The Philanthropic Dracula

2009-10-31T10:52:00.001-07:00

Friends,

I have moved to http://ofliesrumoursandeverythinginbetween.blogspot.com/

2008-10-19T03:59:00.000-07:00

Job Dila Dey!

Last year around this time I was moaning about the hopeless internship scenario in the Mechanical department which meant that people got placed in sugarcane crushing factories and rice milling centers. We were so pissed off that we almost wrote a letter to the 'Lashkar-e-Toiba' requesting(read begging) them to recruit interns from our department. (:D :D) The rough draft of the letter once adorned my blog but I had to get rid of it on the advice of a few seniors(POTA & W) who petrified me saying that foreign embassies take such issues seriously and I might be denied a UK/US ka Visa for allegedly conspiring with terrorists and passing cryptic messages.[ :)) =))]

A year later, I find myself in a similar situation. And for once its not our H.O.D to blame. This time around we have the 'Global Recession' and the 'App Gumbal'. I am personally not against app junta seating for placements. If I was in their place I would have done the same. No matter how sure you are of getting into MIT or Stan external factors(Visa issues, logistic issues, funding etc. etc.) might still prevent you from going. As such having a back up is by no means an anti-ethical thing to do. Charity begins at home. Save your ass first, only then bother about your department mates. But what I detest is the fact that some junta sit for placements just for the heck of it- Just to show to the world that they are good enough to conquer everything that comes there way - academics, projects, interviews etc.

To cite an example, a certain high CG(CG 9.5+) guy I know of is sure of 'apping' in a non-tech field(making it even easier for him). Last heard, he was applying for 12 Universities, when he could actually pick and choose. Even though his credentials guarantee him a seat in a top university I would not mind if he actually sits for placements even though he himself says that placements are a mere backup.

But here comes the catch - the guy has a PPO of 10+ from a leading FMCG. He is ditching it 'coz he didn't like the work he did during his intern. And he wants to sit for placements, effectively blocking two seats: ripping two candidates of deserved offers. Dude... one is ok.. why two... That he didnt enjoy the work, is in my opinion utter rubbish. Its not as if he is going to work all his life over there. Worst case, if external factors prevent him from 'apping' this year, he will have to work with India's leading FMCG firm for a year. He is surely going to 'app' next year. And I dont think that God can be that cruel that he will deprive him of his deserved seat in Stan/MIT even the second time. I am quite sure this is not an isolated issue. There will be many more. The last date for filing up the PPO form for that FMCG is October end. I hope some sense gets to him.

Teri oonchi shaan hai maula

Meri resume pe zara jhaank le maula

Tu hai sab kuch jaanne waala Main hoon tera maanne waala

Coordship ke liye cores ko chaata hai maula,

Bekar ki credentials bahara hai resume mein mere maula
Mujhko bhi to job dila de
Aath ki nahi to paanch ki dila de.......

Weekends ko pub jaane layak job dila de
Yeh nahin to kuch aur dila de
Mujhko jamnagar mein job dila de , MG street pe job dila de Iraq ke desert mein job dila de, amazon ke jungelon mein job dila de Duniya bhar mein kahin bhi dila de
Kaise kaison ko diya hai
Aise vaison ko diya hai
Mujhko bhi to job dila de

ITC de ya HUL de de -2
Citi de de, Deutsche de
Schlumberger-ya- Halii de de x2
Koi khazana dhoond de maula
Yamraj ke sinhasan ko bej de maula
Ab to recession mein dubi company ko maal de de
Aur na ab tadpa ..
Mujhko bhi to job dila de

Consultancy de ya Banking de de -2
Core de de, IPR de de
CTC ki barsaat kar de

Tune khud hi to kaha hai
Deta hoon jo maangta hai
Saadhe teen saal se banda maang raha hai
Kab se line mein khada hai
Mujhko bhi to job dila de

Teri oonchi shaan hai maula

Meri resume pe zara jhaank le maula

Tu hai sab kuch jaanne waala Main hoon tera maanne waala Mujhko bhi to job dila de

Aath ki nahin to paanch ki dila de...............................

2008-09-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

Lehman Kangaal ........ Merrill Lynch Lynched

Just read the latest news regarding Lehman and Merrill Lynch .. And with AIG hanging in the balance you are never sure of the worst.

I found the cartoon on Business Pundit ... Really funny ...

2008-08-15T08:19:00.000-07:00

WHAT A GAME !!!

WOLF is addictive... very very addictive.
Last night ... on the eve of the 61st Independence day of India we put a night-out. We played some 3 games spread over a span of 7 hours - (11:30 p.m to 6:30 p.m) before we moved onto Taramani for our morning coffee accompanied by King's.
There is one particular game I wish to talk about. It was the last game of the night. We had some 14 members playing the game - Me, Chittad, Paplu, Pappey, Saffy, DPS, Shortage, Rahul, Manish, Asif(who had celebrated his Independence day a day before), CHB, Sashi, Randi and Nikhil.

We played with 4 wolves[Me, Rahul, Manish and Nikhil], 1 rogue, 1 cop, 1 doc and 1 priest [For the uninitiated - the priest can revive a dead man.... but he can use this power only once].

Night 1 - Wolves kill Chittad. Reason - He thinks too much. And them he did not seem quite interested in the game. Pappey [being the most dangerous] was not killed hoping that this point would go against him. Wolves generally kill Pappey in the first round itself knowing that if he is a villager he can be a real trouble maker.
[I am talking about the game from my point of view and such not revealing the details concerning the doc, rogue,cop and priest .. lest they act as spoilers]
Day 1 - Paplu comes out vehemently against me. Knowing Paplu quite well, I got the feeling that he was the police and he knew my identity. I was almost on the verge of giving up but suddenly Saffy springs up from no where against Manish. Saffy 's reaction was so very convincing that Manish thought Saffy to be the police. Both me and Manish were in a quandary as to who the real police was as to who should go out. Then out of the blue Saffy reveals to the village that I was a villager and he was sure of it [though he did not mention how or why]. On hearing this I thought that Saffy was a rogue or something and I started gathering forces against Manish. That meant Manish(a wolf) was killed. All the wolves voted against Manish going with the herd.

Night 2 - Now that I was sure Paplu was a Cop.. we killed him off.
Day 2 - Some newbies bring the accusation against me saying that I was the wolf since I was the only one who could have killed Paplu as he was against me in the previous round. Pappey jumps to my support saying that I was no novice and would never do that as I very well know that this would be the most fruitful argument against me. He comes up with the idea that someone was doing this to frame me. Now when all doubt over me had been cleared.......... I made a horrendous error [a bulb that bad that I am ashamed to put it] and Pappey caught me off guard..... I was killed. Two wolves dead.

Night 3- Remaining two wolves take the decision that should have been taken much earlier - to kill the dangerous Pappey. As I was outside the game now... I saw that there was no police. Paplu was the real police and we were right in killing him. Doc(CHB) saved himself. Rogue(DPS) did not make his kill.
Day 4 - Nikhil at once comes out with the accusation that Sashi was the rogue saying that he had heard him twist an turn during the night when the Rogue's name was called out. Surprisingly, no one took this much seriously. This round was marked by multiple parallel conversations and no conclusion seemed in sight. Nikhil ... to my shock and to the other wolf's[Rahul] shock revealed to the village that he was the police. Most of the villagers accepted this to be true as no one else came out[Paplu, the real police was already dead] and Nikhil said that he had found out Shortage's, CHB's and Asif's identity. [the villagers never took into consideration the fact that the Wolf knows who all are villagers!]. Asif came out in the open saying that he was the Priest which further convinced people that Nikhil was the cop. The villager first agree that the Priest would revive Pappey. With no surety about anyone's identity, the village decides to kill DPS, the most silent villager. Even the wolves vote against him.[He had never suggested anything close to being a Rogue which would have swayed the wolves. Villagers ask Nikhil, the assumed Cop to find out Rahul's identity[as he had supported me in the previous rounds] and the Doc to save the cop.

Night 5 - Asif, the priest revives Pappey. Wolves kill Asif.[I don't know why!]. Doc saves himself[selfish!]. Rahul waves his hand like a magicians wand during the wolf kill while pointing out Asif. His loose bracelet was a dead give away.
Day 5- Pappey enters the game and proclaims that Nikhil can't be cop for sure for he saw him bulbing. He starts with his typical Pappey-ish style not giving anyone else a chance to talk. This actually gives Nikhil a chance to reconsider his original decision to announce Rahul to be a villager. Nikhil decides to announce Rahul to be a wolf. The delay in his announcement is justified by the fact that Pappey did not give him a chance to talk. With most of the villagers still convinced by Nikhil, they decide to kill Rahul and when he turns out to be wolf everyone including Pappey consider Nikhil to be the cop. They ask Nikhil to find out Randi's identity and the Doc(who has revealed himself by now) to save the cop.

Night 6 - Nikhil kills CHB(thinking that the Doc will save the cop and not himself). Doc saves himslef.[shrewdness or selfishness?]
Day 6- Nikhil reveals that Randi was a villager. Of the remaining, identities of Saffy and Sashi was not known. So the villagers decide to kill the more dangerous Saffy as Sashi was new to the game and he couldn't have kept his cool for so long. Villagers ask Nikhil to find out Sashi's identity.
P.S : Everyone had assumed that Pappey was a villager since he was killed in the night.

