A rare rendezvous of glitz and glamour...

Beijing Olympics kicked off in dazzling style yesterday and it was truly an eye candy experience; a wedding of colors, lights, gimmicks and many more. Times of India probably had the best description about this spectacular opening ceremony, something which not many of us may have witnessed before many times. TOI said, “Defying naysayers and prophets of gloom, China put on a cultural and technological extravaganza that had the watching world oohing and aahing during the entire spectacle that lasted four hours.” True. Absolutely true. There were 14,000 performers who took part in this out-of-the-world exhibition that entertained people across the globe.

This is the new China for you. No matter how hard you try, you just can’t ignore the unparalleled commitment displayed by its people. Still in doubt??? Then I am sure you were one of the few unfortunate souls who missed out on this wonderful opportunity to witness one of the best entertainment shows ever held the world over.

Let me sign off with a beautiful quote from Juan, a Spanish citizen, one of the lucky few who were part of the audience at Bird’s Nest, “China spoke from the heart and the world fell in love,”…. We all did Juan!!!

Faster than an X-43 aircraft...

May be most of you are perplexed about what I am going to discuss in this piece and the title must have helped only to add to your confusion. All I am wary about is time… Nothing else… It, really, is traveling fast and it’s, now, become hard to gauge its speed as well. It’s flying rather, in a frictionless world. I feel as if, all of a sudden, I have just woken up from a rather extended slumber and now I am left with almost no time to do things I should do and finish some work I am supposed to finish. It’s nothing but a state of disorientation. It, I feel, does happen to most of us every now and then… such is the pace at which time travels. You find it hard to keep track of so many things you are meant to do; both professionally and personally and more often than not, you look at the mirror and feel pity for your dejected, tired reflection. I, sometimes, think, “I wish I could be my reflection; emotionless and lifeless.” But, alas, such miracles are heavenly and we are poor mortals!!!!

the wake-up call

I think it’s time I brushed up my writing skills to stay in the hunt. This triggered my decision to grab a copy of ‘Bill Bryson’s Dictionary for Writers and Editors’ as soon as possible. It’s not easy to be in this profession guys… Despite publications world over lamenting constantly about the dearth of good writers, there is cut-throat competition in this profession; a fact which you realize with a shock when you apply for jobs abroad. For me, it’s obviously a wake-up call. No time guys! I need to rush and brush (up my writing).

I don’t think anything interesting is happening generally otherwise. Today’s Mumbai Mirror published a survey they conducted which revealed that more than half of the Mumbaikars don’t know the Olympics kicked off today. Strange no? Other than this, stories were more or less the same; rising inflation, lull in the property market etc. etc. When are we going to get a respite? Phewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…..

As I said, waqt bahut kam hai aur kaam bahut baki hai..so catch you guys later… Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Can’t rains end the pesky issue of power cuts?

Guys… Hope you all had a ‘wonderful weekend’… Back to work again, right?, like me… Anyways, to be frank, not a bad day though… It started with a visit to a Shiva temple in Thane and I must say, after a long, long time, I am feeling refreshed and happy on a Monday… Monday morning blues, which have been companions without fail for the past 6 months, have ditched me, it seems, today… Yes, I am happy…for a change…

So, guys… Let me stop getting personal… Enough.. Right? Ya, I know… But sometimes that proves to be my weakness (of course, one of the many)…

Let me tell you, my weekend (apart from the time I spent at the salsa classes) was a completely forgettable one… Sitting at home without the power supply is like… I am sorry I can’t find an optimal simile to describe my predicament. In short, it just bored me to death… I was wondering, of course like the many of you, despite the heavy, consistent downpour, why there is no respite for Thaneites. The only day you get to watch TV is Sunday for people like me who work 6 days a week and finally when Sunday comes, you are nothing less than dejected to be greeted by the dark interiors of your house. I think public should stand together and raise pertinent questions at the right times… Come on guys, if this continues, we must come together and protest…

Don’t forget to read my views on Power Cut in Thane which was published in DNA last week…

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1180315

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead…