Places/Countries Visited in the World

One of my criteria to come to Singapore for my higher studies was travel. Travel across the world. And the below figure shows the current status. These are the countries where I have gone on holidays. There are more countries that I have visited like Vietnam, Malaysia etc but only for business. So, I have not marked those.

1. The best has been Capetown so far, but diving in Cairns is not behind at all.
2. South America, Europe and South Africa (other than South Africa) are largely untouched. Even US for that matter.
3. There are just so many countries/continents left :-(

What Places To Avoid In Singapore?

I'm writing this post to help tourists to avoid couple of destinations in Singapore during their visit on SUNDAY. This is my personal belief and I speak about them mostly because of congestion and traffic issues on Sundays.

1. Orchard Road on Sunday - I go to gym on Saturday at one of the joints at Orchard. Because of some reason, I could not visit on Saturday one week and instead decided to go on Sunday. And to my surprise, orchard's main area on Sunday is occupied by domestic workers (maids). As Singapore government has granted compulsory day off for maids, which is good for them, looks like most of them spend time in Orchard. So, our dear orchard appears more crowded than usual days (at least around Paragon, Lucky Plaza areas). Furthermore, construction has been going on for some time, that creates more traffic.

2. Mustafa and Race Course Road on Sunday - You will be surprised to believe that you are in Singapore if you happen to be there around Mustafa especially during evening on Sundays. It is very much crowded and it will be good if you would like to do your shopping in Mustafa on any other day than Sunday. Simply avoid.

Papaji's Eternal Question

Today, my father asked me THE QUESTION again that he has been asking ever since I went to Toronto, Canada in 2003. I got to intern under a professor for a period of 3 months. When I told him about this, he went ecstatic, however, at the same time got worried whether I would be able to communicate with people over there. So he asked me, “yaar, tum English me baat kar lete ho?” (Can you converse in English?). Well, his doubt was relevant as I hardly secured good marks in English during school time. Though studied in Saint Paul’s Senior Secondary English Medium School from nursery to Eleventh, I could hardly speak English when I went to IIT. I justified my grasp in English when I secured 64/100 marks in 10th Board Examination. But wait, this isn’t true for only me. Take a random sample from any Boys Only English Medium School and I’m sure hardly 50% (very optimistic) of the students will speak good English. That’s the current status of Kota students.

So, while having evening snacks yesterday, he asked me the eternal question again, “tum English bol lete ho?”. I smiled subtly and replied “Papaji, Singapore ja raha hoon full scholarship pe, kya lagta hai aapko?” He said immediately, “doubt”. He is very sure that my sisters know English very well, but not me. Though I don’t rate myself excellent in speaking English yet it is still in much much better state. I explained to him that I worked in a Multi National for 5 years where almost every day I was talking to people located outside India. I told him that I’ve given so many MBA interviews both on telephone and in-person. However, all efforts went futile. Probably it is high time to show him my Toastmaster videos. But then, I think his response will be that this is only one way talk, where are others in this communication? Looks like, very soon I’ll have to give him a live performance.

Rakhi Ka Swayamvar – An Innovative One

No matter what public thinks, no matter what news channels project, no matter what the film industry really feels; Rakhi Sawant is one girl which is gaining popularity day by day. And why not she is the bride to be of the one of the most innovative Indian serial I’ve ever witnessed in a very long time. All the music talent reality shows, MTVs youths’ shows, numerous talent hunts are essentially copycats, oops inspiration, of foreign TV serials. However, Rakhi Ka Swayamvar is one hell of an innovative serial. And no matter what Indian public thinks of Rakhi Sawant, they are still watching the serial. Frankly speaking, my parents and I are following this serial.

At first, this seems quite intrigue, however then I analyzed why people are interested in watching this serial. Here are my two cents:

1. People are tired of watching same kind of serials on any channel. I believe they are watching just because they don’t have anything else to watch. In two days of my stay at home, I’ve realized that the current trend in the television industry is to project the hardships of villagers. New serials are all based on village concept. And the current ones that started before this unique revolution (?) have introduced the concept by marrying one girl into a family that has roots in a village. If you disagree with me, then browse any serial between 8 – 11 pm and confirm yourself. So people are looking for something new. The idols, laughter challenge shows are all old, repetitive and, hence, boring. People want change and the Swayamvar just brings that.

