Meeting a fellow Blogger

How do you react when you meet a fellow blogger. When you see the person you have known and come to admire, for the first time? How does the conversation flow - like it does when we discuss things here on the blogospherse - or like when two strangers meet for the first time?

Am sure each one of us will have their own stories of what happened when they met a fellow blogger for the first time. I too have my share of them :). The first time I met someone from blogosphere for real was when we had a meet last year - with me, Vamsi, Abhinav, and Urvi joining in.

The second time was when I met Maddy. We both operate from the same location (Ohri towers) and the same shifts - but in spite of trying many times we never could meet. Then suddenly one day we met without any plan what so ever - and it was great. Now we keep running into each other, and it is fun to talk to him :D.

The third time it happened was on last Sunday, when I met Abhishek for the first time... and how!! It all started when he bought a bike on Saturday, and in the evening we chatted on phone and decided to go for a ride in the morning. The next morning, I rode from my home to Kakatiya, where he stays - and from there we started our ride, chatting about everything under the sun.

There was no set plan for the ride, and we went where ever our bikes took us. After We finally stopped near Lumbini park and had breakfast and a smoke, all the while talking about blogging, friends, cycling, college days, education system, future aspirations, life, and what not.

Finally we parted at Lumbini Park, with a promise of meeting again in future for more such rides....

If any of you is interested in joining us, he or she is most welcome. We plan to ride on weekend mornings (no specific plans as of now) and gradually increase the distance of the rides. Hope to see you there. Till then,

This is Hashir, signing off....

Over and out

What is happening in our country

I am really surprised and dejected at the state of education in our country. If knowing the fact that most schools here just aim to make money and provide substandard education was not enough, comes the news that corporal punishment is still much of a norm here. 

Most of us would have read about, and already forgotten, the case of Shanno - who was beaten by her teacher so bad that she lost her life. On top of this comes the news of Akkriti, who lost her life because her school could not provide her with required medication for her asthma. If this is the state of schools in our country, then I would rather let my kids study at home rather than go out and put their lives at stake every day.

Many of us will argue that punishment is required, and I wholeheartedly agree with them. But why should punishment mean corporal? Can't we disipline our child in a different way - by making him realize his mistake, and that whenever he does one, he has to pay a price. May be the price is that he has to sit in class while the his peers enjoy a fun activity, or by making him miss something he really enjoys doing. Isn't this a better way of making a child realize that he must pay the price of any wrong he does. Or, do you want to say that we are so cowardly that we can't disipline our children except by beating the hell out of them?

My heart goes out to the two kids mentioned above, and the immunerable others who did not find mention in the newspapers. This post is dedicated to them, andto the hope that such incedents do not happen in future.

This is a pained Hashir, signing off

Over and out

P.S. - I must confess, I too had all but forgotten about these incedents. Thanks to Alok and his daughter, Reveda, for reaching out and bringing me out of my slumber. You can read about what they say about these incedents here and here

P.P.S. - I would like to request all my friends visiting this space to raise their voices against such incedents. We all need to make a stand in our own, small ways, to make a difference.

Blog Reader Appreciation Day

For the uninformed, today is Blog Reader Appreciation Day. So, I would like to thank all the readers of my blog for dropping by, and for commenting on my posts.

Thanks again for visiting my space, and hope you continue to drop by in future also.

This is Hashir, signing off,

Over and out

A confession - and a dilemma

I have a confession to make - I am a complete, hopeless spendthrift. The only time I have saved money in my life is when I had to purchase something. But, after getting a job even this habit has started to vane thanks to the great EMI offers, Personal Loans, and credit cards. Infact, the only reason why I am not neck deep in debt is that I still do have a somewhat sensitive head, which stops me from following all my heart's whims and fancies (though I don't listen to it that much).

Okay, now that I have confessed, let me come to the next point of discussion - which is the current dilemma I am in. Before talking (or rather, writing) about that, let me give you a bit of a background which has given rise it. The thing is, we are Inshallah going to have a function at my place in October/November (and no, I am neither getting engaged nor married, yet). Obvoiusly, when you have a function at home, there are a lot of expenses involved, and I want to support my Dad to the fullest possible extent. This means that I have to start saving from now - since my present bank balance is zero (thankfully it is not in negative).

