Impulse

Sale!! 50% off!!

Well, this sign is pretty common, specially in apparel stores... But when u come across similar sign hanging out from Levis Showroom, cant help but feel tempted..

So, the MBA in me did a quick maths.. A nice Jeans costs around 2000 bucks at Levis... I can get it in 1000... Good deal... ok ok.. i know getting 50% off on that jeans was a long shot, but well, i needed a reason to convince myself into goin into that showroom...

As I entered, the cashier looked at me as a hungry wolf... Must be thinking "Ek aur Bakra!!". Even inside the shop i cld see 30% or 40% off banners hanging... there must been a 50% banner too... but i missed it...

I carefully approached the Jeans section, but something else caught my eye... and it was a real cool black Tshirt... Now this wasnt my fault... It was strategically placed below the Jeans section u see... so instead, I made a bee-line for the T-shirts... Shortlisted couple of them, but then saw that they were only offering 20% off... and that black one wasnt that good in second look... so went back to my previous plan...

But then i noticed awesome shirts nearby... well, it never hurts to look.. Right?

Wrong! It does... Checking out is never Free!!! I liked a shirt, but it wasnt my size... aaand, my size in same design was not having any discount... Come to think of it, no shirt in my size had discount... But me being the impulse shopper that i am, decided to go for it... (Obviously i vowed to buy nothing else for next couple of months!!)

Then I went back to the Jeans section (That is what i came for..!) After few trials, me and my friend zeroed on a jeans, decided to buy it... But then, I came across another one which looked as good... Wanted to buy them both... But the sensible person in me kicked off and persuaded me that it was a bad idea...

Even then I ended up spending double of what i thought... Damn this tried and tested promotion schemes!!!

And on my way back, i spotted a Westlife showroom, which m not gonna visit ever in my life!!

An old poem

Used to sing this song in my music class... one of my favs... thnx to bhaskar for posting this on orkut community.. and this is not the complete thing... still searching for it...

Insaaf Ki Dagar Pe,
Baccho Dikhao Chal K,
Ye Desh Hai Tumhara,
Neta Tumhi H Kal K!

Yeh Waqt Na Thehera Hai,
Yeh Waqt Na Theherega,
Doori Ye Guzar Jayegi,
Ghabrana Kaisa

Ye Sukh Dukh Jeevan Me ,
Aate Aur Jaate Hain
Dukh Pehele Aa Jaye To
Ghabrana Kaisa

Sagar Ke Sine Se
Moti Jab Paaye Hain
Ab Pathhar Mil Jaye To
Ghabrana Kaisa

Jab Kadam Badhaye Hain
Manzil Mil Jayeegi
Hai Rah Zara Mushkil
Ghabrana Kaisa.

Randomness

Dedicated to DvD... he teaches me everytime before exams and even then somehow manages to get as poor grades as me!!! :P

Reasons why I hate writing exams..

1) There is no tool for checking my spelling mistakes.
2) I cant read my paper after I have written them.
3) I cant use a simple formula for finding average and std deviation.. I have to do it the hard way!! :(
4) I cant press Alt-Tab to check my orkut and Facebook time to time.
5) My fingers get stuck together after holding pen for so long!
6) For drawing diagrams, I have to pick up a scale and pencil.. Why cant i just do it by a click of mouse!!! :-|
7) I actually think that the time can be used to do something else... I mean, what good can ever come out of sitting idle for 2 hrs...?
8) I cant increase the font size to make it look like a larger answer after i find i am 2 pages short of allotted 4..!
9) If i make a mistake, I have to go back, erase the whole bloody thing and then rewrite it..! So much for efficiency!!
10) I feel stupid when i look around and see everyone writing as if there life is dependent on it..!

The Peak

Dedicated to my Bua... she had me realize this...

For those of u who don’t know me, I am one of the biggest fan of Harry Potter. I hv read each book atleast 10 times and critically analysed each and every movie for hours…!! Harry Potter books have been my area of specialization for over six years now… Recently 7th and last book of the series was released. The book had its ups and downs… both good and bad guys dying…

But what made me saddest was when the main villain, Voldemort died. Coz it meant the end of a brilliant series… I just didn’t want him to die.

Ankit also went through similar experience while reading LOTR. And this is one thing which happens inevitably when u watch some movie which is extremely good, or when a really good football match cms to an end… and somehow this is linked with why u feel sad when Yuvraj Singh gets out after a really explosive innings.. You just don’t want the fun to end, and in the end, tht is what makes it memorable!

Imagine how it would be if Yuvraj Singh hit hell lot of runs but got tired and is not able to hit a single ball… How will this innings be remembered now? Or if Harry potter series went on to explain in painful details on to how each and every character lived happily ever after… will the charm remain?

