImAhBpO-01CMUmZZ4hYq2i3E1r80oB8rfCfD2MozjNU_zDTGZe0URF-1mtHb_4l8q3DkftWvf9DbMv5Bc1WCNl0s/s200/Love+or+Hate.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089608561647888482" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"><br />Damn.<br /><br /></span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Double Damn!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">That I had it bad, though, wasn't the worst part. </span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">The absolute pits was the realisation that while I knew I was just setting myself up, I was, um, enjoying myself.</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">AS I SAID I DON’T KNOW IF I AM IN LOVE…. BUT THEN LIFE HAS NEVER BEEN SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!</span>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-42109860329569328882007-07-21T04:07:00.000-07:002007-07-22T23:23:45.358-07:00Tales of rejection<span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">No one wants to be rejected when it comes to love.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">It's painful, humiliating and can hurt your self-esteem.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">But it's a cruel world, and most of us will face rejection before it's all said and done. The important point is not whether or not you get rejected, it's how you respond.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Will you bounce back and flourish? Or will you flounder and fall to pieces?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">These are the tales of my friends (as told by them)... Don’t laugh. This is the true face of love…..for them….Names are being kept anonymous for privacy…..</span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig0cEWnHBXeCatabPrkOXxQf8gIMAzVTysPqU54lHyzYqEpnvIB_l1AiT7BTP8HWC5sqOgZwUTVHjYYHh6tQ9qJgL3camZBh0HymEN4BIXRQXeH4LQl-98W9NgNOGi9I2sJUNkFdX4A6s/s1600-h/lovehurts_half.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig0cEWnHBXeCatabPrkOXxQf8gIMAzVTysPqU54lHyzYqEpnvIB_l1AiT7BTP8HWC5sqOgZwUTVHjYYHh6tQ9qJgL3camZBh0HymEN4BIXRQXeH4LQl-98W9NgNOGi9I2sJUNkFdX4A6s/s320/lovehurts_half.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089605963192674354" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Case 1:</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">AG has the following story:</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">I really regret my reaction to being rejected..</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">This girl who was with me for four years, all of a sudden declares that she has no more feelings for me. When I pressed her for a reason, she said that she was seeing another guy. I trusted her more than myself. We had the perfect life ahead of us and she shattered it. I did not react normally. Instead, I tried to hurt her. I ruined her reputation by doing little things, for the simple reason that I couldn't tolerate somebody cheating on me. I had trusted her for so many years and she made me so ashamed and let down.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Today, one year later, it seems that I acted very inappropriately. I should not have hurt her, even if she had crushed me. Deep in my heart, I still love her and want to her to be happy. Still, I fear that I will never love anybody as much as I loved her. I am jaded and jealous. I'm left to think only one thing -- that true love only happens once. I don’t think Love occurs, You can only love yourself!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Case 2:</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">H (a friend of my elder cousin) has the story:</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">This one was not told by H himself but by my elder cousin in an attempt to keep me away from the disease of love.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">I was in love with this girl for over five years. She proposed to me and made me the focus of her life. After we decided to get married, I was the happiest man in the world. But then, just before our marriage, things started to sour. She started giving me lame excuses and asked to have the wedding date postponed. I offered her every possible material possession and every possible expression of love. I even gave up a dream job in London because she didn't want to leave our hometown.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Still, after all these concessions, she finally broke off the marriage and is now engaged to a mutual friend. Since the day her mother told me, for she didn't have the courage, I have been in pain. I often stare at the ceiling and wonder if my life has any worth. Even if I move on in my career and family life, my love life will never be the same. My heart is forever broken and I will never trust another individual again.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right; color: rgb(204, 153, 51);"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrxI6u4VBH_H7mRDxe5Q7VWrCyIOvsvKQ25yizFML74zAIhRSlk8FYPbPClJR5cSOKCjpCPbm1y95TjMtvjd3HSbibrhwBAL6UgwfK0fZsnlrfA-QlAOU9gHb1O27w5I1yss2b-R2lQAg/s1600-h/love+sucxks.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 372px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrxI6u4VBH_H7mRDxe5Q7VWrCyIOvsvKQ25yizFML74zAIhRSlk8FYPbPClJR5cSOKCjpCPbm1y95TjMtvjd3HSbibrhwBAL6UgwfK0fZsnlrfA-QlAOU9gHb1O27w5I1yss2b-R2lQAg/s320/love+sucxks.