Christmas is here!...its that period of the year where joy and happiness rule the roost and emotions like hatred and anger are put on the backburner! Christmas wasnt as dull and unhappening as it is today!...Christmas used to be one of the festivals which i looked forward to with glee and expectation! So, at the mere thought of christmas iam flooded with sweet and unforgettable memories. Till i was at xaviers, christmas time used to be a blast and the whole school wore a festive look. I was a part of the choir and we used to sing christmas carols. i remember all the carols till this day. 'joy to the world', 'Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer','santa claus is coming to town'...and many more. After each session we were given sweets. :) And Christmas was always accompanied with the legend of Santa Claus. A legend which i used to have great belief in. Because every year Santa used to come to our school and dstribute goodies and you cannot imagine how much i used to love santa!...he was the darling of all kids alike. With his great white beard and a perpetual smile on his face he was a 'phenomenon'. Legend has it that Santa used to examine if the kids were nice to others and whether or not they were naughty,before distributin gifts. So every year from dec 1st, i used to temporarily cease being naughty and try being nice! :). I used to believe that santa really came from the north pole,riding on his sled along with his reindeer. All of those beliefs came crashing one day!

When i was around 8 or 9 years old ,right before my christmas hols my friends had assured me that Santa would come during midnight on christmas eve and give you what you demand. I implicitly believed them. So as my friends had told i wrote a letter to santa assuring him i had been a nice kid and that i was worthy of his gifts(which i was :P). I dont exactly remember what i asked him.I am sure a cricket bat was on the fairly lengthy list and also a new yonex badminton racquet. i folded the letter with great care and placed it in a newly washed pure white sock.i placed the sock under my pillow as i was told and went to sleep,positive that santa would appear out of nowhere in midnight and shower me with the gifts that i had demanded. I was very excited and had to force myself to sleep as santa wouldn appear if we were awake. So i woke up next morning with happiness and hope,brushed my teeth and ran to bed, looked under my pillow. The sock was intact and hadnt moved an inch. I searched the whole house. But couldnt find anything that i had asked for. Oh! The dissappointment! It was too much for me to bear.All my hopes came crashing down.I even asked my dad if santa had come...he merely laughed!. It was then that i realized that the myth of santa was balderdash and that real santa were parents themselves.The dissapointment was quite huge,you know.Nevertheless till i was at xaviers christmas was always great fun.
This is one memory of christmas which i can never forget. Of course now when i look back at this incident i laugh it off. But those sweet childhood memories of christmas will always remain in my heart as vivid as it is today!. It is when i think of these memories and incidents that i long for childhood and miss childhood a lot. *sigh* Anyway! HO hO HO! Merry christmas and a happy new year to all!.Ciao.
P.S:I'm too lazy to post articles frequently, but i will definitely make an effort to return soon. Bye till then! ...:)

A TRIBUTE TO MY IDOL.

Ever since childhood I have had this penchant for beauty. Beauty in its various forms have always attracted and fascinated me.So when I first beheld roger federer wield his racquet (it seemed more like a magic wand),I was just dazed. He had such a beautiful game.it is a visual treat to anybody who watches him play,especially when in full flow.Tennis has always caught my fancy. It was always my favourite sport. Federer only made it more special.
He is an artist in motion. He is such a pleasure to watch .its just impossible to describe in words. I have always been perplexed at his mastery over this craft. He is widely touted as the ‘most talented tennis player ever’. how true. This guy has all the shots in the book and also has invented quite a few of them. Watch some of his video compilations .you’ll be blown away ,point blank. This man can hit some crazy, baffling shots. Shots ,which never existed till he hit them. That is why he’s a “connoisseur’s delight”. You just don’t know what he’s going to come up with. He keeps you guessing with his variety. roger has an impressive repertoire of shots which leaves him with a large number of options. He has a whiplash of a forehand which is hit flat and also one other with a good amount of topspin. Then he possesses that ripping crosscourt forehand that just shoots off the court in no time. His stylish single handed backhand is a piece of art. He attacks with his backhand on both wings. His volleys are crisp.Then you always have those “magic shots” which he hits from time to time in order to keep the opponents off-guard.The only chink in his otherwise impregnable fortress is the high backhand which draws a lot of errors from his racquet ( nadal exploits this weakness with great effect). His movement(which has deteriorated off late) is fluid,its almost as if he’s gliding on court. he's all class and composure. Such was his dominance in tennis that he ruled the tennis world for around 5 years. That was something unprecedented in tennis history. No person was this dominant, not even pistol pete. There were times when his opponents didn’t have a clue what was going on. they were merely a witness to federer’s prodigious skill and talent. Most of the times they didnt know what hit them. The 5 years when he ruled, he kept winning. he had a staggering win:loss ratio. this was the time when He was an unstoppable force. Opponents used to cower before him. Most of the times they gave up mentally before the match even started. He only lost on one surface : clay(and that too to one man: his nemesis nadal) . in short he was invincible. Some of his records just defied logic. Example: he won two grand slams 5 times successively.(wimbledon and us open).“he floats like a butterfly stings like bee”. But all of a sudden the federer express came to screeching halt or atleast he slowed down considerably. He started losing a lot more and started commiting many uncharacteristic unforced errors.till 2007 he consistently maintained the mind-boggling record of winning 3 slams out of 4. in 2008 he had to settle for just 1.in his worst year since he became world no.1. he made it to the finals of 2 slams and won a grand slam.That is a great achievement for any other player. but by federer’s elevated standards it was an ordinary year. As he himself accepted federer had created some sort of a monster. People always expect a lot from him. He is expected to win every match , every point. Despite being a die-hard roger federer fan I’m convinced that 2008 is the beginning of the end . A person just cant keep winning. Sooner or later the law of averages is bound to to catch up. Today roger is the palest shadow of his illustrious past . i sometimes even wonder if it was the same man whom i admire. I’m left in no doubt however that he will resurrect himself and fulfill his destiny of overtaking pete sampras’ record of 14 slams(he’s just one short on 13
There have been very few things that have given me as much pleasure as watching the emperor play. i just run out of superlatives while describing him. He has been the guiding light,my inspiration,my role model. In short he has now become an indispensable part of my life….even more than an obsession. whether you win or lose I will always continue to support you Roger. Federer forever......

