Racism Revisited

For the last few weeks, I was eagerly reading three Sidney Sheldon books back to back. The last one named “Nothing Lasts Forever”. The title seems like some kind of Bond movie actually. The book itself has nothing to do with the contents of this post. It’s a thriller/murder mystery with lots of plots & subplots (as most Sidney books are). There were lots of medical terminologies which I was obviously unaware of since I haven’t touched the Biology book after giving my ICSE in 2003. So these terminologies puzzled me more than what ‘girl talk’ puzzles me! All right am wandering away from the original topic. Back to it … The book itself seemed pretty average & predictable but one paragraph in the book made me sit up & take notice. After reading this paragraph, I had decided what my next post in this blog would be. I am sure you would find this text really interesting. So here it goes...

"There are wonderful worlds in there," she told the young girl. "Read, and you'll learn where you came from and where you're going. I've got a feeling that you're going to be famous one day, baby. But you have to get an education first. This is America. You can become anybody you want to be. You may be black and poor, but so were some of our congresswomen, and movie stars, and scientists, and sports legends. One day we're going to have a black president. You can be anything you want to be. It's up to you." It was the beginning.

Yes it’s the beginning of my blog & also the beginning of “Change”. Unless you have already guessed, I’m of course talking about US Democratic Presidential nominee, Barrack Obama. But this is not just about Obama (wonder why the surname is so similar to ‘Osama’), this is about “Racism” in general. Obama is possibly one of those big figures (not Madame Tussauds’ wax figures), I mean figures as big as Martin Luther King. May be I’m exaggerating, but its true that he’s the first black Presidential Nominee, who is possibly slated to sweep the polls in November, 2008. He is now more popular than Oprah Winfrey (who incidentally supports his campaign) or even some basketball & baseball players. Obama has been under attack from so-called-purists who are against any “black” person becoming the Head of the State. Four decades have passed since Martin Luther King gave his famous “I have a dream” speech, but it seems like nothing has changed since then. I earnestly hope that Obama is not assissinated like Martin Luther King.

Racism is a rampant menace which has been there since ages. All nations, including the United Nations publicly say that they are against any kind of racial discrimination. Still if you do a search on the internet, you’ll find racial abuse happening each day. Believe it or not, its prevalent in India, & in you own home. Yes. You heard it right. This might seem a bit hard to digest fact but its true that our mothers would want a “beautiful, fair” bride for us. Isn’t it racism? We are practicing it in our own home. Do you protest? I guess not. We do not protest. Why? You possibly dont have a proper answer to that. Check out matrimonial ads in the Sunday newspaper & you'll know what I'm talking about. Some people even believe that black/dark/brown (coloured in short) men & women have lesser abilities to perform office work. We all hear about racial abuses on Indians all over the world (especially Sikhs). But we never bother to lodge our protest against this menace. Recently Lewis Hamilton, a McLaren F1 Driver, was racially abused by spectators in Montmelo Circuit, Barcelona, Spain. This blog is my way of protesting against this blatant illogical show of chauvinism by some demented minds! We may be white, black or brown, but overall we are all human. Treat human beings in a way that it doesn’t question your humanity. I dont understand how a human being can forget this basic fact. Here is one forward mail which is worth reading :

This scene took place on a ****** Airways flight between
Johannesburg, South Africa & London.
A white woman, about 50 years old, was seated next to a black man. Very disturbed by this, she called the air hostess. "You obviously do not see it then?" she asked. "You placed me next to a black man. I did not agree to sit next to someone from such a repugnant group. Give me an alternative seat."
"Be calm please," the hostess replied.
"Almost all the places on this flight are taken. I will go to see if another place is available."

The hostess went away & then came back a few minutes later. "Madam, just as I thought, there are no other available seats in Economy Class.
I spoke to the captain & he informed me that there is also no seat in Business Class. All the same, we still have one place in First Class."
Before the woman could say anything, the hostess continued. "It is unusual for our company to permit someone from Economy Class to sit in First Class. However, given the circumstances, the captain feels that it would be scandalous to make someone sit next to someone so disgusting."
She turned to the black guy & said, "Therefore, Sir, if you would like to, please collect your hand luggage, a seat awaits you in First Class."

At that moment, the other passengers, who'd been shocked by what they had just witnessed, stood up & applauded.

This is a true story.

WELL DONE, ****** Airways.