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089606092041693250" border="0" /></a><br /></div><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Case 3:</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">M (one of my dearest friends) is in love with a certain female. They live in different cities and their communication is through various electronic means of modulation and demodulation. Long telephone calls, frequent net access etc, the works in short. It seemed to me that those two must have a great relationship together. So I thought. They have 1 major fight in a fortnight and the minor ones are like happening every other day. I don’t whether they are the undesirable by products of the seemingly fallible system of love. But they should know better than us! The point here is that the feeling after the fight which M gives is like he would prefer to die/kill than live this life. Sometimes he finds refuge in company or sometimes in alcohol (Sometimes both)….</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">What’s the use of being in love when you sometimes have to regret being in love? What’s the seemingly best feeling in the world do to you that you start feeling miserable about yourself?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Case 4:</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">I don’t need any more cases. The world is abundant of seemingly endless similar cases.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">So do you want to be in love????</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">But the feeling is amazing..Who can resist it?</span>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-85915518495477072932007-07-21T03:38:00.000-07:002007-07-22T23:24:15.134-07:00Definition of love<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAUWHefK1yKYMMRa3QRPHMSH9QET08N31AEesRssrfQJ13mRhUbOc9_O_2AhF1JNojC1vDdVlFXnoBhd84R0tb-VibYFGQGu8Usc7O_OGwQx8adpb8_uP602tPF0GE4I4tOKbC6i4EC6k/s1600-h/definition_of_love.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAUWHefK1yKYMMRa3QRPHMSH9QET08N31AEesRssrfQJ13mRhUbOc9_O_2AhF1JNojC1vDdVlFXnoBhd84R0tb-VibYFGQGu8Usc7O_OGwQx8adpb8_uP602tPF0GE4I4tOKbC6i4EC6k/s320/definition_of_love.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089602080542238738" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"> Some one once asked me how do you define love? It was ideal Sunday, afternoon sun & we were just having some idyllic conversation. I dismissed his question with the remark "who does???But then, later I thought about and tried my hand at the question which even the great philosophers have tried!I'm in esteemed company!!!!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">According to the Oxford definition, there are 7 definitions, the 2 most pertinent ones are: -</span><br /><ol style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><li> A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.</li><li> A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWPlNMM44mwjGder5B3v5CFNkrqq5D1m1aShQXAL7GaeOZcQpZczktHTCeTITTuCFu2F9i0VZr-rvaFkKTsZnyhW8Gq7AlZFEOwllfaZiwo6HwCpI39Mn2e9hxSN0PxZwsGgvYggBdrkY/s1600-h/loveee.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWPlNMM44mwjGder5B3v5CFNkrqq5D1m1aShQXAL7GaeOZcQpZczktHTCeTITTuCFu2F9i0VZr-rvaFkKTsZnyhW8Gq7AlZFEOwllfaZiwo6HwCpI39Mn2e9hxSN0PxZwsGgvYggBdrkY/s320/loveee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5089602162146617378" border="0" /></a></li></ol><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Here is my definition:</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Love is a basic dimension of human experience that is variously conveyed as a sense of tender affection, an intense attraction, the foundation of intimacy and good interpersonal chemistry, willing self-sacrifice on behalf of another, and as an ineffable sense of affinity or connection to nature, other living beings, or even that which is unseen. It manifests itself in feelings, emotion, behavior, thoughts, perception and attitude. It influences, underlies and defines major patterns in interpersonal relationships and self-identification.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">But how do we know if its there? I mean the fundamental issue remains the same. How can we know if its there in your body? Well, sorry to disappoint you all. But you can never know for certain. Because there is no One general answer that can satisfy this persistent query...</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Lets not consider the sentimental reasons like being unable to live without the other person and thinking about him/her. As these are mainly unsatisfied emotional needs....</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">I would just say what You know you are in love when you are in love. It may sound self-contradictory. But its the closest to the answer you can get. Love is all about setting yourself free from all of the barriers, obstructions and stigmas. In the end, you should not regret falling in love. No matter what happens, you should be able to look back and say "THOSE WERE THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE"!