The ‘Dave’ Days

I have never been crazy after video games or computer games during my entire life. Yes I love to play a few small games. PacMan has been my favorite for quite some time now. I have heard my bro talk about counter strike where they do heavy setup at home connecting n number of comps and laptops. I have the least idea what the game is all about, I can guess from the name though. Am sure that in no way can it be compared to the flash games I play.

The first time, I can recollect having played video games was when my uncle gifted us with a video game console with 2 joysticks. It was supposed to have 1000 games built in (I doubt it). The package used to lie in the shaft at home through out the year. We used to dust it out and connect it to the television set during our summer vacation. (Used to imagine ourselves as great techies at that time) There were a couple of games similar to PacMan and all kind of sports (football, tennis, racing, etc ...). Most of the games were shoot out games and there was one or two related to spellings.

Then came the computer days. We always had a computer at home, though unfortunately, we couldn’t use it that efficiently (for playing games). Initially we had a lower configuration comp (upgraded from MS-DOS) that wouldn’t survive if we loaded games on it. It was used to type out question papers rather (no better than a typewriter). Inspite of all these restrictions, we managed to play ‘Dave’, spending hours during the night. This game seemed to have impressed us so much that we normally ended up fighting for the comp often. Later we gave up the comp as my dad had arranged to get another one for his business use and the idea of having two comps at home was not that appealing. We were thrilled about the new comp as it was supposed to be of a great configuration. At the end, we felt that the old one was better, as we were not allowed to install/play games or any other software for personal use. We used to keep ourselves satisfied with Solitaire or Minesweeper (I like this one also) and the ‘Dave’ days died off slowly.

After my college days, I never had a comp at my place of stay and so no more games (apart from the ones I used to play on my mobile phone to kill time) until I got my laptop a few months back. Two days back, I was browsing through my bro’s comp and was amused to find the ‘Dave’ game (I wouldn’t have even remembered the name if I hadn’t found it there). Since then I have played that game more than a dozen times and have already copied it to my Laptop as well. Now nothing can stop me from loading it to my laptop. After all it’s mine.

Fact And Fantasy

After India lost the 3 super eight matches in sequence, I almost lost track of the series, when by chance I happened to watch the SA Vs Pak semi-final match. For obvious reasons, I wanted SA to win. Moreover the fact that, there have been several occasions when SA stays unbeaten throughout the league matches and loses a knock out game sympathetically to exit the tournament, made the game a little more interesting.

When I started watching the match, it was the end of the Pakistan innings and we were 5 supporters of SA watching the chase. All of us agreed that the target presented was not really tough to get at, not easy though.

When the South Africans came in to bat, the following is the train of facts and fantasy that came in.
Facts:
Kallis and Smith came in to open the batting.
Fantasy:
With Kallis opening the batting, it’s going to be tough for the Pakistanis.
Facts:
Score: 1/40 (5.5 Overs) Smith gone and Gibbs coming in. Not a great start. Kallis didn’t really click and he slowed down his rate of scoring.
Fantasy:
Smith is not in form. But If Gibbs strikes, the opposition is finished.
Facts:
Score: 2/46 (6.6 Overs) Gibbs gone and AB de Villiers is walking in. Run rate is not in any case sufficient.
Fantasy:
Hmmm....Anyway the South African batting line up is very strong and long. Its AB D now....he’s going to smash the ball around, with Kallis hanging there.
Facts:
Score: 3/50(8.3 overs). AB D is walking out and Duminy coming in with the run rate still deteriorating
Fantasy:
Duminy is the guy who struck for the Mumbai Indians. He is the guy for the day.
Facts:
Score: 3/69(12 overs). Duminy couldn’t do much and the required run rate climbing drastically. SA is tending to lose the game.
Fantasy:
South Africa still has got chances with Kallis still around. (Back to square one)
Facts:
Score: 3/83(14 overs) Kallis and Duminy just hanging around and Fawad Alam to bowl
Fantasy:
This is the over. If SA strives to get 3 sixes, they will be through.
Facts:
Score: 4/111 (17.1 overs, 39 required of 17 balls) Kallis walking to the pavilion and Morkel gearing himself.
Fantasy:
Morkel is a dangerous man. He is capable of scoring huge boundaries which in turn will change the stature of the game.
Facts:
Score: 4/121 (18 overs, 29 required of 12 balls)
Fantasy:
2 sixes in this over and the SA will be back. (The batsman at the crease is no longer significant)
Facts:
Score: 4/127 (19 overs, 23 required from 6 balls)
Fantasy:
4 sixes and SA will win with 2 balls to spare.
Facts:
Score: 5/133 (19.3 overs, 17 required from 3 balls) Morkel is walking out, doesn’t matter who’s next, Duminy is on strike
Fantasy:
3 consecutive sixes and SA will play the final.
Facts
Score: 5/136 (19.4 overs, 15 requred from 2 balls)
Fantasy:
Pakistan will bowl a no ball and SA will be awarded with a free hit and the 3 consecutive sixes will still work.
Facts:
Score: 5/140 (19.5 overs, 11 to win from 1 ball)
Fantasy:
Is there a possibility of 2 consecutive no balls?
Facts:
Score: 5/142 End of Game
Consolation:
SA lost by 7 runs. India lost only by 3 runs in the last super eight match.

