ArBiTminD

The importance of perception

2009-08-11T19:39:00.003+05:30

It is important that the demeanour reflects the purpose.

Create a perception. Build it up slowly.

Every action should be aimed at building up the intended perception.

A handshake, a smile, a snub, a pat ..everything ought to be immaculately timed to further the objective.

Any deviations are not permitted.

Being free spirited would only dish out confusion.

Why Arbitmind is ranting about the importance of perception all of a sudden ?

Because everything that has been written above is in direct conflict with his self.

Yet he cannot deny the veracity of those lines.

Maybe, sometimes what we all believe are not the best of beliefs.

Maybe beliefs are like choices. You can just choose to believe something & act accordingly.

If Arbitmind did not believe in those lines , that has been a wrong choice.

Its never too late. Or...is it ?

..Stones...

2009-04-20T14:33:00.004+05:30

(more of a reflection of the state of mind rather than a post)

After the Mumbai Indians VS the Chennai Superkings Match , Arbitmind remembered that Sachin had quoted "People sometimes throw stones at you and you have to convert them into milestones"

Very True. Trust legends like Sachin to inspire lesser mortals like the Arbitmind.

Go...Buy...

2009-04-06T17:42:00.004+05:30

This had to happen someday.

Business Sense versus Cricketing Knowledge having a public go at each other.

The Indian Premier League has had b(r)ought in a huge amount of glamour to the sport.

Well...not that cricket was suffering from any lack of it though..specially in the sub-continent.

Undeniable though that the the first edition of the IPL surely elevated the excitement to

hitherto unknown territory. Much of it was largely because the franchisees did cough up huge sums-- for

the players and infrastructure as well as promotions.

And the Public just loved the show. Even the cricket was of top quality.

However, that was just the tip of the iceberg.

What IPL had most significantly done, was to subtly place terms like 'franchisee', 'investment', 'returns', 'profits', 'break-even' alongside the more familiar jargon of 'deep midwickets', 'yorkers' & 'square cuts'.

The IPL had placed business barons, top-of-the rung actors & business conglomerates

right in the driver's seat. One would not fail to notice that previously cricket , business & Bollywood

would interact in a predictable fashion. You could have a cricketer-actress linkup, a cricketer endorsing a product of a business house or batsmen having certain logos on their bats. The point here was that nobody intruded into each others territory(notwithstanding Ajay Jadeja's foray into filmdom :-))

Hence you would not find Sunil Gavaskar's comments remotely connected to Shahrukh Khan's & vice-versa.

Then IPL happened.

Now, when Mr.Sunil Gavaskar slams John Buchanan in his column it is Shahrukh Khan who has to stand up

to defend the coach of his team. Nothing wrong in that though.( Its Something like your Boss defending you in

public from an outsider-whatever may be your equation at the workplace.)

To be honest, Arbitmind doesn't find anything unnatural in the whole saga of a comment & a '..buy a team..' retort.

What is striking though is that the IPL has bought people who are masters in their respective domains & at the same time completely ignorant about the others' trade... withing striking distance of each other.

Gone are the days where every Indian captain/coach would face the ire of former captains every time he would lose a match & gulp it down.

Captains/Coaches could not reply back...'Go make a team & lead them if you are so concerned'. Reactions to criticism would be as insipid as a 'Krishi Darshan'..ostensibly because being a smart alec in front of media persons was not something that the Board took very kindly. In the IPL age, team owners do not have such constraints....& hence Arbitmind presumes..one would see a whole lot of such ripostes in the near future.

After all no investor really likes to be told what to do with his money until & unless the advice is coming from a Warren Buffet himself. Neither would an all time great cricketer have a very kind view about a movie actor's cricketing acumen.

So get ready for these jibes & jabs...they will continue for some time.

Neither Business nor Cricket is a pushover in this land & in these times.

Why have cockroaches survived through centuries...

2009-03-31T22:12:00.002+05:30

"In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment." ~ Charles Darwin

It was an idle Saturday night in Pune, circa 2005.

Arbitmind & a couple of his friends had just finished a full bottle of Johnny Walker

when the realisation dawned that a dinner is actually an integral part of the human diet -

- Specially so on Saturday nights when there is nothing more left to drink.

....& Off they(the two friends) went to get some dinner. ..& in the meanwhile , a little bit of Star Movies...Arbitmind reckoned...would not be a bad idea. It was showing "Enemy at the Gates"

Hey !! he had one....not at the gates..but inside his new pair of shoes.

The enemy had been fooling him for a long time. - a couple of hours to be precise - that was the first time when

Arbitmind had discovered that a cockroach...of all things..a cockroach....for heaven's sake..a cockroach

..had nested itself inside his new Reebok shoes. Which gentleman worth his salt would accept such an unprovoked & brazen attack on his prized possession? Immediate action was being planned(read looking around for a weapon..a broom..a slipper..or anything to that effect)...& that was when the bottle of Black Dog & his friends interfered & distracted his valiant self.

...and now when the issue of the Black Dog was settled it was the time to vanquish the enemy..& claim the

associated glory.

Evidently.. the enemy would bolt the moment it got wind of Arbitmind's colossal plan.

Hence ..Sun Tzu like tactics would have to be adopted.

Arbitmind walked around casually...a bathroom slipper in his hand...humming a tune....

...reached the shoe rack almost unnoticed...& then.....WHACKK!!!

Doh !! The pest reacted faster....jumped out of the shoe & crouched near the corner!!

Eyeball to eyeball....for a moment the two adversaries eyed each other...& that temptation to

finish it off crawled within Arbitmind..nah !! "Act casually"...Arbitmind told himself..appear to be incompetent...that catches the enemy of-gaurd.

So he hit the slipper thrice on the adjoining wall. The message was conveyed...from the corner of his eyes

he could see the Cockroach relax a wee bit..Of Course it was up against someone not quite adept. Someone

with very little expertise in hitting out cockroaches...

Or so it seemed.

The only put-off was that the shoe looked a bit devastated from the previous blow.

Never mind...lets convert the slipper into a projectile...Arbitmind used all his cricketing acumen

to take the aim...& threw the slipper...missed by a whisker...hit the TV instead.

Nothing broken.

The enemy retreated...sensing the determination of the adversary...behind the TV.

Cannot let it go...decided Arbitmind & got hold of the Badminton Racquet. Two more whacks around the TV

& it came out running....fleeing...Arbitmind raced after it...

The door flung open...

"Bong...You said you were not drunk"

Arbitmind: "Of course I am not. What has got into you? Got the dinner?"

(furious)"Why are you running around the room with a baddy racquet & why were u hitting the TV? Of course

you are drunk"

Arbitmind: "Preposterous...all people who intend to get rid of pests are drunk?"

....silence...

"You will have Roti or Naan..we got both"

The cockroach survived. Arbitmind realised why cockroaches have survived for centuries.