Night 7 -Nikhil kills CHB again, sure that there was a low probability that the Doc would save himself again. Doc saves himslef again (!!)
Day 7- Nikhil comes out in the open saying that Sashi was a villager. He virtually gave it up. He later admitted that he was under so much pressure that his mind could not continue further.
Villagers still not sure that Nikhil was not a wolf, decide to kill as everyone else had been proved to be a villager by Nikhil.
Villagers remaining - Pappey, Shortage, Randi, CHB and Sashi.
VILLAGERS WIN!!

Did he have a way out???
I can think two ways by which he could have extended the game further.[though not won it]
1. He should have told that Sashi was a wolf. Kill him in the day. And kill someone in the night. But even then it would have been 3-1 in the day and there was no way he could escape.
2. Pappey's identity was never revealed. He could have generated a hypothesis that Pappey was a wolf who was killed in the night by the rogue. And the priest probably made a mistake by getting him into the game. So instead of finding out Sashi's identity he could have come out with the fact that Pappey was villager. But then villagers would have killed Sashi.... then again 3-1 in the day.
**It would have helped if his last two kills in the night were successful. The game quite well have been over by now with a Wolves Victory.

Any other possible outcomes?

2008-06-14T04:15:00.000-07:00

@ RELIANCE

Back in IITM, I did not have a choice. And then after ITC and Schlumberger, Reliance was supposed to be a Mech guy’s best bet. Even if it wasn’t, we (atleast me) did not have the temerity to wait for GE (with all the infinite rumors that the PR’s and the Class rep were spreading) knowing fully well that if it didn’t make it I might well land up at a sugarcane crushing factory or a rice milling center or who knows may be even a fishing outlet. Fortunately or unfortunately I made it. Unlike many for whom it would have been a matter of celebration, for the IITM Mech junta it was a sigh of relief – lucky enough to escape the wrath of someone whose name had everything from SHUNning to MUGging to HAMming

The experience here has been awful to say the least. Reliance is supposed to be a FORTUNE 500 company; India’s largest Petrochemical manufacturer; owned by the world’s 3^rd richest and what not. But once inside the complex you see the real stuff. Nothing truly belongs to Reliance. They just own it. Every single equipment has been outsourced. You can very well call it a SHELL or DUPONT plant and yet not be very far from the truth. There is no RnD. Fuck! These people even buy off RnD from Shell. All that these people have to show for RnD is a bicameral air-conditioned building with infinite computers with no one to use them. All that these people do is maintenance- make sure that Shell, Dupont,Tata and what not machines are in working order. Follow up the troubleshooting manual and incase it does not work out call up the respective companies to send their installation engineers. People in top posts are “Diploma” holders. Part of my intern is actually solving the assignments and home tests for one of the Diploma holders who is appearing for a correspondence B.Tech degree( ! ! ! ) to make sure that his growth is not stalled. And then there are the engineers. They spend all their time playing pocket tanks. They land up here at 9 – wait till 9:30 for the breakfast – play pocket tanks- tea at 11:15 – play pocket tanks - wait for lunch – lunch – play pocket tanks – play more pocket tanks – have tea at 3:15 – play pocket tanks till 4 – start getting ready for the bus that leaves at 5:45 pm.

And then we (MECH junta) have been assigned projects that are nothing more than CUT-COPY-PASTE. The mentors (probably the only knowledgeable guys around) are very busy. One of them spends most of his time at the Shell plant in Amsterdam; another has been on a holiday tour to the US for more than two weeks while another even fails to recognize the student working under him. These guys are really good but my only issue is the mindless objective of assigning them a student when they already have infinite prior engagements. Its not only been the case with the Mechanical Section but even the Meta trainees are undergoing the same.

But the only saving grace have been the Chem. guys. From whatever I have heard and the little I understand they have been allotted projects that are not mere hoodwinkers. Ganesh is actually working on something that might lead to profits in excess of 1crore. And then their mentors actually devote sufficient time to the student projects. May be I am biased that I am overlooking all these factors. Reliance is at the end of the day a chemical industry and as such the major thrust should ideally been on them. And then it is not into design – so the mechanical sector ultimately boils down to maintenance and servicing. From this perspective I believe that this internship is certainly not for people who want to patent the next big mechanical invention but who just wish to make sure that official stand of 2 credits is completed.

2008-03-21T06:16:00.000-07:00

PJ CARNIVAL

I am back after a long hiatus. The break was not intentional nor was it forced upon me because of a packed schedule. Its just that I am, as Oscar Wilde would say motivationally challenged(read lazy).
But all my motivation is back thanks to the PJ Carnival we had last night. It started of as a Booze party but with the likes of Pinkee, Pappey and Rahul's new incarnation it turned into a PJ carnival with each one trying to out do the other.

Pinkee - Randi baarish mein kounsa shot khelte hai?
Answer - Cover Drive
FUNDA - When it rains, you want covers on the ground!!

Pappey - Randi baarish khatam hone ke baad kounsa shot khelta hai?
Answer - Pull Shot
FUNDA - When it has stopped raining you have to 'pull' the covers off!
***********************************************************************

Pinkee - Agar Pappey Beer mangta hai to Beer, Pappey se kya mangega?
Answer - Honey
FUNDA - Pappey likes beer and beer (bear) likes honey!

***********************************************************************
Rahul - Agar tum Pappey ko PJ marne ko bolege to woh kya karega?
Answer - Pappey will jump upwards.
FUNDA - Pappey will jump as he will then have velocity(v) in upward direction(j). So he has momentum (P) as his has both mass and velocity and it is in upward direction( y direction ~ j direction). So Pappey has now put a P ĵ.

************************************************************************

Pattrow - Manish jab chicken khata hai junglee ban jata hai.
Saffy - Manish sachi mein pura wildly behave karta hai agar uske aage chicken padi hai.
Manish - Mein koi junglee ki tarah behave nahi karta.....

Pappey - Eggjactly, Chhotu (Pappey calls Manish, Chhotu affectionately) is not wild, Chhotu is not junglee, Chhotu is Mansih. :D

*************************************************************************

Pappey - Agar Chhotu, Chhotu hai to usko chicken ka kounsa item pasand hai.
Answer - Since Chhotu is chhotu, woh sirf CERELAC flavoured chicken khata hai.

*************************************************************************
PJ IN ACTION
This anecdote was narrated by Shaggy

Venue - Electrical Workshop
First Year

The question was to set up a circuit to light a tubelight. Aunty puts hazaar fight, mugs, cogs from notes and cogs from neighbouring students but somehow manages to set up the complete circuit. The circuit seems perfect but the tubelight does not seem to glow. Worried and confused he takes the system to the workshop instructor. The instructor himself starts to BULB. the circuit is perfect but the tubelight does not seem to glow. The instructor fiddles a bit with the starter, re aligns the circuit elements but to no avail. He reads the manuals again and sets the circuit himself but all in vain.
Its only after more than forty minutes that both realize that there is no tubelight to glow. Aunty had forgotten to connect the tubelight. !!!!! :D

*************************************************************************

There were a lot more but cant remember them all. Next time around I drink around with Pinkee and Pappey (and Rahul these days too) i'll carry a tape recorder to make sure that not a single PJ is missed.

2008-02-22T00:22:00.000-08:00

IPL: TEAM QUOTIENT

KOLKATTA

A bird in hand is not worth even four in the bush..

Sourav Ganguly (icon), Shoaib Akhtar (US$425,000), Ricky Ponting (US$400,000), Brendon McCullum (US$700,000), Chris Gayle (US$800,000), Ajit Agarkar (US$330,000), David Hussey (US$675,000), Ishant Sharma (US$950,000), Murali Kartik (US$425,000), Umar Gul (US$150,000), Tatenda Taibu (US$125,000)

PRIZE CATCH – Umar Gul. At just 60 lacs it’s a super bargain. He was by far the fast bowler on show at the T20 World Cup. He is one of those rare bowlers who can bowl toe crushing yorkers on a constant basis.

SHOCKER – Ishant Sharma for 4 crores. All that glitters is not gold. Bowling on bowler friendly wickets in Australia with 7 fielders around the bat is vastly different from doing so on dust bowls.

David Hussey. I thought his brother had a Bradmanesque batting average.

+ ive Experienced batting lineup in Ganguly, Gayle and Ponting.

- ive Who’ll bowl? Shoaib and Gul spend more time in the hospital than they do on field. Agarkar is like a balloon. Might burst anytime. Ishant Sharma is still a baby.

IN SHORT On paper they have the most balanced team with the perfect blend of youth and experience provided they are fit and free to take part in the event. You are never sure about the fitness of Akhtar and Gul while Hussey an Ponting may not free to take part.

HYDEREBAD

Slog Slog Bang Bang

Adam Gilchrist (US$700,000), Andrew Symonds (US$1.35 million), Herschelle Gibbs (US$575,000), Shahid Afridi (US$675,000), Scott Styris (US$175,000), VVS Laxman (US$375,000), Rohit Sharma (US$750,000), Chamara Silva (US$100,000), RP Singh (US$875,000), Chaminda Vaas (US$200,000), Nuwan Zoysa (US$110,000)

PRIZE CATCH – Scott Styris. Probably the most underrated player in World Cricket especially when it comes to the shorter versions of the game. He can slog, he can hold one end up and more importantly he can stifle one end up with his variety of medium pace bowling.

SHOCKER – Rohit Sharma for 3 crores. You must be joking!!

+ ive With Andrew Symonds and Herschelle Gibbs you have the world’s two of the best fielders. And then Rohit Sharma and Shahid Afridi are probably the best from their nations.

