It is the time of the year when beauty contests become front page news.
Miss India 2012
Since the times Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen, Lara Dutta, Priyanka Chopra, and Dia Mirza have climbed the pedestal of international beauty contests, ordinary Indians started taking interest in such events. However, in the past few years, India has failed to produce a beauty queen who excelled on the international stage.
Vanya Mishra
Formal contests apart, Indian women continue to mesmerize people all over the world.
And it looks like they may once again gain prominence on the international contest stage - courtesy the Miss India winners 2012.
Miss India 2012
Just yesterday, in the Miss India contest held in Mumbai, India, Vanya Mishra was crowned Miss India World 2012. Prachi Mishra was crowned Miss India Earth 2012 and Rochelle Maria Rao was crowned Miss India International 2012.
In a competition that had spanned more than 4 months, Vanya Mishra was chosen as the winner among 20 other contestants. Vanya was a wild card entry into the Miss India Finals since she won Dabur Gulabari Miss Rose Glow 2011. She proves that wild cards can be winners too.
Vanya Mishra Miss India 2012
Vanya is 19 years old, comes from Chandigarh and is a Technology student. This is bound to create some interest among Engineering students, both in terms of aspirations and dreams :-)
Vanya Mishra Miss India 2012
In the final round, she was asked a question - "If you have an option, will you create thousand jobs or feed thousand children daily?". Vanya replied, "Little children are innocent and anybody's heart will melt. I will also try to give them education so that they can feed themselves and their family too." This intelligent answer set the dice rolling in favor of Vanya and within moments, she went from Vanya Who to Vanya Mishra - The Miss India 2012.
The name Vanya is of Russian and Hebrew origin, and means gracious gift of God. And yes, Vanya Mishra has a striking resemblance to super star actress Chitrangada Singh. This picture says it all and we all hope that she is as successful as Chitrangada.
Vanya Mishra Chitrangada Singh
Prachi Mishra, all of 24, from Allahabad, UP, was crowned Miss India Earth 2012. She was the runner up in this marathon competition. She is an investment advisor and is inspired by Aishwarya Rai.
Prachi Mishra Miss India 2012
Rochelle Maria Rao, from Chennai, was crowned Miss India International 2012.
Rochelle Maria Rao Miss India 2012
All in all, these ladies have been catapulted to instant stardom. We all hope that these gals enjoy tremendous success.
P.S. If there is one contestant who caught my eye among the ladies who also ran, it is the lady below - Erica Fernandez. Lets hope that she is also equally successful as the other gals.
And is there anything better than relaxing on cool blue beaches, or around serene blue lakes?
Mauritius
Dubai
Nainital
Hope you all get a nice summer break - away from work, school, college, classes, and from all your daily activities - to replenish your mind and thoughts, and enjoy the calm and warm summer air.
Working with computers, my desktop is the most common thing I see everyday. If there was some kind of competition among the stuff (on my PC) which wins my attention the most, then my desktop would win hands down.
The thing that I like the most on my desktop is my Wallpaper. Here's a quick low down of the wallpapers which have caught my attention over the years due to various reasons.
The first one is a plane wallpaper.
American Airlines Plane
This was the time when I was yet to travel on an airplane - about seven years back. And the thoughts of an airplane and their majestic sight was on the top of my mind. This made the wallpaper a winner.
Next one is a snap of a lady whom we know as Asin.
Asin
This was like 6 years back. Asin hadn't made her Bollywood debut, and she was a rising star in the South Indian film industry. It was her rustic beauty which caught my attention.
Thankfully my lady colleague, with whom I shared a desktop, didn't mind her wallpaper.
Next one was this Camping pic.
Camping We Will Go
Calm water, idyllic settings, golden skies offered a very calm outlook in the midst of often confusing work environs.
Some 4 years back, it was this beautiful wallpaper of the Taj Mahal which had me hooked.
The Taj Mahal
It was said that this picture was the best ever snap of the Taj. I wouldn't disagree. The sight of the majestic Taj, with the dry Yamuna in the background, adorned my desktop for years.
Another picture which held me in awe was this snap of Lake Baikal.
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the largest fresh water lake in the world, located in Eastern Russia, in Siberia. It is the world's oldest lake, 30 million old, and also the deepest, averaging 744.4 metres. It has a shoreline of 2100 KMs.
