Aisa bhi hota hai...

Well, this is an unusual post... infact a story about a string of incidents that played out with this simple lad in one single day... it was a day which saw remarkable turn of events and through this blog I would like to narrate the happenings of this particular day... i.e. Tuesday 27th June 2006...

It was a very normal morning here in Chandigarh.. I got up at about 6am in the morning, which is a little late than what I am accustomed to... I usually get up around 5am and then head for the neighborhood park to breathe some fresh air and a little jog... but the night before, I was into heavy partying and celebrating the reunion with one of my friends who had recently returned from a stint abroad... the heavy partying took it's toll on me and forced me to get up later than usual... But, there was something amiss... I could sense aches erupting throughout my body... and had a very bad and stiff throat... It seemed as if somebody had slit my throat and sprinkled it with salt... It was not a very pleasant feeling to start with... and soon it felt as if I had been engulfed with my first fever of the season... which later on proved to be very true...

But, this did not deter my thoughts of joining the office... I got up and went ahead with my usual chores of the day though with some labor... In spite of all the hindrances and difficulties, which included my Mom persuading me not to join office in this condition, I managed to get ready for office in time and am ready to leave for office, just when I discover my motorcycle had a flat tyre... I look towards the heaven and wonder it had to happen only today, when I was down with fever and was having aches running throughout my body... I thank the good Lord and go inside to speak with my mom who was also getting ready to leave for office... I ask her if she could drop me to office today and if possible pick me up in the evening.. oh my God... good mother's that they are... she persuades me to skip office now that even my bike has a flat tyre... but I again insist on going to office... but then I melt down and tell her that I would return early from office today to get some rest... and just on the mention of it... she decides to skip her office for my sake, so that I could return early and she could take care of my health... and she asks me to take her Kinetic Honda to office... which I gleefully accept, but do not like the idea of her skipping the office just for my sake... but still I promise her that I would return soon and would take adequate rest and then in the evening would go to the market for repair of the flat tyre of the bike...

I am in the office...

In the office too, there is an unusual turn of events and a hell lot of a work emerge from nowhere and I am in middle of all the action... I am still battling the fever and body aches and do not realize when it's evening and my watch shows 6pm to my dismay... I think of my poor mother who's taken a day off just for me and here I am languishing in the office... I decide to rush back home... but there's another turn in sight... I head back to my Mom's parked Kinetic... only to realize this time the Kinetic has a puncture... Oh my God... what's this happening...

I am running high fever... battling severe body aches... my bike’s got a flat tyre... my mom's taken a day off just for me... I am in the office for the whole day... and now on top of it... I have got another flat tyre to bang my head with... uffff... what's this yaar...

And there's no puncture shop in the vicinity of our office... the nearest one is about 2kms away... I push the Kinetic full two kilometers before I find any repair mechanic... I feel totally exhausted and out of gas... I am totally drenched in sweat... I get the kinetic repaired and it's already 7.15pm by then... and I am thinking about the next round of puncture repair to my bike... with this thought lingering in my mind I head back home...

But to my sweet surprise and comfort... my father had already taken care of it in my absence... and I felt really thankful to him for this... he had saved me a lot of effort and energy... but I was thinking about him... the amount of energy he might have spent on it and the troubles he might have taken for repairing the puncture... anyways the job was well done...

I am at home…

I sit back and decide to pen down my thoughts in the form of blog... I start writing and spend about half an hour writing amidst fever and pains to give a real and authentic look and have reach almost midway through the post... suddenly, I just shake my feet for no ostensible reason and the feet in the process hits the button of the UPS and switches off the computer completely...

I feel, totally aghast... and it leaves me wondering if there is some secret power machinating against me...

First high fever through the day coupled with severe body aches... then punctured tyre of my motorcycle... then my mother decides to forgo her day at the office to take care of me... I battle through office and am not able to reach back home, where my poor mother is waiting for her ailing son... and then I get another flat tyre in the form of my mom's kinetic is awaiting me... I reach home try to write a blog... spend half an hour, reach midway in completing my blog... and suddenly I shift my leg to realize that I have hit the UPS power button and have switched off my PC without even saving my blog...

Pure coincidence I presume....

But thankfully, there were no more hiccups after that... and the day after resumed absolutely normally... but sometimes it happens and that’s when we call these day’s some less ordinary days…

Chak day phatay... Nap day Killi... Savere Jalandhar Shaami Diliiii...!!!

"Statistics are like mini skirts..what they reveal is suggestive but what they hide is vital..!! "

"One, who doesn't throw the dice, can never expect to score a six."

"You got to choose between tightening your belt or losing your pants. "

Suggestive... nooo... of our great Navjot Singh Sidhu Paaji... Well, we all love his commentary and his style... his persona and his awesome elegance in demolishing the competition around... We have always loved his way of introducing things around... here are some of his most memorable quotes...