- ive One dimensional bowling attack with 3 very similar left arm swing bowlers.

IN SHORT In Shahid Khan Afridi, Andrew Symonds, Herschelle Gibbs and Adam Gilchrist you have the four of the biggest hitters in the game of cricket. Get ready for some serious fireworks with the short boundaries in India.

BANGALORE ROYAL CHALLENGERS

“Get Well Soon : Prepared to face a nuclear attack with a bullet proof vest

Rahul Dravid (icon), Anil Kumble (US$500,000), Jacques Kallis (US$900,000), Zaheer Khan (US$450,000), Mark Boucher (US$450,000), Cameron White (US$500,000), Wasim Jaffer (US$150,000), Dale Steyn (US$325,000), Nathan Bracken (US$325,000), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (US$200,000)

PRIZE CATCH – Dale Steyn. He is as most former South African’s believe the true heir to Allan Donald’s legacy. Not very cheap but certainly do-able.

SHOCKER – Cameron WHO White? I thought he played Golf!!

+ ive Excellent bowling lineup with the most variety. You have someone with the raw pace of Steyn aided by the swing of Zaheer and accuracy of Bracken. By the way you have a 38 something Kumble aswell.

- ive Wasim Jaffer, Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Chanderpaul.. Dude, you are not playing a 5 day test… You might take a short nap while they are batting and still not miss much action. Seems they are taking “Gandhigiri” just a bit too seriously; a totally non violent approach to batting.

IN SHORT The most experienced team on paper though it is to be seen if their experience in the longer versions of the game can translate into the T20 format.

MUMBAI

The pendulum swinging between its extremes.

Sachin Tendulkar (icon), Sanath Jayasuriya (US$975,000), Harbhajan Singh (US$850,000), Shaun Pollock (US$550,000), Robin Uthappa (US$800,000), Lasith Malinga (US$350,000), Dilhara Fernando (US$150,000), Loots Bosman (US$175,000)

PRIZE CATCH – Loots Bosman. He is very highly rated in his home country in South Africa. A T20 specialist, he certainly can clobber the ball a mile. He might just turn out to be the surprise hit.

SHOCKER – Robin Uthappa for 3.6 crores. You can’t be serious. All that he has to show for himself in the two seasons that he has played is one innings against England.

+ ive Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya opening the innings is any opposition captains nightmare. They may be past their prime but still are good enough to give tremors to new ball bowlers as they have nothing to loose. And then they have the world’s most economical bowler in Shaun Pollock.

- ive No wicket keeper as of now. Unless they get a Haddin or a Matt Prior they might just have to do with a domestic keeper. It doesn’t look that rosy with the top 3 Indian keepers already sold out.

IN SHORT It’s a very strange team combination. You have grandfathers like Tendulkar, Pollock and Jayasuriya on one hand and then lollypop babies like Bosman, Utthappa and Malinga on the other. You have members from the X Gen and V Gen. Just get a feeling they might rue missing out on the W Gen.

DELHI DAREDEVILS

Little drops make an ocean.

Virender Sehwag (icon), Daniel Vettori (US$625,000), Shoaib Malik (US$500,000), Mohammad Asif (US$650,000), AB de Villiers (US$300,000), Dinesh Karthik (US$525,000), Farveez Maharoof (US$225,000), Tillakaratne Dilshan (US$250,000), Manoj Tiwary (US$675,000), Gautam Gambhir (US$725,000), Glenn McGrath (US$350,000)

PRIZE CATCH – AB De Villiers. It’s a steal. At 1.2 crores you are getting South Africa’s future captain. And then his ability to keep will also let the team field an extra bowler or batsman.

SHOCKER – Manoj Tiwary for 2.7 crores. He’s played just one international that too for a duck.

+ ive In Mohammed Asif, Mc Grath and Vettori you have the most economical bowlers in the fray. Add to that the fielding prowess of Dilshan, Tiwary, Karthick and De Villiers. A very difficult team to score against.

- ive The batting does not inspire much confidence. No fire power; no star power. The team might even struggle to attract sponsors in the tune that most others teams would.

IN SHORT It’s the bowlers who will have to job. The batting though might just surprise a few people. The team reminds one of NewZealand at the international level – not too many stars but still a very competitive outfit. But you need a very inspirational captain who leads from the front.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS

Dhoom Machale Dhoom Machale

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (US$1.5 million), Muttiah Muralitharan (US$600,000), Matthew Hayden (US$375,000), Jacob Oram (US$675,000), Stephen Fleming (US$350,000), Parthiv Patel (US$325,000), Joginder Sharma (US$225,000), Albie Morkel (US$675,000), Suresh Raina (US$650,000), Makhaya Ntini (US$200,000), Michael Hussey (US$350,000)

PRIZE CATCH – Stephen Fleming. The world’s best captain will be a perfect ally to the shrewd Dhoni. And he is the best person to give stability to the fragile looking middle order.

SHOCKER – ?

+ ive MS Dhoni. Captain courageous, capable of ripping the leather of the bowl aswell as holding one end up.

- ive MS Dhoni. Too costly.

IN SHORT All’s well as long as Dhoom does not turn into Doom.

JAIPUR

Too many cooks spoil the broth

Shane Warne (US$450,000), Graeme Smith (US$475,000), Younis Khan (US$225,000), Kamran Akmal (US$150,000), Yusuf Pathan (US$475,000), Mohammad Kaif (US$675,000), Munaf Patel (US$275,000), Justin Langer (US$200,000)

PRIZE CATCH – Kamran Akmal. He may not be in the best of forms but he still rates among the top 5 wicket keeper batsmen of his generation.

SHOCKER – Kaif. The price tag is too much for a player who can’t get the ball of the square. T20 isnt just about sprinting between wickets.

+ ive Graeme Smith is certainly one of the best captains doing the rounds. And most believe Warne was the true heir to Waugh till sleazy SMS’ did him in while Younis Khan preferred not to. And with Greg Chappell too around be rest assured that the best strategies would have their source here lest too many cooks spoil the broth.

- ive With Warne, Langer and Munaf Patel on the field don’t surprised if you see two’s turning into four’s and may be even five’s.

IN SHORT No comments.

MOHALI

History to repeat itself

Yuvraj Singh (icon), Mahela Jayawardene (US$475,000), Kumar Sangakkara (US$700,000), Brett Lee (US$900,000), Sreesanth (US$625,000), Irfan Pathan (US$925,000), Ramesh Powar (US$170,000), Piyush Chawla (US$400,000), Simon Katich (US$200,000), Ramnaresh Sarwan (US$225,000)

PRIZE CATCH – ?

SHOCKER – ?

Pretty balanced selections without any outright cockeyed selection.

+ ive With Moody at the helm, the 2007 WC success story might just repeat with Sangakkara and Jayawardena too in the team.

- ive With just Yuvraj, they are desperately falling short of some who get the ball out of the park. And if Brett Lee is missing the inexperience in the bowling department may hurt real bad.

IN SHORT Pretty balanced on the whole but the bowling holds the key. If Lee and Sreesanth are able to rip through the top order then the inexperienced spinners might be able to hold their own. And with Lee and Sreesanth sharing the new ball, batsmen be prepared to deal with sledging or as Aussies term it “mental disintegration”.

2008-02-07T06:03:00.000-08:00

Rain Drops Down the Melody Lane

Brushed away did I that look at first glance
For I doth not believe in love at first sight;
Her whites, all wet, seduced me into a trance.
As the skies wept, dreamt I none but her all night.

Wet, sanguine and all black
Swayed I from my track
At her feet, did I bend and whispered , 'Shall we dance?'
Rain drops down the melody lane
Across the dark firmament, lightning did strike again
Accepted my plea, did she, with a placid display of romance.

An assassin's smile
Flowing robes, all black and all long.
Lustrous, silver plated earrings, carved by the phyle.
Ogled I to the fullest............................................

P.S - Dedicated to that someone special in my life

2008-01-27T23:33:00.000-08:00

SAARANG UNQUOTED

" जब "ट" से कोई गाना ख़त्म नही होता, तो "ट" से कोई गाना शुरू कैसे हो सकता है !! "
-- Antakshari Coord on being asked to sing a song starting with "ट"

" Sumedh Samant और Kuldeep Nigam देहाती हैं ! ....................................... "
-- Punchar

" Well ...
We need more time.... " -- Hot chicks to Punchar on being asked for the dance workshop

" If you have any queries, come over here"
-- Punchar, sitting inside the Hospi desk, to a group of hot chicks inquiring about the day's proceedings from a hospi vol. The group eventually move around the hospi platform and get their doubts cleared from Punchar inside the Hospi desk.

" Ek Reddy ne pure wing ka ch***ya kaat diya "
-- Chittad Singh after CHB lures him into shelling out grub coupons worth Rs. 300(originally meant for our wing) to gratify his dance partner for Salsa, who herself was getting was grub coupons worth Rs. 300 as a volunteer.

" Now I know why I didn't clear IIT-JEE"
-- Non-IITian chick's comment at the Queen Of Sheeba event. On being asked as to how they cracked the Schroder Series problem(as it was not Google-able. Google led you to some vague article on divergent analytical functions published in 1942 by Carl Siegel), the Narmad team of SDK, Gully and Raj responded with
-- "We got the generating function of the Schroeder Series from Siegel's article and wrote a C program to evaluate it. We debugged and compiled it and ran it on Turbo C to generate the infinite series. The 9th term turns out to be 14586 ... "

"Come here and press 4"
-- A female Hospi Coord to her vol with her left hand on Alt and right hand on F when a co-coord asked her to press Alt+F4 to close the window she was working on.

