What AM I doing?

A critical question that I keep asking myself. In a sense, where is it all going? What is the desired end result and is there any movement towards it or is it the proverbial journey that life is and the incredible laxity that we display, happy in the knowledge that it doesn't really matter - after all, its all a journey, isn't it?

Call this pre-exam (very close pre-exam) stress venting if you must....

So this is state of studies:
CPC - 1st reading nearly done...bit of execution left, and caveat.
CrPC - 1st reading over, revision 1 tonight, revision 2 tomorrow, exam day-after...or tomorrow in an hour
IOS - the worrisome one...lets leave it at that, shall we?
IL - 3 days...nothing done...3 days!

Horrible state of preparation this time round...never been so poor, except perhaps Sem II - discovered I had to read an entire book that I hadn't read as yet the night before the exam!

What an amazing 5 years. I think above all else, its been a phase of development. If you ask me what Section 77-A of the Companies Act says, I'm unlikely to answer (its buyback of shares if I recall), but then it doesn't matter. I'll take these 5 years with a cherry on top without any education. And yet, I'm only a tenth of the way there. The question is where? The way things are going...I couldn't be moving further away from the promised land, however blurry it is. But then again, its been done before - if they can do it, why not me?

Wondering about how I'm going to be able to crack these exams, I've decided I can't, so I'm cutting my losses. As SDP once told me about his roommate the night before his Anatomy exam, the guy had basically given up on passing and started playing games on his computer. I'm tempted, but not suicidal...not yet anyhow, not to mention that I don't really have games that are worth spending any time on. Give me a couple of exams' time - to get suicidal ie.

The Rhodes interview debacle has been confirmed today. Considering current stress levels, its effect hasn't really shown up much on the graph. Looking forward to the next couple of months in my life. My schedule as it stands today:

7th Dec - Last exam...am going to get drunk with fellow hostel'ites...that's the plan though. Will probably end up in my room sleeping.
8th Dec - Back to work. Need to be a good boy so that I can take the next month off.
15th Dec - End of work (if I'm let off). Depart for Giridih..can't remember the last time I used a train.
24th/25th Dec - Depart Giridih for Delhi.
31st Dec - Depart Delhi for Bom (New Year's on the Rajdhani...oh Joy!).
8th Jan - Court re-opening. Need to take another week off.
14th Jan - Jessup memorials submission deadline. The reason I need the week off.
15th Jan - Back to work
26th - 28th Jan - Jessup national rounds in Madras. More days off...Boss is going to be mighty pissed off.

Was mentioning to PS on one of our evening walks that I'm dying for a month to myself. She wasn't being particularly dishonest that evening - "No chance", was the general gist of the response. Was wondering whether doing Jessup was such a good idea, when I could have had some time on my hands if I wasn't doing it. Don't know if I've still got it in me to put in a month of 18 hours (certainly didn't have it for the exams!) for a moot. Time will tell. Motivation doesn't seem to be a problem, though.

And so in the end, where does it leave me? Don't know...can't care at the moment. Ride the wave when you can, because you never know when the authorities might install wave-breakers.

"Bitter mouth swollen at last,
A diary not read out loud, a blast
from behind but a face no more,
I pick up pieces of my shattered doors.

And I don't want reality"

-That's mine

RIP anti-distraction measures

To try and focus on this horrible man-invented activity called studying...I de-tuned the guitar. After suffering unbelievable withdrawal symptoms, I gave in on Day 6. Life is a lot better now after a half hour session last evening. And the guitar doesn't eat in on study time (although other things do).

Moral of the story: Give in, give in always - will power is a farce!

"People making fun of me
For no reason but jealousy
I fantasise about my death
I kill myself from holding my breath"

Suicidal Dreams by Silverchair

Too much - Too late

Since its been a ridicuously chaotic 6 months since my last blog....I doubt I can actually capture everything...so I wont try. Suffice to say - things will continue to be chaotic for the next 6 odd months, though hopefully geographically a little less disorienting!

Its exam time and so blog updates will recommence.... till then....

"Don't let the days go by,
Could have been easier on you, I coudn't change though I wanted to
Could have been easier by three - our old friend fear and you and me
Glycerine"

Glycerine - by Bush

Crash Tested Dummy

Overcoming my newly acquired claustrophobia and general urge not be confined to a seat, I just felt like watching a movie. After luring A (the larger one) into coming home with some promises of food and a lift, I mooted the idea of a movie. It's a Sunday evening, so I figured that there would be absolutely no problem in procuring a couple of tickets for a 10:30 show. While Capote or Memoirs of a Geisha would have been first preferences, I had to be content with heading for Crash - the only accessible movie.

 

So, as always a review - particularly since I hear that Crash has won the Best Picture statuette.

 

The first half of the movie is incredible. You think it's a bold movie which addresses racism when few have dared to tread there post 9/11. It's a nicely built up storyline, sufficiently wide and probably very accurate too.

 

Then comes the intermission - it takes a filling of some pretty good caramel popcorn and PC with an old school-mate to get back to thinking about the movie...and then it happens. The trailer for Basic Instinct 2 starts running...there seem to be some very scenic views of London, not to mention a corny aspect -the office where everything seems to happen is the Erotic Gherkin at Bishopsgate. Sharon Stone looks - to put it mildly - old. You'll find few people (except the die-harders) who would want to watch even the trailer twice - leave alone the whole movie! But wait -this blog is about Crash..so back I go...

 

The 2nd half of the movie is, in a word, disappointing. Where you thought the movie was going to be bold and politically incorrect giving you no answer to the question at hand, every wrong is undone with a good and vice-versa. Every seemingly racist person commits an act which sheds the tag (and vice-versa)...and ironically (I suppose that was the intention - irony), the two ostensibly liberal people are the only ones who end up in a stand-off.

 

The almost mindless underuse or total throwing away of a fantastic idea reminded me of What Women Want, where you're thoroughly enjoying the movie for the first bit, before it meanders into a crappy 100 odd minutes of reel. Now, Crash isn't that bad...but the concept is simply lost.

 

Another problem with the movie is that everything is loose - I found the scriptwriting in Love Actually far better when everything is nicely tied up at the end. Crash has this bizarre five minutes towards the end when you're suddenly taken back to the start...and your temporal frames are just all over the place. After a while I just gave up trying to fit the jigsaw puzzle. (It was nearly 1 a.m. at this point)

 

Despite my insistence that WR runs trains till 2, they refused to do so and as a consequence A and I had to walk back. By Chowpatty A was ready to fall off to sleep while standing..not a pretty picture when you're crossing a road where even Santro's are zooming around at 100 and over. Got back home at 2:45 or so after dropping A off on the bike...a bit of Mr. Verne's underwater exploits (for the 10th time???) later - I crash!!

Oh Me

A little update on my life for posterity

• have started working - with Iqbal Chagla. Great fun - love the place and the work(???)
• mooted in DMH as the GLC dummy team - one day prep. Ranked 5th in the speaker lists!! Loved it.
• didn't rank in the top 3 (out of 7) in some lousy elocution comp...man, even I couldn't be that bad...I want to see the marksheets!!!
• re-organised my music and the iPod.
• set up a wireless thing at home during the time that anna was here. still can't make optimum use of it - anyone with any ideas on how to position the router so as to gain best coverage -please to inform.

That's about it...can't think of anything else. Anna back in Ox, although I've barely spoken/mailed him.

"I can't see the end of me
my whole expanse, I cannot see.
I formulate infinity
and store it deep inside of me."

- Oh Me by Nirvana

2006 - where art thou?

And so another year begins (in 2 hours or so, at least). Does it make a difference? At one level, you wish that it gives you a new start. But reality tells you otherwise. Just another day, just another evening, except that I believe going to a disc is prohibitively expensive. The same rationale as applied to a birthday. See previous blog for details.

So happy new year to all (1,2,3,4) my readers.

New year resolutions (a habit that has persisted ever since school imposed this irritating 'essay' on us as holiday HW every Christmas):

1. Play the song currently being heard by the end of the year (a live version of Sultans of Swing - Mark Knopfler going mad on the guit)
2. Ensure that the Bombay Univ is made to pay for its sins
3. Sky die...no...dive.
4. Restrict TV viewing to less than 5 hours a week (barring sports). It's currently well below that.
5. Find someone to play tennis with in Bombay.
6. Make sure (by hook or crook) that there will be a sizeable overseas turnout at DMH 2007.
7. Raise 1 Crore (at least) to do up my college library

That's it. This time next year...I hope to see a few ticks.

For those of you who didn't get my mail, here is the meat:

"Think of yourself as on the threshold of unparalleled success. A whole clear, glorious future lies before you. Achieve! Achieve!"
- Andrew Carnegie

"Future: That period of time in which our affairs prosper, our friends are true and our happiness is assured"
-Ambrose Bierce

Packed up and gone

Kerry Packer is dead. The first man to market cricket as entertainment. Yes, he made millions, no - billions, doing it, but it was never meant to be philanthrophy and the players made money too.