Folks at work had planned a trip to this beautiful lake. Disappointingly, it didn't materialize. This serene snap reminds me of God's creativity. A couple of years back, it was this picture of the calm sea's which decked up my desktop.
Calm Sea
Blue skies, calm water, simple boats, a wide horizon, white clouds - all of them could set my dreams alight. And somewhere in these years, Uma Thurman had me bewitched.
Uma Thurman
Her eyes spoke a million a million words. Need I say more? Finally, these days, it's this picture of a plane taking off making its mark on my desktop.
Air France - Dreams Taking Off
This picture is a symbol of hopes and dreams taking off. Aircraft's have been one of the greatest inventions of mankind. The manner in which those giant bodies take off, carrying with them hundreds of people, and hope and faith of thousands of men and women is simply mind-blowing. I'm not sure on who invented the concept of desktop wallpapers. But whoever it was, I would like to thank him or her from the bottom of my heart, for giving wings to my dreams while sitting on a simple PC.
The events of the last one week or so have left me completely disillusioned. Every single day I hear some news which confirms one fact - there is no dearth of people waiting to be climb the pedestal of stupidity.
Going Bonkers
Let me start with our Honorable Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The railway budget was presented on 14th March by the then Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi. A bold man (or so he said) that he was raised the railway fares for the first time in 9 years.
His actions were appreciated both by the PM and FM. They lauded his "progressive budget".
However, his boss - Mamata Banerjee of Trinamool Congress - saw red, and had the Railway Minister sacked in the next 10 days. Her appointee cancelled the fare hikes across majority of the travel classes.
And what did our PM and FM do? They kept mum. It is an absolute shame to see the minister presenting the budget not being responsible in the Parliament to answer questions on the budget. It's an absolute disgrace for the Government of India.
As for Mamata Banerjee, she should be crowned as the alter ego of the communists.
And just a few days back, the GoI announced India had 5 crore less poor people.
As per them, if you earn Rs. 28 per day, you are not poor. It means that if two people work in a family of 4, then Rs. 56 is sufficient to get you out of the poverty bracket.
Rs. 56 for 4 people certainly means that the person is living in difficult conditions. Our Government thinks otherwise.
All through our lives, we are taught to aim for the skies. However, our Government and its educated policy makers are setting an abysmal targets to show themselves in better light.
Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission had the guts to say "Whatever way you measure, poverty has come down."
Mr. Ahluwalia :- "Whom are you comforting with such rosy words? If the poverty would have increased, you would be out of your job. And aren't you ashamed to say that in a nation of 125 crore people, with all the machinery and money at your disposal, all you can do is get 5 crore people out of poverty? And that too with a scale which appears to have been set in Athenian times?"
A couple of days later, another scam came to light. We, Indians, lost a whopping 10.67 lakh crores ( 10670000000000.00 INR or 209 Billion USD) thanks to the GoI (again) not auctioning coal blocks. "Coalgate" was born.
Coalgate
Now, I am completely flummoxed by these numbers. Is the coal really worth so much that we could have got 209 Billion USD? And if yes, why on this very earth didn't we try to earn this money, which could have solved a multitude of other problems?
Or is the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) exaggerating the figures? 10.67 lakh crores is too huge an amount to be true.
Consider this calculation.
India's population is 125 crores
Number of poor people - 30% = 375000000 = 37.50 crores.
Distribute 10.67 lakhs crore rupees among the 37.50 crore people. Each of them would get Rs. 28453. For a family of 4, it would mean Rs. 113812.
Wouldn't this be a very substantial security for someone who earns just Rs. 28 a day?
Only God knows the truth in this case. The stand of the GoI is standard, as it was in other scams. They comfort us by saying India hasn't lost so much of a money.
If anyone can play agony aunt, its the Government of India.
And if such puzzling news was not sufficient, the Indian judiciary too decided to join the circus. In a verdict given in Delhi, non consummation of a marriage on the wedding night was cited as a reason for a divorce.
Now this is completely mind boggling. Will the courts decide what people do before or after marriage? For something which is a very personal and mutual choice?
Maybe you can't blame the courts and the judges. When everyone around is playing a joker, everyone else would also love to join the party.