" It was an "Anagram Fest" " -- Fockkus @ WTGW prelims.

"Pinkee (Hospi Core) सुट्टे के लिए भूका भी मर सकता है " -- Homework, after Pinkee gives all his grub coupons in exchange for Fags.

" Seems the coords are themselves planning a homicide. They are just arranging for a plebiscite to determine their modus operandi " -- A participant from NIT, Trichy on seeing the CLUEDO prelims question paper which had 5 murder mysteries.

2008-01-22T22:33:00.000-08:00

LES PROPHETIES

I am no Nostradamus, but here I have made a sincere attempt with a closed mind enveloped by an exaggerated sense of sarcasm to predict the fortunes (read misfortunes) of Team India and the BCCI in the year to follow.

Quarantine II -- FEBRUARY/MARCH

Sourav Ganguly injected back into the ODI team after the CPI (M) threaten to withdraw support from the central government.
Sreesanth is a hit with the Australian media. After displaying his dancing skills to Andre Nel and tabla skills to Mathew Hayden in the past he displays his vocal talent Andrew Symonds.
Yuvraj Singh backs out of the tour citing personal reasons.
After Harbhajan Singh, Sreesanth gets into trouble for racially abusing Symonds during the ODI series.
BCCI threaten to boycott the tour.
Tour continues after apologies from Cricket Australia. Further, BCCI file a writ against Symonds for public defamation (of Sreesanth) in the Supreme Court of India and team India is given a bye to the tri-nation finals.
The ICC all this while remains a mute spectator not being able to go against the richest cricket board in the world.
India lose the finals as Sachin Tendulkar fails again in the finals but wins the man of the series award by virtue of the three 90+ scores he made in the leagues.
India receive heroes welcome after a successful tour of Australia where they won just one test and a couple of one-dayers.

Quarantine III -- APRIL/MAY

Leaked Email from M S Dhoni to the BCCI President reveals that Yuvraj Singh backed out of the tour to go on a holiday with Deepika Padukone to NewZealand.
Yuvraj Singh goes public with his version of the story saying that he did go to NewZealand but argues that it was mere coincidence that Deepika Padukone had her shooting there. The real reason according to him was that he was being used by the NewZealand Cricket Board as a mediator to convince Shane Bond to leave ICL. He further adds that Dhoni was a loser and created this issue because he was jealous of his relationship with Deepika Padukone.
NewZealand Cricket Board deny any such arrangements though Shane Bond makes a contradictory statement that Yuvraj Singh had in fact met him in March.
In between all this, Gary Kirsten rejects the contract by the BCCI saying Indian summers are too hot and not conducive to his methodology of coaching.
BCCI go in search of a new coach.

Quarantine IV – JUNE/JULY

In a bid to take advantage of the publicity generated and increase TRP for his show, Shahrukh invites the trio, (Deepika, Dhoni and Yuvraj) to KBC. The trio win 50 lacs inspite of the acrimony between Yuvraj and Dhoni.
Rumour mills go abuzz with the news that Yuvraj and Deepika get engaged in a private ceremony. Both vehemently deny the allegations stating that they are just “good friends”
Irfan Pathan spotted cheering for Sania Mirza at the Wimbledon.
BCCI announces the names of applicants for the post of coach. The list includes former cricketers Wasim Akram and Steve Waugh as well as leading personalities like management guru Laloo Prasad Yadav, technocrat Prof MS Shanmugham (HOD, Mech – IITM), Vijay Mallya and cricket expert Sumedh Yateen Samant.
The Pakistani Government brand Wasim Akram a traitor for applying for the post of coach of the Indian Cricket team. The Al-Qaeda release fatwa against Wasim Akram for savoring relationship with an US friendly nation.
MS Dhoni attempts suicide. Admitted to ICU. Suicide note reveals it was due to the stress of excessive cricket. BCCI revises cricket calendar to reduce work load. Conspiracy theorists argue that it was because of “love lost”.
IPL postponed to 2009 due to crammed cricket calendar.
With Dhoni hospitalized and Yuvraj finding disfavour with the selection committee for his wayward ways, Irfan Pathan is appointed captain of the Indian ODI team for the upcoming series against Australia.

Quarantine V – AUGUST/SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

Team for Australia series declared. No surprises but for Dhoni and Yuvraj’s absence. Team to play without a coach.
India thrash Australia 3-0 on minefields of pitches doctored to suit Indian spinners. Anil Kumble and Harbhajan take 21 wickets each in the series while Tendulkar takes 12 bowling his part time leg spinners. The man of the series award goes to Australian left arm spinner Michael Clarke for taking 28 wickets in the series.
Harbhajan dismisses Ricky Ponting in 5 of the 6 innings.
Dravid and Ganguly announce retirement. Tendulkar says he still feels young and is ready to play as a third spinner after experts criticize his poor batting form.
CPI (M) and Trinamool Congress demand Bharat Ratna for Ganguly.

Quarantine V – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

Mahesh Bhatt’s movie “HAWAS – the only passion” starring Shoaib Akhtar releases to packed theatres through out India on Diwali. It firmly establishes Shoaib Akhtar as the new “SERIAL F***ER” of Bollywood. The movie bombs despite the superb opening; but it opens new avenues for Pakistani cricketers. Reports reveal that Inzamam Ul Haq has been offered the role of Kajol’s father in KJo’s next while Misbah is set to play a bulbing sycophant in a RGV movie.
BCCI appoint Ganguly and Dravid as the ODI and Test batting coaches respectively. They join the team of Robin Singh (fielding) and Venkatesh Prasad (bowling) and manager Lalchand Rajput.

India thrash South Africa on slow dirty dust bowls engineered to suit the Indian spin trio of Kumble, Harbhajan and Tendulkar who share four fifths of all the wickets among them.

P.S :: Additional predictions are welcome.

2007-10-18T05:52:00.000-07:00

A MATCHSTICK THAT FAILED TO LIGHT

Insomniac behavior in the hour of the witch:
Woke up, did I to give company to the nocturnal.
Nor reason, nor rationale not even an intuitive hitch
Had an overpowering compulsive need to get the ash feel.

A sudden urge to witness the amber ends of a fag,
A sudden thirst to inhale the vapours: gray, dusky and slick.
A passion that whizzed past the statutory tag,
An appetite that even sleep couldn’t trick.

But failed I, to find my fag an accomplice.
Ruffled through the pile of paper junk: Scanned the overflowing wooden drawers
Even tried to let go of my whimsical caprice.
Consumed my spines twice over, let go of the wet dreams
But I did finally find: twisted, moist but nevertheless an ally
A matchstick to execute my passion, a matchstick to set my fag ablaze.

Alas, the fag found itself ditched
Left in the lurch by the perfidious match that failed to light.
A fag ditched, an impulsive passion unfulfilled
As Senor Sleep took command for the rest of the night.

2007-09-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

EKLAVYA : India's Official Entry to the Oscars !!

WDF ! These were the first words that struck me once I read the bulletin on the web. I was shocked to say the least. I banged my fist on the lectern and gave a huge grin at the adjoining pic of Vindhu Vinod Chopra.

It was one of those rare movies that we had gone for.[and I sincerely regret having gone for it]. With DVD ripped movies landing up on LAN within a week of their release, going to the theater and spending 200 bucks seems really far-fetched. It was not the last time. We repeated the blunder with 'TaRa Rum Pum'. From the little that I remember about the script, it had none. I still educe the fact that I spent the whole movie waiting for something to happen. It started with the revelation of propinquitous relationship between the queen and her guard and it ended with the guard defying ethics to put love ahead of his obligations. In between, we had the foreign returned prince doting on a poor girl ( surprising?), a perverse impotent king, and some excellent cinematography. That was it. Cinematography was the only thing that stood out. But do you select films to represent your country on the basis of "cinematography'"? Certainly NO. We had walked into the theater with loads of expectations - it was VVC's first movie since Mission Kashmir, he had spent over five years writing the script and the star cast boasted of AB, Saif Ali Khan, Boman Irani and Sharmila Tagore. I am no film critic but this movie certainly did not get my pulses racing nor did it cause an emotional stir somewhere within. This movie 'cupped' royally at the box office. I am not very sure if the critics rated that highly. From the little that I observed, Guru and Chak De got better reviews and yet..... I am not into regional cinema. There would obviously be some that must have stood out. I am sure that there would have been many that would have outweighed Eklavya in every other department excluding cinematography. It is not surprising that issues are being raised against its selections. An affidavit has already been filed. Movies like Dharm, Guru and Chak De were certainly better when it came to script. Better by a long way......................

