The Cup that counts….

                 The First round of the ICC cricket world cup has come to an end and it has been a fascinating one month of some closely fought, some one sided cricket matches. To me this one is the biggest cricketing event of all times. I still remember the Kerry Packer cricket series started in Australia, decades ago and its astonishing what an ‘idea’ could do. Cricket world cup gets bigger and bigger.

                 Before the start of the event, I believed that atleast one of the associate Nations would make it to the quarters. As it turned out none of them managed to do so and here what we have - 8 top teams in the world in the quarter finals. It gotta be an intense contest from here on in.

                 To start with when Viru Sehwag ‘dismissed’ the first ball of the world cup through extra cover, I was sure that the tournaments’ gonna be a run feast. India was clinical with their batting but the bowling looked as vulnerable as ever and has not improved so far in the tournament. It all comes down to Zak every time and so far he has delivered. But nonetheless India was the second most interesting team of the first round, obviously behind England. My word! Each game England played went down the wire. And I wonder how hell in the world a team can tie to India, beat SA and WI but loose to Ireland and Bangladesh.

                 Whatever it is, I thoroughly enjoyed these two teams. It was there hard work which made the Group B, the ‘group of death’. And not to forget the Irishmen, it was soothing to watch them compete.
But at the end there were no setbacks and all the top teams qualify for the second round.

                 In the first group there were quite a few standout individuals. In the bowling dept where there were Roaches, Malingas, Steyns, Afridis and Tahirs , the batting dept saw heroics from the likes of AB De, Watson, Sehwag, Trott, Clarke, Umar Akmal and most unfortunately SRT in the loosing cause. The All-rounders haven’t had a great say so far in the tournament but the baton is carried by Yuvraj Singh who seems to be peaking at the right time… As far as the fielding is concerned I found Mahela as the best of the lot so far. He’s taken grabbed astonishing catches in the slips.

                 There were lots of funny moments like Suleimann Benn’s running b/w the wickets, Kenyan batsmen commitment, Darren Sammy’s fitting into his side .What I guessed I missed was the Helicopter shot, the dilscoops, the palti hits .. Meanwhile there were a few upar cuts, dussra’s etc… U know what pepsi managed to put together a good ad campaign, but the best one should most definitely be the Zoo Zoo!!!!! No doubt Rajnikant is the best entertainer of the year….

                 I have watched all the cricket on television and that show after each match ‘Extra Cricket’ is awesome. The strong team of Harsh, Sidhu, Greig, Ganguly, Simon, Symcox has done a wonderful job and analyzed each game superbly.

                 Hope the next phase of the cup comes out to be much much…much better. And I hope India wins this time around.

“de Ghumke, ghumke ……”

Cheers,
Rohit

Emotions – Strength or weakness???

                 How often do we hear sentences like, “Don’t give him that task, he is very emotional”, “emotional fool!”, “why the hell u get so emotional?” ??? On numerous occasions, I m sure.
                 Have we ever wondered what actually an emotion is? Very hard to define indeed.. Is it a kind of an experience or a reaction or a thought or a feeling....??? Could be anything!! But what I am sure of is that it is more often than not associated with mood, temperament and personality.
                 Once I was talking to a very good friend of mine who said that ‘being emotional’ is a feminine quality and I argued it’s not. I believe and as a rule of thumb everybody has emotions. But what we fail to do is to control them. To some emotions cause problems and to some they don’t, and hence the perennial question-- are emotions one’s strength or weakness?
                 I believe that emotions are always a man’s or a woman’s strength if u r able to control them and channelize the energy generated by them in the right direction. In other words the key here is ‘Emotional Control’.
                 Now a lot could be said about why and what and when of ‘Emotional Control’ but the most important of them all, to me, is HOW??? How do I control my emotions or at least try doing that. One of the first things that comes to mind, ‘Yaar don’t think abt it’. Let me tell you this strategy is a long term failure. One of the other failure of strategy is when we try to force ourselves not to think in a way we do and repeat the empowering phrases in mind over and over until the repression supposedly sinks in.
                 But I think the best way for ‘Emotional Control’ arguably is rationalization.... whenever I want to control my emotions I raise a question to myself “I shouldn’t feel the way I do because....?” and then debate over it with myself.....Self awareness and self realization are the key to emotional control and this is what makes one say that “my Emotions are my Strength”...

