The desi female.

It is a special class of females, when u say 'desi' (Indian) females. A friend of mine commented that among some things that men universally desired is an American salary and an Indian wife ... I cannot agree more. Indian girls make the best wives - period.

Strong statement ha! Well lets see, they are one of the most beautiful species of their kind - just look at how many Miss world and Miss universe titles India has. Even the most modern of them have a certain level of celibacy, they are fiercely loyal to their partners, they are the strictest, kindest and most qualified moms, they are as good as men when it comes to careers - what else does one need ?

When a guy comes to the US, (without exception) he is looking forward to checking out some hot american chicks, the cleavages - so far seen just on TV are gonna be his treat. In their defense, its all hormone driven - nothing personal. But no matter how much a guy might get 'involved' with an american, when it comes to tying the knot, he will go looking for the trusted desi gal.

Knowing fully well that they are gonna marry an indian in the end its natural most guys prefer desis as girl-friends too. Here in Campus Walk, I can testify that anything remotely female is analyzed throughly.

Hey! theres this new girl comming in fall - name is xyz. Oh ya? physical stats? single? dept? funding? which part of india? roomies? closest senior girl to her? behaviour reports? . I must emphasize though that all these questions are seeked while maintaining highest respect for the woman.

As you make friends and get to know them, many people succeed as u may put it in finding their partners. In this unloving land where everyone leads a half life, they are your diet of indianess.

Hungry? not in a mood to cook? call the lovely gal u know and just request her to make something for u - tasty amazing food - guaranteed. Missing ur mom? cant tell that to a guy - u will be mocked - call up that lovely gal. Academic help? wanna brighten the party? - call them.

There are few other gestures in this world that can gain u the kind of love and respect that a girl gets when she cooks for this idiot friend of hers. And most of the desi gals have done this at some time - hence most of them are highly adored by atleast a bunch of guys.

And when u see the guy - missing his mom - healed, the guy - hungry - no cooking - satisfied, returning home to sleep, perhaps u will understand that no matter how fair an american is, no matter what her bra size is, she can never be picked for marriage.

So I say - DESI girls rock - not from the heart - but from the stomach!

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The video coach!

Take any college going kid from Mumbai, guy or gal, doesnt matter, he/she will definetly know what a 'Video Coach' is. Chances are everyone will have a story to tell when it comes to the 'Video Coach'.

A lot of experienced people also make mistakes when it comes to defining this term. The 'Video Coach' is the first class mens compartment adjacent to the ladies first class.

Blessed with enormous special features, this is a unique compartment in the entire train. In that a person standing or sitting in this compartment can have an unobstructed view of the girls compartment. I have the utmost respect and admiration towards the Indian goverment and esp Indian Railways for keeping the partition between these two compartments to a minimum. Indeed the wall separating the mens and the womens first class compartment is built only half way, leaving the other half open for men to watch and admire their favourite girls.

The entire gamut of behaviour patterns associated with the 'Video Coach' might infact make an excellent topic for someones PhD dissertation. I am however not blessed with such luck and hence I intend to confine the discussion to my experiences alone.

The VC is perhaps of most importance to FYJC male students. Being born and brought up in a conservative society and a strict school environment, these pathetic souls are finally let out of the cage in their 11th (junior college). It is socially acceptable for an FYJC male student to make female friends. Parents tend to permit opposite sex phone calls,kids though know enough to camouflage their conversations in academics and predecided communication codes.

Guys and gals of FYJC are literally just hormone containers. There is nothing much in their brains other than this strange attraction to the opposite sex that nature so suddenly entrusts them with.

And thus the VC becomes a persons favourite part of the day. Often u would notice a certain cute looking girl catching the same train day after day. It is common for people to adjust their travel times inorder to get the same train as that of their VC crush. And thus before u know the games begin. 'Hey look that guy constantly looks at me!' - the yellow salwar kameez tells her friend, her friend also peers into the male compartment to verify the statement - 'Ya! he is' - 'Sahi hai! dikhne mein bura nahi hai! Is he from our college?' - 'Shut up!' .

Meanwhile all this seemingly tacit excercise is carefully noticed by the guy and his friend. 'Yaar! shit! she knows', the guy retorts, fearing if his true love and emotions were misunderstood. His friend corrects - 'Abbe accha hai na, usko malum hai toh!' .

Then this game is played with more caution and each day there is something new in this whole new domain of eye-eye communication and young romance. When in class, or when eating dinner with his family the guy thinks about what his VC crush did that day. The way her hair looked, the way she glanced at him and then cracked some joke with her friend, her dress, her hair clip, her new college bag - everything. And so the guy engages in virtual dates and romantic conversations with his VC crush while his parents start wondering why their scholarly son looks dazed every day.

Then the rythm breaks and u dont see her in the regular spot. Poor guy - there is nothing productive that the guy can do that day - its a bad day at work - I dont know what happened to my VC crush!

Then one fine day when enough to and fro journeys have passed, the guy approaches and talks to the girl - at the platform or in the college. U in FYJC in kerkar right? me too ( ofcourse u are! what stupid way to start a conversation, u have been watching each other for 2 months now) And so the first loves begin, albeit shakily.

As everyone will agree, first love cuts deepest. And so the VC takes a special sensitive corner of a persons heart.

As you grow older, the eye games and amateur day dreaming ceases but the VC continues to be a boiling pot - always humid with sexual attraction. The guy goes from FYJC to Engineering, then onto a job, but the VC remains the same, the concept stays the same.

A few lucky people have the privlege of bringing their VC crush into the mens compartment and get her to travel with him while going to study. Obviously, they have talked and have agreed to being a couple.

Strange accidents are not alien to the VC. Someones parent catching someone while checking out a nice gal, Some family relative noticing u travelling with a girl to college everyday and so on....

One incident that comes to mind is from my own FYJC year. I knew two friends who would board the train at Mulund. I had spoken with them earlier. So, on seeing them in the train, I tried to grab their attention by waving around. As it turned out, both girls were busy in their own worlds and had no idea that I was waving waiting for an answer. Meanwhile fellow passengers and other people standing besides me were staring as if I was some 3rd grade loafer trying to harrass those pretty girls. Luckily for me, I did grab their attention in time and was acknowledged too.

Then there are lunch groups, groups playing trian games etc. And thus the VC continues to be an intergral part of the guys life.

