The Red Baron Is Here…

What else can be more inviting for a formula1 fan like me?

When I read the newspaper today for a moment I reacted a like a kid on watching a cartoon show. I enjoyed each and every word of the news. And even I kept reading it for four or five times again and again. I was completely clueless of my behaviour towards the news. I jumped in the air like I have won a world cup for India.

The news was that Michael Schumacher the greatest legend of the Formula one world racing is back.After Felipe Massa’s Injury Doctor’s confirmed Massa wont return to racing until next season.

Schumacher who haven't driven a Formula one car since his retirement in 2006 announced today that he will be driving for Ferrari for the remaining races of this season.

The 40 year old has already won Seven world Championships with 91 grandprix wins.He has been one of the Highest paid sportsmen of his days and now he is the highest paid mentor for Ferrari. He is also the member of United nations for drivers safety.

His name can make millions of crowds to assemble in grandstands with the scarlet flags along with the symbol of prancing horse flying everywhere in the air.

Now Michael Schumacher will drive along with Kimi Raikkonen for the rest of the season. He has to undergo rigorous training as driving a formula one car is not a joke or an easy thing to do.

Wow.I am excited to the core and I am waiting for the day to see Schumacher back in track. I am sure huge crowd will turn out to see his race. Even though I am not confident with his driving skills now,I still support him and I am still a hardcore fan of him. What more can we expect from a forty year old??Lets see… Hail Schumi….Hail Ferrari…

Image courtesy: http://www.vcars.co.uk

Technorati Tags: Ferrari,michael,michael schumacher,schumacher,schumacher is back,formula one,sports,european grand prix

The Unpleasant Journey

After having a week’s trip to Delhi and a one day trip to Tirupathi, I am here now in home. I thought I could enjoy my days ahead with good food at home(as for now). But things turned bad on Monday eve.First a little headache and then cold and within a hours time I got fever. Within the next few hours I could feel the heat of my body temperature rising above normal.

The irony is that I had a Trip to tirupathi the next day. And having such a temperature and a day in tirupathi is not a joke as huge crowds turn out there and once we are inside temple we cannot come out without visiting lord venkateshwara.

My mother got really scared about my health and my father started advising what not to do.My father was really worried and he asked me not to sleep at late hours.But till now for the past one year I had never slept before 1 am. My father was pouring advises and repeated advises bored me. This situation reminded me of the time when I was in bed affected by Hepatitis-A.

My mom,dear mom asked me whether I can come to tirupathi.. Actually speaking the fact I was not in a situation to go.But I auspiciously believe that saying no to a temple is a big sin.So I said to my mom “everything will be alright tomorrow morning and I will come with you”.

We started early morning and my condition didn't improve a bit. I told my parents I was alright.But my mom can judge things on seeing my face.She understood I was not in a condition to come. She insisted me to stay back. But I argued “I feel comfortable being with you than staying alone in these kinds of situations”.

We were at Chennai Central Railway Station at 5:45 am to board Sapthagiri Express.To my sorrow my father reserved seats in Ac. I said to myself, “its just a three hours journey,you can manage”.The first two hours were comfortable one as the coach was not much colder.Suddenly after sometime I started trembling.. I felt like the temperature has gone down below zero. I went outside but was not able to stand for long as I was feeling sick. A very tough one hour.

Then to my sorrow there was a huge crowd and I have no option other than standing in line along with my parents and brother. We joined the queue and after 5 hours we came out seeing the lord. The last train from Tirupathi is at 5:20 and we just came out at 4:30.We have to make our way down to Tirupathi station which involves a 40 min journey. As we came down the hill due to pressure my ears started paining. I felt like some one was trying to make his way out of my ears with a sharp needle in hand. I couldn't tolerate the pain and somehow we caught the train at the last moment.

Once again it was A/c coach and I was trembling for whole three hours. The train was late by half an hour. Then we went to a hotel and I just had a cup of milk and I never felt like eating. We returned back to home at 10:30 in the night.

I used to watch a program called “SACH KA SAAMNA” at 10:30 but my father immediately switched off the television urging me to go to bed. And till now my condition has not improved.. But I think I have recovered by say 10 percent.

And I have a Big cricket tournament ahead this weekend. And I am not sure whether i will recover within that time.. And even if I recover I am not sure whether my parents would allow me to play. And I owe my captain a lot.I cannot stay as such in home saying others to play. I am in a pathetic and tough situation through out the week so far.I think it will change.

Technorati Tags: tirupati,chennai,journey,unpleasent,express,A/c,sick

Image Courtesy: Google

Why do they ask for Compensation?

Wherever we see let it be in newspapers,Interviews and even blogs..we have seen lots of women's who say that they are equal to men and there should not be any gender based bias or distinction.I respect the same and I insist there should be no gender based distinction.
But do they mean what they are saying? I feel that those are mere words and they say it for pride.Why so?
Recently one of my close neighbours,who were good couples accepted to end their relationship mutually.Its their own decision.They officially lodged a divorce notice via court. But mysteriously for getting divorced,the women asked for compensation for living with that guy.She demanded 5 lakh rupees from the guy whom she lived with.What for? After all the guy too lived with the same women and is he asking any compensation for living with her? Now if women feel they are equal to men,Why do they ask for compensation after divorce?

