Oranje!

Amsterdam - Queen's Day, originally uploaded by abhimehta.

Queen's Day. Sounds like another public holiday eh? Well that's what I thought as well last April when a few people mentioned to me that Queen's day was coming up. I thought to myself "oh good..maybe a day off"

Little did I know that I would be going to THE biggest party I or for that matter YOU can ever HOPE to go to.

The Queen of the Netherlands' birthday happens to fall on the 30th of April and it is one BIG party all across the Netherlands with the Hague and Amsterdam going nuts
Here is a classic snap of the walk from Centraal Station down all the way to Liedsesplien. Incredible...simply incredible. I can't find snaps from last year..will try to dig them up.
AI 03/04.....you guys have snaps? If so please email them across!

Happy Queen's Day!

Wear the old coat...buy the new book

I hadn't heard this particular adage before. I was at Crossword book store the other day. I had ventured there with the intention of buying my Oxford Spanish Dictionary which I found almost instantly. But the bibliophile in me was awakened and I inevitably drifted toward the "Philosophy" section. Although there were a substantial collection stacked, I could not find the works of Epictetus. Slightly disappointing but not unexpected. Epictetus' works inspired Marcus Aurelius in penning his musings which were later compiled to become one of the greatest pieces ever written on self discovery and reflection about one's role in the world which is now called The Meditations

Heading back to the cash counter, I found a stack of bookmarks lying there to pick up. They all had the adage " Wear the old coat, buy the new book" Words of wisdom if there ever were any.

However, that having been said, those Levi's Low Rise's are irresistable. I think I'm going to squeeze them in along with either one of Machiavelli's works or another Rushdie. I still remain against going commercial...Dan Brown can wait.

Seven Blunders

In the words of the Mahatma, the seven blunders man oft commits:

1. Wealth without work

2. Pleasure without conscience

3. Knowledge without character

4. Commerce without morality

5. Science without humanity

6. Worship without sacrifice

7. Politics without principle

Song for the day

Top song suggestion for today

Band: Athlete
Song: Half Light

Random albeit enlightening observations for today

• India is mulling over the idea of introducing FDI (foreign direct investment) upto 49% in the retail sector. If this does happen, its only a matter of time before the metros in India are flooded with Wal Marts and Carrefours. Good for the consumer. More choice, increased competition and lower prices
• In conjunction to the above point, the reactions one gets in India when one asks for "non trans fat" or "polyunsaturated & monounsaturated fat" or " non dairy" creamer are interesting...try it sometime. ..although there the odd "organic" labels to be found. A nice German lady in the store today pointed at one such label and asked me,"Can I trust that?" :-) I wanted to recite a few lines from one of my favourite hindi songs which I think also best describes India and Indians. Its called "phir bhi dil hai hindustani" which means "we are still Indians at heart"...and the opening verse goes (translated) " we (meaning Indians) will give you our umbrella if it rains, but sometimes we will also sell you old things in new packaging" Its a hilarious song and is the next best thing to my shortened version of all things Indian: "We are like this..only"
  
• Thank the Lord for the small and the not so small pleasures in life....the pleasures which one can always bank on no matter what. (Sathe we agree on this). Diet Coke, Chris Martin's voice, Leona Graham's voice, Soy milk, a guitar, lovely bangalore girls, soothing summer rain...I could go on
• Low Cost Airlines are revolutionising the Indian skies. I am now, in all probability going fly from Bangalore to Delhi for just 50 Euro!
  