The ICCs poor attempt at a Super Series shows how little they've learnt from him. The late 70's saw Viv Richards and the like take on even his teammates. Wouldn't you like to watch Ricky Ponting taking on Warne at the SCG?

There are several reasons the Packer Series concept will not work ever again:

1. Too much cricket on almost every team's calendar.
2. Players making enough money to live well. One of the big draws of the Packer Series was the compensation.
3. (Possibly as a result of the 1st two reasons) Players don't find any motivation to play responsibly and well for any team but their National team. The Africa - Asia Tsunami relief matches and the ICC Super Series saw this amply displayed.
4. With so little domestic cricket being played by international players, county cricket is a better alternative with lesser opponents and an opportunity to regain/stay in form.

It's the end of an era, nonetheless and I don't think cricket will ever see someone like him again.

This is my first blog by email...so if it's all mucked up formatting wise - kindly adjust.

2005 - RIP

As we crawl towards the end of what can be termed as an 'eventful, if not tragic' year, I'm not in one of those nostalgic moods that I often get into when looking backwards. This calendar year has been seen me in all sorts of places; from the extreme highs of DMH to the expected and unsurprising lows of the Univ's torture.

But if I am to look back on 2005, there wouldn't be too many personal events filling the chart. 13 Feb and 10 Aug would of course be there, but a large proportion of the rest would be world events. Bullet points to make it easier:

• The tsunami. This doesn't of course fit within 2005, but I reckon it needs a mention on this blog. I was on a ship approximately 50 km from the Cochin port when it hit. We didn't feel it on board (tsunamis are always only felt on the coastline) nor did we realise that it was more than just another strong earthquake until we got back to shore and checked the news again. 26 Dec will always remain one of the defining moments of our generation and it's a pity I didn't have the time to do anything about it.
  
• DMH. The reason I couldn't do anything for the tsunami victims. No regrets though. International, Ram Jethmalani, Sujata Manohar, SM Krishna. Me happy.
• London (again). No Wimbledon, but a far better trip all in all. Me happy.
• 7 July. Welcome to the real world, London. Mr. Blair finally realised how perilous it is to support anti-terrorism, Bush ishtyle.
• 26 July. Soaked, soggy, stinky and mad pissed about it - Bombay'ites go for a long swim that lasted 3 days for some.
• 10 Aug. No comments.
• Something in College. (Confidential - sorry, can't write about it.)
• 21 Sep. My first performance with a guitar in my hand. Not very different from the many without, but a decent start.
  
• Hurricane Katrina. The Americans are introduced to the true meaning of a natural disaster where (believe it or not, Mr. Bush) people actually die. The documentaries have already started rolling. The one thing I couldn't understand was troops deployed to ensure that there was no looting of shops etc. People were being shot dead for stealing. PRIORITIES GUYS...PLEASE.
  
• 8 October. Kashmir earthquake. As if that place didn't have enough problems already. 100,000 plus Pakistanis dead and more still dying. Only 10 -15,000 Indians dead. But does it matter where they're from?
  
• 29 October. Blasts in Delhi. Carnage. Life back to normal in a day. London was surprisingly similar, though a lot more shocked.
  
• Exams and the Mumbai Univ. Comments on this can't be displayed without the help of much censoring. So, I shall simply refrain.
• Hong Kong - Great place. Good time, a bit short though. (long enough to do requisite shopping)
• December. Another Kashmir earthquake. Can't remember the date. Was in HK. This one was for all those whose houses didn't fall in the first one. The bright side of this one - not too many dead, because 80% of the population were living in tents already. Remember, earthquakes don't kill people - buildings falling on them do.

That's the best I can do. Anything I missed, you're welcome to remind me.

'Since we had nothing to do with our Arrival and usually are not consulted about our Departutre, what makes so many of us think we're entitled to so much while we're here?'

- Malcolm Forbes

Expressed Fascism

An incident that has got me a bit irked:

Paulo Di Canio of Lazio has been banned for one match (and fined) with Sepp Blatter threatening him with a possible life ban. This is thanks to the fact that he saluted the fans with a Mussolini type straight arm salute. This is the 3rd time that he's done the saluting act. Am not entirely sure what happened the previous two occasions. He defended his actions saying it makes him identify with his homeland.

I'm not quite a Nazi/fascist supporter nor will I ever support the ends they sought or the means used. But one thing that I am certain must be permitted is the freedom of expression. I believe in this even if it means that a fascist-at-heart be allowed to tell the world that he is proud to be one. And that's fair enough. As long as he doesn't stir the masses to supporting the cause of fascism or do something in the region himself, he ought to be permitted to express himself for who he is.

In a day and age when we are happy to accept gay marriages and transsexuals as a part of society, the least that the world should be ready to tolerate is a man who says what he feels, showcasing himself for who he really is, whoever that may be. This incident takes you back to the 60's and 70's in the US when 'communist' was a bad word and a simple accusation was enough to put someone in the dock for a long time.

How do prove that you aren't a communist? Don't most people encourage welfare schemes - for health, housing etc.? - That's a communist/socialist feature. Enough to put you behind bars, though.

Whatever has happened has happened, and I'm certain no one is going to be appealing the decision, but I hope there is a sufficient hue and cry if it is taken any further. I presume Di Canio will also refrain from repeating the act in the interests of his career (which at 39 is less and less of a concern).

I can relate to the Italian mindset to an extent in that they (or most of them) aren't exactly proud of their fascist past and don't want anyone telling the world that there are some who are. But the truth must be (and probably is) that the fascist ideology has obviously not just vapourised after WWII - that would be rather unrealistic to expect, regardless of however much they and the rest of the world dislike that. While it needn't be encouraged, those who have taken to it must be allowed the freedom to believe in it and consequently express their beliefs.

Sport and Politics - Methyl alchohol to the masses

I'm not usually keen on expressing my views on cricket but this time I've been left little or no choice. For the first time (and I really do hate this) I actually feel sorry for Ganguly. (ok - all his fans can give me a pasting later). He's been given a pretty shitty deal and yes, he (even he) does deserve better.

Even though India's been doing well, there is this strong underlying sense of politicking in everything that is taking place around the team, not least of all Sourav da flying down from Cal to Delhi for an appointment with Mr. Pawar. I can't, except for dinner table wisecracks, speculate on what exactly is happening within the spheres that control the sport in India, but I am quite content to say that I don't like it.

True, I presume there has always been politics in the game ever since it became a serious money-spinner (thanks to Mr. Dalmiya), but sometimes ignorance is bliss. (forgive the cliche). There's something about sports that sets it apart from all other issues in our day-to-day lives. A cleanliness to it, maybe? I can't put my finger on it - a purity about it, an unmatched simplicity? Politics (or at least ostensible politics) sort of ruins that. No - I liked it better when Mr. Dalmiya kept the media and the public out.

In other news, Ronaldinho is the FIFA player of the year again. Barca teammate Eto'o polled 3rd. Explains why they're doing so well, as also my good mood each time I catch up with La Liga action.

You're sitting alone you watch
As the wind is blowing treetops
And the swaying rustling leaves
Plenty of time to perceive
As you wait for rain to fall
Only God knows
The whole sky glows

-Lightning Strikes Twice by Iron Maiden

Whasssssssssssssuuuuuuuuuup???

Back. Good (???) to be back. Primarily thanks to my latest acquisition. The smart ones will have guessed it. Black and sleek...with a nasty sound-making capacity accompanied by a little orange add-on.

Pictures soon.

Nothing to write about - so I will just keep as shut as possible. Details of HK will be forthcoming on request. Ideally if specific questions can be addressed, it will make my task easier.

Couple of amusing stories will also be blogged soon.

Worry for the day : Anna is listening to James Blunt and Natalie Improbablia...this is going to take a great deal of exposure to death metal to correct.

Mid-exam Ramble

Things are very weird in the head right now...so I'm just going to ramble in bulleted points:

• I hate the Bombay Univ. I wont be able to go and watch the final ODI here in Bombay cos I have an exam the next day (a postponed exam). Its been 4 years since Bombay's seen an ODI.
• I hate the Bombay Univ. I missed the following incredible sporting events / will miss them:
• Federer losing...and a final at that. Seeing is believing.
• Ronadinho getting a standing ovation at the Santiago Bernabaeu after El Magnifico went 3-0 to Barca. For the uninitiated, a Barcelona player getting a standing ovation at Real's home turf is like anyone getting one at Galatasaray, or Tana Umaga getting one at the Colonial stadium, or for you cricket lovers; Inzamam getting one at the Wankhede - IT DOESN'T HAPPEN.
• The All Blacks getting a hard fought 23-19 win over the English. Only Scotland to go and they go undefeated since the Tri-Nations began...WOW.
  
