Country before Self OR Self before Country

The thing/zing that carried Leander Paes to such glorious heights in the Davis Cup or fetched him the Bronze Medal at Atlanta was the Pride that he derived while playing under the India flag.
Sunil Gavaskar had echoed similar statements (prior to the Australia tour of 2003-04) about Rahul Dravid being the sole cricketer who seemed to carry the India Flag each time he stepped on to the cricket field.
John McEnroe defied his age and nearly beat a young Boris Becker in the greatest Davis Cup match that went for a marathon 6'20''.

I always wonder what makes these people perform at a much higher level when playing for their country than otherwise.

On the Contrary, there are multitudes of other athletes who do not perform even 10% while playing under their National Banner than they do when they play for a particular Club (Euro Sports) or for a Franchise (US Sports).

The US may boast of the Best League for Basketball and Baseball and the players might have Contracts worth millions, however when it is time to put your hand up for playing for the US, they generally Pull a Hamstring, Tear a Knee (Torn ACL) or something else.Ditto for the Top European Football players, they hang on to their Dear Clubs till they are 35 and beyond yet convey their unavailability to turn up for their country (barring the World Cup) after turning 28. Nor do they owe allegiance to any particular club, the minute their stock rises, they switch clubs for monetary gains (barring a few like Paolo Maldini).
[But then, dont we Software Professional's do the same ??]

The only reason I see here is Money and tons of it. The "Risk" (if it may be called) of an Injury to a Player while playing for His Own Country is so frightening that the Club Coaches nearly hold the National Coach at ransom. All is not bad at it seems, otherwise people would have lost faith in these sportsmen long back.
For every Azhar you have a Tendulkar, for every Sampras you have a McEnroe, for every Lawyer Milloy you have a Tedy Bruschi.

It would be worthwhile subject for a Doctoral Thesis to compare and conjure the reasons for such contrasting behavior of Sportsmen. I admire some of the above mentioned sportsmen, but fail to digest the fact that the very pledge they utter of allegiance to the nation is hollow.
The term "Country before Self" falls flat on the face in the Capitalist Countries (barring a few) while it is upheld amongst the least heralded of nations.


I did wonder then on the backdrop of Kargil, should Tendulkar have returned to attend his father's funeral during the Cricket World Cup in 1999 ?

A Day of Firsts

Yesterday was truly memorable

1) For the first time in Chimera our Install did not Fail !!
2) For the first time Sagar not only went for a Second Helping but even got something else for a Team Member.., wow..
3) For the first time, the Status Report was sent before 7:00pm.
4) For the first time in the Chimera Timeframe, I reached home before 8:15pm.
5) For the first time since I bought a car, I travelled to-and-fro from home-office in a rick and also walked for a considerable distance.
6) For the first time in the Chimera Timeframe, I had the privilege to dine with my family.


Make sure that these Firsts are Not the Only ones.
Try to make them a habit

Marriage 101

An interesting forward that would remain here only till I tie the Knot (which seems to be some Light Years away)..

Husband & Wife - Why divorce?
In a divorce court a woman requested the judge: "Your honor, I want to divorce my husband." "But why ?" asked the judge. She replied, "Because he is not faithful to me." The judge asked, "How do you know ?" She replied, "My lord, not a single child resembles him."

Husband & Wife - Love Your Enemy
From his death bed, the husband called his wife and said, "One month after I die I want you to marry Samy." "Samy...!!! But he is your enemy....!!!" "Yes, I know that.....!!! I have suffered all these years so let him suffer now." Husband & Wife - Wedding Ring At the cocktail party, one woman said to another, "Aren't you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?" The other replied, "Yes I am, I married the wrong man."

Husband & Wife - Why?
"Dad, I was away for a week. Yesterday I sent a fax to my wife I'd be home that night, and when I got into my room I found my wife in another man's arms. "Why, Dad ? Tell me why...!!!" Dad kept silent for a few minutes, then coolly said, "Maybe, Son, she didn't get the fax."

Husband & Wife - Same Service
A husband visited a marriage counselor and said, "When we were first married, I would come home from the office, my wife would bring my slippers and our cute little dog would run around barking. Now after ten years it's all different, I come home, the dog brings the slippers and my wife runs around barking." "Why complain?" said the counselor. "You're still getting the same service!"

Husband & Wife - Talk About Husband
One woman told another : "My neighbor is always speaking ill of her husband, but look at me, my husband is foolish, lazy and a coward; but have I ever said anything bad about him?"

Husband & Wife - Love To Do
A wife, one evening, drew her husband's attention to the couple next door and said, "Do you see that couple? How devoted they are? He kisses her every time they meet. Why don't you do that?" "I would love to." Replied the husband. "But I don't know her well enough."

Husband & Wife - No Answer Back
A man was telling his friends, "When my wife is infuriated, she starts shouting at me, my children and even at our dogs and nobody dares answer her." One of his friends asked." And when you are angry, what do you do?" The man replied, "I also shout angrily at the windows and doors of the house and none of them dares to answer back.