Flight Hungama

It was a Sunday evening and I was at the airport for a flight changeover. There wasn’t much time left at the airport, but I was wondering how I am going to spend the next 4 hours during the flight. I got into the aircraft and finally settled on my seat beside my cousin after a big lot of confusion created by the attendant there in finding the place. Then came the announcement instructing passengers to keep their seat belt fastened and switch off the mobile phones and other electronic devices. The aircraft moved for a while and then halted, but there was no indication of taking off for some time. While everybody was wondering what the problem was, there came the second announcement instructing to keep the mobile phones switched off. This time the announcement was repeated twice.

And now, the guy sitting in front of me got a call and was happily chatting with his wife (I thought) in his (mine as well) mother tongue. I was just wondering if he ever understood any of the 3 languages in which the announcement was made, or atleast did he bother to. My cousin and I made an effort to get his mobile switched off, so did the others around. Finally he stopped talking, though am not sure if he switched it off. But I was relieved that the aircraft was taking off now.
All was well for the next ten minutes, after which we could hear the same guy talking again. I looked at my cousin and he at me and we laughed together. Then we settled down eating our noodles silently, while the talking still continued. I went off to sleep after that and was then suddenly awakened by a well known Tamil Number. It was the same guy again, playing the song on his mobile in high volume. One of the ladies who had put her kid to sleep with great difficulty revolted and he stopped the music, but his mobile was not switched off. I wondered if he really knew how to switch off a mobile phone.

Now the next thing guy was upto, was to open up a can of bear in a non smoking and non alcoholic flight. The flight that I was travelling was a so called budget flight, so the crew won’t bother to walk through, except to serve a glass of water or to check the seating position before takeoff or landing. But now a member of the crew came to him and snatched the can and took away his boarding pass (didn’t know how that helped)

Almost time to land, the announcement to fasten the seat belt was back and I could hear several ‘clings’ at the same time. When I looked up from my seats, I found the guy had got up from his seat and was walking to and fro in the middle of the aircraft.

An Expensive Mistake

As any other day, I was passing by the other side of the department. An empty seat caught my attention and for a moment, a lean, ever smiling figure solving network issues on the phone flashed across my mind. Then suddenly I realized I will never ever see him in my life again. Yes, he was the poor victim of a ruthless car accident.

Drunken Driving with over speeding caused the death of a young boy and for no fault of his own.

Drinking for pleasure may be considered personal right. But drunken driving is just not that. Every nation has its own laws against drunken driving. But it is inevitable that the law cannot do much after the irrecoverable damage is done.

It’s normal to say people learn from their mistakes. But drunken driving is too expensive a mistake to commit.

P.S: The message that I am trying to convey by this post is not new and it has been brought out several times as chain emails, articles or by word of mouth. We hear about several similar cases, but when witnessed personally we realize the significance. I am just hoping that this post might enlighten somebody or other who takes a chance of visiting my blog.

The Best Investment

It's almost a week since the IPL started and it's been going on pretty well, considering all the kind of trouble the organizing went through. Probably we expected matches to have a better pace and nail biting finishes, which were not that very visble in the matches that have passed. But yesterday's game had something that caught our attention. It was a tie between Rajasthan Royals(RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) and the super over was bashed out by the RRs. The match could have been taken off by the KKR, provided Dada had hung around for a few more balls. But what flashes across my mind is the 'Shane Warne Magic'.