Do men ask for any compensation? Mostly women are also earning now-a-days.So what is the necessity?Do they still feel they are the weaker sex?

Image Courtesy: http://i.ehow.com

Technorati Tags: Divorce,compensation,male female,gender

Get Well Soon Felipe!!!

May 1,1994…

The world saw one of the dangerous accidents ever witnessed in the history of formula 1. One of the greatest legends, Best formula one driver who remained a nightmare for other drivers was killed in an accident during the San Marino grandprix on May 1,1994.His name,Ayrton senna Da Silva. A three time world champion, a great human too.

Before the race, a fellow driver died during the qualifying session.Ayrton senna raised the issue of Safety in formula 1 and formed a committee regarding the safety of formula one drivers. But the legend himself sadly died during the race.

He is the driver who lost his life to prove formula one drivers need safety.

Various electronic systems,tyre barricade and various security and safety systems enhanced after his death.

July 25,2009…

It was 15 years since this happened. Day before yesterday another similar incident took place during the qualifying session of Hungarian grand prix.

The suspension spring from Rubens Barrcihello’s vehicle hit fellow Brazilian Felipe Massa strongly on his head at a speed of 162mph. The impact made a small hole in the helmet and Felipe fractured his skull. He was taken to Budapest military hospital where he underwent surgery. Doctor’s say he is in stable condition,but still in danger.

I think this is high time for Formula one officials to consider safety of drivers and neglect the conflicts and politics running within. Look at the Video… Which shows how the spring hits the helmet of Felipe Massa.

FORZE FELIPE SI AMACON TE……..

You know the bravery of these drivers have to be acknowledged.

I recently saw an add about formula one….The advertisement is about human will power and Formula one.. This is what the Adv. says

• Imagine yourself being subjected to a G-force of 5G’s. (Don't know what's a G-force? for example: When we sneeze or cough we experience a G-force of about 2G’s.Then Imagine how 5G’s would be… G-force is nothing but the measure of gravitational force)
• Imagine yourself being in a 50 degree C pressure cooker.
• Imagine your Heart beating 210 times a minute.

This is what a Formula one driver goes through…HUMAN WILL POWER… HOW AMAZING

Technorati Tags: Felipe massa crash,hungary crash,massa,Ayrton senna crash,Imola,san marino

Image COurtesy: Google.com

ABC Tag!!!

Hey, I have been tagged by Sugandha Gupta. She wants me to complete this... in 2 days. Quite an interesting tag, I must say. Its the 'ABC Tag'. You get to know the ABC of ME!

Now the rules:

• Link the person who tagged you.
• Post the rules on your blog.
• Share the ABCs of you.
• Tag 3 people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
• Let the 3 tagged people know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
• Do not tag the same person repeatedly but try to tag different people, so that there is a big network of bloggers doing this tag!

So, read the ABC of ME...

1. A – Available/Single? Single But with Experience!!!
2. B – Best friend? My mom.
3. C – Cake or Pie? Both.
4. D – Drink of choice? Sprite...
5. E – Essential item you use every day?Mobile.
6. F – Favourite colour? Black.
7. G – Gummy Bears Or Worms? Gummy Bears….
8. H – Hometown? Chennai.
9. I – Indulgence? Ofcourse Blogging.
10. J – January or February? February..
11. K – Kids & their names? Huh..I hate kids….
12. L – Life is incomplete without? Death...
13. M – Marriage date? waiting for my bro to get married…then Let me decide...
14. N – Number of siblings? one... elder bro.
15. O – Oranges or Apples? Apples..Apple a day keeps the doctor away!!! :P
16. P – Phobias/Fears? Dogs...
17. Q – Quote for today?The Race is not yet over, Because I haven't Won yet!!!
18. R – Reason to smile? I smile always!!!
19. S – Season? All Seasons.
20. T – Tag 3 People? Meghana,Avada Kedavra,Venky
21. U – Unknown fact about me? I lie often….
22. V – Vegetable you don't like? Lady’s Finger…
23. W – Worst habit? My eyes always searches for good looking girls..whatever I do..wherever I go:-((
24. X – X-rays you've had? No.I am scared to go...
25. Y – Your favourite food? Whatever my mom does…
26. Z – Zodiac sign? Aquarian….. A perfect Aquarian who loves freedom the most….
    
    
    Image Courtesy: Google.com

Entering Blogosphere Again!!

Hey..

I am back… I had a hectic trip,but I just found some two or three hours for roaming in Delhi. Let me post about my experience in Delhi tomorrow or day after. It was pretty nice and unique experience. But I didn't find time to roam Delhi and I went to very few places.These were just taken with a 2mpx mobile camera.So you cannot expect much clarity out of it.

Technorati Tags: Pictures,Delhi,Rashtrapathi bhavan

Blogging Prohibited!!