Husband & Wife - Come Home Late
A woman was complaining to the neighbor that her husband always came home late, no matter how she tried to stop him. "Take my advice," said the neighbor, "and do what I did. Once my husband came home at three o'clock in the morning, and from my bed I called out : "Is that you, Jim?" And that cured him. "Cured him !" asked the woman, "but how?" The neighbor said, "You see, his name is Bill."

Husband & Wife - Problem Father
"You looked troubled," I told my friend, "what's your problem?" He replied, "I'm going to be a father." "But that's wonderful," I said. "What's wonderful? My wife doesn't know about it yet.


The World's Best OxyMoron : Happily Married !!
[ Only Morons feel they are Happy after Marriage ]

Perplexed

Perplexed at reading a blog named "Perplexed"? Me too. First of all, I have the least idea about what this word really means, whats the originality of this word, the greek, latin roots of this word ? Confused ? Join the club.

Monday to Friday:
Should I continue with Bug Regression ?
Should I begin with Test Case Execution ?
Should I first respond to the Developers from Innopath ?
Should I first respond to my Manager ?
A colleague is stuck with an issue, I think I need to look into that first so that he/she can get started.
Atleast, I should be allowed to fill by bottle with water and have a cuppa coffee.
Let me check some of my personal emails.
Damn, need to call someone urgently.
Why did my date with her go all wrong the past weekend ?
Will I have a date the coming weekend ?
Lunch : Sabji kaise hogi ? Rice leni chhaiye ya chapati ? aaj dahi Gore ko dena hai ya Sagar ko ?
Walk after lunch : baahar jaaye dhoop mein, ya parking mein bheed mein chalna hai ?
I havent even stared with my work yet, where do I begin ?
I better skip the afternoon coffee break as well as snakes.., Rutu, plzz get tea for me..
45% work completed, Status Report not completed as yet ? Why havent all of you uploaded results ? Checked in the Bug Regression sheet ? Have you booked the conference room for tomorrow's Conf Call, day-after's Demo, Thursday's interview and Friday's Team Meeting ? Make sure that you make a Note of the Minutes of the Call and Meeting that go for a couple of hours in about 47.29 secs.
Two Ears, Two Eyes, Two Hands and above all just 1 PC !!
Later.. Salil, your efficiency is Pathetic.. ???

Saturday/Sunday:
The last one (date) at CCD failed, probably the ambience is not great. Barista this time ? Who are you kidding ? PSPL salary and Barista, take a break, have a KitKat at home, watch TV
Should I watch Football World Cup on ESPN ?
Should I watch India-WI on Ten-Sports ?
Should I watch Federer-Nadal on Zee-Sports ?
Should I watch the F-1 Grand-Prix ( pronounced as Gro'm Pree) on Star Sports

This is getting out of control.. Why does our brain not SHUT UP !!


per·plexed ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pr-plkst)adj.
Filled with confusion or bewilderment; puzzled.
Full of complications or difficulty; involved.

from Old French perplexe, from Latin perplexus : per-, per- + plexus, past participle of plectere, to entwine; see plek- in Indo-European Roots

Hamara Bajaj

I really feel proud to be from a State which is about to be elect a Member of Parliament who is a Multi-Billionaire and Not only does he File Tax Returns but actually Files Taxes as well !! Yes, thats Mr. Rahul Bajaj .., Sir Rahul Bajaj for me.. However, he is really setting up a Bad Example to the So-Called Poor Billionaires whose Income somehow remains in the No-Tax zone.

Its really a shame that the Govt and its so called committees are trying to burden the already salaried class by removing Rebates on 80-C and the likes, then rub salt on wounds by asking us to actually file even our Cash spendings.. wow.. way to go PC

Everything around is changing some for the good and some for the bad. Reservations in Education and Private Jobs, Additional Paperwork for Tax Filing, Increased Duties/Taxes, Cess for Roads in Pune (which do not really exist). I would not really be too critical of the increase in Petrol Prices though they Hurt the common man as this was something inevitable. But the Fiasco that Sonia and Co pulled off in New Delhi was One for the Show.. Typical Scenario, you force a person to Jump and then say "why the heck did you do so ?" (Should this question mark be actually after the quote, never have understood English and never will)

The only thing that I feel that has somewhat remained same is the way a Bajaj Scooter starts !! The last 40 years the ONLY way to start this Amazing State of The Art vehicle (however Old it maybe) is by a slight tilt towards the Engine side and then Half a Kick and there you go.. For pure consistency this one beats Dravid to a distant 2nd. It is very much reminiscent to the dialog from Sarfarosh which has a reference to an AK-47 "Ja ke gaTar mein fe.nk de, ek saal baad Petrol Daalke starT karega to waise-ich fire karegi. Maintenance ka koi lafDa nahi hai" !!

Proud Owner of a 1985 Green Coloured Bajaj Super. Hamara Bajaj.

Price of Air in 3 tyres (including the Spare) : Rs 2.0
Price of Petrol per litre : Rs 55
Price of 2-wheeler : Rs 35000+
Satisfaction of having vehicle start at the first Go : Priceless

There are some things money cant buy, for everything else dial your Father !!