Not all those who wander are lost.

Not all those who wander are lost.

I love travelling; it’s something that really captivates me like nothing else. I have travelled my fair share but would like to travel even more because I believe that whenever I visit a new place I discover something new about myself which is hitherto unfamiliar. It excites me like little else when I discover something new about myself in an unfamiliar zone. My enthusiasm spirals up and an adrenalin rush takes place whenever I discover new places through travelling. It helps me feel better to know that I’ll be taking home something which I learned from the different places I’ve been to. I would like to preferably stay in a locality which would enable me to capture the true essence of a place. I am never particular about staying in the lap of luxury.  Having visited about 12 countries and being an itchy feet have had an incalculable upshot on the way in which I see myself and the World.

The exposure to unfamiliar food and smells, meeting interesting people, sleeping on the floor if one has to, all these experiences enables us to see our Country in a different perspective. One matures into a truly global citizen. One would no longer be ignorant of the true impact of globalization, one would realize that Global warming is something which is already at our door-steps, one would realize that for some people their daily survival depends on walking 10 miles a day to just get a couple of buckets of water. In short, it enables one to see the World from a platform which is a cut above the rest.

I read extensively and I have travelled all around the World through my imagination, someday I hope that my body also visits all those places, for there is nothing as therapeutic and rejuvenating as travelling to soothe one’s Soul.

As one becomes older one is bound by new responsibilities and one has to make sure that he doesn’t lose sight of what is important.  During one’s younger days one has control of one’s circumstances and one’s view of the World is still being formed, this is the perfect time to travel.

Most importantly as a person looks back on his life he should never have any regrets and travelling is a way to make sure that you are able to convince yourselves that you have led a full and fruitful life. Travelling will put you out of your comfort zones and this changes you like not many can, it will compel one to think of the world at large at not just about oneself.
So Travel, for the World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

-The RETURN of the Men in Blue

well if ure a person who follows the news of the Indian cricket team(which is practically everybody from India and a lotz of NRI's)then september was an unbelivable month for you.I have to devoted this entire's month posting to the Indian cricket team as they simply deserved to be given that much space for what they have achieved.If u look back at an earlier post of mine u can see how desperate the month of march was for the Indian cricket team when the hopes of 1.1 billion people came doen like a avalanche..plummetting the nation into a deep gloom.All that changed with the awesome new spectacle of the TwENTY 20 WORLDCUP.To BE FRANK I HAD ALMOST GOTTEN USED TO THE regular failure of the Indian cricket team at the International arena ..so i didnt have much expectations from them..C'mon how can u have a realistic expectation of good performance from a team when they were considered to have a lesser chance than scotland of making the second round ..coz indiaz experience at the shortest version was much less than that of Scotland's ..at one point I was just hoping that they should just make it past scotland so that things wouldnt get worser than at the 50-50 WC level.After the first match got washed out came the next match against Pakistan which i was sure that India would win until that 'BUSTER' 'Mis-bah' nearly played a cameo at the end ..and manged to get Pakistan to a state where they needed just 1 to win from 2 balls and they absolutely fucked up things and manged to loose the match in the first ever international bowl-out with INDIA winning 3-0..

With that India was in the 2nd stage ..but with the 10 run loose against newzealand from a winning position seems to recall the old habits and India was all set to go out of the touranment with 2 tough draws coming up..Then came the turning point ..the match against England!!Things started off well with the awesome opening stand --but the player who stole all the attention was one Yuvraj singh ..who went on an absolute rampage and sent the england players(more apt to say spectators) on a leather hunt with him hitting 6 consecutive sixes of S.Broad (thus repaying the debt that he owed Mascerehnas).With that win India was all pumped up..but the next do r perish match was against a formidable RSA lineup playing at home..this time almost all of us were ready to go out with grace as beating RSA was considered unrealistic..but what the heck!,not only did the MI-BLUE win but also they managed to knock the host out of the tournament..that was a bloody beautiful match with kaarthick taking the most amazing catch of R.singh and R.singh wiping out the top order.

nEXT in line was kangaroos..and the Indians were prepared to make kangaroo curry this time around..Yuvraj once again played a cameo and scored 70 of 30,our own local boy sreesanth went on a rampage and with the basic south Indian knowlege of good spices was able to cook the most amazing kangaroo curry...yumm ;) .This match almost to the wire until the aussies lost a match which they could have easily won with Symonds and Hayden going strong at one point.But in the end it was 'bharth mahan ' who triumphed.