• There is light at the end of the tunnel for India, but it's that of an oncoming train which will run them over.
• Experience is like a comb that life gives you when you are bald.
• India look like a crippled cobra whose fangs are clipped.
• Wickets are like wives - you never know which way they will turn!
• If ifs and buts were pots and pans, there would be no tinkers, my dear friend !
• That ball went so high it could have got an air hostess down with it.
• Sri Lankan score is running like an Indian taxi meter.
• He is like Indian three-wheeler which will suck a lot of diesel but cannot go beyond 30!
• The Indians are going to beat the Kiwis! Let me tell you, my friend, that the Kiwi is the only bird in the whole world which does not have wings!
• The gap between bat and pad is so much that I would have driven a car through it!
• As uncomfortable as a bum on a porcupine.
• Deep Dasgupta is as confused as a child is in a topless bar!
• The way Indian wickets are falling reminds of the cycle stand at Rajendra Talkies in Patiala..one falls and everything else falls!
• You cannot make Omlets without breaking the eggs.
• Deep Dasgupta is not a Wicket Keeper, he is a goal keeper. He must be given a free transfer to Manchester United.
• When you are dining with a demon, you got to have a long spoon.
• We'll take the cake with the red cherry on top.
• He will fight a rattlesnake and give it the first two bites too.
• One, who doesn't throw the dice, can never expect to score a six.
• He is a wily fox. But, if we make the fox run, the chicken will become hen.
• It is not all over till the fat lady sings!.
• A fallen lighthouse is more dangerous than a reef.
• You cannot ride a seat-less bicycle without getting blisters on your bums.
• Anybody can pilot a ship when the sea is calm.
• A revolutionary idea is usually one with its sleeves rolled up.
• Nobody travels on the road to success without a puncture or two.
• You got to choose between tightening your belt or losing your pants.
• If the heavens throw you dates, you got to keep your mouth open.
• When you have a hen laying eggs you should not mind the cackle.
• He is like a one-legged man in a bum kicking competition.
• The third umpires should be changed as often as nappies and for the same reason.
• Ganguly has thrown a drowning man both ends of the rope.
• Eddie Nichols is a man who cannot find his own buttocks with his two hands.
• When things are coming easy, make sure you are not going downhill.
• His slower ball was so slow that my mama can run fater than that
• He is so unlucky that even if you put him in a barrel full of nipples, he'll still come out suckin his thumb!
• A fifty is like kissing a virgin, you just have to go on!
• "Agar" meri chachi ki moochen(moushtache)hoti to kya mein use chacha kehta?
• Throw a lucky man into the sea and he will come with a fish in his mouth.
• Ganguly is doubting his beliefs and believing in his doubts.

U just can't have enough of them... just keep on enjoying them and keep guessing where do they come from...

You are responsible for it...!!!

"Life's never fair...", "if only I had known it before... I could have done better..." that's what we always lament...

Life invariably present us with innumerable set of choices to choose from, we just need to pick up the right choice... we have got a choice in almost everything... the friends that we choose, the job that we choose, the life partner that we choose, the car that we would purchase, the food that we would eat, the time that we would like to get up... there are choices in almost everything that we would like to do... we just need to be vigilant and play our cards correctly...

But picking the right choice is not always easy... only after that we have made a decision and gone ahead with our preferred choice, do we come to know if we have made the right choice... this is what we name as experience... but the hardest part about life is it gives the test first and the lesson afterwards... I wish only if the cycle could be reversed...

But when we have got a whole set of choices to choose from, then what do we lament and whine about... the decision that you took was yours and if you would have wanted or if you had been vigilant enough you would have picked the right choice... so then is it fair to say that I have been hard done by life... NO... I don't think so... now that you have taken the decision, you must also take the responsibility and back it at every step... you are responsible for what you do and what you choose...

But there are also no retakes in life… the decision once taken cannot be reversed… that's the beauty about it... knowledge of the fact that's it's not gonna come again or happen again is what makes life more enjoyable and beautiful... if only Ravana would have known the result before kidnapping Sita, the epic of Ramayana might have been written in an entirely different context... if only Herschel Gibbs would have known dropping Steve Waugh on 56 during the 1999 Cricket World Cup would prove to fatal to his teams chances of lifting the cup, he would surely have been extra vigilant... and only if VP Singh the former Indian Prime Minister could have been told that implementing the Mandal report would prove detrimental to his chances of holding onto power, I am sure he would have changed his mind, he might not admit it, that's altogether a different matter...

So Stand up and be counted... take responsibility for what ever you do and undertake… it was after all your decision to go ahead with it… and if somebody else forced you into it… even then you had a choice of being subjugated into adhering to the decision or to revolt against it and create history for yourself and take responsibility for the action that you took…

Cheers...

