Even tattoos fade

I look and my mind springs up a rhetoric,
The kind of look that results in a smile,
The kind of smile that makes you feel euphoric,
I think it has been a while.

I talk, as if I am the talkative one,
The kind of talk that stretches away the miles,
The kind of mile that is used as a pun,
Trust me dude, it has been a while.

I hug, to say everything I cannot,
The kind of hug that I am told is only mine,
The kind of hug that ties friends in a knot,
Remember? No? Well, it really has been a while.

Together till death do us apart all say,
The kind of death that occurs when agony piles,
The kind of agony that makes a tattoo fade away,
Haha! Finally you know it has been a while.

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Create

I have always wished I lived in the time when all the great inventions were made. The ones we read in our science text books. It would be so fascinating to exist at a time when the telephone was invented. Yesterday there was nothing, today we have something that will change the world forever. It is just fascinating to see or experience something being created out of nothing. 

To me, every artist is the same. They are not artists, they are creators. Every musician. Every sculptor. Every writer. All they have is their imagination and vision. And just out of nothing, they create something breathtaking. Something so beautiful, it changes the course of lives. Lives of the creator and of those that have been touched by their creations. These are people with raw God given talent to create so called magic. In the way every piece of art, statue, music or poem begins slowly but surely and with every stroke, strike, note or word it lilts its way towards a magnificent crescendo and ends with a final swoosh of the brush, chisel or pen of the creator, it makes you feel as greedy as a man in an orgy. At the same time, it leaves you with a sense of understated achievement. A feeling that at some level, you have managed to understand the creator. For those few minutes that you are looking at a painting or a statue or listening to a piece of music, the art belongs to you. No one can take it away from you. No one else knows what it means to you. And it stays with you, forever. 

I wish I was as gifted. Enough to create magic out of nothing. I have been told the closest I have to having a talent is with my writing. I will believe it the day I write something that changes a life. Till then, I will keep trying.

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Real Madrid: "We are you"

via youtube.com

Awwwwwwww! :'-)

Posted via email from Real Madrid

Real Madrid players go Go Karting

via youtube.com

And this was also the handover ceremony for this year's cars from Audi! :D

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Should you get a tattoo? - Flow Chart

via newlookhouston.com

This is quite funny no? :)

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Two days to go!

Today is Wednesday, tomorrow is Thursday and day after is Free Practice 1!

The first ever Indian Grand Prix will take off. The excitement is actually quite overwhelming in India. I think the sponsors and JayPee group are doing a great job in building the event up. I hope it lasts for years.

The preparations are going on at top speed at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC). From the latest pictures that have been tweeted about an hour back, they are down to the process of cleaning the track and painting the lines and the grids. All the teams have arrived and started setting up the Pit Garages. 

I am also posting some pictures taken by @F1PaddockPass. Don't be alarmed if the circuit looks in a state of disarray. All will be set and by tomorrow morning the lines will be painted. And day after tomorrow, for the first time ever, 24 F1 cars will roar to life! 

A few more news updates, Karun Chandhok will only be taking part in the Friday Practice and not the race. Narain will be there to represent the home crowd of course. 

The circuit itself has got quite a lot of positive reactions from drivers and fans. Even though it is being criticised as a Tilkedrome (more on this in the next post), it is being appreciated for its radical elevation changes and prospective high speed.

Will be posting a detailed layout of the circuit so that people know what to expect out of the race this Sunday. :)

Till then please enjoy the pictures :)

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

The Unrhyme

I think, I think and I think,
Of everything but now of ink,
Why is there no ink in pink?
Damn! These rhymes, have no link.

So here, I give it another shot,
To make sense and just rhyme not,
No no no! Again I lost the plot,
My head is where rhymes come to rot!

Now I travel all the way to Khar,
It is known to be the land of Sardars,
By train I go not by my car,
At least this rhyme can be called par.

This post is akin, to moon-walking in an ice rink,
Hence now I stop, before I cause your blood to clot,
I know now as far, I will never be a rhyming star,
See what I did in this last stanza love?

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

What’s Inside the House of Warren Buffett?

via mint.com

:O

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Predicting Tim Cook's first event - iPhone 5

via joyoftech.com

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Cursory Rhymes

Taking forward my earlier tirades/rants/memories of/from school, I am going to rant a little more. About pre-school to be precise.

Pre-school and primary school are usually considered to be the most important years of our education. This is where the building blocks are laid towards the formation of a lifetime of learning and character building. One would consider each and every word taught in these years to be thought out extremely carefully. Wouldn't you?