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6 PM

I believe every hour of the waking day has a character. An early morning 7 signifies fresh start, a bright entusiasm for work. An afternoon 2pm signifies a slow paced after lunch hour. A 9pm might suggest dinner. An 11pm could mean great sex.

But one of the most colorful hours is the 6pm hour. Prime time as we call it.

6PM is a really special time for a lot of reasons. Its when u have finished the work for that day and are relaxed. Its time when u can do what u like.

Its blessed with special features. Its when the sun light is soft and loving on your face. Trees, leaves, buildings, glass panes, standing water, everything is turned into a beautiful piece of work to enjoy by a touch of the 6PM sunlight. Its when the wind is cool, strong but pleasent. When u really enjoy the senses. When the wind doesnt howl in your ears but talks to u instead. Its when the birds decide to let loose, when they sing and fly free making a sight to see.

Its the most common hour on class chits. 'Meet me for coffee, 6pm, this place, keep your hair straight I love it that way.'

'Movie, college theatre, tickets done, 6PM'.

'Tennis, college court, 6PM'

'Shopping , planet M, 6PM'

Its when the city is at its best behaviour. Its the date hour.

Here in Jacksonville, I usually go for a long walk at 6PM. I walk the grass lands, under the trees and into the open. I can see the houses and the small lakes infront of them take on a different character. I can see the sky clear and colourful, changing and beautiful streched out above me, from horizon to horizon, embracing me.

Its a time and atmosphere when thoughts flow without restrictions.

When the mind wants to take flight, ride the wings of merry birds, race the wind, go high in the air and swirl with pleasure, then come down with a swish and glide elegantly, reach a green untouched strech of land and kiss the grass, then loose itself in the grass, nudging its blades ever so lovingly.

Its a time when I sit alone and think over many things. Its a time when I notice and observe the most. When I understand the subtle.


And then u want to share that experience with her. U want her by ur side, u want to see the light in her eyes, u want to just sit there and watch her endlessly.

Because the golden light makes her smooth skin glow, the glow enhanced by the sweet smell of her body. U want to see her hair dance in the breeze, u watch with wonder when they fall on her face and play with her mischieviously.

Its when she looks complete and happy. Its when your body doesnt crave her but enjoys her presence. And when she holds ur hand you feel you are invincible, you see life in its true color. You rule the world. You dont shy from challenges anymore cos u know her hand will hold u, should the weather turn bad.

And then suddenly I realise that there isnt anyone sitting besides me. That it was all an illusion. And then u feel a strange vaccum inside of u. It doesnt hurt you enough to cry but just leaves u blank. Then I think of the problems at hand and turn to face them.

But as I leave the grass fields and go back home, I ask the setting sun, when will I see her, where is she, will she ever meet me?, will she like me. I tell the sun to ask her to come sooner. And with each day I give part of my hope away. I show whats left and ask the sun, how many more before it finishes.

No answers come. And so at 6PM I ask these questions .... only 6PM can do that!

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Golden Heart

Hi,

When one steps into the outside world, one understands whats business. You give me this and in return you would get this. Indeed it is logical equilibrium and common sense that one gets an equivalent amount for his investment.

Its the same with people, you would do something for a person only when you know you can get an equivalent favour sometime in the future. Time, money, love and attention are too precious to be wasted on traitors. Yes, step into the real world and you learn this.

I completely agree with the rule, I have understood it through experience. Those who dont follow this simple common sense are usually exploited and they deserve it in return for their own stupidity.

And yet I have knowingly broken this rule again and again. I have known other people like me who do the same thing. People who would invest a lot of every kind indiscriminately, not checking if the person getting those favours deserves them or not. I have been and I have seen people burnt because of it.

I totally agree that its stupid. But I think the world would be a really poor place without such stupidities.

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Just an Observation!

Hi,

People dont like change, I myself dont like change. Once you get used to a set of people and an environment, you dont want that to change.

Change means a new environment. New experiences that need new reactions to adjust. Its just against our basic instinct of survival. It is this instinct of survival of avoiding injury and hurt that gives u the nerves when u go into a new terrain.


On the other hand, any person in his right frame of mind would accept that change is a universal truth of life. Then why does one resist when faced with changes?

Any suggestions?

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RISK

hi,

money has been transferred - all account has been emptied - biggest risk I have ever personally taken - feel the weight of responsibility - my nerves are strained - heart is in a constant state of vulnerable vigil - like that of a hunted deer that knows the predator is close by.its time to revise some of the most important lessons of engineering - if u hold on long enough - if u fight hard enough - chances are u will survive. 8 times I was challenged - it was close - but I did hold ground - now this one comes along - some times u are hit so bad that u loose sense of how badly u are hit - it will sink in later - scars will remain - as all battles of this sort do leave them - I know - I have seen this before a few times - there is sense of duty - and somewhere there is that withered flower called hope.

- Sanket K

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A girl from the past!

Hi,

I was at my local railway station, had just returned from college. Opposite was a train waiting to start its trip to CST. Dulled by a days work, I was about to go home, little did I know that the moment would bring a memory that would stay with me for years.

I was walking towards the stairs and then lightning stuck me! A flash of hair, a voice long lost, suddenly recognition struck me, I didnt have a postive visual and in the middle of a thousand people, I couldnt possibly sure of the voice. But that moment, every sense of my body was on alert, adrenaline rushing, the days fatigue was long vanished, my heart was thumping as if trying to break out and the brain was screaming -- Its HER! . I stopped dead in my tracks, then turned towards the direction of the sound. Slowly I walked to the train compartment and looked in.

I couldnt see her face, her hair was a bit longer, but the voice was affirmative. It WAS her. Her frame looked more supple and sexy than I remembered. It was a yellow salwar kameez. She was laughing, joking, having fun -- the things u do when u are in junior college waiting for your train to start. And then I absorbed the whole picture and its horrifying brutality pierced me to the core.

She was with another guy. Infact she was leaning on him. It could be a friend - my pathetic heart offered. Huh! Its her boy friend! - the inner voice countered. No kidding, it was by all means her bf. You could tell from the body language, when a woman was with her guy.

Then memories returned. She was my first crush. I was so so naive at the time. For a while there was something between us. She was close to her mom. She told her. Her mom said 'Concentrate on ur tenth.'

She met me then, for the last time as a gf, told me her mom didnt approve of our relationship, infatuation, too young, studies, and ofcourse mom is always right, she is my best friend. So tata!

I was like, OK! Wow! That was fast! And there she ended it. Without protest, without fight, without asking any questions and without even thinking about me, as if I was just some dress she got from a shop that her mom frowned upon.