Oh..my god…. Atlast my happy days are over… I had mixed emotions last month. From one point of view I was happy that I was staying at home happily..very relaxed, away from my engineering books,records everything. On the other hand I was little bit worried that I didn't have nice time,party’s with my friends as I used to have before..

Now the time has come. There is a change. The change from irresponsible boy to responsible man. The week ahead is really going to be very interesting and thrilling. I have a Interview next week in Noida. I have not yet prepared anything. I have no hopes of getting through the Interview.Yet its going to be a great trip.I have to travel alone there. All my friends applied there but only I got the call letter.The irony is that I don't know Hindi other than “ Ek gawn may ek kissan rahuta tha”. I don't know how I am going to manage. So I might not be blogging for next week. 

However Microsoft windows live writer has provided one great option. We can set the publish date and the post will be posted on the respected date as specified even though we are away from the blogs.

But I could not write much.Just written a single post and It will be published on the following week when I am away from this blog..

So meet you soon….. after 26th July….

Till then bye from

–Its me Shankar…

Image Courtesy: http://images.wikia.com/

Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince!!!

Atlast the much awaited Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince is here.. It was my favourite book of the series and was eager to see the film from the moment I read the book last year.

When I entered the theatres I was very excited and happy to watch the film. The scenes, visualisation everything was stunning and I never wanted the film to end. But yet when the film ended I felt a surge of discontent,unhappiness within me. The fact that there was no more Hogwarts and no more Dumbledore was killing me.

The film started with a collapsing bridge in the muggle world and Harry enters his penultimate year in Hogwarts. The mystery becomes deep when harry gets the book of Advanced Potion Making which belongs to The half blood prince.

What's new at Hogwarts this year? Professor Horace Slughorn was appointed as the potions master and Snape to preside over The defence against dark arts.

The first half mostly comprises of hilarious comedy and romance. Let it be comedy or romance the scenes are really entertaining and amusing. Things get dark when Harry collects the memory of Horace which involves an important conversation between him and Tom Riddle about the most dangerous Dark Magic.

The Dark lake was visualised in a great way than one would have imagined.The dark lake scene may be called as the best scene in the film. Apparently the film ends with the Death of the Head Master of Hogwarts.A sad and unhappy ending which you might have ever witnessed in Potter series.

Charming Hermonie:

The best performance of the film can be warded to Emma Watson. She was so charming and Beautiful.Let it be her feelings for Ron or Deep friendship with harry,she is at her best. Especially the scene in which she converses with Harry after seeing the romance of ron with Lavender. She cries and asks harry “Is this the way you felt when Genny kisses Dean, harry?” She was cute through out the film.

Malfoy Manor:

So far we all saw Draco as a mere loser.He was unknown for most part of the last two books.But this time he proves how dangerous he could be.Ron and Harry attended fest and Party’s but Draco remained alone in his dark suit for most part of film. Looking mysterious,angry. But he is seen scared for most of the film and did most of things out of the fear that he would be killed by Dark lord. His performance was notable in this film.

Crazy Lavender:

Her looks makes us uncomfortable.She is not that good or cute. But her actions and her love for won-won makes us laugh.she is annoying at some scenes,but really makes us laugh in the other.Nice characterisation of lavender.

Dumbledore character deserves pity when drinking the liquid to get the horcrux which was under it. And it really makes us feel when Harry atlast says to Hermione that it was a fake and everything was a waste.

Tom Riddle:

This character was one of the greatest highlight of the film. Let it be the young boy and a grown teenage one, the darkness remain in each and every move. you could see a perfect villain look with this character.We have seen Lord Voldemort..But this is Tom Riddle’s first appearance and every one surely call him the perfect villain.

The Difference:

Once again I must say this is not a faithful reproduction of the book.There were some differences and some important missing sequences.

 

According to book it was Nymphadora,who escorts harry to school after being stuck at Hogwarts express.But in Film its Luna who saves and Harry.Luna disappears after that.She is seen in only other two scenes,Slughorn’s Fest and after Dumbledore’s death.

The battle after the Death of Dumbledore.. action scenes were missing in this film.They desperately missed it.I think the director concentrated on finishing it within time and lost track of the battle sequence.

Bill would be attacked by the werewolf and he would be hospitalised. But in film “was there a character called bill?”

The quidditch match in which Ginny plays a seeker. Absolutely Quidditch was given the least Importance. I thought I would see harry catching the snitch for the last ever time.But It never happened.There was quidditch,but it mostly focussed on Ron and not harry or snitch.

But I should say its really difficult to make a two and half an hour film from a seven hundred page book.

 

But the director compensated for everything with a nice,hilarious &enjoyable movie.Once again Harry potter never failed to make an impression in hearts of people.

But the fact that No Dumbledore  and Hogwarts without Harry,Hermonie,Ron and Dumbledore as its Headmaster makes me feel sad and bad.

 

My Rating:

8.5/10

Image Courtesy: http://darkdestroyer.files.wordpress.com/

Technorati Tags: harry potter and half blood prince,hermonie,emma watson,rupert grint,daniel radcliff,snape,dumbledorehalf blood prince,review

Another reason to celebrate!!!