Still trying to make that happen to myself.
Rohit

Yet another page...of my life

                 It has been ages since I have written a blog. And I feel like writing one today.

                 Life is similar yet dissimilar to a roller coaster, I say this coz but unlike the roller coaster where u exactly know whether u r on a high or low, you don’t in real life. And we always feel otherwise.
                 I have had a shift of locations for the first time in my professional career, and obviously in India. I have made a move from Mumbai to Gurgaon, in the National Capital Region. When I first got the opportunity to move I was in a dilemma coz getting out of Mumbai, city I have loved so much would be a tough decision to make. But as they say, if a person has lived in Mumbai, can live anywhere else in the world. Well, that’s an attribute to the fast paced life of Mumbai.
                 So with all the excitement and enthusiasm of moving from a Metro to a sweet village (gur Gaon), closer to home, better work I moved my foot forward and landed here. And the city didn’t receive me badly at all. Not a very warm welcome though.
                 The city of Gurgaon unlike Mumbai does not have very good facilities. There is a major problem of electricity, water and local transport. One would not find people forthcoming (I might have set my standards high though , thanks to Mumbaikars). But this city has few things which are good too. The distances are not much, so with one’s own transport travelling is easy. The temperatures here are extreme, variety of gadgets from AC, Fridge to heaters could be seen. Finally there is Metro so travelling to NCR or the Capital itself becomes damn easy. And my exploring spree is still on.
                 Talking of the NCR region itself, I am really impressed by its infrastructure. If one goes to Delhi, would realize how beautifully the city has been planned could then appreciate the fact that it’s the National capital. The new airport has come up very beautifully and the railway connectivity to Delhi is mind blowing.
                 One other thing I was pleasantly surprised coming here was that I was able to meet old friends and spend quality time. I tell u it’s so much soothing and fun to pull those old strings. It’s ‘Bliss’….. With old mates life seems to be fun. I am having lots of it and it seems to be a ‘high of the roller coaster’, and I really hope ‘it’ remains a high. Hehe. I m being too very optimistic … coz they say what goes up, comes down.

Unaware, enjoying at the moment,
Rohit

US ‘the jazzy’ Open grand slam...

                 For all you tennis fans and for you who aren't tennis fans :):). Another year of tennis grand slams have finished as we have come to an end of another exciting US Open. This is my favourite grand slam and "the Flushing Meadows" has all sorts of things apart from tennis like drama, action, all kinds of clothing etc... And the list goes on, to make it one.
                 Rafa won his First US open men’s singles to complete his career grand slams. Kim Clijsters successfully defended her women's singles crown (home support???)... Obviously for Bryan Brothers who beat the historic Indo-Pak 'partnership' of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi >>>I was particularly impressed by Rohan's play, especially the backhands he played. I could c he has grown stronger but still very less to compete with higher ranked players. The issue with the Indian players is that they are highly skilled but physically not as strong.For women's and mixed doubles....m not interested, may be?
                 Well there were many unexpected moments in the tournament like the entire Spanish Davis cup team assembled in the men’s quarters in flushing; Elena Dementieva rolling out Venky’s endorsement on dress, Nadia Petrova dons a hideous dress. No name was better than the punchy 'Jack Sock' (who even wears tube socks. I smell endorsement!) And Federer runs into Djokovic, his victim for 3 successive years, who shuts the door on the dream of the king this time.
                 Infact I was pitching for Novak to win the title but in the final it was Rafa all the way... He is that big occasion player u see...
                 Amongst the intensity of Wimbledon, the excitement of French open and the exuberance of the Australian open, the US open is like , it says 'I am Awesome'.

Cheers,
Rohit

Lateral Thinking...... hmmmmm Really!!!