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Statutory Caution : Love is a quintessential human delusion simultaneously the source of our greatest strength and our biggest weakness. For the pessismistics, Love is a direct result of chemical reactions and hormones which lead to the onset of emotions, which lead love to be designed overwhelmingly to defy logic and reason. Its complex. And I have barely scratched the surface here…</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">Phew………………..</span>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-40755448275214916622007-07-11T14:04:00.000-07:002007-07-22T23:34:47.554-07:00The End<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnKySPelMHnYhHxsrYH_3zVEpRqKVmpQfyOR5w4BH2itcstiOaHfdhJb-a1ARrP0QcxBPjjcHm2OgPD3EQSkLJSHdPWYBuVnaz-0o1jNSZRALUHSnaGsP7mjsG0upWDYQj77VuSJDBkwo/s1600-h/CCF_PrayingHands.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnKySPelMHnYhHxsrYH_3zVEpRqKVmpQfyOR5w4BH2itcstiOaHfdhJb-a1ARrP0QcxBPjjcHm2OgPD3EQSkLJSHdPWYBuVnaz-0o1jNSZRALUHSnaGsP7mjsG0upWDYQj77VuSJDBkwo/s320/CCF_PrayingHands.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086050949050510546" border="0" /></a> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It was early in the morning at four,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When death knocked upon a bedroom door,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Who is there? The sleeping one cried,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I'm the sandman, let me inside, (no reference to metallica)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">At once, the man began to shiver,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As one sweating in deadly fever,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">He shouted to his sleeping wife,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Don't let him take away my life.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Please go away, O Angel of Death!<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Leave me alone; I'm not ready yet.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">My family on me depends,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Give me a chance, O please prepense!<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The angel knocked again and again,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Friend! I'll take your life without a pain,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This your soul God requires,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I come not with my own desire.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Bewildered, the man began to cry,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">O Angel I'm so afraid to die,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I'll give you gold and be your slave,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Don't send me to the unlit grave.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Let me in, O Friend! The Angel said,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Open the door; get up from your bed,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If you do not allow me in,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I will walk through it, like a Jinn.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The man held a gun in his right hand,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ready to defy the Angel's stand.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I'll point my gun, towards your head,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You dare come in; I'll shoot you dead.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">By now the Angel was in the room,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Saying, O Friend! Prepare for you doom.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Foolish man, Angels never die,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Put down your gun and do not sigh.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Why are you afraid! Tell me O man,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">To die according to God's plan?<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Come smile at me, do not be grim,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Be Happy to return to Him.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">O Angel! I bow my head in shame,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I had no time to take God's Name.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">From morning till dusk, I made my wealth,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Not even caring for my health.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">God's command I never obeyed,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Not 1 day I prayed.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A festival came & a festival went,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But no time had I to repent.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">All charities I did ignore,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Taking usury more and more.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">O Angel! I appeal to you,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Spare my life for a year or two.