A cloudy night

Against the backdrop of the moon, a clouded sky looks so much more animated than a clear sky. Clear sky insinuates the stillness. It hides the cosmic chaos and transpires tranquility to the onlookers. It makes you realize its vastness.

The stars look so close but are yet so distant. It must be really lonely up there. No one is in the vicinity. No one is in the reach. There is a separation of a light year from the nearest kin. There is a restlessness there. With each passing moment, the entropy increases. The star is doomed to fuse into its core, eventually bringing its own demise.

But all that we see is a gleam. We rejoice while it burns. The twinkle hides its sorrows. The air screens the heat. And the distance prevents the realization.

The clouds on the other hand are gregarious. They love their lot. The sky is their playground. They chase each other. They embrace each other. They disperse and then assemble. They take shapes and create designs. The moon is their pal and the wind is their guide.

The clouds fill the sky with their colours. They are white and violet and black. And when they cover the moon, you can see some yellow too.

The clouds seem to contain the sky. The make the space look finite. And they look so delicate. If only you could reach them, you could crumble them.

But they are not delicate. They are mighty. They could hide those giant stars and the moon. But the creator was prudent in not vesting them with the supreme power. Else they would have been been too proud. They would have lost their cheerfulness.

The almighty let the wind control the clouds. But he also let the earth control the wind and the stars control the earth. This way he induced symbiosis into the whole structure. He was able to preclude tyranny. One could thrive only with the mutual cooperation. He inscribed this message in all his creation. If only we could read them.

What's up ?

Have you ever had a phone conversation (or rather a face to face conversation) with a guy who goes blank after some time and leaves you wondering whether the phone has got disconnected and am I talking to myself ? Well, I am that guy. Not always. But sometimes, I really find myself at loss of words. Its not a ploy to make the other person leave the phone by boring him to death. Its because sometimes I can't find anything to speak and all that is left is 'Whats up ?' and 'Aur batao..'. These words are a great tool to shift the task of carrying the conversation on the shoulders of the other person. Its quite a spectacle when you find the other person just like you. Under such a situation, I feel obliged or compelled to say something, to break that silence. But again, all that I could mostly conjure is 'Whats up' . Long stays at the hostels can really do this damage to your social skills. Proper civilized conversations are a rarity these days. You can discuss, you can debate, you can gossip but you can't converse. Plus, the hostel life could sometimes be so monotonic that you don't have anything to talk about.

I really admire girls in this regard. They surely can talk. And all those who I know can definitely talk at length. They make you realize how happening their life is. There are so many things going on with them each and every day. But then, if you really think, most of the things they talk about are day to day stuffs. Things that are happening everywhere with everyone including me. Its just that they are good enough to involve them in the conversations. I on the contrary can't do that. But I would like to be able to do that. Its just that right things don't pop up in my mind at the right time.

Rakhi Ka Swayamwar

All this buzz about Rakhi ka Swayamwar finally compelled me to see this one of its kind show. To describe it, there are 2 words - Nautanki unleashed. You know everyone is faking it, the anchor, the contestants and Rakhi Sawant of course. And at times, the show with its background score, contestant's idiotism and desperation and insincere sincerity could be really hilarious. Though I don't think that this comic element was anytime intended. I think that for contestants, its just a plaform for achieving the instant fame. I don't think that anyone of them including Rakhi Sawant is interested in marriage. Its just the glitz and glamour that they are after. The news says that the show is enjoying quite high TRP. In that case, I do think that we can expect a second season.

And finally it rained..

For a change, it was not a hot wave of wind that woke me up in the morning. It was a cool moist breeze. And few minutes later, it was raining. The much needed respite finally came. For the past few days, this was the main topic of conversation, whether in mess or with friends. There were heavy drops for few minutes and then there was a light drizzle. But it was sufficient enough to bring down the temperature. For most part of the day afterwards, it was cloudy and humid and I was feeling more comfortable outdoors than indoors.

Rest of the day was same. Though in the afternoon, I was a bit worried that all this period in idleness could destroy the remaining grey cells of my brain. So I started solving some puzzles from techinterview for the placements. And it really felt nice to exercise the mind after that long time. I have always felt that the reason I loved preparing for JEE was that it was challenging and one really had to strain his mind to reach at the solutions. All those questions of mechanics, probability, integrals were like puzzles. There was no one principle to solve all the questions. One really had to work out. And this is one thing that I hate about IIT education. Many a times, you don't even have to understand things to reach at the solution. You have a formula and you even have a calculator. And sometimes, you can't even find relation in theory and practice. I really feel that in the past 4 years, my mind has rusted.