I was numb, when I heard it. I still remember the date - 4th April 1997. It was when I was facing a year drop at school for helping out another student. So not only did she dump me, but she did it at the worst possible time. The cut that I got, went so deep, it still bleeds.

My school prof needed some bribe, so that the matter could be closed and I didnt have any. I couldnt tell home ofcourse, for being blessed with the worst child-parent communication system. I didnt know who to ask money for. I went to see my mentor and my teacher at the tutions where I studied -- he wasnt there!

That moment. That one time - I was felt so alone, so much out there in the cold. It still frightens me. I survived .. somehow .. marred by hurt and in terrible shreds. Thanks to her I had faced my first academic benchmark while being handicapped. I succeeded though, I got into science, then into engineering.

But there she was, infront of me, still beautiful I feared (I couldnt see her face, didnt want to .. rather) . Those big watery eyes, that wonderful line of teeth when she smiled and the laughter that was devine!

She was Ok, infact she rocked right now! Her mom probably approved of a bf in college I thought, or rather she matured enough to keep these matters to herself. It was like a calculated cruel joke, a white hot blade being dipped into an old cut again and again, slowly, the devil taking sensuous pleasure in my agony. I remember the horror of going through it. And I still cant tell u what was worse, the pain or the need to hold back my raging emotions cos I was a guy in a public place.

When in danger, fight, if u cant then try avoiding it, get out of the way, put distance between ur opponent and urself, get out of the lethal radius. Since here my opponent didnt even know there was a fight, I decided to move. As if in agreement, the train moved too, starting its journey.

I forced myself to get into an auto, said the right address .. all the time I was telling myself... HOLD on! not yet, wait .... I got home, not yet .. greet the people in the living room first .. modulate ur voice .. keep facial expression in control .. yes thats good .. say u are tired .. tea? no tea . Get into ur room.

And then I sat there. Finally letting go. NO NO NO! not so loud, U idot , mom is in the kitchen, she might hear, nahi common .. ya better .. use pillow .. aare take care .. dont suffocate urself to death.

I went through the day as if in a daze. I called her that night. I said 'hello' -- then a long pause , I heard a sharp intake of breath, then a fearsome voice asked 'Sanket?' . I cut the line. A stupid pathetic person inside me applauded, 'She still remembers my voice!' . I said what crap! have some respect. Matter closed. No more talk on this subject.

I took out my wallet and extracted a yellowed photo. On the back was her name - in her own hand. I looked at it one last time - and then with an effort of will tore it to shreds and threw it like confetti from my third floor window.

If not from the heart atleast I could remove her from the wallet. There was a solace in that.

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Will u stay please?

Hi,

I dont like people. When I start liking them, they leave :( . As far as I can reach into my memory, people have left me, left me always. It sounds stupid to complain cos everyone has their own life and everyones life takes people in different directions, so one shouldnt expect anyone to be permanent in life. But for some strange pathetic reason, I do.

I had two best friends in school, Anand and Deepu, they left in 10th. Then there was Tai and sir and they left me in 10th too. Then there was my 11th group, these were great people and ones that stuck with me for the most time. Now it feels they are gonna leave too. This was the very reason I didnt like to socialise at all. Whats the point?

Now there is this mirgi group and everyone is gonna leave. This time I myself might be the one leaving cos as fate would have it I might have to move to New Jersey. And I am not liking it. I dont like it! Ganda! Bad!

- Sanket K

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Of new faces and new people!

Hi,

I am closed person - meaning, you can never hope to understand me by just meeting me a few times. You can never really know me even after being with me as a friend for some time. Or so was true of the past. My personal history is dotted with incidents that have led me to be sceptical of every person I meet, I have been stabbed and cheated and being made fool of and taken advantage of a lot of times. Some of those incidents have lasted with me for years and some still continue to surprise me, they make me sit and wonder : "How could that happen!".

I was a dumb kid, well not dumb but rather simple, I always thought that whatever books taught was correct (it is correct) and that the whole world follows that (this is wrong) and funnily enough, it took me a long time to find this out. So I learned the hard way, by failing and then picking up the pieces and continuing and failing again. And so it shaped me, this childhood stupidity of mine, shaped me into a person that wont trust people until he can see them in action with his own eyes. In the normal course of life, it took around 2 to 3 years atleast of close companionship for me to be able to like anyone, anyone! Like a conservative banker, I viewed all people as spineless, without courage and without character, until proved otherwise.

And so it was in a very unusual fashion that I met people once again and made friends. I had attended a party, that my room mate had invited me to and reluctantly I went there. To my utter surprise, I actually liked the people there and I was enjoying more than my usual share. And then as stupidly as they were assumed, the rules in my mind were broken. I understood that you cannot and should not judge people before you know them. And should you be forced to do so, you should not form a by default bad opinion about others just to prevent a possible future injury to yourself.

My behaviour while in the light of my experiences was understandable, it was as much cowardly and lacking courage. And as things work out for me gradually, it changed.

I met new people here. New faces. New lives full of events that I didnt know about at all. I made friends, I formed a group. I have been blessed with great friends, people dont have a single person of the same standard as my entire group is. But this group was of my eleventh standard friends and we have been together in a lot of rough water together. That group has the strength of time and joy and hence is very strong.

The new group I formed here cannot take those proportions or cannot hold as much importance in my life as my Somaiya group. Not because there arent good enough people, but because the conditions arent such that a group of friends can last long in this phase of making careers and moving around in our lives.

But these people are different and good and the group is great in the given circumstances. So I am cool. We party every week end, that reminds me there is one comming up this week end.

We plan to watch some fireworks, so I hope it doesnt rain. Thats a downer: the rain here.

Peace!

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City of lights and hope! Me and Chinmay used to sit here.

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Marine Drive - Truly a Queens Necklace, one of the most beautiful places in the city.

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Maximum City!

Hi,

I have just finished reading a book about Mumbai - 'Maximum City'. Its by Suketu Mehta. I liked the book, mostly cos its about my city.

I have been born and brought up in Mumbai, before comming to the United States I have never stayed anywhere else than my home in Bombay. And yet there was a whole new Mumbai that I knew nothing about.

Although the book can be enjoyed by most people, its really made for someone from Mumbai, its best sections cannot be understood by an outsider. One thing I can tell u about this book : U will never look at Mumbai the same way.

