The 8RF Game...

I was surfing through blogs yesterday and found this new tagging thing going on. To my disappointment, I hadn't been tagged, being the rare blogger I am.Now that I am, thanks to Twilight Fairy, I'll play along.Here goes....

Here are the rules:

1.Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
2.Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
3.Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.


Eight Random Facts about me:

1. I'm flat-footed and can't run fast.
2. I'm the most comp-illiterate guy to have ever owned a laptop. I somehow manage it, thanks to Rajesh and Sajal( I.P.), my neighbours on either side.
3. When I was about 5, I locked my mother in a hospital bathroom to avenge her doing the same a day back. I then went to have lunch with some docs, who were quite fond of me. She sat there locked for over an hour. I was never locked after that ;)
4. I have been living away from home since 7th standard. 1st Ajmer, then Kota and now Madras.
5. I hate it when someone tells me I look younger than I am, though I know it's true.
6. My father calls me a 'half' ateist because of my attitude towards God and my mother is constantly miffed with me over that.
7. Among my 4 cousins and a younger bro( I live in a joint family) I was always the naughtiest, breaking more stuff then all the others out together. My brothers later surpassed me when they drove a tractor straight into an old wall.Luckily, all 3 came out unharmed.
8. I started blogging because Bhaavaas offered me a treat for it and I'm glad that I did. I still am a terribly irregular blogger and do not even know 8 bloggers who I can tag.

All I can think of tagging is Bhaavaas.

Route to reservations

Guess it's too late to write this now. The revolt ceased a month back but ever since the Mahindra classic jeep was torched in front of my eyes, the passengers escaped though, this was due. It all started when yours truly, against everyone's wishes, decided to board the overnight bus to Jaipur. Oh wait that wasn't the beginning. This was just the backdrop. The action started when my cousin insisted that I delayed my journey back by a day and attend his friend's wedding at some small village, a few hours from Jaipur. I must here say that I actually enjoyed a wedding in a long time with only about 20 'baratis'.

Things were all going well when we got the news that the Gujjars, OBCs as of now, detested their higher social position, as compared to Meenas and demanded social equality. Now the Meenas had not managed to rise, despite boasting of families which have all, yes my dear ALL working members placed in the IPS or IAS. Keeping this in mind, the Gujjars demanded that they be granted a lower social status. They wanted to descend to their level when their bretheren could not rise.

This was all fine till it was a peaceful, civilised request to the government. Things went sour when they resorted to disobedience of govt. Vehicles were stopped and turned back leaving people starnded. Police forces were attacked whereever they could be spotted. Confusion, Panic, Trauma, Agony. My limited vocabulary gives way. The canvas was way larger than I can narrate. For a week every sunset would leave behind a few more corpses, every moon was reflected in the tears of a few more families. Ah...Rajasthan my homeland. It never was like this. My grandpa says even the partition was better. Though I believe memories fade with time and partition must have been worse but this wasn't a partition or was it?

Thanks to the vote hungry politicians, the administrators lacking foresight, we are now officially and strictly divided into religion, region, caste and class. Left out someone to blame? YES, me and you for not doing anything. Not making any small difference that we can. I know I'm getting all worked up and hence the outburst. I also know this feeling won't last but I hope the blog will.

Forgot to put in a word about the media. I believe they think Policeman means martyr. Everytime a shot was fired by the Police, even after being attacked, the media went after it with hammer and tongs. What are they supposed to do? Die with the gun in hand without ever firing a shot?

Don't know how to end this. So I decided I'll end my mournings here and now.

My School prayer

Mind Without Fear

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been broken up

into fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depth of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason

has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action---

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.


- Rabindranath Thakur

Of The Week

For about a month now I have been regularly following the online telecast of the show week that wasn't. It's a usual take on the present news, aired on IBN, anchored by Cyrus MTV Broacha. This is one show that truly is hilarious. The way it is presented, it seems like an extension of the Cyrus on MTV, and in fact it is. I love it anyway. Actually about half the jokes are not funny at all and the rest are PJs but somehow it does manage to tickle you and sometimes more than just that. The joy and enthusiasm with which Cyrus speaks is just awesome. Where it actually scores over the other cnews channel comedy shows is its 'no holds barred' approach. Unlike the other hosts, like Shekhar Suman, who always is wary not to insult the people, well, this team doesn't care one bit. An MTV approach to a news channel comedy show. Try it. It's different.

Of THE Marriage

"Ash and Abhi tie the knot"- The headlines read.
Am I interested? Well, yes I am interested. For the past few days there has been nothing more in news than the marriage of one of, now quite a few, Indian Miss World and a man, whose grandfather was as revolutionary in thoughts as with words, and whose father's movies, I, like many others, grew up watching. But this is certainly not what interested me. I was dying to see it get over. It's been quite sometime since an important 'pillar of democracy' ceased trying to peep in to 'Prateeksha'.