2007-09-27T04:27:00.001-07:00

G Talk STATUS MESSAGE

Here’s a collection of some of the best status messages that I have been a testimony to

"Mallu's have Onam, Tams have Pongal : Gults have ELECTION :D"
Courtesy - Cheenti
Note: The occasion was as you would have guessed it by now, the Insti Elections

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umVY0QHLDUw"
Courtesy - Psaffy

"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. - OW "
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much. - OW"
"The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast. - OW"
"I never put off till tomorrow what I can do the day after.- OW"
Courtesy - Yours Truly

"There is nothing called a committed man. If you want one, search in a mental asylum"
Courtesy - Mitasha

"How happy is the blameless vestal's lot ...The world forgetting by the world forgot...Eternal sunshine of a spotless mind......Each prayer accepted n each wish resigned"
Courtesy - Randy

THIS IS MY FAVOURITE

"Marriages are made in heaven : So are thunder and lightning"
Courtesy - Mitasha

And now, for some of the worst ones

“Why did Misbah play the last ball straight to Sreesanth? Perhaps he didn’t know that there's a mallu in every corner of the world!! :D”
Courtesy – Cheenti
Note: PJ maxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Everyone is beautiful to someone" [ it had been there for the past three semesters ! ]
Courtesy - Dhruv(jussu)
Note: I suppose most people would agree on that :D

"PDND" [with the green availaible tag on]
Courtesy - Sumedh Vidwans

P.S : All opinions expressed are mine and it should be assumed that they have been expressed in good humour

2007-09-26T09:02:00.001-07:00

2007-09-23T01:33:00.000-07:00

RENDEZVOUS @ 5:30 pm Monday, Sept 24
11 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THE INDIA-PAK T20 FINAL

1. India have never lost a World Cup match to Pakistan

2. Its INDIA minus Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Zaheer VS PAK minus Inzy, Yousuf, Shoaib and Razzaq

3. No more Sachin vs Wasim ... No more Dravid vs Shoaib... its the time for raw fresh talents to battle it out in the African Safari's. We have
Yuvraj Singh vs Mohd. Asif
Shahid Afridi vs Irfan Pathan

4. Both teams walk in even-stevens. No psychological advantage for either with the previous match between the two having ended in a tie... (I personally believe bowl-out is a lot of shit. Its no better than the previous system which relied on the toss of a coin to determine winners in knock out matches)

5. The battle for the longest six is still on. With a 12 hitter in form of Afridi (still to get going batting wise) you never know.

6. Shrewd Shoaib(Malik) one on one against Daring Dhoni. It certainly takes courage to back a nominally experienced Joginder Sharma over Agarkar(with experience of nearly 200 ODI's) and even more hardihood to ask him to bowl the last over when his previous two have gone for over 30. On the other hand Malik's shrewdness has reserved a new ball bowler in Umar Gul to bowl 4th change and finish of the innings with toe crushing yorkers.

7. A very special item number by who else - Sreesanth. Kathakali, tabla on the cricket pitch and his "Jheel Si Gehri Aankhen" staring at the batsmen.. He will have it all for the opposition and the cheering Indian contingent back at the stadium and those glued to the TV sets back home. There is a also a guest appearance by a certain wrong footed, Lagaan style bowler in Sohail Tanvir who will demonstrate his dyslexic bowling action.

8. An opportunity to watch a lot more of Indian, Pakistani and South African babes. :D

9. India vs Pakistan ... World Cup Final. Do you want anything more ? ? Get hold of it.The next time you witness anything similar, you would probably be 70 and nursing yourself for cardiac arrest.

And... ohh I forgot

10. The match is being played at the Wanderers, Johannesburg which also witnessed the record ODI chase of 434 by South Africa against Australia.

and to end it,

11. India is gonna rape Pakistan. CHAK DE! INDIA

2007-09-23T01:27:00.000-07:00

Why the battle of Wanderers will be so special

Atul Sondhi /Cricketnext.com
http://www.cricketnext.com/news/why-battle-of-wanderers-will-be-so-special/27090-13.html

It is the stuff that the dreams are made of. There were jokes abound when India and Pakistan were bracketed along with Scotland in Group D, that who the real minnows were!

After all, Scotland had done much better in the 50-over version of the 2007 World Cup compared to India and Pakistan, who had perished even before the real action had started.

All jokes stopped just few days later. After a string of brilliant performances, the two countries, equally passionate about their cricket, are now on the threshold of glory, which not many had imagined before the TWenty20 World Chamionship, started.

There is certain beauty, and bruteness involved in a contest, when India take on Pakistan. Indeed, there are number of reasons to take a flight to Johannesburg.

Unequalled contest:

In terms of sheer intensity, very few rivalries can match a cricketing showdown between these arch-rivals. No inch is taken or given without a fight as nearly two billion of humanity (including expatriates and fans) take out their flags as they cheer or cry for their beloved country.

Mercifully, the hostility has somewhat reduced compared to 80s and 90s, still the pressure is unbearable. And that is the beauty of it.

Divine justice:

Just remember the glum looking faces this March when India and Pakistan prematurely said goodbye to the World Cup.

A captain was sacked, a coach died, and another coach resigned.

Many reputations seemed to have been tarnished beyond redemption. However, in a matter of few months, the Gen Next has avenged insult to the likes of Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul Haq, and India’s Holy Trinity. For purely the love of seeing this set of marvelous individuals in green and blue, it will be worth a trip.

No one-man Army:

India are not a one-man army. Reputations do not matter any more as system has taken over the individuals. Everyone contributes before and after a huddle!

There has been Robin Uthappa's match saving 50 against Pakistan and then tremendous holding of nerves in the 'bowl out'. And then there has been Dinesh Karthik's mind boggling catch and Rohit Sharma's tremendous run out of Justin Kemp, which showed South Africa that the Indian fielding could match the very best.

Who can forget the roles of our openers, Rohit Sharma’s brilliant batting against South Africa and Yuvraj’s pyrotechnics, which single-handedly demolished Australia.

Even Joginder Sharma, the most underrated of Indian pacers, came up with a brilliant last over last night, when the pressure could have simply killed a lesser man.

Similar things have happened with Pakistan. While Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul and Misbah-ul-Haq have been the star performers, the others have done their bit too.

And it will be interesting to see who clicks in the final, and the most important showdown.

Inspirational captains:

There must have been too much of heartburn in the Pakistan team when Shoaib Malik was made captain. It is naïve to expect that the seasoned performers and old pros like Afridi, Shoaib and Mohammad Yousuf will not have felt disappointed for being sidestepped.

Ditto in the Indian team for Mahendra Singh Dhoni. But with each step, the two captains have grown in stature. And the situation is not going to change even after one of them loses the chance to be on the Podium. They are friendly and supportive of their team members, but deadly and destructive when it comes to the opposition.

Aussie slayer:

The entire world imports their coaches, and the same world hates their team’s success. So both India and Pakistan have become the darling of all the Aussie-haters by beating the common enemy once each.

The South Africans too can heave a sigh of relief that the Australians will not be lifting one more trophy on their soil. For once, they can watch the action freed of all the tension. And they must.

A Streak on stake:

Will India keep up their winning streak against Pakistan in world championship tournaments - as streak, which started in Australia 16 years ago. Or will Pakistan finally do what they had threatened to do in the group stage when just one run off last two balls could have broken India’s spell.

That million-dollar question will be answered in the New Wanderers on Monday night amid thousands of cheering supporters holding India and Pakistani flags.

Umpires are going to have a tough time for sure. Faint edges, one fear, will not be heard in the din of a battle, which surely is not going to be for the faint hearted.

2007-09-02T02:54:00.000-07:00

THE LONELY SENTINEL

Armored in beige, knighted with a timber ingot
He strolls around;
A metal whistle, his sole tenancy: Ends hot
Ruffled by his vulgar breath.
The coy wooden baton, his sole companion
The midnight owl's hoots, his harmony
Vast arsenic stretches studded with silver petals, his visual symphony
Dry and algid zephyrs his sole source of palpation.
Reclusive, yet not stirred
Obligation to some and yet
the Lonely Sentinel goes about his quotidian commission.

2007-08-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

Stuff that Prof.'s teach

Excerpts from the class lectures of mech. professors

"Consider a 3-D cube..... " (as if a cube had 4 dimensions)
- A certain Design Prof.

"The only difference between an ideal cycle and practical cycle is that an ideal cycle is ideal in nature while a practical cycle is practical in nature"
- IC Engine Prof.

2007-08-06T04:59:00.000-07:00

∫Smile

The following is what Focuss remarked on Simla while we were at a recent bday bash--

"Dogra's smile can be integrated as it increases only infinitesimally"

2007-08-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

A few days back, I came across the following ad of the Deccan Chronicle on Bhaand's blog

AD
BC
two letters can define an era..

I was instantly hit upon by a couple of similarly brilliant ads. A few years back when the anti-smoking campaign was its peak in New York, a NGO had the following as its tag line--
"Kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray" !!

Another one, which I guess can be found on our LAN under the tag- "Banned Commercials" is probably the most well thought out ad ever. The ad starts of with a diminutive 10yr old trying his best to reach the Coke counter of a soft drinking vending machine.After hajaar fight he finally manages to get one diet coke can. Surprisingly he again puts the same amount of fight to get another coke. Up till this point you get the feel that its ad ad for the Coke group but.... Then the child puts both the cans on the ground and stands atop them so that he could now reach the Pepsi dispensing counter which actually was above the coke counter.!!!!!

2007-07-28T08:13:00.000-07:00

Half Empty or Half Full

Last night we were having a heated debate on whether monarchy was a solution to the present turmoils in the political scenario. It stemmed off from an already ongoing debate on which was better -- two party system or multi party which had stemmed off from another debate -- Prathiba Patil vs Kalam. I would be lying if I say we IITians actually intentionally discuss such socially relevant issues. The above was actually an outbreak of topics we love discussing -- headlines on national newz channels that should actually be confined to a masala corner (COMING SOON - a whole blog devoted to such trash), Ekta Kapoor bashing, plagiarised bollywood movies and songs....(in the reverse order of chirography).