This might be a forward mail, but it was more than that for me. I didn’t forget this mail although I received it a few years ago. I digged it out somehow @ 2am last night from my orkut message box. This post might not be an enjoyable read for you. It was never intented to be. Its just a reminder to the world that racism still exists . But if you really think Racism needs to be protested, do it. Leave a comment if you have anything to say regarding this topic or my blog.

~Lots of Love~

Rockin On!!!

First of all I would like to say sorry for breaking my promise. Trust me I usually don’t break them. It was not that I didn’t have much topics to discuss about, but its just that I couldn’t get enough confidence on writing them down. But this time its different. A film really inspired me, it brought in the much needed passion within me. I would compensate for the posts that I should have written (once a month) by writing a few more in this month itself.

Rock On! ~ A brief review...

I would probably say the most clichéd phrase said over the years, but I seriously cant help it … Rock On! really rocks! The story of Rock On! itself has nothing much in store. The real essence & the ‘Magik’ of Rock On! is in its passion… passion about music, passion about life & real happiness! The basic mistake that most people make about rock music or the perception of rock music is that it has to have a wild looking singer who will scream nonsense & the background music will be equally bone shaking! But that’s a wrong perception. Rock music is all about the passion, passion for life & passion for everything related to music. Rock On! lives up to all the three. It gives us the view point of four members of a band of their life while they were together forming a band named ‘Magik’ which buys Ibanez guitar & Line 6 equipments (really costly) after a performance at a ‘gujju’ dandia ustsav! Okay fine its bollywoodish, but we shouldn’t go into that much details. The four members Farhan Akhtar (Aditya), Arjun Rampal (Joe), Purab Kohli (KD) & Luke Kenny (Rob) start off with well shot stage shows. I must say these four have really worked hard on the film & their characters they play. It shows time & again during the film that Farhan in no way is a mediocre actor. In fact he does better than Arjun Rampal, who actually doesn’t have to act much in this film because of his character. Although Arjun & Purab's looks as guitarist & drummer respectively is worth watching. Since this is supposed to be a review, I wouldn’t include any spoilers out here. After a break of 10 years, the four members finally meet after much dramatic scenes between Aditya & Sakshi, Aditya’ wife (Prachi Desai). Prachi & Shahana Desai (as Debbie, Joe’s girlfriend & later his wife) aren’t just pretty faces out here, they both did a good job indeed. In fact, without these two characters you would pretty much be watching Dil Chahta Hai. But this is not DCH! Rock On! proves the point that one should always follow his/her heart no matter how many personal problems arise in our life. The phrase ‘Life mein compromises to karna padhta hain’ may seem to be realistic words, but wherever our heart is, our mind essentially shall be. No amount of money, fame, good wife, good girlfriend, good kids, good friends, not even the dream job would give you that satisfaction. A person’s soul will be hooked to those memories & the passions where he/she found real happiness. Aditya’s life shows it quite clearly. He isn’t happy with all the success, money & his good wife, because his heart is elsewhere. He’s a mechanical version of his former self, which was full of life once upon a time. The film essentially shows what a young band goes through, the passion for rock music, faded jeans & tshirts, girlfriends, booze, & over everything ego clashes! That’s what this film is about. I as a passionate music lover could relate to everything in the film. I have spend my last three years with much more passionate people who are really good guitarists and their bands. I enjoyed every moment learning from them, observing them & I suck in their passion ...

I wouldnt like to give any rating for the movie since I'm a simple nobody who doesnt know much about music or films. I just know that I loved this film completely ... Go watch it & if you have already watched it, do comment here. If not, still comment. :)

Force India F1

Ye Luv Shuv Kya Hain???

This is possibly one of the best fwd mails i have received till now ... Anyone who reads this will appreciate am sure .... All thanks to the original author .... Do comment if u like it ....

I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me. Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool,
she filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it before me,
and said this: "You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love." This was how I saw it.

As long as you keep your hand caringly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds. This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love...they try to posses it, they demand, they expect... and just like the water spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you.

For love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature. If there are people you love,
allow them to be free beings. Give and don't expect. Advise, but don't order. Ask, but never demand. It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice.

It is the secret to true love.

To truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations from those whom you love, and yet an unconditional caring."

Passing thought... Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take; but by the moments that take our breath away..... Life is beautiful!!!

Scanning myself...

