Number game

Let me tell you upfront ... I am not a voracious reader, in fact I hate reading to the core. It makes me lousy, sleepy, boring & what not. Books for me act faster than the sleep inducing pills :P everyone in my family has this dirty habit of not reading much stuff. May be I have inherited his habit :P The only novel I remember completing till date is Dan Brown's 'Angels & Demons'.

After hearing a lot from my office colleagues about Chetan Bhagat's new novel '2 states' I thought of giving it a try. Downloaded the ebook as I my track record of reading the books is very bad. Never finished what I have bought so far in my life :-( Many of you might be aware of Chetan's earlier works - Five Point Someone, One night at call center, Three mistakes of my life.... & now two states. If you observe closely, Interestingly, all these titles have a 'number' in them. Guess Chetan is very fond of numbers - an IITian, then an IIMA passout... So, I guess the probability of odds in favour of my earlier guess is 0.9 :P & his fondness for numbers reflect in his novels as well. Trust me, each page contains at least half a dozen numbers and in my opinion it adds essence to the book, makes it funny at times, makes it even more interesting to read. I will not be surprised if Chetan's 5th book has 'four' in the title :P

I am half way now. The first half of the first half (i.e., the first quarter of the book) is really really interesting, then the sheen is out after the characters pass out of IIMA....still it is a decent read so far. Would like to finish this book by this weekend & yeah... I feel very embarrassed looking at my reading speed. People in my office finished this book in few hours , a day or two !! can you believe it ? huh... and I am talking about taking a week :-( That shows how lazy I am when it comes to reading.

FZ Vs A Star

A couple of days back, in Times of India there was a small snippet about the newly launched Maruti Suzuki A-Star. There were few rallies held in cities like Chennai and Bangalore. According to TOI, A Star gave a record mileage of 37+ Kmpl !!!!!!!! can u believe it ? when Ford Fiesta gave an average of 31Kmpl .... my jaws have dropped! and this news has certainly made me think of my decision of buying an FZ 16. My bike is literally drinking feul .... at times it gives just around 30Kmpl :-( Common its just a 153 CC bike with just around 14 BHP... it should give not less than 45 no matter how u ride. Then I keep saying to myself... time and again... this is one heck of a Yamaha product ! & I am one heck of a crazy creature who respects this brand name from the core of my heart.

Now imagine feeding two(dont get me wrong... i am talking about me and my bike) with my miniscule salary !

But the fun of riding a bike is amazing and it will be even more when keep ride at 107Kmph on a national speedway. Yesss.... yesterday i was testing my machine on NH9 Medchal highway and it hit 107 with ease ... for a moment I felt someone was pulling me from behind ... then i slowed down a lil bit as there were heavy vehicles ahead of me. It was fun... my heart was beating at double the normal speed... adrenaline kept pumping ! :-) Next time i will make sure that my tacho shows at least 111 kmph !

Freedom,Independence,Republic & Democracy ....where are these ??

I have learnt ages ago that India is a truly Republic & Democratic nation & India is a developing country. India being the 2nd fastest growing economy in the world, we are talking about becoming one of the super powers in the world ! Future definitely looks promising.

But there are few gray areas which are definitely pulling us back. Forget major things like corruption & Terrorism. In the era of globalization few senseless acts by brainless creatures are making me think if we have really achieved freedom. I don't know how many of you have given a thought on this earlier. Things like attacking women in Pubs and Discs, Anti V-Day protests, Attacks on Churches are few classic examples from the recent past.

Men going to Pubs in ok with them... then why not women? after all its their life. Many people have already debated on this. But in my opinion any such taboo is a pure senseless act. According to a research report apparently V-Day has created a Rs.600crores market in India alone ! courtesy... Archies & Hallmark ! Even in these recessionary times, this V-Day Archies sales has grown by 4%. You know what it means ? It has indirectly contributed to lot of employment & to the growth of Indian economy. I agree that celebrating these kind of days is purely an individuals choice but it is pure non sense and stupidity if someone else has the trigger. Look at this.... "Couples seen on the streets on Feb 14th will be forcefully made to marry !" what the f***. May be terrorists have a better reason for their senseless acts ! This is heights of making a mockery of LOVE.

What bothers me even more is that the fact all of the above mentioned things have occurred in major Metros ! cosmopolitan cities like Bangalore and a city like Mumbai which never sleeps ! Solution for rediculous acts like these is not so tough to find if you are willing to look for. But who cares these things make headlines only once in an year. India would have already become a much better place to live for if we our acts made some sense... but unfortunately the most uncommon thing in humans is commonsense !