Parts of it are very touching, parts are very hillarious, some parts deal with violence in such detail that u become immune and depressed after a while. My love for Mumbai wasnt affected by what the book said - I didnt imagine it would be. For most part it presents true picture of Mumbai - which is to put it mildly very grim. I feel that the book could have been written in a more optimistic way. But that is me.

I have always believed myself to be an objective person, capable of making neutral judgements without letting personal feelings prejudice me. But in the case of Mumbai, I donot feel the same confidence, the city is like a lover to me, it is for many people who live here.

One point though I want to make is that the city is much more comfortable and safe for the common middle class man than the book describes. Most middle class people cannot afford to buy houses in South Mumbai and hence live on the outskirts. They travel to their offices in South Mumbai in the local trains. It is entirely possible and simple to travel in Mumbai locals safely without being killed. If planned wisely you can get a seat and travel comfortably to your destination 90% of the times. Mumbai trains are by far the cheapest and most effective means of public transport in India if not the whole world. Indeed you can travel to and fro from VT to my place for a month for less than 5 dollars. A single trip on the Philadelphia Septa costed me more.

If you are a middle class professional working in a company or a call centre, you can live comfortably in Vashi or Thane, travel to your place for work and come back in good spirits. You can have a cell phone at an affordable price, you can eat out twice a week and take your girl friend to watch a movie and take her to many kissing sessions at dozens of places that lovers have (panchgani talav in thane is an eg). And there is no gangster and no criminal that will harm you. You are inert to politics. And you have what it takes to live good. You can buy a bike to roam the city as Vivek Oberoi did on Marine Drive, install ur gf on the back seat and sing O Humdum Soniyo re. You work Monday thru Saturday and enjoy Sunday.

Mumbai is a far more positive place than the author of this book portrays it to be.

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One Year!

Hi,

Today I completed one year to the day I submitted my last paper of Engineering. We had our AI paper after a four day holiday on 26th Maty 2004. After we completed the paper we suddenly realized that this is it. We are done with engineering. The four year roller coaster ride was over. It some how didnt sink in, still doesnt.

For someone like me who was involved in almost every campus activity be it technical or cultural, it was just an impossibility. People like me can never mentally shed the titles we held, the positions we worked on and the experiences we had.

For four years that campus was my home. Literally. Cos for four years it occupied me 80% of the time physically and 100% of the time mentally. Engineering isnt any educational course you do, its a life style you would adopt when u enter in.

Anyways, its been one year and its unbelievable -- well not unbelievable but surely something surreal and unearthly, something that is hard to comprehend. If you were to ask me today or infact anytime later, no matter what further education I might have completed, my identity would always remain the same : I am an Engineer.

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Philadelphia

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Something for you.

Hi,

Sending some stuff with my roomie who should be over the sea right now. Along with a pyar bhara message comes stuff specially for all of you.

The blue mickey florida mouse is for you.
The white florida shirt is for Mithila.
The rest three shirts are for Rahul, Avi and Chinmay.

There is a cd with the message and all my photos so make sure that you take only the cd that has ur name written on it. Obviously it has some stuff that I dont want to reach home.

I am with Nikhil right now in Philadelphia and having fun, meet me online and we will have major fun.

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Yeh hai Mumbai Meri Jaan!

This is like the coolest thing that ever happened to me. I wrote a mail to my friends at rediff radio and they actually responded.

How cool is that!

Hi Sanket,

thanks so much for that email.It was like an affirmation that even though radio is an aural medium it has such an impact on our minds,our lives.Viva la radio:)Pardon my French:0)Thankyou once again for taking those memories 'saat samundar paar' and do keep writing.Feedback and suggestions,two most important things for your 'connection to India' to do well .Oh,almost forgot...we're reading out your mail on the show today.Don't forget to tune in.

happy Listening,
Malishka*



Hi,> >

This is Sanket from Tampa, Florida. Being a mumbai > engineer I have completed my education listening to > radio fm. You would probably have no idea just how big > a role radio played in helping us stay alive while > completing engineering.> > Ever since comming to the US, I have been missing the > radio like razy to the point where I used to get > depressed. Its been such a relief to subscribe to > rediff. Especially since I belive I have already > listened to you in Mumbai, just jaago I believe. Its a > piece of Mumbai in this far off land .. invaluable.> >


So thank you, for being the one constant point in this > changing world, for being there when the going got > tough, for making us smile, for keepingg us company > into the wee hours of the morning, for entertaining, > for giving the radio a new life and for representing > the youth.> >

Thank You for everything,> >

- Sanket K

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Hard Times

Hard Times hit. They are called hard cos they really hit hard. I have to fight. There is hope, there is courage and there is the spirit. This is just a phase, it has to pass.

I am deriving energy from all inspirations possible, friends are very important now. I have to fight, I have to go.

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These Women !

I want to dedicate this blog to some lovely women who seem to have this strange control over me. I am usually fierce about my independence to the point of being paranoid, but these women dont care at all about anything that has to do with the male ego and just override me whenever they want.

First is this girl whom I met in junior college. She was the absolute beauty queen of our campus and for those reasons I always assumed she would never have anything to do with me. As we became friends and I came to know her more I realised how wrong I was in assuming her to be the proud and snobby , typical "look at me" girl. Her mind turned out to be even more beautiful than her looks and her frankness was an endearing joy. Being brought up among guys and a society far more open than us, she was superlative in her understanding of the male mind and had the uncanny habbit of guessing what was on our minds with frightenning accuracy.

Then is this other girl who is the sweetest thing that God ever made for mankind. I met her in junior college and immediately became a fan of her innocence and stupid spectacles. I could never really understand her until after 5 years of our initial meeting when we came close by sheer chance. I could go on talking about her for I admire and respect her so much. The one thing that anyone would notice about her is the utter sweetness of behaviour and thought and well I lack descriptive words here but she is amazing I tell u. Infact I honestly believe that all people who donot know her or havent seen her or havent talked to her even once are pretty miserable and unfortunate for having missed the wonderful experience of knowing her. Its like comming to America and not seeing the Grand Canyon. But I do know her very well so I dont worry about the rest of the world and remain happy with myself.

Then there is my elder sister who also a very very sweet person. The problem though is that many people know this and everyone hogs her time and I dont get any share of it now. I used to ............... earlier but not now :( . But I am still special for her, so that kind of evens things out.