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Laws of God I will obey,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And keep away from self-conceit.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I will refrain from usury,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And give all my wealth to charity,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We Angels do what God demands,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">We cannot go against His commands. <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Death is ordained for everyone,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Father, mother, daughter or son.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I'm afraid this moment is your last,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now be reminded, of your past,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I do understand your fears,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But it is now too late for tears.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You lived in this world, <st1:time minute="20" hour="14">two score</st1:time> and more,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Never did you, your people adore.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Your parents, you did not obey,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Hungry beggars, you turned away.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Breaking promises all your life,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Backbiting friends, and causing strife.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">From hoarded goods, great profits you made,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And your poor workers, you underpaid.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Horses and cards were your leisure,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Moneymaking was your pleasure.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You ate vitamins and grew more fat,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">With the very sick, you never sat.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A pint of blood you never gave,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Which could a little baby save?<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">O Human, you have done enough wrong,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You bought good properties for a song.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When the farmers appealed to you,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You did not have mercy, tis true.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:place>Paradise</st1:place> for you? I cannot tell,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Undoubtedly you will dwell in hell.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">There is no time for you to repent,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I'll take your soul for which I am sent.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The ending however, is very sad,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Eventually the man became mad<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">With a cry, he jumped out of bed,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">And suddenly, he fell down dead</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GWChTj0Rm-M9xkOdhXNqZyZHfUGo1igdzuUeQ2PBObJXHq1n72dwrWYtdSGBlxLv8xAq1MiUEc18hl10yCsxYXXtKvl2E5hvAfOQIeZf53HZ8h6Xz4QaKQBtVMAQX_nrEFJtEOAXr8w/s1600-h/praying.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GWChTj0Rm-M9xkOdhXNqZyZHfUGo1igdzuUeQ2PBObJXHq1n72dwrWYtdSGBlxLv8xAq1MiUEc18hl10yCsxYXXtKvl2E5hvAfOQIeZf53HZ8h6Xz4QaKQBtVMAQX_nrEFJtEOAXr8w/s200/praying.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5090276961638361202" border="0" /></a></p><o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p> <p class="MsoNormal">O Reader! Take moral from here,<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">You never know, your end may be near<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Change your living and make amends<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">For heaven, on your deeds depends.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">If this poem inspires you, <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It can help someone too.</p>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7812718738866978183.post-21081937323405014612007-07-08T01:19:00.000-07:002007-07-11T14:17:59.677-07:00End of an Era - Thierry Henry<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVum0uO5ZZ2wWw3gUzKFxIGmwA-h6lIkM9OaZgB0OuVtkQihslfEmIIjLQeKKA54trZ9jJ5fjJYyJCfzB5hiFVJMCnRoSuf5hrqZeXL6jRPsX9UoVNLVOCh2wJ7H9kPY53EvIvjP-wST8/s1600-h/1168716138_spt_ai19_blackburnvarsenal.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVum0uO5ZZ2wWw3gUzKFxIGmwA-h6lIkM9OaZgB0OuVtkQihslfEmIIjLQeKKA54trZ9jJ5fjJYyJCfzB5hiFVJMCnRoSuf5hrqZeXL6jRPsX9UoVNLVOCh2wJ7H9kPY53EvIvjP-wST8/s320/1168716138_spt_ai19_blackburnvarsenal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5084763021502417634" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">One fine morning as I was getting up from my bed, I just glanced outside. It seemed just like any other day. Little did I know how my life was to be turned upside down. I got the morning’s edition of the papers. The front page was full of the political back-biting and the allegations, people getting killed and what not ( Just another day in India). Then I got the shock of my life when I turned to my favorite page, the Sports page. There was the headline I was dreading –<br /><br />“BARCELONA SIGNS HENRY FOR GBP 14 MILLION”!!!!!!