Now, coming back to my dilemma - it is about whether or not should I go ahead and purchase a bike? The thing is - with Tech Mahindra having taken over Satyam, I can breath more easy now than before, and also since I have already paid the last semester's fee of my MS, so some of my expenses have reduced. So, I can think of buying a bike. The problem is, the bike I want to purchase costs a little over 1 Lakh INR, since my dream bike is the Thunderbird

I have wanted to have a bullet since I was a kid, and the TBTS is that and more. And, I know that I am short, fat, and that I won't look good on the bike - so all my detractors - you have no points to comment on (evil grin!!).

This is my dilemma. Should I buy it now, or should I wait till say August, see my bank balance, and then decide on whether I can take the risk or not. I am thinking on these lines, and am requesting you to think and suggest. Till then,

This is a confused Hashir, signing off

Over and out

The Rozabal Line - A review

I happen to be a real bookaholic, but due to increased work pressure over the last few weeks I was unable to get myself to read any new book (although I have quite a few waiting to be read).

Finally, yesterday, decided to get down to reading and finish the backlog, so that I do not feel guilty when purchasing a new one :).

So, checked out my cabinet to find what all novels were not read (am really into fiction), and decided to start with The Rozabal Line. And, after having finished reading it, I am happy that I started with it. Following is my excuse of a book review (I have never done this, although we do discuss books and give our comments, but a book review - never)!

The book actually starts from where The DaVinci Code left. It builds upon the legend of Jesus Christ, and works on the lines that Jesus survived his crusification, travelled to Kashmir in India, and died there - and that his bloodline still survives. Parallel to this runs the story of a fictional spin off of the LeT, an unholy allaince between the 13 and the Crux Decussata Permuta, and the Illumanati which opposes the Church for their own selfish reasons, and ofcourse, the great Feminism.

The book is well paced, and flows smoothly from one age to the other - gripping the reader and taking him for a ride in the myraid world of conspiracies, controvercies, secret, and intregue - till you are ready to beileve in anything. the author then slams the killer punch, and makes you reorganize your perceptions and beliefs.

In short, a must read book. I would give it a 4 out of 5.

Will be back with more reviews. Do give your comments on this review - as this is the first time I am writing one. Till then,

This is Hashir, signing off

Over and out

Thankyou Mr Varun Gandhi

Well, the latest scion of the famed Nehru-Gandhi family strikes, and how. By shouting that we muslims have dangerous sounding names, that if you see us at night you will get afraid, that he will cut our hands if we (supposedly) strike on our Hindu countrymen, and by suggesting that any muslim who wears a beard looks like Osama.

Thank you Mr Varun Gandhi for expressing your views in the open, and for bringing to light that all the rheotheric of the Sangh pariwar/BJP about Hindu Muslim unity, and about treating muslims as Indians is just that - mere rheotheric.

He made fun of the names we have, he made fun of the appearence we keep, and openly threatened my community members. And why? Just because we are the minority here? Just because it has become fashionable to bash up the minorities for some votes. Or just because it so happens that the so called Jihadis and I share the same religion, and so I deserve to be bashed up in my own country.

What proved to be the icing of the cake was when he said that his cousin sister (a girl aged 7 or 8 years) commented on the appearence of another party's candidate and said that he was Osama bin Laaden. Well mister Gandhi, let me remind you that India is a demotric country and we all have the fundamental right to keep any appearence we desire as long as it is within certain limits. And, I know of no laws which prohibit anyone from keeping a beard.

The little girl may have made an innocent comment, since the images of the Al-Qaida chief are shown so much in the news. But now was the time to instill a sense of tolerence in the lady. It should have been explained to her that just because two people have the same appearence does not mean that they both have the same character, just because some religious fanatics wage a war in the name of religion does not make all followers of that religion bad or terrorists.

But no. Instead of doing something that was good, and right - this man chooses to do something that shows the world how "Indian" he truly is. Being a true Indian does not mean singing the national anthem or Vande Matram, nor do you become a true Indian by shouting "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" the loudest.

A true Indian is one who can practice and preach the concept of tolerance and acceptance - of different cultures, religions, and thoughts. These quaities make our country great. Sadly, the netas do not realize this.

Shame on you Mr. Varun Gandhi, and thanks for showing your true face so early in your political career.

This is a very shocked and pissed Hashir (who also happens to be a Muslim), signing off,

Over and out

Disclaimer - This post is written assuming that the video of speech shown on CNN are correct. If proved otherwise, the author would like to retract from his views about Mr. Varun Gandhi

A bad day in office

As I sit here, reminiscing the day that has gone by and trying to determine what went wrong, all I can say is that this was one of the worst days in my professional life. I have seen bad days, and I believe that I will see some more (hopefully a small number) in future, but this comes right at the top because of the timing.

