Lets mock Sachin

Sachin should retire!
He has become a liability to the team.
He is no longer effective in the one-day format of the game.
He’s not played the attacking game that he’s known for.
He is playing for personal records and milestones.
Sachin is simply staying in the team to boost up his commercial value.
He has not won a single world cup for India.

Many more such statements have been made after India’s T20 world cup victory.

Here are a few answers to the qns and statements put forward by his critics.

1) He was the highest run scorer in One-day internationals from 1990-1999.
2) He is the second highest run getter in the period 2000-2007 only behind Mohammad Yousuf. He has achieved this in spite of the constant injuries that he has suffered in this period.
3) He’s no longer the young kid in the block. He has reduced the element of risks in his shots and is still scoring at a strike rate of 90+ for the past 4 yrs.
4) He has been dismissed in 90’s for seven times this year with three of them due to poor umpiring decisions. In almost all these occasions he had scored these runs before the 30th over. He could have easily got to his 100 if he was interested in personal milestones.
5) Which one of us will say no if offered the commercials and the money? And he’s earned all those because of his talent, the mad fan following and the media. So why blame him alone?
6) Yes he has not been able to win a world cup for us. But is it really his fault? Twice he had single handedly taken us to the semi final and final in 1996 and 2003. The fact that he could not get a world cup for us is going to remain as a scar in his heart forever.

It’s true that the younger generation of players have proved themselves at the T20 World cup. They’ve exhibited the talent that’s hidden in the country.

But spare a thought for the man who has so selflessly served for India for close to 2 decades. He had carried the hopes of a billion people for most part of his career. He would have been knighted had he been born in some other country like Australia or England.
Lets at least give him the respect that he has earned across these years.

Lessons from GMAT

Lessons I learnt from GMAT

Hey Guys! Wait a min..I am not gonna talk about co-ordinate geometry, sentence correction, vocab etc here…

These are lessons I learnt after reading the Instructions and tips for taking up GMAT.

Instructions for taking up GMAT

1) All questions are mandatory. One question at a time will be populated on the screen. You need to answer the question to get to the next one.
2) Once a question is answered you cannot go back and change the answer or re-attempt the question again.
3) The computer provides you with a tougher or an easier question depending on your answer to the previous question.
4) Your final score is computed based on the number of questions answered and the difficulty level reached.

Interpretations in LIFE

1) You need to face all the problems that life throws up against you. The best way to do is to take one problem at a time and concentrate on finding a solution.
2) You cannot go back in time and change the past. Hence once you take a decision do not regret. Accept and move on.
3) The opportunities and challenges that are provided to you will depend on your previous performances. Remember that excellence is not a destination but a habit.
4) Where you reach finally in your life will depend to a large extent on the number of right decisions made and the number of opportunities that you’ve made use of.

TIPS for taking GMAT

1) Answer all the questions. People who attend all the questions get a better score than people who don’t complete the test.
2) Try to eliminate the wrong choices when you have to take a guess. Making random guesses will impact your score.
3) If you answer a question incorrectly by mistake – or correctly by lucky guess – your answers to subsequent questions will lead you back to questions that are at an appropriate level of difficulty for you.

Interpretations in LIFE

1) Take up every opportunity that life throws up. Its better to have tried and failed than not to have tried at all. When you lose don’t lose the lesson.
2) Never take a decision in haste or anger. It will never be fruitful. And life is not ideal. Hence try to find a path or way out even if its not the best one.
3) Take the luck that comes your way and try to build on it. Remember that luck can take you to a higher level but cannot sustain you there. Only true effort can help you retain that spot.

Innocent Assault

At times its very tough to answer qns asked by children or to tackle their responses..
Following conversations will just about prove it..


Trainer: You kids must understand one thing that athletes are not made..they're born..(with a grin)
Kid: Sir! My mama had told me that all people are born..can we make people also?
Trainer: @$#$#$ (Confused...)

Teacher: I will give 5 marks if you answer the first question right;10 if you answer the second and 50 if you answer the third...
Boy: Then ask me the third question ma'am...

Teacher: Repeat the following after me children..
The Sky is blue and ..
Girl: Why is the sky blue?
Teacher: Because it reflects the colour of the sea...
Girl: Then why is the sky blue even above the land?
Teacher: Puzzled..(Caught up..) ..Now don't interrupt..Just repeat what I say...

Teacher: (to 8th grade students..) Never trust your eyes...For they may mislead you..Verify anything before you accept.
Boy: Very true ma'am..Rahul told you are looking beautiful..I saw you without makeup yesterday in market..I told him otherwise..