2. People really want to know what the swayamvar is all about. Most people I’ve talked to in this short span of time have two things to say: 1. Have you seen the contestants? All are chosen according to Rakhi’s standard, and 2. Is Rakhi really going to marry one of the contestants? I don’t want to comment on Rakhi’s standard, however, I also found the contestants funny. The first episode was hilarious when all the contestants were introduced. Watch it to understand what I'm trying to say. Even Rakhi’s expressions and his innocent type image where she claims she is looking for love in one of the ultimate contestant will bring a broad smile on one’s face. You will think what stupidity is this, but then I bet if you change the channel. Is Rakhi going to marry the candidate? I don’t know. May be yes but then how much time is spent today in taking a divorce.

But in all sense, the serial has brought refreshment and will going to pull crowd as it progresses.

UPDATE
One of the contestants says he is married. Now thats innovation. Isnt it?

IPL: Ultimate Debacle For Team India

Many people off late have talked about IPL being a problem for the early exit of Team India in T20 tournament. Well, I agree too, however, I've my sets of reasons that probably led to the failure. Here they are:

1. To bring entertainment in the game, IPL committee brought a cut in the ground size. This worked very well for the batters in the tournament and we started assuming all Indian hitters such as Raina, Yousuf etc. capable of clearing the ropes easily. However, that wasnt the case in the T20 World cup.

2. The rule of only 4 foreign players allowed in a team put a constraint on the captain to pick at least 2 batsmen and 1 all rounder. We hardly saw a genuine bowler being included in a team. The damage that it has done is that most of the Indian batters got to score against their Indian counterparts. They rarely got to face ulitmate deliveries from reputed foreign bowlers. Raina, Rohit etc. were in great form in IPL, however, when they faced really good deliveries in T20 championship, they fell cheaply. Rohit was playing brilliantly as a finisher, so we all think he is good form and so his promotion as an opener seemed justified. But then he failed badly in T20. Hence, I think form of Indian players in IPL cannot be taken as a good reference point to determine a player's form.

3. Lack of Coordination. One more damage that IPL has done to the team is that the tournament allowed several Indian players to captain their respective team. There was Sehwag, Dhoni, Yuvraj and Gautam who were captaining their team. They have tried their own strategies in their games and since every player's style is different, it definitely needs a little bit of time to get accustomed to play under a captain. I feel that time was not there, and eventually what we saw was a lack of coordination.

My Walk Towards Old Age

I forget things, places, names etc..

Recently, many activities have happened to me that reinforced my belief that I don't have a sharp memory or I've reached the phase where "old" people start forgetting stuff . Really, Am I getting old? I got embarrassed recently when I forgot the name of my teammate while I was having snacks in the cafeteria. I was watching the television. As he passed by, I wanted to call and ask him to increase the volume. So, I, hastily, raised my hand to call him. But then I stopped. I just couldn't recall his name. Amit, no anuj, no shit !! whats his name. Finally, I gave up and did this: "whistle, oye, could you increase the volume please?"

And, can anyone forget a girl and that too a hot one? Not many, but I did. In my office, we (My friends and I) used to call a girl '2nd Floor'. It has nothing to do with his seating location being at 2nd floor. But the way she used to comb her hair was unusual. We thought that the starting point of pony tail was a bit higher than usual. So, 2nd floor it is for referring her. She worked in the office for a short period of time. After 3-4 months, one day my friend (Devesh) and I were going out for dinner and while talking he referred to the girl as 2nd floor. I just could not remember her face. I asked Devesh to tell her name and he, cunningly, replied "we never try hard to know anyone's name. We just know her by 2nd Floor." Bull shit !!! What the hell. And now all I was interested in recognizing her face. I, immediately, called our third friend and he gave me some hints and I could finally locate the 2nd Floor Neuron in my brain. How can anyone forget a girl's face? Awful!!!

I'm seriously contemplating whether these are the signs of me walking towards old age. May be its usual, but I need to be more proactive in remembering things. Anyhow. Would grandma's philosphy of eating 5-6 almonds a day work? I guess I should try.

