Holi 'Just Another' Day...!!

You know, if the date today was 27th March 1998 and I was in Allahabad instead of Delhi, I would have painted the town Red/Blue/Green/Magenta (That’s rite.. I said Magenta as well...)

The reason being that I was amidst an awesome group of people who were willing to act like complete idiots just for the sake of it... Dad was still serving that time.. We lived in these amazing Defence colonies with tons of fun at every nook and corner... there were people always ready to be freaking out as there was always someone or the other who was thinking on the lines of "Freakrazy"...

That’s one of the many many many things that my Defence background gave me and I'm proud to have it.. I can say without any regrets that I've had an astonishing childhood... Probably the best that a Child can ask for... Full of adventure... Without fear... Never saying "never" to anything that might drop the hint of having a tinge of crazy... Always trying new things... And BEST OF ALL... Always having this "venturesome" group to just Lose It.. :)

Holi back in the day was just another occasion to have fun with my Defence Brats... I remember the "strategy meet" that we used to have a day before about how to best position ourselves in the bushes so that we can ambush the on-goers in the best possible manner... We used to prepare charts with full fledged attack plans... throwing maneuvers... Artillery inspection.... and god knows what naught... After all, we did have that "Defence" blood brooding inside all of us just waiting to come out and blow the freaking crap out of others...

I remember this one time in particular when I was at that tender age of "hating" any and all girls around me... (I guess Puberty was just about to kick in.. :O ).. But anyways, I remember that time in particular because I stayed up all night a day before Holi just to get my stuff right... And by stuff I mean all the armament for a full-scale ambuscade... I made water balloons.. Some filled with water and some filled with Egg Yolk.. I prepped up my Steel Customized Pichkari.. 'Twas customized in the sense that I had this bucket that I used to hang on my back like a backpack and a pipe coming out of it that I could connect to my Pichkari and "Reload" without the need to actually find a source of water... (Yeah... I was that much into Holi back Then..)

So anyway, On Holi morning, my friends and I get together and go through all the final planning related to the bushwhack we had planned for the Girls... Come to think about it now, I can’t believe the details that we covered just to ensure that we encompassed all the "Rules of Engagement"... We made plans to go after the "weaker" section in the Girls fraternity... No "Man" was supposed to be left behind just in case the Girls too had a plan of their own... We made plans to cover each other's back... We decided that we would head out in groups of two... This gave us the leverage to implement the "attack-and-reload" phenomenon... That meant while one of us would be engaged in firing off the Pichkari, the other would be reloading his Pichkari for a second round of attacks...  

All in all.. Those were awesome days... Unlike now... I don’t know what exactly has changed now, but I do know that things are definitely not the same... I know for a fact that I DONT have a group that indulges in "Freakrazy" like me... I know that I don’t have the backing that I need... I don’t have group that is willing to act like complete idiots just because one of us wanted to see how that feels like…  I don’t have a group that would be willing to break the windows of a vacant house with Cosco balls just because we wanted to experience the effect of Stone Cold Steve Austin’s entrance music (That was Awesome BTW).. I know that I'm not in my childhood anymore and I need to act like grown-ups, but Boo-Freakin-Hoo... Why Should I? I had a wonderful childhood, kind of like the one that I intend to give my Kid as well... So why shouldn't I be a Kid at Heart?

Well... Can’t answer that I guess... It’s all Destiny... We just need to keep walking with out heads down... It’s like a journey... If we stand still, we get nowhere... If we run too fast, we amplify the risk of falling down... Hence, we just need to walk... Walk with our heads down without thinking about heavy stuff...

Kinda Sucks Doesn't it?

Sepang Spite…!!

After some delirious drama at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia, Red Bull’s German driver Sebastian Vettel came out on top by piping his own teammate Mark Webber for the prestigious victory.

The Malaysian Grand Prix promised to deliver a remarkable showdown of driving skills for two reasons – One, the passion of the racing fans heading into only the second race of the season, and Two, all the drama surrounding the use of “intermediate” tyres during qualifying..

Its been quite some time that I have seen something like all 22 (or 24 in some cases) drivers using intermediate tyres at the start…

After Adrian Sutil rocked Q1 and Q2 a day before by using medium compound tyres, the use of the intermediate came into play because the Sepang Rain Gods showed their ugly faces..