Well even though we did not land up at any conclusion I did realize one thing. There's not just a black and white side to everything. There's also the invisible UV region to it. As in there are more than two ways in which each situation can be judged. The right, wrong and the <>. To be more archaic -- We talk about a glass of water being half full or half empty. But what if the life giving water is not water but a transparent solution of memphitic cyanide.

2007-06-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

PiQUANT CHESTNUT - III

Last week, students having slogged their ass out for over two years had come over for the IIT-JEE counseling. I started salivating on the mere sight of the plum faced, bespectacled and innocent faces. They seemed easy prey but the only constraint was that I'll have to wait till the start of the session before I could "RAG" them.

In this context, I am reminded of last year's ragging sessions. We called over this freshie, for an "intro" session as we IITians so popularly term it. After the starter course of FAQ's we moved on to the main menu. In the FAQ round, on being asked what 36-24-36 represented he said that they were the dimensions of the new "Fanta Curvy" bottle. We showed him the "DPS RKpuram Scandal" video and inquired of him what the girl was doing in the clip. He replied,"She is eating a chocobar."

P.S :: Do I need to add anything else ?
The guy was aptly named (going by the IITM nomenclature system) FACHO (fanta + chocobar).

2007-06-28T08:27:00.001-07:00

CAT VS JEE

It's ridiculous how people even compare CAT to JEE.
JEE's infinitely tougher. You can get up one fine day, brush your teeth, crap and go write CAT and still make it to the IIMs. JEE? Nicest try.

P.S: I read this article on CB's blog and I simply could not help putting it on mine. :D

2007-06-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

Brett "Karan" Lee making waves on the Indian scene

Mumbai,26 September,2013 : He is every girl's prince charming. He is tall, he is handsome, he is cool, he can dance, he can sing, he can make love, he can cry, he can make people laugh and most importantly he is single(yet again). Yes, we are talking about Bollywood's latest hearthrob, the new lover boy in the land of Kamasutra and plagiarized movies(and of remakes and sequels), Brett Lee.

11 movies since his debut in "Tere bin"(2009) and 9 of them have sent the cash registers ringing. "Tere Bin" may not have been a success but our man certainly made a point. His next 10 films set the box office ablaze (excluding perhaps the dud "Agosh"(2012) where he decided to go for an image makeover and try his hand at a action movie). He is Yash Chopra banners latest torch bearer. The fairy tale journey began in 2008 when he rejected a 2yr extension contract with the ACB to sign for Yash Chopra's banners "Tere Bin" directed by Uday Chopra. He had by then already made his presence felt in India, having been involved with a large number of commercial endorsement and having even sung in an Asha Bhosle album. Skeptics loathed his decision and wrote passionately about him putting up green notes ahead of patriotism. They were right no doubt. Brett now makes thrice from movies, concerts and commercial endorsements than he did during his cricketing days. Initially pessimists rubbed him off arguing that an English speaking guy would never make it big in the tinsel town. But one year of special coaching classes in hindi with Atal Bihari Vajpayee and hair dyed black did the trick. He is now more hindi than the Prime Minister Rahul Gandhi himslef. Having spent 5 years in India he has now even applied for an Indian citizenship; he said at a recent movie launch that he is more Indian by heart than he is Australian by birth. "Tere Bin" was followed by "Kabhi Kabhi hi Kuch Hota Hai"( a sequel to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai(1998) ), which firmly established him as the new lover boy displacing ShahRukh Khan with elan. The next five years saw "Karan" (Karan is to Brett what Rahul was to ShahRukh, Vijay to Amitabh and Rohit to Hrithik) consolidate his position as the Prince Charming of Bollywood with blockbuster hits like "You are My Sonia"(2010), "Ey Mere Humsafar"(2011) [a remake of "Qayamat se Qayamat tak"], "Kitni Baatein" (2011), "Kuchh tum Kahon.."(2011) and "Doorie"(2012) ["INSPIRED" by the Hollywood romance "Sleepless in Seattle(1993)"]. His latest movie, "Kassam Se..." is running to packed houses and advance bookings into the second week have already been made into his next movie "Kambakht Ishq" which is scheduled to be released during the festive season of Diwali.

9 hits out of 11, a brand value close to 220 crores, torch bearer of the Karan Johar and Yash Chopra banners, through with 2 marriages and infinitely many alleged linkups (and another infinite kept under the wraps) he certainly is the biggest star of the industry today. And his most recent break up with Deepika Padukone, after dating each other for the past 1 year has a come as a breath of cool breeze to his lacs of female fan following. He may be the most loved character on screen but he has been deeply embroiled in controversy in real life. First there was hia famous breakup with his first wife, Elizabeth even before the release of his first movie, his war of words with Shahid Kapoor over Kareena Kapoor who paired opposite him in "Ey Mere Humsafar"(2011) [which reminds me of the Vivek Oberoi-Salman Khan episode that took place almost a decade back], then his alleged linkups with the underworld and now his latest attempts to buy "Mannat" which has further mangled his equations with ShahRukh Khan. Both have not been on talking terms since ShahRukh was replaced by him in a Karan Johar movie two years back and Brett chose not to invite Shahrukh to his second marriage with Ekta Kapoor in December,2011.(Which as history would have it ended up in a divorce within 4 months.)

With Sanjay Dutt having been sentenced to 11 yrs of rigorous imprisonment in the TADA case(set to be released in 2019) rumours are abuzz that Vindhu Vinod Chopra is planning to tee off the "Munna Bhai" series again with Brett in the lead this time around. This might come as a welcome change for Brett himself for he has been regularly bashed up by the critics for playing the same candy floss role in all his movies uptill now and not utilising his vast acting repertoire to the fullest extent. He may be the critic's latest whipping boy, but as he said in a recent interview "I act for the masses and not for the men who pretend to know too much". And with Shahrukh Khan set to take a break from acting, to start of as a director and Farhan Akhtar going gaga over Brett's emoting abilities we might well see him in the coming DON movies and this might well add salt, spice and what not to his existing consanguinity with Shahrukh.

So Brett fans might well get to see a lot more of Brett Lee in the coming years and that too in diverse personifications, especially with the most talked about movie in the recent years, Ram Gopal Verma's first brush with a romance, "Kanishkk" (an Indianised version of the Titanic) starring Brett set to release on Republic Day next year.

2007-06-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

PiQUANT CHESTNUT - II

This episode dates back to the time when I was doing my intermediate back in my hometown. We used to have a troop of teachers in Physics each of whom used to take a particular chapter. One of them, Mr. Raj used to be the most liked. Though I must mention that it was not because of his teaching abilities but sorely because of the fact that his classes were a public theater were we had the full freedom to pass comments, laugh, crack jokes on the jester waving his hands around and writing illegible stuff on the blackboard. He probably hailed from a sylvan background as was evident from his slurred English. I remember one incident in particular. It was Teacher's Day. We wished him exclaiming "Happy Teacher's Day" in chorus. He stared at us aimlessly as if he didn't get what the fuss was all about. Out of the blue, as we were heading towards our tables, came the reply -- "Same to you".

2007-06-19T05:48:00.000-07:00

PiQUANT CHESTNUT - I

Piquant Chestnut refers to my collection of interesting real life anecdotes covering a multitude of spectrum ranging from one liners to an extended dose of verbal bazookas. Whenever I title any article with the same, you can be rest assured that they are cent percent true(but there may be added sprinkling of salt and pepper to make up for my lack of scribbling potential), save for the names of the protagonist.

The first one is dedicate to a very close friend of mine. Lets call him "Grecoe" from now onwards for no reason in particular . He deserves a name because I am sure he is making the most number of appearances in this section. Now Grecoe, was crashing(sleeping) in the middle of an ongoing lecture of ID 110(duh... who didn't) and to his misfortune our hostel warden, DJ was the invigilator. He patted on Grecoe's back to wake him up; Grecoe did wake up but he just stared blankly at the Prof. and again crashed !!!(lolz) The Prof. followed the pat with a much sterner tap the next time around. Grecoe did wake up this time but the conversation that followed is a classic.
Grecoe (even before being asked anything) : Just came
DJ : What !
Grecoe : No sir, just came.
DJ : Who just came?
You just came?
Grecoe : No Sir ... Sleep just came.

P.S : If you did not get the humour in it, get back to ENG 101.

Now for a masterpiece. We entered the fourth semester aware that a certain a Elec. Prof. was to take a 2 credit course. The previous year he had turned the two credit course into a five hour one. So we were all in a state of fear of what he was to do this year. By God's grace it ended up as a two credit course thanks to some heated ego clashes[kept under the wraps] between the Mech department[goshh.... Mech deptt. and ego] and the Elec. department about the importance of the very course. This certainly didn't please the Prof. concerned and his agitation was evident. To show the worth of the course (read retaliate) he announced --
"In the present context, I will only be taking you from one level of ignorance to another."

2007-06-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

GENRE :: RAJNI

You may not a get word of Tamil, you may hate the autowallahs who pretend to not get a word of Hindi that you are yelling, you may not even bother about the people blabbering around you in some alien language leave aside making an serious effort to find what "entraa" meant....(though one wouldn't mind decorating the walls with posters of Asin and Shreya) ; but mark my words, if you are marooned somewhere in South India longing to stay away from sambhar and rasam, there is one thing you cannot surely do - AVOID RAJNI.

