Bout the epitome of determination ..

You get mesmerized by certain people in life , mostly celebrities-sportsmen,actors or politicians , bussinessmen or even cartoons !! You want to know more about that person . You are disappointed at the failure of that person and elated at his/her success . You try to explain to others what it is that leaves you spellbound . But they never seem to understand . You are called childish.Slowly you get used to the ridicule but nothing deters your faith in your idol who in reality may be far from perfect . You know it but it doesnt matter to you !
If you have such feelings for anyone , only then will you understand why I am writing this blog . This one is for my idol - Zaheer Khan ! :)

I first read his interview when I was 14 . Since then I must have read almost every single one that he has given . Born in a small town , where there were hardly any means to encourage his cricketing talent , he is a perfect example of where skill , hardwork and determination can take you ! Not many know that Zaheer was an engineering student . Unlike most cricketers who have played all their lives , Zaheer first saw a leather ball when he was 17 . Just five years after that he was selected to play for India - an honor most only dream of ! Setbacks have only acted as stepping stones in his career . Most fast bowlers in the Indian cricket team have had the career span of 2-3 years . Zaheer will soon complete his 10th . He has had a career full of injuries . 4 years after playing at the international level , he realised that it was his bowling action (with a high jump) that was the cause of these . It was then that he took time off and changed his bowling action and then came back with a bang . Today he plays the role of mentor to the other youngsters in the team and is called the "unofficial bowling captain" .

Blessed with a sharp ,analyzing brain , terrific sense of humor and a pleasing personality , he has been my ideal for the past 8 years and will always be !

So this one is for Zaheer - I am sure some day you will read it ! :)

P.S.: Not expecting many , but if you feel similarly about anyone , would love to read bout it in comments !

Happy reading ! :)

Bout TRUE friendship..

We have grown up listening to the story of two friends traveling through a dense forest at night.One friend sees a bear coming towards them and climbs to a nearby tree forsaking the other.The bear then whispers words of true friendship to the other friend.Practically it ain't possible to take all our friends one by one to the forest and get them checked by our good old bear.
So in the past few years I have found my own definitions of true friendship.This blog is what friendship is to me !

• Friendship is RUTA for willingly replacing with her own stuff , something that I had borrowed from a classmate and carelessly lost , for drawing my diagrams before submission even when I hadn't asked her to - just because she knew I may be late,for sharing all the joys and sorrows with me in the past 4 years,for always saying things that I want to hear at the moment, for being the sister I never had but always wanted !

• Friendship is SAGAR for getting punished but not taking any of our names when we were all culprits but he was the only one caught by the principal when we played rangpanchami in PICT,for tolerating all my teasing (dadhi) with a smile :)
  

• Friendship is PRASANNA for always taking me along no matter where we went-picnics,classes,movies,parties,etc , for teaching me all the stuff that dikshit sir said (cough cough ;) ) and I didnt understand, for sharing the most memorable day in my life, for being such an amazing "bhai" to me.

• Friendship is AKSHAY and NACHIKET for riding the bike on a hot afternoon so that the rest of us could enjoy the comforts of a car , for spending almost the entire picnic at the puncture place so that our picnic wasnt spoilt and yet never complaining about it.

• Friendship is MRUNAL for forgiving an innocent mistake I made in the days we dint know each other but which made things difficult for her and still being such a lovely friend yet never ever bringing the past blunder to my notice-neither by words nor by actions.

• Friendship is AMOD for leaving all his work for 3 and half hours and helping me when I had trouble compiling the kernel for the first time,for being my helpline no matter what time of the day,for always being the first one to comment on my blogs because he knows I like it.

• Friendship is NEHA for getting me Baphana notes despite the fact that it was pouring cats and dogs outside when I could not attend class due to illness,for always being the one to wish me luck before I give any exam and always being one of the first few to congratulate me if I end up doing anything remotely good.

• And last but in no way the least, friendship is NIKHIL for being my magic wand for the past almost 7 years, for offering his brand new expensive cell when I needed speaker for some stupid presentation,for coming over to my place to teach me graphics the day before exam because I was feeling "tensed", for all his "lectures" (:P),for being the first one to scold me when I flunked the Thoughtworks apti and for believing in me even at times when I doubted myself.

Friendship for me is all these wonderful people who turned up at 12.00am on my bday just to make me feel special,who tolerate all my mood swings,tantrums,rants and yet are always there for me whenever I need them.

Blessed am I to have such doting friends ! Some of these may be trivial for you all.You may have even forgotten it or never given a second thought to it.But your little actions taught me the meaning of true friendship.So this one is for my true friends - I love you all and cherish every memory we shared ! :)

Happy reading !

"The last lecture" by Dr. Randy Pausch

I saw this video yesterday and I think that everyone ought to see it atleast once..The lecture series used to be called the Last Lecture - "If you had one last lecture to give before you died, what would it be?" This is the Last lecture given by Dr.Randy Pausch in CMU ,months before he passed away due to pancreatic cancer. I am not going into details here but I just wanted to write about something that he mentioned and that made me think..

"THE BRICK WALL" is always used as a metaphor for closed paths.Whenever we get rejection from any person ,any institution or for that matter even discouragement in our work ,it becomes our brick wall..We always wonder why it had to happen with us ! But in reality the brick wall does not suggest a dead end..It is just a method of testing one's true intent and commitment..It is just present to separate "us" who are ready to do anything to achieve whats beyond it from "others" who think casually about whats beyond and would want it only if it is easily getable ! Brick walls always ask the question whether we are ready to get on all fours and climb it if needed.And if we are, then whatever is guarded by the wall is truly ours else we never really deserved it !
So next time you meet your brick wall , think about it as a challenge rather than a disappointment.

We always get irritated,upset,angry or disappointed if people criticize our work.Be it our teachers, parents, siblings, friends, project guides or whoever.No one likes being told that he or she is wrong.But we never think on the fact that the reason that someone is criticizing us is because that person either cares about us or about our work.When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody’s bothering to tell you anymore, that’s a very bad place to be. It means that all have lost hope on you ! Your critics are your ones telling you they still love you and care.
So next time you meet criticism , be happy that there is atleast someone who is affected by your work .

P.S.: Thank you Nikhil for making me watch this.There are so many wonderful points stated by this man in the lecture that are worth pondering and following in life.So for all others who dont have Nikhil for a best friend, here is a link to the pdf of the lecture - http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/Randy/pauschlastlecturetranscript.pdf
and the video is available on you tube.Just google it.

Happy reading !
and Happy makar sankranti :)