No offenses please... this disgust and hatred is only on the protests which cause huge traffic jams and interrupt the dialy courses of many of our lives.

Fruits, Vegetables & Stocks !

The other day, on my way to home I saw a vegetables & fruits shop. To be frank I personally never go to buy any food items for my home. My mom takes care of all that... but for a change, I thought of buying a Pineapple. I don't even remember when was last time I bought some fruits/Veggies. I am clueless about the prices & measuring units!! I have learnt from the shopkeeper about the prices of various fruits in there. Interestingly SAPOTA(chikoo) last time when I bought(may be half a decade back) was given in dozens, now they are selling it in KGs! He said the cost of one Pipeapple is Rs. 20. One Apple - Rs. 15. Dozen Bananas - Rs. 20

I reached home without buying anything as I was a little skeptical about the prices. Better my mom handle this !

Now, when I look at my STOCKS PORTFOLIO, I saw half of my stocks are trading lower than Apples & Pineapples !!! It was surprisingly shocking to know that stocks have become cheaper than Vegetables,Fruits ! When I thought about this strange thing, I realised it is because of the infamous economic jargons - 1. Sub Prime Crisis & 2. Rising Inflation. Of course who doesnot know what effect these two had on us. If the former had taken a toll on the Multi National giants & Big Boys then the latter had a deep impact on the common man. In my view, the word of the year award should be given to 'Subprime'.

Approximate numbers: Sensex lost about 65% from its alltime high & Inflation has touched an all time high of 13% but my anual salary hike was just about 6% :-(

Thanks to the booming Indian economy :P

SAI.... The Face Reader !!

Few days back.....

I was waiting in the parking lot outside a building in Secunderabad. I was just killing time watching the people around as I was a lil early than I should have. Then came a guy aged around 18 years, with a bag on his shoulder, lean, dark & tall. He introduced himself as Sai.

My first impression on him: must be someone from a remote area who lost all his money. Now he needs to go back & there is no other source than to ask help from someone! Believe me these kind of cases are increasing exponentially !! When I used to take public transport, I used to come across at least one such case each week. Though this case is a lil different, the jist is the same! Read on !!

Sai: I am from Srikakulam. I am studying Intermediate. I came here on a weekend to meet one of my old lecturers.

Me: so ?

Sai: My sir has asked me to come after an hour or so.

Me: so ?

Sai: I am a Face Reader !! Face Reading & fortune telling is my family occupation. I found your face very interesting !! If you don't mind can I tell something about u?

Me(within myself): Lets kill some time. Though I dont believe in anything of this sort, this is going to be fun. Lets get into the details.

Me: Oh is it !! Please go ahead. But I am not going to take out even a single penny from my pocket!!

Sai: Thats okay. I am not doing this for money.... I just saw you and wanted to speak to you !!

Me(within myself): Amazing!! not for money... huhuhhhhhhhhh :-)

Sai: Your lucky number is 5. Even if you take a new mobile number or a new vehicle see that you get '5' in it. You dream a lot about your future. you want to make something big in life. Unfortunately since your birth you have a problem with studies. You have never excelled in studies till now!! You are going to meet a girl before 26th of next month!!

Me(smiling): ohh is it!! Interesting. Go ahead...

Sai: This girl will become a part of your life !

Me: pppppuuuurrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhh !

Sai: You struggle a lot to reach your goals and dreams. Ultimately you fail ! Some bad things are happening to you these days and they keep happening untill you do some kind of pooja to god.

Me(within myself): hahaaaa... there u r ! I was expecting that u'll take me here.

Sai: If u r interested then I will explain u the process. Which god do you believe in?

Me: I am an athiest. I dont believe in the existence of god.

Sai: No sir... everyone prays for some god or the other. At least you will have a poster of god in your room. which one do you have...?

Me: Lets assume i believe in God XYZ... what next ??

Sai: I will do a pooja on your name.

Me: okay please go ahead and do...!!

Sai: It needs 7KGs of sugar!! you give me some money so that I can buy it for you and finish the puja.

Me: he he he he he ....good joke. Thanks for passing time with me.

Sai: why sir? what happened? you dont believe me? you can trust me sir. this is my family business and i pray to 101 different gods daily. I dont even eat food till I finish my puja daily!!