Lastly there is my under graduate crush. Thankfully unlike most crushes that dont work out and then turn out to be no contacts, she still remains a very close friend of mine. Her laughter is unique, like water of spring gushing over pebbles and running hurriedly towards new places. I always always miss our long walks together whenever I think about her. Ya, it does make me sad that it didnt work out btwn us, but well life is not fair anyways.

And so there are these women who posses the elite quality of being able to reverse my intent and get what they want.

The thing is that I am far far away from all of them right now and I miss them terribly now.

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To Rahul, Chinmay, Mithila, Deepti and Avishkar !

Hi,

Recently I had a chat conversation with chinmay which was really fun, if u guyz got my mail u will know what I am talking abut. It reminded me how lucky I am to have five of u as friends when most people are not blessed with even one.

So I say to the five of you what Mark Twain once said of a friend.

"If you guyz are ever in trouble,

And I dont come in time to help you out,

Rest assured,

I am dead. "

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scenic

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Engineering Highlights!

Hi,

Following are engineering highlights that need immediate preservation :

1) getting into father agnels.

2) knowing what engineering is, eg mechanics imposition.

3) getting a month of unwanted holiday. - college decision.

4) wasting that month and landing in more trouble than we could imagine.

5) comming back to 1st sem submissions. submissions.

6) the fight to maths 1 exam

7) nikhils call, and me assuring that he will pass in maths 1.

8) 2nd sem begins immediately on the next day.

9) 1st sem results, we all survive.

10) the shortened 2nd sem and the added intensity because of that.

11) getting the freshers party from seniors.

12) 2nd sem preparation days.

13) nikhil comes down with chicken pox.

14) preparing in 2nd sem for various subjects, not studying until last minute.

15) 2nd sem exam starts.

16) rainy day on bee, uncertainity but still exam is conducted.

17) exam over we go to kashmir.

18) most memorable holiday of my life. Kapil misses it and we miss him.

19) 3rd sem begins, most light sem of engineering I remember. nikhil comes from rc colony to chembur old place.

20) organising faces 2001, me as group singing and duet singing head, nikhil as dumb c head and kapil in sports .

20.5) organizing a freshers party for juniors.

21) 3rd sem exam comes, we are experienced by now.



22) still some close calls on electrical networks paper and maths as usual

23) 4th sem begins, subjects are much better, we know most seniors by now eta max is in the air.

24) organising eta max, publicity in colleges esp SNDT.

25) 2nd year comes to an end before we know it.

26) 3rd year begins every one becomes more career conscious and gre looms in the future.

27) taking gre classes, study gets a lot more intensive.

28) 5th sem exam comes, very testing period.

29) exam over, we go to GOA , 5 days 3 bikes, the wind, the beach and the free spirit.

30) armed with vacation and refreshed we enter 6th sem, very 1st day lecture missed, we go to library, ajit is ther with me.

31) most bakwaas sem of all, I hate this sem, starts.

32) people fight over time slots in labs to complete 1500 line programs (OS)

33) 6th sem exam comes, some people give gre some postpone it to final year, I postpone

34) 7th sem begins, incredible is the one word for the things I did in this sem

35) gre comes upfront.

36) taking break from college for gre.

37) facing the gre, most emotionally challenging period for me, bad gre means no US, no US means no life.

38) comming back to college, ssad lecture , Priyanka's b day, get lecture free

39) missing lunch to give tests

40) project comes around, no partner, no concrete direction just blind faith in ability

41) prelims end, submissions start

41.5) getting hospitalized. in the middle of prelims

42) submissions end, vivas start, no preparation time, total disaster

43) vivas take place, we survive, atleast we hope we did.

44) application process.

45) 1 week to 7th sem exam

46) 7th sem exam begins, we donot know what to expect

47) a short break, 1 week

48) 8th sem begins

49) most enjoyable semester of all, sense of things comming to an end, class unites

50) admission to USF comes thru

51) 7th sem results come out, I have a KT

52) admission not affected but things very tight

53) fare well party, many partings, we are relieved but in our hearts we know that we have lived the best days of oue lives.

54) project is completed .

55) submissions very easy now

56) vivas are great

57) exam comes around

58) ai paper finishes, we scream with joy, engineering has ended

59) kt results come thru, I clear, reval results come thru and I clear.

60) visa application and interview

61) visa is granted

62) last meetings and shopping and joy and grief

63) we lift off, engineeing had done its job.

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Quack Quack !! Ducks swim in the pond infront of Fine Arts building.

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Campus - a place to think!

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Still life

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Love life, its beautiful !!

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Watch tower -- watch me!

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Blend in!

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Flags

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Ready to strike!

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University of Miami, Living Quarters

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University of Miami living quarters.

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evening in miami

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College Life!

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Library and the building at night. Babe isnt it!

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Hostel with the water in the background. Train would give u the opposite view.

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The local news paper!

Hi,

Today I discovered a great link http://epaperdaily.timesofindia.com . It gives me Times od India on the computer every day. Click of a button and viola! there it is. People might argue that the TOI has turned into all but a tabloid. Well I dont really care about that at all.

As I surfed the e pages of my beloved paper, I remembered my glory days. Waking up at 6:30 am to the tunes of Radio Mirchi FM, rushing to catch the 7:10 slow to cst, missing it then catching the 7:29 fast, getting down at kurla and rushing onto the harbor platform, buying a TOI for 3 bucks and taking the comfi seat in the first class, 8:06 to Vashi. Reading the paper while discussing the radio on the train, company of seniors and juniors (no there were no classmates on the train, strange inst it! ) and then enjoying the ever fierce wind at the vashi - mankhurd bridge a daily 3 minute joy ride. And as the train entered the horizons of vashi, I could see the purple brown tops of girls hostel building and the main building top illuminated beautifully in the morning sunlight. Next into the line of vision were the magnificient Vashi towers at the railway station. And before u knew u were there, on a fabulous railway station (second only to the great VT ).

And as u got down onto the platform the tasks of the day would return to ur head, the TOI went in to the book bag. Day in Day out 6 days a week most weeks a year for four years I had this routine, through fire and cold loneliness, through the chaos of submission to the serenity of passing chits in class, the TOI was a faithful partner.

Each day I would scrounge the paper for the word 'US', indeed any US related news rarely , missed my eye. Today as I live and breathe in the US of A, living a dream that only the TOI can truly testify to, I miss this true friend of mine. And ya I am so so glad that I can see it online.

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Makes life bearable!

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Going Insane!