The final..well the FINAL..hmm..the Final...yessssssssss..the bloody friigin fINAL..Man was it some thing ,..was it a dream??I dont think so..but the players surely lived a dream with this match..as India marched into the finals ,there was a formidable enemy waiting for them there which was a team which was given almost a next to nothing chance in the beginning to win the cup..this was a team that was humiliated even more than INDIA at WI,2007..with their coach dying at the touranmet..this was the team of PAKISTAN..this was a ****** INDIA-PAKISTAN final..the most amazing sporting spectacle.The match started on a high note with the entire world tuning in to watch the amazing match filled with all the added masala that comes along with the match such as gorgeous chicks and the longest six to name a few.India had a decent start ,THANKS to Gautan Gambhir and finished at a decent 156..the Indian bowlers did a good job and with Pakistan struggling at 77-6 the cup was ours for the taking until 'Mis-bah ' turned up and massacred the Indian bowlers and showed how vulnerable the Indian attaack can get..hey!!but hats off to pathan and R.P for holding their nerves..come the final over it was the Indians who were under all the pressure with sreesanth and H.singh being plundered for runs..then this guy who no-one has really heard bfre the WC comes to bowl the last over with a mere 12 runs needed and ' mis-bah' on strike and what good omens awaited joginder there with his first bowl going for a wide and the next one a six.U should have seen me at this time, i was swearing at H.singh and Joginder with words that even i didnt know i knew.My freinds say that i even threatened to go to chandigargh and blow up H.Singh and everythin associated with the sardar.Then came the magical momemt me and my friends were desperate over how bad the situation was and was ready to accept the looser's tag ..then Joginder bowled his second legitimate delivery..there ..there was Mis-bah doing the unorthodox sweep..a huge despair fell upon all of us as the ball went high in the air..i was sreaming **** it is a ******* bloody *&^%$* six..damn..Quoting RAVI SHASTRI...""......................In the air...sreesanthhhh....takes the catchhhhhhhh..INDIA WIN...........................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YES PEOPLE THE BALL WAS OFFICLAY IN SREESANTH'S HANDS..and INDIA had become the fisrt t-20 champion..my room mates say i screamed non-stop for 5 minutes, as much as my larynx would allow me..and the fell down in a sporting trance..it was unbelivable 'WE' HAD triumphed in a most unbelivable match..and mis-bah became the valinat sailor who braved the U-boats only to sink as the harbour came into viw(hats off to 'MIS-BAH' 5 runs ul-HAQ)..

ladies and gentlemen that was the most amazing cricketing sporting spectacle of the century ..and a big thank you for tuning in..!

-THE QUIZZICAL ME..

ok ..now coming to my favourite hobby quizzing..this is one topic which i should covered a long time back itself..anyway i have had this thing for quizzes since the time i was in 5 th standard..i always had some kind of a connection to this cerebral sport and could identify myself with it..but unfortunately i failed to get myself some breaks which could place in my school quiz team which was among the best quiz teams in india.Then one fine morning like a bolt from the blue i got a chance to represent my school in a national quiz..this was my first entry into the school team and my first real foray into quizzing.Anyway i got badly beaten at the national quiz and the points which received are so loow that i am not mentioning it for the fear that whenever i see it i may nevr get the motivation to continue this hobby.

Anyway after that unfortunate debacle i got an awesome partner in my 11th standard called hari.He was a fitting mate coz of the fact that he was aware oif my short-comings as well[;)].anyway i believed that we made a good team but unfortunately we managed to get our hands around only too few trophies..my 12th standard saw a drop in academic performance as i began to loose interest in my school stream of science.anyway that year didnt produce any worhwhile results so far as my hobby is concerned.After my school days i managed to get myself into a law school and am hoping to participate in more quizzes (circumstances providing)

.

