In the Sky

27th Friday 3.30 PM IST

"When you are reading this, I might be probably IN THE SKY..." Preeti just read the first few lines from Shiva's blog. Shiva had updated his blog just before starting from Newyork (to chennai) and had mailed it to his wife. She continued reading it. "Its middle of night in India and im ready to board the flight. I was not sure to disturb your sleep. So I just thought I will write all the things that I wanted to tell you in my blog. I had a strange feeling after I checked in and was lazily sitting at the GATE for boarding. I dint know what it was but a sense of feel inside...that i missed you. Its not the usual way that I miss you, it was more than that."

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26th Thursday 8.00 AM EST (26th Thursday 6.30 PM IST)

Shiva : "Mixi..."

Preeti's mom : "Hello.."

Shiva : "Enna Mixi, Valakama aluku mootai'nu thane koopiduve"

Preeti's mom : "Hello, yaaru pesrathu?"

Shiva : "Oh, athai neengala. Na Shiva pesuren, Preeti illaya"

Preeti's mom : "Iruka iruka - tho koopiduren (Preetiiiiiiii... enga poi tholanja) phonela avar pesurar!, Neenge eppadi irukeenge maaplai"

Shiva : "Na nalla iruke athai, neenge mama ellarum sowkiyama?"

Preeti's mom : "Ellarum nalla irukum, tho vanthutaa.." intha preeti

Preeti : "Sollunge!!!"

Shiva : "Ungamma ve poi mixi nu kooptenna, avangaluku onnum puriyale"

(As preeti's mom leaves the place)

Preeti : "Ha ha...Alukku mootai, innikavathu kulichiya?"

Shiva : "Guiness record, 3 days continously took bath"

Preeti : "Wow, athiyasayama iruke. Seri packed all your bags?"

Shiva : "Yes yes, all done. Flight is at 3 and 11'ku start panniduven"

Preeti : "Ellathayum oru vaati check panniko, paasport, ticket. Check if you have switched off the heater, gas"

Shiva : "100th time solre ithey... dont worry i will take care. Seri payan enna solraa?"

Preeti : "Movements neraya iruku, Enaku bayama iruku. I want you to be here with me"

Shiva : "Keep cool, tension agathey. Tho vanthuduven 1 day le. Payan enakage wait pannuvaan"

Preeti : "Payan'e mudivu panniyacha?"

Shiva : "Not really but instincts say that. Ponna irunthalam no problem I would love her all the more"

(Preeti's parents come near and so her tone changes back)

Preeti : "Seringa! paathu bathrama vaange. Airport le theriyatha aal kitta pesathinge, dont get things from strangers"

Shiva : "Ok Preeti Mixi, dont worry I will be safe. You take care, I luv you"

Preeti : "I too luv da"

Shiva : "Byeee..."

Preeti : "Byeeee..."

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27th Friday 3.31 PM IST

Preeti continued reading shiva's blog. "Its not the usual way that I miss you, it was more than that. So I just thought I will let you know that I luv you very much, more than anything else in this world. I had been harsh with you at times, but I have never asked a sorry. You were the one who use to compromise always and I have felt bad about that but I never had the courage to ask an apology. These 3 months when I was alone, I missed you a lot. I might not have told you that every day but I really missed you a lot. I also knew how difficult it is, to be a home maker. I have made fun of you and teased you lot of times saying that you are always at home, not working and enjoying. But now I know how difficult it is to cook variety of food for each meal, clean the utensils, clean the house, decorate them. You used to do all of these and welcome me with a smile in the evening when I returned from office. Each day I get fed up of thinking what to cook and many times I just leave the utensils on the wash basin for couple of days. When I wash them together, I end up having back pain. I know how much you love me and how much you used to take care of me. I really missed all that. I didnt know it when you were with me but when you were not there I felt a lot. I read this somewhere "We miss those people whome we dont want to miss". I really miss you. I didnt say all these to you earlier because I know you will feel bad for me. Now I'm saying this not because to make you feel bad but to tell you that I know your pain, to tell you that I luv you, to tell you that I miss you. This time its a different feeling of missing. I'm eagerly waiting to see you and our yet to be born baby. All along the flight I would be IN THE SKY thinking of you MIXI..."