• My fascination for Latin America seems to be growing...its unexplainable yet does not feel out of the ordinary...need to explore that feeling more and understand it better
• It seems the quest for looking good never ends....although people still keep trying (sense the irony)
  
• In case you were wondering how I encountered a German lady (mentioned in point 2), Bangalore is bursting with expats, tourists, interns (not just aiesec), research students et al...the foreigner ( of all origins...caucasian, african, oriental) is no longer a stranger to Bangalore and even better, Bangalore doesn't seem to view the foreigner as a stranger
• If I do end up making it to alumni congress at IC ( we're organizing India's largest tennis tournament around then), my sense is its going to be a mindblowing 4 days of insane laughter, inane chatter, lots of reminiscing and plenty of bitching ha ha. Reason?My company for those 4 days would in all probability be sid p (who sadly still does not have a blog) and Aakash. For all of you who have had the misfortune of meeting either of them, you can do the math
• And since we're on math, I bought the standard Indian school certificate 10th grade Math book. I want to "refresh" my knowledge of the subject. Again...sense the irony & the gall I possess to say that I need to refresh myself on a subject I have no knowledge about whatsoever
• CDMA technology makes mobiles cheaper but proves a serious impediment when at times you cannot receive messages from GSM networks....especially if *name withheld* from my Spanish class has a GSM phone and she actually did send me a message...and the beggar continues to ride his horse to newer heights :-)
  

Es Un Juego Increible!

A great start to the day!
A great start to the week!

When you wake up at the crack of dawn and start swinging your irons to find your rythm, to find your drive and to connect almost every ball ever so sweetly...aaaaah! It puts you in an incredible frame of mind and just makes you smile all day thinking of those near perfect approach shots.
It also helps when Sam the Man is in town and gives you expert company and even better advice on your game!

Yo lo adorlo! Es un juego increible! Cuando Juanes dice...Porque sin ti mi vida yo no soy feliz! :-)
Tenga una gran semana!

Un Dia Normal

If I do end up learning Spanish, one of the main reasons will be Juanes. I don't know if it is only my fascination with Spanish or if his words sound incredibly beautiful once you understand what they mean and the way he makes the sentences sound...perfectly portraying each emotion in each line...opain, love, hope, happiness...brilliant

si usted puede leer espanol goza esto. tenga un fin de semana bueno! Diviertase!

oy es un dia normal pero yo voy a hacerlo intenso
Hoy puede apagarse el sol pero no la luz de mi alma
En un dia como hoy caminare mas despacio
En un dia como hoy defendere mi verdad
En un dia como hoy te amarrare con mis brazos
En un dia como hoy

Porque nunca sabes lo que tienes hasta que lo pierdes
lamentablemente
nunca vuelve

No importa en donde estes yo desde aquí te besare en mis suenos
Mi sangre ardera por ti hasta que se pierda por tu cuerpo
En un día como hoy caminare mas despacio
En un día como hoy defendere mi verdad
En un día como hoy te amarrare con mis brazos
En un día como hoy

Porque nunca sabes lo que tienes hasta que lo pierdes
Lamentablemente
nunca vuelve

Beautiful Things

Unusual to post something at 10 AM for me but had to record the groove for the day. "Beautiful things" by Andain has set the groooove for today. Thanks Dimi for the tip off.
The songs seem to sound that much better on an ipod "-)

Meeting an acclaimed artistYusuf Arakkal today...promises to be another interesting moment of education

The journey is everything

A Social Entrepreneur?!

No one...least of all me ever imagined I would ever be termed a social entrepreneur but I guess a small bit of me is doing just that. The term rests uneasy...however slowly yet surely I am taking the first baby steps...or should I say crawls..to something as yet undefined yet it feels infinitely powerful.

When man possesses the self belief and determination to begin and create a completely selfless yet powerful change around him, the will and drive seem to materalize by themselves...always pushing you..making you strive toward progress. This is what must have driven Gandhi or King or Mother Teresa as indeed it is driving Steve Waugh.

Its a heady feeling...no endorphin, no drug, no success can match this sensation. To have the knowledge that "you" have the fire that it takes to make a change and to muster the courage to weild that fire and shape it into something real. Almost quoted Ayn Rand there.

Its spooky how when you activley look to do things in a positive manner, completely random events or people come by who may be able to aid you.

A new Pope

Thanks to satellite television, yesterday I saw white smoke spew out of the chimney on the Sistine chapel and then went on to see Joseph Ratzinger ascend the title of the Pope

May his papacy further the cause of peace around the world

Coldplay does it again

Chris Martin's haunting voice once again flows around you like a soft brook shaded in the sun....it flows almost without you noticing.....wraps itself around you...and the background melodies seem to instantly set your mind at peace..make it forget whatever it was thinking and just concentrate on that one tune

With their third album...they haven't disappointed....nay they have once again served up a sumptuous feast of melody, sensitiveness and deja vu.

