PHL - A forward step indeed??

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to watch the last hockey match of Premier Hockey League at Gachibowli Stadium,Hyderabad between Sher-e-Jalandhar and Hyderbad Sultans. The turn of events was such that the last tie was the unofficial final match with the top two teams fighting it out for the coveted trophy.Interesting, I thought..
Arriving a little late(was playing lawn tennis at my office that evening with no watchable movies being released this Friday),I found the crowd to be in a frenzy...supporters from both teams trying to outdo each other..with the Shers being more vocal..what with their dhols and war-cries..Slogans rent the air..overall a festive atmosphere.
It was a gr8 sight..ppl turning out to watch Hockey( our national sport)..stars from Pakistan (drag-flick expert Sohail Abbas and HS goalie Akmal) on astroturf with new rules like timeouts, cheerleaders (guys, including me were found lurking close to the girls cheering their teams the entire duration of the contest) etc...
The half-time score HS -1 SeJ-0..Eventually, the better team won..The final score in favor of HS read 2-1, but the game was not without its share of highs and lows..HS had a terrific defence with Sohail,Lazarus Barla managed to thwart the attacking play by SeJ forwards( Most of them played for India)..When the final whistle blew, some SeJ players marched angrily towards the referee..Tempers ran high in the dying minutes..The match ended in a turmoil with the organisers stepping in to avoid a disgrace..The awards ceremony was completed in a jiffy..
ESPN Star-Sports' coverage of the first of a kind event was ok..It seems they wanted to show that they were concerned about the development of other sports in India ,besides cricket of course..The new format might hopefully infuse some life into hockey..

But the perennial question stiill lurks..Will PHL survive another year??

Valentine's Day Special 2- That fateful nite

Hi dear!!

How can I forget that fateful night of Feb 13,2004. Feeling the pangs of love stirring up in my heart, I decided that evening to make a dash for your house and give you a suprise. But what lay in for me was more of a surprise than what I could have envisioned for.
After my dinner, I grabbed my cycle (an Infosys salary at that time didnt afford me a vehicle u see..) to reach your home.I am charting the series of events that followed my reaching the gates of your palatial home.(Dear, you had told me that you had only a "small" bungalow...And now I fathom a 4-bedroom duplex is small for your means..)
Finding the gate locked, I proceeded to climb over the walls. As soon as lay my foots inside the ramparts of your house, there appeared your " cutie Rose"..God, you should have told me about your well-bred Alsatian dog in plainer terms..The moment it saw me, it jumped to chunk a piece out of my "butt"..I cried in pain in the dead of the night...Ultimately managing to free myself from its clutches, I gathered to climb the sewer pipe to be able to reach you...
Inspired from the numerous similar incidents in typical Bollywood movies, I finally managed to reach the windows of "your" room.Luckily, the windows to your room were ajar so that I could enter quietly without making any undue noises.
Saw your lovely,curvaceous figure lying dee in sleep...(maybe my thoughts)l, I proceeded to give you a surprise "peck" on the cheek..But dear, you had never told me that you resembled your mother so much..Though you had said you were your "mother's daughter"...The loud,ear-spliiting shriek that she cried must have woken up your neighbors or not...But it surely disturbed your father from his deep slumber.
Evenbefore I could completely regain my senses, there appeared an amazon of a man..huffing,panting...As he eneterd the room to find me in a "compromisable" position, he came down on me like the "Rock"...Myself, being a lame, young man was no match to his mite..Dear, you told me your father was a healthy,fit man who "worked out" daily...If that is the case, I think you sincerely need to consult medical books for the difference between "healthy" and "obese"..
The next thing that I remember, I find myself on a hospital bed with one of my legs hanging from the support..One of my arms plastered in bandages and my face with a lot of "beauty spots"..or wounds if u like to call them..

God I've promised myself never to give a Valentine Day surprise henceforth..

Valentine's Day Special- My first Crush..

Valentine's Day is near..and even closer,knocking on the door is the Rose Day.
And I find myself single, and still ready to mingle!!!
That brings me to my first crush...that sweet,lovely gal I saw in my college freshman days...
How can I forget the first day I went for my classes..scared, unknown what will happen next..Ragging (or Official Introduction, whatever you may call it) was on in full swing..Our "prestigious" college was renowned for that..I took my seat alongwith a couple of my new friends in the middle rows of the hall..And then appeared a tall,slim girl in ill-fitting salwar-kurta,wearing bathroom slippers,no makeup and long hair dripping hair-oil(the ragging dress-code for the "Femme Fatale") walking graciously alongwith some other less beautiful ladies(I believe there are only two types of girls- the first is beautiful , and the other very beautiful) in tow...
I thought my engineering degree was going to be worth the trouble..my hard work preparing for the entrance exams had not gone futile...
The beautiful ladies were "forbidden" to talk to boys till the ragging period (which usually extended till the first semester exams approached).The boys were told to get "love-letters" signed from any girl..I was asked too but I couldn't muster the courage seeing the cold response meted out to few of my colleagues..
And then came the day I was eagerly awaiting for..The girls(poor luck to more harrased souls like us) were freed from ragging and they came to attend the lectures in full glamour...God, she was breathtaking..I couldn't take my eyes off her.
Lastly, we were "free"..tigers now free to roam in the jungle to catch their "prey"..I dressed up in my best clothes to impress her(a lot of my collegemates were now after her..including the seniors).Thought I would go upto her and be friends...But alas, the exams were approaching and she had decided to study at her room...My "desires" remained unfulfilled..
We talked later..were friends..And only later did I get subtle hints that "Maybe"..maybe she was interested too..
But Life went on..four years passed on swiftly...Every year, I thought I would give her a rose on Valentine's Day...
But this wish still remains unfulfilled too..We've both moved our different paths of life..hopefully to meet again somewhere in the distant future...
With this hope in my heart, I sign off..

The Joy of travelling in local buses

God I love travelling in local buses.....The thrill of boarding/alighting the bus when it is just about to stop gives me enough exercise (what with being a Software engineer, the maximum exercise I do during office hours is going to the coffee machine or the Food Court).
The jostle to get into/out of the ramshackle buses is itself an unforgettable experience. Gradually, I have mastered the art of getting into the bus while people are equally excited to alight the bus, though I've narrowly missed losing my life or limbs on a couple of occassions...My essential belongings (mobile and wallet) have been lost also once... but still I am unable to resist the temptation of aboarding the approaching red and white Metro express anytime..
Moreover, once you are inside the bus, it gives you an opportunity to learn how to survive when there's scarcity of space, when your lungs are about to blow out due to lack of breathing air.It has also improved my dancing skills...people making space to move ahead push you from one side to another.I've learnt how to sit on one butt with the other being kicked by one and all..
The art of deceiving persons also comes handy in need..I have closely observed and imbibed numerous expressions on how to cheat the bus ticket-collector(conductor to the less intelligent) of the fare.
Last, but certainly not the least, you get to meet people of myriad cultures on the bus..The bus in itself is a Mini-India, where you are sure to find a Gujju sitting comfortably with a Sardar, you can get to share a seat with a beautiful gal(my unfulfilled dream till now)..

The girl sitting in the bus awaits me now..gotta go else I'll miss the bus...

More for later.