Merry Cristmas

Wishing all the people the Merriest Christmas of their lives,
just as I had mine!

Friendz..

A gift to my friends...

Dada disgraced !!

Sourav Ganguly's unceremonious exit from the Indian team on Wednesday was disgraceful. But though the proceedings that followed India's 188-run victory were a shameful way to sideline the former Indian skipper, they didn't come as a shock, especially considering the way Indian cricket is run. Politics, many would believe, got Ganguly so deep into the series in the first place. That Sourav was branded a "batting all-rounder" by the Jagmohan Dalmiya regime to force him into the side, and then made to bowl only 2 overs in the seven days of cricket that followed, tells a tale. Without enough chances, his "all-round" worth was destroyed with the precision befitting a seasoned assassin. Although, Ganguly displayed his worth with the bat, it just wasn't enough. The final blow came when Dalmiya was voted out of power and the referee-count ended on Wednesday. Politics giveth, and Politics taketh away. The balance of power has shifted and so have the preferences. Indian cricket remains the same, trapped in a vicious web of power-brokers.


Despite being sacked for the third Test against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad, Ganguly does not believe he's reached the end of his international career. Sitting in his hotel room at the Taj Palace three hours after the announcement on Wednesday, Ganguly appeared dejected but not downcast. "I'll go back to playing domestic cricket," he said. "I still believe I can get back to the team. I want to play the 2007 World Cup, and Test cricket." What hurt Ganguly most was the cold shoulder he received from his former team-mates. None of the senior members of the team even came close to Sourav's room.

To make a simple connection, Ganguly has been made a pawn in the board's politics, in which anyone seen to be associated with Dalmiya has to be gotten rid of. But Ganguly has scored more than 15,000 runs in international cricket with his own blade, not Dalmiya's. He has been India's most successful captain by applying his own method on the field, not using the shrewdness with which Dalmiya survived for so long as Indian cricket's godfather. Of course he has not been in the best of form over the last year. But, given a chance under pressure, he showed he could still contribute as much as most others in the side. At the very least, he deserved another shot.

Keep on fighting DADA, we're with you...throughout.

Some touching Bengali literature...

Introducing my new blog : Abar Khabo !

I proudly announce the grand opening of my new blog

Abar Khabo ! : Food Fetish .... I live to EAT !

Come and drool over it !

Cartoons !!

Oh ! The Sounds of Silence !

Racism in America !

NRI files racism suit after BPO backlash
By Chidanand Rajghatta/TNN

Washington: An Indian-American tech worker has filed a suit in a federal court in Texas against a US firm alleging daily incidents of racial harassment and discrimination because the company outsourced work to India.

The lawsuit by Neelima Tirumalasetti, a senior IT analyst in quality assurance, says that after her company, Caremark, announced in December 2003 it would outsource work to IBM India, she became the target of widespread anti-Indian harassment.

Her co-workers called her “brown-skinned bitch”, “dirty Indian” and other insults, accused her of coming to the US to take their jobs, mocked her accent in team meetings and excluded her from work projects.

Hoping for relief, the US citizen reported the harassment to her seniors and even Caremark’s ethics hotline. The reports made matters worse. Caremark removed her team leader responsibilities on a large project, isolated her from prime assignments, began auditing her work daily, denied her pay and blocked access to leave.

According to the lawsuit, Caremark told Neelima she made up the harassment and faked the physical symptoms of escalating workplace stress, which repeatedly landed her in hospital.

Astonishingly, Caremark reportedly conceded she was the victim of harassment but concluded that the harassment was “understandable given employees’ concerns about outsourcing”. Nevertheless, it barred her from working from home, a privilege enjoyed by other employees.

Neelima suffered a final emotional breakdown after Caremark reassigned her to report to a co-worker she identified as a chief harasser — a more junior employee — and this coworker stated she would “kill the bitch who complained”.

Caremark sent Neelima a termination letter after she reported her situation to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. “Caremark investors deserve to know how it conducts itself,” says Neelima. “This lawsuit is about assuring that all employees are treated equally regardless of their national origin, race or ethnic background.”