Of course..because some people think that only drunks think of getting rid off the cockroaches.

Darwin anyone ?

Captain..Captain..

2009-03-26T12:01:00.003+05:30

(Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction & a figment of Arbitmind's imagination)

Hello there!!!

Welcome to the fifth edition of the the Show-Must-Go-On League.(SMGOL)

We have a huge match here today!!

The "Right Nighters" coached by the legendary Mr.Boka-hon versus the "Conventional Royals" coached by ..umm...no one in particular.

We are bringing it to you live.

The stadium is jam packed. We have a game on here.

Its toss time,Coach Boka is walking up to the gallery. The crowds roar. He is an immensely popular man out here.

It is a novel idea..a stroke of genius..the Toss captain would be selected from the supporters of Right Nighters.

This is in line with his philosophy of having multiple captains & bringing about equality among the masses.

..& as Boka had said earlier,"We need to pick the luckiest man for the toss. The toss is very vital in cricket.

Logically, somebody who draws the lucky number among a crowd of 30,00 is definitely a lucky man...& very rightly he will be our man for the toss on that particular day."

Lets see who gets the honours today. Lots are being drawn out here...& we have our winner..the friendly neighbourhood dada...Poltu-da.

Poltu-da has drawn the lucky number. He is waving towards the dressing room. The dressing room stands up

& waves back at their leader..for the moment that is.

I can see the players are jotting down his name in a notepad..

..or in wordpad..may be even be a Scintilla editor. If someone amongst them turns out to be the man-of-the match today, he has to thank Poltu-da for the toss in the post match conference.

The coin is tossed up...Poltu-da calls 'Heads' & it is 'Heads' indeed. The giant screen is showing a close up of Boka.

The man is a genius....his method has ensured that no chances are taken with the toss. Surely Boka has worked out the Binomial & Poisson distributions for this.What an unprecedented genius!!!!

The "Conventional Royals" skipper shakes his head in dejection.

Its Poltu-da's decision now...he wants to bat or he wants to field.

There you are...Poltu-da has decided to field first. Lets see what he has to say to our man in the middle.

(Camera onto the pitch):

Anchor: "So poltu-da , why did you opt to field first? You presume the wicket to assist the seamers in the first half?"

Poltu-da: "Well, first of all I would like to thank my local club, my friends & family. Without their support

I would not have achieved this. Also through this platform I would like to invite everyone to our yearly cultural function..my wife is singing "Aloker ei jhornadhara" this time & my son is taking part in...."

Anchor: "Err..Poltu-da..has decided to field first..the Nighters are coming onto the field.

The Conventional Royals' batsmen are here already. Back to the commentary box."

Thank you mate.

The Nighters are on the field. Their field is being set. The off-side captain & the leg-side captain are

placing their fielders on the respective sides. The wicketkeeper is captaining the slip fielder.

Here comes the first delivery......

Ohh!! Wait..we have crowd trouble here....a huge fracas is going on in the stands. The match is on hold.

Let us go to our man who is in there.

What is the issue ?

Anchor: "Well, apparently here we have a Tarini Jethu..a man who many claim was thrown into the sea by his fellow shipmates , some 10 years ago. However, legend has it that Tarini Jethu managed to come ashore with a fish in his mouth. He was conferred the "Siddhu, Luckiest Man" award, an award named after the man who coined the phrase, "throw a lucky man into the sea & he will come out with a fish in his mouth". People out here are protesting that it is grossly unfair that Tarini-jethu was not given the chance to be the captain. He is the original lucky man they say. Back to the commentary box "

Well..there you are..we have more trouble. Supporters of Tarini Jethu are moving towards the pitch. The players have retreated. The latest news is that a " Justice For Tarini Jethu" committee has ben formed & we are having a mid pitch elections for the post of the General Secretary of the committee. The committee plans to do sit-in demonstrations & gherao coach Boka for his alleged acts of favoritism towards Poltu-da.

We are signing off for the day...the match has been postponed.

This is Arbitmind for SMGOL Telecasters International.

Have a good day !!

Excuse..

2009-03-20T15:28:00.003+05:30

Work kept Arbitmind too busy & he could not put in the posts for a month. Pheww!!

Now that is a reason or an excuse?

Prima Facie it seems that the same statement can be interpreted as a reason or an excuse depending on

the interpreter's perception.

For example the same response can actually lead to two very different kind of conversations depending on whether your response is being perceived as a reason or an excuse:

Type-I:

X: "I could not be on time for the meeting. The traffic is really bad on this road"

Y: "Yeah. The traffic is really bad. Something should be done about it"

Type-II:

X: "I could not be on time for the meeting. The traffic is really bad on this road"

Y: "Well..you know pretty well that the traffic is bad on this road.

You should have started a bit earlier than usual to make sure that you are on time"

Clearl, in the second case, Y has taken X's statement to be an excuse.

You cannot really blame Y for that. He has a point. Likewise X also has a point.

X did not expect the worst case scenario & hence started on the normal time. After all, no one(at least a good majority) wants to start off his day by expecting the worst case scenario.

From Y's perspective it is not acceptable that X did not factor in the possibility of bad traffic wherein he

was fully aware of the prevailing situation.

Both have a point & the debate becomes a sort of "what came first..the egg or the chicken?"

However there are some cases where debate is totally lopsided.

X believes he has a watertight case.

Y thinks that the response is preposterous.

like the following ones. All of them are real life stuff.

Location: School Chemistry lab.

Teacher : "This is the third test tube you have broken in as many sessions. For God's sake why can't you be careful?"

Arbitmind(indignantly): "It just broke by itself, seriously, I barely touched it."

Location: BITS, Pilani

Prof-In-Charge: "You want a make up for this test of Lin AL? Why ?"

Arbitmind (bristling with confidence) : "I was sick"

Prof-In-Charge: "What happened?"

Arbitmind(merrily): "stomach ache, headache, dizziness, giddiness."

Prof-In-Charge: "Anything else?"

Arbitmind : "No, this is enough for a two day rest..right?"

Location: Pune

Arbitmind : " Work kept me too busy and I could not put in the posts for a month. Pheww!!"

The Toymaker

2009-02-02T18:14:00.002+05:30

This Sunday Arbitmind had the privilege of meeting a great visionary - the likes of whom

are the last bastions of humanity in an increasingly consumption oriented world.

He was invited to talk to the BITS,Pilani Alumni-Pune Chapter as part of the

half yearly meet.

He looks like the quintessential scientist. A rag tag kurta, unkempt beard & a bag.

He doesn't call himself a scientist though. 'The toymaker' is what he prefers.

Meet Prof. Arvind Gupta. http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/

(A winner of the National Award for Science Popularisation)

You can explore the site to marvel at what Arvind Gupta has accomplished.

The site also has detailed instructions for scores of scientific toys.