P.s:-THIS is more like an 'about me' than a regular blog posting right..well u know that it is impossible to tell when inspiration strikes right..one just struck me rigt now and got me writting on this topic..hoping to post more sensible and 'cool' postings soon.. [:D]..

Jottings of a Vagabond(WHICH I AM OCCASIONALLY)

TRAVELLING...it is something that man is naturally prone to do..from the time man distinguished himself from the monkeys and began to walk(from the 1st austropilithicanus africanus-->have i spelled tht one right) he has found an interest in traversing looong distances..and here i am an inheritent of those qualities possesed by those ancestors of ours(:D).I am going to talk abt my travels fr this month..Anyway bfre i start i would like to mention that in 2003 i was able to visit some european countries like switzerland and scotland and i didnt think that the scenery there could be replicatd anywhere else..and lo..was i wrong or what--->> it was to be foung right here in our own backyard in the states of Himachal pradesh and UTTaranchal.

My family consisting of my dad,mom,sis and me left fr Delhi on the 7th of May an was it hot or what there with me burning my butt at the 45 degrees..anyway a welcome escape came in the form of Shimla where we stayed fr 2 days..shimla i s the capital of the state of himachal pradesh and i dont mind saying that the place is truly blessed with scenery..we shopped at Shimla town..munched ourselves on some truly delicous momo and feasted on the best chicken soup available anywhere in the world.Urz truly was also able to have a tryst with horse-rididng ..doing the same with a yak and holding a 9 foot python which was coiled around my neck..and then came the truly beautiful part..which was MANALI..

Manali is quite simply the most beautiful place in India..i mean one doent even need to go to manali town fr that matter..even the road to manali is filled with the most amazing scenery..then coming to our stay at Manali itself was mindblowing experience..we stayed at this hotel next to the river beas in its full vigour.Then came our trek to rohatng pass...at 4000m this place is a gate way to the kashmiri city of Leh..the road was an extremely rugged one and looking out of ur side windows meant experiencing 'VERTICAL LIMIT'.Once we reached the top we feasted on some omlette(yes people there r people at this place who makes this stuff evn under such bad climatic circumstances)..once in ROHTANG i had my tryst with skiing and well u could say ice-gazing...the climate was a bloody -10 ..so our stay there was limited to a time of 2 hours ..which was completely funfilled ..then is was time to leave MANALI..manali was like the apex city we visited so evry other place on comparing just fades..

The latter half of the trip was not as interesting to me fr reasons of my own as i was stuck with food poison at uttaranchal..i had to face ice-storms..land-slides and leopard infested forests ..not to mention a 5000 kg cedar tree that had fallen across and blocked the road.ANYWAY if the gross total i taken i could safely say that it was an awesome trip which was fun-filled and not a dull-moment--well even an ice-storm could give u the thrills right..r should i use the word chills here ;).. well thats all for now..thanks for having the patience to read this thing..

Coming to the pics..well let me explain it from top left in a clockwise manner..the 1st picture shows me at the vast snow plains of the awesome Rohatng pass..the 2nd picture shows me holding a python at kufri..i just uploaded the 3rd one to show that we had to cross this river in a 4*4..this SUV as you see was stuck in that river and it took abt 20 minutes to get out..and well the 4th pic shows the icy roads of rohatng..see i meant it when i said rugged roads.. :)

