And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can’t replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you’re too in love to let it go
But if you never try you’ll never know
Just what you’re worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

“Thought of sharing, been listening to this one quite often now !”
Credits : Coldplay, you beauty you !

Cheers

But I cant….

I know I cant have her back but I don’t wanna wake up in the morning and think she is here.
And I don’t wanna know how long I have been here lying since the morning, and how long I have been alone.
How can I heal?
How am I supposed to heal when I cant feel time?

Credits : “Remember Sammy Jankis”

That keeps me from dancing

With the One I love

And My Mind hold the key

…

My Body is a cage

That keeps me from dancing

With the One I love

And My Mind hold the key

…

I am standing on a stage

In fear and self doubt

Its a hollow place

There aint no one clapping anywhere

…

My body is a cage

That keeps me from dancing

With the One I love

And My Mind holds the key

And My Mind holds the key,,,,

…

I am living in an age

That calls darkness light

That my language is dead

Till  the shapes fill my head

…

I am living in an age

whose name i dont know

there is a feet that keeps me moving

and still my heart beats so slow

…

My body is a……is a….

(Credits: House S07E16)

Anyhoo, to the Hyderabadi Spirit in me, here goes a poem that Akanksha Srivastava Sent me, left rolling on the floor for a long time:

Hathaan mein hath milake,
Hathaan mein hath milake,
angoothi churake uno chali gayi,
abhi galae milne ku aari,
kya karati ki kya ki…….

sagai-sagai bolkae,
sagai-sagai bolkae,
puri shopping karali,
abhi shaadi-shaadi bolri
kya karati ki kya ki

My observations:

1.  Consider an ODI. Each side takes the field for atmost 50 overs. This means that a team is given upto 300 balls to knock out only 10 off the opposition. Why so?

2. At any point on the field, upto 14 people are willing to get that batsmen out. Why so? (Yeah yeah, I included those 3 umpires as well).

3. Sometimes, there is an appeal…all 11 players appeal, along with a strong crowd of say 20 thousand people. The batsman will not move untill that one man raises his finger…..why is that so?

Will try to answer these questions someday…meanwhile do chip in with your answers. You are free to take any route, even spiritual, to answer these if you like to do so. And congratulations to all of you, India got knocked out of T20 WC. Shame.

Join me in congratulating Roger Federer on winning that coveted 14th GrandSlam, and a Career Grandslam. And who would have thought that he would be able to achieve it in a slow and drowsy clay court at Roland Garros. After what we saw of him in the last two years,  the not so ardent fans would have clearly written him off every major competition this year also. I do agree to the fact that great players like Nadal, Andy Murray and Djokovic had their respected bad days and were ousted unexpectedly, but let us not take the credit away from Roger by brooding over these things. It takes something to win a grand slam.  And you would not know what it takes to win it especially if you are the finalist for 3 consecutive years but end up on the other side. And year after year after year Federer has proven to the entire world  that he is capable of doing that.

The 2003-2007 era certainly belonged to Roger Federer, there is no question about that. He himself was once quoted saying : I have created a Monster of an image..” During these years he won almost every major tournament , except being the runner-up at the French Open. Worst was that he won most of his matches with minimal effort. If FedEx dropped a set, the commentators would make it an issue. If his impeccable backhand missed the line, the post-match analysis would need half and hour to discuss that. It is a fact that he is passed those days now, but that fire to win and keep close to that number one spot is still burning in him. There is a hunger to win and that is the mark of a true champion.

Perhaps,  we will hope to see days when Roger weilds his racquet with utter grace, those elegant half volleys down the alley, the angled cross court winners will flow along with his brilliance and some  intelligent tennis to take him to more grand slam victories….and all this time we cash in on the sheer pleasure of watching him play.

I believe in the phenomena called Roger Federer. Do you?

The Labor party in England looks like its on the verge of a collapse, yet again, like in 1981. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who took over the reigns after the controversial Blari rule, seems to have landed right into the soup. One controversy after another surmounts his authority, as one after another of his so-called loyal ministers desert his side. The blame game , looks like it will begin shortly. Those policy blunders and those tainted MPs might just prove to be a bit tough to handle for Mr. Brown. What has disapointed the most is his prowess failed to establish himself as a real good leader. Strong convictions look good on paper for sure, but when you are sitting in the hot seat, you are expected to deliver. Looks like the Labor party might actually think about change in leadership…when are the elections? coming soon i guess..

Shifting focus to Australia. A lot of innocent Indians, especially students have been reportedly victimised. Upto 12 such incidents have occured within a span of few weeks. Quite a concern. This has caused some wide spread condemnation as well. Students have held protest rallies throughout Australia as well as India. The Oz police anyhow denies that these attacks are of racial nature and targetted only at Indians. Though it s a fact that Indians tend to work over night to be able to make those extra bucks to pay their loan, and live in less secure cheaper areas and can make easy targets. But the police seems to have provided some stats which suggest that it is a mere coincidence that only Indians are being attacked. Well all I know that it is not a coincidence that the Oz PMs effigy was burnt in Delhi. And that Bal Thackeray wants punitive action against all Australian cricketers who played in the IPL…..yeah right!!