Read the below sentence:

Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree top. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock; when the bough breaks, the cradle will fall and down will come baby, cradle and all.

How factual. How practical. How real. I mean, this will be the exact sequence of events if the wind blows. We should teach our babies right at the outset that they should never tie a cradle to a tree top. Brilliant!

 

Let us observe another sentence:

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do. She gave them some broth, without any bread, whipped them all soundly, and sent them to bed.

Another practical statement to make to kids. Family planning. Or else, you as mom will have to whip your kids to bed! Less said the better about this.

These are such incorrect things to teach babies. Stupid sentences made up just so that they rhyme! I have not even reached the real violent ones:

London bridge is falling down, Falling down, falling down, London bridge is falling down, My fair lady.

OR

Jack and Jill went up the hill, to fetch a pail of water; Jack fell down and broke his crown, And Jill came tumbling after.

OR

 

Three blind mice, three blind mice, see how they run, see how they run! They all ran after the farmer's wife, who cut off their tails with a carving knife; did ever you see such a thing in your life, as three blind mice?

 

OR the ever popular

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; all the king's horses and all the kings men, couldn't put Humpty together again.

 

I did mention in one of my earlier posts, that we are taught too many impractical stuff in school. I now stand corrected. I mean, if we really have to make our kids aware of the violent and hurtful world, what better way to do it other than making up cute rhymes and make them learn it when they are 3 year olds.

I leave you with the cutest of them all:

 

Georgie Porgie, puddin’ and pie, kissed the girls and made them cry. When the boys came out to play, Georgie Porgie ran away.

 

Now you know what to blame for all things that go wrong with humanity.

 

 

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

On-board lap of the Indian GP circuit

via youtube.com

As the Indian GP comes closer, all the fans and drivers are anxious as to what the new circuit will bring to the calendar. Personally, I am looking forward to the blind turn. After Austria was taken off, there are hardly any blind turns left in the calendar.

This video is from the game F1 2011. This is also what the drivers will use as simulation in preparation for the race. Well, more or less.

Less than a month left! :)

Posted via email from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

Casillas races Arbeloa

via youtube.com

Thank you SR4 for uploading this.

Our boys are having fun! :D

Posted via email from Real Madrid

Blog Enhancement

I started blogging way back in 2006. At that time it was just a way to express my ideas in words. Also, it did help that my words were quite appreciated.

My blog has always been an important place for me. I assumed it as something that represents me. And I always wanted to make it better. I never actually wrote to increase traffic or wrote about things that everyone else is writing about just to conform. My blog is my personal space which in time has been appreciated and I thank each and everyone who has come across it.

Apart from just writing, there were a couple of things I always wanted to try through my blog. The first one was Blog With Me. I was pursuing my MBA at that time and had a lot of people around me who appreciated my writing. I just wanted to communicate the fact that it isn't as hard as it looks, and if you try, you will be good at it as well. This idea didn't quite work as well as I would have liked it to. Requests to people requesting them to write for me turned into persuasion and finally begging. Promises were given but never kept. I guess I should have planned it better. 

Moving on, there was one more aspect I wanted to add to my blog. Images. It gives any write-up a more wholesome appeal to it. But, I wanted to do it differently. So I have been trying to persuade some of my more talented friends to 'make' these images for me. Time is a constraint and I have nothing to give in return. Finally, one person took on the challenge and risked her reputation and time for it. 

Shivangi Sharan is an extremely talented and creative lady residing in Lucknow. I will not say anything more about her. What she does, what she has done and what she intends to do. None of this is important for now. She will be adding more visual appeal to my blog. New posts will mostly have her stamp on them, and some of the old posts might also be updated. Thank you Shivangi!

I am extremely excited about this enhancement and sure hope she gets as much out of this as me and the people reading. 

Starting next post, she will make her presence felt. Show her some love. :)

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

What we should have actually been taught in School

Oatmeal always comes up with the most brilliant comics to explain the most complicated stuff in the funniest manner. They have now come up with this new series about what we should have been taught in School. Below are a few of them. Go read the rest here. Go!

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Bears wear Blue in August

We Indians have had a terrible month of August. If someone could measure the general happiness of a general Indian, it would possibly break the wrong end of the scale. The Happiness Barometer of the mentioned general Indian is majorly governed by three key factors, the performance of the Indian Cricket Team, the performance of the stock markets and the performance of the Indian Government, in that particular order.