Hi,

Its school back again after the misleadingly called 'Spring Break' . Let me tell u why, well the term 'Spring Break' is wrong on two counts: first Spring was hardly spring with rains and second there is no such thing as break in a grad program, there is always work, there is always research and there are always projects that are due the day u will resume classes. So really the term 'Spring Break' sucks.

Also since school started (and its only been two days) I have been royally screwed for I didnt study in the break. Well ya, I know that statement kinda sounds stupid cos well its break : who studies in the break? but here I am all messed up just cos I took the break for what it shuld be and not what it is.

Meanwhile I keep missing Mumbai a lot and everytime I see a picture from back home or come across any news from Mumbai I wonder what infamous desire made me come to this lonely place.

For the moment though this is all the time I can spare. So lets see what further goes wrong?

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Urmila in Rangeela.

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Gayatri in Swades.

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A bird finds its way home.

In the year of 1995, Bollywood witnessed a major revolution. At the heart of it was 'Urmila Matondkar' with her ground breaking film 'Rangeela'. The movie was important in many ways. It made people recognize the genius of A.R. Rehman for the first time, it gave music of the kind that was never known before, tunes that were never heard of .... unique!

But what was striking about the film was the way 'Urmila Matondkar' was shot, her fashion, her clothes, her bumbaiya dialogues and her acting. This was a newbie who didnt care about the rules and was willing to break it. And Ram Gopal Verma sure did break a lot of rules by making Urmila run on a Mumbai beach wearing nothing more than a white male shirt. Exposing an amazing body for the first time on the big screen, he sort of let the female sexuality out of the vault and let it run free. Bravo! Here was a lady, marvellous in her looks running wildly on the beach with a wet shirt and yet not being shameful of herself but being one with nature, one with the sea and making a statement about herself that the Indian female had never made before.. "Its my life and I will live it in any way I please and to hell with ur society rules, I love my body, I am SEXY and I am flaunting it! ".

'Tanha Tanha .. ' became an instant hit! You had people of all ages, from old grand parents to dads to young children and oh yes the teen agers, everyone was fancying Urmila in broad day light. The musically astute song established her as the undisputed 'SEX BOMB' of Bollywood. To the sex-starved male population, it was a welcome treat for sore eyes, the females appeared suitably confused about how to treat this new liberal attitude.

Unfortunately though, over the next 10 years the Indian film industry became increasingly stupid about sex. The quality of films and the way sex was used became more and more cheap and commercial. Yes, we were sort of westernized. The word 'sexy' was used for the first time in 'Khuddar' with Karishma Kapoor. Then again Bollywood screened a hot smooch in 'Raja Hindustani' and ever since then film makers tried to ensure that they got their money back by throwing sex at the audience. This exploitation reached a new height with an idiot Mallika Sherawat doing seventeen smooches in the film 'Murder'. But by this time the audience was tired of watching stupid sex on screen. The credo was , 'We got porno on the internet for sex, show us some authentic drama in theatres! '

The year 2004 was a crucial point in the film making industry because the flop of Murder prooved to film makers that the audience was not falling for the same cheap trick again. At this point a film maker decided to introduce something different.

Thus came 'Swades', a film by Ashutosh Gowariker about the people of India and the state of the country, about a young successful Indian at NASA realizing his duty towards his mother land and deciding to do the right thing while in the process giving up the luxuries of uncle Sam! The film was a great effort, for the story was substantially different: something that Indian film makers arent popular for doing. It portrayed a higher ideal, it portrayed successful NRI's giving up the comforts of an easy life for doing the right thing, it portrayed things that could be.

Once again A.R. Rehman gave a great musical foundation to the film. The lyrics were original and the language unusually pure. History repeated itself: 'Again u had an actress going against the trend and making a point, this time it was 'Gayatri Joshi' who did the magic.

Acting as 'Geeta', Gayatri Joshi brought to the character an unusual charm that only the true Indian girl can provide. She decided to accept the role of an archetypal Indian girl having proper moral values and displaying a conservation in clothes that contemporary actresses would have thought as a 'box office suicide' .

In a time when fellow actresses were trying to dance naked on the screen to mark a hit, this girl decided to go ahead with the 'Indian Saree' (with a full-sleve blouse mind you!) and that too in her debut film. Her character, her apparel, her values and her behaviour in the film had a rare honesty and integrity that immediately appealed to the audiences.

Along with me, it reminded many people that the 'Saree' is a one of the most attractive attires that a female can don. Watching her stand tall in some of the loveliest and simple fabrics I have ever seen on screen and deliver smart dialogues, I was head over heels fida on this girl. Even thought this was her debut film, Gayatri's face wasnt new to the one billion population who watched her in world cup ads.

A slim figure, a zillion dollar smile, the 'all saying' eyes, these were attributes that made her the ultimate 'Indian male fantasy' overnight, pretty much the same way Urmila had done almost a decade back. Ironically it was for opposite reasons that the two actresses succeeded in catching the attention of the audience. The female sexuality was back where it rightfully belonged: in the closet with a 'husband only' key to open it. Instrumental in achieving this was the choice of clothes in the film which brings me to discussing the 'Saree' .

I am a firm believer that the Saree is the perfect costume for the Indian female. Offering a million options in clour and intricacy of design, it covers the body in the most appropriate way, featuring the figure via a small open area in the waist, it leaves the rest to the imagination of the viewer, yet at the same time ensuring that the first emotions of a male gaze are that of admiration and respect instead of reproductional procedures. Emphasis being on sensuality than sexual stimulus.

The sensible earings and a black bindi on a beautiful girl with waist length hair were all that were needed to complete the most authentic Indian look I remember seeing in modern film.

This led me to inquiring my female friends as to why the saree wasnt the 'in' thing anymore? Surprisingly enough the answer was a very practical one: getting up in the morning at 6am ,tending to long hair and spending some time wearing the saree while at the same time hoping that the outfit will provide enough freedom of movement to catch a running train is not exactly the mumbai girl's idea of being loyal to her roots. I cannot describe my immense grief at the fact that the modern girl doesnt have enough time to host waist length hair and wear a saree. Were I the prime minister, I would go to great lengths to enforce laws that give the females more time, given the promise of a saree. Alas! things are not so and I need to get back on the track.

Of great importance here, is me admitting to the fact that for the three hours duration of the film I had my first doubts on whether Aishwarya Rai was the most beautiful woman concieved. Hard core fans will agree that its indeed a huge complement to a female on her first film.

Yet the whole point of this analysis isnt the two gorgeous ladies that made the change but a deeper reason. The first change triggerred by Urmila was the result of a supressed hunger of the sexual while the one trigerred by Gayatri was a hunger for the ideal.