And today, our distinguished Army Chief let the cat out of the bag by telling the world that he was offered a bribe of 14 crore rupees for purchasing sub standard vehicles.
I was attempted to be Bribed - Army Chief
For most practical purposes, this incident would have happened more than 6 months earlier (after all, the Chief was busy fighting with the Government over his age for the last 6 months or so). And our honorable Defence Minister sat on this matter for a long long time, without initiating any action.
And today, when the matter became public knowledge, the minister ordered an inquiry. Once again, this is a very shameful response. It seems that the Government of India needs to be rapped on the knuckles to get into any action.
Or they love Status Quo.
Or to say it in a very sarcastic way, I would quote my friend.
~~
We Indians work on the "Principle of rockets". It doesn't mean we aim for the sky. It means that we don't start working unless our tail is on fire. ~~
Be it Lokpal, Coalgate, the Army Chief Bribe, each of the instances would reflect such my-tail-is-on-fire action.
All in all, the events of the recent past have made me realize that remaining sane in such insane times would be extremely difficult. Possibly one principle would work - Blinkers On.
P.S. I need some Ice Gate keep myself cool. Is Ice Gate in the offing?
They say, an idle mind is a devil's workshop. Well, it's true to some extent.
An idle mind also offers an interesting opportunity to introspect. The realisations that a mind has in these simple moments are often deep and usually real. And we, in our busy lives, fail to identify with them.
I would like to make a note of few thoughts which crossed my mind - either at work, or before I slept, or in moments I was alone.
~~~~
Common Sense is a misnomer.
An unanswered question is an hydrogen balloon on the loose. The mind is your sky.
Ignorance is not bliss. Never. In fact, it's a time bomb.
Confidence is when I can look at you, into your eye.
Nothing is more comforting than a friend who knows you well and understands you well. Be thankful to God for such friends.
~~~~
A Plethora of Thoughts
P.S. The sky is the limit for such intriguing thoughts.
How about picking up the phone at the first ring - at 2 am in the morning? Even though it isn't an interesting proposition, there are moments of time when you need to do it.
On the Phone in the Night
A zombie me has done this the very thing on an occasional night or so, for the last many years. Courtesy - work. And there have been nights when such early early morning calls have been frequent. These are the moments when you realize the value of sleep.
Although I sympathized with myself for this situation, my heart went out to my friends and colleagues who made that call. They are the real heroes. I was just a spoke in the wheel.
Whilst I lost a couple of hours of precious sleep, I admire them for doing The Graveyard Shift.
I am Working Late through the Night
What exactly is The Graveyard Shift? Well, it's the work which you do in the night - usually after 11 P.M. It is a.k.a. the Night Shift.
Think about the watchman who works in the night shift. The nights are dark, lonely and cold. The empty roads are stalked by howling dogs. Yet, he goes about his work, doing the rounds and providing security to the people as they enjoy their sleep peacefully.
Unable to Carpe Diem
Recollect the receptionist at the hotel. As you check-in yourself into the hotel, she manages to give you a warm smile as she welcomes you, even though the clock might read half past midnight. Her smile sparkles brighter than the glowing moon. And as you get the few hours of sleep before the long day at work tomorrow (sorry, it's today), she manages you to give the wake up call at quarter to seven in the morning. You wonder, did she sleep at all though the night? How about the pilots and their team? Usually, they have to do the graveyard shift. Flying a super jumbo is a difficult task in itself. How about getting the jumbo to lift off in the middle of the night, making a roaring sound as the world sleeps?
The Dreaded Night Shift
And then resisting the desire to sleep as the plane makes its way towards the destination carrying a thousand dreams, surrounded by darkness. As the mean machine grumbles on its journey, the men and women are chasing a sunrise. Have a thought for the people who have to clock hours through the night, day in day out, as part of their job. The human mind is designed to sleep through the night. Yet, these people are supremely alert in the work. The business process outsourcing industry has made the world glocal. As a result, you have people in India responding to phone calls from America. When America is awake, India is asleep. Yet these people keep the American engines chugging, sacrificing their precious sleep, all in the name of a job, to earn a living.