Me: Good. Infact very very good. keep doing. You forgot to say onemore quality of mine. " I am a big spendthrift(kanjoos). I dont give a penny if there is nothing in it for me" !!

Me: It was fun. Thanks for entertaining me and telling so many things which I dont know !! Have a good day & all the best for ur 10+2 :-)

There ends the story :-)

THE END

Vroom Vrooom Vroooom

I was waiting for the past 6months for this day ! I have post-poned the plans of buying a new bike for myself just because of YAMAHA's new 150CC power bike launch. Must have had a look at Yamaha India's official website at least a 100times till now!! through which I got to know the technology used and various specifications of this bike & the day has finally come(12.06.2008).

The all new Yamaha R15(a variant of the legendary R1) has been officially launched in INDIA.

Yamaha's has got only one hit model in INDIA till date. Thats RX Series. This time around I should say its a very bold,smart and well calculated move which Yamaha has made. With the launch of power bikes in INDIA they want to bring in a revolution in motor biking. Its really too ambitious to expect an instant hit. But slowly the things will turn around. Say in the next 5years or so, we will be seeing more and more 150CC+ bikes on the roads. Its the Indian Youth's changing lifestyles and the passion for speed which plays a major role. I feel, Yamaha this time got everything just about right when it comes to the performance of R15. With tubeless tyres on & 6 speed gear box and @ 140 KMPH, undoubtedly this beast is the fastest bike on Indian roads. Pulsars, Karizmas, Apaches & CBZs will stay at bay when they race with R15. But(yeah... these But's' are always there !!) the price seems to be a little too high for a common man. @ over 1 Lakh for a 150CC bike & increasing fuel prices each day, people who are filthy rich only might go for it right now. Yamaha might just reconsider its price after having a look at the sales at the end of this FY.

CLICK HERE to know more about this stunning beauty ! Be careful, It might just take ur breath away.

As of now, I have kept the plans of buying a power bike on Hold. One thing which is common between Mobiles, Bikes & Girls is that you will always get a better model if u can wait longer!!
With 2 world class product launches in a span of less than a week(Apple iPhone 2.0 & Yamaha R15) I am on cloud 9.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

I am a huge fan of QUOTATIONS !

Here are few of the best QUOTES i found over the years.The best ones(for me) are marked in RED.

"A book of quotations can never be complete!". I appreciate if you can take few minutes to recall the quotes which i might have missed here and post them as a comment.

Nothing in life is to be feared It is only to be understood --Marie Curie

What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail? --Dr. Robert Schuller

Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong! -- Oscar Wilde

Only the wisest and the stupidest of men never change --Confucius

Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them --Obi Wan Kenobi,Star Wars

By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, and you’ll become a philosopher --Socrates

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra .

Your true value depends entirely on what you are compared with.

Everything is easy, finding it out is hard.

It is impossible to love and be wise --Francis Bacon

Never give advice - a wise man won't need it, a fool won't heed it.

Don't speak unless you can improve on the silence --Spanish proverb

A book of quotations...can never be complete --Robert M. Hamilton

Be a friend to you; then others will --Mel .I.

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly --Robert F. Kennedy

Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils --Hector Louis Berlioz

Don't be afraid to take a big step. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps.--David Lloyd George

Defeat never comes to any man until he admits it.--Josephus Daniels

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

I don't rent space to anyone in my head. --A guy on Candid Camera who responded to Mr.Funt, when asked why he had not gotten upset

Procrastination is the fault most people put off correcting.

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.--Vernon Sanders Law

There are no perfect men in this world, only perfect intentions

They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they'd make up their minds.

Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.

Thought is the sculptor who can create the person you want to be.

The most successful people are those who are good at plan B

An optimist is the human personification of spring.

I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.

If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.

So lets share ! Please post your quotes here as comments !!

After 22 years 8months and 19days

Ever thought what is the meaning of ur name?

i am not sure how many of u out there really know the exact meaning of ur name.even if u know the meaning most of u might not know its origin.
& today i was desperately looking for some time-pass stuff. and thought of enlightening myself by knowing the meaning of my name.
in this process i found out that i am "enlightened"!! yeah... i wanted to enlighten myself and finally ended up knowing what should have been the best coincidence in my life till now!!

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Sundeep = sun + light = "enlightened"
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click here to get 'enlightenend'.there r mighty chances that u end up enlightened!!