The Indian Cricket Team is currently on the tour of England and for the sake of being nice to them, let’s just say they are being humiliated. The first two tests of the four test series showed the glaring difference between a fitter, hungrier and better prepared side and India. Indian supporters typically were not prepared to throw in the towel. We believed this team could still level the series come August. But the bad news kept on coming. Players started getting injured and backups kept boarding flights to England every other day. The scheduled warm up match before the third test too ended in disappointment. We still believed we could pull it off, after all Sehwag and Gambhir were both again fit to play. Well, nothing of that sort has happened and it seems the number one test ranking will be unceremoniously snatched from us.

Let us move on to the more serious topic of global economy. Somehow, global economy seems to be doing worse than Indian Cricket. America has quite unceremoniously lost its AAA rating and stock markets the world over have obliged by replicating the domino effect. Investors the world over have lost Trillions of their hard earned dollars and it is no different in India. Oil prices are shooting up, dollar is getting stronger, gold prices are breaking new highs, every share is breaking their lows and ‘Double Dip’ no longer means an ice cream flavor. People are genuinely worried about how the economy will play out in the next few months and eventually in the next couple of years. For the first time in a very long time, America seems to be coming down to its knees and no one really knows how long they will take to stand back up. Everyone is getting ready to hang onto their jobs now and preparing to go on an austerity drive thanks to the lessons they got from 2008. If the bulls don’t show up anytime soon, panic will be the order of the day.

From the serious topic of economics we will now move to the much lighter topic of politics. Shambles is the word that springs to mind when one thinks of the state of the Indian Government right now. The ruling party does not know how many they need to fire to regain face, the party leader is ill (may God bless her) with a secret illness, the Prime Minister doesn't speak much and when he does come prepared with a speech, the opposition party boycotts proceedings and doesn’t let him speak at all! Apart from all this, there are people going on fasts, CMs refusing to resign and then resigning, inflation spiraling out of control and the economy is not being kind either. The only miraculous reason this government still exists is that there is no other possible alternative.

The irony of this entire situation is that this nation will be celebrating its 64^th Independence Day on 15^th. This date nicely and symbolically splits this month. Maybe the start of the 65^th year will be brighter and happier for its people. But the cricket team might still lose.

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

This joint in time

As you sit on this balmy night,

Everything around you seems awry.

You just don't remember what is 'right',

Feels like you were hit by a lorry.

When was the last time you called,

Someone who would call you right back?

Like a software that wont install,

Its like all your brain needs is a hack.

You don't know what you want it to do,

If you want it to change time or stop it.

Maybe all you want is the hack to reset you,

So you are back at the start in a click.

But think about it, is it what you want,

To do everything you did, all over again?

Does it scare you my friend, does it daunt,

To know you will still do it all the same?

So maybe there is absolutely no point,

In asking for another chance ever.

What you do is pick today, now, this joint,

And make sure every moment you treasure.

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Geek culture [infographic]

via holykaw.alltop.com

:D

Long Live Geeks!

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Compass Box

I find this term really really fascinating. Compass Box. 

It is an absolutely childish term. I for one, cannot ever imagine a grown up using this term regularly. And I really love the way it rolls out of your mouth. I mean, not YOUR mouth. I guess you got what I mean. Apart from how it sounds, it is one of the few terms which directly transports you to only one undisputed place - School. Back in school when all of us used to look the same. Same uniform, same shoes for all. It was so difficult to stand out. My school did not allow the girls to wear any kind of jewelry as well. 

All that we had to show a difference were our bags, and, our Compass Box. Of course, back then, there were no exposure to famous football clubs, or IPL teams. There were your usual Superheroes and the popular (and now classic) Cartoon Characters. So bags in short had limited options. So, it all boiled down to the Compass Box. 

Girls had these neatly kept simple boxes, with appropriate number of pens and pencils with erasers and sharpeners. Boys however, were spoilt for choice. From the usual and the original Geometry Set Box (which actually held a compass), to plain plastic boxes, to the ones which were 'branded' pouches. However, the ones which never failed to impress were the ones which were robotic. I kid you not! These were EPIC in the truest sense of the word. They had buttons which made the box look like Swiss Army Knives shooting out erasers and sharpeners. It was almost pornographic with the amount of 'oohs' and 'aahs' it used to demand from its audience. It was like the only way one could actually get a toy to school and play with it. It was a rocket launcher, a battleship, a launchpad, an airport and anything a boy wanted it to be.