The Graveyard Shift
I have also worked through the night sometimes. If there is one temptation which is overwhelming on such days, its the need to sleep. And if you have been working continuously (the previous day) without a wink, such desires are extreme. And just yesterday, I slept off on my computer at 3 in the morning. No, I was not working, but talking to a friend. Incidentally, she told me that she was full of energy - even though the clock read 3. :-). Recently, a friend of mine asked a doctor as to what she was doing awake at 1 in the night. She indicated that a call from the hospital was the reason, and she had to stay awake for another call which was expected soon. She said that it was common. Hats off to her, for putting her duty ahead of herself. It's not only about staying awake here. Some of the work done during the graveyard shift have an added important responsibility of taking decisions. And taking decisions is difficult to say the least, since such decisions would influence subsequent actions. And it can be as serious as a matter of life and death. Who is your best friend on such night shifts? Well, it is a cup of coffee. Or a friend or colleague with whom you can talk to through the night. Or sleep herself.
Coffee - Best Friend in the Night Shift
Coming to sleep, there are nights when she takes you over - even though we are working. On such nights, its best to relent to her temptation rather than resisting her. After all, who would resist such a charming empress. If I have recollect a few places where I would have caught a nap while working in the night, I can come up with an interesting collection. For some nights, it has been a 4 ft shelf. Om other nights, three lined up chairs have been my bed. Sometimes, even two chairs.
Sleeping in Office
And on other nights, just a single chair - wherein you have to sit and sleep. On odd days, the office floor - although a bit hard and slightly dirty - has been a precious bed. When sleep is taking you over, everything else takes a back seat. The examples I have quoted would not be enough glorify the people who burn their midnight candles for the benefit of the few. As the world takes a nap, they are full of energy, doing their tasks. Robert Frost's lines would echo their sentiments in the best manner. ~~ The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep. ~~ And for anyone who has worked through the night, the advertisement would reflect your thoughts and feelings.
P.S. After every dark night, there is a sunrise. Maybe it is this thoughts which pulls the people through the Graveyard Shift.
One of my friends is a keen observer and wonderful at building co-relations. A few days back he narrated an interesting anecdote which caught his keen eye.
The incident went as below.
~~
He brought three cups of hot tea. It was a group of four. She hesitated to have one of the cups. She must have thought, is one me them for me?
You could see the hesitation in her eyes. You could also sense her expectations. You could feel the apprehension, and the desire. He failed to notice either.
Either he was ignorant, or didn't feel strongly enough to ask her to drink her cup. After all, one of the cups was for her.
Time passed. A studied silence followed.
The shy lady that she was, she went about her chores, hiding her expectations. Finally, after 15 odd minutes, when he asked her to drink, she humbly accepted. Neither did she raise any questions, nor did she show any reluctance.
Thoughtful about Warmth
She had a couple of sips. The tea was cold. It had lost its warmth. She couldn't gulp a sip more.
And within the next ten seconds, she threw the cup of once warm tea - almost full - out of the running train.
~~
The lesson.
~~
Well, its simple. When you give something to people, tell them that its for them. People are happy when they are told about things which are done specially for them.
And if you are giving love, telling is important.
Subtle hints work, sometimes. Speaking aloud works, quite a few times. Clear indications work, almost always.
Remember, an expectant heart is always on look for that signal. A green signal.
Love which is dished out from the bottom of the heart is warm. If it gets lost in time, it becomes cold.
And if given gracefully, with the right intent, and accepted humbly, in time - it remains warm forever, like the molten kernel of the earth. It is at the core, and it lasts more than a lifetime.
Sachin Tendulkar (God for Cricket Lovers in India and across the world) scored his 100th century in International Cricket in style today, silencing all his critics forever.
In a One Day International match against Bangladesh, played in Mirpur, Dhaka, pregnant with heavy expectations, Sachin finally took the burden off his shoulders and reached a milestone that will stand the test of time.
Sachin Tendulkar scored Century of Centuries
No man - ever - has scored a century of centuries. Sachin is the man.
People break records. Sachin Tendulkar creates records.
I was lucky enough to watch Sachin scored his century in style. As he progressed slowly in the tricky 90s, the entire nation held its breath and prayed that Sachin did not falter on the final steps.