I was just reading an article in today’s newspaper and I found it interesting enough to share it. Though I knew that Methane gas can trap heat to a large extent, owing to its carbon inheritance, I did not know that Methane Gas is actually a significant contributor in heating up our environment, especially when carbon dioxide takes up all the fame, energy and hype. What is more interesting is that Methane Gas is largely produced fro cattle or Bovine excreta.  Traditional Cattle food has always been grass and similar stuff….but large scale industrialization and other sophistication s have made us see the stage where Cattle are fed Corn n stuff.Research and studies have shown that this diet is actually causing a lot of Methane Gas to be released into the atmosphere and hence the ‘Global Warming’ (not entirely though). Hmmmn, interesting!!!!

Meanwhile the UPA govt has broken all records of optimism by stating that they will make India a ‘slum-free’ country in 5 years time. Though Highly optimistic, I think that they are going the right way. Housing is definitely an important concern. I would like to look at this situation is a Pyramid way. The Urban population of India, as per the 2001 census, about close to 30% of the Urban population came under the ‘Urban Poor’ category, and obviously that figure must have rocketed in till date. But what seems to have NOT changed is the increase in the number of slum dwellers, especially in the big cities like that of Mumbai and Kolkata. With tier 1 cities raking up millionaires that might take up the tip of the pyramid….the Information Technology boom has actually helped the emergence of a new middle class in such cities,(like Bangalore of course) and this portion of the population forms the middle of the pyramid. But the people that for a wide base of the pyramid is the section in focus. Urban housing need not be only for the ‘not-so-poor’. Govt should take initiatives in acquiring land, and building homes for such people. Also, these projects should be taken up seriously, and must be completed within a stipulated time, with NO COMPROMISE whatsoever of quality. Only then can the Govt.  fulfill its promise. I know it is going to be a touch challenge, but, taking that first step is also not easy. Since now the ball has been set into motion, I only wish and pray that it gathers momentum and achieves that finish line.

I wonder, after all the Slums have eventually vanished, where will we get our Millionaires from? (SlumDog Millionaires…hehe )

Why do people get more negative thoughts than positive? Because negative thoughts comes automatically….

It is because God made us that way? Or simply because it takes an effort to develop a positive thought?

Just pondering aloud…dunno if I will get the answers to all these questions.

I am watching Roger Federer play and that too after a long time….I feel at peace. I am watching him fight throughout, fight with his low self confidence, fight against a strong  opponent just as a random brainwave made me think these things. My neighbor is playing an apt hymn:

“Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning…..give me oil in my lamp I pray.Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning burning burning…keep me burning till the end of day“.

Meira Kumar became the first Woman speaker of the Lok Sabha. This I am certain is a good thing. A refreshing change that we welcome. The best part of it being there were no ugly altercations between the ruling and the opposition parties and that it was an unanimous decision. Things seems to have changed for the good, now a days its more of an understanding between the two parties on either side when it comes to the speaker. Until past Lok Sabha sessions, mostly the party that supported the Govt from outside (like the LEFT – Somnath Chaterjee, or TDP-GMC Balayogi) were  given speaker privileges. But since this elections saw the Congress dictate terms it kept this position for itself.

Andrew Symonds found himself in another controversy, ‘alcohol’ related this time. And he seems to have broken the code of conduct which he promised to uphold during counseling. Symo has hence been sent home from SA and will not be a part of the Oz T20 team. You decide if this is a good tihng or a bad thing. I have mixed feelings. Frankly, I admire the cricketer but I never like Symonds…..

Urban poverty seems to be on a rise. Must be wondering if I have gone nuts….no I am not. Urban poverty is not our typical poverty. The type of problems the Urban Poor people typically face is related to housing and employment. Though people might be able to find some jobs on a more day to day basis, they do not provide for substantial amenities in life. Bad thing for sure.

Pakistan could not withhold Saeed of the JuD fame in custody for long. Even after India and many other countries of the world expressed their strong concerns, the JuD chief, who is believed to have strong ties with the Lashkar E Taiba (LeT) had to be let free on technical ground. Yeah Right! First you house arrest the chap, do not tell him clearly the reason why so. Fake that the UN is concern over his involvement in terrorist activities, make provisional detention laws that aid the criminals, and finally release the person, even after India strongly suggested that it was the Let (and maybe the JuD) that caused the Mumbai Massacare in NOv 2008. Bad Bad Bad thing. Just as Pakistan would have hoped to resume talks with ‘the newly formed old Govt. ‘, Saeed’s release will absolutely close whatever small window existed.

And by far the most Unfortunate event to have happend lately is the tragic disappearance of the flight Air France 447. We live in an era where statistics prove that Air Travel is a lot lot lot safer than the road. Even as age old aircrafst are being replaced with the new fancy ones,  this tragic event has proven that mishaps are  bound to happen. Nothing is 100% safe. What happened to Flight 447 after it left Rio in Brazil for Paris is still a mystery, whatthe heck, it was not even over the Bermuda Triangle. Whether both its engine broke down, or having bieng stuck in a strom it was repeatedly beaten by lightning that could have caused a chain or series of failures……we do not know. While attempts of making air travel more safer might be given the highest priority, accidents like this should not shake off our faith. Untill those accident investigators find that ‘black box’ and tell the rest of the world the actual reason of the mishap, we all will be but keep guessing.