So,Its been 2 months and 2 days since I started blogging. In these few days I got some small, small achievements which is very worthy of celebrating. And today there is another reason for me to celebrate.

If you want to know the reason just take a look at the sidebar section.. Can you notice the number of Hits?

Yes..It crossed 1000 today. Not a big achievement, but according to me small achievements cumulatively make it a bigger one in future.

My celebrations started when I saw a small dot appearing over India in cluster maps.

Then there were few comments which encouraged me to stick on to blogging.

Then few members joined my network, some followers, repeated comments,tags etc..etc..

This blog also gave me an opportunity to meet some great personalities too.. Which would have never been possible without this blog.(http://ballat.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-day-at-raj-bhavan.html)

I also would like to thank IndiBlogger as many of my followers and networks are from IndiBlogger only.

And ofcourse I had few problems in the past week regarding comments and was not in a position to celebrate my 50th post of this blog.But I am sure to celebrate my 100th one.

Image Courtesy: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/the_breaks/1000.jpg

4,4,4……4 Tag!!!

I have been tagged by le embrouille blogueur……

le embrouille blogueur tagged me, with a bunch of questions, all in groups of four… So here goes the questions…

Four places I have lived (not in any particular order):

Chennai

Vijayawada

Bangalore

Delhi

Four T.V shows that I love(d) to watch (not in any particular order):

Friends

Race day

World Cup 99 with Wasim Akram

Air Crash Investigation

Four places that I have been on vacation:

Goa

New Delhi,Agra

Cochin

Ooty

Four of my favourite food items:

Veg. Fried Rice

Butter Non

Cheese Pizza

Doughnut

Four websites that I visit daily:

Orkut

Facebook

Yahoo answers

and Blogs(including mine..)

Four places I would rather be (not in any particular order of preference):

Singapore

Malaysia

New York

ofcourse my city: Chennai

Four things I hope to do before I die..... (not in any particular order):

Working for Ferrari pit crew

Watching a Formula one race in India

Having a chat with Michael Schumacher

Watch a Champions League Final soccer match in Rome

Four novels I wish I was reading for the first time:

Harry Potter By J.K.Rowling

Da Vinci Code By Dan Brown

Angels and Demons By Dan Brown

Tale Of Two Cities By Charles Dickens

Four movies that I can watch over and over again:

Harry Potter(all movies)

Taare Zameen par

Chak De India

Independence Day

Four people I believe will respond to this tag:

This is a tough question..restricting to four is a very difficult one, I want every blogger in my network to be tagged.. But only four…. very sorry for others in my network. you can also take up this tag if you like…

Shilpaa

Venky

Bharathi

Avada Kedavra

I also want to tag shubhayan also,but he just now took my previous tag..So don't want to bother him again. Would be really happy if he takes up this tag…

Image Courtesy: http://www.onflex.org/

Feed Backs Invited!!!

Yesterday I read one of the post titled “Disgruntled” from one of my good friends in this Blogosphere. I was shocked to see my blog being mentioned in the last paragraph. I wondered what for? Was it to appreciate about my blog? or was it to criticize? the answer for both the question is no… then what for? When I continued reading I found that my fellow friend was disappointed as he was not able to comment for my blog and to his another friends blog…

Oh..my god!!! I said to myself… I am working on my comments for past one week.. Did a lot of things.. changed comment forms, changed java scripts, changed templates…

Everything started last week when one of my friends and top commenter of the blog Lavanya raised a issue stating that she is trying to post a comment in my blog..but she couldn't.I thought she might have not submitted the comment and might be her fault as everyone else was posting comments. Then came another complaint… Pawan commented..” Shankar, i commented in your blog..but was not able to see my comment now… Did you delete my comment?”. After hearing this I understood there is some problem with my comment form. While searching for a method to delete the present comment form and to embed a new comment form I found a new,modern “Intense Debate” comment form with various features. But after I installed I found all my earlier comments were deleted. And my blog is left out with zero comments. I apologized to everyone for this. But I thought everything was alright now.

But the next day Lavanya once again mailed me that she cannot see the comment box itself. I enquired about this two other friends..Shilpa and Venky about the issues. Shilpa said she was able to post her comment only after four unsuccessful tries. Ofcourse I realised everyone cannot be as generous and patient as shilpa to wait and comment even after three unsuccessful tries. So,I decided to change my favourite template.It was a good template and my favourite one.Everyone liked the template and it was so welcoming to my visitors.

So I sat back the whole night before the system and searched for few templates whole night. Added java scripts,Images etc..etc..to give a good look to the template.But still menu work is pending.I thought everything was fine and comments started coming slowly once again.I was relieved until yesterday.

I became extremely sad and felt bad when shubhayan expressed about the new word verification problem while commenting. And once again lavanya was the first one to complain about this. So,once again I thought of changing template. But this time little bit lucky to sort out the issue quickly.Just now while writing this post I received a mail from lavanya stating that she was able to comment now. Huh.I was relieved after one week struggle.But still waiting for a positive reply from subhayan

So…If somebody is having a problem in commenting.. How can they convey to me? If they don't know my id,what do they do? this question ran through my mind and I decided to add a feedback form through which everyone can contact me..about the issues of my blog.. You can find the Feedback form in top menu after Home,posts rss and comments rss.. Please feel free to utilise it and state the issues of my blog. It can be a positive or negative feedback.I would try my level best to settle the issue.