-held at gun point

Well i am sad to say that ive been occupied wth xmz fr this month..xmz xmz xmz ..it was month of frustration..if im asked to pick out some moments frm this month it would have to be ..VT shootings..the cricket world cup..me getting a huge mark incresae after i gave my 1st externals fr revaluation..and well..it ends there.now coming to the vt shootings..man..it was something..now i am not studying there r anythn..bt one prsn i knw is a student there..now on the16th ofthis month..i had gone to see a second show of a mallu movie at night and came back home very late..as always i switched on the tv..only to welcomed by the news of the shootings at blacksburg.Man i was like -->man this is out of the world..especially as it was not one r 2 bt 32 pple who had lost their lives.Well i was relieved to find that the guy i knew was keeping fine.Man otherwise ,if he was hurt just think what a freak incident this would have been..its like being hit on the back of the head when evry 1 was lest expecting it.Now this seem to be a shooting incident filled month..the incident bng followed by a shooting at nasa..and a college shooting at an indian college .thatz rght pple -->>an indian college.
Well now to talk abt the otherthings that haapened this month..it would have to be my xmz ..which ws actaully a relief coz ..it was not too hard.Thn thr ws a world cup..which didnt let down this freaky month..with its own share of freak events.Ok now we can expect chaos expecting in a cricket match..bt folks -->not a WC final.i mean the last few overs of the match was played at a time when it was virtually impossible to see anything..leave alone play bat and ball game ..it was a perfect sporting disaster.anyway congrats to aussies on winning the finals as i hold a grudge against the lankans fr gvg us an early knockout punch.. well that would be the month in review folks..

The World cup debacle..(in the boulevard of broken dreams)-->>

acc.ca..ta(clearing of the throat)..For the people who don't know me well enough..i have been an ardent fan of the game of sticks and stones known as cricket for like maybe about 13 years and mind u i am only 19..so u can understand how deeply i am deeply attached to the sport..-->>although recently i have become a total sports admirer(as my profile sayz anything from buzkashi to soccer--(fr starters buzkashi is a very crude game played in the hills of afghanisthan) goes fr me) but then cricket has always occured a special place in my mind ,,maybe itz coz i am a person who deeply loves my country and cricket is one sport in which India can show off to a certain extent..so i suppose not only me but most my the other people in my country consider the performance of the team as a matter of national pride.. i was so keen about this world cup that when it came to an abrupt end on th 23nd of march it really shocked me beyond my wits.Its just that unlike any time this was a special team with all the special talents in our country --evryone believed that they had that x-factor-->>add to this the media hype and there was no stopping them..so evn before the cup had started we were on cloud 9 thinking we had triumphed on the 28th of april.. so it was a rude wake up call..similar to be castrated and made to walk in the nude through the streets, when we exited from the world cup,,what went wrong there i dont know ...but i suppose at the height of perfection there must imperfection be otherwise how the bloody hell could we get kicked out like that by a nation as insignificant as bangladesh(okay--maybe they might improve tomorrow -->but today they r crap). Now i know what is meant in sporting terminology when one says to all from 8848m( tip of mt.everest to ground 0) .Well on the bright side atleast we can concentrate on things other than cricket for the rest of the world cup--coz who cares fr a worldcup without India...Jai hind..

In the company of PROJECTS(nd quizzes)

OK.Now what to say??..Life as i realise is a very hard fought competition and only the best get through in the end..no matter how much luck you have there finally comes a stage when all that really matters is your mettle...without that mettle ,which can only be nurtured through an everlasting evolutionary process,you tumble at that most important stage.im now trying to make it a point to publish atleast one new posting every month,and this brief foreword was what i felt i should what i say before i start to ruminate about the happenings of the month of february..THIS month is indeed a short one..both literally as well as figuritivelly..it finished as soon as it satrted.This Month for me consisted of lots of projects nd some quizzes.I had a gargantuan crimes project to finish which i somehow managed to complete,well god knows how,however i might as well mention that doing this crimes project was not a lost cause..i mean i atlest got to know how cases should be reffered in the air, ;-).Moving over to quizzes now,to start with we had an ims quotient quiz at the start of the month in which we didnt even manage to get to the finals...that was something very disheartening nd i now that it is not a very easy job to maintain ur standard as a good quizzer....itz a matter of continous exposure and training r else u became stalke in the matter...then there were 3 more quizzes this month..out of which the bus in which i was travelling suffered a minor accident while i was going for a quiz in kottayam...the two buses slammed against each other,,nd it was by luck that it was just a minor impact....the last quiz in the month was one at ernakulam pressclub in which me and my quiz partner dhruvan got the 2nd place..i was cursing like hell in the stage as we lost the 1 st place by one point..nd effectively ended up losing 1000 bucks.Anyway looking forward to lotz of moots and projects... signing of,yours truly....