Remembering The King Of Pop…

…Michael Jackson. Frankly, I do not deserve to write an obituary because I have never met him nor have I ever experienced his music like the rest of his diehard fans. But yes, I have listened to a few of his songs and watched a few videos which remain my favourites to date.

But moving on with my other posts before remembering him would be an insult to the pop star and his countless fans.

So this post is a tribute to the artiste and his unforgettable voice, music and dance moves.

SSC Results Out!

This is just to congratulate all those students of SSC who have passed their exams.

For those who have made it to the merit list...hats off to you. May you succeed in all your future endeavours.

For those who have scored less or haven't scored upto their expectations, please remember this isn't the end of the world you have many more exams to give in which you are sure to taste success provided that you work hard enough to achieve it.

So guys and gals, just freak out you are done with your exams and a hellish year, focus on the admission process. Enjoy your college life, study well at the same time, remember it's easy to be swept away by the glitz of the college scenario but you just need to keep your head straight and keep studying a little, at the same time.

Man!!! I am beginning to sound like a stereotypical 50 something-ish...all set to dish out advice to anyone who's ready to listen.

Whaddaheck...Enjoy, guys and gals and wish you all the best for your future.

Results Of Education - 90:10 The Quota War

The 90:10 reservation issue has been going on for quite a long time now. I must say, it has turned from a small conflict into a complete war; between parents of students from education boards like CBSE and ICSE and the State Education Ministry.

I myself am a product of CBSE education, however I do agree with the fact that SSC students don’t get seats due to students who score higher than them and come from CBSE and ICSE backgrounds. But the quota system seems to me to be a weird solution to the problem.

Why are quotas the common answers to any and every accommodation problem in establishments and institutes in our country? Why can’t the ministry look for more sensible and logical answers to problems such as these? If the present admission process is unfair to SSC students then the 90:10 quota system is unfair to ICSE and CBSE students. I mean come on…there has got to be something between the two extremes which could benefit both. The percentile system which was about to be implemented last year was one such sensible solution to the admission problem, unification of education boards/uniform education boards across the nation is another one.

There are approximately 15,608 CBSE and ICSE students and 16,03,144 SSC students in the whole state of Maharashtra (Source: News Reports). Percentage wise the assigned quota seems perfect. But the fact remains that SSC students are spread over the complete state in rural as well as urban areas while a large majority of the total number of CBSE and ICSE students reside in major cities like Mumbai and Pune. In spite of such diversity, I fail to understand how Mr. VikhePatil decided to apply the universal magic ratio of 90:10 across the whole state.

Mr. VikhePatil goes on to advise that students should not be choosy while selecting their respective colleges, however the fact remains that every guy and gal yearns to go to the most reputed and happening college in town, this goes for both the students of SSC as well as other boards.

Many of the students from both boards do not get admissions because of their average marks. Instead of helping all such students secure seats in good colleges and ensuring uniform as well as efficient utilization of seats in colleges, here we have administrators and political parties that are hell bent on making sure that CBSE/ICSE students don’t have a place in junior colleges this year.Today, education has been made the plaything of a few select officials of the government, who amend the rules and regulations according to their whim. Changes in education and admission methodology should be a result of extensive and accurate research and should not be carried out at the eleventh hour. But sadly, things are different here in India. We can only hope that such differences do not ruin an innocent child’s chances of acquiring quality education irrespective of which education board he belongs to.

Movie Time: 17 Again

Courtesy: New Line Cinema

Watched it yesterday. I am not good with reviews, but since almost every other blogger writes one when he or she watches a movie or reads a book, so I said to myself - why not join the junta and try my hand at a review too!

To start with, 17 Again is a story about a guy, Michael O'Donnell, who's lost both his job and his family. He visits his high school (which is now attended by his kids) to reminisce about how great his high school life was - A popular football star and in line for a full scholarship, Michael gives it all up on the day of the championship game when he realises that his girlfriend is pregnant. Suddenly after coming across a stranger, he turns 17 again. Now it's time for Micheal to decide if he should go after the life that he gave up or set things straight with his family through his 17 year old self.

Now for the review part. A nice light-hearted comedy with a good story line. Great acting by the complete cast and it's refreshing to see Zac Efron in a role outside the High School Musical trilogy. However the short duration of the film (it's only 1 hour 45 minutes long) turns out to be a spoilsport. Even the dialogues and scenes at times are easily predictable.

All in all, I would give it a 3 out of 5 rating.

Please leave a comment if you have anything to say about the movie or my dismal attempt at a review.

Doing The Happy-Happy Dance!!!

I haven't gone nuts due to over exposure to examinations, if that's what you are deducing from the title.

I have been doing this little victory dance just to celebrate my freedom from exams. They got over about a week ago and I've been soaking in the pleasure of doing nothing since then.