When i first started this blog, i didnt know what to write about. I started writing about formula one racing, the one passion i seemed to grow inside me for long time now. Then i moved on to interviews, my friends had endless queries on how to crack an interview!! I wrote two whole posts dedicated to interview alone. After that i never seemed to have enough time to write anything as such. Its not that i dont have anything to write on... Anyways i promise to write at least one post every week... ahem... the lazy couch potato inside is poking me... fine fine... once a month. I promise to post at least one post every month & this i will deliver. Now coming back to posts... I' was not posting anything but i was regularly checking some famous blogs like youthcurry & Aamir Khan's blog. Today i've decided to write something about myself taking a cue from some friends who have done the same. Lets say i'm scanning myself...

What kind of a person am i?? I'm a confident, cool n carefree person. I dont believe in having utopian dreams at all. Rather i believe in aiming something and actually getting it. Not that i dont have dreams.... but they are strangely realistic. I believe in actually achieving small practical achievable dreams rather that dreaming about achieving something really big & beyond my immediate reach. Bottomline is this, I'm a practical minded fella. Yes I did fail myself sometimes but i found out what wrong i did & have gained enough experience from that. I keep talking about efficiency & i really believe in it. My mom would never actually see me studying for a long time... but does that really mean i dont study much? Hmmm... I practice trying to be efficient in my real life... I believe in doing good in something i really like & ignore all others almost totally. May be that's why i regret remaining a mediocre student all my life. But i'm happy with what i'm. If i have achieved something till now, i did with my heart & mind in it... I never tried too hard for anything, it came naturally to me. I didnt force myself to do anything i didnt like at all. I am a throughly patient individual and no i dont need to be in a hospital bed to be that. I believe in forgiving and forgetting, may be not totally but to a certain extent; yes i do. I keep very few friends as close company and strangely that is also part of me believing in efficiency. I believe a few very good friends is better than having a 1000 not-so-close ones. Another reason for keeping a few friends is because am a bit shy kind of person. But i really dont want to be shy. I hate to be in limelight, coz i hate that kind of attention, but i really wish i could make more quality friends...

No matter how much i might deny, i know deep within that i'm a geek. I cant live without a computer. Thank god i didnt take English Hons. after my XII. It would have been like Katrina Kaif teaching karate in a school. Hell i would have liked to be in that school... Jokes apart i'm really happy that i'm going to be part of the IT bandwagon. Its one of those practical dreams come to life. You cant expect better things in life that getting what you actually wanted. A computer is like my daily dose of oxygen. I have always been interested in computer science as a subject from my early days when i was first introduced to a strange looking box shaped 8086 machine. Gone are the days when i used to watch TV, i can watch everything and more in my computer itself. No wonder a friend of mine mentioned in my orkut testimonial that a computer is the 21st century "idiot box". And oh yeah am so damn proud of being a couch potato for it. But strangely i dont even come close to looking like a potato. Damn! i need a makeover i guess... I'm tired of people calling me "slim". I want to be strong, a macho, a hulk...okay fine not a hulk, but still i want to look stronger than what i'm now.

Enough said while scanning my inner self. I know there are a lot more i can write about, but i dont want to. I want my true friends to act as mirrors and show my faults. I am always open to ideas on how to improve myself. I would like to end this post with a SMS a friend once sent :