Vindicated once again in my own eyes for holding the title of "Abs' favourite band of all time"

"Speed of Sound" - Two thumbs up!

Morals & Man

Today seems the day for finding hilariously ironic pieces of writing
This below is another such piece, surprisingly from The Economic Times (India's leading pink paper)
This piece is about the recent move to ban "dance bars" in Mumbai. Dance bars are essentially bars like anywhere else in the world, with the added element of fully clothed women dancing to popular Hindi - Bollywood music. Read on.

Moral in Maharashtra Stripping Dance Bars Of Dancers THE Maharashtra government is bent upon banning dance bars in Mumbai. The move appears bereft of common sense which is so vital to the wellbeing of men. Very soon in Mumbai, it will be legal for a man to have sex with a woman who is not his wife from any angle, but illegal to watch her dance. A dancer in a dark Mumbai bar is very different from the pleasurable athleticism of her portrayal in cinema. In reality, most of the time she is looking at herself in the mirror. She is often dressed as grandly as a bride, as grave and as unattainable. She hopes that one of the broadminded customers would marry her. She sways from left to right with the practised talent of Bipasha Basu but without the lip-biting and other things. Every time a man shows a ten-rupee note, she goes and fetches it. If the denomination is huge, she may choose to take it with her mouth so that the customer is very sure she is not his wife. That's all that happens inside. To understand a dance bar, it's very important to understand men. At any time, any place, a man has the selfless urge to gape at a woman in unconcealed appreciation but the class distinctions that women so cruelly follow makes ogling flattering when a silky-haired good-looking man in Allen Solly does it, but offensively leery when performed by a taxi driver. Despite the humiliations that women and society (same thing) heap on men for gawking, despite the sheer rudeness of eager looks not returned warmly, men continue to look at women with affection and inarticulate promise. It is the benevolent nature of the dance bar, to let men be men, without a single blouse being displaced. Sadly, honest manhood in Mumbai will lose its last oasis of legitimacy. The world is increasingly becoming a difficult place for men. That's why, Larry Summers may be told, most astronauts are male.

"Heaven Less opulent than Vatican" - Pope!

If The Onion was ever made into a Print Edition ( is it...?) it would be safe to say it would probably sell more issues than the Economist. These guys almost never fail :-)
ha ha ha!
Check out the latest, hilarious and needless to say blasphemous piece titled "-Heaven less opulent thanVatican"- Reports disappointed Pope

No Offence intended to some of my deeply Catholic friends.

Imploro culpable "-)

Rock Werchter...in a dream

I had the most incredible dream last night...it was one of those dreams where every second and every situation feels like its real and you (in the dream) stop to think about your actions

Of course this dream was a bit unrealistic but neverthless....

I suddenly realised that I could not could not for the world miss rock werchter. So I decided ..what the heck I'm going to get to leuven and try to buy tickets there as I didn't have tickets with me. So suddenly I found myself at Mechelen station...waiting to change trains to take me to leuven! At Mechelen...I realized..wait a minute..I'm not in Mechelen...I'm actually in India. Damn..then I say to myself big deal..I'm going to go now and buy a KLM ticket to Amsterdam..there's no way I can miss Rock werchter this time around. So I take out a major portion of my savings and am on my way to buy me an airline ticket to amsterdam....that's when I woke up.......
Just for a second....a millisecond I was wishing that I was actually in Amsterdam and could catch that train to Mechelen....woke up with goose flesh. :-)

Rock Werchter truly rocks.
I know one thing...I haven't seen my last rock werchter...that's for sure. www.rockwerchter.be

Vision - from Brenda's Blog

Great post on Brenda's blog

"What we see as NECESSARY is largely determined by our experience of what actually is.

What we see as POSSIBLE is largely determined by our understanding of what once was and how it has been changed.