• The ODI in Bombay...did I mention that I hate the Bombay Univ?
• The All Blacks - Scotland game.
• Missed watching Lara scratch to a double-hundred this morning...caught some bits of it though. Tomorrow morning he should go past Border's tally. (12 runs away overnight. The man continues to show he's God)
  
• Looking forward to the guitar. It's going to be the GRG 170 or the 270, depending on how each feels in my hand. If anyone has any dope on import tariffs on electrics...kindly let moi know.
• Starting to write some songs...not able to come up with any lyrics. Ok...I did come up with some..but they're terribly corny. No free mental time thanks to this exam.I hate the Bombay Univ.
• Got my photos dumped like *$&% today at the monthly PSI thing. This is going to take some effort.
• Picked up 2 books courtesy the Crossword vouchers from Campion. The Art of War (Lun Tzu) and Sophie's World (Jostein Gaarder). Anna - you may not cringe at the 2nd one...you had to return 'our' copy!!!
• Just realised I'm not missing College life as I know it very much anymore. Is this what heaven feels like? (I seem to hear a reply saying 'no'. Hmm... Some neighbours are very cruel..or was that a Kite?)

Right that's it. Comment, initiate discussion...do what you please. Thank you all.
Oh yeah - George Best finally died today. About time...though it's always sad to see sportsmen pass away. There's just something about them.
Oh oh oh...watched bits of this movie called 'Wimbledon'. Don't know what happens in the final, but the semis is played on some lousy outside court...2 or 18. I think its 2. The protagonist serves like I would with my left hand in 'action sequences'. What's more - there are guys who slide on the grass to get to balls. When did you last see someone slide on the green stuff????

Ok...now that's really it.

2 down and 2 to go. Have a bone to pick the Bombay Univ...again. But that can wait. Maybe I'll let the HC CJ or the VC have the pleasure of that.

Judgment Day

And finally, it happens. I am a judge for the first time (officially, mind you - its happened several times unofficially). How it happened and AR and I got invited is a long story I will spare you lot. But it was interesting as also mindnumbing at the same time.

Got to judge a bunch of debates at Campion school. 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th stds. That's 4 different debates, not the same one.

Topics: (pleeeeeze dont laugh - not my pick)

7th - Exams test a student's real worth
8th - Money can buy everything, even happiness
9th - Peer pressure is more beneficial than harmful
10th - Migration is eroding Mumbai's individuality

We were allowed to ask them questions after they finished speaking. Trust me, it was really hard to come up with a question for some. I was so clueless about one that I asked:

"Do you think you would be as confident debating in nothing but a pair of shorts, instead of a shirt pant and tie?" - this was for the money topic

In any case, I'm not entirely new to the concept or process of judging. Often, I would sit through a whole moot and judge the mooters, rank them etc etc. I always do it to myself, so it comes fairly naturally. But the questions...jeez.

One poor kid totally choked and simply repeated the propostion. Then he looks at me (rather arrogantly, I might add) and says, "Do you have any q's". I really feel like laughing, but I give him my elder-brother-sympathises with-you smile and shake my head!!!

Anyway - the crux of the whole thing is that I made 300 bucks in crossword vouchers. Will venture after exams and pick up a nice book. Suggestions are welcome.

Studies are going terribly. I am remaking my schedules every 36-40 hours. Am really unprepared and am very stressed out about the fact that I'm not stressed out.

"Don't know much about history
Don't know much biology
Don't know much about a science book
Don't know much about the French I took"

-Simon and Garfunkel - What a Wonderful World (...will leave out the remainder of the verse for reasons you'll figure if you know the song)

My dream

I have seen 'it' and will chase it down. Go here to see what I'm talking about.

Prostitution and homosexuality in India

The Planning Commission has finally done it. It has recommended that the legalisation of prostitution and homosexuality be looked into as they represent the two most vulnerable groups as regards HIV/AIDS. See here for TOI's piece. I think this is a good step, taken a tad late though.

Firstly, what is the current position? The Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA) doesn't actually ban prostitution per se. It only bans one, trafficking (naturally) and two, solicitation. So in a nutshell, the two of us can have an agreement (a valid one too) where we decide that I will pay you Rs. n and in exchange you will have sex with me. What is not legal and will therefore be a void agreement (and illegal) is you coming to me and saying that you are willing to have sex with me for Rs. n.

A little on the basics of contract law for you non-law people:
In order for an agreement to be arrived at (legally), there has to be an acceptance and an offer. If the agreement then satisfies certain conditions (laid down in Section 10 of the Contract Act), it is a contract.

It is obviously a pretty fine line therefore, between solicitation and mere agreement and one which the courts invariably do not see. Also, the fact remains that without solicitation, it becomes almost impossible to actually come to an agreement. How do you and I telepathically communicate that (a) we want to have sex and (b) that I will pay you Rs. n to do so?

The only way out, of course, is if I ask you whether you are willing to have sex with me for Rs. n. If you say yes, then it is an agreement and the sex is not solicited by you. Unfortunately for the two of us, this sort of argument in court will have judges throwing the briefs and a couple of large books at your lawyer.

What legalisation of prostitution does, in a nutshell, is empower the CSWs (Commercial Sex Workers). As of now, they are thoroughly exploited by the police, sexually and otherwise. This is because the police can, at any point of time, simply say that they were soliciting, throw them before a court, which I'm sorry to say will never rule in the CSW's favour, not in India certainly.

In Calcutta's red light district (Sonagachi) they've had tremendous success in keeping the spread of HIV down by empowering the CSWs to say 'no' to customers who refuse to use condoms etc. They, to my best recollection, formed a sort of group/buddy system where CSWs would take care of each other directly rather than through the brothel owner (the 'madam'). The NGOs working there also have a huge number of awareness programmes, not just about health, but also legal awareness etc.

Once you make CS work legal and allow brothels to open up in select areas of cities and towns, you allow CSWs to regulate the terms of their employment. They would become employees of the brothel. They may even fall within the scope of 'workers' under the Industrial Disputes Act, which would give them wide ranging benefits, from compensation for work related diseases to a minimum wage etc etc.

How and whether at all this can actually be implemented at the ground level is quite another issue and remains one that can only be answered once the legal structure is in place.

Next is the issue of homosexuality.

I'm going to spare you all the normal BS about the issue, cos it's not worth your time to read it, nor is it worth mine to type it. In a nutshell, I agree with Mill's idea of liberty. Do what you want so long as it doesn't affect anyone else. There are two ways to approach the issue:

1. Socially - My take is let homosexual intercourse be legal and even legalise marriage at a later stage.
2. Biologically (ie looking at mankind as a species) - I came up with an interesting, yet possibly frivolous rationale while discussing this with a couple of friends in one of my less lucid moods.

Taking a start from Mill's POV, what is harmful to others? The question I had was: does homosexuality affect the human species as a whole? My hypothesis follows (forgive any inaccuracies in my maths...please correct me in your comments)

Rayleigh's curve is a bunch of mathematical equations which are broadly represented by this graph: (not to scale)

The black graph represents Rayleigh's original curve. The red line is a correction made by Bose and Einstein called the Bose-Einstein statistics (jointly awarded credit for it, although the story goes that Bose got there first and they couldn't possibly allow an Indian to pip uncle Albert..therefore)

The graph represents Frequency (Y axis - the vertical one) v/s the Sampled Thing (X axis). The sampled thing could be anything from level of wealth to age to height of trees. What it means (and this may sound a bit philisophical) is that the maximum number of things are average or in the median-ish range. Bose corrected Rayleigh and said that there is always a peak at a point.

I believe that if you plot time of life on earth on the X axis and the frequency (ie the quantity) of humans living on the Y axis, Rayleigh's curve will apply. Just as I think it applied to dinosaurs, although their down curve may have been rather sudden if you accept the meteor theory. Just as it applies to the lions in Gir, who are now virtually gone. Just as it applied to dodos who ruled the roost in Madagascar until they were slaughtered by sailors. The curve always applies, whether or not the cause of the downfall of a species is natural or not.

What this means is that homosexuality as a phenomenon could actually be the natural cause bringing about the downslide of the human race. (You know- too many gay men and women around and not enough babies will be made...decline of the human race etc.)

When you're reading this, please don't think this theory is trash on the premise that there are 6 bn humans and they're not going to die out because we let homosexuals live freely. Remember, when I plot time on the X axis - it is going to be a bandwidth of 15-20 million years at least.

