Australian Open to start tomorrow:

Two weeks from tomorrow,

Melbourne will be again on toes to cheer the game os Tennis...

Two weeks from tomorrow,

The Players will toil hard to perform on the heated Courts in the City...

The year’s first Grand Slam Tournament is back again!

Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova are Men’s and Women’s Top Seeds respectively, while Sania Mirza will try to improve her record Down Under.

Well, the Matches will be shown Live on Star Sports in India and I don’t want to miss the fabulous Commentary by my favorite duo, Alan Wilkins and with him, the One and only- Vijay Amritraj… and I don’t want to miss it.

So Good Night!

Makar Sankranti

It’s Makar Sankranti today …

More than a religious event, Makar Sankranti is The fiesta of Nature. It’s a day when Sun starts its virtual journey in the Northern Hemisphere, ginimg the message that the chilling days will soon go away and Spring will come again.

So during this time of year, one is supposed to be dressed in Black or other dark sheds. The colour Black has a special importance on Makar Sankranti and it’s considered auspicious as it absorbs heat and keeps the body warm. And we also have a special diet for this season, which consists of food rich in calories to help protect from cold outside.
You know what? Today, I have eaten so many of those Sweets that now I’m feeling Sweet...

Shubh Sankranti!

National Youth Day Vivekanand Jayanti

"Beware of everything that is untrue. Stick to truth and we shall succeed.

Fifty centuries are looking on you, the future of India depends on you.

Work on.."

- Swami Vivekananda

It's the Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananad and the day is celebrated as The National Youth Day.

As a young Indian, I have many things to face, many things to overcome and many things to do.

I have many Dreams and Need to toil hard to make them come true..

And I have many things to earn and many more to give to my society..

Bangladesh: State of Emergency

Another Country... Another Democracy being encroached... or Democracy to be restored

I just heard on TV, President of Bangladesh Iajuddin Ahmed has announced the State of Emergency in the country. He has resigned as chief advisor to the interim caretaker government.
There's the Press Censorship and night curfew imposezd in the country. Bangladesh is to vote in a few day's time and a declaration of Emergency at this hour is surprising (though not unexpected) for me.

So I'm waiting for the President's Address...

From Sky, with Love: Sunitha Williams talks to the Students in Delhi:

Today Sunitha talked to the Students in Delhi via video-conferencing through the International Space Station. Joining the Students were several others including Rakesh Sharma- the First Indian to enter the Space.
The report on this came on CNN-IBN and they also showed the reactions from children allover the country. She is an inspiration, a real inspiration for the little children who aim high…
As I watched on television the report about this conversation, I felt proud and a strange joy filled me.

It's been my childhood dream to enter the Space, and given a chance, I'll choose to be an astronaut.

PSLV Launched

India's ninth PSLV (polar satellite launch vehicle) successfully took-off from Sriharikota on today. This will serve as a launchpad for loads of technological and commercial ventures.

After the dismal failure of the GSLV(the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle)in July 2006, the success with the PSLV-C7 has helped boost the morale of the Scientists in India's space research organisation, ISRO.
This is for the first time that ISRO has sent up a launch vehicle into space, with four payloads at a time, two satellites from India and one each from Argentina and Indonesia.
Cartosat-2, India's second earth imaging satellite put up in Orbit by PSLV-C7, will serve as an eye in the sky that will transfer images with high spatial resolution. Cartosat's images would be finer at 80 cm resolution than those of US satellite Ikonos which are of one-metre resolution.

A good Start for Sania

Sania Mirza of India entered the Semifinals of the Hobart International Tennis tournament beating her Doubles partner and local favourite Alicia Molik of Australia. Sania won 6-4, 6-1.
However, the pair ended their doubles journey with a lost in the Quarterfinal. Sania is all set to play Anna Chakvetadze in the semis.

It sounds interesting that you play against someone and then play with the same person. Now that’s the greatness of Sports.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!!

Eid Mubaraq!

My Warm Eid- Wishes...

"Eid Mubaraq!"

Demise of an Era

“He has done the crime against people of Iraq then, They should have decided what to do with their former ruler, Not the interim government that came into power due to an American support.. He has done Crime against Humanity, let the
International Tribunal decide what to do with him and Not any Country-Court.. ”

I said it last night and in a few hours time I’ve come to know that this is not going to happen... Never... Because, the Man I was talking about is no more.

I just watched it on TV; the former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein is dead. He is hanged an hour before.

He was hanged today, as the Sun was rising in the City of Baghdad. But on whom the Sun was shining today?
The Dictator who dominated Iraq for over four decades, the Man who was causing nightmares for Bush (both Senior and Junior), is no more. The fiend that has been haunting psyches of America is no more.

But that isn’t what we Indians identify him as. For us he was not a fiend but a friend.

For us, he was a special friend. I’ll remember him as a man who, like a true friend, stood by India on many occasions. I’ll remember him as a secular leader who succeeded in keeping Iraq united for over a long period of time, despite the acute civil differences that were made by some selfish people. I’ll remember him as a leader who supported the modern living in Iraq, when some other countries of the region were going back in time.
We have lost a friend forever....

But I also can’t forget the inhuman steps he took during his regime. Inhuman to the extent that-one can not put it in words. I accept he was required to be punished but I won’t accept the way the punishment was carried out in hurry. (Well that shows how desperate Mr. Bush is to get rid of this all,).
Why they chose this particular date for execution, when the year 2006 is to end soon, when the Hajj is going on and when Muslims are to celebrate the Eid soon? (Well, they might have filmed this one too, and they may air it on prime time shows.)
Anyways, He is hanged till death for a crime he did around two and a half decade ago. What was America doing at that time? (Oh! How can I forget, he was in a fight with Iran and Communism, then, isn’t it?)
So why was he hanged now?
I simply refuse to accept this decision and the action over it. I believe that, execution is not the answer. It will end the person and not the thought.

Whatever it may be, but one thing is sure, Iraq will face tough time in the days ahead. There are pockets that are happy with Saddam’s execution and there are pockets who want to take revenge. There’re pockets that support US, there are pockets who oppose it. And there are pockets who want to get free. I feel that surely this is the Divide and Rule policy in place