Ferrari’s Brazilian driver Felipe Massa, who was second fastest in qualifying yesterday, started in 2^nd place for the first time since Bahrain GP 2010 and was rightfully being termed as the Renaissance Man…

But, the whole “Comeback” was shattered when Webber began his awesome racing maneuvers.. Right from the start when the five red lights went off, Webber was on the offense when he challenged the Ferrari duo of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa..

The Weber-Alonso Fiasco saw Webber move from 5^th into 3^rd in the first lap itself and then finally to 2^nd after a hard fought battle with the Spaniard.. Alonso had his front wing clipped, which eventually gave up on Lap 2, therefore allowing Webber to move into 2^nd.

After 5 laps, Red Bull’s “tyre change” gamble seemed to pay rich dividends when Vettel straight away went for the medium compound tyres.. The track temperature at that time seemed to coming up with time and therefore the change was implemented..

The Red bull strategy was followed by all the teams almost instantly, which led to a “traffic jam” like situation in the pits..

Speaking of pit stops, there was one team in particular that seemed to have a horrible day there – None other that Sahara Force India..

Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta’s pit stops were complete disasters as the India-based team were having all sorts of problems with the hydraulics..

Due to these tyre changing fiascos, Force India’s Malaysian adventure just went from horrible to absolutely devastating as it forced both drivers to retire early..

 In fact, it seemed as if all the action on the circuit was less on the track and more in the pits… Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton even went to the extent to head into his old team McLaren’s pits by mistake… Classic move Lewis… Telling them who’s the boss.. J

On the other hand, Australian Grand Prix winner Kimi Raikonen and McLaren’s latest recruit Sergio Perez seemed to be having their own mini battles at the wee end of the grid as at first they were fighting for 9^th-10^th position and later for the 6^th-7^th spot..

While the “Iceman” was confident that he would win that battle, Massa had other plans to implement.. The Ferrari driver took full advantage of the Kimi-Perez duel when he overtook both of them to move into 6^th in Lap 50…

Another driver who had luck really pulling him down was McLaren’s Jenson Button,who at one time was even leading the race... The only thing that was not in his favor was the fact that he had one pit stop lesser that everyone else..

Before McLaren could even think about “planning” a gamble for Button to finish the race with his worn out medium compound tyres, Webber took the lead from Button on Lap 35..

That promptly forced Button to head into the pits one lap later and change his tyres.. However, disaster struck Button’s already horror-struck luck when his cars stalled right after moving out… It was “race-over” for the Briton..

Meanwhile, Vettel’s combo of fuel saving and DRS helped him overtake Hamlton on Lap 38 and therefore the triple world champion proved that the Briton still has a long way to go before he adjusts with his new team..

Red Bull and Mark Webber seemed to have everything under full control when on lap 45 an impeccable pit stop by the Australian proved the same.. Webber headed into the pits with a 20 second lead over his comrade and a perfect 20 second pit stop allowed his to come out of the Pit right where he left off… In front of Vettel…

Finally on Lap 46, Vettel moved into the lead by using his DRS to perfection.. Webber, who did everything he could to hold his ground, was completely outclassed by the German’s skillful moves..

After overtaking, Vettel said, “Come On Mate, This is Silly…”

All in all, the Malaysian Grand Prix was quite synonymous to being “team wars” with Vettel vs Webber (Battle for 1^st) and Rosberg vs Hamilton (Battle for 3^rd)..

Navy is and will always be Close to my Heart...!!

The Indian Navy is something that will never leave my heart and blood... It is embedded within me and rules my thoughts... It is a Passion and will always be something for which I will crave for from the bottom of my Heart...

 

Which is why when the following story came in the wire the other day, I could not help "ignoring" it... I had to file it... But cudnt on the Site because people wont care about it there... Hence, The Blog..!!

 

Here It Goes... Credits go to Press Trust of India (PTI)

 

"Garuda wins Regatta"

 

Kochi, Feb 6 (PTI) The team of INS Garuda won the coveted Cock Trophy at the Kochi Area Pulling Regatta held at the Southern Naval Command here today.

 

The team comprising ASW School Diving School, Navy Hospital Sanjivani, Survey Ships and Command Clearance Diving Team were the runners up, a naval press release said.

 

The keenly fought races had teams from all naval units of Kochi participating. Races were held in six categories with each team having a crew of six, including a helmsman.

Traditional Naval boats -the 27- feet 'Whalers' were used for the event. The total distance for the entire course was 1.6 Km.