Well, it so happened that we were going through the "GO LIVE" phase of the project I am working on. All had gone well, and the just a couple of reports had to be tested before getting the green signal and having all "Well Done" and "Good Work" mails to start pouring in. But, this was not to be.... as in true Bollywood style and following Murphy's Law, the second last report to be tested - failed.

This report was developed by, hold your breath, your's truly. Since I was not a part of the team that was in office, so I was blissfully unaware of this, and remained in my ignorant heaven till Monday afternoon, when I reached office - only to have all volleys turned at me.

What saved me from getting lynched was that the onus was on the functional guy to test the report after it was developed, and thankfully I had a mail from him saying that all was fine. What happened was this - this report calls 4 other programs, and the fourth one failed because I did not pass one mandatory parameter.

I know that the responsibility of the correct development was on me, and I take all blame for this, specially because due to this we lost all ground we had gained during the development, and we also were not praised for a job well done - all because of me and the bl**dy missing parameter.

So, I tried to maintain a sober and serious face throughout the day - which surprised my team mates as they are used to seeing a happy and funny me - but then tough times need tough measures.

So ended my day - which was filled with a lit of shouting, and questions being raised on the way I work (My lead even said that I need to come out of the "second year" mentality.) When I asked him what that was, he said that second year students of engineering behave as if the whole world is theirs - and I need to get a bit serious.

Well, to tell you the truth, will think along these lines. Need to do some introspection. Till then

This is Hashir, signing off,

Over and out

I want to vote

Well, to tell you the truth, I did not believe in voting - simply because I thought that the processs of elections is only to choose who will rob us for the next 5 years. But, lately, I have had a bit of a transformation, and now I want to cast my vote.

The change is in part due to the "jagore" campaign, and also because I finally got my voter's ID card made. And now, I find that I can not cast my vote, because I will not be in my city when the election is held there - I will be in Hyderabad - where I am not registered as a voter.

Makes me think, a lot of us are away from home, and some are also abroad. Shouldn't there be a mechanism for us to cast our vote irrespective of where we are. Maybe we can have an online poll, where you can login using your Voter ID number, and also a security question whose answer is difficult to guess, and then cast our vote on the date of election at home.

Don't really know if there is any option for people away from their home to cast their votes. If anyone knows of anything, please do tell me.

Before signing out, I would like you people to check out the video of "Shutup and Vote", the anthem of the jagore campaign.

This is Hashir, signing off.... (and hoping that everyone who has the chance to vote, does so).

Over and out

A Quick update

I have won the "Blog of the day award" for 12th March, 09. Here is the link to the announcement - http://blogofthedayawards.blogspot.com/2009/03/doodle-chronicles.html.

Thankyou guys,

Hashir

Thankyou for touching my life

On the occasion of Women's day, just wanted to reach out and thank all women who have changed my life. 

The following deserve a special mention - 

1. My Mom - for giving birth to me (ofcourse), and for teaching me that it is stupid to blindly follow the world, and for understanding when I actually did that. Love you mom!!
   
2. My Elder Sister - for accepting nothing but the very best from me.
3. My Younger Sister, Halima - For accepting me for who I am, for ignoring the innumerable times I put her secondary, and for still loving me always, blindly
4. My cousin sister, and my bachcha, Faiza - For treating me as the most important person of her life, for being disappointed whenever I was away on her birthday, and for always accepting my feeble promises for being there the next time.
5. My Aachi - for being the wiff of fresh air in our "serious" household, for always guiding me and emploring me to grow up (I won't - ever), and being the only person in my home to have not scolded me (I am working on that)
6. My dearest Bhanji, Anzalna, for making me realize what I am missing by being away from home. Forgive me kid
7. My dearest friend and sister, Ridhi - for always believeing in me and caring for me as if you are my mom, while you are actually younger (Yeah yeah, by a month only. So what, I still am the elder one here (wicked grin))
8. My friend's, and my sister, Rosy - for bringing me back on earth
9. For my best friend, Sanju - for being a true lioness and always threatening to kill me. Believe me Kid, you never will be able to.

These are some of the women who have touched and changed my life. To others whom I have not mentioned, forgive me, for I do have a bad case of forgetfullness. And please, don't ever stop touching my life and making it better

This is Hashir, wishing all a very happy Women's day

Over and out