The 'Shane Warne Magic' was very much visible when the RR won the IPL 2008. They started off as a very naive team without much hype and slowly and steadily traveled through the tournament and made it to the final when most of didn't expect they would. There were moments when Shane warne proved to be a great captain. The encouragement given to the team and his compassionate nature were obvious reasons for that victory.

Coming back to yesterday's game, it was noticeable that this great captain was encouraging young Kamran Khan through out the game. Especially, his idea of giving him the chance to bowl the super over was amazingly daring. This reminded me about the T20 world cup when Dhoni was forced to give the chance of bowling the last over to inexperienced Joginder Sharma who hadn't had a great day. However they won the game excitingly when Sreeshant came from no where and took the catch.

Everybody is aware of Shane Warne's capability and strength as an experienced bowler, inspite of which he gave the opportunity to a raw bowler. The possible reasons I could think off are as below.

1. Probably Shane Warne has seen some kind of potential in him.
2. It was worth taking the risk as this one over would install tremendous confidence in that young boy to go forward with his cricketing career. (Shane Warne is capable of keeping up his confidence level even if they had lost the match.)
3. May be he knew that Yousef Pathan was capable of scoring to fetch the score even if something goes wrong from the young guy's inexperience.
4. Good team leaders always help to get the team and the team members going and not the self.

Whatever be the reason, the last point mentioned above is something that all team leaders, teachers and managers have to consider in their day to day work life.

This action provoked my thoughts on a lesson that I had read in my tenth class. It was titled as 'The Best Investment I Ever Made'. It was about a doctor who claims that the best investement he ever made was helping a vexed patient who had tried to commit suicide with a meagre amount of money. The doctor meets the man after years and is delighted to know how that meagre amount was utilized in a manner that helped him lead the rest of his life.

I am a hard core supporter of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the obvious reason that I have spent most of my life in TamilNadu. If it's not CSK, I would prefer the Royal Challengers(RCB) to take the cup home, as my favourite cricketer belongs to this team. After watching the game yesterday, I will be happy to see the RRs winning the cup again as well. After all, it is worth his captaincy.

Two Days Full Of Fun

It was a Saturday evening. The idiot box was screaming in full volume with two spectators in the room. The first spectator interrupted “All the seniors would have started by now. It’s too hard to miss out.” The second spectator would have thought “This is the nth time she is saying this.” Yes, my cousin could understand how much I missed the two day extravaganza. This was the first time I missed it in the last 9 years.

Every year, our music school Gurus chose a weekend during the month of June and July, to conduct a two day event called ‘Santhoshi Matha Vidyalaya Musical Evening’. This is the most awaited event for most of the students of Santhoshi Matha Vidyalaya. Every student in the Vidyalaya is given a chance to perform (vocal or Mridhangam or both) on the stage in front of hundreds of people. The amount of effort put into this program is incredible. The practice sessions start early during the month of April or even earlier for students coming from other cities or states or countries. The preparations start a week earlier.

Most of the students have been associated with the vidyalaya for a long term. Hence we are part of the Vidyalaya, even though we might be residing in different parts of the world. We try to get our leaves planned accordingly if possible. The last time I took part as a singer was in June 2004 when I had taken up my first job. Since then I have been attending the function every year and participating in a few background activities. We look forward to this day for several reasons. One, we get an opportunity to refresh our memories with all our favourite songs we have learnt/heard. Two, it’s an opportunity to meet old friends. Above all it’s a pleasure to coordinate/work with our Gurus who are the masters behind the entire show. They see it as an opportunity to boost the confidence of every single student.

Talking about our Gurus, I have to mention a few words about them. This couple care for every student in the way parents take care of their children. The moment we enter the music class, we tend to forget all other things in the world. Their prayers and comforting words drive us towards goodness always. The attention they give to every individual is really amazing.

