Golf...

It's for the first time I tried my hand at this sport. I visited the Golf-Course here in Pune with a friend... We went in for the "Drive-In", wherein there is no game to be played, per se... There are no holes to be covered nor any points to be scored.

We get to hit 50 balls on a vast open ground...
Aim is to hit aimlessly... Just to get it 'high & straight'.
And I'm ashamed to say that I could get only 5 out of 50 to go 'high & straight'. The rest were squandered hither-thither... Two complete misses were pretty embarrassing :D

But must say, it is fun & pretty addicting. Will re-visit for more... The chilled beer at the end of the session helped to nurse the bruised ego :D

Fall

Thesedays, every puff of breeze sweeps off a host of dried leaves from every tree that it blows through. Leaves that seem so eager to let go... To surf & to sail...

And it's not about this sight reminding you of mortality & humbling you... but just that it's so damn pretty! So soothing it is to sit back on cold violet-red evenings & watch the glistening leaves sail amidst sunrays & shadows that keep getting longer as the sun sets...

ET

They say that ET (Environment Technology) is gonna be the next big thing after IT. It will create a revolution in terms of more jobs, opportunities & most importantly a cleaner environment.

I remember a close friend (Rachit) once mentioning how it would be great if we could make money out of contributing to the betterment of the environment. That idea just stuck onto me then...

"Accountability (to the environment), whilst maintaining profitability" would be such a blessing... More than imposing laws, setting up NGO's to create awareness/cleanliness-drives amongst people, if we could come up with means in which people make monetary profits by contributing to a cleaner/healthier environment, we'd have people pouring over without any persuasion!

2nd & 5th rocks from the sun

Venus & Jupiter are at their brightest these-days. They are seen together & they almost rival each other for brilliance. 4 moons of Jupiter are clearly visible thru' my telescope. Sometimes 3, when one of them is behind Jupiter.Winters are the best time for star-gazing, I feel.

Countdown...

It's 5 a.m. & I'm up since an hour... Two major events I'm tracking today. One personal & the other of course, Chandrayaan's launch to the moon at 6:20 a.m.

From my balcony, I see the half-moon lit-up & shining in full-glory right next to the Orion, which as usual, is calm as a sage. It's raining in Shriharikota (the launch-site for Chandrayaan)... Mumbai saw ugly riots yesterday & there was a bomb-blast in Imphal. And yeah, we beat the Aussies in the test-match...

The moon will shower its soothing light over Mumbai too, but hardly anyone will appreciate it. They'll be too busy locked indoors or pelting stones at public buses, burning bikes, buses & cars or shouting slogans. No matter how right you may be, but nothing justifies vandalism & damage to life & public-property!

On one hand we are such sophisticated beings to take on challenging projects like moon-missions & on the other we are just so crude & barbaric!

...

7 a.m. - The launch at 6:20 a.m. was successful & with text-book precision. What in a way marred the glory of the launch was the cloud-cover... I mean no launch is complete unless u see the tail-lit rocket making that projectile turn & continuing as a dimly-lit spot as long as u can see it. This was abrupt. Within few seconds, the rocket disappeared amongst the clouds & then u have to look at the tracking graphs on the screen & clap hands... No deal! :(

Need I say more?

My stock portfolio as of today (With the portfolio-value figures on the left y-axis neatly deleted :))

The graph not just reflects the state of things for the week but it has been the same trend over several past weeks.

On breadth & depth...

I like it when words aren't squandered. One doesn't need too many words to express the deepest of thoughts & feelings. In fact, I believe that the strongest of feelings can't even be captured in words.

Like when Saint Tukaram wanted to express his deep desire to meet God or to experience His presence, he simply says -
"Jalaveen masoli
Taisa Tuka talmali"

(I writhe like a fish out of water)

It's for the same reason why I like the music of the movie "Chiti Chiti Bang Bang" so much...
Lyrics like -

He -
"My heart beats so unruly
Because I love you truly.
...
What do I do?
Are you feeling it too?"

She -
"Can't you see...
How I long to be free"

simply touch your heart & linger forever.

Duh! 150 words wasted to express something silly!

India rising...

'Chandrayaan' will be launched on Oct 22 2008. Truly, what a giant leap for India!

Winning & losing...

I simply can't stand those cliche's that people utter to console someone who's lost at some endeavor...
Things like "It's important to participate than to win" or "Winning & losing are 2 sides of the same coin. Move on" or "Don't cry...".
How do u expect wounds to heal without even allowing it's pain to sting?
But off late Pallavi Joshi (the anchor of 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa', a Marathi-song competition for kids) uttered a line that truly struck a chord. While consoling one of the participants who was being eliminated from the show, she asked him/her -
"Who lost the battle of Waterloo? - Napoleon. Who won? - No one remembers...". Cute! I'd say.

On the other hand, I also can't stand the numerous competitions (song, dance, laughter-challenges, reality-shows etc. etc.) for grown-ups.
If kids aren't involved, then often the participants can be categorized into 2 groups - The teenagers & those that behave like one.
Tears flow like breaths & immaturity seems to be the obligatory criteria for participation.

I truly agree with the director of the film 'Juno' who in his interview said that -
"It's the time when 16 year olds behave like grown-ups & grown-ups behave like 16 year olds"

Four-legged pal

Off late I've been having an overwhelming urge to get a dog. And especially a Labrador.
What fun it would be to be greeted by this tail-wagging pal everyday! And to go for walks with it on cold mornings & calm evenings...
Is this middle-age catching up? :)

Anyway, I have full opposition from my mom, but let's see... I will some day...

It's that time of the year again...

Every morning, thesedays, I wake up to find that the fields besides my Aundh home are enveloped in a white fluffy blanket of mist. Diwali's in the air & I can almost smell it.

Those same delicate white scented flowers are in full bloom again. They get spread like a carpet or a 'Rangoli' beneath those trees that bear it.

Winter's sending its messengers to inform that it is on the way. I greet these occasional chill breezes with glee & all the hospitality I have, lest their master may think that it is unwelcome.