Om : The Power Word !

The lower curve of the Sanskrit letter represents the dream state; the upper curve the waking state. The wavy curve issuing from the right symbolizes deep, dreamless awareness. The cresent moon shape stands for "maya" or the veil of illusion. The dot above it marks the transcendent state. With yoga, one may find transcendence to embrace the true self by passing through the veil, liberating these states, into Divine Union.

The ancient syllable "OM" is the shortest of the Mantras and in Indian tradition it is a word suggestive of God.

The scriptures tell us that "OM" is the planets primordial vibration from which the entire universe has arisen. All other sounds are contained within it.

It is believed that "OM" is the mother of all languages. Repetition of "OM" enables us to maintain mental and emotional calmness, overcome obstacles and enable understanding.

An analysis of "OM" as it is written in Sanskrit shows that it is made up of A, U, M and a symbol representing resonance. So "OM" has four aspects.

The first is A, a sound that comes from the belly, is formed in the open throat, and is voiced with the mouth open. As with many alphabets, A is the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet.

The second aspect is the U, a sound that is formed in the middle of the mouth. The mouth is not as wide as it is for sounding the A.

With the third sound, M the mouth closes. The sound rises to the nasal passages, from where the resonance, the forth aspect of "OM" issues forth.

It is said that A represents the waking state. U the dream state and M the state of deep dreamless sleep. the fourth state, sounds in the resonance following M.

Saying "OM" is actually a form of meditation

(Acknowledgement T.K.V Desikachar - The Heart of Yoga)

30 days

Derick:
I guess we are the left-overs in this world.

Lily:
I think so...all of my friends have boyfriends, and we are the only the 2 people left in this world without any special person in our lives.

Derick:
Yup, I don't know what to do.

Lily:
I know! We'll play a game.

Derick:
What game?

Lily:
I'll be your girlfriend for 30 days
and you will be my boyfriend.

Derick:
That's a great plan, in fact, I don't have anything to do
much for the following few weeks.

DAY 1:
They watch their first movie
and they both are touched by the romantic film.

DAY 4:
They went go to the beach and have a picnic. Derick and Lily have their quality time together.

DAY 12:
Derick invited Lily to a circus and they ride through a Horror House.
Lily was scared and she thought she touched Derick's hand but she actually touched someone else's hand they both laughed.

DAY 15:
They saw a fortune teller down the road, and they asked for their future advice.
The fortune teller said:
"My darlings, please don't waste the time of your life, spend the rest of your time together, happily." Then tears flowed out from the teller's eyes.

DAY 20:
Lily invited Derick to go to the hill
and they saw a meteor; Lily mumbled something.

DAY 28:
They sat on the bus, and because of a bumpy road Lily gave her first kiss to Derick by accident.

DAY 29:
11:37 pm:
Lily and Derick sat in the park where they first decided to play this game.

Derick:
I'm tired Lily...Do you want anything to drink? I'll buy you one...I'll just go down the road.

Lily:
An Apple Juice, that's all. Thank you.

Derick:
Wait for me.

20 minutes later
A stranger approached Lily

Stranger:
Are you a friend of Derick?

Lily:
Yes, why? What happened?

Stranger:
A reckless drunk driver ran over Derick, and he is in critical condition in the hospital.

11:57 pm:
The doctor walked out of the emergency room; he handed Lily an apple juice and a letter.

Doctor:
We found this in Derick's pocket.

Lily reads the letter and it says:
Lily, These past few weeks, I realized you are a really cute girl, and I am really falling for you-your cherished smile, your everything when we played this game. Before this game ends, I would like you to be my girlfriend for the rest of my life.
I love you, Lily.

Lily crumpled up the paper and shouted:

"Derick! I don't want you to die-
I love you; remember that night when we saw a meteor and I mumbled something. I mumbled that I wish we would be together forever and that we would never have to end this game. Please don't leave me Derick .. I love you! You can't do this to me!"

Then the clock strikes 12...

Derick's heart stopped pumping...

It was the 30th day.