Yesterday I read about a new book that has been launched for those who wish to take up employment in SBI - How to Success in SBI Exams. And all these years I was thinking that "Success" is noun. :-)

Wanna find out if someone has been plagiarising the content that you slogged over? Check this out http://www.copyscape.com/

I came across a news item in yesterday's newspaper and realized once again, with a jolt, how little time you get in life to pursue activities that you would love to do. This announcement was about the new course on Geology that the Centre for Extra Mural Studies of Mumbai University is starting. Just check http://extramural.org/geology.html. Fascinating, isn't it? I would have sooo loved to sign up but sadly there's no टाइम.

Words from a long forgotten serial on DD come to mind:
कही सफर है, कही रास्ता है मंजिलका :-(

After 62 years and despite the 55 Crores, our poor cousins from across the border still behave like a good-for-nothing younger sibling who never stops saying that he gets sidelined because of his mighty elder brother.

The case in point is the recently concluded Champions Trophy where a wrong decision by the umpires saw Akmal march towards the pavilion, much to his chagrin. After seeing the footage, the umpire in question has admitted his mistake. But now the earlier generation Pakistani players are alleging that since Pakistan doesn't wield as much clout as India when it comes to the International cricket scene, they are being treated unfairly. They say that if an Indian player had been given out by mistake, the resulting uproar would have resulted in the dismissal of the umpire!

Wait, don't laugh your guts out yet. There's more to this saga of the Champions Trophy. It seems that an investigation is in the offing across the border because someone has alleged that the Pakistani players purposefully lost their match against the Aussies so as to edge India out of the tournament!

62 years and you are yet to grow up?

Read about another of India's brave soldiers yesterday - Shahid Manish Pitambare. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manish_Pitambare.

Years ago, it had taken me a full minute to recover when one of my Chinese colleagues suddently started singing his version of Raj Kapoor's "Awaaraa Hu". He then told me that when he was growing up, he had seen many of the Raj Kapoor's movies - in China.

The reason I remembered this incident was because yesterday I read a piece of news about Raj Kapoor's movies being screened in a place in Russia again. An old Russian woman was quoted explaining why his movies were so popular there. In the 50s Russia was just emerging from the war with Germany and the common man's life was no bed of roses. The woman said that the Russians drew a lot of inspiration from the Indian populace as depicted in Kapoor's movies - leaving a hard life but keeping alive its hopes of a better future.

चलना जीवनकी कहानी, रुकना मौतकी निशानी
सरपे लाल टोपी रुसी, फिरभी दिल है हिन्दुस्तानी

A girl named Rukhsana Kausar

I had never heard of Rukhsana Kausar till yesterday. If you haven't still, here's the link that will tell you all about this frail 20-year old brave girl who killed a Lashkar-e-Toiba commander and wounded another militant.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/this-20yrold-kashmiri-killed-a-militant-shot-another/522719/#

Just finished reading Jeffrey Archer's "The Prisoner of Birth". Loved it from beginning to end! :-)

Finally I managed to finish up Clive Cussler's "The Chase" - but not before wondering whether anyone did any proof-reading for it. That's because at one place, he repeated has used the name "Carter" when he meant "Curtis" and in another, he refers to one "Stuart" as "Warren" :-)

If you are a fan of his ancient mystery novels, don't venture within a mile of this book or be ready to be hugely disappointed!

I think Shashi Tharoor got it right this time! Why, indeed, we need to have a holiday on Gandhi Jayanti? Frankly, I don't think I even thought about Gandhiji as I used the entire day to complete 2 whole weeks' pending chores. It was only in the night when I was flipping through the channels that I came across the movie "Gandhi" and remembered what the occassion was. :-(

Names and places from the pages of the long-forgotten history text book came flooding back through time - Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Nehru, Maulana Azad, Sarojini Devi Naidu, Sabarmati, Dandi March, Jaliawala Bagh, Chaurichura, Non-cooperation movement. I shook my head just like 2 American Journalists did (Martin Sheen and oh, Uncle Vernon from Harry Potter Series!) when they saw unarmed Satyagrahis face the baton-wielding police. I was sad once again when the now familiar sight of Hindus and Muslims fighting in the street came up on screen. I was proud when India at last got her freedom. And as on countless other occassions, I wondered again - whether it was the non-violent struggle that made the British walk out of India or were they just keeping their end of the bargain that was struck during WWII. :-(

Tharoor is right! We will serve our country better if we work on this day rather than stay at home and spend the day lolling about checking out what's playing on TV.

There you go....another reference - Voices of Spring. Another link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8rOr8yZrEU

Somehow this one sounds familiar and for some unfathomable reason brings up memories of Charlie Chaplin. :-)

Coming from a country where "Size zero" is reverred these days, I fail to understand why this petite female has padded up her backside :-) Jokes apart, I like the music but not the singing. Seems as if it is an acquired taste like "Sushi" - one which sadly I will never develop :-(

Another word that I came across in a book was "Ongtray" - for which sadly both Yahoo and Google failed to come up with any significant leads :-(

I don't understand much of music - be it western or classical. But recently when I came across a reference to "Dill Pickles Rag" in one of the books that I read, I was curious. Fortunately, these days it's not difficult to get information on anything and so I was directed to this site http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUmur7BpGCg.

Funny thing is that I paid more attention to the complex movements the players' fingers made as they danced on the piano than the music itself :-)