I have been staying in Chennai for the past two years and despite all my sincere efforts I have not been able to prevent Rajni from getting into system. Sigmund Freud remarked, "The mind absorbs only what it wants as its appetite "; but his quote falls to flat ears when it comes to Rajni and South India. I have not watched a single Rajni movie and I even avoided the screening of "Chandramukhi" in my institute (I remember the day. It was like Diwali being celebrated all over again. The countdown had begun the day the announcement was made and on the eve of screening people were behaving as if ATLANTIS was supposed to be launched. The anticipation, the craze, the excitement........ I wish, I could put it in paper.
The OAT where the movie was being screened was jam packed(IT IS THE UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE DECADE). I believe more people attended it than the Shanker-Ehsaan-Loy concert. I avoided going to the theater on the pretext that I wouldn't get the language.[Well.... If you would believe my southie friend, one-third of the theater was filled with people who didn't get the language and supposedly half the crowd go to watch Rajni movies not because they care for the script or dialogues but exclusively for Rajni's mere presence]. At this point I must admit that my real reason of avoiding the screening was because the racist in me was not ready to accept a South Indian idol. My only previous memoirs of Rajni were that of a pot bellied, supernatural hero who defied Newton's laws of Physics. He could kill two goons with one bullet by merely using a blade to bifurcate the speeding bullets. If he was separated from the antagonist by a wall, he would toss one gun up into the air and shoot at it with another when the former attained its peak. The bullet from the latter would cause the trigger motion in the first one killing of the predator on the other side of the wall.

That was about Chandramukhi and the ignorant me before I was marooned in South India. Times have changed. Its "Shivaji" now. But Rajni-mania has not changed. Its the same madness in his fan following, the same craze and the same demi-god treatment. I didnt get it then, I still dont get it. I dont even know if his movies are romances, comedies, action or for that matter parallel cinema. I asked a close friend of mine, who actually missed on an evening with his ex-girl friend because he had to watch 'Shivaji', as to what genre 'Shivaji' belonged. To my amazement, he asserted that you couldn't characterize Rajni's movies. Characterizing into one particular mould meant that you are claiming that Rajni was not effective in the other mould.

In his words, " Genre :: Rajni. It's a Rajni movie macha... "

2007-06-15T07:40:00.000-07:00

Keyser Soze
The Only Suspect

"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist"
One line that defines the man, the greatest conman in cinematic history. Tracy Whitney, D B Cooper, Daniel Ocean, Charles Milverton, Gasper LeMerc are no doubt all great conmen in their own right but if you ask me Keyser Soze is like the solitaire that adorns the Con Crown.

My biggest regret after watching that movie was how in the world I could have missed it. I saw it 12 years after its release, that too even when it had been consistently rated among the top 20 movies of all time on IMDb. The whole movie is nothing but the metamorphosis of Keyser Soze from a "mythical" mafia kingpin to a factual embodiment of the con spirit. The movie is not about Kevin Spacey, its not about the quick witted and enthralling interrogation session, its not about 5 men fencing gems : Its about Keyser Soze and that is it.

Keyser Soze literally transforms to "Verbal Emperor" in Turkish and he lives upto every alphabet of his name. Fabricating a truly convincing tale in front of a ruthless and eccentric FBI agent is no mean deed.

You are struck with a sense of terror the moment Keyser Soze is introduced as a mafia kingpin. It is said that --
When he was a small-time Turkish drug runner, a rival Hungarian gang tried to seize his territory and business by taking his family hostage, raping his wife, and traumatizing his children in the process. Söze, in response, killed his own family and all but one of the threatening gangsters, who is spared in order to carry the news of the event to the rest of the gang.

If you think I am the only one going gaga over Keyser soze, you are in for shock.
In popular culture, you actually have a phrase as "Keyser Sozed" which basically means to be fooled by someone's identity or agenda. And then any movie or book for that matter that tend to redefine the facts towards the climax contrary to what had been presented before ( which in retrospect is actually a standard literary technique ) are said to suffer from the "Keyser Soze Syndrome".

To conclude, if you idolize conmen, factual or fictional, and still have never heard of Keyser Soze then as they would say it in hindi, "Chullu bhar pani mein doob mar".

2007-06-12T06:18:00.001-07:00

DEATH OF A DAY.

The winds have broken their path,
the sky has sunk,
Into its bottled lonely grave.
Celestial beings,
Dissolve into the loneliness, only to rise up again.

Battling its way,
through the vast seas of time......
Into a season of silence
Towards isolation
Towards eternity, towards ..................................

2007-06-10T09:16:00.000-07:00

INDIA FAIL TO QUALIFY FOR 2019 WORLD CUP

Kabul(Afghanistan),21 July , 2019 :: India failed to defeat Afghanistan in the World Cup 2019 qualifier in the Asia -Pacific zone held at the George Bush National Stadium in Kabul after losing a not so closely fought match by 112 runs. In reply to Afghanistan's imposing total of 334/7 in the alloted 50 overs, led by Taufeeq bin Laden's (allegedly grandson of the late Osama Bin Laden) maiden century, the Indian team was allout in the 48th over for 222. Captain Sachin Tendulkar, in his ninth stint as captain managed a painstaking 62 from 128 deliveries with just 3 fours. The Afghanistan team, consisting primarily of players of British and American origin (whose parents were stationed as members of the peace keeping troops during the troubled times at the beginning of the century) outdid the Indians in every department of the game. The Indians were on the backfoot right from ball one during chase as they had no answer to 17yr old debutant Adam D. Pearl's pace and bounce. Adam Pearl is the son of the late journalist Daniel Pearl who had been killed in 2002 and he changed his nationality as a dedication to his late father's courage and bravery.

Coach Sehwag said that he is not worried because he has the backing of selectors, captain and the board and that they had won a close match against Papua New Guinea just 2 yrs ago. Former India captain and now a commentator with NEO Sports Rahul Dravid believes that Sachin should now consider retiring gracefully and let Aryan Khan(son of ShahRukh Khan), the current vice-captain take over the mantle of captaincy.

The Indian cricket board led by president Rahul Gandhi has called for an emergency meeting to discuss future course of action. Former players like Yuvraj Singh, Md Kaif, VVS Laxman and Kumble have been invited. Coach Sehwag and captain Tendulkar will present a report. VVS Laxman today created a new controversy by saying that he expected a written apology from Rahul Gandhi for including him in the category of former players. He said that he has improved his fielding and fitness and wants to play the 2023 WC in Bahrain!! On the other hand former BCCI President Laloo Prasad Yadav has filed a legal notice challenging validity of the elections by virtue of which Rahul Gandhi now holds the post.

In another offbeat incident Brett Lee, current hearthrob of bollywood, has suggested the name of Mahendra Singh Dhoni to play the role of a serial killer in Mahesh Bhatt's latest movie. He himself is presently working on 'Dhoom-7', 'Sarkar-4' ,'Don-4' and 'MunnaiBhai bane Cricketer'.

P.S : Inspired from a forwarded article on the Internet ( fwd by my friend Sibabrat)

2007-06-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

RHEUMS OVER "STAINED" MEMORIES

Stained yellow pages, scattered ink droplets :
Black's merged into the chrome,
I wish : Not the fragmented parchments
I wish : Not the rheums I shed
I wish : Not the requitals of the past . . . .

The buff mask, that veils the stained thought;
The memoirs that conjure without my sanction,
Memories : that I should have never bought
Rheums : that I cannot shed
Memories : that i will have to die with . . . .

2007-01-18T10:46:00.000-08:00

IT'S ONLY "EUPHORIA"

The first time I heard "Bhulado Bhulado ..... " was last December when I was back home for my winter vacations. My bro told me that it was on the top of the charts.My first reaction was 'finally'. Finally we have an Indian Band on the scene : we finally have a successor to 'Euphoria' and someone to rival those Pakistani bands. The melody, background score, lyrics and the overtones were so 'INDIAN', unlike the likes of 'Jal' and ' Strings' that I had heard recently(which one could sense that they had a distinct Persian and Sufi influence) that I was misled to believe that we finally have something to boast of in front of our neighbors when it came to the 'pop' culture.My renaissanic belief, as you would have realized by now, was shortlived when I found that it was yet another Pakistani band that was making crests and troughs on the Indian music scene.

'Euphoria' is the only band that comes to mind when you talk of the Indian pop culture. No denying the fact we have had individual singers starting from Shaan to Himesh Reshamiya to Alisha Chenoy making headlines but even then we have always fallen sort of a proper band in the league of Jal, Junoon or Strings. Euphoria has been there and there about. It might not come as a surprise if we find Palash Sen deserting the band to launch his career as a playback singer that has the glamour factor attached to it. A few years back there was band , if I can rightly remember, named Agosh that was making news with there song "..mujhe mil jo jaye thoda paisa..".It was a band of 3 engineering graduates but since then there has been anything else. I am still trying to ignite those grey cells to come up with another Indian band. Its a real tough job. May be its only Euphoria after all.....

2007-01-16T07:07:00.000-08:00

A BOOK REVIEW

Disclaimer: This piece is a dedication to DAN BROWN. For all Dan Brown fans, this article is not meant to ridicule his style of writing. I am myself an avid Dan Brown follower. This article was written for the sake of being written.