Now that the Everest of exams has been conquered (for now that is, the results will determine if I actually conquered or just got buried under a landslide, if you know what I mean), I can get back blogging and complete a few resolutions that I have been meaning to, so here they are,

1. Blog as often as possible
2. Update a few ignored portions of my blog.
3. Take off across Mumbai to see the less popular yet equally interesting sites.

Now the only thing to be seen is how many of the above three resolutions I can actually complete!

जागो परीक्षार्थी जागो!!!

चंदा मामा सो गए, सूरज चाचू जागे,

देखो पकडो यारों,

घड़ी के कांटे भागे,

इलेक्शन की कहानी खतम हुई तो

परीक्षाओं का सीज़न शुरू हो गया मामू !!!

P.S. This is to wish all engineering students all the very best for their exams.

Politically Speaking...

Lots to do and very less time to do it in...no I'm not speaking about the elekshun ki tayyari, I'm talking about my exams that seem to be approaching at light speed. Not to mention the file submissions, viva's (another name for oral exams) and practicals that I have to face in the coming week!!! And so the preparations for all of the above have made my schedule frustratingly hectic, hence the absence since my last post.

Another side-effect of the increasing pressure has been complete lack of writing ideas for the blog. And since I still haven't come across any, I said whaddaheck lets go and out there and just try posting something for the heck of it, Chalo aisa bhi kar ke dekhte hain!

My quick, daily glance at the newspapers everyday of the past month has proven however, that there hasn't been any dearth in the happenings (is there ever?!?!).

The election is, of course at the top of it all. And believe me, I'm ashamed of saying this, but honestly I know very little about the election. Here are the few things that I do know:

1. My Constituency: 25 Thane Lok Sabha Constituency, Maharashtra
2. Shivsena-BJP Alliance and Congress-NCP-RPI Alliance are a few of the alliances contesting the elections.
3. All these politicos (not to be confused with psychos) have been utilising TV, Radio and Internet like crazy for publicity purposes.
4. Everyone is being urged to go and vote, with the media playing a huge role in this matter.
5. And Hence the many campaigns and public service messages, Lead India '09, Vote.Aapke Haath Mein Hain, etc.

Sadly that is the farthest limit up to which my knowledge of the '09 elections extends! If any of you wish to curse, sympathise and/or educate me further about the elections then you are welcome to leave a comment.

Now that my public humiliation is done and over with, I would like to bring your attention to the fact that I may not be able to blog in the coming months (atleast upto mid-June) because of those dreaded exams. So kindly bear with this overworked, hypertense teenager.

P.S. Please go out there and cast your vote on Election Day.

The Pure Bliss Of Blogging...

In the past few days I had been looking for a topic to write on. However I just couldn't find anything to my taste. While in the midst of this futile search, the simple truth hit me - I was driving myself too hard, taking it too seriously.

"This isn't the way blogging works, at least my blog doesn't work this way.", I said to myself.

Blogging in general and my style of blogging in particular stands for spontaneous and sincere thoughts, emotions and opinions.

All of my articles reflect what I feel about a particular thing, irrespective of the nature of the 'thing' or of the time elapsed since the 'thing' happened. That is why many a time my posts come a day or two after the 'thing' has taken place or at times never at all (The Earth Day or Varun Gandhi case for example). I know I sound like a hypocrite when I say so but these are incidents that

• I cannot relate to or
• Cannot give an opinion about only because I am not the right person to do so.

Many of us take up a hobby, activity or career that we feel brings out that spontaneity in us. However many us (especially in the case of a career) end up taking it so seriously, pressurising ourselves to perform and/or prove that we are so good at it, that we forget why we took up the activity in the first place. I was more or less on the same path until I came to this realisation.

During the time when we are engrossed in what we are doing, we forget all those who have helped and encouraged us and those who appreciate what we are doing.

I dunno if I was about to commit the same mistake or have already committed it. So as to be on the safe side, I apologise to all of you who have and will read my blog if you felt that I do not take into account my readers.

I will take this opportunity to thank my parents for instilling in me the love for words. I'll thank my very first reader and a dear friend Parag. Dear, If you hadn't been there to read my posts in my days as a beginner and encouraged me, I would not have written as many posts as I have today. Today my blog is followed by five excellent bloggers and kind souls who inspire me to keep on blogging. And last but not the least my readers and commenters who provide their valued views and insights. All I can say is that I am indebted to you all for what you do. This post is dedicated to all of the above. (This is the same speech that I am gonna give when I receive the 'Blog Of The Year Award', If I ever get one that is!)

To drive home the point that you, the readers, are an important part of this blog, I urge you to respond to blog posts (raves, rants, complaints, suggestion...just about anything will do). You can do that by either commenting here or (if that little comment box doesn't suit you) mail me at arjblogger@yahoo.com. I'll surely get back to you. Another thing you can do is rate my posts as they are published on a scale from one to five (look for the ratings just after the post ends).

Well it's time for me to sign off for now. Good night and have a great week.