16th Grand Slam, against Rafa?

Wimbledon Finals: Roger Federer defeat Andy Roddick
	Roger Federer (2) 5 7 7 3 16 Andy Roddick (6) 7 6 6 6 14

Whoooooaaaaaaaaa! What an exquisite final showdown at Wimbledon!

With injured Rafa pulling out of Wimbledon, everyone of us suspected there was no one stopping Federer now... but after running through the finals of Wimbledon 2009, you'll agree when I say, Big things, never come easy... does it ?

There are just too many thoughts haunting me at this time while I write... stay with me! That is, If I tumble, just put me back on the chair!

Star Studded Match
Pete Sampras, her beatiful wife Bridgette Wilson, Bjorn Borg, Woody Allen, designer Ralph Lauren, Russel Crowe... Does it get better?

Through Pete's Mind
Just wonder the thoughts going through Pete's mind... while on court, he grabbed 14 of them. Undoubtedly, the conditions then, and now differ, and need not be compared, and while his records, still hold, people will truely remember him... but here plays a man, who is trying to get over him... onto the 15th... just like erasing your name from the history book, and replacing it with mine... did he really wish him to go past him???

Interesting Statistics
For his 15th Grand Slam, he had to wait for four hours and 15 minutes, and had to go past his 15th set!

Andy and the Killer serves
With Federer unable to find a way pass to correctly break Roddick's serve for the 4 hours of play, many critics would sympathise with Roddick for his loss, in spite of being the better one. True, but then its a crazy game called Tennis, says Roger!

Through Andy's mind
Here I am... this is me... There's no where else on earth I'd rather be?
On serious notes,
Here I am... If I win this one, Pete's record still holds! If I lose, Roger creates history! Today, I am/was the better one... but I've not yet made my mark in the Tennis world! Am I just no one?

Success never never comes easy
With everyone thinking that the 15th Grand Slam would come easy in lieu of Nadal's absence, nooo... it definitely wasn't! I could feel the shiver, quiver, and the chill run down my spine... He was made to wait... and wait... and wait... I asked myself ...

He has given his best for all the previous 14 Grand Slams... he has put in more than 10 years of international tennis.. but still, everything boils down to that last set... 16-14... he had to wait for another 10 sets to get there...
Seemed like God wanted him to wait... true! The victory couldn't taste any sweeter!

Back to World No. 1 Federer
The 15th Grand Slam has brought back his World No. 1 Title, with it! Hail Federer! When asked about his feelings, he expressed this year as fully crazy. He somehow felt funny about winning back his Wimbledon title, and all coming good this year!

Good gift for the new one to come
When asked about his feelings about creating history, he expressed this year as crazy. He somehow felt funny about winning back his Wimbledon title, and all coming good this year! Mirka Vavrinec, Federer's wife's been 8 month pregnant, and what a gift it would be, for them, this year, everything falling correctly in its place.

16th Grand Slam, against Rafa?
Many wanted Federer to create history, against his greatest sought competitor... Rafa! Well, so what he couldn't make 15th against him... 16th isn't far away! What say, folks?

Goa, the place to be!

I remember my good old childhood days, when we use to plan our vacation to the "Nehru Hatti Garden" (a.k.a. "The last garden" - R.A.M, this is to irritate you!), a place which is not more than 200 metres from our building gate. Everyone of us, will bring in something, which when mixed, will taste like bhel (never mind the ingredients), accompanied by Rasna packets!

Add 15 years to your age then, and after you've got a few bucks, and some1 asks for a vacation venue, one of the favorites will surely be GOA! And that's how we started - myself, Ajay, his sister, his cousin!

Packing the bags dint take more than 15min, and the thrill and excitement of the trip starts right here! With the bus to Goa to leave @ 8.30pm from Gokul Hotel, Borivali, there I was... helplessly trying to call up Ajay @ 7.43pm, to know whether he forgot to pick me up for the trip. But at last, we reached! But nah.. the excitement ain't over...

With Ajay sighting an Arrey Lassi counter, he was just uncontrollable, and hopping badly to get there to quench his thirst for Lassi, sorry.. Arrey Lassi! His sister, was at the doctor's and I doubted her arrival on time. With his cousin wanted to buy specifically "Paragon" Chappals , he started hunting for it right away! Believe me when I tell you that Catching the Bus was least on everybody's mind ...

But all goes well, when the best of friends are around, and there we were, playing with the semi-sleeper seats of Neeta Volvo bus service, on our way to Goa.