And once again I thank shubhayan,lavanya,shilpaa, pawan and venki for mentioning the issues and help me sort out the issues.

Image Courtesy: http://sagacityinfotech.co.in/images/feedback.jpg

Technorati Tags: feedback,comments

Wish List!!!

I was tagged by shilpa a few days before.Wish list? “What do I need to do now?”

Shilpa says So what you need to do is….Show us something you want, but would never spend the money to buy.

A lot of things we wish to buy at different stages of life. So it might be a long list if i specify all those. So let me write about the thing which I wish to buy now, but would never spend to buy it. Rather than saying “but never would spend to buy it” it would be better if i say “I don't have that much money to buy this”.

So you want to know what’s costly wish?? read on..

I wish to buy a Ferrari Formula one car.The scarlet Scuderia Marlboro Ferrari is topping my wish list. But buying that car is not even possible in dreams…

Do you know how much the scuderia is worth?

$443,800,000.

The gorgeous looking attractive car. Would love to take a ride atleast once in my life time. Ferrari’s are one of the giant car manufacturers in the world. They are competing in formula one right from the year 1948.

I am waiting for formula one to be launched in India.I will be going to the race once it is launched and atleast want to see it once in my life time.

Image Courtesy: www.telegraph.co.uk/

I am tagging:Bharathi,Swetha,Venky,Subhayan,Pawan,Vipul,Sheba,Sumeeth,Lavanya,Shilpaa,le embrouille blogueur,Roshmi,SV

Brawn’s Magic comes to an End…

Its nearly 8 months since I witnessed an Interesting race after last year’s Brazilian Grand Prix.There are couple of reasons for this.

I finally saw my favourite team in Scarlet's..The so called prancing horse back in Podium.

There were lot of shuffles and fights for the top three positions.

Final and main reason is.. An incompetent Button failed to win the race. So here is a small review about the German GrandPrix  at Nurburgring.   

Red Bull’s Supremacy: 

I was disappointed after the qualifying session to see both the Ferrari's starting 8th and 9th in the grid.The McLaren's new aerodynamic package has done some magic after several poor races. The Red bull’s Charging like a bull towards the championship. Mark Webber proved during the qualifying that their Renault powered Red Bull team is the fastest on track. Right from the start the race was very exciting. Webber and Barrichello  locked wheel to wheel with a small clash. The four KERS powered cars Two McLaren and Two Ferrari's charged towards the other cars running without KERS.Hamilton made a great start,passing all the other drivers to get his car at no.1. But before the second turn his wheel punctured and he went right to the back of the grid. Massa made his way from 8th to 4th and Raikkonen from 9th to 6th. Brawn’s Rubens Barrichello took the lead from Webber. Lots of drama’s happened when Webber was given the drive through penalty for hitting barrichello. But things turned when barrichello  faced some problems in pit with fuel nozzles. Webber’s stunning courage took him to the pole position followed by his team mate Sebastian Vettel. There was a fight for the last podium position till the end of the race and Massa emerged the winner after a stunning performance.

Poor Strategy From Brawn:

Brawn Gp created a new revolution after stunning performance during the start of the reason.But their Magic started deteriorating half way through the season. Brawn during the early half of the race were fighting effectively for Podium position. But everything went wrong halfway when brawn switched to harder compound tyres very early in the race with nearly twenty nine laps remaining. Let me explain the technical reason of it.The harder compound tyres requires a high track temperature and tyre temperature to perform effectively.But the track temperature was just 11 degree c and rains were expected. So they started loosing pace and struck in midfield when they pitted for the third time. This is the first race of the season in which both Brawn Gp car’s failed to make it to podium.

Notable Performances:

Mark Webber who won his first ever grandprix after making his debut on 2002.

Massa fighting spirit from 8th position to 3rd position.

Fernando Alonso who was driving great with his underperforming car, was the performer of the day.

Striking Differences:

So lets compare the so called champion of the year so far Jenson Button with Double World champion Alonso:

Jenson Button: An incompetent driver who appears to be a champion in a majestic and greatly performing car

Fernando Alonso: A great racer who is struggling with an underperforming car.

Kimi the demon for Force India:

Last year Monaco Gp was a great race and a dream run for Force India. Adrian Sutil was running superbly in a rain interrupted race.He was at P4,when Kimi Raikkonen clashed with Sutil after loosing the grip.

Today’s race witnessed another incident.Sutil was running on 7th after pitting.When he exited the pits kimi charged to get past Sutil. But unexpectedly sutil’s front wing hit raikkonen and finished fifteenth. once again Raikkonen spoiled Force India’s dream of getting points.