Barber: (To a customer)..See the kid coming into my shop now...He's a stupid boy...
Dunno what they teach him at home and school. Look I'll prove now..
Hey kiddo! Do you want that one rupee coin or five rupee coin?
Kid: I want that one rupee coin....(he takes and walks away)
Barber: See..I told you he's stupid...I've been asking him this everyday and he takes only the one rupee coin...
Customer: (outside the barber shop) Hey kiddo! Why are you taking only the one rupee coin every day and not the five rupee coin?
Boy: Because the day I take the five rupee coin the game would be over and he'll not give me money again..
Customer: (Bedazzled..)

Teacher: What will you have if you have 4 apples in one hand and 5 oranges in the other?
Kid: Very big hands miss...

To be continued.....(This is just a beginning)

A Stress Interview- who got stressed in the end?

The following conversation is a part of actual stress interview of one company...

Interviewer: Good Morning! Please take your seat.
Candidate: Thank you! Good Morning.
I : I say you are a Joker! (He laughs out saying this..) You look like a circus clown in this dress of yours. ( Ha ha..laughs again loudly).
C : I decided this dress of mine as I wanted to look like a ring master who controls chimpanzies..Thought that would be most appropriate for this inerview.
I: Do you mean to say that I look like a chimpanzee? (Slight frown in face...)
C: Sorry Sir. I do not comment on other people's appearance..Can get you a mirror though if you want one. You can decide.
I: (slightly agitated by the reply).. Ok. Lets get going.
I: Looking at your mark sheets, I guess you could have done better in your academics..
C: (Immediately snatches the marksheets from the Interviewer)..Hmm..Yes Could have done better (with a slight frown)
I: May I know the reason for your poor performance?
C: Actually I was doing a research on how much time one needs and how much one needs to write to just pass the exams. So I had to test the different permutations myself in my exams..
I: So what is the result that you have come up with after your research? ( Bit of sarcasm in his voice..)
C: I understood after writing 2 semesters that its actually dependent on the following factors also:
a) Level of stupidity and mathematical ability of the correcting person.
b) Level of complexity involved in the answer.
I: So....
C: The research is stil in progress..One of my friends has just joined as lecturer. So will take data from his correcting pattern..
I : Why is it that you are particular to join our company? Why not A or B or C?
C: As a matter of fact, I did attend the interviews of A,B and C companies. I could not clear them. Why the hell should I sit here otherwise?
I: Now tell me why should I select you for my company ahead of others?
C: Oh..So sad that you are not even able to figure of this..I guess if you can give me an oppurtunity to meet the other candidates too, I'll be able to give you an answer.
I: I guess you're crossing your limits. (With anger..)
C: On the contrary I feel you do not have a clarity over why you need to select a person and what you expect from that person..
I: Now I say you get lost before I throw you out..( Frowning in anger)
C: Relax dude! You neither have the physical power to throw me out of this room, nor the mental power to throw me out of competition.
C:Its a pity that you are heading the recruitment operation for your firm...Bye and have a nice day..

(You can decide if its a fictional work or if its an intercept from an actual interview..)
Bouquets and brickbats are welcome..

How to increase the readability of your blog?

The following is a conversation between me and my alterego as I explore the ways to increase the readabiluity of my blog

Me: Why not ask your friends to read your blog?
AlterEgo: Won't they think its cheap publicity?

Me: Ok.. What about asking them also to start blogging..They'll surely read mine
A: Just because you are jobless y do u wanna make others also jobless?

Me: What if I set my blog space as note in my messenger? (Great na)
A: Stupid! You've added even your project manager, Senior manager in your msgr. Do you want all of them to know what really you are doin?

Me: What if I put my blog space as my mail signature?
A: That will spread the news across the whole company that you are jobless..

Me: What if I put up an open ended topic in my blog that will invite large participation?
A: What if that blog itself is not read?

Me: What If I put a nice girls photo as my blog picture? Won't it make some ppl to just have a look?
A: No use boy! People arent fooled that easily..

Me: What if I ask people who read my blog to put up a link to mine in their's if its nice?
A: You must thank them for reading yours in the first place. Let alone asking them to refer it.

Me: What if I read others blogs and comment on it?
A: Nice one. But that does not guarantee that they'll read yours in turn.

Me: Y not keep posting blogs continuously every 2 min for about an hour? People will come in with a curiosity to chk whats being posted?
A: But u need content for all those blogs. Else be ready for lots of brickbats.