Special thanks to:

Ajay's cousin's sister: For making excellent Noodles! Can we have this again, while Ajay heads back to France? Also, for the tempting sheera...
Ajay's Mom: For making jam, and chatni sandwiches (yummmy...)
Ajay's Dad: For chopped cucumber pieces, and buying a knife@ bus stand to cut tomatoes, to make our vegetable sandwich on board
My Mom: For making theplas, which made way into our stomach for the first lunch@Goa.

And after watching 2 Govina movies back to back, we reached there finally... GOA !!!! Ahh.. !!!

Where did we stay?
- Hotel Mellorosa, Arpora, 2kms away from Calangute.

Cost? And how did we bargain?
- Rs. 900/- per day for 4 people.
- Excellent bargaining skills from Ravi, and me, wherein we said to Mr. Jaan, the receptionist:
* We dont want extra matresses. Hum log zameen pe soyenge...
* Swimming pool mein mere badle tu jaa..
* Hum log ek hi light use karenge...
* Hum log paani kam use karenge... in fact... hum naahaenge hi nahi... 2kms petrol waste kar ke Calangute se paani laayenge...
* Hum log students hai... kuch to rehem karo...
* And many more... Ravi pls add it in comments!

Transportation
- We rented one Pulsar, and a Bajaj Avenger for Rs. 250/- per day (petrol charges extra) from Bhushan, the guy next door to the Hotel.
- We enjoyed a 250kms drive throughout the trip.

Places we visited
Day 1 (Evening)
- Calangute
- Wagator, in search for the disc, which disappeared due to the off-season nature.

Day 2
- Arambol (32kms drive from Calangute). Excellent empty roads!!! Ajay and myself enjoyed a nice bike fall, with some minute, but painful injuries.
This was the best secluded beach of Goa. A seemingly trained dog accompanied.. rather lead us to the sweet water lake, which is just adjacent to the beach! "Ahhh..." was our call in unison when our feet touched the sweet cool lake water! Thanks doggy for escorting us here!
- Wagator. Excellent place adjoining the beach, which serves some tasty omlet-paav breakfast. Just buy an Amul Butter, enjoy it with the omlet-paav, and you'll love it. Dip the buttered toast in the chaai, and aahhhh... you'll taste heaven...
- Wagator - Sikrim - Calangute drive. Calangute, if you just go aloof the crowded area, you will see some cleanest water to get drenched! Whoaa.. what a bath, it was!
- Chapora Fort, Wagator! 30min before the sunset spot! Everyone visits in here, but not the adjoining hill connecting it to the Wagator Beach. The hill we climbed, gave an exquisite view of the Wagator Waters! We imagined a lady, a dragon emitting fire, a rat, a rabbit of the clouds. Splendid, it was!
However, Ajay's request to wait for the sunset was denied. Instead, we asked him to take a photograph then, and label it as "30minutes before sunset". What an idea, sirjee!
- Back to Hotel Mellorosa. We'll not forget the amazing dinner served by the hotel staff, minutes after closing the restaurant!

Day 3
- Uff! We're late
With a tiresome last day, everyone was awake late, and we started the day at 10.30am.
- Mayem Lake
55kms away from Calangute, this is an excellent hidden lake, in the center of Goa, which I found the calmest of all. And if you can peddle a boat in the calm and cool water.... man... that's life!
To get here, you have to cross a "Cable Bridge", which is a long streched road, where in you can vroooom your bike easily till 100kmph. Its a bridge, which you should always cross!
- Panjim Market
The trip ended with shopping for family and friends, and with the Kwality Walls ice-creams!

Special finding during the trip was Hotel Vrundavan @ Mapusa Bus stand, which after discovery was our sole place for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. With raising our hand like "Hail Hitler"... the waiter will serve you in no time! Must try - Lassi (which we suspected to be curd plus flavored milk), and surely "Baby Corn Mushroom Tawa Subji"

There were a lot of jokes and fooling around. Devang Patel reminding Aarti of some one, whereas some1 wanted to buy something for someone.
Jhaagda is baat pe hota ki xxxx k piche kaun baithega... does this ring a bell fellow tripmates?
We missed Chin2 and DhanO, our Tom and Jerry, throughout the trip, and imagined situations if they had been here!

The whole of Goa seemed to be shut down during this trip, but the scenic beauty still remains! And if you are a bike fan, the empty roads have never been better! There are 100s of those unexplored places guys, pack your bags, and start hunting now... dont forget to vrrrrooooommmmmmmmmmmm...


