Happy Diwali

I wait eagerly for the festival of lights because it reminds me of my growth from childhood. My first memory of a diwali is way back in 1987 in Kashmir when the air i used to breathe was still fresh. The celebrations were subtle yet elegant. Hindus and Muslims enjoyed the peace and harmony perpetuated by this vibrant festival. Firecrackers burst with loud bangs and i was thrilled to see flares and hear the noise.."You must wish everyone by saying happy diwali whenever u see lights and hear the bangs" mom said. Little did i know that this very noise would become the part of my coming years in Kashmir. Everynight was a diwali, as loud bangs were heard and ppl screamed...............not with joy but with fear. The air smelt heavily of burnt rubber and gunpowder and harmony was amiss.........................i, innocent in that age, ran up to my mother and shrieked with delight "happy diwali" and all mom could do was cry silently.............tears of gold that have rolled down the cheeks of scores of kashmiris since then.........

GO INDIA GO

Well we have reached a new era........an era where we think that we can drive cars to the maximum speed limits..............in a country where the most powerful car available is an outdated taxi in Munich.................and where the sense of driving is as much present as cleanliness...................enter the world of motorsport india.........a dream that has turned into a realistic nightmare.
Kudos to Narain Karthikeyan..the first indian to reach the pinnacle of motorsporting i.e formula 1. Enter Tata,MRF etc. to make it brand Narain (which seems to be the trend) to sponsor his seat in the jordan team. All well and good but where are the results. I have seen him in Formula Nippon and F3, and believe me he's getting worse. No sooner does he enter F1 suddenly F1 becomes the gully sport of urban areas,overtaking pool and snooker. Everyone is talking about "Schumi". Whos is schumi??? Ask this question and the answer you get is that it is Michael Shumacher. Well laddies wake up coz it aint Michael nor Ralph. "Schumi" is what the die hard fans of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari who travel all around the world to see the races call themselves. All you hear is Michael Schumacher, Alonso, Raikonnen,Montoya and occasionally Ayrton Senna. What about greats like Alain Prost, Jackie Stewart, Alberto Ascari, Jody Schekter, Bruce Mc Laren, Niki Lauda, Juan Manuel Fangio, Nigel Mansel, Nelson Piquet Sr.??????????????
And then we have a rich sheikh who has been denied the super license to drive in Formula1 so he makes his own auto sport, A1 where the countries go up against countries. And no surprises there too, Indians are present with fanfare and we have Karun Chandok, a karting champ, representing our flag. What i dont understand is that all the cars are same, engines are equally powerful, aerodynamics are same, tyres are same, and yet Mr. Chandok comes in at number twenty in the first race!!!When will we decide to realise our limits (not potential dearies). And no more crap about how we are coming up in sports. We are going down. Our only hope for a olympic gold is if kabaddi becomes an olympic sport that too we have to face tough competition from Bangladesh."Go india Go", where nobody knows!!!