People will accuse me of being optimistic, but I conclude that like a lost bird, the Indian film industry had with 'Swades' momentarily returned to its nest !

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Colors of the sky like rhythms of music flowing in a pattern portraying beauty, fragility and power at the same time!

(c) Copyrights 2005. Sanket U Korgaonkar

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Destiny!

Franklin D Roosevelt once said ... " There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations a lot is given, of some generations a lot is expected, but this generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny . " I am not an American but I think every individual has a certain future.

The last time I wrote this quote was when I had mailed my best friend with the news that I had got my first admission among the list of colleges I had applied to. It was a big thing for me, perhaps the biggest thing, something that had possessed my mind for the better part of my engineering years. And when the admission came through, there was this amazing feeling of life finally picking up speed, a change of direction, a swiftness in the wind an adrenaline rush………… it was magic.

I had come into engineering with a shattered confidence; the aftermath of a terrible failure in one of the most important career points and for the first few months I was busy getting my vital stats back in shape, ambition was a very fuzzy word back then. Which is strange for me cos I have always been the sort of person who believes u culd make a crater on the moon if u threw a stone hard enough. Engineering put me into intensive care, thanks to my college I had a great doctor. Treatment was simple.... 'No one has the time to blow sun shine off ur ass, get to work, show some results or quit'. You learn to prioritize things. You learn that if there is a tiger running behind you, thirsty for ur blood, you cant worry abut ur girl friend's birthday present, shut up ur mouth, channel ur energy, concentrate on the best route and run the hardest u can.

And so I recovered, slowly but surely. And then there was a time for dreams again, the word ambition was becoming less and less fuzzy but my path still lay hidden from me. There were just too many factors out of my hand that were important and I culd do nothing but hope for the best with them.................. as the Air India flight gathered speed to lift off the Mumbai airport, I realized that there are some things in life about which you cannot have all knowledge nor can u control all factors, but if u strive hard and I mean really hard and do everything that is in your control, luck begins to bend your way and life submits to your will. And then you wonder and in your heart you being to understand the meaning of destiny.

How this fiber of life takes turns, knots up into hard puzzles, leads you to strange and surprising places, how it connects with other lives, how complex it can be. And yet perhaps there can be a simple message: 'Don’t worry about things you can’t control but make sure you do all you can.' And when the attempt is made that way and when you realize that the outcome doesn't really matter to you anymore, you know that life has spoken to you.

You know that you are on to a rendezvous with 'Destiny'.

- Sanket

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Its a hard life! Is it?

If you can force your nerve and sinew to serve their turn long after they are gone...... and so hold on when there is nothing left in you except the will which says to them ... 'Hold on'.

If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run............

My bible, gita and and my God demand a lot of things and they are all in a simple form visible to the human eye, nothing elusive or unearthly about it. You dont ask things from it, you dont expect my god to do anything for you, u understand that whatever it is u will achieve will always be of your own efforts.

Then what purpose one might ask this God of mine serves? Well it certainly gives you the inspiration to put the effort needed for success. Its almost insatiable and you wuld most certainly spend your entire life time trying to fit every condition it demands. But there is a promise it makes at the end and for that you strive.

There are days when u think everything is wrong, cos everything is so corrupted and soiled and dirty and you begin to question if the wrong lies withing you or with them for there are far too many to be wrong. But u go on, on what u belive to be true and all the time the burden increases and the demands become harder.

And you cant help but wonder, where did u start ? where are u going? and will u ever get there? No answers, only one thing you know for sure, that you will try as long as there is the body and there is the soul.

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White Sand, slipping away.

Some say time is a fabric, a dimension and that like space it is all there infront of you. And so the past, the present and the future is all infront of you but u cant see it cos u are on one portion of the fabric.

That aside I think time by itself has always been a mysterious entity to me, simple and complicated at the same time. Simple in the sense that 'Hey, look up in ur watch' and complicated in the sense ' If its a fabric can u jump me to another section?' .

I imagine time as the white sand hour glass figure. Sand from one side goes down into another and then u flip it over and the same thing happens, fairly accurate unit of time though, subject to human error, but thats not my point.

Actually there is no great 'point' here and as any one wuld make out I have gone crazy right now. But there are songs, people, places, friends, jokes, smiles, laughs and yess those horrible controlled tears and smiles that are actually frowns all lost in this white sand.

I always visualize this........... when I was born there was this guy who like flipped this 'my life time' hour glass on me and ever since then this white sand is slipping away and the favourable side of the glass is emptying by the second. And when alll the sand finishes and falls on to the other side........... yes I die :( .

And all the time, all I see and all I do goes down this white sand. So it has been the prime motive for me to do something that cannot be absorbed by the sand , white or what color doesnt really matter. Something that can break out of this glass structure that lesser mortals are bound to, many of whom dont even seem to notice they are bound in one.

And to that end I shuld submit myself, apparently I am not yet inspired enough cos the keen observer will observe that I spent some time down the white sand just typing this.

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Work and Study..... the real deal!

Dad always said, " You are lucky, U dont need to work while u are in college.". Being pushed into working from the age of 18 (still working at 53) he wuld say this to me many times and I being the carefree abstract person I was never understood the meaning of those words.

Enter USA and end of life as u know it. I am now into studying and working life. Study takes from 9am to 5pm and work takes from 7pm to 2am. So really I now know what dad was talking abut.

Life becomes simple though. U reach home at an unearthly hour like 2:30 am, even on a famished stomach, u dont feel like eating, but u eat to keep the body alive, then sleep, sorry crash and before u know it, the alarm starts ringing. One of these days I am going to destroy that clock.

But there are days when I dont work and I assure that week ends remain free. So really I am not complaining abut it. Infact I am glad that I was pushed into doing this. Now I imagine what my father must have gone through at 18, cos he had no day off not even a sunday.

So today after 22 years of my existance I thanked him for all that he did and appologised for being rude many times. I am ok at admitting my mistakes when I realise that they are mine.

" Things change, roll with it!!" right!!

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Gone with the wind!

Today I want to write about one of my many hobbies.. Biking!

I love to bike. Bike hard and fast. I have a size 26 magna great divide bike with front shocks and 18 speed levels. Its a great machine. Until recently my bike was all paralyzed and stuck, what harmed my bike I dont know but thats past now. I took the bike to the university bicyle centre and got everything fixed.