P.S:

Let me not forget the mention the fifth character on our trip. When Ajay's sis Aarti wears those numerous sweat jackets, the ZooZoo comes alive, wearing the ZooZoo type shoes too! Will try to publish ZooZoo merchandise pics shortly...

Mumbai to Pune Biked !!!

"
Inexperienced Biker... Attempting Mumbai to Pune tomorrow morning... Will I make it? Else.. its Good Bye and Good Luck
"
read my status note, the night before...

I was unsure of whether I should transport my bike (which includes removal of mirror, emptying my petrol tank, plus additonal risks), or should I just drive...

So, I chose! With my good friend *om***w**, who was excellent with the driving directions, started our journey from Mumbai on morning of 11th May 2009.

Here, were the statistics:

Start Time: 05:02hrs
End Time: 08:33hrs
Meter Start: 38396
Meter End: 38607

Waiting only twice during the journey, with the never ever tasted before like raaste ki elaichi- coffee.. the journey was a perfect vrrrrrooooommmmmmmm!!!!

With my Mom startled at myself reaching Lonavala, in less than 2hrs, it was indeed a journey to remember!

But the joy and the pride with which I reached Pune, remains vivid. I even carried my helmet to the office desk, to express my feelings.

I've done it man!!! Finally, the moment has come... it did take 2.5years for this goody to come, but definitely worth the wait... so... I have a HONDA UNICORN (2nd hand) at Pune... and just another BAJAJ PULSAR waiting for my weekends @ Mumbai...

Been there, done that!

Voting dilemma !!!

Jaagore.com was this year's definite resolution... a great empowerment initiative by the youth for one and all... It was a definite hit this season of elections. After the advertisement, I saw mass awakening of people, in getting their voters' card made. But the glitch starts just about here...

I have my voters card ready. Now, do I know who is standing from our constituency? Well, I suppose we have answers too, for this -

http://www.myobv.org/

http://www.myneta.info/

Its a nice website which describes each candidate, and gives a comparison chart describing:
- Financial Assets
- Liabilities
- Criminal Cases
- Action Plan
- Time required to implement
- Expected Impact

Well, this does sound good, to help a citizen decide whom to vote... or does it??? Think again... I recognized 99% as total strangers, and have to select one of them based on the informative data present on the above site.

To choose my candidate, I had to use the technique of "Selection by Refutation"... Yes... Reject other candidates, and narrow your decision. Some hilarious comments, that I came across for this elections:

1. Action Plan
A nice to know word from the contestants; however seemed too vague to me -

"We will fight against corruption and injustice" --> Don't you have anything specific in your mind yet?

"We will raise our voices and make India an economic power" --> Man, this fundaebaazi is real crap! Please elaborate.

2. Implmentation Time
When will you implment this Mr. Contestant?

"As soon as possible" --> Ohhh.. that sounds good :)
"Within six months, if I get elected. Within 1 year after I get promoted to MP, which I will" --> Most hilarious of all!
"Within one week" --> Why not complete this, b4 elections then? :)

3. One contestant says that he will ban helmets, and remove first class compartments. Its a nice statement onto the open though. I am clear as to reject this contestant immediately, as he definitely does not understand the real problems.

4. Top 3 surprises to me being the following:
- Sonia Gandhi does not own a house, as an asset.
- Rajiv Gandhi does not own a car.
- Sharad Pawar does not own a single square foot of land.

5. If you are a criminal, you can stand for elections. However, if you are a criminal AND you are not contesting, you cannot vote. Whoaaaa !!! These are like writing rules, as they come to someone's mind. No justification, whatsoever!

The real dilemma comes to choose the party over the contestant, or vice versa.
eg: To choose a party with a far-sighted vision (with a poor contestant), or to choose a better contestant belonging to party which does not seem to think beyond the local issues.

Nevertheless, in spite of the above mentioned flaws, am specially here to vote... vote for some one... and my vote will surely count... but will my decision be correct, given very limited exposure of the contestants, that I have?

Any comments, to set my thinking alright? I promise free food to everyone, who comments. And a nice trip back to your home too. And a nice gift. Well, there I go again !!! I can do it too!

A Series Of Unfortunate Events !

I don't know why I am laughing while writing this blog... this is supposed to be painful.
A series of unfortunate events has rolled up my sleeves!