Therefore (and this is almost the conclusion), the operative question when we want to decide as a species whether or not to permit homosexuality is: where are we today as regards Rayleigh's curve? If we are still on the upswing, then in the interests of human rights and social well-being, we must permit homosexuals to live a life as free as ours. To allow them the peace of mind that should someone barge into their bedrooms, all that will happen is that they will be embarassed, not liable to be jailed.

On the other hand, if we find ourselves on the downward part of the curve, then the situation changes. Just like any other species, dominant or otherwise, only wants survive as long as possible, so also the homo sapien. If homosexuality is going to be the cause of our downfall, then we must clamp down on it to save ourselves from one of the possible causes of extinction. Males only attracted to males and females to females.

Imagine a planet-of-the-apes -esque position where heterosexuality is banned and the only way that the humans continue to spawn is through forced and regulated intercourse. (very weird...I know)

The point is that until we answer the question of where we stand, any decision taken by us is short-term. I don't say it's a wrong way to go about things, because you have to preserve yourself today. If it means saving n million lives a year from HIV/AIDS related deaths while taking the risk of possibly causing extinction 10 million years down the line, then I'l take my chances. But the point remains...in the overall scheme of things, we will never be able to answer the question without figuring out Rayleigh's curve.

Incidentally, in a remarkable comparison to the dinosaur era, a comet - Comet Swift-Tuttle is expected to hit earth on 14 August 2114 or 2117 or something in that region. The comet is expected to wipe out the majority of the planet...if I recall I think when they discovered it, it was larger than the moon.

Maybe the human race will also have a steep down curve.

'I think that I think; therefore, I think I am'
-Ambrose Bierce

The Mumbai University at its sadistic best

The University of Mumbai has done it again!! It has violated one of the most basic legal principles you will read. Let me explain:

Before the 2nd sem last year, the average percentage of people getting 1st classes in the 3rd year and further over the past 5-6 years was precisely 0%. Then in the 2nd sem last year (under a court order, I might add) they decided / had to change our exam pattern. Details of this is easy to come by - the objective section plus lowering 1st class to 60% etc.

The result: 35% 1st classes, 97% passes in the final year. Now this is too much for the guy who prints degree certificates, because suddenly he needs to use a new plate...one with "First Class" on it. ("How dare they???", he says of the Univ)

Anyway, in a first step to (kindly excuse the expression) screw us over, they give us a timetable as follows:

19th Nov - Admn Law
21st Nov - Family II
22nd Nov - Transfer of Prop & easements (TOP)
23rd Nov - Company Law

Now, TOP and Company are subjects which cant be revised in half a day even if I wanted to. In any case - this is ok...a challenge thrown to us...we are willing to take it up.

But then it seems the Univ pleaded its own incompetence. (incidentally my favourite answer to a question from the bench in a moot - "I plead Your Lordship's ignorance") It claimed (unofficially) that the time table was a mistake. Someone forgot to make sure that the KT exams weren't clashing with the regular ones.

KT papers are Keep Term papers aka papers you've ducked in previously. It is a concept which enables someone who's failed one year to go on to the next. (with some safeguards though!!) It's a concept many students bless. I am yet to take advantage of it and hope never to either.

So taking this as an excellent opportunity to pursue their policy to decrease the number of first classes and passes, the Univ preponed our exams by 5 days, less than a month before when it is now scheduled to start!!

The maxim which forbids this sort of thing in a court of law is nullus commudum capere potest de injuria sua propria - No man can take advantage of his own wrong.

This entire bit above may well sound like a pretty far fetched conspiracy theory, but trust me when I say that the Bombay Univ is one ofthe most student unfriendly Univ's you will ever see. Add to this the fact that there is no real students' organisation (Student Unions being banned in Maharashtra) and you have a Univ doing what it likes while a docile bunch of students writes letters to the TOI editor as the ultimate form of protest.

The Univ has had its share of backlash from GLC, at least. Being law students and many having successful lawyers and counsels as parents (some judges too!!), the Bombay HC has seen quite a few writs and PILs from us.

And yet they continue to torment us...are they just plain dumb or what?

Something has to be done about this sort of nonsense. But to be quite honest, most of us still in College are just a tad too scared of consequent victimisation in terms of acads (itcan happen) to do anything about it.

Two things therefore:
1. Any of you with bright ideas / know anyone with bright ideas to do something about this - please let me know and sign me up.
2. I didn't say any of the above - please don't quote me.

The Cap at the end of the Race

This blog will primarily be about an event that I purposely left out from my previous blog. The reason being I wanted to discuss it a bit more.

Before I actually get there...here's a photo of us performing at College. The funny guy in the middle looking dorky in formals, the Wimbledon cap and an electric guitar with a mic in his face is me. SM and AR flanking.



There's a story behind the formals - I actually carried my Kurt Cobain T-Shirt to put on and AR was very happy with it..but then it just looked really weird with the formal pants and shoes, so i decided against it. AR was very disappointed - almost pissed with me, particulary since he had his Nepalese skull cap on!!! SM's do was the bandana. I, of course, always have THE CAP.

Anyway - now to the event...I-Rock. It took place at some god-forsaken part of the city after being cancelled at Gateway a month earlier. The show was ok - the good covers, the bad originals, the growlers, the screamers and the mosh pit were all as usual.

The thing is I didn't madly enjoy myself (also due to the fact that no Nirvana or Maiden was played). I mean, I listen to loud music, usually like to start the day with Brave New World or Blood Brothers on my way to College. But there was something 'not quite right' about a bunch of adults/ nearly adults going to watch a bunch of guys performing and moving their heads up and down in synchrony. Don't get me wrong - give me a live performance over a recording any day.

The thing was - and I finally put my finger on it on the ride home - I didnt want to be there to listen, I wanted to be there to perform. It's really not that hard, and this is one of the reasons you see the college photo in this blog. With little or no experience amongst us and relatively little skill, the three of us didn't just put together 2 songs in two days - we also actually composed the violin's bits!!!

Given a bunch of guys who know how to go about their stuff, I'm pretty sure I can be up there- and it remains my target (my dream, perhaps) to do that one day. The electric will be in purusance of this...and maybe I'll be able to play rhythm while I sing.

All this profound thought aside - I need to know who reads this blog. Just the other day 'Muscle Girl' told me that 'Footnote Unaware' reads the blog. This is most disconcerting, for I am often very tempted to bitch on this blog. So if you are not among the usual suspects - kindly put your hand up and post a comment. The one thing that you'll may not comment about is the nicknames I give you.

Right - that's it.

All men dream, but unequally.
Those that dream at night in the dusty recesses of their minds awake the next day to find that their dreams were just vanity.
But those who dream during the day with their eyes wide open are dangerous men; they act out their dreams to make them reality.

-TE Lawrence

I wonder where I fit...

Happenings, yet no roll

It's been a long long time since my last blog. The reason why you'll start seeing more blogs now is that I'm into study mode - so basically, anything to get away from it. Life has been madly uninteresting over the past few weeks. Not that I'm complaining though. Events in my life:

• Won another 2nd place. This time in an elocution... "is Bombay sitting on a ticking time bomb"
• Did my grand moot. After implementing a system that puts people through 3 rounds to get a national, I decided I'd like to give it a go. Did the 1st two rounds - a really sidey criminal brief. When I say sidey, I mean it was bad! Anyone reading this who knows the problem setter, you can tell him - I think he already knows this. Decided not to do the 3r round and get a national - because I really just dont feel like mooting.
• Lost an essay competition - MR and I went to check results and I 'won' a consolation prize. "Theosophy" by Annie Besant - 1997 edn. I forgot to take it away from MR when I dropped her home and it seems she lasted all of 5 pages.
• Started studying...details unimportant
• Cleaned up my table an hour before this blog
• Won an 'acceptance' at my first try at the PSI monthly comp. Here's the photo that got accepted:
  

This was taken on a morning walk in Munnar last December. That's a sprinkler system working on a tea estate.

• Finished reading Media Control by Chomsky. Just a very understood sort of book. No thought really. Rating 2/5
• Laughed my head off at the following:
• Salman Rushdie and Sunita Narain being nominated among the 100 greatest thinkers of today
• IAEA being given the Nobel Peace. (Bob Geldof would have been a better option. Also Bono remains the perennial nominee. If you ask me - Bill Gates had a better chance than the IAEA, despite not being nominated.
• Became the Jt. Sec of the Bazm-e-Urdu. A defunct committee in College. When asked by the prof-in-charge to join, I very honestly said "Ma'am, I cant speak Hindi...Urdu????". Anyway there was some bash -which I conveniently avoided.
• Virtually absolved myself of all college duties - now that the Law Review has gone into print.
• Trashed the quality of GLC profs in my vote of thanks after YV Chandrachud's lecture (with a good strong dose of sarcasm naturally). I am most kicked about it. As one person giving me a review said - "I doubt anyone would have tried or pulled that off". The unfortunate part was the students were relatively quiet, only smiling away. The profs in the 1st row went mad...beaming and exchanging looks. I don't know if they got it and were smiling in embarassment or are so thick that they actually thought it was a compliment.
  

