Beijing 2008

The west, especially the west never saw the dragon coming. When they saw it, and saw it big they refused to acknowledge it. The dragon has finally scripted a perfect answer, Beijing Olympics 2008. The sheer magnitude of this particular event can leave any of us stupefied. Today 8th Aug 2008 as i gaze at the tv screen, everything of what they boasted is evident, 7 years of tremendous effort, 44 billion dollars, more than 10,000 athletes, its all there. This is by far the best Olympics opening i've ever witnessed. For what appears to be a perfect start, the perfect ending would be Chinese coming out on the top of the medal tally ruining the American party.

If ever Human civilization needed a collective representation, it is the Olympics and shall hopefully remain like that. The best thing about these events is that it brings in a lot of confidence, hope, positive energy, the collective qualitative human resource from all corners of the world. If there is any platform where the human scum is set aside for the best to showcase, it is the Olympics. In all this celebration of physicality and mental strength of a human, i do hope and pray as an Indian, we as a country make a mark and in a positive sense, perhaps a couple of gold medals for starters and hosting this grand festival sometime in future. For now i hope Summer Olympics 2008, Beijing stays trues to its cause and goes as the best ever in the Golden history of Olympics.

In the league of champions

Long have i followed these faces. Peering through the electronic window, long have i watched these faces and smiled, cheered, laughed and cried. Great men that they were, these faces were not just mine but belonged to the whole of mankind, prided by humanity, champions of masses influencing hundreds of youngsters and entertaining the older folk. Everybody loves sports, at least personally i feel every self respecting individual should identify himself with at least 1 sport. These men, that i now shall speak have been there in thick of action, proved themselves over and over, and have come out as undisputed masters in their arena. Like the heroes of the Grecian era, they have downed, dusted and systematically embarrassed their opponents. Here they come to my blog, walking tall in all their glory.

Personify a leopard, and you'll get a schumacher. Michael Schumacher to me is more of a warrior bent upon winning a war, than a sportsman. The man is extremely talented, but what defines him is not his talent alone. A shrewd campaigner, always seeking for a win, humiliating his opponents, he his my personal favorite of all and i rightly call him GOD. His fans love him, others hate him, there is no mixed emotion for Schumacher. There can't be any for a man, who so mercilessly marauded the F1 circuits on his mean red machine all over the world. From Mika to kimi, Alonso to Fisichella, coulthard to Barrichello everybody bowed before him like weeds before a storm. Dry or wet, hot or cold, he was always there with his medallion on the top of the podium. His celebration is legendary, kicking his legs in the air and jumping tall. One could only say, 'if u win, celebrate like schumacher'. With almost a hundred wins, he left F1 with a legacy hard to match up in the next hundred years.

Accurate, simple, deadly these are just a few adjectives one can give to this personality. Some say he's the best ever to step on grass court. Roger Federer, a 4 time Wimbledon champ on a trot and still going strong. Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Roddick, Hewitt and now Nadal, he's beaten them all and how convincingly. What's interesting about his game is he still follows the older ways of serve and volley and convincingly defeats these new Baseline power hitters. He has won all three major grand slams for 3 consecutive years except french open and there is still that juvenile desire for French title. What more, this guy looks like an elf, his movement on the court is a perfect streamlined movement, with no turbulence either on his movements nor inside him. If celebration of Schumacher is for every human to learn from, celebration of Federer is very divine. Not just a good winner but also a graceful looser to, Federer is directly out from a fantasy tale setting a perfect example for his fans.

How fortunate indeed is our generation to have such personalities to ape from. It's not just these 2, there is a Sachin Tendulkar, a Tiger Woods and many more. These guys teach us not just how to win, but how to come out alive from a defeat. And it's not just the game which impresses me, but the mind behind their moves. The definition of a sportsperson has undergone changes from times one can barely remember and for our times these guys define a perfect sportsman. All hail these champions who kept on reiterating one single line throughout their careers, 'Winning isn't everythin.. it is the only thing'

Life @NITK and aftermath

It's been a long summer and a boring one. Perhaps when i am old i would cherish one such summer. But now things are different. College is over for me, at least temporarily and i frankly don't want to be stranded in the middle of no where. Like every sensible being on the face of this earth, i want to move ahead, get nitk out of my head for sure, be done with nitk. But better said than done. It's four years of my life i am talking about. The four years of continuous metamorphosis which has resulted the present me, is what i am thinking of removing and i know its not possible. All i can do is wait for future to come and embrace me and i can only hope its a pleasant embrace.

It was one hell one hell of a ride though. Like any other roller coaster ride it began slowly with my life moving ahead. Even though the pace was less, i knew i was learning and moving and most importantly gaining something. And like any other roller coaster ride, the steady phase was followed by chaos, and there were ups and downs and most importantly we enjoyed it all like we would enjoy a roller coaster ride in a amusement park. However the hangover after a roller coaster ride is temporary one, as against what NITK did to us. Imagine if each and every significant stages of our life pass of just like our college days. Will i ever get to sit alone on the beach with a empty open mind perceiving everything around, with no worries and with space always segmented for all sorts of ideas, thoughts to flow in and dance rhythmically like that of a musical symphony?? Or if i stop being philosophical, is it ever possible for to attend classes, gym hard, swim, and go out and eat and come back to the hostels, only to find out that a party beckoned you, and all of it in a single day?? Believe it or not, this went on for a month or so and the best part it all felt normal. Like it was something we 'nitkians' deserved and others didn't.

Those were the days of past and here i am like a monkey in the mid-air leaping between 2 ground surfaces. Future seems promising or nitk has made me an optimist. However i care less about future, i've never been the one peering too far into it. Is the present calmness the figurative 'lull before the storm' or is it the story of the future to come. If this is the future, god forbid it, i've already started feeling old i guess. I've been growing bigger, heavier and stronger and i would like to think i am ready for a storm. I want to be taken up and down. NITK has made me strong for these lows and cheerful enough to celebrate the ups. With optimism i await my entry into a professional journey. But its a long wait. To be suspended in mid-air awaiting something so much big is not an easy job. Memories of the past haunt me and the only way i reciprocate is by replacing the desktop background of my computer with yet another picture from yesteryears. Music suddenly has somewhat started making sense than ever before. Things have started to change or i've become more matured and sensitive.

Now i am an ENGINEER, at least the provisional degree certificate i got recently says so. There won't be another semester, there will be no more placement seasons to come nor placement treats, there won't be that day in july when i'll board a 2+1 'Ideal bus' to surathkal from jayanagar. Life clearly has moved on, am not sure if i have. Its high time i realize, 'Every great journey has to end', and so did NITK. The journey called 'engineering' which was carried out in a sturdy ship called NITK with the most amazing of the crewmates has now officially concluded. The Fellowship of the batch of NITK 2004-08 has ended. My destination has arrived i've just got out of this ship. Thanks to this journey, i now stand in light and am sure of continuing the greater journey. NITK has changed me, and for good. All i can now say is a Kudos and three cheers to HMS NITK and her crew.