Me:What if I wear a T-Shirt with my blog space printed on it and go around?
A: Now that you have reached the peak of your madness..Go on! All the best..

Me: Stop it! I've realized one thing. I blog because I enjoy doing so. I do not care if not many people read it.
A: Self Realization! Phew! Neway I am saved..Bye

A date with Bad Luck

Woke up early morning at 6 to attend my violin class.
Rushed up there only to know that class was canceled.
Went to a bike shop to test drive a bike.
The nearby road was muddy and stagnated with water.
Ended up skidding and falling on the road.. :(
Got drenched on the road + bruises in my leg and hands.
Broke the bike's indicator and ended up paying for damage.
Came back home! Had a dress change and rushed to office.
Only to get drenched in rain this time on my way! (That too in Chennai!)
Finally managed to reach office only by 10.45
Had to write test cases for new requirements (Yes I am playing a devil's advocate)
Could not decipher anything from the requirements doc.
Had to test for a couple of scenarios.
The server was down for maintenance the entire day.
Had a status call at 8.30 in the night.Just before I could join, system got hung.
Oops the passcode was in my pc.
Hurriedly scrambled for my bag as I had passcode present in my note.
Only to find that I had left the note back at home.
Restarted the PC, looked in and got the Passcode, but by the time I joined the call was almost over.
Wanted to leave by the 9 cab. Got a mail asking for some details at 8.55.
Completed that task by 9.30. Desperately wanted to end the day.Caught the 10 cab.
Got stuck in traffic. Reached home only by 11.40 p.m
I just wanted to drop in my bed. And had one last surprise in store at home!
Power cut till 2 am in our area.Could not have asked for more :(
What a date it turned out to be ;-)
Looking back it brought a smile in my face.
At times when things don't go your way they don't.

Cheeni Kum - A laudable effort

I had wathced the movie Cheeni Kum over the weekend. Must say that its a bold attempt in a new direction.
Every character seems to fit the bill perfectly in the movie. I do not want to tell the story and spoil the fun.
The performances of Amithab, Tabu and the small girl is just superb.
P.C Sreeram has done a brilliant job. He has aptly used ligthing that captures the mood in the movie.
Ilayaraja's music score is the undercurrent that carries the movie. The title song Cheeni Kum (Mandram Vanda- from Mouna Raagam) is enchanting.
He's proved that he's the king when it comes to melodies.
Though the movie sags a bit after the interval, (esp due to Paresh Rawal and his tactics), its worth a watch.
Another enduring aspect in the movie is the comedy that runs along the entire movie. Big B has proved his mettle with his timing and dialogure delivery.
In an age, dominated by run of the mill masala movies, with predictable story line, this one comes as a real beauty.
P.S - If i can enjoy the movie with my limited hindi knowledge (Managed with the sub-titles that was put down), I hope it'll be a film worth watching for one and all.

Fredaloed and Woolmurdered

I heard the term Bangalored being used to refer a scenario where a person in US loses his job due to the job being outsourced to India.

In this context I guess the following terms may soon find a place in our normal conversation.

Fredaloed - Act of boozing heavily and attempting to drive a pedalo. ( Vaughan had desecribed Flintoff's action in WI as Fredalo incident)

Woolmurdered- Act of calling a death as murder initially only to be confirmed later as a natural death.

No offences meant... Just a thought.

Tribute to Sachin

இந்திய அணியின் நாயகன்
இருபத்தைந்து வயது வாலிபன்
இளமயிலிருந்தே வல்லவன்
தன் திறமயில் நம்பிக்கை கொண்டவன்
அவன் தான் ஸச்சின்

பதினாறு வயதில் கலம் புகுந்தான்
பக்குவமாக விளயாடி ஸதங்கள் அடித்தான்
இவனால் முடியுமா என்று கேட்டவர்களை
இவனால் மட்டுமே முடியும் என்று கூற வைத்தான்

இவன் தன் ஆட்டத்தை துவங்கினல்
ஏதிர் அணியினர் தங்களின் ஓட்டத்தை துவங்க வேன்டியது தான்
மைதாநத்திற்குள் அல்ல தங்களின் நாட்டை நோக்கி
ஏனெனில் இவன் கிரிகெட் உலகில் ஒரு ஸூறாவளி
இந்திய அணிக்கு தளபதி
ஆட்டத்தை துவங்கி அருமையாக விளயாடி
இந்தியவிற்கு வெற்றிகளை தேடி தந்தவன்
கிரிகெட் ஸாம்ராஜ்ஜியத்தின் சக்கிரவர்த்தி இவன்