A bit of personal interaction during lunch revealed much about the man.

His parents had never been to a school. He made it to IIT,Kanpur in 1970.

Joined TELCO as an engineer but (in his own words) soon realised that

he did not want to make trucks. He was not sure of what he wanted to do but

was reasonably sure that what he did not want to do was to make trucks.

He wanted to make toys.

Toys that would catch the imagination of young children & fire their curiosity.

Thats what he has been doing for so many years.

As Arvind says "I have lived my life on the roads, rather, I have thrived on the roads".

The presentation itself was a pleasure. Arbitmind does not remember the last time when he was so captivated.

Arvind created pumps from junk material, a fan from a pencil & paper & string helicopters from waste paper.

The unique thing was that each of his toys had complex physics behind its functioning.

Theories which Engineers like Arbitmind have read about in Resnick- Halliday books without actually encountering them.

..& what does he do with this expertise & vision ?

Arvind Gupta & his team visits hundreds of Municipal schools all over the place to ignite

the spirit. He says "They are the ones who need us the most". Very True.

His team visits schools , explain scientific phenomenon, teaches the concepts of

vibrations, pumps, geometry, structures - all through simple & joyous toy making sessions.

This man left a high profile job to pursue his passion of teaching in a different way.

He may not be a wealthy man today. He may not have a fancy car to zip around the town.

He may not have a six figure salary. However he has earned a few things which money can never buy.

Respect & Admiration.

How many of us would have the zeal & the passion come out of our cozy little cocoons

for the sole purpose of positively contributing to the society ?

Most of us have mapped the journey of our lives hopping from one material gain to the other.

'n'th stop - A degree.

Next stop - A nice job.

Next stop - a nice car.

Next stop - a nice house.

(There's no harm in being self indulgent. All of us are.)

But along the way, how many faces we have managed to put a smile on?

How many dreams have we created ?

People like Arvind Gupta have their journeys peppered with those smiles & dreams.

That's why they are special.

Manipulating Luck

2009-01-30T18:42:00.004+05:30

Being superstitious often comes naturally to most of us.

Arbitmind hazards a guess -

most of us have a lucky shirt, a lucky pair of shoes or something to that effect tucked away somewhere.

Back in school Arbitmind had this concept of a lucky shirt.

Nobody drilled that concept in...it was one of 'those' brainwaves - the kind which

seemed to strike Arbitmind every once in a while .

Every half-a year during the examinations,the first paper would invariably be English.

It was one of those subjects where Arbitmind would do well.

Now who or what should get the credit for this?

Using his 'profound' logic & insight Arbitmind would conclude that the white shirt which he wore

to the exam hall was behind his success.

Washing the shirt would wash off the good luck charm too. A stern warning to a disgusted mother would follow..."the shirt was not to be touched"...There was a series of question papers to be negotiated and the shirt was his magic wand.

Things would go up to the extent that by the time the Chemistry exam ended Arbitmind would come back home & hide his shirt because his mother had made up her mind that the goodluck charm needs to be washed off for a greater good of the society in general & the surroundings in particular.

By the time the Statistics paper ended(which was the last exam), Arbitmind(with the goodluck shirt on) would have had transformed himself into a public health hazard.

Tathagata(the guy who sat behind Arbitmind during the examinations) had plainly voiced his disapproval once.

The poor guy could not take the olfactory torture anymore.

Even then things did not change. Arbitmind risked the ire of friends, parents & teachers for the sake of the white shirt...the good luck charm.

(Remember : behind every excellent marksheet there is a soiled shirt)

The question is does it really help ? The obvious answer would be a 'NO', the most plausible explanation for Arbitmind's above mentioned folly would be 'teenage naivety'.

So why are such superstitions such a widespread phenomenon then ?

What makes even mature, level headed people succumb to such superstitions ?

..& for that matter superstitions are not restricted to teenagers or the proclaimed naive.

Arbitmind believes attributing such behaviour to simple naivety would be an over-simplification.

A stronger reason can be that all of us, in our own little ways try to manipulate our luck.

We tend to explain events as 'cause & effect phenomenon' & believe that outcomes can be manipulated by extrapolation.

Someone wears a certain tie before every important client meet. Someone uses a certain

bat every time he goes out for an important cricket match.

Sometimes things go beyond the individual.There are mass superstitions as well.

Cricket teams believe that if the first wicket to fall is a run out it spells doom for the team.

Ask a BITSian. While going for a test, very few dare to look up

towards the famed clock tower of BITS,Pilani. Legend has it that anyone who does so has a disastrous test.

(It is altogether a different matter that Arbitmind has had numerous disastrous tests even when he did not

look at the clock tower.)Both are examples of collective attempts at manipulating luck.

Luck, though, has its own ways of smiling upon people...thoroughly unconcerned with individual or collective efforts at manipulation.

That's experience.

Supernatural Conversation :-)

2009-01-28T17:40:00.002+05:30

http://www.anandabazar.com/28south3.htm

Apologise for this post to people who do not understand Bengali.

However, this news item just could not be ignored.

Summary :

The police were informed of a suicide in the night.

The 'body' was hanging from a tree. Apparently the lady in question had

hung herself b'coz of some domestic issues.

Her husband & villagers had gathered below the tree & are lamenting.

As per the law, a policeman climbs up the tree to retrieve the body.

As he gets near the body, the 'dead woman' declares .."I am alive".

The poor cop gets the shock of his life & was about to fall down afer having been scared out of his wits,

the woman(who was presumed dead till then) prevents the cop from falling down after the shock.

Investigation has revealed that the woman simply acted out the entire episode to

teach her husband a lesson. All the time, she was actually standing on a branch with a rope

around her neck.

The police has warned the woman not to repeat such a thing.

Priceless !!! 'Raaz 3' anyone ?

The Ant & the Dentist

2009-01-19T19:23:00.010+05:30

One of the biggest mortal fears of Arbitmind - The Dentist.

They all seem so very alike.

White coat, amiable & forever re-assuring. They all have this pet dialogue

"It is going to be just like an ant bite."

Trust Arbitmind, he has had to encounter this dialogue in three distant corners of India,

the dialogue coming from three different dentists .

{

"Peepre -r kamorer moton lagbe shudhu,bass" [circa 1999, Agartala] (in Bengali)

"Bas chinti ke kaantne jaisa lagega, bass" [circa 2001, Med-C, BITS Pilani]

"Its just like an ant biting you. Nothing more" [circa 2006, Pune]

}

Makes Arbitmind wonder whether this dialogue is actually a part of the standard Dentistry

curriculum. Something that needs to be dished out to reluctant young patients before they

would actually lie on 'that couch', stare at the light & open his mouth.

Lets 'face' this - Arbitmind hasn't been blessed with the most resolute dental health.

[Now Let Arbitmind assure the reader that he regularly brushes his teeth, twice a day.