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26th Thursday 10.00 AM EST (26th Thursday 8.30 PM IST)

Shiva checked the bags for the last time. He made sure they dont weigh more than 23 KGs, as he had enough experiences earlier. Checked everything around. He quickly had kellogs with milk. Washed the dishes. He then cleaned the house for the final time, cleared the fridge and kept the garbage bag outside. Checked his passport and check the flight timings once again. He sat relaxed on the sofa and switched on his TV. Checked the temperature, it was exactly 32'F (exactly 0'C). He kept his MP3 player out so that it he can use it in the airport and in the flight.

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26th Thursday 11.00 AM EST (26th Thursday 8.30 PM IST)

Taxi came on time. He carried the bags outside, made sure everything was fine then locked the house. It was freezing outside and he switched his MP3 player on. "Veyilodu Vilayadi, Veyilodu uravaadi, Veyilodu mallukatti aatam potome!!!" song from the movie "Veyil" was playing. He got into the taxi and told the driver "JFK Airport". He then got into the song. As he was listening to it he was laughing to himself thinking about the irony that the weather was 0 degrees while the song is about playing with hot sunny day. Taxi reached JFK airport comfortably by an hour. By the next one hour Shiva finished the checking, got the boarding passes and went to GATE 23. He still had about an hour and a half for the flight, so just opened his laptop. It was then he got the strange feeling. "Grnnnnnnnnnnnng!!!" At the same time his mobile alarm rang as if giving a signal to his thought. He had set that alarm one day before as a reminder to do some activity. Shiva is a guy who gets these instincts and dreams that kind of come true. Whenever he gets these instincts or dreams he immediately makes it a point to tell someone so that it doesnt happen. But to his bad luck there was no one to talk about or he could think off to call. It was too late to wake up Preeti as well. Finally decided to write a blog.

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27th Friday 3.32 PM IST

Preeti was in tears as she read Shiva's blog. The same moment the news flash on TV read about a Flight from NewYork crashing into Hudson River...

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So was it the flight that shiva travelled ?

If so what actually happened and were the passengers saved ?

If not, did shiva make it to Chennai ?

Did he meet Preeti ?

Did Preeti deliver a baby ?

Was it a boy or a girl ?

If you want to know the answers to these questions, write a comment in this blog or drop a mail to me. When I write the part 2, I will send an email.

Excellence

A German once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need two statues of the same idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up, "We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage." The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. "Where is the damage?" he asked. "There is a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work. "Where are you going to install the idol?"

The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. "If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked. The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, "I will know it."

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not. "Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency...

Oscar Award - A.R.Rahman

"All my life I had 2 choice Hate & Love, I chose Love and here I'm" - were the words by A.R.Rehman, the music director when he received the oscar award for best musical song. He also got the award for best musical score and he said a sentence in tamil "Ella pugalum iraivanuke"

I was lucky to watch the oscar not directly in hollywood but just in TV, still it was very good that I got a chance as I was in US. It is very special because of Slumdog Millionaire, the movie about a guy from slum making it to the "who wants to be a millionaire". Though its directed by an English director its a story based in India and more over A.R. Rehman has done the musical score for it.

Seeing the nominations and the predictions I was pretty sure Slumdog Millionaire would win atleast 5 awards and as per that it did. In fact it won 8 awards out of 10 nominations winning the Best Movie, Best Direction, Best Musical Score, Best Musical Song, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing. The best part was A.R. Rehman winning the Oscar for Musical score, the first indian ever. And to be more proud he is from Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

It was good to see the entire actors including all the child artists of Slumdog Millionaire in the hollywood. It would have been the happiest moment for all of them being at the Oscar Award Ceremony. All together it was a wonderful, memorable night

29 years back

29 years back, almost the same time a miracle happened.... You should be guessing it already, yes a baby was born to this world and he is none other than myself :) I wanted to give more hype but that wont sound very interesting at this point but would after a few years when I really make it big.

Last year bday was very special to me as it was the first bday after marriage. Uma had prepared wonderful dinner and we served it as buffet. Inivited the close friends home and had very good time. Few of them couldnt make it as they were not in station and missed them.

This time it was a very quite one as I was alone here in US and even Uma being in chennai it was not very exciting. But I felt very good as all my friends remembered and called me to wish. One surprise was my school principal Seetha Ramakrishnan had called my number to wish me. Uma told her that I'm in US but conveyed the message to me. Thanks mam for remembering and wishing me!!!