I usually like to ride at a good pace. I define 'good pace' as a speed which doesnt leave me gasping for breath and yet lets me get to work like zip, zip! Bikers wuld know what I am talking abut. The numerous gear options help.

I have always loved biking and I have always had a special relationship with my bikes (which was part of the reason why I didnt sell my bike when I was supposed to ) . As far back as I remember, I had discovered biking in the 4th grade and I used to bike a teeny tiny little bike around a suitable teeny tiny compound at my building back in India. I wuld circle the compound for hours at a stretch and people wuld wonder why I never got bored. Then I graduated to a bigger adult sized bike which I still remember vividly, partly because I had dreamt of having that bike for a long long time and partly because the bike was simply superb ( the most expensive thing on the market mind you! ). It was a model 'Tango', make 'Hero' with front and rear shocks that really did the trick, no gears though but the bike was great.

Today after cleaning my bike, I was admiring 'Rapier' (thats the bike's name) for a long long time. Everything being clean, it reflected the sunlight clear as a mirror and looking at the shiny metal I pondered abut what biking means to me.

U see every biker develops his own style of biking over a period of time. Some styles are foolish, some are boring but thats just my opinion. Every ones style is different and its their own. I like to feel the experience alive with speed. So even if its a short distance, I am cruising at a good speed.

The thing that I really like is to feel the bike accelerating and to feel the power of my own youth being transferred onto the bike and testified by the growing wind. I judge the preferrable speed by the road and the traffic conditions prevailing but I cannot drop below a point where it stops being exciting and many times it gets me into situations where I am going too fast for the conditions. Thus there is always this element of risk involved when I ride. I mean shuld I fall, I wuld get into big trouble and when I am riding I know this damn well. Its one of the things I get a kick out of.

So why risk life and limb and choose speed instead of a safe steady easy going correct pace? I cannot possible answer that question in words. To get the answer, you need to take a well oiled bike outside and ride fast and look at things going by you at speed and feel the great wind in your ears deafenning you against all other noises and know that the source of all of that was your own body.

To passers by on the street, I am just 'Gone with the wind!'

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Patterns

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College Days

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City Nights

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Miami Eve

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thats me 

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There and back again!

I got up today and the whole room was spinning crazily, I had been down this road before and knew that it was probably due to a sudden loss of composure of my body; an electrolyte imbalance or a low bp some thing like that.

It reminded me of a morning in Nov 03, I was in the middle of submissions and prelim exams of my 7th sem. The illness was much more sever back then. Everything spinning too fast round and round and spinning u with it. I think my eyes were also rolling. I couldnot stand for I knew I wuld loose balance and fall. Every heart beat sending a jolt of shooting pain in the brain. Definetly scary.

I fought to gain control, ignore the spinning room and focus on what needed to be done. I got into a sitting stance and it reduced the spinning. Next I needed to go to the bedroom to wake up dad, it was 6 am in the morning and everyone was sleeping. I tried to make a route for me out of the room, selecting things I will use as support and the number of steps I culd take before reaching my next support. Ordinary thing like going from my room to the main bedroom had become a navigation excercise. I did get there and Dad being the person he is got me hospitalized in no time.

From the middle of a busy schedule where you culdnt remember the last time u had food, I had fallen into this seemingly slow paced monotony of a hospital room where each second seemed like ages. 6 bottles of fluid and 3 days later I walked out of the hospital irritated at the loss of time and the gap in schedule.

I had missed an exam. And I had no preparation for the next. Result I flunked in the next prelims and took the missed one sandwiched between other two. Thankfully it was the college prelims and not the main university exams.

I finished the prelims some how, then there were viva's and after which the exam was scheduled within half a month. But that was not the first thing on my mind. The first was the application process, which needed attention , a lot of it actually. Preparing application packets is a painstaking process that any MS student here can tell u. Recos, SOPs, transcripts, marksheets, affidavits and what not. Everything took its own time and if during the day you culd free out 2 hrs you culdnt study for the exams, your mental mode wasnt right and this wasnt the way you prepare for exams atleast I was used to work out a timetable, prioritize subjects, select syllabus to be covered, what to study and what to be left for option was decided and only then the subject was touched.

I did go thru that hell afterall and got to USF. ....................... to get into further hell that is. And today it was that experience thru hell that made me stay calm and get back to normal health.

Experience is the best teacher as they say.

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Things that were!

Hi,

Today winamp suddenly played a memorable song. It was the slower version of the title song of 'Dil Chahta Hai'. I usually associate songs with the times when the film was released and how life was then. I had seen this film with my entire class in a local theatre while in the third semester of engineering. I was late for the show and the film had already started. People were rocking to the tunes of 'Koi kahe' when I entered the pitch dark of Meghraj. I was stepping over toes and and fumbling to find my seat and even now I can distinctly remember the comfort I had from the fact that shuld any one from the audience beat me up, it wuld probably be a member of my class!

We were just out of hell (freshmen year) and had got our first real 15 day vacation. Fresh and eager to get out of the academic world, we were filled with the contagious enthusiasm that is the hallmark of a second year Engineering student. It was a time when u get to know ur seniors and work with them. U start taking part in extracuriculars, which as mentioned above not only introduces u to seniors but also lets u bunk classes and get attendence for doing it!Academically it was the easiest sem I remember, practicals were light and I had a great programming partner. College wuld usually end at 2pm for comp 3, needless to say we were the envy of our counterparts. I wuld usually go to the basket ball court behind college and play for a while with my fellow class mates and although I never learnt more than 'how to pass the ball', it was great fun none the less. When not playing I wuld sit on the stair like benches (built by some poor work shop students mind you! ) and chat with friends.............. chat abut movies, who is having a crush on whom, who got caught while giving a plagiarized demo, everything and nothing at all and enjoy the wind. It was the most relaxing part of my day.

The world was a very simple place................. there were no career issues in mind, there was no stress and there was no worry. It was the time when I happily kept an empty mind (not a devils work shop!). It allowed friendships to cement and rendered a health that I wuld dearly need to go through the rest of my under graduate career.

Now as life becomes progressively worse, its a memory that acts as my oasis. Bored by debugging an impossible program I sit quietly for a while and make a mental escapade onto the basketball court and hear the ordered chaos of the game, shoes squeaking, the thump of the ball, I almost live it again. And it never fails to give me the strength to fight the damn bug once more.

Afterall as Bryan Adams wuld have said ... "Those were the best days of my life! "

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