Come on now, you cannot castigate a man worth his salt for loving his 5star chocolate or

Butterscotch Ice-Cream. ]

From his early days , the poor guy has been a regular at the Dentist's place & had been

through two extractions & three 'fillings' even before he had completed high school.

( One hell of a young achiever he has been )

Those traumatic experiences made sure that he never had a very favourable view of

dentists. It seemed that they were this smooth talking types who would simply convince you

to undergo barbaric 'treatments' by bringing a harmless ant into the picture.

In his school days, he had found out that the ant had almost never kept its promise.

However, the tragedy was that dental problems kept recurring.

So , two extractions & three 'fillings' later, one fine morning , in 2001, Arbitmind was walking

towards the Medical Centre(MedC to BITSians) within the BITS, Pilani campus.

The facial topography

was highly distorted - thanks to a nice little pre-molar which had decided to revolt.

Now, almost all of Arbitmind's trips to the MedC were for the primary purpose of getting a prescription

which would have the golden words "two days rest advised" written on it, ostensibly because he seemed to be stricken with

a mysterious ailment (which included 'loose motion'+'headache'+'weakness') before tests of certain courses like

'Mech Sol(mechanics of solids)', 'DMV(Dynamics of Machines & Vibrations)', NumAl(Numerical Analysis), OR(Operations Research), etc, etc. Those golden words increase your chances of getting a 'make-up' for the test. The guy who has been granted a make-up can write the test when he has recovered from the 'sickness'.

However, that trip was different. It was a genuine case. The pain had become unbearable.

Pain relieving gels had failed to do the trick. 'The trip' had to be made.

A little enquiry suggested that there was a dentist available.

Got into his cabin.

The same look.. deja vu?

Very amiable.

Had a long look at the pre-molar tooth & then broke the news,

"I will have to do a root canal treatment".

It sounded much like "Ab inhe dawa ki nahi, duwa ki zaroorat hain" to Arbitmind's ears.

Arbitmind(throat parched) : "When do you want to do it ?"

Dentist : "3 sittings, I will start right now. The infection has not spread much.

1 sitting now. Then you will be on antibiotics & we can have the 2 sittings next week."

Arbitmind(that sinking feeling in the stomach) : What is the procedure ?

Dentist : "Ahh !! Nothing much. You see these pins?" (pointing to a few sinister looking needles)

"I will just cut out the nerve of the root of your tooth using these. It becomes a dead tooth.

Won't cause you any trouble then. We can then put a cap covering the tooth. Simple"

Arbitmind(aghast & sweating, barely managing to conceal the stammer) : Pain ?

Dentist : "Bas chinti ke kaantne jaisa lagega, bass"

There you go !!! The damned ant.... again. !!!

Arbitmind : "OK. Aap prepare karo. Main aapni cycle thik jagah park karke aata hoon. Main socha tha ki jaldi ho jayega isliye, gate ke samne laga ke aya hoon. 5 minute me wapas aata hoon"

["you make the preparations. I shall be back after parking my cycle in the right place. Thought it would be a short trip,

so I have parked it in front of the gate. Shall be back in 5 minutes"]

Dentist (gleefully) : "OK. Be back soon."

Arbitmind came out of the MedC. The pain had mysteriously subsided.

Time for the great escape. There was no way Arbitmind was going back to that cabin.

Those sinister needles !!! There must be some way out. Anyway he had trusted this ant story so many times before.

He hurriedly walked towards Nutan market, looking out for a medicine shop.

(God Almighty knows how long did the dentist wait for Arbitmind.)

The affable Chemist listened to his problem, suggested a painkiller & an antibiotic. So kind of him.

It took three days but the painkiller & the antibiotic worked & the pre-molar was beaten back into submission. Dentists were not in vogue any more. The chemist was such a nice guy.

Victory !!!

Arbitmind was so proud of himself. A flash of quick thinking had saved the day for him.

The ant had been vanquished.(Even the wingies were spellbound by this tale)

Cut To 2006 AD. Place : Pune

Dentist :"Its been like this for quite sometime, this pre-molar of yours"

Arbitmind(in extreme pain) : "Been there since college "

Dentist :"Root Canal is the only way out. Now even antibiotics won't be effective & pain killers won't kill the pain. You should

have done the RCT long ago. No one told you to do the RCT?"

Arbitmind(almost howling in pain) : "Forget it. Now what ?"

Dentist :"RCT. no other way out. Take these tablets. The inflammation will come down a bit & come tomorrow evening.

We need to start right away. If you don't do the RCT now , it will have to be extracted. Got it ?"

Arbitmind (unbearable pain) : "RCT, RCT, I agree. No problems"

Dentist :"OK. Then. we shall start tomorrow."

Arbitmind(fighting back the pain) : "Will it be painful ?"

Dentist :"Its just like an ant biting you. Nothing more"

pause

"& anyway its going to be less painful than what you are going through right now"

Point.

The damned ant.

FYI: The RCT was done. The experience was too traumatic to even write about.

Bloody Ant.

Take your Pick

2009-01-17T13:52:00.004+05:30

Why do things slip out of our minds ?

One of my teachers Prof . Swapan Kumar Das(Someone who has been more of a guide rather than being a mere teacher of the English language )

attributes any such incidences to a characteristic "lack of reflex".

One of Arbitmind's wingies once quipped "Tu bhoolta isiliye hain kyunke tu bhoolna chahta hain"[u forget because u want to].

Arbitmind's wife is of the opinion "Tum bhoolte nahi ho.. sirf bhoolne ki acting karte ho"[u just pretend to forget]

( Arbitmind was 'assigned' the task of making a (social)phone call to his in-laws & after a couple of days when he was asked about the status of the phone call he had come up with this apparently outrageous "I forgot to..." sort of an explanation )

Three very diverging opinions.

However what takes the cake is one reaction - where the victim of Arbitmind's 'folly' had simply kept on staring at him.

Arbitmind's vocabulary would fall utterly short in describing the myriad of emotions which was conveyed through that look.

Arbitmind was working with Infosys at that time. The project group had decided to go on an impromtu movie party.

The group was heading to E-Square(a multiplex near the University circle in Pune). The only problem was that the movie was supposed to end late in the night & getting an auto from E-Square to Aundh at that unearthly hour could be a problem.

Those were early days into the job & Arbitmind didn't have a vehicle to rely upon.

So what ? What are friends there for ? Of course, to lend their bikes.

Mr.Friend(lets call him by that name), stayed in the same society as Arbitmind was staying & was working for a different project group on the same floor in Infosys. A couple of warnings later about not scratching the brand new bike & driving safe Mr.Friend decided to part with the keys of his bike. He would take the company bus today for returning to Aundh(place where we stayed).

Deal sealed !!!

Arbitmind duly followed the rules or safe urban driving & reached E-Square.

