Random Thoughts

The best minds of the country...all in one place, well, thats IISc. Or, at least, thats what its supposed to be. Now one would assume that the best minds would be free of prejudices and would always like to explore new stuff, experience new things, get to know new people........well, u get the hang of it. What I mean is that they would not be confined to their cocoons and would always be willing to explore. But, over here, only few people fall into this category. Every new student comes here with lots of hopes......of making good friends. But, if you happen to be a non-bengali in the chemistry department, you are doomed. Because, you have to first learn bangla before you can even hope to make friends in your department where 90 percent are bengalis. Coz, if you don't, then chances of your being included in any of their conversations are very low. They will continue to talk in bangla, and then you'd wonder why you ever sat there. This is not meant to be a dig at the bengalis. I ...

Have you ever been with friends who constantly jabber about their love life? I, for one, am right now in that kind of a situation, and let me tell you, it is not one of the most envious positions to be in! It is rather, one of those experiences which you have to endure as there is no way you can ask your friend to shut up without being rude. Since I have been with them throughout, I think I have the right perspective to analyze what they thought about love and various things in life before they fell in love and after they have fallen in love. So, let me tell you the BEFORE and the AFTER of falling in love. Before- There were various shades to life. People noticed all colours and loved all colours, yes, even the blues and blacks and browns. After- The only colour that exists is pink and only shades are the lightened or darkened shades of pinks and reds. Before- The mushy/corny dialogues in films and movies were scorned/laughed at. After- Since the mushy things have been happening in the...

Well, wondering why I am writing a post about Roger Federer's historic record breaking triumph almost a month after he did it and a week after he became a father to twin girls-Myla Rose and Charlene Riva-even though the number 15 meant so much for me! Its only because I was overwhelmed due to the very magnitude of his achievements this last month-completing the career Grand Slam by winning his first (and hopefully not the last) Roland Garros title and then breaking Pete Sampras's record of most number of Grand Slam titles by winning at the Wimbledon and setting an all time record of 15 Grand Slam titles just two weeks later. This is so damn good, it can't get any better. Or, maybe it can, as we know that the person who can better this, Roger Federer, hasn't yet retired nor has any plans in this direction in the near future. The first time I watched a tennis match was the 2005 US Open Final where Roger Federer defeated Andre Agassi. This was one of the most beautiful mat...

God!!! What a scary and nerve wracking match was that! Ultimately Roger Federer did prevail over his younger and inexperienced opponent Juan Martin Del Potro winning in 5 sets which read...3-6, 7-6(1), 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. But seriously, what a scare Federer gave all his fans I think the first set itself decided the tone of the match. JMDP won the first set pretty easily breaking RF's serve twice. Federer played pretty ordinary in the beginning. He was finding it hard to hold his own serve, let alone breaking his opponent's serve. Rf may have come into the match with a lot of confidence given the fact that his head to head record against JMDP read 5-0 in Federer's favor and also that JMDP was yet to take away a set from him. This may hev even led to a certain degree of complacency in RF's game. Well I for one wasn't too worried at that stage as I was sure that RF would definitely recover from his initial hiccup The second set too was nothing exceptional except for a shot ...

This happens ever so often every summer. Well, wondering what? Here it is. You get up in the morning(and as usual you get up late), and you are in a real hurry to get to class. And as soon as you turn towards the washroom with your toothbrush in hand, you realize that there is no water flowing from the tap today. Then you run to the other wings in your hostel hoping that you will at least get to brush your teeth, let alone have a bath. After scouting 2 or 3 wings of your hostel you finally do manage to find the right wing(the wing that has water) and you see that nearly half the hostel has already turned up there. You somehow manage to get hold of a wash basin, quickly brush your teeth and wash your face because there sure is no way that you can have a bath, as it is already overcrowded, with everybody's buckets lined up, quite a scene like in Indian cities, where people line up their buckets and pots to fill water from the city tankers. This is one of the most common scenarios one...

Ask a true fan how it feels when Roger Federer loses in a Grand Slam final yet again to Rafael Nadal. It hurts like hell. And when you've seen that he had all the chances, 11 breakpoints, if I'm not wrong, more winners than his opponent, and yet when he loses it feels terrible. Federer definitely has a mental block against Nadal, he has to first overcome the monsters in his head if he wants to have any chances of win against his formidable rival. And, the worst part of Australian Open, 2009 was when he broke down at the award presentation right in front of the entire world. He might have gained many more fans after that night, but for a true fan, it was the worst moment. I didn't like seeing him cry. I don't want him to be weak or vulnerable to emotions. I would like to see him emerge stronger after this final. He has the potential to beat Nadal, if only he can fight the monsters in his own head. Hopefully he will. He will definitely create history. And, thats the belie...