TITLE: daRAMANUJAN CODE

AUTHOR: DAN BROWN

GENRE: HISTORICAL/MYTHOLOGICAL THRILLER

Dan Brown is at it again with his evergreen hero, Rabindra Lakhia. The book was released last weekend, amidst growing speculations regarding its 'read-me-not' content. It has already led the VHP to carry out demonstrations outside the publishing house charging them with ridiculing Hinduism by publishing material detrimental to the 'pavitra' image of 'Sita Maiya'. The book has been banned in UP and rumours are thick that a coalition partner has threatened the central government of withdrawing support if the ban is not made country wide. Is Dan Brown rewriting the Ramayana?

The story begins with a pair of British mathematicians, claiming to have solved the so-called final problem of legendary Indian mathematician Ramanujan. But the day before they were supposed to make a formal announcement both of them are found murdered. The Scotland Yard is perplexed because nothing seems to have been out of place at the murder site. Even the most likely source of motive, ‘The Mock theta conjecture (MTC)’ seems to be intact on the mathematician’s computers. Their only clue is a piece of mysterious matrimonial ad (probably cut from some Indian newspaper) of some Paras Goyal that was found in the wallet of one of the dead. Investigations reveal the nonexistence of any Paras Goyal or even any newspaper having the same font as that of the ad. The case is closed on account of lack of evidence and the MTC manual and the mysterious ad is made public. Only then it comes to prominence that MTC may not be just what it seems. The mathematicians had encrypted it using some advanced cryptographic software and mathematicians were now having a tough time deciphering it.

Enters the scene, Rabindra Lakhia a mathematician by profession, specializing in cryptography (and the lead guitarist of a lock rock band and a former 'Gladrags’ Mr.India and what not...) who using a certain anagrammed version of the matrimonial ad as a key decrypts the MTC. To his astonishment he finds that MTC concealed a great and at the same time a devastating mythological secret and it might have been the reason of the mathematicians’ death. He reveals his findings on March 14(Pi lovers day) that MTC was not any mathematical theorem but actually the encoded documents of the enigmatic secret society 'Akhand Satya Rakhshak' which was created to conceal a great and at the same time a devastating mythological secret. He then adds on that this organization was headed by the likes of Samrat Asoka, Maharana Pratap, Tansen, Mangal Pandey and Subhash Chandra Bose. The secret would have been forever lost with the sudden disappearance of Bose, had it not been for our hero and his ground-breaking discovery. Just as he was about to wrap up his declamation three people clad in saffron attire fire at Rabindra. Thanks to some stringent security measures Rabindra escapes unhurt. The attackers are arrested and on interrogation are found to be belonging to the VHP. With this startling incident the story shifts scene to India as Rabindra sets to unearth the complete truth. There he is joined by Sufia Alam, the sexy and buxom assistant director of ASI. They find that Tansen, a former head of the enigmatic organization had in his Miyaan Malhar Rag (which he sang to invoke rain) had hidden clues pointing to a great fallacy in Ramayana. They immediately head to Ayodhya for further investigation. In Ayodhya their investigation receives a major jolt when they are attacked by a group of Kashmiri militants. Unfazed, they move ahead and are amazed (as it is by now the hypnotized reader) to find that the Babri Masjid was erected over the Ayodhya shrine to cover up the same mythological secrets that they are looking for.

In at attempt to tie the remaining knots they manage to convince Prabhakaran to let them spend a week in the LTTE occupied region and carry out investigations in the Palk Strait to validate their assumptions. Their investigations also get a go ahead from the Indian Government although at the ‘top Secret’ level as the government is itself aware of the devastating consequences that this expedition might result in. In order to camouflage the investigations conducted over the southern coast the Navy puts out a declaration that extensive security measures (using sea animals and beacons) were being taken up.

In the climax, set in the LTTE occupied region of SriLanka the explosive secret is exposed which could shake the very foundations of Hinduism (and to a fair degree has already succeeded in this regard). Our heroes find that 'Sita Maiya' was actually defiled in her exile at Lanka and that Luv and Kush are actually Ravana's sons. Hanuman came to possess this bitter truth when he spied upon the hideous act from atop a banana tree in Ashok Vaatika (at this point one is made to wonder by the skilled workmanship of this brilliant author, as to how old this tradition of voyeurism is). Hanuman had then established this secret society to pass on the secret to the 'Kalyug' where it was supposed to be revealed by Vishnu's last incarnation, just before he destroys the whole world. Though the book is a rank one page turner, at times you get feel that there are too many loose ends Mr. Brown forgot to tie. The book is replete with historical and mythological inaccuracies and it seems that Dan Brown is more interested in creating fire than letting the candle glow (though we must admit that the fire is by far warmer).

With the book achieving such fame, Ram Gopal Verma has announced his mega 160 crore budget movie (for which major funding is supposed to come in from the Middle East) by the same name. Sources reveal that Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza will be making her onscreen debut as Sufia Alam opposite John Abraham. With the book being an instant best seller there is little doubt about where the taste of the public lies and the critiques predict that innovative and sensational novels like Dan Brown's latest offering are bound to rule the market.

2006-10-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

A NEW SESSION IS ALL SET TO ROLL...
FROM THE EYES OF AN IITian

Yet another new season . It isn't just about another batch of India's best minds entering the heavenly portals of IIT. It isn't about another batch ending their stint out here.For the IITian (still in college) it is not just about the lucrative offers or even those marginal five digit ones.
Every IITian , be it an oldie or one who has just spent one year of torture at the hollowed portals desperately looks forward to the start of a new season.Every guy on the campus hopes to have a 'reason to smile' . He hopes that finally by GOD'S GRACE( one who has not been gracefull in the past fifty years) will add some colour to the deserted campus of the IIT's that have not witnessed the presence of fairer sex for a pretty long time.The fairer sex on the campus worth talking about have only been the 'firangis'.The saddest part attached to that is that they can 'only be talked about'. Or for that matter every year one has to wait for that elusive 'SPRING FEST' .It happens that the countdown for the next fest begins the day one ends.
500:30 ...A ratio that would even make the principal of a boys missionary school proud. A ratio that ought to be written as a 'statutory warning' on the JEE brochure.By not mentioning it the IIT's commit crimes that are even more heinous than those commited by the tobacco companies. 4 years, 4 precious years of a youth are spent in oblivion.Spent admiring artificial imagery on posters and on the net.Spent with an aggravated level of social detatchment and frustration. Did anyone ever give the thoght to the fact that this might well be reason why IITians never return back to India.
Most IIT campuses are green but hey does it hurt anyone if they are a bit 'spicy' aswell.

2006-09-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

ON OSCAR WILDE.....

Taken from www.uncyclopedia.org . But a few additions are original.

Only two things are infinite, the universe and the number of Oscar Wilde quotes, and I'm not sure about the former."
~ Albert Einstein

"If you're going to do something rude, do it for a reason, and get something from it"
~ Patricia C. Wrede on Oscar Wilde's sexuality

"...get off my property."
~ Lord Byron on Oscar Wilde

"...the gayest man I've ever met!"
~ John Howard on Oscar Wilde

"I did not have sexual relations with that man!"
~ Bill Clinton on Oscar Wilde

"I was in college, I was drunk, I was curious..."
~ George Bush on Oscar Wilde

"I wish I knew how to quit you!"
~ Bono on Oscar Wilde

"Oscar, for Chrissakes, butch it up!"
~ Gertrude Stein on Oscar Wilde

"Now taking reservations for the I hate the Marquess of Queensbury Club."
~ The Marquess of Queensbury

"I like a martini, two at the very most, three I'm under the table, four I'm Oscar Wilde."
~ Dorothy Parker on Martinis

"He's the only man I ever wanted but couldn't have. Maybe if I learned yoga."
~ Oscar Wilde

"I never really got into Oscar Wilde. But he got into me a few times."
~ Noel Coward on Oscar Wilde

"Hey Vern!"
~ Ernest

"Shall I compare thee to Oscar Wilde?"
~ William Shakespeare on Oscar Wilde

"Whenever I hear the words 'Oscar Wilde', that's when I reach for my revolver."
~ Hermann Goering on Oscar Wilde

“It's gotten to the point where anyone can make up quotes about Oscar Wilde and say they're from Oscar Wilde.”
~ Oscar Wilde on Oscar Wilde

"That's Oscar Wilde? I could have sworn it was a pile of burnt and fatty grease from the Grease Hut!"
~ Martin Van Buren on Oscar Wilde

"Anything that goes up must come down with Oscar Wilde's being the lone exception"
~Issac Newton

2006-09-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

OSCAR WILDE
AT HIS BEST

"THE BEST WAY TO GET RID OF TEMPTATION IS TO YIELD TO IT"

"EXPERIENCE IS THE NAME PEOPLE GIVE TO THEIR FAILURES"

"THE FAITHFUL KNOW ONLY THE TRIVIAL SIDE OF LOVE, ITS FAITHLESS THAT KNOW LOVE'S TRAGEDIES"

"THE ONE CHARM OF MARRIAGE IS THAT IT MAKES LIFE OF DECEPTION ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY FOR BOTH PARTIES"

"ONE SHOULD ALWAYS BE IN LOVE... THAT IS THE REASON ONE SHOULD NEVER MARRY "

"THE ONLY THING THAT ONE NEVER REGRETS ARE HIS MISTAKES"

"MORALITY IS SIMPLY THE ATTITUDE THAT WE ADOPT TOWARDS PEOPLE WE PERSONALLY DISLIKE "

" HE IS MAN I ADMIRE A LOT"-- OSCAR WILDE ON OSCAR WILDE

"LIFE IS FAR TOO IMPORTANT A THING TO EVER TALK SERIOUSLY ABOUT"