That's about it. As you can see- madly uninteresting.

Anyway - shall sign off before I ramble.

"He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow"

-George Eliot, perhaps describing my anti. ;))

Rock but no Roll

My first performance with a guitar in my hand. Incidentally an electric guitar. This year, I decided that after my self-imposed exile from the College's annual 'Inaugural Day' performances, I would finally have a blast by playing and screaming on stage.

First task - get a band together. So we managed to put together 4 of us...2 who can play a guitar, one, a violin and a drummer. Drummer AM couldn't make it on a weekday due to work obligations and furious bosses who weren't very happy that he was going on study leave. Other guitarist SM and violinist AR were up for it, but we only managed to get together on Monday...show on Wed.

My first recco for a song was 'The Boxer' - S &G, primarily keeping the violin in mind. That was vetoed as everyone said that we'd be lucky if there was anyone in the audience who'd have heard the song. 2nd recco was 'She Will be Loved' - Maroon 5. Vetoed by me, saying that my self-respect was at stake (singing pop song on stage would be of far greater embarassment than having my finger stuck in my nose in the middle of a job interview...not to mention far more damaging as well!!)

And so we went the classics way... Song 1 - Californication (RHCP). Song 2 - Higher(Creed).

The tough part wasn't so much the singing or the playing, but really the combining of 2 guitars and coming up with stuff for the violin to play. Rest assured that these songs were not written with a violin in mind! Anyway things went off really well in practice...the voice was finally feeling a little free after a long long time...it is now finally nearing where I wanted it to be when I picked up the guitar.

First up was Higher - we were the first act after 2.5 hours of Kajrare and Dhol Bhaje
types of dhinchaak songs. Everyone was screaming 'Rock Show' by then. (not for us naturally - there was this hostel band scheduled to play)

First time round with Higher and I totally screwed up - wrong pitch and all that...disaster. Stopped after a line and a half and restarted.

Things were great from thereon except that the sound guy was really irritating. SM's guitar was obv softer (being an accoustic with a pickup) and he refused to raise it..so it was almost not heard. My vocal mic was so soft that I ended up literally screaming both songs out - pretty tiring. But all's well that....

In any case, what this 'performance' has done is convince me to pick up a good electric. Maybe I shall convince mama to forfeit the bike upgrade and do the guitar upgrade instead. Scoping will begin this week or early next week for specs and basic features to look out for, hopefully with bigger A's help - he seems to know a couple of things about guitars.

The whole thing has been recorded on the handy cam - will put on CD soon...anna is welcome to subject his ears to torture as and when.

I wanted to blog a couple of pics - but for some reason its not happening.. next time then.

21 birthdays and going strong

Another birthday, another cake, another year added to the tally. Nothing special.

I've never quite grasped the concept of celebrating one's birthday. As anna put it, one day I'm 'n' years old and the next it's 'n+1'. Even some of my birthdays which I've enjoyed the most (18th and 20th for example), I've always found myself rationalising at the end of the day.

Is it just another day? Or is it a day where everyone decides to try and make one person feel special. (in return for goodies, one might add!) I don't really know, and if I were to pick an ideal b'day, it would have to be just chlling out at home with family and some friends I can be myself around.

It's been an interesting few days. On Saturday night, I did something I've never done before. After a small evening get together (an advance bash, using the weeekend), A & A stayed back at home. Amma had much coaxing to do to obtain requisite permissions from the respective mothers.

What started as a plan to watch the Agassi-Ginepri and Federer-Hewitt matches quickly turned into something different. A mega-binge on NFS-Porsche Unleashed was followed by a perusal of the photos from the summer, while we tried to stay awake. Then at around 1, we began watching the Federer match. After watching the 2nd set go to Federer, we went for a long walk initially in the dry and then some pretty hard stuff.

Amongst things we saw - a Merc CLS, a guy voluntarily retching, a lot of rain and the Grant Road station clock showing '03:05'. We got to bed at around 5 - 5:30.

That's a pretty cool b'day bash...even without anna.

Of course, at around 5:15 or so, I heard myself rationalising in my sleep... :)

Into the Void

10 August 2005 - A day I wont forget for some time yet. The day started off early. First up was a meeting - my last MCA meeting. I give away certificates and gifts to everyone present. Then I decide to make my farewell speech.

I decided to actually prepare a speech...the only time I would have done this in my 12 months as G.Sec of the MCA (excluding the Marathi Moot speech of course). I stared at the computer screen for some 2 hours the night before...trying very hard to channel my thoughts into one clear line. Didn't happen. And so, my last speech would be ad lib as usual. All my other Votes of Thanks have either been entirely extempore or written on the dais while the Chief Guest droned on endlessly.

I start off explaining the state of affairs regarding my speech. All good so far. Then the lump forms in the throat and somebody asks "Shreyas, are you crying?"
I say "No, but I'm going to."

The only other sentence I manage is "GLC's been the MCA". Not quite my eloquent best, yet profound methinks.

I usually don't cry and certainly not in public. The last time I can remember crying publicly was on 10 March 1998. This was when I was still in Delhi. We had a special assembly for one of the people who worked in the school office. He was my mentor of sorts - intoducing me to adventure sports and even teaching me some of the finer points of cricket. He had died in a road accident on the 5th. I get through 3 lines of my prepared speech, break down on stage in front of the whole school and walk off to storm into the loo to wash my face and give an exam 15 minutes later.

The MCA has been my whole life over the past 3 years and certainly over the past 2. There are very few things that I'm so passionate about and the MCA hits the top of that list. Amma later told me that she wasn't surprised that I broke down. I expected a lump in my throat, but definitely not uncontrollable sobbing. I can't figure what happened, except that it was quite a draining experience.

In the middle of all this, everyone present stood up and gave me an ovation...something that I would have enjoyed a lot more had I been able to actually see it without all the water in the eyes. And suddenly, all the applause, all the pats on the back from people I hardly know, all the congratulation letters after DMH, all the personal pride that I derived from all that we've achieved meant nothing.

There is no greater tribute to a person than to be appreciated by one's peers. It's the feeling you get when you walk back from playing the innings of your life on a cricket field and your whole team has lined up at the edge of the field to applaud you as you walk back. All the applause from the measly number of spectators, the "well done's" from the opposing team, the "badhiya beta" from the coach are meaningless. It's all that you ever want; to have people just like you appreciate your efforts, your sacrifices, your achievements and you as a person above everything else.

If any of you'll who were there that day are reading this (fat chance!), thank you. Those 30 seconds were worth all the sacrifices and endless madness.

A little after that, I had my elections for the college's General Secretary. After a painfully drawn out process involving lenghty minute taking, I lose it by one third preference vote.

Suddenly, I feel drained. There's this huge void in front of me. The MCA is gone...the only thing I was even considering doing this year in College isn't happening either. It was like the doors of the College I've done so much with were shut. A bit all-over-the-place, the rest of the day goes through without incident. Deep down I'm rather thankful that I lost the election. At least I can get on with my life now.

But I diagnose myself to be clinically depressed. So I take the ultimate medicine - long walk with A & A. I get back home after about three hours with them and I'm already feeling better. Another hour or so of time-wastage on Grand Theft Auto, and I'm feeling good enough to sleep.

The next few days haven't been great either. There's this tremendous void in my life that I'm struggling to come to terms with. I've devoted 12 hours a day for nearly the past 3 years to College and suddenly its all gone. I still have responsibilities and can easily take on more. But the question is whether I want to, whether I will still have the passion to see things out to their finality, to the point where I feel I've done all I could.

I can't answer that question. My heart and inertia say keep going. Rational thought says get on with your life. The two don't mix.

I'm tired. I don't think I'll ever be able to conjure up the kind of effort that it took to make DMH international; to stand up to all the pressure when we revolutionised mooting in GLC; to listen to every idiot, mooter or not, put down a dream; to face the 3 High Court judges the Monday after Chagla; to tell myself "keep going...it's worth it" when nothing told me I could or that there would be any payback at the end; to see an organisation of 50 plus individuals run ragged and know that you've probably pushed too far. Above all, I can't see myself feeling as passionately about anything in this College again.

It's been an incredible 12 months - 12 months that I will never forget. A roller coaster ride that's reached a number of crests and an equal number of troughs.

The important thing is that each crest was high enough to keep the car going through the trough that followed.

Aamchi Mumbai atta changla naiye

For the non-Marathi speakers - the title means(more or less): "Our Mumbai is not in great shape right now". For the Marathi speakers - apologies for what must undoubtedly be poor Marathi, but this is the kind of Marathi that usually exits my mouth. It's worked so far; no reason to stop now.