The role we envisage for OURSELVES in promoting change to create that which is possible is determined largely by our experience of ourselves and others as active possibilities, as agents of change in the world we live in.

The combination of these elements: the necessary, the possible and ourselves - makes up the essence of VISION.

Random albeit enlightening musings for today

• After a point Soy milk tastes pretty much the same as cow's milk
• Who needs bread? Not me
• Dido sings with a grace and melody I am yet to hear from anyone else barring Norah
• A 7 iron feels almost the same as a 9 iron, but you hit the ball much, much longer
• Goncalo posts a lot of Sh*t on his blog
• Oliveira doesn't post enough (Oliv. that means you need to post more because I like what you write :-)
  
• Thambi continues to be hilarious
• Ripun too continues to be hilarious
• Sid p will now be known as "Gaban" or "Gabs"
  
• Everything seems to be frightfully expensive and leading a life less material is an impossible occurence in today's world....or so it seems
• Nikhil's right...everyone should learn to play an instrument
• Spanish is a beautiful language
• Its good to have friends roaming the ends of this globe and even better when they call you occasionaly
  

Truly a new found passion

I have to admit that I have truly found a new passion in Golf. Watching the Masters....the game now takes on a whole new complexion. I can now appreciate when Tiger plays that incredible 120 yard chip onto the green or when Mickleson sinks that 20 foot putt.

Yesterday I had a good rythm going slapping the ball nicely with my 9 iron...towards the end I switched to the 7 iron and immediately felt comfortable with the heavier club.

Today in contrast was a disaster. Right from the start...just couldn't get a decent swing going. I was extremely jerky and all over the place. My instructor was going slightly nuts trying to correct my backswing, downswing, head movement, forearm direction and club face position....I was going slightly nuts too.
Yes...it is a highly technical and challenging game but I love it.

Although exactly as Sam had predicted...on the really bad days (as today was)...at times you hit one shot toward the end where you don't feel like you've hit anything...the club face is perfect, your arms just swish up and down down down ...in one smooth..almost erotic swing with your hips swivelling exactly right...and 2 seconds after playing the shot, you look up and the ball is still on its arc up...aaaaah. I hit 2 shots like that today and an almost orgasmic pleasure seems to engulf you when this happens and makes you want to come back for more.

Yes...its evident isn't it...? I love this game.

Sourav Sachin and the Ashes joke

My random musings on some sports related issues at this time

Sourav...a combination of bad luck and a slump in form. The country (barring Bengal) is baying for his blood. I have personally always had mixed feelings about Dada. His batting elegance has always left me speechless. His fielding ability has always left me saying words I wouldn't want to besmirch my blog with. But that aside, I think Dada deserves more time. He has earned it. He is undoubtedly a great player and I feel its only a question of time before he gets back amongst the runs. Stick with it Dada!

Schumacher...an older car.....and the new car lacking in reliability. Refreshing to see other teams win in Formula 1...was honestly getting sick of Ferrari's dominance..last season was a joke really...for all the hoopla about Schumacher....I say give that 2004 Ferrari to Alonso or Raikkonen and they too would have kicked some serious butt last season. All you Ferrari fans...I thumb my nose at you...even if you do go on to win some races this season, your dominance has ended and thankfully so for Formula 1

Sachin....I was discussing this with my most preferred fellow cricket mad connoisseur....the magic seems to have temporarily vanished....he has whipped the statisticians into a frenzy...toppled various records but we don't see the Sachin who batted for the sheer joy of batting...who even at 28 batted like the 15 year old who belted out centuries on debut in the Irani and Ranji trophy...instead we see a Sachin weighed down by...something. Responsibility....or a sense that his role has changed in the team....whatever it is I hope its momentary and the magic will soon return. The Master has to have one final bow in the land of Calypso before he sashays away from the world stage


Warnie: Wisden announced yesterday that the Cricketer of the Year 2004 is Shane Warne. A fitting tribute to the greatest bowler of all time. Warnie you deserve it all mate. Good on you, you legend!