Vice-Admiral Satish Soni,Flag Officer Commanding in Chief Southern Naval Command was the Chief Guest and distributed the traditional Cock trophy and other prizes.

The Admiral while addressing the gathering complimented them for the tremendous spirit shown and reminded them that pulling together was the ethos of the Navy. He also underscored the importance of sports and physical fitness in naval life.

A large gathering of Navy personnel and families witnessed the races. Seamanship School conducted the event.

Mahesh Bhupathi threatens to expose AITA

TNN

Mahesh Bhupathi said on Tuesday that the All India Tennis Association is not serious in meeting the demands of the players and has threatened to expose the tennis body.

 

NEW DELHI: Indian tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi said on Tuesday that the All India Tennis Association is not serious in meeting the demands of the players and has threatened to expose the tennis body.

Speaking in an exclusive interview to TIMES NOW, Bhupathi slammed the AITA governance saying that he has no faith in the committee and it is not at all serious in resolving in the on-going row between AITA and the players.

Bhupathi also went ahead to say that he had not forced any of the tennis players to rebel and the circumstances had led the players to rebel.

Earlier, the AITA CEO,  Hironmoy Chatterjee, had accused Bhupathi and Co. of blackmailing the AITA

Bhupathi responded by saying that Chatterjee should not get into a war of words with the players as the players have a lot to expose regarding how the players have been treated over the last 30 years.

You're still my Hero Lance...

I think that the World is being quite Cynical about the whole Lance Armstrong ignominy.. I know what he’s done is immoral, but he should be admired for what he’s trying to do right now..

He’s taught the world a very valuable lesson today.. That “Excess” of anything is really bad.. Even if that “anything” is a positive quality.. In this case, the positive quality being his ruthless desire to win..

Lance was diagnosed with Liver, Brain and Testicular cancer at the same time and was given a less than 20% chance of survival.. It was his ruthless desire to win that helped beat that evil..

On the other hand, it was the same ruthless desire to win that led him to believe that he needed to do anything possible to win the Tour de France races.. It’s One Positive Quality.. Two Contrasting Outcomes..

The manner in which Lance came out today says a lot about his “stone cold” character.. It takes guts to do what he did.. He didn’t blink.. He didn’t shake.. He didn’t stutter.. He came out there with a disposition and a rock solid attitude to do the right thing..

He’s shown that things will “affect” someone only if one lets them have an “effect” on themselves.. It should be looked upon as inspiration to have that “never-say-die” stance and at the same time be careful to not fall for evil desires.. The line must be drawn..

Hey, even Eve succumbed to the desire to eat the “Forbidden Fruit” and come to think about it, isn’t that what life is all about?

Who wants Batman when there's Robin...!!??

Before I start writing this, let me make one thing perfectly clear..  Irrespective of 'whom' I'm writing this post on, I'm a Die Hard Liverpool fan... For me Football begins with the Reds and it ends with the Reds... In the words of the great Liverpool manager and probably the greatest ambassador of the 'Beautiful Game' - Bill Shankly, "For those who think that football is a matter of life and death, I assure you that it is much more than that"

 

Now that that's done and the 'priorities' have been set clearly, lets begin with the real essence of this post. If there's one man in particular who has taken the football fraternity by surprise, its Robin van Persie.. Its really strange that "Captain Vantastic", as he's fondly called, announced his arrival on the big scene a loong time back.. But due to the presence of certain imminent personalities, RVP could not actually arrive on the big scene..

 

In short; he had come, but had yet to come... Now you can call it Arsene Wenger's idiocracy or Sir Alex Ferguson's magical instinct, but RVP was bought from Arsenal at the starting of this season for just 24 million pounds.. Thats rite... That was price set for the charismatic striker by the Gunners after he single handedly led them to glory just one season ago.. Ok, Arsenal didnt win anything but without a shadow of a doubt if there was anyone who gave then a glimpse of hope, a peek at success, a ray of glorious aura, it was their Number 11, Robin van Persie...

 

I hate to admit the fact but when Arsenal beat Liverpool at Anfield last season, Robin had scored 28 goals by then and Liverpool, in all togetherness, had 27.. That shows the aura and indispensability that the Dutch international possessed.. Which is why it really made no sense for Arsenal to deny him anything he wanted.. And all he wanted was a better wage and probably to good and lengthy contract..

