Facts n Fiction

I had never watched the game of cricket so keenly, ever since it became a business more than a game. I don’t watch it as devotedly, today as well. However, there is one man who can change all the rules – of the game, of the fan following, and for me too. I love watching the game only when he is at the crease. Though I show lot of disinterest in his game to tease my sisters and my friend Nikhil when he plays, I have gathered tremendous interest and respect for him – SACHIN TENDULKAR , the only one after Wasim Akram. I never thought I would write on a topic of cricket, however, this legend has compelled me to do so. 20 years of cricket, bags full of runs, every record tagged to his name, limitless prosperity, infinite respect, free from controversies, and rewriting history of surprises – this legend, Tendulkar, yet remains a humble and modest cricketer. I would appear like a dwarf to write about his cricketing genius or his finesse with the willow. What I do know is it is sheer excitem...

This is utterly awesome. I received this as an email, a while ago, and I just couldn't control my laughter. I have been on amusement spree since yesterday. Aah! If you think only politicians (though there is hell lot of a difference between these two species) made it there, then probably you are sadly mistaken. Take a look at this, after all, "Every Dog Has Its Day" . Also, for the unfathomable love that I have have for canines, I could not resist myself from posting this to my blog. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I received this image as an email forward. I am not aware of the original source of this email. I do not claim any credibility or ownership, and/or authenticity of this image.

I received a call this morning. I had a hearty laugh after that. Somehow, all of a sudden, numerous customer care representative (tele-callers) from various banks, mobile companies, investment firms, and so on have flocked my cell phone – luckily all girls (a soul saving gesture) with voices varying from that of Lata Didi to Rani Mukherjee to Amrish Puri . Handling tele-callers from customer care department has always scared me. However, at times, dealing with customer care representatives has been fun. I, whenever my mood and time permitted, have tried to give them a hearty break from their monotonous, lethargic routines. The call that I received this morning was from some institution dealing in online share trading, DEMAT accounts etc. She: Good morning Sir, I am calling from XYZ. Do you have a DEMAT account sir? Me: Good morning Ma’am. Yes She: Aap kiska DEMAT account use karte hai Sir? (Whose DEMAT account do you use Sir? Well, she must have meant which institution’s account...

I had written about an English speaking institute, sometime in November last year. Certainly, there was something peculiar about it. Refresh it (optional) - http://amolsviews.blogspot.com/2009/11/speak-well-but-spell-ill.html :-] I received a comment yesterday on this post. I, of course, published the comment on that post. However, while doing so, I discovered that this comment could be a blog post in itself. And hence this, as-is, no corrections, no edits. “Hi, I am swati Here, I joined spekwell before some days at malad east Mumbai. And my experience is not good and I got disappointed after joining the class. This is one of the worse institutes that I joined in my life. These people advertise a lot about their academy. But when you really attend the class you will come to know about the quality of teaching. They don’t have separate batches for different level. They asked all people to sit at the same class even if person is not able to speak and the person who knows English wel...

All characters in this story may appear to be fictitious.  Any resemblance to real persons, living, dead, or missing could be surprisingly coincidental. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Virar station, 7pm, Andu (pronounced as UNDO) and Bandu (as BUNDO) were waiting for some other friends to arrive. They all were to go for a picnic near Arnala beach. Amidst the entire crowd, a not-so-beautiful-but-fair girl passed by. Andu, a guy with short stature craned his neck to get her glimpse and then turned to Bandu to check if he saw his act. Bandu too, taking advantage of his height, had taken darshan of that beauty. And they both smiled, rather laughed at each other. “Men will be men,” roared Bandu and they burst out into a thunderous laughter again. Andu and Bandu both are 30 something shaadi-shuda guys, not to each other ofcourse – happily married, not gay-ly . Like the scene at the Virar station, there are many coincidences of them liking th...

They rejoiced Killing many, and Leaving others lame With guns held high in air They shouted loud All praise in His name With trembling legs And fiery eyes I walked down the road All worried only about self No one really cared About the blood that flowed Those cries still scare The gun shots still haunt Unity disrupted, peace torn Lost is the glory Which this land Once used to adorn With a blank mind I stood, Staring into the infinity Struck between the differences Of what is sacred And what is unholy

I had loved Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone . Though many consider him a sadak-chap writer, he is a bestseller today – we need to appreciate and respect that, at least I do, for I am a writer too. I loved 3 Idiots even more. None could have a better job than the Aamir-Raju-Chopra trio, all masters of perfection. Though many consider the movie to be absolutely idiotic and exaggerated (fabricating the principles of engineering), it is a thorough entertainer, total paisa vasool – that’s what movies are for. However, what I least expected from such great men, was the push-pull for credits and publicity. Eventually, I got bored going through their ignominy, for my common sense of ad-man & marketeer told me this could well be a publicity gimmick. And indeed it was, sales of Five Point Someone were towering, and ditto was happening with 3 Idiots . The masters (Chetan-Aamir-Raju-Chopra) might have used a simple principle – “bad publicity is next to good publicity” , they explo...