And that is why, every good thing should end when they are just about to decline. Cause that is how they will be remembered… Don Bradman wouldn’t have been same had he decided to come out of his retirement and been on either side of 99.94. And all the Ganguly Supporters like me will remember him as a person who tried hard to prove his point even after being discarded like that… And he did it in the end…

Its just like Kurt Cobain said.. “Its better to die than to fade away in this world”

And that is why I think all the stars, be it bollywood, cricket or any field, should call it a day when they feel that they have started to decline… Dev Anand must have been a great actor.. But that is not how he is considered to be now… same goes for Rekha…

Even Tendulkar is dragging on now… just like Amitabh Bachhan, Rahul Dravid and so many other ppl. It is high time that they leave before they are squeezed out..! Atleast the vacuum their absence will create should be felt. Though not intentionally, but that’s what Kajol ended up doing.

The Good, the Bad and The Ugly

Dedicated to Arpit. One of very few who seemed to agree with this viewpoint.

I often fail to see how we can classify old rulers or leaders as barbaric or revolutionary! Be it Ashoka, Akbar, Alenxander or Hitler. One might argue that what they did was wrong. We must not kill any one like this. But if they were this wrong, why did they have an entire empire of millions of people ready to do anything at their command? And are we in a better position to judge Alexanders deeds as compared to those who were alive at that point of time?

Genghis Khan took Mongols from a point of starvation to one of the largest empire on Earth. Was he wrong in doing that? We all say that what he indulged in was senseless murder. But don’t murders become senseless when all of us wanted India to wipe Pakistan from the face of this universe after 26-11?

Every powerful person, even Hitler, has had an entire army and population at his command. And I think that we should trust intelligence of those people to atleast judge what is justified. I don’t see a person whom we discard as barbaric or senseless rising to helm of an empire and making it the most glorious kingdom of that age. But that is what Alexander did, Genghis Khan did and Hitler did.

It is because we have been ruled by England for so long that we all think of any European expansionist as great and any non-European expansionist as barbaric. It has always been the winners or the more powerful ones who have written the history.

True, some of the things which they did are not concurrent by today’s rules because today we value human life more than anything else. But they were justified by rules of those days. How can we judge those who lived 1000 centuries or decades back on the basis of today’s values? And tomorrow, when future generations regard forests above all, will the era of industrialization considered as Dark Ages?

Betrayal!

And my heart betrayed all emotions...
I could hear my breath even if I did not breathe.
Now the swooping tides wash over me...
And the freezing breath flies through me...

I cannot see...
Been ravaged by the mystic beauty,
Ruined by the unreal temptations...I cannot flee...
Betrayed by my own beliefs...

Ambitions

Dedicated to my long lost friend Janak, with whom I share most of these dreams!

There was this time when I wanted to be a train driver. I love trains. And I was always intrigued by Indian Railways. I loved the sound of train changing a track, the sound of train going over a bridge, or train halting on a station and most importantly, the green field or jungles as they passed by! One day dad, mom, bro and I were on a scooter and I was standing just in front of my dad like little kids do. And a train was just passing by. Dad refused to stop the scooter when I wanted to watch the train go. I just turned off the key and a scooter going at 50 kmph halted to a stop!! They always let me watch a train go after that! This was some 15 years back when I was still a small boy.

In next few years, like anybody in my age, I wanted to be a cricketer. Well, not Sachin. I wanted more to be like Rahul Dravid. I absolutely loved the way he played. His determination, consistency and also the fact that he was one of the best fielders at that time. And obviously, the fact that he must be mighty rich!!

Next in line was becoming a Hero. And that too one without any flops in my career. How exciting it would be to be romantic wid all the hottest girls who are out there J And being so famous and again rich.

By this time, I was in class X and knew a bit abt how the “Real World”, but my dreams didn’t. I wanted to an army officer next. Not a high level one. An army officer who fought from the ground and brought down as many Pakistanis as they could. Or maybe a commando who fights ppl for homeland security and saves hostages from tricky situation.

I became an engg, but I wanted to be Prime Minister of the nation. To tell the truth, I still want to be a politician. Not necessarily PM, but some1 who has a say in administration. M sure ppl who know me well will laugh on this… but well…

And here I am.. doing my MBA from one of the most coveted institute in the nation. And to tell the truth, I love it. I love the thought of being a manager and earning millions by next year (assuming economy is good, of course J) I will be in one of the high up positions in the corporate (hopefully). Something worth dying for!

But sometimes I wonder if the 7 year old boy who loved trains would have wanted this! A office going and suited up person who has no fun in his life. But that’s how it is. As we grow up, things like Money, power and the Greed to do something for your nation or for the society become much more important in your life and you discard every ambition you have ever had as worthless or not feasible. And this makes me feel guilty of not being faithful to my younger self who wanted to love what he did to death. And this makes me love the kids more for their innocence and childish dreams which they will come to hate as they realize that when they grow up, they will be expected to contribute to the world and they will end up loving it!!