Zindegi ek raat hain,
Na jaane inme kitne khwab hain,
Jo mil gaya wo apna hain,
Jo tut gaya wo sapna hai...

~~~Lots of love~~~

Interviews... putting your best foot forward - Part II

Finally the day of your interview has come, a day that you will possibly remember for the rest of your life. So, special preparations need to be made for this. On this day you have to advertise yourself, the best things within you need to be showcased. Dress up like you have done before... most importantly... dress smart. Smart dressing will make a good first impression on you. Don't forget to take all your required documents (original & photo copies) with you along with your CV. Although these days most companies give you a form which acts as your temporary CV. Do not make spelling errors or even grammatical errors.

As the day progresses you will have to go through a possible registration & then an aptitude test. Keep yourself cool, calm & focussed during the test. Do not get tensed n nervous seeing a lot of questions n too less time. Keep doing all questions you find easy & solve them as fast as possible but make sure you dont do silly mistakes. By now you must be aware of how to do MCQ aptitude questions. Sometimes, you dont need to solve the full question & you can easily check for the right answer by back calculation. Quanti section will always seem lengthy & possibly tough for some (me for example). Dont worry, do as much as possible & leave the rest to luck. Dont panic in the situation & mark wrong answers. Dont try to peep into someone else's paper or screen (in case of online exam). You may not only mark wrong answers but possibly get your paper cancelled. So just concentrate on your paper only & do as best best as possible. Ask the people present whether there are any -ve marking, if not then you can freely mark as much as possible. But make sure you calculate how much you have done correctly; the interviewer might be interested in knowing.

If you cross the aptitude test, the next round would be the interview(s) round(s), if there isnt any GD round in between. Stay calm during your interview. Dont look nervous, wipe off those sweat off your face before you approach the interviewer. Be as nervous as you want to be, but do not show it on your face. Put a nice smile on your face while greeting him/her. Do not immediately sit, ask for permission before sitting. Put your hands on the table & cross your fingers. If there's no table, just put your hands on your lap the same way. Lean a little towards the interviewer, but be seated comfortably. Do not shake your legs, arms, scratching n itching are an absolute no-no. Answer questions as they are being asked. Be confident & answer frankly, promptly & accurately. Do not be on back foot if you are challenged during an interaction. But do not unnecessarily argue with the interviewer. Make sure you stick to your stand. Do not give one word answers, explain in brief in every question. Smile when answering a funny question or while answering something like that. Use as much hand gestures as possible while explaining some answer. Do not just sit like a robot, use your non-verbal communication skills to the fullest along with your verbal skills. While coming out do remember to greet the interviewer.

The key to cracking an interview is to be confident, cool, prompt, frank answers. Remember honesty is the best policy. Whenever you get a chance, do not fail to show that you are an honest person & that you speak your heart out. Beyond this the rest is sheer luck... So good luck to everyone giving an interview; wish you all the very best.

Interviews... putting your best foot forward. - Part I

First of all, a very HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008 to each and everyone reading this blog :)

This post is primarily dedicated to all those friends and individuals who will be seating for campuss recruitment drives by major IT companies from all over India. This is just my short and sweet analysis of going through an ideal interview. This is how an ideal interviewee should prepare himself/herself. I have written this by compiling both my experience & my friends' experiences while giving an interview & while preparing for it.

STATUATORY WARNING: Do not take this as a expert opinion or a guaranteed way to get through the interview process, but this is necessarily a probable way to prepare yourself beforehand to put your best foot forward on the D-day.

Prior preparations at home before the D-day ---

Appearance - It is very important to make a first impression on the basis of your appearance. You should have good, clean, well-combed hair & please shave off those facial hairs. Take out the formal apparels that you are going to wear on the D-day. They should be neat, clean & well ironed. The clothes, shoes & other accessories should be strictly formal. No polka dotted, flowery prints (both for boys & girls) allowed. Very bright (orange, fluorescent, etc.) coloured or half-sleeves (for boys) & sleeveless (for girls) are a strict no-no. Your shoes should be shining black. Make sure you select the best formal apparel from your wardrobe.

Technical - It is important to prepare yourselves for the technical interview weeks in advance. Make sure that you are confident to answer simple, basic questions & FAQ's. Note them down, copy them from www.freshersworld.com or other such websites. Remember, it is better to be confident in a few subjects than to be clumsy on a variety of subjects. Popular IT subjects that are generally asked are C, C++, DS, OS, DBMS & other department specific subjects. It is necessary to be confident on at least two programming languages (one of them should have OOPS concept) & two other subjects.

Communication skills - This is a very wide & vague concept which most people ignore. But it is equally important (i personally think its even more important) than your technical skills. You should have fairly good command over the english language & should be able to speak freely on any given topic. Make sure your accent can be understood by the person you are speaking to & that every word should be clearly pronounced. You can develop on this by speaking to your friends in english & by watching good english news channels like Times NOW, NDTV, BBC World etc. Also keep a tab on the non-verbal communication skill. Small things make a large difference. This may seem unimportant but physical gestures like making eye contact, smiling to a witty question/comment, hand gestures while explaining something are very important to make the interviewer understand that you are genuinely interested in giving the interview. You should practice these things as often as possible. Use your home dressing table mirror if you are having trouble regarding this (it helped for me). It is important to be spontaneous & not act like a robot :)

This is the end of PART I of a two part series blog. The next post would be on how to handle an interview & some tips & tricks to remember during an interview. If you have any doubts/queries/remarks, please feel free to write them down as a comment. I would really appreciate it.