Image Courtesy: www.espnstar.com

Technorati Tags: german grand prix,nurburgring,formula one,sports,webber,alonso,raikkonen,force India,massa,vettel,race

My day at Raj Bhavan

It was morning 9am, I got up from bed asusual thinking that this is going to be another boring day of life.Days are really boring as I passed out of college a few days back. And most cruel thing is I have hectic exams ahead this month. But these exams are a little different. These exams ensure my place in one of the better concerns. No more hanging out with friends. It has been lots of days since I saw my friends. Thinking of all these I hated each day that comes ahead. I thought today was no different until I received a beep from my Google talk. Who was that?

It was none other than lakshmi parkavi. Wonder who’s that lakshmi parkavi? She was the founder of HARDUM web portal(the on which I mentioned a few pages before). The message said “Hey Shankar.. lucky you were online now.. just give me your mobile number?” I gave her my number. Then the next moment I heard the Die another day song… It came from my mobile… I took the call. A female voice spoke hurriedly as if she was speaking after running fast for several hours. The voice said “Shankar this is lakshmi.” and she never allowed me to talk. Lakshmi invited me to join the official launch of her website HARDUM. “she just said be there at 10:15 rajbhavan guindy”. I don't know what to say. It was already 9:25. I have to do my shaving,bathing etc..etc.. Further I didn't have my breakfast yet. There was a great dilemma whether to go or not. I thought of lakshmi who took great pains to arrange this event. So I decided to go.

I reached Raj Bhavan at around 10:20 am sharply. Raj Bhavan is the governors place and painted in white it resembled like a gorgeous palace of those days. I waited for lakshmi to come so that I could go inside with invitation. The security was so tight. Soon I was given the invitation and I made my way into the gorgeous palace. After security checks I was inside a hall by the name “Annapoorna Hall”. Inside the hall I noticed the names of previous governors who took charge along with their working period. I read through all those names and found Shri. Surjith Singh barnala was the governor of Tamil nadu for second time. There were also large pictures laminated in fine frames of the presidents of India. The hall was clean with marble floorings. There were doors made of fine polished woods on both sides of the room. There were enough chairs for both press and visitors. I took my seat at second row. I was the first one to reach the room other than few press members who were checking there cameras and video cams before the function. Soon one man entered the hall. He was dressed up with clean white shirt with striped black court. The face was a familiar one,but I couldn't recognise it perfectly. I was just thinking, I knew this person.I have seen him before. “Who is this? who is this” my mind was keep on chanting. Soon many entered the hall. But still I was thinking of who that person was. I was starring at him thinking who he was.. when he suddenly turned back and said “Hi”. I recognised the voice and suddenly I asked “Is that you? Sharath Babu?” He smiled and replied “yes.. I am” I was excited and nervous to see such a huge personality sitting so close to me as a simple man. If you don't know Sharath Babu.. here is a little piece of info about him.

Sharath Babu is a graduate from the prestigious IIM at Ahmedabad. He was offered upto $185,000 per year as salaries. But he declined all those offers and stood for Indian Politics. He was one of the contestants in the election which was held few months back. He also won the MTV Youth Icon award.

Such a great person was sitting within my reach. I smiled at him and shared a few words with him.Then came another surprise.. A tall,fair,middle aged man in his early fifties entered the place. I could recognise the person very easily as he is one of the famous personalities in India.. We can say even to the world..He was none other than Our Universal Hero.. Dr.Padmashri Kamal Haasan, who entered the room silently. Oh. my god… I felt like I was jinxed, Somebody casted a spell on me. He nodded to everyone in the hall. Then honourable Governor of Tamil Nadu made his way to the hall. Then the function started. The website was successfully launched. I saw lakshmi for a second, who felt happy and contented after her hard work for lots of days.

Everyone completes their graduation.Do their MS in great universities in America,Get a job there and settle in life. But this girl,who in her mid 20’s completed her MBA in United Kingdom and came back to India and launched this site. Now she is running her own concern in Chennai. Such kind of persons always deserves encouragement and support.

I feel only few Indians are job providers,but many are still job seekers. Sharath babu’s last few words were regarding this concept. He told everyone to become job providers and not job seekers.Those golden words ever stay in my memory. I thank lakshmi for inviting me and giving me such a nice opportunity. It was different and a nice experience too. But still I wonder why she invited me for the launch. I had never seen her before today. Just one post on my blog about her website gave me such a big opportunity.

So atlast it was a day which I could say to everyone proudly that I met some great personalities in my life.

Technorati Tags: hardum,rajbhavan,governor,sharath babu,kamal haasan,launch

Image Courtesy:http://www.rajbhavan.tn.nic.in/

Right is Wrong here!!!

July has been hectic so far. The past six days were really busy days,not allowing me to concentrate on my routine works.Now I am back with some breathing space.

I recently came through series of events which raised a question in my heart, “ Being right and fighting for rights is it wrong in our country?” What I feel is, we unnecessarily compromise for small things which are against law and rights.