The movie on Offer was "Mangal Pandey:The Rising". One movie where Aamir Khan did not really meet Arbitmind's expectations.

Now once the movie was over, Arbitmind was involved in a heated debate over the actual causes of the Sepoy Mutiny with a colleague.

The debate ended rather inconclusively at around 1 in the morning & it was time to go home. Arbitmind negotiated hard with an auto & finally reached Aundh at around 1:30 AM-- looking forward to an enjoyable weekend.

The next morning at around 9 AM(way too early for a Saturday morning) Mr. Friend barged in.

"Oye, keys de, FC Road jana hain. Kahan park kiya tune? Neeche dikhi hi nahi"

Keys, park!!..!!!..err..OMIGOSH !!!!

That instant Arbitmind realised what must have gone through Archimedes mind when he had stumbled upon the laws of buyonacy in a bathtub. However, unlike Archimedes, Arbitmind couldnot shout "Eureka" as it would not have gone down very well with Mr. Friend whose bike which Arbitmind presumed (& prayed) was still in E-Square's parking lot.

Arbitmind{sheepishly} - "Bike Bhoolgaya"

Mr. Friend: - "Ehh !!"

Arbitmind - "came back by an auto. Forgot that I had taken the bike. It must be in parking till now. lets rush to E-square"

....What followed as the look which was being referred to , early in the post. (Eyes wide open in amazement or in plain disgust)

Epilogue: The bike was found intact in the E-Square parking lot.

A similar incident had taken place when Arbitmind was in sixth standard. After months of haggling with dad Arbitmind had managed to get a a Blue Hero Ranger Cycle. One fine evening at around 8:00 PM, Arbitmind started looking desperately for the cycle.

It was nowhere to be found. Of course, it had been stolen!!! Tears swelled up in Arbitmind's eyes. How mean of those thieves to steal a kid's prozed possession.

A few rounds of consolations later Arbitmind suddenly remembered -- he had gone to school riding that cycle & had come back with friends - walking all the way.

A 9pm sojourn to the school & the cycle was recovered-- it was safely locked in the parking.

Which makes him wonder....

"lack of reflex",

"Tu bhoolta isiliye hain kyunke tu bhoolna chahta hain"[u forget because u want to]

"Tum bhoolte nahi ho.. sirf bhoolne ki acting karte ho"[u just pretend to forget]

Which one to pick . ???

A clean slate

2009-01-13T12:50:00.003+05:30

The simplest of incidents spreads the greatest of joys.

Arbitmind was driving towards the Office on Sunday morning, to pick up the cricket kit. The match against Redknee in the offing. As he took a turn right from Baner Phata, a bus stopped right in front of him(arrghh !!).

An irritated Arbitmind had no option but to wait till that machine would move.

As he was muttering a curse softly below his breath, there was a knock on the window pane near the passenger seat.

A street kid, no more than 10 years old(they all look so very alike).

Ohh No!! He thought...now she will ask for money & encouraging the 'Child Begging Industry' is one thing Arbitmind abhors.

Arbitmind tried to ignore. The knocks grew louder.

Rolled down the window panes partially so that Arbitmind could scare her off.

This little girl starts shouting ..pointing frantically towards the bonnet, "light...light.."

Ohho !!! The lights were turned on (it was 11 in the morning).

Arbitmind Smiled. Turned the lights off...& smiled back at the girl. There was a Mentos in his pocket(most smokers do !!)

Gave it to the kid , smiled again & rolled up the glasses.

She gave a smile, ran towards the footpath. There was another kid there...much younger (4-5 years or so).

This girl opened the Mentos & put the Mint her companions mouth, turned around & waved to Arbitmind.

Both the kids were smiling...so was Arbitmind. The irritation of having to stop behind the bus had vanished.

In the hindsight, it was a pure, unadulterated exchange of smiles. Everybody was feeling happy.

Strange...as to how the little joys of life prop you up.

Just before that, Arbitmind was not really in the best of spirits.

His team had lost the match on Saturday & he himself had been a dismal failure in the match.

Fuel was running low in the car & the PSU strike made sure that he was not able to get a re-fill..

..in fact he was running on the reserve- another cause for worry.

The left leg was hurting badly(remnants of the Saturday match)

...& that one instant cleaned the slate.

As if it was a fresh beginning.

PS: Arbitmind's team won the match against Redknee.(& Arbitmind played well)

The PSU Strike was over by the afternoon & Arbitmind was able to get the fuel for his car.

The leg...well..it aggravated.

The Art of Conning & Wisening up

2009-01-12T14:44:00.006+05:30

Off late the Arbitmind has developed a grudging respect for the consters in Pune.

Some of them are so perfect that it inspires awe & some..well.. not so good at their jobs.

Like any sector the con industry too has its share of great & not so great performers.

A couple of personal experiences would elucidate this.

Let Arbitmind start off with the most recent one. This happened a week back.

7:30 pm. Aundh. Near Ozone.(a week back)

Arbitmind was walking toward the 'Burger Hut' to catch a bite of his favourite Fish Fillet Burger.

Someone calls out to him in chaste English.

...........

"Excuse me beta" !!!

(Ahha!! I recognised him)(A middle aged Uncle)

Arbitmind: "Yes"

Uncle: "Someone has broken the lock of the petrol tank of my bike & taken out all the petrol" , pointing to the broken lock on the tank of a maroon Hero Honda CD100SS.

Arbitmind: "Ohh ! I am so sorry !!"

Uncle: "Can you please help me ? I don't have the money to fill the petrol"(Uncle almost moved to tears)

Arbitmind: "Err...Uncle, you asked me the same question, with the same bike a couple weeks ago in front of Monginis. You Still didn't get the petrol?"

(Arbitmind had refused help then on the pretext of not carrying enough money on him)

Uncle: "{Befuddled Expression}"

Arbitmind's opportunity to do a chance pe dance.

Arbitmind: "Ek kaam karte hain Uncle. Saamne chowk me Policewallah hain. Usse baat karte hain. Woh zaroor madad karega"

Uncle: "{Incomprehensible mumble coupled with the same befuddled expression}"

Arbitmind: "Kya Uncle. Shakal to yaad rakha karo. Aise to aapka dhanda paani bhandh ho jayega. He He"

...........

Uncle walks off without casting a second glance. The bike in tow. :-) leaving a grinning Arbitmind under the street light.

Clearly, Uncle is not as good at his job as he would like himself to be.

The same cannot be said of an Auntie whom I met in early 2005(My initial days in Pune)

Don't remember the exact time or the exact conversation as it happened a good 4 years back. Trying to reconstruct it from memory.

Sometime in the late evening. After 10 pm. Arbitmind coming back after having dinner at 'Radhika', enjoying the last puff of the day. Place : Aundh. Early 2005

"Beta, ek minute sunoge?" A visibly shaken Auntie with an infant on the lap.