These were pics that were taken during last year bday.
http://picasaweb.google.com/nsanjayan/Sanj_bday_2008#

Always Remember

Australian Open : Rafael <> Roger - the Rivalry

What else could be the greatest rivalry in Tennis other than Rafael Nadal, the world no 1 meeting Roger Federer, the world no 2. Just a year back the numbers were the other way. I'm not actualy a crazy fan of Tennis and used to watch it rarely (main reason being dont get it telecasted in cable). It was after I came to US in 2008 that I happen to watch Wimbeldon, US Open and now Australian open 2009.

I remember watching wimbeldon 2008, Federed was No 1 while Nadal was No 2. Nadal won the first 2 sets. I wanted Federer to win the next 2 set but wished Nadal won the match. Just as I wished it happened. This time in Australian open I wanted Federed to punch back and get the 14th grand slam to equal Sampras record. The match was very interesting and went on up to 5 sets but unfortunately Federer couldnt make it.

I dint expect Federer to cry in the presentation. It was very hard to see. This shows however big you are, however rich you are, finally you are a human. I have read that "Success is counted sweetest by those who HAVENT achieved it". Federer would have felt that one. If it is difficult to reach to the top it is even more difficult to maintain that. But im pretty sure, Federer is going to break Sampres record, what a class player. And Nadal would break Federer record quickly with his athletic game.

But my man of Australian open 2009 is the 14th rank Fernando Verdasco, what a fight he gave with Nadal in the semi-finals. This being his first semi-final in a grand slam, he never looked liked playing against world no 1. He almost gave a threat to Nadal and would have infact won him if he had not done few errors in the last. With a score of 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-7(2), 7-6(1), 4-6 and a final time of 5 hours and 14 minutes, their match was the longest in Australian Open history. He had an amazing serve, style, power and stamina. He looked smart as well.

For more photos, check out http://www.tennis.com/players/playerphotos.aspx?player_name=Fernando%20Verdasco&offset=0



Being Indian, how can I miss the Mixed doubles winners Mahesh Bhupathi, Sania Mirza. If not in singles atleast in doubles, India name has been appearing quite often. Bhupathi did come to the finals in doubles as well but lost it. Among the Junior boys, Yuki bambri of India won the finals. So thats a good news that youngsters are coming up. Lets see whats the future.




I'm eagerly waiting for my baby next month... its one of the dream to make him/her as a tennis player....

Apurva missing - Help!!!

I got this as a fwd mail and just added it to my blog so that incase if anyone happens to see it might be helpful...

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Hello friends,

I have a very noble cause behind sending this mail to all of you.Please spare some time to read through it. My Army friend met a guy named Mr. Ravi Shankar on the train when he was returning from chennai on 26th of December, 2008. I was having a regular chat with him regarding the Army and its rules and regulations and how the forces are admired in our country.
He then told me about a shocking tragedy that his family went through and hence I write this mail to you seeking your help.

He told me that he was posted in CAR-NICOBAR in the year 2004 as a seargent in the INDIAN AIR-FORCE.. On 26th of december that year his family fell victim to the Unfortunate Tsunami that struck out eastern coast.He along with his wife and two children(photo below) were washed in the deadly waters.Reaching out his wife managed to cling onto A tree but his small son(picture insight on the left)had swollowed too much water and passed away in her arms. Ravi also in desperation to swim lost grip of his daughter's(APURVA) hand. She was washed away and was never to be found again,until one day they came to know of her being sighted at a relief camp. On contacting the authorities they came to know that this little girl Was abducted from the relief camp and was missing again. Since then Mr. Ravi shankar has been travelling to chennai every year with a hope to see his daughter. He has been publishing MISSING coloums in major daily's in chennai,and he showed me how heavily these newspapers had a charged him for a those ad's. One of the major newspapers charged him a whooping amount of 12000 rupees for a 4 X 4 cm ad(that too on the fourth page). Please donot consider this mail a regular chain mail and do care to forward this to your near and dear ones. He requested me to do something to reach out to people who use e-media(internet etc.).

I myself have posted her picture on my blog and i request people who own there personal blog pages to post this girl's picture there as it could be of significant help. In case any news of any nature is found regarding her (APURVA) please drop in a mail at the below mentioned mail id's or the following address.