Black Dog

Last year I decided to taste all kinds of Whisky and Rum to understand what I like. I tried numerous brands, of course GlennFiddich and Black Label are still out of range, and finally settled with Black Dog. I loved the taste. However, explaining taste of a Whisky to anyone is a difficult job. So, whenever someone asks me why I prefer Black Dog, I take help of Bollywood's Super-Duper movie - Shahenshah. In a certain scene, Amrish Puri, after a brief interaction with Meenakshi Sheshadri, decides to order Black Dog instead of the regular one. Prem Chopra gets intrigued and asks him for a reason. Amrish replies:

"Jab bhi me koi hasin titli dekhta hoon, mere ander ke sainkado kutte bhokne lagte hain. Unhe shant karne ke liye me Black Dog peeta hoon."

haha. It gives me great pleasure when someone asks me why Black Dog and I pay tribute to the movie by repeating this dialogue.

Khali Mania

The new superhero/sensation has arrived in India few days back. I happened to be at my native place during that time, so witnessed complete coverage. The amount of coverage media has given to him, I doubt if he does not get a Padma Shri this year even though I don't know about his WWE achievements.

Here are some facts I can recollect after watching the Khali episode again and again (and on almost every news channel)

1. Khali keval 'Parmatma' se darta hai.

2. Khali ko aaj sabse jyada ek bacche ki chah hai.

3. Khali ka ek mukka 100 kilo ka hai.

4. Khali ko abhi sabse jyada apni maa se milna ka intezaar hai.

5. Khali WWE champion isliye nahi ban paaya kyunki use 'dhoke' :) se haraya gaya tha.

and many more...

Khali might have impressed biggies such as Sachin, Sharukh etc however, watching him repeatedly on news channel and posed with absurd questions from the media have turned off many people, including my parents.

An interesting conversation with my mother one evening while I was browsing channels. I turned to a channel epitomizing Khali's adventure.

I: Mummy, dekho Khali...
Mummy: arre maar goli Khali ko .. sab pagal ho rahe hain Khali ke liye
I: arre dekho to sahi
Mummy: tu Khali chorr, Saloni (Zee's Saat Phere drama) laga ..

I dont know if he is a real superstar or a media-hyped sensational figure. But, at the moment, media is going gaga over Khali Mania.

Unique Selling Point

Have you ever pondered over your unique selling point (USP)? I didn't know about mine until I attended Hostel-10 (girl's hostel in IIT Bombay) valedictory function in my last year. In these functions, profiles of the graduating students are read in front of numerous students. The focus is primarily on what the student did in his/her life other than academics. One of my close friend told me to attend profile of a particular girl, who I have never talked to. I sniffed something intrigue, but my friend never disclosed the details. Well, I attended the function and was made to sit forcibly on a sofa in front of the stage. When the profile started, I came to know that the girl had a crush on me during the first year. I was never told by my (bloody?) friends (all my friends knew about this), nor the girl ever attempted to talk to me. To my surprise, I was the hot talk in the hostel and girls used to play a game, based on a famous Indian television. If I ever tell you whats the game, you will definitely envy me. That very moment made me think that I've got a magnetic? power to attract girls.

My thinking was proved right again when I started working in Oracle. One of my friend was leaving Oracle after working in the company for ~1.5 years. Before leaving Oracle, he told me one day that he knows a girl who had a crush on you. I was definitely happy (no doubt), but at the same time I was cursing myself for having such friends who hide important information and don't want to see me excel in future. Again, there was a similarity with the case happened in IIT. I had never talked to that girl.

There are other instances as well to describe, but I would do that in a different post. However, these two incidents helped me know something about my personality. I don't know exactly what girls look in me, but I know that I've got something unique. I really hope those two girls read this post and update me about my USP.

By the way, how many girls have fallen for you so far (without even talking to you) and whats your USP?

Breakup

The other day I was having a lunch with my Oracle friends at Pizza hut. The usual talk gained speed when two of the fellows start talking about their affairs. It is always fun to hear about what's happening in others life when you dont have the luxury to perform in that role. Isnt it? Anyways, 4 out of 6 had girlfriends. When one of the friends asked me about my status, I didnt want to tell them that I've been single for past 25 :) years. Many things were going through my mind and I was desperately searching for an answer. Suddenly, I said something so convincing that didnt allow my friend to pose further questions. Here's what I said:

"nah ... just had a break up a month ago" .....

I think this response will work all time. This gives a feeling that the person is not lying (of course, you need to act in the same way .. I think the way I said "nah" made the difference) and nothing left in the story to ask more. I've tried it again sometime back and the strategy worked.


Try it !!!