 

He wanted to stay at Arsenal... And Wenger was just to cocky for his own good to allow that.. Dont get me wrong.. There was no animosity between the two.. its just that Wenger has this policy that no player can be bigger than the club itself... (Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas are living examples).. So Wenger in a fit of ego+attitude combined wanted nuthing to do with RVP thinking that at 29, he's not going anywhere... But wrong he was... In came Manchester United and their talisman Fergie...

 

RVP was a steel for the Red Devils at 24 mil pounds, considering the talent and skill that striker has... He is without any doubt the most lethal striker in Europe at present... His first touch is death defying... He has immaculate control over the ball and when it comes to finishing, there's no one in the Premier League at present who is as clinical as RVP is.... Call it Fergie's instinctive believes or call it RVP's talismanic charisma, but Robin is purely brilliance personified...

 

He's the man the a team looks forward to when they're down trailing... He proved it for Arsenal.. and now he's doing the same for Manchester United.. I would love for him to be in Liverpool... but I must be honest... If I had been given the opportunity to buy him for the Reds at the starting of the season, I probably would have said NO... Not because I doubted his talents, but because I thot (Like most in the fraternity) that RVP was done...

 

Arsenal was where he became a man... and when a club as big as the Gunners lets a striker go.. then its really tough was him to survive... But Sir Alex proved yet again that he can do what he does best... Groom, Broom, and Loom talent... RVP was just waiting for an opportunity like ManU to come.. and when he received it, He grabbed it with both hands (plus his left leg) and ran towards the title..

 

His goals were clear... He wanted to play in the Champions League... and he wanted to win the Premier League Title... One part was being fulfilled at Arsenal... But the other had not been achieved since 2003... He was carrying the Gunners alone last season... he knew that there was nuthing that could be done... He knew that at Manchester he would have talent and experience at his disposal to help him achieve glory... and in the end... Neither he nor his team have let each other down..

 

Arsenal vs Manchester United is gonna be Legendary this season... Emirates is gonna boo the shit out of RVP... But I know that he's gonna score... and I know that he's not gonna celebrate... Because it wasnt his decision to leave... He was forced... Forced by the will to grow... Forced by the will to achieve something he knew that he never could have achieved at Arsenal...

Dono Mile Iss Tarah..

Well.. I don't do these kind of "posts" that often so its gonna be tough to get it all out in the exact manner as I intend to.. But hey, there's always a first.. Now that I come to think bout it, i've never ever written anything on any movee ever.. So yayy for Post No. 1

Ek Mein Aur Ekk Tu is the movee about which I want to talk bout tuday.. ( its sounding gay already).. There's something about this movee that not just made me watch it 4 times, but also boosted my instincts to write bout it..

Considering the fact that this movee was an epitome of one of the biggest flops of 2012, ek mein aur ekk tu is actually a "good" movee by its standards.. Dont get me wrong, but I pretty much have one answer to how good a hindi movee is going to be - "Horrible"

But this movee was different... It touched me in a way that is not palatable... Imran khan and kareena kapoor actually form a sweet couple... Imran's acting is class apart ( except the portions where he tries to shout.. Lets me honest mate.. You cant shout) and kareena, as always, reminds me of a friend.

Kareena in the whole movee seems to be stuck with a bunch of amateurs trying to rise above the cloud to struggle and actually succeed in doing so.. She's like a star striker who has been recruited by a third division football team just to boost the jersey sales... There i've said it... I couldn't have put it any better...

Come to think of it, there are a few aspects that I think played a crucial role in me liking this muvee.. One, the awesome chemistry between imran and kareena, and two, the manner in which imran is stuck in life with his dead end job not knowing what to do...

I dont relate to his relation with his parents becauze I share a lovely one with mine.... So no thots there... Kareena's parents behave as if they have a factory that produces both daughters and money... Lets be honest, no matter how open and friendly a parent is, no parent would be as liberal as kareena's parents are in the movee...

I mean its just too much... Also, never in the entire history of this world have I come across any girl ( in both real life and literature ) who forms a "best friend" relationship with a guy just to help him with his life and problems... I mean she could have swindled a few bucks of off him in the process, but to genuinely try to help him without asking for anything in return? Its genuinely unbelievable!

All in all, the muvee has mixed reactions from my side.. But like I said, there's something about this muvee that made me watch it 4 times... And to be very honest... I'm still not bored and can watch it 4 more times...!!! :)

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