1. James mathew( mailto:123.mathew@gmail.com )
2. Amit kumar ( mailto:amitkumarmajor@hotmail.com )
3. khem chandra pan ( mailto:khemchandrapan@yahoo.com )

Or contact:

Mr. RAVI SHANKAR
SMQ – 17/2
AF VAYUSENABAD
TUGLAKABAD
NEW DELHI-110062

Phone no - 09868763263

This is APURVA's picture taken in year 2004 with her younger brother.

Disturbed Mind ?

When I was disturbed for something I vaguely searched the web and got a good article from this website and immediately thought of putting it on my blog. Check it out

http://www.healthmantra.com/disturbed.shtml

Is it the Emotional Turbulence ? Why are you disturbed, what is inside you that gets disturbed. Mind is the key to the whole game. It goes after things that you are attached to.

Mind can not be controlled, If you supress very hard it may bounce back with double the FURY. Do not try to fight it, Watch it like an observer. Go deeper and you may discover that you are the maker of this MIND and not vice versa.

Try to understand the basis. Why Mind is after certain things, because of attachment. When attachment goes away Mind will achieve quietness. Dead do not get disturbed, why do you allow energy flow to elements that disturb you. You have formed a mental picture and when things outside do not match this picture you are disturbed, so you SEE you are the creator of this DISTURBANCE. Acceptance of LIFE IS the the key to avoiding all disturbanc.

Disturbance is directly proportional to your view of LIFE, more seriously you take it more you will be disturbed. If you assign drama value to this life, (this too will pass) you will find that it will become much easier to face LIFE, assign dream value to the incidents and they will not cling to your MIND.

Who are we? Why have we come here, what do we seek and in the end what we have got ? Ponder over these questions, examine your past and see what you achieved so far and what satisfaction it gave ? Why still keep running after things, take life ONE day at a time, dedicate for each job as if you are doing it for your GOD. Do not give up the pursuit, persistence will pay, Path is not easy BUT the end result is worth the struggle.

Why you do not learn from past. You earned 50 then 500 then 5000, did it make you happy? and still you run after 50000 thinking it will make you happy. You have faced many problems in past, what was the outcome, did the world end ? Then WHY you allow the problem today to disturb you.


Understand the fundamentals:
We get disturbed because of our belief PATTERN, I thought he was good but he proved to be bad. Once you understand that problem is not with him BUT with your belief PATTERN then you will begin to change. To remove unwanted belief PATTERNs understanding is necessary, ONCE you have understood the secret of life then you will not be shaken in most difficult situations in LIFE.

The most important thing to understand about life problems: they are created by your unclarity of vision. So it is not that first you see them clearly, then you find the solution and then you try to apply the solution. No, the process is not that long; the process is very simple and short. The moment you can see your life problem clearly, it dissolves.

It is not that you have now found an answer that you will apply, and someday you will succeed in destroying the problem. The problem existed in your unclarity of vision. You were its creator. Remember again, I am talking about life problems. I am not saying that if your car is broken down you just sit silently and see clearly what the problem is: the problem is clear, now do something! It is not a question of you simply sitting under a tree and meditating and just once in a while opening your eyes and seeing whether the problem is solved or not.

This is not a life problem, it is a mechanical problem. If your tire is punctured you will have to change the wheel. Sitting won't do; you just get up and change the wheel. It has nothing to do with your mind and your clarity; it has something to do with the road. What can your clarity do with the road? Otherwise, three thousand meditators here cannot mend one road? Just meditation would have been enough!

But the question is only about life problems. For example, you are feeling jealous, angry; you are feeling a kind of meaninglessness. You are dragging yourself somehow; you don't feel that life is juicy anymore. These are life- problems and they arise out of your unclarity of mind. Because unclarity is the source of their arising, clarity becomes their dissolution. If you are clear, if you can see clearly, the problem will disappear.

You have not to do anything other than that. Just seeing, just watching its whole process: how the problem arises, how it takes possession of you, how you become completely clouded by it, blinded by it; and how you start acting madly, for which you repent later on…. You realize later on that it was sheer insanity, that "I did it in spite of myself. I never wanted to do it, still I did it. And even when I was doing it I knew that I didn't want to do it." But it was as if you were possessed.... (by Osho)