I know I have rattled on quite a bit about something as simple as a Compass Box, but come on! After all, it is about our Compass Box!

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

10 things I learnt in Sikkim

I went on a week long trip to Sikkim. It was undoubtedly the best trip I have taken till date. The place is quite literally out of this proverbial world. The things I am listing down are not things that Sikkim taught me, but things that 'came to me' in this trip.

1. I nag. A lot. (You, yes you reading this right now, please don't give a 'finally!' smirk)
2. I am bad at bargaining. (I always kinda knew this though, but well, and again, do not smirk!)
3. Beauty is superficial. It should be. It can be.
4. Beauty is .....
5. English is an inadequate language. I wish there were words that could fill the above blank.
6. Looking at something that is unarguably one of the best that Nature could dish out, gives a new meaning to the word 'awe'. (Damn you English! And I am talking of Mt. Kanchenjunga here by the way)
7. Sports transcends, unites, exhilarates and is always loved.
8. 'Sheela ki jawaani' is popular is quite the understatement.
9. I am now unsure if I like the beaches or the mountains.
10. I have been scarred for life. By Sikkim.

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Don't know what...

Today, I had to drive my mom around (this is the weirdest way to start a post). Anyway, I will not get into the details of what and how and just get to the point: it involved going to a school. A very quaint old school in Chembur. It was just one storey tall and looked as if it could do with some upgrades. 

This was where I realised a couple of things:

1. I have not seen a school from the inside in a very long time
2. I do not know what upgrades schools have currently got compared to ten years back

Due to the above reasons, I could not decide if the school was good or bad (considering it was a Sunday and it was closed for the usual business). 

However, I did see a few things that made me think. Outside every class window, there hung these 'sayings' which are supposed to build a strong human character. These were the same lines which we were taught in school. And I was happy that they are still trying to instill them. The world seems so different than what it was when I was in school. It seems just more, layered. Everything is layered. Maybe it always was like this.

See the full gallery on Posterous

I am practical enough to realise that nothing much has changed in the way humans interacted then and the way we do now. The means have changed. But we are still the same fools. Just that new means of interaction have allowed us to do our foolery faster than ever before.

I am sure the people who taught me in school knew about all this. They knew what the world is like. Why did they still tell me these things? I feel cheated by all of them. But I guess if they would have gave us a reality check at 6, all of us would simply dread growing up. 

Idon't know what exactly went through my mind when I read these lines. I was not sure if these words hold true. If these words do not hold true, why do we use them to lie to kids? How much longer will we keep trying in vain to create ideal men? It is not possible to do it this way. 

I don't know what the solution is. Or maybe, I don't know what the problem is.

 

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Michael Schumacher explains 2011 F1 rules

via youtube.com

A nice video with a close up view of the DRS/ARW at work.

Only 4 more days to go! :D

Posted via email from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

Trailer of SENNA - The Movie

via youtube.com

I cannot wait to watch this movie!

Epic movie for an Epic Driver! *Respect*

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Indian GP track update

So here are a few more pictures of the progress being made at the Indian GP track. The last I had posted pictures, they had just about begun constructing the grand stand. In these picture you can see the definite shapes.

And oh ya, the first bit of tarmac has been laid! :D

Note: I have not clicked any of these pictures, credit to the photographer.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Posted via email from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

The VJM04 explained by Force India

via youtube.com

I really hope this is a brilliant car on track! :)

Posted via email from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel explains F1 KERS and DRS

via youtube.com

I really like the video. Though there is MUCH more to ARW than the little bit explained here.

Still, a very neat video! Watch it in HD.

Posted via email from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

Indian GP Tickets sale to start within a month

The Indian GP got featured in the paper today. The Indian Express to be precise.

The focus of the article was sale of tickets. Apparently tickets will start selling online in about a month's time. 

As mentioned in my earlier post, it will have over 100,000 seats and the good things are:

1. Most of them will be sold to general public
2. They will be affordable for students

Thank God BCCI is not in charge of this! ;)

Save up!

Posted via email from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

Snigdha's Birthday

See and download the full gallery on posterous

US Club. Colaba. :)

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Social Media Marketing

I really do feel bad about not blogging enough!

Now that I have got that out of the way, let me move on to the topic at hand.

I do know that the title of this post sounds quite dreary, but I really could not think of any other, it really has been very long since I have blogged. Moving on, we all know what SMM means. It is because of SMM that you are currently reading my post (well most of you atleast), so I shall refrain from explaing and just point you to a link, just in case, and move on.