Everything seemed to be going well, until last month, when I thought, as always ... "Man.. This is the take-off time of my life's journey... Everything is going to fall just in place!".

But I have to tell you that Someone's really out there sensing your happiness, ready to play tricks on you!

Summarizing the events, whether good or bad, the way life treats me:

- Health of my family is in jeopardy! Just too many unlucky events surrounding it!
- Someone's job is in trouble. Need to plan something about him, very soon.
- Never shop a long list, even if you think that now you can. No, you cant! It's a rule!
- Finances and other expenses are looking bad, were totally unplanned for.
- No bonus to be expected this year end, and also worried about the next appraisal occurence (if exists).
- Loss incurred of Rs. 40k and expected to be more, for my investment assets until this year end.
- Unable to think and judge what's right or wrong, or really worth it!
- My Television broke! Meaning ( (-ve)20k bucks) in my bank account.
- My 1500 bucks gift (shoes) to my brother, got robbed outside the temple.

What's more in for me, I think!

Nah... not blaming dear God of course!
He was and is going to be with me, while we laugh off my jeopardy, and I am going to tell him - "Don't yet fall off the chair, just wait and watch, there's more!"

News sad, but stupid reasons!

This news is sad, but the reason is really stupid.

Read this link -
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/news/international/6149088/Nigerian-footballers-in-deadly-bus-crash

If the above link is dead by then, here's in it for you -

"
A bus crash in Nigeria has killed fifteen members of the Adamawa football club. The accident occurred when the team bus collided with a cattle truck in the city of Plateau.

Only one month ago, another bus crash in the same area killed eleven members of a women's football team.
"

Its a tragic death, but in the most stupidest ways possible!!!!
I should mourn, but could not help a hearty laugh, after I read the stupid cause of the death.

The cattle trucks is definitely killing footballers of the country!

Improving Political Tamasha

Imagined how many TV channels do we have now? I think, after 100, we just stopped counting! Anyways, to improve our political processes, I wish to add one more fish to the pond, by having one more TV channel to do the trick!

Here’s my idea-

We do have our geographical area divided amongst the ruling party’s politicians all around. This means that each zone does have one representative, who needs to pay his duties for good of the people.

I would like to bring each of those representatives, one by one, on this particular channel, broadcasted Prime Time Live, and to give statements about just two things –

i. What was done during the last monthly cycle/quarter?

ii. What is planned for the next month cycle/quarter?

The programs that would be broadcasted here in would comprise of following break-up:

1. Country Progress Check: (2 days, preferably weekends)
1. Here, each of the ruling party’s politicians, who represent the country as a whole, would be answering the questions (i) and (ii) mentioned above.
2. This will help a citizen of India aware of all the decisions being made to project India’s progress at global level.
3. Representative would include, someone like –

- Prime Minister

- President

- Finance Minister

- Etc…etc...

2. Individual Zone Check: (4 days)
1. Here, each of the representative of the zone, would come up, and again answer the above two questions.
2. This will make the citizen of that particular zone aware of the happenings in his area. So, a citizen of Bandra, will watch this program only, which really affects him.

3. Watcher’s Grievances: (1 day)
1. As we have “Reader’s grievances” section in the daily newspaper, I would have Watcher’s grievances, where in you can simply call up, and raise your concerns in case of any mishaps or wrong doings in your area by any one.
2. Each week, one of the subjects would be chosen and any one can call up, and directly take names of the officer, who might be involved in some corrupt behavior.
3. Also, a TOLL FREE NUMBER would be given to all the citizens to register complaints against such acts. An action squad would be responsible to sort out the cases, prioritize them, and take suitable action within a maximum period of 2 weeks.
4. This way, we could keep track of no. of cases solved every month, and thus, surely measure our progress, as a nation.

The fliers of schedule can be distributed, put on the net, or published on the media.

The above mentioned activities will result in following two benefits:

1. Understanding of the political process, and measure its progress:

Each citizen gets to understand an track the progress meter of the political behavior.

2. Transparent Political behavior

Each citizen will know how politics is advancing in the nation, and will surely give a clear picture of how things work.

3. Better Competitions, amongst the politicians themselves, to serve people better:

A citizen now sees, which politician is doing good for his people, and hence, in the next elections, a citizen has a clear picture, on who to elect, as he can select from a group of politicians.

I don’t think, taking an hour off the politician’s time every month (or every quarter), would be that hard. But this idea’s implementation will raise quite a few voices. We should definitely give this a try, for sure!