A nostalgic glimpse at a memorable past.....kolkata!

As i was thinking of what to write today....my mind drifted back through the sands of time and i was dragged back into my childhood.Those were the most remarkable moments i've ever had as of yet and with a feeling of intense nostalgia i write this blog today..
todays topic??...obviously ,my childhood.
A large chunk of my childhood was spent in kolkata(then calcutta). i went to kolkata when i was 3 and by the time i returned to chennai i was approx 13.I regard these days as the "golden days".Those were days when happiness still ruled the roost and moments of sadness and worry were few and far.those were days when i looked forward to every day with enthusiasm and every day brought with it a new bundle of joy and a new set of experiences.those were the days when my mind was then untainted by any negative emotions like hatred,fear,jealousy,anger.those were the days when every little job was done with zeal and vigour(even studies).i took pride in my work.In short those were days when i was truly happy.not that i aint happy now....its just that i was always happy then.i still vaguely remember my first interview at summer days kindergarten school for admission.That princi was asking me questions.Honestly i dont remember the answers i gave...but there was was this beautiful multi coloured butterfly which was drifting to and fro the cupboard.It caught my attention.i took off at once her questions falling on deaf ears.i ran and hopped after the butterfly my hands outstretched.I still dont remember if i managed to catch it...but i can never forget the look of utter disbelief on the princi's face.She did have a hearty laugh.But she told my mom i was too distracted.duh! ...i was a 3 year old kid.what did she expect?
I lived in an indian bank quarters.there were many flats.many.....luckily for me there were several children of my age group.from 1st standard onwards i mover to a bigger and a better school.Infact its the best school in kolkata till date,St xaviers kolkata.I remember i was never among the top 10 academically.i was neither too good nor too bad.i was always above average but didn waste much time studying.i used to return from school by around 3 30.Then i played from 4 to 7 non stop.Our quarters was huge.So i had many friends coming from various states and cultures. We played hide n seek,cricket,badminton,lock and key etc etc.i was fat back then so my friends used to call me 'motu'.As a kid i was very docile.i never hurt anyone and was always welcome everywhere. There were several memorable incidents. However i'll recall one very funny incident..There was this bong lady in the ground floor who was the spoilsport in our flat. she din allow the kids to play cricket(we broke her windowpanes many times) .she used to come out running with that expression of rage and sadism on her face "maine manaa kiya tha naa?"(i warned u right?).so one day we could take it no longer.one of the guys locked the door from outside and we began playing.as usual she waned she would call police and shouted at the top of her voice....and then came the legendary retort from my friends "chup kar ,bandar".Her face turned into a multitude of hues,shock and disbelief writ large on her face.But it had the desired effect.she din trouble us anymore and shifted to second floor :P we also din break any of her windowpanes(I think :P).
I also took part in several competitions in school,south india club, etc etc,....and won quite a few prizes.I remember i always used to bag the first prize in elocution and recitation.and then there was music.i learnt carnatic vocal.though i used to attend those classes with a certain amount of disinterest(i had to sacrifice play!) my guru used to like me a lot.I gave concerts for Thyagaraja uthsavam. It used to be a lot of fun.
I made a lot of friends.We shared some unforgettable moments. Obviously we used to quarrel frequently(generally over petty issues) .But we forgave and forgot very easily.We never held any grudges against anyone.Not like now, when a small misunderstanding becomes a big problem and causes permanent rift. Back at home i was the apple of my parents' eyes. I too was a silent kid and never made any unreasonable demands....but whenever i asked them something i was seldom denied.I remember how even a small praise from my parents or teachers would swell my heart with pride.
Back then i used to read a lot! It was really a blessing that i spent my childhood is an era where computers were not yet popular.Kids back then used to spend time much more constructively, rather than sitting in front of the computer for hours.We had so much outdoor activity.I really pity the kids these days They dont have a life. They dont read books, they dont go out and play...they just live fake virtual lives which are of no good...
I sorely miss those days now. They truly were days of untainted and unadulterated happiness. Those are memories which i'll harbour and cherish forever.
Having said this, i am optimistic that life has a lot more great things in store.
This post really got me nostalgic. Those were great days indeed...

my first blog!!!

Here we go!!....my first blog!....i was wondering what to start,where to start with.....i mean there are sooooo many things to write.Even as i write here now ,i dont have an idea what i'm gonna come up with....so this is wat u can expect frm my future blogs!. According to me blogs are mere reflections of ur thoughts, ideals,views. So basically i'm gonna give vent to my feelings.i plan to write about everything that catches my fancyJust to give u an idea,There will definitely be copious amount of sports esp tennis and roger federer, music ,etc.then i plan to write a lot about myself, my childhood...blah blah. Pensive moods might even bring up certain philosophical gibberish. so readers(not even a handful i believe) be forewarned!!!:i'm capable writing a lot of crap.Feel free to comment on my blogs if u care to even glance them by some nasty quirk of fate!.So thats all i guess.I know my first blog was dull,boring,nauseating,unimpressive,uncool etc etc. i know that a lot of what i wrote was balderdash to most of the readers.I'll try to come up with something more interesting next time...promise!.With that i take leave.will be back soon enough hopefully with something more interesting.