I am not really the most active person on Twitter, but I am an active follower. In short, I use it more for reading than for writing. I do love the concept of SMM and think it is extremely powerful. A couple of days back, my friend @Achint alerted his 500 odd followers about an ongoing conversation on Twitter. The think you should know about Achint is that apart from being my friend, he is also a founder member of the Social Media Club - Mumbai (SMC). So he does know a thing or two about SMM. Anyway, the conversation was truly interesting and showed how powerful SMM is and the fact that Indian brands are catching up!

This is how it all began - Mr. X wanted buy a TV and asked all his friends on twitter for suggestions on where he should buy it from. He got a few replies from his friends pointing him to a Vijay Sales as you can see below. An hour later he got tweeted by Just Dial asking him if he wants to know his way to the nearest Vijay Sales Store!

That was quite nice! But it did not end there. It seems Vijay Sales has a twitter handle too and do their own ORM. Detecting that people have been talking about it, they dived right in as you can see below. 

Now, this was awesome! They tried to help him find a brand and model, but not once did they tell him to come to the store. Polite, friendly and cool. The conversation went on for a little while more and ended with 'thank you' all around.

This ensures that Mr. X will not go anywhere but Vijay Sales. Atleast I would not go anywhere else. 

If you have experienced something similar and would like to share please do leave your comments.

I would surely be posting more frequently on SMM from now on. It is a topic that deeply interests me and I really do believe that it is the future of all things.

If you are interested in SMM please do join the SMC where Achint and others are going to talk more in detail regarding this example and more.

 

Posted via email from Aditya's Blog

Countdown to the Indian GP!

It has really been ages since I have posted on this blog of mine. It is about the Indian GP and I haven't really found a lot of time to keep posting updates over here. I will now try to cram in as much as possible. So here goes.

1. We will surely have one Indian driver in an F1 car at the Indian GP - Narain Karthikeyan. Atleast as of now, considering how things went for Karun last year
2. Force India is looking really good and Vijay Mallya's dream of getting a Podium Place at the inaugural Indian GP is not far fetched at all. In fact, we would be disappointed
3. The construction at the Jaypee International Circuit has been going on with full steam. Below are some pictures of the same. I am just crossing my fingers that it doesn't join Eden Gardens and the Commonwealth Games in the Wall of Shame. But I doubt that, considering it is being taken care of by a corporate house with its eyes on profits!
4. The Indian Motorsports Marshals Club has finished its exercise of collecting volunteers as Race Marshal. They have received more applications (one of which is mine) than they can do justice to and will start selection soon
5. Below is also a simulated flying lap of the Circuit with a voice-over by none other than the Brand Ambassador of the Circuit - Karun Chandok. The circuit design looks really good by the way. Tilke hasn't let us down!
6. Ticket sales have obviously not started yet, but fear not, the GP can hold 150,000 spectators, so you will mostly get a seat. Just make sure you do not 'forget' to buy the tickets when sales open.

I am looking forward to this more than anything else this year! :-)

Please leave your comments if you planning to attend the Indian GP :-)

See the full gallery on posterous

 

Posted via email from Countdown to the Indian Grand Prix

Cesc to Real?

So we just got done with the winter transfer window and we are already speculating over summer transfers. Every year, every single year this happens. Every year there are rumours of big-ticket players switching loyalties. But this year seems a little different. The year after the World Cup.

Last year a lot of players got noticed in the World Cup and all of a sudden big clubs across the continent made a scrap for them. First in line were Real Madrid and Barcelona. Well, they are the two richest clubs in the world at the moment. However, there seems to be too much money going around for players who don't deserve so much for my liking. Yes, I am a Madridista, but I don't agree with the way they end up spending their money most of the times. I am sure this holds true for fans of all clubs.

We now hear that Madrid is willing to pay 60 million euros for Cesc. I mean, what is wrong with the current team? They have just lost two matches in the league! They haven't lost a single match at home! Why mess it up? They are just unfortunately in the same league as the best club in the world at the moment. 

I feel that every club should have a limited number of jerseys for each position that they give out to new players. Clubs should not buy players just for the sake of buying them! Yes, Cesc maybe unhappy at Arsenal, but that doesn't mean you have to buy them! The club which NEEDS Cesc should buy him and not one that just wants him. But this will never happen. And I will keep ranting!

Posted via email from Real Madrid