After my last blog detailing my adventures on Tuesday (26 July), much has happened in and around Mumbai. The flooding in question then was not quite the ordinary flooding we see every year. It seems that the Santacruz met office recorded around 95 cm for 24 hours. In contrast, the south Bombay met office (Colaba) only received a measly 15.6 cm.

There have been plenty of people, each with their and their friends' stories, more than willing to divulge exciting stories. These are, of course, the lucky ones, who managed to get away with little or no trouble or harm. Others' houses have simply been washed away. Someone had her entire house submerged. When the waters receded, a large portion of their furniture was missing (probably just floated away). The State Government only yesterday announced what is a fairly reasonable relief package, nothing outstanding really; Rs. 5000 for every family whose entire house was submerged plus 20kg of rations and 10 litres of kerosene. Don't take these figures on an absolute basis. It is relatively generous by usual Government standards, especially keeping in mind that food and water is already being distributed and that the kith and kin of those who have died in the floods get Rs. 1 lakh.

I know the usual retort to these packages being announced is "The only bread earner is dead. What is 1 lakh going to do?". It is a fair comment as regards the victims, but a tad unfair on the Government, who have a load of these packages to give away every year. It is at times like this that you begin to appreciate what our leaders have to go through when (to make it a tad blatant), the shit hits the fan. They are invariably not up to the task and are subject to the ire of the public, but frankly - what can the CM do? Visiting places is a vote gathering exercise, and leads to more discomfort for the residents of the visted place, than anything else. He has to keep taking stock of what is going on and take what will always be unpopular decisions for some part of the public. Only yesterday, there were reports that the Koyna dam was overflowing and a ton of villages in the area, about a 80-100 km off Bombay were being evacuated. Dams bordering Karantaka were opened for a short while to mitigate the chance of a burst.

I can tell you from first hand experience, that being at the helm of an 'in crisis' organisation is not a happy place to be. Three things; one, everyone is looking to you for THE decision (for which you have little or no time); two, regardless of the decision, there are always unhappy entities baying for your blood; and three, the buck really does stop with you. Anybody who's been through this sort of thing will look upon our politicians with a lot more sympathy at times like this.

Having said that, the minimum requirement to gain my sympathy is that you do everything that you could have and ought to have done in the position. This is unfortunately not the case with the current administration, police or municipal corporation. Case in point: the Police Commissioner, AN Roy made a press statement on Wednesday saying, "Hum subah se kaam me lagey huey hain". The statement was retracted soon after - some attentive aide pointed out that the flooding had begun the night before and that was when the police should have been in action!

In contrast, the BMC (Brihannmumbai Municipal Corporation) has only really come under fire because of the Commissioner's poor PR skills. Jonny Joseph, the gentleman in question, makes ridiculous statements like, "If anything happens to Mumbai and Mumbaikars, I take full responsibilty." He hasn't shown his face on TV since. There are going to be a few jobs up for offer at the end of all this.

The only real action that could have been taken to avoid the catastrophe, was to inform everyone to get their backsides home early on Tuesday. The suburbs had already received over 400 mm of rain by noon, and surely a warning should have been issued saying "Go home early". Instead, the only message that got to office-going Mumbaikars was the rumour mill spread stuff that the trains had shut down. This was around 3 pm, by which time the trains had, for all practical purposes stopped. The official alert came around 6 pm when people were asked to stay where they were (at office, home or school/college). By this time, a lot of people were already in their cars on flooded main roads.

A lot of people actually died in their cars. Presumably the water seeped in and made it impossible for them to get out. A lot of the other dead were in landslides in Saki Naka and the area. In the Air-India colony in Kalina, whole families simply drowned, being unable to get away before their entire house was submerged. Flats on the first floor reported a foot or two of flooding!

Things have only worsened since Tuesday. The North rig on Bombay High caught fire after a cargo vessel attepmting a rescue crashed into it due to the choppy seas and poor visibility. The rig was completely destroyed leaving 10 dead in a few hours time. Bombay High North produces about 110,000 barrels of crude oil a day, which accounts for around 7% of India's production capability - gone now.

My grandfather tells me that the armed forces, in particular the navy, have always been very nervous about Bombay High. In case of war, the enemy needs only blow them up and the whole sea would be on fire, preventing any ships from going in or out of Bombay Harbour. Disaster.

How is Bombay going to cope now? Can it cope or is it simply going to roll over and let its underbelly be exposed? Of all the things that its been subject to - the 1992 riots, the 1993 bomba blasts, the plague of 1995, the blasts of 2002 and 2003- it is almost unimaginable that rain of all things would be the one to succeed in shutting it down.

Bombay's resilient spirit is well documented and I don't think my thoughts on it are going to make you any wiser. But I can just feel (a sixth sense, if you wish) that there is something different about this one. Everyone has been affected, everyone has a story to tell, everyone is wary of the next onslaught of rain. Above all, I think the fact that man is helpless against the force of the weather is what scares Bombay'ites the most. It's a case of prevention and no cure-not this year at least. Our drainage system continues to be a vintage piece of work. Brick lined storm drains emptying into the sea. Shut during high tide as they dont act as valves, but merely as conduit for water. (Some slums in the Parel area had fish at their doorsteps - literally)

Perhaps this is the wake up call that every city needs at some point of time. The case of Surat comes to my mind. One of India's filthiest cities, it emerged from the plague of 1995 in a new avatar. There's a pretty good documentary called "Blessed by the Plague" on this. See if you can grab it. I have a copy on VHS.

The rains have subsided to an extent now and things look to be heading towards normal again. Bombay has lost a week of work - the effects haven't hit yet, but the next few weeks will show how hard hitting this has really been.

No quote today-instead a pic. I've been labelled as a mallu don - please post your comments on that (preferably dissenting!).

Right, now the photos: They aren't in the order I wanted for some reason, but anyway:

The view from the window of my 'pad' in Twickenham. The lonesome chap walking on the pavement all dressed in black is me.

The trainees with whom I had a drink after my last day at DWS. Claire is at left most. Rhys is 2nd from right and Kate just to the left of him. All three were part of the 2 teams for the Manches Cup. I cant remember the others' names. Rhys is incidentally the supplier of the Superman outfit.

This is me with the Falafel Man in Dubai. There's this nice little place on the corner of a pretty busy street. We asked him to click a photo of us and then asked him to pose. Reward? A complimentary falafel for each of us!

As with most of Italy, Milan too has its superstitious spots. This is a mosaic on the floor of a goat. Its in the Duomo market i.e. the old market next to the Milan Duomo (cathedral). The legend is that if you plant your heel on one of the goat's legs (now prominent due to the crater created) and spin around 360 degrees without falling - you will have wealth in your life. Am still reserving judgment.

This is me outside the Basilica of St. Mark (Santo Marco) in Venice. Venice really is a beautiful place. If you're ever in Italy regardless of where, make sure you do a day trip to there. Venice lives on tourism and is slowly being submerged by the water. No one knows how much longer the city will actually survive before going under entirely.

Bombay soaked and soggy

A bizarre day for several reasons:

One, I get up to go for TT selections, hoping that I haven't lost touch too much only to discover otherwise once I start playing. Two miserable matches later, with very few sparks to talk of, I am not a part of the GLC TT team anymore. There go 10 marks - I suppose next year I shall just have to earn it.

After another (the umpteenth) session of talking to one more person about big plans for my dearest (aka GLC), I am in one of those bemused moods, talking to a person who says he/she cannot accept mediocrity, has contacts all over the place, will definitely be able to get funds, take care of marketing and PR etc etc. To be honest, I've seen one too many of these people, and it just pisses me off that they respect this College so little. This may sound confusing, so I shall explain.

Every time someone comes up with a grandiose plan and talks about how much can be done here because Ambedkar and Tilak studied here, it shows how little they know about the real world and also how eager they are to take not only the college and its students, but more importantly, their reputation for a long roller coaster ride. I've stuck my neck out far too many times for plans like these (usually by people who have their own obviously-very-well hidden agendas), and this time round the enthusiastic idiot shall not remain one.

On to happier things and Bombay is seeing some of its worst flooding for a long time. I just got back from College a couple of hours back having spent about 90 minutes on the bike. All trains have been suspended and traffic is naturally choc-a-bloc everywhere. People are beginning to walk home even to places about 35-40 kms off College. Schools in Bombay have been called off for two days. No news of colleges. Oh well!

The ride back was not only eventful, but also fun. The bike had been in the rain for a while, so it took repeated starts all the way home because it was one, cold and two, wet. The traffic was bumper to bumper all the way from Walkeshwar to Churchgate on Marine Drive (which for non-Bombay'ites, means that almost the whole of Marine drive was blocked up). So I do what any enterprising biker would -

Note: Do you enjoy riding a bicycle / 2 wheeler or driving a car? I always have. I like the idea of power at your wrist / pedals. Have you ever ridden a motor vehicle on the pavement with pedestrians on it?

