An eventful day in a grad student's life....zzzzz

It was one of the few days when all the inhabitants of Apt # 201 were to be spotted at the same place: Apt # 201!!! It wasn't a fortuitous circumstance by any means. Oh btw, for academic interest, the inhabitants are: Guru, Ananth, Prasanth and yours truly. We had planned to eat out at Little India on a Saturday evening. Little India is a place where Indian chat food is available.

We had planned to leave home by 5 PM but thanks to some unforseen circumstances (me over sleeping by a good half hour), we made our way out by 5.45 PM. Ananth was as prompt as ever in looking up bus routes. That was primarily due to the fact that it was to do with eating out! I know Im in for a beating but who cares, right?!

We had to take route 81 to the place. We made our way to the bus stop rambling about the shoddy standard of current Tamil movies. It boiled down to something like Rajni vs Kamal and people taking sides didnt help!! As our screams reached dB levels that exceeded that of the cacophony of the city, bus number 81 was within our sight. Little did we know that we were in for an exasperating experience as the bus simply sped past us without stopping. Sadly, squeals and screams dont help in this part of the world. I wished I was in India then. Get out of the house, get on the bike, get going. As simple as that!

We walked to the next 81 bus stop by the ASU foundation building; a good 10-15 minute walk from where we were. It was a Saturday: one bus at the strike of the hour and thats it. It was already getting late. After a lot of deliberation, we decided to goto the "Bit Fat Greek restaurant". Minutes after we got to the restaurant, we were engulfed in cigarette smoke and decided to leave to another eat out. Next stop was India Bistro. What better than Indian cuisine?!

You might be thinking...oh no, not again...oh yes!!! The stark incongruence between the columns on the left and right made sure we were on our way out of the place minutes after we entered. It wasn't unlimited buffet anymore at nights at India Bistro. When the owner questioned us about our walk out, we said we would get back for lunch the next afternoon!!!

Finally, we decided we had enough and fed on a footlong each at the 'Subway'. I gorged the Sub and guzzled a strawberry milkshake. The rambling begun once again on our walk back home.

We got home and watched the mandatory movie for the night and that completed one more day in USA.

ASU

Most of the South Indian gang at ASU outside Udipi Hotel. Pleasure for the palate after a long time!

Coiffure

Yet another drowsy afternoon and I cant get myself to do any work. A haircut this morning followed by lots of shampoo ensured that I am sleepy and dull all day.

Probably the first time that the two events, 'me having a haircut' and 'experiencing a feeling of satisfaction' occurred concomitantly. You should have seen me a few days back to know the reason. I had a mane, the haircut was long due.

I told the barber to keep cutting until he said it wasn't possible to go any further. I feel like I have lost a few pounds! And I sport a new hairstyle (if you want to call it one :P).

Mockery in the name of "secularism"

Advani is one of the most forthright and straightforward politicians of India today. He has not been the “typical” “typecast” politician whose job has been nothing less than reading and reading stupidly between lines and trying to project a zillion sides to a one line statement. Watch Big Fight on NDTV to find out more! These “common” brands of politicians are a group of people who are epic examples of sycophancy of the highest order. They feign adulation to turn the table on the same person on another day. To sum it up, most politicians are “opportunists”. There haven’t been many who have been true to their conscience, much less their parties. Well…talking of Advani….he is none of the above.

All of us know the Indo-Pak relations are on an upswing. Advani had been on a visit to Pakistan to promote peace. Well, whatever he did there was not received well by his friends in India (Sangh and VHP). May be a few of us if not all can agree that Advani was candid enough in exhibiting his secular ideas in saying the demolition of the Babri Masjid was the saddest day of his life. But praising Jinnah and calling him secular was a mistake. I think Advani ji got a little too carried away in his “mission” to promote peace between the countries. A stalwart like Advani committing such an egregious error comes as a shock…

But on the flip side of things, (how I interpret the whole episode is like this)… Advani really wants to break free from the “communal” ideologies that have been associated with the BJP because of their evolution from the RSS and the VHP (although the Sangh and VHP will never admit it;)). Advani wanted to ensure two things when in Pakistan. One…to promote peace. Two and more important…to project to the people the secular face of the BJP. I don’t think Advani and the rest of the BJP can succeed if they don’t take on the RSS and VHP and do hell with their support. You can’t flaunt around saying you are secular and that you will be secular if you are in power. The people of India are smart enough to note the discrepancy in behaviour of a party when in power and when playing the role of a “constructive” opposition. Being secular when in power is one thing and being secular all the time is something totally different. I think it’s high time the BJP does some aggressive rehashing and revision of their strategies if they want to be noticed again.

This will call for unity between the party members first. There are huge rifts within the BJP and I don’t think these will be mended unless each and every party member is truly “secular”.

There are politicians who in the name of secularism follow the quota system. They are proud in announcing that they have made sure so many people from ‘x’ caste has made it into job ‘y’. Why can’t you grade people based on performance? Why can’t you make sure you find the right person for the right job? Why don’t you pick people based on quality? If it can work for entrepreneurship, why not for politics and for running the country? Aren’t these the fundamentals to succeed in any field? Asking questions is easy…how about giving answers and producing results???????

I think it is time to adopt the simple and straight philosophy as far as politics is concerned. This can be the only way to revolutionalise, revive and galvanize the now dirty visage of Indian politics.

Btw, I am neither a BJP nor a congress fan……;)

GREATEST or just another champion player?

The world of sport has been ever so cruel on champions and misfits alike. Tennis is no exception. One day a player may storm into the scene with his impeccable display of tennis and the leave the opponent in a comatose state. He may be at the receiving end on another.
The world took notice when in a small town in England, a champion of the game was beaten 7-6 (7), 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5. Sampras had truly conquered the famed grass courts by then. His looooong winning streak was broken by Roger Federer, a tall, well built 21 year old. That marked the end of an era in Wimbledon as Sampras failed to make it to another Wimbledon final. Sport is such that a champion needs to be dethroned to give birth to another. And so was born Roger Federer.
Four years after that 4th round match at Wimbledon, the world is saluting his awesome range and power of his groundstrokes, court coverage and serves. To be frank, Federer's game resembles that of Sampras' in many ways, not to mention his physique. Greatness lies in reproving oneself over and over to the world. Federer was and continues to be one who wouldn't falter! He won the 2003 and 2004 wimbledon slam back to back. Its a bit of a homecoming for him this time around.
Now to the crux of the issue. Is he the greatest? Is he above all? This can be answered by looking at the slams the champs have won. Rod Laver, Andre Agassi...All, Borg...All except US Open. Lendl...All except Wimbledon. Sampras...All except French. FEDERER.....................
Australian...yes. US...yes. Wimbledon...oh yes. Fench...NO. We have seen so many champion players come and go. But only 5 have conquered all the slams. Mind you, Sampras arguably the greatest ever to have played the game couldn't get past the semifinal at the French Open. With critics already comparing Federer to Sampras, the French is the only hurdle holding him back from emerging as the greatest of all time. With a quarterfinal berth secured and his confidence soaring high, it could just be a matter of days for him to become the greatest of them all.
I don't think anyone in the open era has had longer a winning streak than Federer. His consistency and accuracy put him a cut above the rest. His domination has made the semifinal of not starring Federer, the most competitive match of a tournament!!!
So will he be Numero Uno??? Time will tell...