The first round was the online test which tested verbal , analytical , programming and IT concepts. The programming part was too tough an encounter – 20 questions to be solved in 20 minutes. You had to decrypt the congested and the notorious ‘foo’ functions (By decrypt, I dont mean this was a crypto puzzle – the code was in a mess, logically and syntactically ) that had all sorts of loops , counters, flow charts and what not – and on top of all these , 1 minute for 1 question. WTF.

Cleared that (Divine intervention , maybe? ) and went for the technical+HR Round. This guy who interviewed me scanned through every line of my poor resume and started to ask all sorts of questions regarding the projects and areas of interest. Then we entered the world of linked lists , heaps , graph, trees and all sort of operations on them(Nothing that we had ever heard of ) – lasted for 45 minutes. He invited me to ask him some questions later (It’s my turn, baby! ).

Ok, wanted to know how an actual interview would be like (told ya , never ever went for one) – first outing wasn’t too bad – but then its all grace(HER grace ). See ya!

Sadda Haq is a mind blowing musical – Orianthi’s rock guitar strums makes your head go whizzy – Such is the intensity of the song. Crooned effortlessly by Mohit Chauhan( Is it really him? ) . Get that speakers out and put the music in loop-mode right away. Hell of Song!

Naadan Parindey – The amazing part here is the portion 3.12-3.42. Electric guitar at its best. Rahman’s part of singing takes the song into a different level. Mohit’s portion , I feel , could have been more tougher(As sources say, this song is the final concert – could have been more grand). Nevertheless, very good.

One of the songs which I didn’t fancy much at the start –  Jo Bhi Main , soon became my favourite. A slow, moody rock that is pleasant as well as haunting. Yeah, magical. Cant miss this one.

Kaaya Fun Kaaya A beautiful Qawwali , with a magical guitar (By Keba) interlude. Rahman , Javed Ali and Mohit Chauhan create magic. Divinity written all over it.

Tum Ho and Tum Ko – Mohit and Kavitha Krishnamoorthy have sung different versions of the same song – each being a melodious musical. Mohit’s humming in Tum Ho is fabulous.

Summing up, Rockstar is simply awesome. Yet another Masterpiece by the Master.

What was the protest all about?  To free kasab ? Or demand of a national holiday for Osama’s death?

What beats me is, the Congress’ ploy to turn the protest lead by Hazare and Baba Ramdev , into one that’s actually engineered by BJP/ RSS / Hindu Right wing groups.

Tell me one thing. Does corruption and black money affect only Hindus? Doesn’t it make millions of INDIANS-without any religious distinctions- homeless and indigent ? How many people in BPL(Below poverty line) can manage two square meals a day? Or is it only Hindus that are being starved to death and not the others ?

Corruption is a monster that engulfs the peace and prosperity of the nation – religion has no role to play here. Then how could the congress say the protests by Hazare and Baba ramdev to be Hindu-centric?  The congress, wearing their fake secular tag , are motivating the Non-hindu’s (and some hindu secularist’s) to stay away from the protests , very tactically.  Of course , its after all run by Antonia Maino and her kids Raul and Bianca , together with a puppet called Manmohan aka Prime Minister of India(The puppet of the century)-a group that has no feelings of patriotism and just living by the it’s  pre-independence accomplishments. What more can you expect from such a group? Aren’t muslim’s an integral part of  this land ? Doesn’t corruption affect them , or aren’t there any muslims in the BPL ? Baba Ramdev and Hazare are fighting against an evil that affects  every Indian (Except of course , the elite league , who have half their fortunes stashed away in foreign shores) without any distinctions based on religion.

The congress, clearly proves that its panel of members are all corrupt , trying to save their ass  by turning the tables on RSS/BJP  , saying they are the ones who have actuated the protest’s. I am not saying that members of  BJP are on the  path to apotheosis-there are equally corrupt people everywhere ; but thats not my point. I dont get the idea-why accuse the RSS to be behind the protests ? Why cant the government come clean, in turn, by declaring their assets? Instead , they are taking a path , that’s gonna do no good. Their vote bank politics are useless-corruption affects every citizen – hindu , muslim , christian . If  they are trying to get the muslim’s attention , by blaming the RSS/BJP  to have actually motivated the protests , it clearly proves that the government is corrupt and searching for all possible ways to get out of this self-made welter.

Let me ask you one thing. Even if the RSS were actually behind hazare and baba ramdev(which I have no idea of), what wrong have they done?I am not an RSS fanatic (so dont mistake me for one!). They have actually caused a stir among the citizens-a wake up call,if you wanna say like that.And clearly , this was the last thing the congress wished for.

Quattrochi , 2G , Commonwealth fiasco – they have plundered this spiritual land to penury. This useless italian goverment must be thrown out , come 2014. And,  hope the congress shifts its base to italy- we have enough worthy Indian’s over here.