"Kya hua ?"

Auntie : "................xyz......................"->

Summary :

The lady's husband is a labourer in Pune. He came from a village. For the last 3 months there had been no news of the guy. Worried, the lady, along with the child,lands up in Pune at the contractor's place to find out about her husband. The contractor said that her husband quit the job a couple of months back. So no one knows where he is at this moment & the lady knows no one in Pune. In addition, she came to Pune with very little money which she has used up in feeding the child throughout the day & now she wants to return to her village. Since she has no money to buy the train ticket, it would be great if Arbitmind could help her out. She insisted on Arbitmind's address as she would positively send the money back to his address by a Money Order & 400 Rupees would just do fine. She was a woman in distress & was asking help from her Bhaiyya.

Arbitmind felt a lump near his throat. Wasn't this he had read about in so many newspapers & novels ? You never know what

harm would befall this innocent lady from a village. The cities are full of sharks..& what is a man's worth if he cannot

help out an young mother in distress? It was Arbitmind's humane duty..if not anything else.

Arbitmind asks the lady to wait right there. Gets into the IDBI ATM nearby & comes out with 800 Rupees.

Arbitmind: "Please take an auto to the Station. You won't get Buses at this time & the extra money is for food. No need for returning the money. Take it as a help from one of your brothers"

The lady thanks Arbitmind profusely & reiterates that all that is good is not over in this world. People like Arbitmind are God's Gift to mankind.

Arbitmind comes back feeling extremely good about himself. As if a little part of the guilt for being on the side of the 'Haves' in a world divided into "Haves & the Have nots" has been washed away...praying that the lady reaches her village safe & sound.

Sometime later: (around 3-4 months roughly)

Arbitmind is standing near Westend Mall, Opposite to Dorabjee's in MG Road, waiting for a friend to turn up.

Just by his side a lady with a kid on her lap is talking to an elderly couple. From whatever he could overhear, Arbitmind guessed that the poor lady is in distress & is asking for some sort of help from the elderly couple. The couple walks off,

shaking their heads & the lady starts walking towards Arbitmind.

She stutters...stops...a moment's pause...turns around One hundred & eighty degrees & hurriedly walks off.

Very Odd !! Arbitmind thinks....add to it that the lady looked somewhat familiar.

Hello !!! The one who came form the village....800 rupees. Goodness Me !!!!

Arbitmind is aghast. Still he couldnot but admire the lady's memory. She recognised Arbitmind in an instant & fled the scene.

Smart.

She is good at her job.

PS: The later incident wisened up Arbitmind considerably & that was the reason why he had refused to help out the Uncle in

front of Monginis sometime back...when he had first met the guy with the bike.

Arbitmind wonders whether he would someday turn his back on a person who is in genuine need of help just because he has had a few bad experiences. Belief in fellow human beings ...once lost...is hard to retrieve.

Arbitmind wishes he had not wisened up. The loss of innocence is painful.

Arbitmind still wishes that somewhere,someday a lady doesnot land up in bigger trouble as someone in a position to help doesnot help her out of a fear of being conned.

Nor should an elderly Uncle have to walk home because a young man refuses to help.

Amen !!

The January Flavour

2009-01-09T14:02:00.008+05:30

January always occupies a special place in Arbitmind's life.

The magic won't be recreated ever but what would linger on forever

are the memories.

The first few Januaries of the 21st century would follow a predictable yet enchanting pattern.

Between the 4th & the 8th of every January a busload of people(& ten pointers)

would hop onto an already overcrowded,rickety bus from The ISBT in

Delhi (Maharana Pratap Bus Terminal to some). Almost all of them would have had

landed up at Nizamuddin 12-18 hours later than scheduled, fog in North India playing

the spoilsport. You could spot them in ISBT with ease.Lounging around the counter 27,

in freezing cold,with a sweat shirt or a cap having 'BITS,Pilani' printed on it.

A 75 rupees ticket

& anything between six to eight hours later they would land up in a sleepy Nutan market.

In between they would have thanked their stars numerous times as the driver(!!!) of the bus,

ostensibly in high 'spirits', would try to break the sound barrier consistently.

[Advisory: Please do not try to dissuade the driver from his job.

Once,a senior of Arbitmind had the grit to yell out to the

driver, "Bhaisaab..Thoda dheere nahi chala sakte kya?". The response

was all 'shock & awe' style. The well meaning & affable driver threw up his hands in

the air(ignoring the steering wheel for that fleeting moment) & rendered an invitation ..

"Tu aake chala le B******". The story found its way on to the campus & since then the

sacred tradition of not meddling in someone else's job came about.

Remember the ad "Experts ka kaam experts pe chhod dena chahiye". QED ]

A couple of minutes of negotiations with a cycle rickshaw & people would vanish into

their respective Bhawans & then subsequently into their wings. Sem II was on !!

A loud exchange of New Year greetings would follow,interspersed with resolutions

like "iss Sem main 10 banane ka soch raha hoon" or "I Quit smoking in the new year"

[An indicator of precisely what would be the things not to do in the new year].

Dinner in C'not(A place lined with the best restuarants Arbitmind has ever come across.

.Blue Moon, Sharma's, Volga, Kapoor's, Golden Dragon) or Kake da Dhaba would follow.

This would be the first & the last day when the entire wing would go to sleep by 12 midnight

-- the next day all of them had to register for their courses [the less lucky ones would have had

a PR(priority) number less than 200 & would have to get up at an unearthly 8 AM.

The more fortunate ones could crash till 11 ].

The next day would be a mixed bag.

People would enter the IPC praying that seats in courses

like FMS(Flexible Manufacturing Systems), PPC(Production, planning & control) would be available.

These courses assures you of at least a couple of A's in the bag for the ensuing semester.

The lucky ones would lay their hands on it, the slimy ones would not- but would manage to land up some

SOP(Study Oriented Project) under a very popular(for obvious reasons) Professor.

& the unluckiest of the lot would have to be content with

LOPs(Lab Oriented Project-- where one had to actually work for a decent grade).

These electives - kind of lessened the trauma inflicted by courses like OR(Operations Research)

& NumAl(Numerical Analysis). Arbitmind sincerely believes that the OR & NumAl

courses were the Almighty's way of making you pay for the sins in your last life.

Registration Day over.

The timetable would say that the first test series kicks off after the 26th of Jan.

Ulti Sac Out for 2 weeks!!! :-)[euphemism for doing nothing]

Time to celebrate ---

Spirituality would flow in the wing via an Old Monk or a self-proclaimed number One.

Everybody loved an auspicious start.

January would also see the start of the inter-assoc cricket tournament,

"The Marudhara Cup"[Hallmarks of this tournament were dubious umpiring, unfathomable boundary lines

& both teams 'gherao'-ing the umpire after every contentious decision].