The Ashes: I'll admit England are a decent team but only the English media comes before the Indians when it comes to blowing their own team's trumpet. Sure England have won a lot in 2004 but have they played the (according to me) 2 best teams in world cricket in 2004, namely India and Australia? The answer is obviously no. My challenge to the poms...beat India in India or India in England and I'll admit you guys are a great team. As for the Aussies no one can beat them so forget about that one. I just feel sorry for the poms really...for all the hype about the upcoming Ashes....my sense is its going to be a bloodbath...for the poms of course. A more realistic debate would be.."Will England win even one test out of the five?"

The Masters: my latest passion - A veritable feast in the offing...Woods, Singh, Garcia, Mickelson, Goosen and Els all lining up to tee off at Augusta. *smacking lips*...promises to be a mouth watering contest.

India takes on the Pakis on Saturday in the 3rd one dayer...muahaha lets see what happens....Dada my wishes are with you. Get going!

What's making me happy right now :-)

To borrow a leaf from another blogger who I visit frequently :-)

• Learning, understanding and singing "Volverte a ver" by Juanes
• Dreaming of my pitching wedge, 9 iron and the sense of unadulterated liberty on the course...picturing that just right chip shot onto the green....aaah!
  
• Hearing that one of my best friend's girlfriend will be studying at India's best management school
• India having thrashed Pakistan yesterday to take a 2-0 lead in the series and easily the most hated cricketer in the world for me and a lot of others Shahid Afridi getting whacked for 82 runs of 9 overs (muahaha) and following that up with a duck of the 2nd ball(MUAahaha!) doesn't get better for the Afridi hate club
  
• The beautiful weather in beautiful Bangalore
• Tuning in to my favourite radio station: Virgin Radio and hearing one of my favourite bands play: Keane
• Being completely fascinated by Rushdie's magic....and marvelling at his way of weaving words into spells: Midnight's Children - a must read
  
• Learning about the ways of the wide world through a thin, informative doughty thing called The Economist
• knowing what people I love and care about are doing regardless of where they are in the world
• Finding my non dairy creamer so I can once again begin to enjoy tea with creamer!
• Realizing the fact that turning Vegan hasn't changed anything for me...hasn't made my life any different than previously and that I might be making a difference in my own small, little way
  

Sayonara Hameed

Sayo was a 23 year old girl
She was incredibly intelligent, smart, hip, brainy and articulate
She was almost a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young
She was on the way to becoming a great success story...another one of the shining torch bearers heralding in the New India
She was also my class mate of 3 years in college
I say was....because Sayo is dead today

She got hit by a bus and succumbed to her injuries. I was just told this a few minutes back

My feelings and reactions have surprised even me

An overwhelming sense of anger. An overwhelming, teeth gnashing, fist clenching sensation of wanting to lash out.....lash out at the driver who did this...at the authorities whose oversight lets such guys drive..( it was a govt. bus)...lash out at God for the injustice and cruelty of the event

The sprititually inclined or worldly folk would say that these incidents happen...for a larger reason...or thousands of people died in the recent Tsunami...

Why did she have to die? Why was such a full, lively, charismatic spirit crushed...snuffed out in such a manner as an auto crash?

I only feel incredible anger and pain...no hint of "understanding"...no sense of ...anything...

I feel helpless

Sayo...the manner in which you lived...I and I am sure many, many others will never forget you

B'day at Sunny's

B'day at Sunny's, originally uploaded by abhimehta.

A great Birthday dinner at Sunny's: the incredibly chic boutique restaurant. Here Van & me react to the never ending fountain of colourful commentary from the Blah, seated opposite us.

Destination Handicap

Golf Lessons begun in earnest. My objective is to handicap as soon as possible. The instructor says 6 months...I think its more like 3 but lets be conservative for the moment.

One of my classmates from College met with an accident yesterday and is in the ICU...hope she recovers completely.
Prayers are with you Sayo.
Puts things in perspective...it always does.

My fingers on the left hand are stinging with every key I press on the laptop...a great sign that shows I am practising my guitar in earnest. :-)