It has been 28 long years since the Indian national anthem was played in Olympics, the last time being way back in the year 1980 when men’s hockey teamdid this feat. abhinav bindra did make our motherland proud by winning the first solo gold in its Olympic history, others being in team event like hockey. when bindra won the event by scoring perfect 100 in most of the rounds and eventually winning gold medal in 10m rifle category, we were taken in by a huge surprise. well……. notice the sentence before-“taken in by a surprise”. this is the pathetic situation of our country in sports. a country with a billion population earns a gold medal after 28 yrs!! Jamaica, kenya and other countries that are just a speck in comparison with India’s size and population has won many more medals than us.

why? why should we rest in the bottom of all medal statistics undisturbed? china a country of nearly India’s  size and population has come first in Olympics 2008 held in china with a staggering tally of 51 gold medals and  a total medal’s tally more than 100,while we are proud of 1 gold,2 bronze(sushil kumar in wrestling and vijender in boxing).micheal phelps amassed 8 Olympics golds solely in swimming in 2008 Olympics while an entire team of Olympians of india could manage just a gold!

Here is a shameful stats of medals won by india in recent olympics:

1996 ATLANTA OLYMPICS – 1 BRONZE

2000 SYDNEY OLYMPICS – 1 BRONZE

2004 ATHENS OLYMPICS – 1 SILVER

2008 BEIJING  OLYMPICS – 1 GOLD,2 BRONZE

Tiny islands have scored massively leaving us groping in darkness….france,italy,germany,japan which are nowhere in comparison to india’s  populations have amassed several medals while usa and russia are always among the top in almost every sport in every edition of olympics till date. why not us??

My viewpoint is towards the dominance of cricket in india,which is has subduded every other sport in the country.ok we are upto world standards in cricket but it is not the only sport in the universe.And, the funniest part is-cricket is not in olympics!!

Indian hockey  has sunk low as a result failed to even  qualify for olympics,let alone win a medal!

India,before, had won its gold medals in olmpics only in hockey.the present indian hockey is only a mere shadow of what it was during dhyan chand’s dominating reign in hockey during 1920-1940 olympics.

Indian footbal team was a force to reckon with before the early sixties,finishing a fourth in olympics  in 1948 missing a medal by whisker(loss to australia 1-2 in bronze medal match).since then indian football has been diminshing fast. Similarly in swimming,judo,equstarian ,taekwondo,gymnastics,rowing,basketball,athletics,volley ball,tennis which form the bulk of olympics,india has fared miserably except some high points somewhere,sometimes that enabled india to win a bronze in tennis 1996,bronze in weight lifting 2000.

We are a country with more than a bilion citizens……aren’t we ashamed of our shameful stats that are repeated in every olympics ??its high time that more encouragement be given to sports other -than cricket.india must improve its pitiful state in swimming,basket ball,volley ball,foot ball,gymnastics ,athletics and so on.schools  must encorage children to progress in these sports,other than cricket,in order to develop skill and passion for these games at young itself.many children who have potential to make it to the highest level in sports other than cricket,hockey are being shunned down by peer’s and mentors,thanks to the lowly image of other sports in our country.this mindset ought to be changed ,by all means inorder to nurture talent and to make the potential to a glowing reality.good stadiums ,proper management authority,good domestic structure and good coaches who have the ability to spot the talent in people must be made available in other sports.

India has had too few heros in sports other than cricket and hockey which must be changed.good governing bodies like BCCI must emerge for rest of the sports in our country like in other countries like us,russia and china who have brilliant sportsmen in nearly all sports in olympics,and rarely go without medals.first and foremost,passion should be there for a particular sport-then only one can perform and bring laurels.games like gymnastics must gain popularity and that will be a major step towards achieving our goal.

In  Shooting india has  performed reasonably well – the lone gold which was won in shooting in olympics,2008.apart from that , rajyawardhan singh rathore achieved silver in 2004 olympics in athens,samresh jung won a record 6 gold medals in shooting in commonwealth games.india must still improve in shooting and take it to the next level.boxing and wrestling also has been india’s recent succes stories which was unheard of,before . with all these things and the possible surge in athletics and other sports ,india’s olympic preparation  for 2012,london must kick start with hardwork and vigour.India must show the world that it has not only potential,but the ability to make the potential into reality.

Situated in the sentosa islands, it is one of the top tourist locations in the country.

It has two levels-the ground level is fun, in its own ways-were one can touch and feed fishes, starfishes and many others. The moment I would cherish is when I touched the starfish (to get out of hand, I tickled it!!)And lo!!It squirted water into my face!!

Then comes the ray pool, which has many different types of rays-sting rays, electric rays and so on. Fun to watch is that the rays stick their heads out of the pool to take the feed!

Then comes the mini aquarium in the ground level were there are corals, jelly fishes illuminated by different colours,

gigantic 10 legged crabs

monster crabs.....

and many more..(I forgot the rest!)

The business starts as one embarks to the next level down.Its as if  one has been  taken right into the  oceans!