                  Once in an aptitude workshop I was asked,” How would u make 4 equilateral triangles out of 6 matchsticks?”. As clueless as ever I could not answer it................. Hey, r u thinking already? Well can u do it??? Answer however, is to make a *Tetrahedron*. That time I could do nothing but to smile at my ignorance.
                  As time passed I began to realize it was not just ‘not able’ to answer that question, it was something else, more intense, and that was lack of ‘Lateral Thinking’. The ability to think out of the box, have creativity in problem solving, to have a 3-dimensional view of the problem. In that particular question it was never told that the triangles have to be co-planer, only if I were able to have that ‘3-D view’ of it.
                  In fact, it’s not just about being Maverick in problem solving but it’s a skill that does potentially bring about revolutions. Be it Kerry Packer’s series which revolutionized world cricket, the introduction of each of the products of Apple company, and even the invention of Telephone , light bulb. All these were results of lateral thinking exhibited by one or more individuals.
                  When I used to talk to my friends about this concept, a predominant reply used to be ‘it’s an inborn talent yaar’. I beg to disagree and say that this is a misleading belief. Lateral Thinking is a skill and like any other skill it can be developed. There need not be a conscious effort to develop this skill.. It can be achieved with a little logical and mathematical analysis. Edward de Bono the professor who coind the term ‘Lateral Thinking’ says that ‘intelligence is a potential and thinking is a skill to use that potential.’ Just as the skill of the driver determines how a car is used, thinking determines how intelligence is used.
                  One may be a good thinker without being an intellectual and vice-versa. But it’s always good to be both at the same time.

Cheers,
Yoursrohit

A new Beginning…

                  “Everything happens for the first time in life”. So today something happened for the first time in my life. I made a switch in my job for the first time and joined me new place of work “Diamond Management and Technology Consultants”…
                 Its not even half a day here when I am writing this blog. But I am starting to enjoy the ambience. The office is small but ‘state of art’. It has everything which one might need to have to work well. It is a calm and quiet bay with occasional chirpings. I think it will take me some time to be a part of it and to know the whereabouts…
                 In the morning when I left home at 8, I had little nerves and was constantly thinking of giving the best first impression. I had to change buses to come to Chakala, Andheri(one of the most crowded western suburb of Mumbai). Had oe of the longest waiting times for the buses and had one of the slowest bus drivers of BEST driving my bus. When boarded the auto, had one of the worst traffic jams I had ever seen… It took me almost quarter to three hours to reach my office. Even amidst all the irritation the excitement never died.
I                  really hope I have a great time ahead at this place.

Cheers,
Rohit

One of the best holidays of my life

One of the best holidays of my life….
                 They say that there is never a holiday for a “Software Engineer”. So it took me to get ‘Unemployed’ from ‘Employed’ to have a long vacation. It was ten days in Jodhpur, my home town, although very hot but extremely satisfying.
                 I got to stay with the most important people in my life for more than a week, visit all my awesome relatives and lovely friends. Also had a chance to visit my college and spend some time there. A trip to Nakodaji and Mandoli was the icing on the cake.
                 With all this I had a chance to some of the exquisite cuisines prepared by the love of my life, my Mom... Having evening tea with Dad, playing and losing in Carrom all made me smile…
                 And there was football world cup. Amidst Klose’s , Villa’s , it were Inesta’s and the Forlan’s who stole the show and I never missed a match.I would pray that such holidays keep cuming and I cud spent time at home frequently being employed at the same time.

Cheers Rohit

My Last day @ Mastek(mail I wrote)