Arbitmind would be neck deep in preparations(read meetings in SKY) along with members

of "Morucchayya" to finalise details of the "Moru Grub"

(as it is known on campus- a dinner hosted by Morucchaya showcasing the might of the Bengali Cuisine).

January would bring about a fog soaked campus, shivers to the tune of 1 degree Centigrade

& loads of Fried maggie in ANC(All Night Canteen).

'Nagar ji's chai' & 'Pappu's Hot Chocolate' see the most business during this month.

Somehow, January in the campus would make Arbitmind happy.

As if there was something to look forward to every day.

Something to soak in every morning.

This was a month when wingies won't complain if you are without a bath for two weeks.

This was a month when the numerous campus chowkis(chowkidars) would light a bonfire

& you could huddle around that warmth at 2 AM in the night...

just because you had nothing else to do.

Life has taken many a turn after the last January on campus.

Old Monk has given way to Smirn-Off.

The cycle borrowed from 'Bugs' has given way to a car.

The Moru Grub has given way to expensive Buffets.

The BITS,Pilani sweatshirt has given way to a Van Heusen one.

But, the 'magic' has not been recreated.

Arbitmind agrees with the MasterCard guys,

"There are somethings money can't buy..for everything else....."

Which brings me to this couple of lines(part of a ghazal)

"haath chhute bhi to, rishtey nahi chhoda karte

waqt ki shaakh se, lamhe nahin toda karte "

Talent, Luck & Underpants

2009-01-08T18:04:00.002+05:30

Why do most comic book superheroes wear their underpants on the outside?

Now this has been one question which has hounded Arbitmind since his early days.

(Arbitmind is sure many social scientists & fashion designers have also racked their brains on this issue)

Arbitmind's first brush with comic book characters started off with the immensely adorable Tintin series.

(It will always remain his eternal love)

A sudden transition to the Phantoms, Batmans & the Supermans of the world threw him a little out of the orbit.

Tintin was dressed 'normally' & yet managed to make villains like General Tapioca, Rastapopulus & even the Al Capone eat humble pie.(with the additional responsibility of managing a drunk Captain & an weird scientist)

Then, What necessisated Phantom , Batman or Superman to wear an underpant on the outside while taking on their opponents?

(Well, Versaces of the world would be more than happy design a few costumes for them -- why not avail of their services if one is so desperate for an eye catching costume?)

The first possible explanation that occured to Arbitmind(long, long ago when he was a kid)

Intimadating the opponent ?--- no way, shock & surprise -- maybe.!!!

Imagine a gang of armed robbers en course of robbing a bank suddenly encountering a man with mask & his underpants

worn outside--jaws of the robbers drop(some things are too weird to ignore -- u see)-- a resultant loss of focus from the job at hand---& that split second of

confusion on the part of the villains would give Phantom, Batman or Superman the time to land a punch. So wearing underpants on the outside is a kind of diversionary tactic deployed by the superheroes. The underpant grabs all the attention

& the superhero goes about his job without much active resistance.

However a more plausible explanation occured to Arbitmind much later.

That was when he saw the role model for all superheroes --- someone who had decimated an entire Pakistani armoured division

single handedly, someone who had got rid of all the "Balwant Rai ke Kutte" & even then managed ko keep his hair weaving

intact --- proudly declare on TV -- advocating the use of innerwear(with just a Banyan on)

~~ Aapna LUCK pehenke chalo

It struck Arbitmind that even Superheroes need Luck.

("Talent ke saath saath Luck ki bhi zaroorat hoti hain"~ Luck by Chance)

& if you have Talent & Luck --why not flaunt it ?

Thats a way of putting it across to the criminals "Look you eggheads...I got

the talent to bash you up all & here is my luck. SO better stop whatever you are upto & bolt"

'Bottom'line : Underpants bring luck. They beef up your 'talent'. (However underpants cannot substitute for talent)

Thanks Gutenberg.....

2009-01-07T14:19:00.004+05:30

What makes Arbitmind happy ? Coffee with Feluda,Jatayu & Topshe? A walk near Usri River

along with Prof.Shanku? or discussing the science of deduction with Holmes himself?

Probably, a little bit of them all.

The adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Robinson Crusoe, Feluda, Professor Shanku,Byomkesh & Teni-da(for the uninitiated Feluda & prof.Shanku are Satyajit Ray creations, Byomkesh is a Desi Holmes & Teni-da -- an ageless role model for all Bully College seniors---all integral parts

of the Arbitmind's teenage years). played a huge part in Arbitmind's formative years.

Every year during the bookfair Arbitmind would pick up a bagful of those in addition to the couple of

'Hardy Boys' & the 'Famous Fives'. (Loved the Oxford book stall for these). Paid customary visits to

the 'Deb Sahitya Kutir' stall to pick up a set of Handa-BHoda & Nonte Fonte,(kept away from the

Baantul stuff though)(Handa-BHoda & Nonte Fonte are cartoon characters).

The 'Ananda Publishers' made sure Arbitmind did not miss out on the Feluda & Professor Shanku.(Love the Three Leaved insignia of Ananda Publishers)

While the Hardy Boys & Famous Fives paperbacks were one time read material, what can get you hooked for a lifetime

are Holmes, Byomkesh, Feluda, Professor Shanku & Teni-da.

Even while reading them one could visualize 221b BAKER STREET, with its dimly lit rooms, Holmes sitting in 'that'

chair near the window expecting Dr.Watson or Lestrade. The clank of the hoofs as a carriage goes by & the smell of Holmes' tobacco

permeating the air-- it was so very real. Years later, even now when Arbitmind goes back home & opens his personal library & takes

out a Holmes adventure its... deja vu. Now what do we owe this effect to? The character , the writer or the medium - the book?- Arbitmind

must admit, there's nothing more thrilling than holding a good book. A part of the tribute for this experience certainly belongs to

the medium itself-- the pages of which are replete with the exploits of these characters.

A decade ago one would find a young boy(without the spectacles) cuddling up on his bed ,under a quilt, in a lazy noon with a Holmes

or a Byomkesh, a packet of KrackJack biscuits by his side & taking a trip through the streets of Victorian London or the

1930's Calcutta as a Holmes or Byomkesh Bakshi would go about their jobs. Each page flip woul take him deeper in their world-or his world...or the seperations blurred at some point??. .

Computers were not in vogue then, most of my folks had not heard about the

e-mail & the world had not shrunk itself inside wikipedia, but it was the sheer joy of reading that gave wings to young

imagination. (In the hindsight Arbitmind would never like to visit London. He has a certain picture of London in his mind, derived from the Holmes' books...& that is one image he would not like to repaint.)

Which brings us to the question? Arbitmind adored the characters more or simply loved the entire experience--- the character+the language+the book+the atmosphere?

