Autonomy, anyone?

63 years and counting... When will Jammu and Kashmir get the honour it deserves? If you ask any Indian whether J&K should be a part of India, the answer is always a scornful yes. As long as J&K is shown in the political map of India, most of us are happy. The thing which our political class forgot is to win their hearts.
For the Kashmiris, the army is the enemy and the politicians, mere opportunists.
If we want them really to be a part of India, we should treat them in a much better manner. There are numerous incidents of humans rights violations, young Kashmiris taken to the local police station for mere "questioning" only to never return again...
Yes I know that the rulers of Kashmir decided to be a part of India back then but it does not mean that we can make their life a living hell.
I believed Omar had it in him to give J&K a better future but alas, Kashmir is a riddle that no person can solve.
Also, one must feel for those armymen who are out there serving their country(??) for a negligible salary living in near inhospitable conditions.
Give greater autonomy a chance, these many years have done no good to them...


A peaceful heaven will ensure a peaceful earth...

Jose Mourinho and the art of winning

His critics may think he is ultra defensive, he might have taken the word "beautiful" out of the beautiful game, or you may simply put him as "boring" but HE DOESNT CARE!
He knows how to win games, how to beat opponents which are far superior to his on paper... but games are not won on paper, it is won on the field and he makes that happen.
Boring teams win games by a margin of 1-0, Jose wins 2-0, what more do these critics want? He has been excellent throughout his career.
The game against Barcelona was one of the best I have ever seen. That is the way a two legged game is played. An Inter side playing with 10 men against a rampaging Barca with 62 minutes still left on the clock deserve the best. One got to see both sides of Inter's game over the two legs. They were at their attacking best when they won coming from a goal down at home and were completely organised in the away game where they only had to defend their lead.
Had Roman Abramovich been a bit more patient, Chelsea would have won that elusive Champions League title which Jose has now won for Inter Milan.
He is a meticulous planner, astute thinker... a gift to the game.
The next big test for the Special One will be Real Madrid if he does go there as a manager. Even Fabio Capello had a torrid time there and it will be interesting to see how Jose plays his cards because unlike his previous teams, Porto, Chelsea and Inter, this team has no dearth of stars and it will be quite different for Jose to serve Real's never ending demands to win by playing attractive football.
A salute to this genius...

Everything is coming to an end...

These four years at SKNCOE have been nothing less than marvellous for me.  Four years I have been living in the same hostel with some of the best friends I have ever had.
Starting from the days when there used to be just one common radio, one common room(which usually would end up being Sunny's room) to the days where there are least 2 laptops in every room... It has been quite a journey. The cakes, eggs and everything else that were thrown at us have made our birthdays worth remembering. Those late night movie shows at Mangala when we used to walk all the way back to Swargate was quite an experience. The road cricket matches which we played were nothing less than exhilarating.

I would like to thank Amit, Sunny, Pratik, Kiran, Piyush, Sagar,  Sumit, my room mates, Rohit and Maddy, my ex-room mates, Chetan, Mahesh, Vishu and every other person from our hostel for all those wonderful times we had together.

Moving on to the friends from my college...
those Awesome 21 + others

They are simply superb... Masters in some field or the other... be it 'chid chid' or choosing fanta as a possible alternative to water or crackin some of the lamest jokes ever, everyone has a specialisation. You people are LAI BHARI!!!
A special thanks to Manasee for being a Narvilkar!!! She made the exam a tag team match between us and the question paper. I am glad that you are my 2 AM friend for patiently listening to all the crap that I talk about.
Amol Gaikwad deserves a special mention because if it had not been for him, Ruchira may not have talked to us ever!
Why didnt we become friends earlier??? :(
Now to those friends who have been with me right from the second year...
The parties that we celebrated together where the minority vegan group always had some problem or the other was just awesome.
You guys have checked off a lot of restaurants in my "to visit" list.
Trips to Panshet, Khadakwasla, Baneshwar, Tamhini Ghat, Malegaon would have been boring without you guys...
I will miss those really long walk back to the parking lot from our college when we used to take atleast 3-4 stops in between to decide what we are planning to do next.

wish we people could have had more time together...

Obituaries:

My dear Nokia 5200, which was stolen right under my nose(literally!),  I am sorry, I couldnt care for you as much as I loved you. I hope that you are happy where ever you are.

Also, Nokia 6320i which was stolen while travellin to Kerala, wish you the same.

PS: I am hoping that things will remain the same... well, at least I can wish that u people remain as awesome as u are now and all of us remain FRIENDS FOR LIFE!!!

Leave her alone

Sania Mirza is in the news again, and this time it is not for her early exits or injuries.
She is getting married(again!)... :(
The problem that every one seems to have is that she is marrying Shoaib Malik.
Yes, even I am thinking that Sania deserves a better husband than Shoaib. But come on guys, it is her choice. She knows what is right for her and what is not. The thing which I find very shocking is that her Indianness is being questioned, people have lost their respect for her (Ummm... excuse me! may I know why?)! That is totally uncalled for. She represents India and it is always an honour to represent your country.
These Sainiks think as if this is the first time two sportspersons of different nationalities are getting married! The best example is of Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi. The Germans didnt call her treacherous!!!
So sit back, enjoy the wedding and hope that Shoaib brings her some luck on the court!!!

Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger is one of the most respected football managers in the world today. He has been at the helm for arsenal for the past 10 years. He is a firm believer of "beautiful football" that we get to hear these days. He thinks that he can make his team play like Barcelona.

His frustration was clearly seen when he accused Aston Villa for playing the long ball game. He thinks that only his side plays in a manner which is pleasing to any football lover.

For him, the manner in which they play is more important than winning. Yes I know sportsman spirit etc. is all there but what matters in this competitive world is the number of trophies you win and sadly Arsenal are not winning any.

One may argue that this is the same manager who has won many laurels for them in the past but one must also see the team he had at his disposal back then. The likes of Henry, Bergkamp, Ljunberg etc. they were masters. The current team is very young and inexperienced and they have only Cesc to rely upon since Van Persie is out injured.

Arsene needs to spend this summer if they have to compete with the big boys...