Kunal

Does God Exist???

In reality, the existence of God cannot be proved or disproved; it is just of matter of faith. The world has always been polarized between two sets of people, the Theists and the Atheists. It would be very hard to prove or disprove the existence of God, but yes effort towards this can certainly be made. God, by very definition is “ A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions”. God from times immemorial has been referred to as the greatest invention of humans, where in they could rely on an imaginary being to take care of themselves and the events around. It instilled a sense of fear among individuals and this fear governs us till date. Talk logic and the concept of God fades away, to an extent, if not completely.

There can be many arguments that go unanswered:

1) The problem of theodicy: If the evil in the world is intended by God he is not good. If it violates his intentions he is not almighty. If only God can create he must have created evil. If somebody else created evil, how can one know that God, and not Satan created the universe?

2) If God knows everything, he knows what he will do in the "future". He must have known that from the very start of his own existence. If God knows everything, he knows what he will do in the "future". He must have known that from the very start of his own existence. God is tied by faith, he has no free will. If God has no free will God is not omnipotent. Another way to put it is that to be able to make plans and decisions one must act over time. If God stands above time he cannot do that and has no free will.

3) If everything must have been created, then God must have been created as well. If God is not created, then everything mustn't have a creator, so why should life or cosmos have one?

4) God has never bothered to contact me even on my repeated requests, so is it not that He might not even exist? I would want to know why He should shy away from listening to what I have to say. Is he busy, trying to act pricey or simply unconcerned?

5) If God exists, then how do we know which religion properly describes him? If God is so mysterious, how can we know anything about him? Through the Bible? How do we know that the Bible and not the Koran or the Veda books, for example, are the words of God? (Or the Bible if you believe in any of the other two books). Considering the cruelties that have been made in the name of God, how do we know that not all religions are made by Satan?

I believe that the Big Bang Theory is the dominant scientific theory about the origin of the universe. According to the big bang, the universe was created sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from a cosmic explosion that hurled matter and in all directions. The Big Bang Theory received its strongest confirmation when Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, who later won the Nobel Prize for this discovery, discovered this radiation in 1964. Although the Big Bang Theory is widely accepted, it probably will never be proved; consequentially, leaving a number of tough, unanswered questions. But this is the nearest equivalent to the theory of the Universe being created by God himself. I would rather subscribe to this theory, rather than clinging onto unproven facts.

I would like to end here, as this discussion seems to go on and on and on, without any end in sight, we can go on debating and still reach no conclusion. But one thing I would like to mention is that yes I do like going Temples and Gurudwaras, not because I go there to search for some God, but I go there to enjoy the serenity of the place and the tranquil atmosphere. When I see so many people bowing their heads in reverence to something unseen and unknown, it moves me to bits and I just cannot help but marvel at the power wielded by that unknown, unseen individual. Then, I also do not mind praying sometimes to God for help, though I would prefer not to admit in public, as I am believed to be a die hard Atheist, and this confession would somehow be seen as a denial of my earlier confession. I think the two best things religion has ever been the cause for are music and architecture.

I can sum up the whole thing by saying that:

1. No one person can claim credit for inventing the concept of God, not even founders of various religions.

2. The intention behind God: God has been used to educate and communicate (unintentionally of course) best practices of a particular period in history, for e.g. cow being sacred in Hindu mythology - very practical then as India was for quite a long time an agriculture based economy and cattle had immense uses for milk produce and ploughing fields.

3. God as a lifestyle statement: it was actually considered quite cool to devote your life and career to God. It was an "In profession" centuries ago that guaranteed status and perks.

4. That God is the first multinational product/service with customized local versions.

Thus, we can conclusively say “Gods are fragile things; they may be killed by a whiff of science or a dose of common sense."

Reference: http://godandscience.org/
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/universe/b_bang.html
http://www.orkut.com/ and specially the community titled “Atheists” by Carolyn Marbry

Finally got it!!!

Yesss... I have finally done it...!!! What...??? Read on...

Well, I wanted to create a blog for myself for quite sometime now, but either could not find the time or the inclination to do so... But a couple of days back I decided enough is enough... No more lingering around and then the great mind got on with the work... But it was hard work friends... I longed for a unique blog name... And it took me no less than two full days to zero in on a blog name of my choice...

I also want you to know that, I came across thousand of options... wrote each option on a piece of paper... carried it along and then tried to check if the name is actually available... and to just let you know the amount of thinking and the hits and misses I went through... for every 50 entries I could find just a single available option... huhhhh...

Anyways since the process is on now... I sincerely wish to pen my thoughts down on a regular basis... But then no promises... promises you see are meant to broken...