Of course the latter (literary pundits may call for Arbitmind's head but he is too mired in worldly pleasures to deny this)

..& what exactly led Arbitmind to travel back in time ? A simple incident yesterday. Had stopped for a coffee & a cigarette

near a coffee cum bookshop.

A teenager walked in -- bought a couple of Sherlock Holmes CD's (the sort that contains the adventures

in PDF as well as the audio or a video adaptation of the adventures ).

Couldn't really stop wondering. Does a CD with PDFs loaded give the same feeling

as that book did?

PDFs do no smell of freshly printed paper(pick up a new book at a store & smell--its a great feeling)...neither would cuddling up with a laptop is a feasible idea.

Went back a decade in time & thats how it all came up...& please...poor little Arbitmind is not being judgemental & indulging in "our times were better"..sort of rishrash.

This was more of a personal note of thanks to Gutenberg(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Gutenberg).

..& just to clarify Arbitmind is not a huge fan of http://ilo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gutenberg

"Sir...15 rupees for the coffee"

I was disgusted. Thats a rip-off.

Hold on...2009 ..is it ?

Hmmm....lets get back home...got a call tomorrow morning. Need to be in office earlier than usual.

PS:

Came across a quote long long ago.

"Human time does not turn in a circle; it runs ahead in a straight line.

happiness though.... is the longing for repetition."

Teamwork...& a trick question

2009-01-07T10:02:00.002+05:30

The Inter-IT cricket tournament kicked off last week. A mixed bag of results for Arbitmind's team.

However the last couple of matches was a QED in terms of what the B-schools teach you about teamwork.

Had a couple of brilliant individual performances in the first match ...but we lost out. In the second match everybody played in bits & pieces but a co-ordinated effort saw the team through.

The matches from Arbitmind's perspective:

Match 1 (27th December) : against United Software Associates

Matting wickets always scared Arbitmind. The prospect of the ball skidding through is never a very comforting thought for a batsman. However what constitutes a comforting thought is that our captain Sanjoy has this persistent knack of winning the toss(to the point where some guyz think that he might just be practising the toss discreetly; the guy has not lost a single toss in the last 1 year. Harvey Dent (of Batman fame) would do good to reconsider his belief regarding tossing coins before killing his victims. I bet he would not like to take on Sanjoy with a coin)

The toss was 'Sanjoy-ed' & our openers walked out. A couple of balls later one of them walked back in-the timber was disturbed-u see. In walked Arbitmind...& it seemed the bowlers had made up their minds that they would bowl short & wide to this bespectacled guy who was taking a leg stump guard & was adjusting his "recently straightened" hair- at the same time.

Barring that one ball which hit him straight under the jaw, Arbitmind had a rocking time out there-clubbing 63 runs out of a total of 90 in the stipulated 12 overs. We had a 'decent' total in place!!!!

From then on it was all downhill. :-( Ashish was the saving grace- took 4 wickets in his 3 overs & rattled the opposition batsmen but rest of the bowlers got clobbered all around the park. United Software Associates got home with a good one over to spare.

All in all two great individual performances but the team ended up on the losing side & that's just the first part of the lesson.

Brief Scores:

Talentica: 90/4 in 12 overs

USA : 92/6 in 11 overs

Match 2 (04th January) : against Extentia

The toss was 'Sanjoy-ed' again(this is becoming some sort of a cliche)

The openers made sure that the sacrosanct tradition of our team- an opener trudging back in the very first over continued & in walked Arbitmind- brimming with confidence. Pundits say that cricket is a strange game- cruel sometimes. Poor little Arbitmind would soon find out why!!! After scratching around for 6 balls Arbitmind walks off without troubling the scorers.( So much so for being the team hero in the last match.)

Bhola(27) , Sheru(12)& Sanjoy(10) saved the blushes & we scraped through to 67 runs, thoroughly insufficient for a 12 over match against any sort of opposition. Unless there was a miracle - (the perfect setting for Arbitmind to exercise his mystical powers & get the game abandoned due to rain...Alas!! Arbitmind's powers have weekends too)

The bowlers took it on themselves. Ashish got going , so did Shashi & Pandharinathan, together they made sure that this meagre total of 67 was defended with gusto. The ground fielding was superb, so was the catching. Choked up the runs & in the end restricted Extentia to 62 runs in 12 overs.

The first win the tournament & an eye opener.

There is no substitute for teamwork(As long as it is not Team India:-) QED

Brief Scores:

Talentica: 67/6 in 12 overs

Extentia : 62/8 in 12 overs

***^^^ ^^^^ **** ***** ^^^^^ ^^^^ *****

That brings me to the quote of the week

"“The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side”"

PS: While walking out to bat against Extentia..one guy actually asked Arbitmind "Which company?". Till date Arbitmind is not sure whether that was an attempted sledge to throw the new batsman off-guard or it was a genuine question. A trick question maybe.......

the 31st Night

2009-01-06T15:01:00.002+05:30

Arbitmind had an enjoyable New years Eve. Now enjoyment to Arbitmind means a bottle of SmirnOff,some orange juice & of course the customary chicken--anything else is just an add on. However, Arbitmind being a married man has additional social responsibilities.

One strange thing-- when Arbitmind was bachelor he never received calls from well meaning college seniors who would offer him complimentary passes to the poshest party in town. Something changed with marriage .This year Arbitmind got a call from a senior on the 31st morning:

"Hey, Got couple passes for XYZ. Wanna come? "

- "Hmmmm....yeps" [The prospect of a Bollywood Damsel dancing in that party was the clincher. Now that was a good add-on]

....& so began 31st evening. Decided to go together to the venue. Arbitmind is resource conscious. Why take 2 cars for 4 people?

Halfway down....Arbitmind's phone rings...

"Hey dude...the patry's been cancelled. Supposedly the Police has some issues..some security threat yaar **&%$##@ ".

Arbitmind: "errr. the patry has been cancelled "

Reaction 1: #@#$$%%!!!

Reaction 2 : Now?

Reaction 3: Hmmph....my &^%#$#$ luck!!

Arbitmind: "Lets get the stuff<Mind Read>Vodka+Orange Juice+Chicken<Mind Read> & sit in our cozy home. The music system is also there"

Arbitmind's better half lets out a sigh of resignation.

<Mind Read> "Will this guy ever change?"<Mind Read>

Epilogue: The vodka was good. Didn't really care about the music.

Happy New Year to all from Arbitmind.(hic)

Given such an auspicious begining Arbitmind can be reasonably sure that the year will be a good..sorry..great one.

The arbitmind starts off.......

2009-01-06T12:32:00.000+05:30

Arbitmind is the alter ego of the blogger. However he does not have a cape, a mask & even prefers to wear his clothes in the right order. So you might not see him flying overhead in embarrassing clothes.

His real life avatar is a bespectacled 'AiiTee' professional. (sic)