They didn't pay any heed to others' attempts to grab headlines. What about the 'Big Boss', huh? Now known in UK, she tried her best that people in India too start recognising her and the 'AIDS campaign' with Richard Gere provided the perfect platform,literally or otherwise, to launch herself, just as Janet Jackson had once shot to fame. Sorry dear, your timing couldn't be worse. People cast a glance at the photo and turned the page. On second thoughts, maybe she was trying to tell us, " This doesn't cause AIDS".

The gunman in the States too, though now known throughout the world, or at least wherever newspapers are published, could not convince the desi editors to grant him some credible space in the country with highest newspaper readers. Bad timing for you too, dear ummmm.... don't remember your name. Anyway, better luck next time man.

Jokes apart, my heart goes out to poor Sallu and Vicky. Have you any idea what they would be going through every time they pick up a newspaper or a magazine or switch on the TV or radio. Vicky feels sorry for the time when he blasted sallu in front of the media for trying to convince him in a not so polite manner.All he can do now isn't much, unlike sallu, who may decide to go for another ride in his car. Now since he couid not vent off like sallu, rumour has it that that he has protested against Hello mag for offering to cover the wedding and has cancelled his subscription of the same . Can the media ever comprehend the magnitude of pain and sympathy these two guys feel for shekhu? Sadly , I don't think so.

I'm sorry for other wannabes, whose name I didn't mention. Well I too, get my info from a newspaper and I could not sympathise about your failure because you did not succeed.

Cast:

Sallu: Salman Khan, the driver

Vicky: Vivek Oberoi, the actor

Big Boss: Shilpa Shetty, who the firangs abused, apologised and kissed

P.S: Thank god the marriage is over. Could not have taken any more of it.

Attended, attending & attendance

As you walk past the notice boards of your respective hostels, take a closer look. Amongst the wannabe Shaastra IPs, if you try hard enough, you may spot a circular with the Dean's stamp. You won't be allowed to stay in the hostel if your attendance falls short of a certain limit. The limit, I believe, has been set so high, that virtually half the rooms will have to be vacated. Interesting, isn't it? Apparently the instructor's too have been instructed to follow the rules strictly.

I really wonder why all this strictness all of a sudden. What good can come out of rooms vacated by 'the cream of the country'. Well of course, some beer bottles and sutta packets, along with a lot of stench surely will. Now since all of it will be empty, it isn't a very good way to get some free beer, respected sir. He may happen to be a collector of such stuff for all I know and this really is an effective way of increasing his collection manifolds.

Another reason is to rent out thus vacated rooms to Anna University students which may provide a much needed inflow of cash because I hear that the students' debts at Taramani have shot over the roofs and the shopkeepers have hired professionals ( read goons) , who recently paid a small visit to the Dean's office to retrieve the money.They were surprised to find a queue outside the office waiting to see him, most of which were drug-pedlers who also were grieving about the students' refusal to pay for stuff they used, or rather, snuffed. Upon the realisation that this defaulter's image will hurt the Institute in long run as word spreads really fast among corporates and our placements will be effected, was this strategy formulated.By our, I do NOT mean mine. I am in Biotech. which means I won't be placed anyway.


I have a suggestion, sir. We should try hitting at the softest spots.Why not put the same rule on mess too. Like the people who don't have 75% of the meals wouldn't be allowed to eat in mess. Now we should also keep in mind the bathing trends at IITM. Is there a possibility that bogs too can be brought under this rule's domain?

P.S.- After reading out the circular to his staff, the dean reportedly said " Nobody can stop an idea whose time has come"

DazeD

'Twas 7:55 in my watch. I, Varun and Anshul are walking to the Bt building, expecting to reach by 8:10, for a lecture that begins at 8. Well that is IST. I and Varun, too busy discussing the future of IIT and the fests, completely forget the proverbial crowd in two's company.

When we did notice his absence and looked back, we saw him looking the other way. 'waiting for a lift' we assumed. Well, apparently he was feeling faint and could not walk. Shortly after that, he fell flat on the road, hit by a couple of cycles. The security guard at the crossing had to drag him off the road. After sprinkling some water on his face, he finally came to senses and ran to the class, first thing.

Our hero entered the class 20 mins late nad tried explaining it to the prof, his ragamuffin appearance testifying his story. The Prof said " since you are so desperate to attend the class, i will let you, but cannot give you attendance"

Our hero fainted again, hit by a truck this time.

P.S.- Now a lot of theories were developed as to why he suddenly felt faint.
I, personally go with the one proposed by Deepak- " too much of phone on your ear is irradiating your head"