The spectacular underwater journey begins with the travellator(automatic moving system,like the baggage that moves on the belt in airports) that takes into the water tunnel which gave me the scene of a life time! Fishes ranging from the tiny to the huge-rays,killer sharks, sea lions swarming above us, to the left as well as to our rights.

It is an amazing feeling to be inside, while fishes roam around us. It’s a colossal  glass water tank ,which gives the impression of an ocean, as viewed from inside that houses the marine beings in the original way. One round around the tunnel may take up to 15 minutes, but mark my words, you will be craving for more.

I made around 5 rounds full of photo taking and video recording. I was truly amazed by the grandeur of the place, who in the past has been subjected to be in shabby aquariums having tiny fishes and not more.

One gets to see scuba divers inside the water,

scuba diving.....

treating the fishes or just for fun(it is a separate program).The place is adorned by fishes, fishes and only fishes .Wherever you see its fishes- toddlers to killer ones!

The underwater world also offers programs like fish reflexology-were Turkish fishes operate on your feet(you got to put your feet inside a tank) and nibble away old skin peels in your feet!

fishes at work....!!

The funny side what I saw was the people were being  tickled to laughter by the fishes in the process(the laughs, yells and jolly cries makes it more funny!)

For more details visit the link- www.underwaterworld.com.sg

paisa vasool!!( around INR 750)

Kudos to Ferdinand dimadura for portraying effectively the pity state of children of the hunger stricken area.

The short film “chicken a la carte” inspires one to think and do something good for those who seldom manage one square meal a day, while we gulp down eatables without ceasing. I myself am a die hard eater of any type of food in chicken. Little did I realize or even think of those people who ,in this case feed on the leftovers of the bird.

 In a survey, people of America seldom finish “half of their drinks”-juices, milkshakes and so on. Just imagine the no. of poor and downtrodden who die due of hunger, while we eat “more than” our hearts fill also, wasting them. According to the film, about 25,000 people die everyday of hunger.

Lack of nutritious food leads to various deficiency deseases.The longevity of people takes a heavy downfall.

The economic situation of the country plays a important role for this situation, but how long should people be losing their lives because of hunger ?The time has long arrived that we see into this matter and return with a solution ,an effective one. When we earn, when there is money sufficing for more than our needs, give to those who lose their lives due to poverty and hunger…at least save one life in our life!

India is our right and we, as the children of bharatmata have our tasks cut out to ensure the reawakening our country which was in the past, at the zenith of peace and prosperity. As swami Vivekananda said, the ruthless invasions of mughals and the brits led india into a temporary slumber only to be awakened with rejuvenated vigour…in such a force that the world shall be left stunned……………….

                        The Onus falls upon us-the present generation to lead by example. Enough of the empty words of criticism of our democratic structure, political system,law…merely mincing of words lead us nowhere BUT making it into an action will empower the nation into a dominating force. Have we ever wondered why our nation which boasts of its unparalleled past, a country whose ethics, morals and culture has had no parallels , to be still spoken of as “developing economy” ,”sleeping tiger”  or “potential ssuperpower”……WHY?  Why not can we be called a superpower still after traversing more than half a century as a free nation…? Japan was, in the early 20^th century a nation with absolutely no resources, demolished  by the killer bombs that struck Hiroshima and Nagasaki and left it gaping in the dark  , but now  the country ranks among the  highest  in per capita income figures. If they can,why not we?

                        We are being called the potential superpower….the time has long come to turn this potential into truth, a reality. each one of us should imbibe within us the image of a shining India. let us achieve what our forefathers could have only imagined. Last time when the slogan of ‘do’ arised, it was a revolution, the credit for our present freedom can be conferred mainly upon the historic, path breaking “DO or DIE movement”. This time around, we should ignite within ourselves the same passion, courage and determination but with a different attitude, for a different goal….to make the ‘rising India’ rise above any others reach….each one of us has to work towards the prospect of a shining India…India that is looked upon as a developed economy, not an asleep but raging tiger, and a superpower(and not still be called potential!).Our actions should in no way diminish our legacy and culture.world should be awed by our development as well as our cultural heritage.

            We are a nation having population of way  more than 100 crores…..even if atleast 1% of people actually DO something,we can acheive what we aspired for. Ofcourse,our country faces the evils such as corruption , bribery which can  hinder the real time development.but how long can we find excuse to escape from our duties…? effective measures should be taken to be keep the evils under check like voting  for a good government .Let us strive together to  make this nation surge ahead than others by actually DOing something…!!

There are numerous hotels that has deserts,malay cuisine,chineese,thai,continental,north indian and south indian cuisine…(prices being sky high, ofcourse!!)

believe me,its a spectacular place which also has a small ”adopted forest ” inside.

The MRT (mass rapid trains) comes right inside the airport facilitating smooth local transport to & from the airport.

changi..truly a must watch in singapore!!