So, a whole chunk of us bikers decided that the footpath was the option. I can assure you that this is almost a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Its great fun to hurtle (relatively) down the footpath honking your horn and looking at pedestrians as if its their fault that they aren't getting out of your way!! Even more fun is the art of letting a mobike behind you overtake you so that you can use him just as Calvin uses his rubber ducky to test for sharks. I can tell you that 90 minutes of this nonsense and you're a pro at wet riding.

But this is, of course, not the end. As we head into the Chowpatty bottleneck after Mafatlal - we decide not to get off the pavement and continue on that 4 foot wide pavement bordering the park on Chowpatty! This is when the real fun starts. I am now the 4th or 5th bike in the convoy. As I move along I suddenly see this guy on the side wall clinging on for dear life and screaming his lungs out at something up ahead. Methinks biker no. 1. We finally get off a little before the Kulfi centre signal after biker no. 1 has endured the brunt of the attacks.

The next great bottleneck is Nana Chowk. The traffic cop is standing there bravely braving the rain and when we honk a bit saying let the bikers through - he stops us and lets a Sumo into the only remaining space in the junction!!! Cars cant move because there are too many which have broken down due to the flooding on exit roads. Wherever cars can move, they are prevented due to the multitudes of pedestrians standing their ground!

It ocassionally becomes a cyclical thing with no place for either man nor vehicle to manouvre. The Tardeo high road's water is nearly knee high and the bike finally gives up on me after having drunk too much from the wrong snout. After a bit of pushing I finally make it home safe, sound, soaked and soggy.

Anyway - dinner beckons - so I shall get back and do the needul with the quote and some photos.

Wi-Fi in absentia

My last blog from abroad this year. I’m sitting in the Dubai Duty Free trying to connect my damn laptop to the Wi-Fi here – no luck. It’s amazing how quickly my mood has changed. It’s suddenly back to the not-so-cheerful guy. The signs of India are already showing – I was just cut in the line waiting to order my tea. Really irritating. The only time this happened in the UK was when this American summer studentish looking kid just went up to the counter in the Sainsbury’s at Ox. Really weird – she was, of course, sent back. No such luck here – the Chinks manning the counter are as clueless as everyone else.

I can’t quite say that I’m not impressed by the Dubai terminal – it is undoubtedly large and modernish, but I just liked the Bahrain one a lot more. I’m trying very hard to get my brain round this Stetson problem – am doing some reading here before I got bored of looking through my huge library of conventions. It seems such an unimpressive international problem…I really have no idea how it’s going to be argued for 45 minutes. Only two issues really – jurisdiction and one merit issue. Really bizarre problem, unless I’m really not getting the hang of it. It may well be the latter.

Right – shall sign off now and get some work done before the flight.

“When I left my home and my family
I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers, in the quiet of the railway station
Running scared”

The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel

A 2nd goodbye

Right – I know I promised that my previous blog would be the last from this country, but two events occurred that have forced me to write another ‘one last one’.

First, the release of the new Harry Potter book. Blackwell’s, which is the bookstore of Oxford, opened its doors at 11pm for the first time ever (this is significant, seeing as Blackwell’s is a few hundred years old). Anna and I were walking past it on the way back from one of the social events referred to in my previous blog, and there were all these people, grown-ups and kids alike queuing up outside in all sorts of weird black outfits and pointy hats. One woman (presumably hired by Blackwell’s) had these two fire-eater type flames at the end of two sticks(?). And of course, how can one forget the Jap tourists taking photos.

The second thing I have to write about is the graduation ceremony I attended yesterday – Julia’s incidentally. Anna and I were invited as her two guests. It is simply awesome there in the Sheldonian and if I ever decide to come to Ox, a few sacrifices along the way and in Ox may well be worth it for this kind of graduation! The entire ceremony, save for the Vice-Chancellor’s short speech is in Latin and the academic gowns that are awarded are exquisite. The Vice-Chancellor incidentally made his entire custom speech at Manmohan Singh’s ceremony in Latin! (Now there’s something to strive for!!!)

Sitting in the VC’s chair yesterday was Linacre’s Principal, who is like a chaddi bum-chum of anna. During the College tea here (with some great pastries and other sugar filled items), he obviously mistook me for anna and made familiar PC (as opposed to just PC) whilst standing in the line to grab a cuppa and afterwards as well. But he seems a very nice guy – and I’m sure anna will thoroughly enjoy it should he be there to give away the D.Phil to anna. Anna took a liking to the D.Phil gowns too – I think that’s a good thing, seeing where he’s heading!

Ok – this remains a short blog – I have to go and pick up some groceries, food etc. Anna has his lab talk coming up, so the usual pre-test/exam type stress is on as he does his ppt. But he looks well in control. I leave for Heathrow early tomorrow morning, and am getting into Bombay nearly 24 hours later. And everyone thought air travel was quick – yeah rrrrrrrrrright.

Since this is an add-on/unofficial blog, I see no reason why it should be blessed with a quote!! Cheerio, pip-pip and all that… Goodbye to the motherland finally.

Goodbye to the UK

I’m at Regents Park. A rather uninteresting last day in London. As usual, I seem to have spent more time travelling than actually doing anything. On Anna and Julia’s advice, I went up to Camden Town. Pretty much the place for the weirdos of the world. “Weirdos of the world, converge” was the slogan I thought most appropriate. Spiked hair in various shades of green, pink and blue. Piercings in unimaginable parts of bodies. (NB: a nipple piercing is far more painful to the eye when observed in person as opposed to the idiot box).

After dropping the keys off to my flat and an insipid lunch, in more ways than one, I trudged to Camden and then to Regents Park, which is not as enjoyable as I remembered it being last year, primarily due to the fact that it is really hot today. My shirt is absolutely soaked.

This will probably be my last blog from this country – I’ve just lost interest in going through the motions more often than I have, especially when I lead a pretty boring life in essence. My saving grace this time has been the fruitfulness of the visit, not to mention the enjoyment at work and the longish hours put in. All of which I wish I could do again.

I have also decided that the best time of the year to visit the UK is May. Hot days are entirely absent, and the cold only hits if you don’t wear two layers. So no problem and the ideal weather for me. Maybe I shall make London my summer spot just as the Sahibs made the hillstations of North India theirs.

In other news, the BJP has attacked our PM for praising British colonial rule. Anna was at the speech he made at Oxford when accepting his D.Litt, but I haven’t discussed the issue with him. This is due to my fear of being called a dimwit, which is what I shall label the BJP leaders who have come out with this press statement. All Manmohan Singh said was that the British left behind a lot of good things in terms of infrastructure et al (in a nutshell, of course). Rediff published his acceptance speech. I am too lazy to find you the link, so go hunt if you are interested.

I’ve been sitting under this tree for less than 15 minutes typing this and eating Sainsbury’s brownies and I’m already bored. This is the problem with a holiday…sometimes there’s just not enough happening. I’ve also taken very few photos this time round. The reasoning? For one, I don’t feel like it and two, I’m pretty sure I’ll remember all the things I did (at least the memorable stuff) even 50 years down the line, so what for then? Sufficient has been taken to remind me that I was here and that’s more than enough for me.

That’s about it – now I am truly bored typing this and my head has begun to wander towards the ducks and crows at the end of every sentence.

This next bit has been added a couple of days later:

John sent me this link about some insanity in the world and the lenghts to which people are willing to go to in order to kill themselves and yet not call it suicide! Let us know what you think.

Anna and I went and watched Rigoletto, by Verdi - with some seriously good seats. The Welsh National Opera were performing. It was, in a word, fantastic. La Traviatta, also by Verdi, which I caught in Bombay with amma was not a patch on this for three reasons; one, Rigoletto has a far more interesting story, two, the seats were so good that you could actually catch the actors acting and not just hear them sing and three, the protagonist was an outstanding actor unlike La Traviatta, where one just pitied the guy for several reasons.

That's it from the UK. I have a couple more social events to attend with anna before I leave early on Monday morning. I can't exactly say I want to get back to the grind that is College...and we shall just leave it at that, why don't we?

Simon & Garfunkel had other ideas:

"Every day's an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines.
And each town looks the same to me, the movies and the factories
And every stranger's face I see reminds me that I long to be,
Homeward bound."

London cries and cries again

It's been an extraordinary week. My last week at work, a pre-Gleneagles conference, London winning the Olympics, London being bombed, my send off, a rugby test, a cricket match...could I ask for more?