Sachin Tendulkar conquered his mind and did not let the nation down. Taking a single of Shakib Al Hasan, Sachin became the first man (and maybe the only man ever) to score 100 100s. He looked up to God Almighty to thank Him for this stupendous success.
Sachin was modest in his celebrations. Yet, he would have been immensely happy on reaching his milestone. Most importantly, he told the world that the milestone was for his country.
Sachin Tendulkar 100th Century
To look back, Sachin has been playing international cricket for the last two decades.
Sachin made a classical debut against Pakistan way back in 1989. At a young age of 16, Sachin faced the battery of Imran Khan and co, and showed a promise to reach great heights.
Sachin made excellent progress over the years and became the most feared batsmen for bowlers around the world. You can recollect the Desert Storm innings by Sachin, where he knocked the steam out of Shane Warne in Sharjah in the mid 90s.
Sachin has always been hungry for more success. He echoed one thought - Yeh Dil Maange More.
Sachin Tendulkar Yeh Dil Maange More
Sachin launched a thousand cricket careers. Sachin gave many a bowlers sleepless nights. This video says it all.
Sachin's commitment to cricket has been exemplary. During the 1999 World Cup in England, Sachin lost his father. Sachin came back to India to complete his responsibilities, and flew back to England in a few days. In the next immediate match, he scored a century, blessed by God and his father. Need we say more.
In the 2003 World Cup, Sachin powered India into the finals, right from the doorstep of being knocked out in the first round. India lost in the finals, and Sachin's dream of winning the Cup for India was still unfulfilled.
India was knocked out of the 2007 World Cup in the early stages. The entire nation feared that a player as illustrious as Sachin would have to retire without a World Cup win under his belt. Sachin had other things in mind.
And in 2010, Sachin became the first man in the world to score a double century in One Days. He had achieved a feat which was unheard of.
And come 2011, the hopes of the entire nation rested on Sachin and Dhoni's men to win the Cricket World Cup 2011. Dhoni's men won the World Cup in style, sending the nation into a state of delirium.
The players did it for one man - Sachin Tendulkar.
Sachin Tendulkar World Cup 2011
And as Sachin Tendulkar pursued his century of century for the last 1 year, the chatter for his retirement kept on growing. Sachin, however, persisted. Dhoni kept his faith in the master blaster.
And today, Sachin achieved the impossible. Sachin scored his hundredth century. He achieved a mind boggling record.
Sachin Tendulkar has created a name for himself in the annals of history. A name that can never be erased. Let's have a look at Sachin talking about his mega achievement.
It is not without reason that people say in India - Cricket is a religion, Sachin is the God.
Sachin has knocked the antics of the shameless Mamata Banerjee from the first page of the news papers. Sachin has taken of the glam (or disappointment) from today's Union Budget.
And tonight as he sleeps, he can sleep peacefully with the hope that he has realized peoples expectations from him, if not anything else.
Finally, it would be worthwhile to recollect this quote.
==
"When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket, Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car, Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour De France, Diego Maradona was still the captain of a world champion Argentina team, Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam.
When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious Career taming Imran and company, Roger Frederer was a name unheard of, Lionel Messi was in his nappies, Usain Bolt was an unknown kid in the Jamaican backwaters.
The Berlin Wall was still intact, USSR was one big, big country, Dr Manmohan Singh was yet to "open" the Nehruvian economy.
It seems while Time was having his toll on every individual on the face of this planet, he excused one man. Time stands frozen in front of Sachin Tendulkar. We have had champions, we have had legends, but we have never had another Sachin Tendulkar and we never will."
- Author Unknown
==
P.S. It has come to notice that Pakistan bowlers have ordered several packets of Huggies from the local pharmacy. Believe me, it won't help. The hotel staff would have to deal with wet beds for the next two mornings.
Obstacles are frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal. – Henry Ford
Every man has his faults. It all depends on whether he has enough good qualities to counterbalance them. – Ferec Santa
Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. – Jan Goldstein
Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them. – John Updike
Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in. – Bill Eardley
No one can really guarantee the future. The best thing we can do is calculate the risks involved, size up our chances, estimate our ability to deal with them, and then make our plans with confidence. – Henry Ford
The ability, to use the present in the anticipation of the future, will make the difference.
Posts
