Is the 'Grass' really greener on the other side ???

What's with all the doping in sports ???

Is that gold really that important that sportsmen these days don't mind risking lose everything they or their nation were ever proud of ??? Has it become a competition of which nation can afford or make the best and totally undetectable drugs ???

Marion Jones had the courage to confess what she had done and how she had won all those medals but what is the price she's paying .. was it all really worth it .. She lost all that she had ever achieved .. people have lost faith in the dignity of sportsmanship and in the nation's integrity .. is victory so important that you don't mind losing against your conscience ??

" winning is not everything, it is the only thing " .. Is it .. Really ??

Stop !!!

Stop !! What's the hurry ???Just take a minute to think ... where do u wanna go so fast that getting there 10 minutes late is just not an option ??? what would the damage be ??? Would you also kill if that's what it takes to get where you want to be ???

I bet all of you can identify with the questions I've asked. Or at least you know so many people who would fit into that description.. But really what's the hurry. Did you know India has the world's highest accident rate in the world. more than 11 lakh people die of road accidents and India contributes a whooping 80,000+ to that figure.

Just today two people on bikes were killed due to an accident with the blue line buses in Delhi less than 2 hours apart and less than 3 kms apart. And invariably the crowd, the media, the news channels blame the buses and other heavy vehicles for the accident. but did you even for a second consider that it could have been the biker's fault too. I'm eye witness to bike riding that can shock you out of your wits!!

Please don't mistake me for taking the bus driver's side on this but I'd ask each one to at least look at both sides of the coin. The bus drivers are in a hurry of their own but the bikers are no less guilty. If you ever happen to stumble upon the statistics of the number of bike riders riding without a license I wouldn't have to speak a word more.

And let's not even get to the process of issuing licenses !! I could get you a license without even you moving out of the comforts of your house, in fact having sat in a car or on a bike is also not a mandate !!! Rs. 600 for a 2-wheeler license and Rs. 1000 for a 4-wheeler license are not exhorbitant prices anyway ;).

And to top it all there's bad news for those few sincere citizens who still believe that the RTO is the place you go if you want to apply for a fresh LL or DL. A friend of mine happened to think so and went to apply for an LL for a two wheeler with all relevant documents. The first question he was asked at the RTO was "Which driving school ?" and to which his answer was a sincere "None". He was asked to come back a week later and when he returns in hope of getting ahead he was simply returned all his documents with his application saying a particular document was missing ( which was of course deleberately removed from the set he submitted !!! ). Moral of the story: ' Want a DL, go to driving school !!! ' so that the guy sitting at the RTO can earn a little more money, after all how much does his job pay him C'mon [:)]!!!!

And then we come to reasons why so many accidents happen ( trust me the license Scandal is the least of our issues ). We blame the people driving the vehicles but you might be shocked to hear how very guilty the so-called innocent pedastrians are... Jay walking is dangerous and people know it all very well. But when you're in a hurry do you even care what the cop tells you about walking on the pavement or the zebra crossings??? People on the famous park street in kolkata push aside the lonely cop and say step aside sir, i'm in a hurry :).. how very convenient i must say.

And what makes you think that just a monetary penalty is gonna stop people from driving rash??? You think a fine of rs. 1000 is gonna even make a rich kid with a rich dad think twice before driving rash again or do you think a fine of Rs. 100-300 is going to make youngsters apply for a fresh license. And at other times even a Rs. 100 note is enough to get away for an offence which should be penalised with at least Rs. 1000 or more as long as it goes unnoticed into the traffic polices' personal funds !!!

Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai or Calcutta - Its the same story everywhere.. Whats the hurry i ask ??? Whats the hurry to get driving without a (a legitimate one i must add ;) ) license ??? Whats the hurry to get to your workplace 10 minutes early and what stops you from leaving 10 minutes early rather than try and make up those 10 lost minutes on the road putting 10 other lives in danger including yours ??? If only you can just STOP n THINK !!!

Chak De !!!

Chak de !! ... Yes, that seems to be the new cry of the nation. Be it for an individual who needs some inspiration or a whole team that needs to be motivated to defeat the opponents. And the credit goes solely to the movie by Yash Chopra.

It’s the tale of a hockey player surrounded by match fixing allegations who makes a comeback and regains all respect by coaching the women’s team to a World Cup victory after 7 long years of a life of misery. But that my friends, is not what the movie is all about.

The movie is all about everything that we need to prosper as a great nation, succeed as a great team and only lastly succeed as an individual. We tend to forget at times that we’re Indians and we only identify ourselves by the state we come from. It feels like we live as citizens of various states rather than of ONE country. We fail to realize that a team is one entity and not a composition of various individuals. This is the first lesson that Kabir Khan, the coach of the Indian women’s hockey team teaches 16 girls from different states, that they’re here to play for one country. To be a team member means to be able to give up self interests for the team goals, to overcome to desire to succeed as an individual for the sake of the team.

Respect one another and treat everyone equally regardless of one’s background and knowledge or skill is lesson number two. Skill and knowledge can help you but won’t take you far if you don’t succeed as a person. Personal biases shouldn’t exist in a team if there are any intentions of the team to succeed. He says that the team can learn how to play hockey but what they need to learn more importantly Respect.

The very fact that we need to put our nation and our team before ourselves in whatever we do stirs up a lot of patriotism as well among people who think patriotism is a word used only for the freedom fighters. All in all, a great movie to watch. Great acting, great direction, great movie!!!

Failure !!

Ever wondered why someone on a winning streak keeps winning and someone out of form just keeps losing?? Why one failure in the day can make the simplest of tasks seem herculean??? And the confidence from one victory can make you jump over the highest mountains as if they were the tiniest hills ???

I'm in that situation today where one defeat has almost destroyed my enthusiasm and momentum that carried me so far. Just yesterday I could have conquered any task and a day later i feel like a complete loser. Why??

I've heard them say "Tough times never last, But tough people do.."!! what does it take to be tough?? What makes them survive through thick and thin?? What drives them??

I sound like I've lost the only battle i was out to fight!! But i know better.. a small defeat cannot destroy me. Because i will reassess, re inspire and restart !!! :)

To a better tommorrow !! Cheers !!

Religion .. Ever a wonder !!

"Religion is the opium of the masses",

An amusement for those who can afford it,

An occupation for some and a profession for others,

Reason to kill for some and reason to die for for a few others...

And a million other perceptions for the million others...


( incomplete )

During my training days at Mysore City ...

Walk On ..

I am what I am,
I am what I chose to be,
The guy in the mirror doesn't like me,
Am I what I want to be... really?

Long gone are those days,
When I did what you'd tell me to do,
Time has come when I have to do the things
That will take me to where I aim to be.

I'm sure it'll pain to get there,
Pleasures may not be,
But i'm also certain at the end of it all,
It'll really hurt if I don't make it
And my dream will cease to be.

'All it takes is pressure and time'
Time I got, Pressure i need to build
Cause only when my insides explode
And my Passion screams out loud,
Will I take that small step forward,
And make my own Destiny!!!