First up, the pre-Gleneagles conference. It was organised by the Business Action for Africa set up under the Commission for Africa by the UK Govt. Basically the business side of things. I wont dwell very long on it...a quick sum-up: "I'll believe it when I see it".

Then London won the Olympics on the same day and the UK went crazy. I was just hitting my head wondering how many days, if not weeks, of these self-inflating headlines one would have to endure in this country. It was, of course, not to be.

We were in the middle of a session on 'Trade and Investment in Africa' (or something like that), with Paul Boateng, the UK High Commissioner to S.Africa, chairing. The speakers have spoken, the audience has yawned and then in the middle of a question from a Swiss based Nigerian about the need to channelise the potential of SME's in the continent, somebody goes upto Sir Paul and tells him something. And then, without warning, "Hurrah. Hurrah. The United Kingdom has won the Olympics! They're coming to London. Yipee. Pardon Paris." (all this at very high pitch and very loudly, with mad hand gestures). The Brits in the audience didn't stop clapping for five minutes with Sir Paul leading them all. The poor man asking the question had this incredulous look on his face as did the rest of the Africans there. He regained his composure before finishing his question and sitting down in a very dignified manner, despite the obvious lack of hospitality by the British hosts!!

The next day started terribly. The train I usually take was late, and it was cold and raining. So I decided to take the tube instead of the bus, as I usually do. Then at Embankment the Tube just froze, for about 15 minutes. I was really pissed, cos I was getting late for work. Then we heard some crap announcement about a power surge, so everyone just left the train. Before the whole crowd, including me, could even get to the stairs to get out, they announced that trains were back up and running, followed by another one denying that 2 minutes later. Everyone was just really pissed. Of course, better than a stampede had we been told what had actually happened!

The rest is, of course, history.

I had a great send-off the day after (Friday). First lunch with most of the group followed by an official goodbye with gifts et al. A beautiful pair of cuff links (my boss' idea - a cricket bat and ball). All I now need to do is get a shirt I can actually use them on. Then on my way to the station, I met Claire (the woman who cried Superman...refer precious blog) and went out for drinks with a few trainees. Excellent day - really felt good at the end of it - it'e been a while!!

Anna came down to London that evening. Primarily to help pack and lug everything back to Ox. We woke up early the next morning to go watch the third Lions test (the 2nd primary reason anna came down) in a pub down the road. Great stuff. I can only say that the atmosphere would have been a lot better had it been an evening game - with the beer flowing etc., but I was happy to avoid seeing grown men cry.
As a side-comment: the All Blacks thrashed the Lions. I think they are simply the superior team and despite some pressure from the Lions, which actually worked, they were never in any trouble.

2 months of living in Twickenham - at least I can go home head held high saying that I watched a rugby test in a pub there!!

Sunday saw me turn out for a Commonwealth Scholars XI side versus the Rhodes XI side. My side, of course, won - with me opening the bowling!! I shall say no more about this for fear of being deprived of sustainance in my few days left here!

That's all about my last week in London. One more blog coming up.

I have no quote for today...a bun maska for the person who provides the best one. (Judges decision is final. I am, incidentally, the judge.)

Keeping 'Paes' with the tennis

It's been a pretty tiring and eventful week. Lot of work, late evenings, and terrible food as a consequence. My social life hit an all time high this Thursday when I discovered the polite British equivalent of club-hopping. First I had drinks with Deutsche Bank, then I returned to a Banking group BBQ and drinks followed by an informal drinking session with a few trainees taking the Vacation Scheme bunch out. The terrible side of this is that I only had one beer as a sum total - not even one per..just one. What a waste of free alchohol!!

I did, however, meet the 'Woman who screamed Superman'. Her name as estimated by me, was not Elizabeth, but Claire - some photos are on their way over from her camera soon. I shall go through the lot and post a couple of the least embarrassing.

In other news - there has been much happening in sports - Federer will be playing Roddick in tomorrow's final. I watched the third set of the match between Roddick and Johansson and it was simply magnificent tennis. Brilliant to watch, and I was hoping that good old Thomas won that set, cos it would have ensured a nice 5 setter. Anyway, as I walked out of the Linacre Common Room at the end of the set, I knew that Roddick had the match in the 4th. But to his credit Tommy fought hard and Roddick won it in a tiebreak. Commendable.

Flashback - June 2004, People's Sunday, Centre Court. I'm watching Roger Federer take on Thomas Johansson. Everyone has, of course, heard of Tom, being a former Australian Open champ in 2000, i think. But if you asked me to describe his game, it was pedestrian at best. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching Federer's majestic game on display, but you want to see him pushed so that the best of him can be seen. Frankly, he looked as if he was walking a pram that afternoon. Cruising through in 3.

Johansson, to his credit, has picked up since then - I think he was just out of long term injury last year - and played some awesome tennis today. Anyone who can take Roddick's serve to Deuce in 4 straight games is special. As for the final, I'd like to see Federer winning in 5, although I secretly admit to myself that it is unlikely and that the best we'll probably see is him winning in 4. But I always love an upset in the later stages of a tournament.

In other tennis news, Todd Woodbridge announced his retirement after this Wimbledon. He is still in the mixed doubles Quarters and will take on Bhupathi and Pierce in the Semis should he get through. To put his career in perspective, the guy has won the Wimbledon doubles title 9 times. 6 with Mark Woodforde, his long time partner and 3 with Jonas Bjorkman who now plays alongside Max Mirnyi. Of the 6, 5 were consecutive between 1993 and 1997. The 3 with Bjorkman were also consecutive between 2002 and 2004. I don't care what you say, in a game as unpredictable as doubles where top seeds get dumped in the first round every alternate slam, that is A record! He is also a singles semi-finalist in 1997. So... It's sad to see him go, but I suppose everyone must call it a day at some point. I hope he gets another Wimbledon title before he goes.

As we discuss players, one of the guys I've watched for a long time comes to my mind - Leander Paes. He popped up in one of the many tennis conversations that anna and I have. A little about him and me. I first remember watching him as a 14 or 15 year-old taking on the big boys in Challenger tourneys at MSLTA. He was undoubtedly good. I can vividly recall a doubles match he was playing with Zeeshan Ali against the Russian duo. (One of them was Vladimir something and had a quite a fan following the two years he came. He won the singles the first year and got dumped early the next memorably flinging his racket from the baseline into the net during the match - luckily it hit no one). Anyway - Paes won that match (a final). He then went on to win the Juniors at Wimbledon in singles and became India's backbone at Davis Cup ties. Incidentally, other Indians to have won the Juniors at Wimbledon are the Krishans - both father and son. Ashok Amritraj and Jaideep Mukherjee have been losing finalists.

Then last year, on People's Sunday - we left Centre Court to watch him and David Rikl take on Vincent Spadea and some other chap. It was a shit showing. Poor play with a poor partner. I remember a point where Lee and Rikl were at the net and a passing shot was coming in. Paes says (mid-rally) "Cover your lines". Rikl doesn't. Passing shot goes down the lines on Rikl's forehand. Paes actually turned the other way i.e. not facing his partner and walked back to return serve the next point. Really bugged expression on his face.

All this is fine, cos it's a shit partner he's playing with. I was still hoping they'd get through and backing them. There was a huge Indian contingent to cheer as well.

Then one game where Paes was serving, he served a first fault. And as he tossed the ball up and some (definitely stupid) female screamed "Come on, Leander". He aborted serve, served a double fault, lost the next point and his serve. Everyone was at this point basically giving dirty looks in the direction from where the scream had come. Then as he walked to his chair, Paes looked to that part of the stands and said a caustic (and audible) "Thank You". Anna got it bang on when he said "I just lost all respect for the guy after that."

It got worse a couple of games later when a guy screamed "Come on Indians, cheer for Leander" (or something to the effect in Hinglish). There was a huge cheer, and Paes actually rolled his eyes and shook his head, the ungrateful _____. People would die to have over 100 people cheering for them on bloody Court 8 which is the 2nd worst court to play on after Court 7.

At the end of the match when autographs were being taken from Paes, anna asked me whether we should go and get one. I mumbled something about him having just lost etc and how it might not be fair to him. But frankly, I didn't want to get his autograph, or have him sign anything that I would keep. I didn't want to go have a chat with him even if I got a chance, something I would readily accepted before this match.

Anyway - that's enough about that. Suffice to say that Paes will not be shaking my hand at his (or my!) autobigraphy's signing (if and when they happen!)

Other news - none. The Lions got hammered this morning. Good on the All Blacks - still my fav. rugby team.

Otherwise everything is hunky dory with one week of work to go. More blogging then.

And sweeping up the jokers that he left behind
you'll find he did not leave you very much
not even laughter.
Like any dealer he was watching for the card that is so high and wild
he'll never need to deal another.
He was just some Joseph looking for a manger.

-'The Stranger Song' by Leonard Cohen