Last week I went to one super market to assist my mom in buying some household items. We bought all the items that are necessary and stood in a very long queue for billing. Suddenly a quarrel broke between the man who delivers the bill and the customer. I like such kind of controversies and fights.I went forward eagerly to find what’s the issue about. The customer has bought a 7up can. The M.R.P of the product is around 25 rupees. But the can was charged a sum of Rs.40. The customer asked why you are charging 40rs for a product worth25rs, the answer was clean and simple “Tax sir” the official replied. The customer didn't leave, he once again argued for a product worth 25rs you are charging 15rs as tax..which is almost 60% of the product amount. Customer got tensed and asked “Whom are you cheating? Do you think I am illiterate?” there was no reply to this question from the official. No proper bill was provided in the supermarket and when asked for a proper bill, the customer was denied.There was a huge argument and a whole crowd was waiting behind. I thought everyone would support the customer.But the crowd behind started shouting at the customer stating that he was wasting time. One man from the crowd went ahead to the customer and told if you want you buy here,Else go to another shop and buy. The customer got vexed and dropped his item and went back without buying.

Just think,For one can extra 15 rupees  is charged. Consider a sum of 20 cans is sold one day.so 20*15=300 rupees in one day. 9000 rupees a month and one lakh and eight thousand rupees a year. Where does this money goes? This huge some goes to the owner as black money.This is for one product alone.Think of how many products sold and how much goes into the pockets of the owners.

A similar incident happened while I was leaving to Coimbatore from Chennai CMBT bus stand. A aquafina water bottle was sold at Rs15 instead of 13rs. So two rupees per bottle. If 100 bottles were sold then 200rs per day,6000rs a month and a huge sum of rs72000 a year.no body asks for bill in these shops. Why are we compromising on all such things? Why don’t we fight back for the right. The irony is that even those who fight against these activities are let down by the society without any support.

Another interesting incident happened while I was returning from Coimbatore. I bought a ticket for a state transport Volvo bus. The scheduled departure is at 8:30 pm. But due to unavailability of conductor, the bus was late by around 2 hrs. One of the women who travelled in the same bus stood against this.She asked for the reason for the delay, but was not responded properly. She wrote a complaint letter and threatened to lodge a complaint against the bus driver and conductor. Further the AC in the bus was not functioning properly. But none of the other passengers failed to sign the complaint letter. One man simply said “Complaining now is of no use.. Will the Ac function properly if we complain now? so no use in complaining”.  The passengers couldn't understand the fact that complaining would ensure that such incidents wont happen in future.

Such a poor society. Everything right from small items to big electronic goods or whatever it might be, we seek compromise  in everything. Why are we not fighting back? We seek compromise and neglect as we think those are small mistakes.But we should understand the fact that those small mistakes will cumulatively become a big crime.

Stealing one rupee is not a big crime.But stealing 100 one rupee is ofcourse a big crime.

Image Courtesy:

http://djsbag.blogspot.com

Technorati Tags: Fight,rights,society,issues,country

The Tag Game Continues!!

Shilpaa has tagged me again. I am now reading “Da Vinci Code” for the fifth time and “Harry Potter  and the Half Blood Prince” for the Nth number of time simultaneously. So my schedule is tight and shilpa’s Tag is really helping me to post something daily without spending much time.So here comes the next tag.

People may know you, but how good does anyone ever really know anyone?

Turns out there is a game of Tag going around the blogosphere in which bloggers are sharing five things about themselves that relatively few people know, and then tagging five other bloggers to do it too!

So the 5 things about me that relatively few people know:

1. 
   
   I am very lazy fellow. I am lazy to such an extent that whenever my friends call me out for playing I will lie to them saying that “I am busy with my father’s work,I wont be coming today” . Most of the time I would be sitting simply in home or sleeping in my room.
2. 
   
   I am very sensitive to issues around me.I would react instantly to certain things. Both success and failures affects me a lot. So whenever i face the above two I would tell myself ‘N’ number of times..
   “Success should not go to head and Failures should not go to heart”.
3. 
   
   I hate if someone lies to me or if my close friends hide secrets from me. I especially hate lying. If someone is going to lie infront of me, They are going to face the most difficult times. You might ask me are you Gandhi?Have you never lied to anyone? The answer is no. I actually wanted to reduce the number of lies I make to others. So while saying “Don't lie”  to everyone,I myself realise that I should not commit a lie to anyone.
4. 
   
   I am scared of dogs.
5. 
   
   I am good batsmen in both hands.. I can play both as a left handed and right handed batsman.(Sir Gary Sobers was the only other International Batsman to do this).

Image Courtesy:  http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/img/0307/5things.jpg

Get to know me tag!!