It seems that team India is back to its old ways. The eight wicket defeat was really embarrasing. Though it could have been worst had Dhoni and RP not forged that ninth wicket partnership. Except for Dinesh Karthik, all other top order batsmen fell playing some loose shots. Jadeja again never looked good enough for the highest level. Though I still think that it would be too early to make any judgments and that he should be given few more chances. But the best part of the Indian innings was the way Dhoni batted. He was not looking fit for a T20 match, but in the ODI, his style of batting is really looking handy. It was really nice to see mails from his supporters on Cricinfo.

And after a brief haitus due to 'A passage to India', I have again started reading. This time, I am reading 'Lucky Jim'. The novel is pretty light and comic and is also listed in the Time magazine's list of 100 best novels from 1923-2005('A passage to India' was listed too but I really found that book quite boring). I am hoping to finish it in the next few days.

Thats it for today. Bye.

The girl on the station -- A short story

A sudden rumbling sound woke him up. He raised himself to look outside the window. The train was now passing over the bridge. The river underneath was shallow and calm. He could see some washer men at the distance engaged in their daily chores. There were also some children playing, busy in their own world. The sound changed, the speed of the train increased. It was the morning time and there was a cool gentle breeze flowing outside. He found himself shivering. There was an urge to close the window but he didn't. He enjoyed the feeling of wind brushing against his face. His eyes were misty, his hair were flowing.

It was around 7 in the morning. He sat up. His station was about to come. He was finally going back to his home. It had been 4 months since he last went back. The semester turned out to be pretty hectic. He was totally consumed in the projects and assignments. No more mess food now, he thought. Suddenly he remembered about the last night. He remembered the waiting room, he remembered himself glancing here and there, he remembered her. She was sitting right in front of him, at the other side of the waiting room, resting against the wall, book in her hands, backpack against her legs, her hair unkempt, half asleep and half awake. At first he found her shabby. But there was something about her that captivated his attention. He looked at her again. No, she wasn't shabby. She was just laid back, casual, carefree, unaware of the happenings of the world. She had found a nice comfortable place in that chair.

The voice of the vendor disturbed his chain of thoughts. The vendor was selling the sandwiches. He thought against eating them. How was the pantry ? How was the cleanliness ? How was the cooking material? He hadn't even brushed his teeth. But he was too hungry to give any consideration to his thoughts. And more than that, he trusted his Indian stomach. It had digested many indigestibles in the past and it could surely digest these petty sandwiches. He ate the sandwiches and felt pretty contented. He felt at ease and next he found himself thinking about the happenings of the last night.

He was reading some classic written during the British Raj in India. He didn't like the book that much. But he had already finished half of it. So he was in a dilemma as to whether strain himself reading the other half or let the time that he had spent reading this half go into a drain. He had a lot of time to spare before the train would arrive and he had nothing to do. It was then that he spotted her. And after some time he was staring at her. When you keep looking at something, your perceptions just change from time to time. She had turned from shabby to laid-back to pretty. He was trying to figure out what she liked about her. And the next when he saw her, she was awake. He was engaged in his thoughts and he had not noticed that. She gave him a strange look and in the haste, he just gazed in the book. Had she seen him staring at her ? Or was that the look she gave to every stranger ? How she could have seen him ? But girls know you are staring at them before you know that they know. They really have this sixth sense or something.

The train had halted on a station. It was the station just before his station. He would probably reach his station in next 5-10 mins. It was not a regular stoppage. The train would have stopped for a crossing. How he hated these crossings. He always felt that the train in which he was travelling is made to stop. What would it take the government to build double tracks through out. If that could be done, then no train would ever get late. People would stop calling IST as Indian Station Time. And one would not have to wait in those crowded waiting rooms. But those waiting rooms can become an interesting place sometimes. Atleast on the last night, he didn't complain of those waiting rooms.

He looked above at the fan. He looked at the entrance. He looked at the bunch of kids playing around. And every time he did so, he tried to catch a glimpse of her. He didn't want to look straight at her again. He didn't want that glance again. But he could not resist. She was now combing her hair. Was she getting ready to move ? His train was also about to come. Could she be going in the same train ? Wouldn't it be great if that could happen ? And then she again looked back at him. But this time, his eyes didn't waver. He looked back at her straight into her eyes. He again got a look. And he liked it this time. It was a gentler look. Apparently she had not taken any offence this time. And then she looked away. Did she smile ? He thought she smiled and then he smiled at that prospect. He again started reading the book. But he didn't remember what he had last read. He turned some pages back. He then looked ahead and found her leaving the waiting room. He decided to follow her but he had his backpack all opened up. He tied it up quickly and got out. He looked here and there but couldn't find her. Announcement of his train was made. He decided to go to the designated platform.

The train arrived. And suddenly the platform was crowded. There were people hurtling towards the general coach. There were these porters looking out for some potential customers. There were these vendors selling their items, shouting in their highest pitch. There were people who were struggling to find their right coach, inquiring the people sitting on the window. There are never any signs distinguishing one sleeper coach from other. And then there were people coming in and out of the train. The concentration of the people was more on the doors of the coaches. People could really do with a little more patience. All of them wanted to be the first one to enter as if otherwise they would lose their seat. He waited for a while and just when he was about to enter he thought that he saw her. He looked sideways and there she was. But there was this overwhelming screaming at the back that he had no other option but to move on.