<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBM9xO44_qGzgQtsspIXNaLOR9KGBKpJDy3oZUt7qtKAFQJeGeXb4xA5XYkcRMh5-5oq5P8tx4eaThLS2s17ycnZkSUtlQyVC9qUfHLqtr0_Xxma4DW8hUBD7QH0YwSwMrfUWHxo6LmQI/s1600-h/3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBM9xO44_qGzgQtsspIXNaLOR9KGBKpJDy3oZUt7qtKAFQJeGeXb4xA5XYkcRMh5-5oq5P8tx4eaThLS2s17ycnZkSUtlQyVC9qUfHLqtr0_Xxma4DW8hUBD7QH0YwSwMrfUWHxo6LmQI/s320/3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5084763025797384946" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I was flabbergasted to say the least. It wasn’t as if I wasn’t expecting it. But for it to really happen was something else. Its like when you dread something happening & when it really happens, you get that sinking feeling. I got it checked and got all the details from the net. There was no avoiding it. Aaaghhh!!! I couldn’t think straight for a few minutes. Now my friends know what a die hard gunner (Arsenal supported for the uneducated) and a Henry fan I am, started calling up to offer sympathies and (mostly) to poke fun about the whole deal (no pun intended)! One friend Kunal (a MAN U fan, Goddamn them all) just sms’ed me a simple line - “CONGRATULATIONS”….<br /><br />Leave it. Leave it…I cant bear to thing about that nightmare again!!!! Why am I writing this post? I don’t know but I cant imagine being a gunner without Henry being there. Maybe because his decision to join Barcelona (especially after that 2005 champions league final). Anyway what’s happened has happened, but just think about Arsenal? This is bigger than Vieira leaving, in my opinion. Henry, at his peak, was probably the best player in the world. Some of the goals he scored were just incredible and it was an absolute pleasure watching him. If I try and choose one game I think the game in which he scored 4 against Leeds sticks out for me. He was just brilliant that night and we’re going to miss that Thierry Henry. The departure of Robert Pires and now Thierry Henry means that Arsenal are about 46 goals down before they even kick a ball. What I would like to know is where are these 46 goals expected to come from? Last season we Arsenal fans saw that our present crop of strikers could not provide anywhere close to this amount. Buying new strikers takes time and care and I can't see them arriving before August. Does this mean that European Champions League football will be something we shall remember than take part in...?and even the UEFA Cup might be outside of our capabilities.<br />Oh dear, Arsenal board....you idiots…..<br />Now I just hope that Arsene Wenger will not buy another 18 year old, because now that Henry has gone, there aren’t many hugely experienced players in the team, and I think that experience is exactly what Arsenal FC need! Heck, if Ruud Van Nistelrooy can do well in Spain, so can Thierry. I’m sure that he will even do better. Henry served Arsenal well, and I wish him the best of luck!<br />Now, who’s going to replace him… ?<br /><br />But these last words by Henry are of some comfort: - “<span style="font-style: italic;">I still have to pass a medical on Monday. But yes, I have chosen Barcelona. I am going to sign there for the next four seasons … for the football they play, their history, their stadium. For Frank Rijkaard, who I grew up watching. David Dein is no longer there and there is no denying the fact this has de-stabilized the team and the manager. Arsene Wenger has said that at this moment he will not commit to the club past the expiration of his current deal, which finishes at the end of this coming season. I respect his decision and honesty but I will be 31 at the end of next season and I cannot take the chance to be there without Arsene Wenger and David Dein. I will miss the Arsenal fans dearly, they have supported me through thick and thin. They will always be in my heart, as will all the fans who make the game here so special. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">I will always have a special bond with Arsenal Football Club. I will always be a Gooner by heart…</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">. </span></span>”<br /><br />So, the end of an era, very much. It’s been a blast, Thierry, thanks for the memories. Now, let’s move on.<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC4hKI-j69Gi2dI16nuesUBTNZ3J5g0Ivc9SPoIy39Nc4TucRtoePY8MePPE4BghDDyV-3C-j9c4HcLcK5Kn9bePI9nH1D2f-Y9YbxEZx3uvNlvvI5Gf_SxJt4QPVR0bOX1CbTMjaWaGU/s1600-h/henry_0506boro.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC4hKI-j69Gi2dI16nuesUBTNZ3J5g0Ivc9SPoIy39Nc4TucRtoePY8MePPE4BghDDyV-3C-j9c4HcLcK5Kn9bePI9nH1D2f-Y9YbxEZx3uvNlvvI5Gf_SxJt4QPVR0bOX1CbTMjaWaGU/s320/henry_0506boro.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5084763021502417618" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:11;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:11;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Dhruvhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02185207770570290561noreply@blogger.com3