Once again I was tagged by shilpa. Here's a little 'GET TO KNOW ME' fun game...be a sport and please keep it going.
Here's what you need to do...cut and paste this entire blog (yep...no copyright!) and answer the questions and paste it on your page...at the end name the persons you want to tag and leave a message for the person with your link on his/her guestbook page...
1. How tall are you barefoot?
5'6'' feet
2. Have you ever smoked before?
When I asked my smoking friends,What's the pleasure in smoking? They replied it relieves the pressure. To find out whether it is true I just smoked once. But oops I never liked it.
3. Do you own a gun?
Why should I? I am neither a cop nor a Rogue.
4. If you had a mental disorder, what would it be?
Sorry I am not mentally disordered person. You know patients with disorder wont accept the fact that they are mentally ill.
5. How many letters are in your crush's name?
7
6. What's your favourite silly song?
Silly songs are not my favourites.
7. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Hot tea.
8. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up?
let me sleep for another 5 min..
9. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex?
I don't  need a weapon to lure opposite sex. May be the opposite sex needs one to lure me..
10. Do you own a knife?
No. My mom never allows me to cut vegetables.
11. Name the last thing you have bought today.
GATE Electrical Engineering book.
12. Name five drinks you regularly drink.
Tea,Coffee,Water,Pepsi,Sprite..
13. What time did you wake up today?
Exactly 1:15pm
14. What song do you want played at your funeral?
Thenpandi Cheemayile from Nayagan
15. What song did you last hear?
Show me the meaning(Back Street Boys)
16. Favourite place to be?
Cricket Ground
17. Least favourite place to be?
Any place which affects my privacy.
18. Do you own slippers?
Of course….
19. Where do you think you'll be in 10 yrs?
Watching a Chelsea soccer match at Stamford Bridge.
20. Do you burn or tan?
Tan…
21. Yellow and blue?
Blue
22. What songs do you sing in the shower?
When ever i start singing my mom shouts “Please stop it..It resembles a bray.” So i  never used to sing during showers.
23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
Ghost… My brother used to make me cry with his ghost stories while I was a child.
24. What's in your pockets right now?
My mobile..
25. Last thing that made you laugh?
A scene from a Tamil comedy movie.
26. Best bed sheets you had as a child?
Bed sheets?? I never gave importance to them.
27. Worst injury you've ever had?
The injury i had in my forehead while playing cricket at the age of 10.
28. Do you wish on stars?
No.
29. What were you doing 1 AM last night??
Watching a movie.
30. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment.

• What's the use in answering these questions?
• I am going to get negative comments from my friends for tagging them continuously.
• Better not to tag anyone for another week.

(P.S) I am tagging everyone who reads this post. Sorry for that. You can post it if you like and as per your wish. For the last tag I received both good and negative comments. One nice guy said :Thanks for tagging.. This post made me to relax a bit… The other nice guy said: He wont encourage these childish and kiddish games. So I am not sure about the mentality of others around me. So I decided not to force anyone by tagging.

Picture Courtesy: http://vikramharsora.co.cc/ abtme.html

Questions Tag!!!

I was tagged By Shubayan Mukherjee…..
When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
A: Am i getting smarter day by day?
Q: How much cash do you have in your wallet right now?
A: Rs. 50
Q: What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
A: core…
Q: What is your favourite ring tone on your phone?
A: Die another day-Madonna
Q: Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?
A: my mom…
Q: What are you wearing right now?
A: a t-shirt with quote” Nobody is perfect,I am nobody”
Q: Do you label yourself?
A: no..not at all..
Q: Name the brand of the shoes you currently own?
A: Reebok…
Q: Bright or Dark Room?
A: A dark one..
Q: What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
A: a crazy blogger….
Q: What does your watch look like?
A: A watch….
Q: What were you doing at midnight last night?
A: Playing a night floodlighted cricket tournament..
Q: What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
A: “Why you are not messaging me now-a-days? you are not even replying back to my messages”
Q: What’s a word that you say a lot?
A: Shit….
Q: Who told you he/she loved you last? (Please exclude spouse , family, children)
A: only she told me… no one else..
Q: Last furry thing you touched?
A: ....a teddy bear which i gifted my friend..
Q: Favourite age you have been so far?
A: 19-21…
Q: What was the last thing you said to someone?
A: bye…(to my friend..)
Q: The last song you listened to?
A: Nenjukul peidhidum (from Vaaranam Aayiram)..
Q: Where did you live in 1987?
A: I lived inside my mom….(I was born in 1988 Feb... so probably by considering the date I would have been in the place which would have been more beautiful than any other in this world and the place we can never visit back in our life time..)
Q: Are you jealous of anyone?
A: Jealous of Sachin Tendulkar,Michael Schumacher,Abdul Kalam…
Q: Is anyone jealous of you?
A: My X...
Q: Name three things that you have on you at all times?
A: My mobile… My wallet… My glasses..
Q: What’s your favourite town/city?
A: Chennai..
Q: When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
A: Nearly five to six years back… to my best friend madhumita..
Q: Can you change the oil on a car?
A: no…. no idea..
Q: Your first love/big crush: what is the last thing you heard about him/her?
A: The last thing I heard was “she was dumped by her new boy friend.”
Q: Does anything hurt on your body right now?
A: ya..my broken finger in right hand.
Q: What is your current desktop picture?
A: something that might happen to earth on 2012(everyone says like that… not me..)The picture is shown here..(click to get a huge wallpaper..you might like this)
Q: Have you been burnt by love?
A: I don't know what exactly this phrase means…


I am tagging my friends:
Bharathi,Shilpaa,Swetha,Meghana,Lavanya,Psych Babbler,Sheba,Srinath,Subhayan,Kunu,Prithvi,Priyan,Vipul Grover.