Hi All,
This day, 2nd July 2010, happens to be my last working day at Mastek. It seems just yesterday when I walked into Mastek on 27th August 2007, fresh out of college, bit nervous coz of the thought of coming to the corporate world.
But here I met 20 odd strange people, with whom I was supposed to study and learn and boy!!! What time we had. I am lucky that I made great many friends in that batch. We truly we called ourselves “Warehouse Ki Khoj”.... Thank you guys for all the love, support, fun, masti, and companionship you provided.
Another very important thing that happened in those early stages of my career was - the trainers... I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every member of the then called ‘Training Cell’ for providing such an impeccable training.
The first of everything is very close to one’s heart and so is the first project of my career, BT- Spine-ERS. I really enjoyed working in there and the experience is priceless. I made extremely good friends. Those tea parties, working on weekends, onsite calls dinner parties and the list is endless. Remember the ‘Freaky Friday’? I would cherish each moment spent with you. Thank you so much for being there and making work such an ‘adorable’ event for me.
As they say ‘one good thing is followed by another’ so was my coming into MSN project. 1-Source was an experience in itself, an awesome learning experience in terms of technology and balance in life. Life was like a roller coaster for me then... And then there was SFA. Said to one of the dream teams to work in MSN and whoa! I got a chance to work with a bunch of highly committed technology experts. And the masti you guys do at work in marvellous. Thank you all guys for making me a part of it. The MSN bay seems like a second home to me and you all like family members.
The Mastekeers whom I've met during induction, bus travel, playing carom and TT and CS of course, just wanted to say that interacting with you was a gem of an experience.
I would also take this opportunity to thank all those people who I was involved directly/indirectly with, the TIS, Helpdesk and IR people, the Admin ,FnL and Travel department, the HR and the fun@work committee, the LnD and Edge team and the Masteknet team and RMG.
I would also thank the security guards, canteen people and bus drivers.
In a small or big way, I have learnt something from each one of you and would cherish it my entire life. I really enjoyed the work culture, with Friends and having fun with learning. I would be carrying from Mastek a truck laden with experience, knowledge, memories, and friendship.

AWESOME time is what I had at Mastek.
My Best wishes to all in your personal and professional endeavours.

It would be my pleasure to stay in touch with all you lovely people. You can contact me at:
rohitdilipmehta@gmail.com or rohitdmehta@ymail.com
Call me @ +91 9819268812

“Bas Yaadein Reh Jati Hain”

Phir milenge…..
Rohit!!!

Living Legend

                 It’s been three days and I was itching to write about it. The festival of colors ‘HOLI’ is approaching and so there is a lot of enthusiasm amongst all the people of India. Also this is the Budget season in India. The Railway and Union budget this week would lay a roadmap as to where our country and its citizens are heading in the next one year.
                 Amidst all these things, we got a very pleasant surprise and enormous happiness when Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, cricket’s greatest son and arguably the greatest batsman ever, rocked the world of cricket and became the first man on the planet to score a double century in One Day International cricket.
                 It all started when Sachin hit a boundary of the third ball of the second over in his own style with a drive through mid-off at the Captain Roop Singh stadium, Gwalior. He was in a great mood and kept timing the ball extremely well throughout the innings. It was a treat to watch him bat, as it always is. But that day is was something more special. He hardly played a bad shot the entire innings and it seemed that it’s the same 16 year old boy as he was 2 decades ago. When he was on 199 and Dhoni kept hitting Steyn and company all around, virtually whole of India was on a standstill. We could not wait to see him on strike and when squeezed the ball past point in the last over of the innings the pleasure was immense. I felt as if I myself have achieved that….
                 In his cricketing career what not he has achieved, over 90 centuries in international cricket and over 30,000 runs. In addition to it records for most 100’s, 90’s, 50’s; a double century and respect of thousands of millions of cricket lovers all over the world. His only 'outstanding' dream as a cricketer probably now is to hold a ‘Cricket World Cup’. If cricket was an individual sport then this dream would have been achieved way back. Since it is not, the next year when India gets into the world cup, the little master would do whatever possible to get his hands on the world cup. If we are able to achieve that, it would be a fitting tribute to a fantastic cricketer and his contribution to Indian cricket.


Cheers
Rohit

Two States...

Already started guessing!!!!!! I wonder you have already guessed it... Yes, it is about Chetan Bhagat’s new latest novel “2 States”. I read it just yesterday. And the book touched me on various grounds.
I have read all his books but this one is surely a masterpiece. In the name of a love story, he put light on various other aspects of life and society. Firstly, he shows that how divided we are. With due respect to all my all Punjabi and South Indian brothers and sisters, he mentions that how clichéd we are and a little orthodox too. We on numerous occasions forget that we are Indians.
A few people call them very 'simple', but they aren’t. A few call them 'high class' but they aren’t. Even though called as a fiction, the author has tried to bring out quite a few colours. Entangled in the comedy and love story there are lots of emotions, almost b/w all members of a family.
Actually I am itching to summarize the book but I think it would be much better reading the complete book by yourself. Do Read the book...

Cheers,
Rohit