Sri Kovai Mani (Mridhangam - our Guru), Myself, Smt Parvathi Mani (Our Guru), My brother Sriraj and Smt Krishnaveni (Violin)

Now coming back to the extravaganza, we spend two days completely in the hall. We start with Ganapathy homam on the Saturday morning, followed by lunch. Early in the evening the tiny tots capture the stage. As the evening progresses, people who have come from other cities get their chance. At the end, there is a great dinner. The second day again starts with a small prayer followed by a special Layanayam (This part of the programme normally steals the entire show). Again the tiny tots start the evening session, followed by the most awaited seniors (experienced and talented singers and mridhangists). The two day event comes to an end with a superb dinner followed by ice-cream. (Singers eating ice cream together is not a very common sight. It is actually prohibited for the rest 364 days.)

Not a single person will have the mind to leave the place or get back to work. Normally When we go back, our minds are still listening to the tunes and beats.

p.s:- Recreation is something that we need to get our minds away from normal life and relax. Fun and enjoyment is something we experience when we are involved in something that we like. This is the best way of recreation I have experienced. The energy gained in this event lasts longer and makes me wait for the next year to come.

Height Of Irritation

@5.50 AM
I peeped out of my blanket to look at the clock. I didn’t want to get out of the bed for two reasons. First of all, I wished I hadn’t another tough day to face. Two, there was less than an hour for me to leave for work. I jumped out of the bed, brushed my teeth and then sat on my bed sipping my coffee thinking of the day ahead.

@6.10 AM
I realized, I had about 30 minutes to get ready and I was still sipping my coffee. I sprang out and rushed to have a quick shower.

@6.40 AM
I picked up my shirt only to find that it was not washed properly. I picked up another and found that as dirty as the first one. The third time I pulled out a printed shirt, wore it quickly , went into the kitchen picked up an apple from the refrigerator, then sprayed some perfume and ran down to find my bus waiting for me. I got into it and sat quietly thinking, “Why did I make it to the bus just like every other day?”

@7.30 AM
I was on my desk switching on the dumb PC and sipping my tea. Being the last day of the week, I had no wish to take up new tasks, just wanted to finish off my pending tasks. I had one big item on the list, not a very interesting one to be done on a Thursday. I browsed through my emails and found one of the jobs done the previous day was questioned (not rejected though). “Oops, why does this happen only to me?”

@8 AM
I had replied to my emails by this time, including the “questioned” job. Then I walked across to my friend’s desk to check if we could sit together at 11 AM to finish of the big pending task and he was more than happy to do that with me. I got back to my seat to find one unread email on my Gmail Inbox. It was from my brother. I could guess that it was about an issue that was bothering both of us for the last week. We exchanged about ten emails. (Chat applications are disabled in office. So this is our way of chatting.) Yes, the issue is still not resolved. “I don’t feel like working today. When will the day end? I want to go home and sleep”

@10.15 AM
By now, I had completed couple of adhoc jobs and looked at the bottom right corner on my PC and was startled. “I am late for the meeting by 15 minutes already.” I slipped 2 pieces of apple into my mouth and picked up the required docs and ran to the basement only to find that none of the attendees were there and the meeting had been postponed. “At the least, allow me to do my work.”

@11 AM
After greeting all my colleagues in the basement, I went back to my desk to find that I had about 20 emails to read. There was one email that again deteriorated the working mood. It was intended to four other people in the department though and served as a warning for the rest of us. “Not just me. Others have had a bad day as well”

@12 PM
As I sat glancing at the email, there rose a voice beside me. “Swathi, there is an issue with the release that we made day before yesterday. I don’t know how you want to term it, issue or problem or serious .......” When he completed his narration, I said “It’s a disaster.” We both walked into his manager’s room first and then into my manager’s room to explain the situation, before they could jump on us. While I walked back to my desk, I thought “Why the hell is all this happening to me, that too on a Thursday. What about the job that was planned to finish today”

@5 PM
We sat testing the solution for the disastrous problem after I had taken a short 15 minute break. It was far beyond the working hours and almost everybody had gone home. We were a group of six people still sitting tied up. It happened so that all of them were at my desk for a break. As we started discussing the current state of affairs, we burst out laughing. Here is a group of irritated people laughing their heart out. All that I discovered is that every other person is as irritated as I am, though for different reasons.

@6 PM
Three of us got back to work, while the other three drove home. We quickly finished our testing. I completed the final documentation and sent the solution for implementation. My friend drove me back home as we discussed a dozen other things. When I reached, I felt lighter and had a better evening.

p.s:- There is nothing called a bad day. Perception matters a lot. Look around, you might feel better.