The passing train stirred him up. There was this sudden gush of air hitting him on his face. He could see the windows and the doors. He envied the people sitting inside the other train. After few minutes his train started to move. He started putting all his belongings in his bag. He wished that he could see her again. The rush at the end didn't allow him that last look. He wished to see her one last time so that he could preserve her image in his mind. So that he could narrate her to his friends. So that he could savour those moments as and when he like. The train slowed down as his station came. He stepped down and started to move towards the gate of the station. The train had already started to move. He stopped for a while to look back. But then he realized that he didn't want that last look. He preferred the haze, for sometimes the reality is not as beautiful as one has anticipated. He was contented with his image of that shabby girl. And so, he moved on.

Casualty of T20

After a fortnight(well not even a fortnight), Indian cricket team is back in the business in the West Indies for the 4 ODIs. First of all, whats the sense of having 4 ODIs. You should either have 3 matches or 5 matches so that the series is decided under all circumstances. But I guess 3 is too less and 5 is too much. Thats why the boards have settled for 4 matches. Or it could be that the rhetoric of everybody is a winner is catching up. I once read a nice quote about it. It said that whoever said that statement must have been a loser. Well enough of crap now. I am digressing from the topic.

So here I am in my room following the match on Cricinfo. Live matches on the TV is a luxury that we can't avail in the hostels. Its been quite a long time since we had an ODI. Firstly, there was the IPL and then the T20 world cup. And now, I really can't feel the passion with which I used to follow the ODIs earlier. You look at the scoreboard and see 80 runs in 16 odd overs. It looks so slow. 50 overs have suddenly started to seem as too many. And devoting 7 hours for a single game seems like a waste. It is too early to say but it appears to me that ODI would eventually lose to T20. The calculated and patient 50 over game is really not a match to the fast, roller coster ride of a T20 game. ODIs can become one sided. In T20, you only need one good over to turn the game in your favour. The games are very often quite close. The margin of victory is 15-20 runs.

Test cricket, however, I feel would remain unaffected by this. Test cricket has its different niche. It has its own fans and followers. It was always a different type of cricket, one where the premium was always on skill and stamina. As said by many, it would always remain one the greatest spectacles of sport. Althought, the growing number of T20 matches have definitely reduced the frequency of Test mataches played every year. But neverthless, it has maintained its charm. And as for the ODIs, only the time could tell now where does it future lies.

An excursion to facebook

Last night I spent around 2 hours on the facebook. Its really the thing these days. Orkut has become passe. Everyone is now coming to facebook. Earlier surge in the traffic to facebook was because it was more secure. On orkut, you could just see all the details and photographs of all the people. And by people, I really mean girls. It used to be our wing's recreational activities during the exams. A bunch of us, visiting albums and rating girls(I am over those days now). There were many communities devoted specifically for this task. But then, orkut implemented all those privacy restrictions and the visitors have been declining ever since. Many of them have switched over to facebook. I am not sure whether they realize that orkut is more safer than facebook these days. There are many bugs in facebook and some of its applications can infect your computer.

Just coming back to last night's excusion to facebook. I really don't like facebook that much. With all those upadates and games, its so much cluttered up. Then there are those weird requests. There is a request to gift some flowers, there is some person who is giving me his mafia loots and there is a person who wants me to be a PETA fan. And to top it, there are these weird applications. 'Which friends character are you ?'. 'When would you die?'. 'What kind of lover are you?'. 'What would be the first letter of your lover's name?'. 'How will you meet your lover?'. 'When would you meet your lover ?'. 'When was you lover born?'. Just so much of rubbish to deal with. And its really surprising to see the number of people that take these kind of quizzes. It seems as if the whole world is running here and there in search of their true love. I am sure even they realize that its not how they would find it. Some people do it for fun. Some others do it out of curiosity. However vague or absurd the results may be, atleast there are some results. Then there are some wise people, enlightning others with their wise one liners. There are some others who provide us with their daily details.

And then there are some addicts who give their hourly detail. You know what is their favourite colour, who is there favourite actor or actress, how much mark did they score in their exams, where did they go last evening. They are living their second life there. I really admire these social networking sites. Afterall it has reduced my telephone bills, it has put me into contacts with those long lost friends whom otherwise I would have never met. Then there are communities that you can use to build some connections. And most impotantly, it gives you a space to express yourself. But I just don't like spilling each and every detail about your life. And I definitely don't like all these requests. Thats why I like orkut. You login, check your scraps, message someone if you have to, wish someone on his birthday and log out. Plain and simple. Thats how I like it.