Uncertainty around the globe…

Posted: July 25, 2014 in Life, News
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That’s right! There is a lot of uncertainty these days and a lot has got to do with the way people and their conflicting personalities mingle with those that do not share the same level of understanding. Whether it be Ukraine/Russia or Palestine/Israel, Syria and it’s share of issues or ISIS creating extreme chaos in Iraq, we are seeing a new story unfold everyday pretty much. As a citizen of this universe (and I use the term ‘citizen’ quite loosely here), it just saddens me to see and hear this type of news on a daily basis. I dread logging on Facebook because of what my news feed contains and the disturbing images of innocent civilians and the hardships they face on an hourly basis. But I do admit that turning my back or ignoring the ‘reality’ is not going to make things any better. Almost everywhere around the world, people are protesting and making their voices heard to their respective government leaders on what they feel on this ‘global epidemic’ and how their leaders can chime in to help put an end to this frenzy. Whether or not someone ends up doing something is a different story. In all of this, what angers me the most is the silence the Arab nations have maintained throughout this agonizing journey. Not one Arab nation has come forward. I had expected Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates to come to the aid of their fellow Arab neighbors instantly, but they too have turned a deaf ear to all of this. If there is one thing I learnt over the years is that ‘karma’ is a bitch and it comes in the ways and forms that you least expect it. So, if someone keeps quiet, then one day this situation will come on them in some retrospect.

Moving on from the political issues……………… Air travelling has become somewhat of a risky thing as well. The vanishing of the Malaysian Airlines flight seemed to have started a pattern around the sudden rise in accidents in the skies as well. Three airline accidents in a matter of a short time is quite high, if you ask me. We live in an age where technology is an integral part of our identities and to see real-time failures of these machines that live and breathe technology in every operation is somewhat alarming to me. As much as the media seems to blame the weather conditions for some of these crashes, I beg to differ in my opinion. Bad weather conditions have existed since the age of dinosaurs, so citing the mishap on weather related conditions is probably not the best thing to do. It may be the back door escape route in an attempt to close out the investigations, but I am sure it still doesn’t convince a lot of inquisitive people like me. Airline manufactures are trying to get bigger, better and more efficient in their product offerings and I think the race to be the king of the skies has compromised on the quality of their machine roll-outs. I rather feel comfortable if manufacturer’s spend time in devising stringent maintenance checklists to the owners of their planes and ensure that proper documentation is complete before an aircraft is cleared to take charge of the skies. Whether you travel domestically or internationally, the airline always seem to be in a rush to get back into the air within a couple or max three hours into their touchdown. Maybe they lose money every minute the air carrier is on the ground and who knows how much that loss is. Maybe it’s substantial, maybe it’s not. But not everything in life should be measured by dollar and cents. There are human lives at stake here and nothing is more important and expensive than a loss of a life. If only people look beyond their ‘management’ lenses and approach the situations from an ’emotional’ perspective, then that might change their way of thinking…. One can just hope and pray that this change in directional thinking comes about soon and that people realize that putting other people’s lives at stake is like committing mass murder! (Yes, I think that’s what I will call it…a mass murder)

I had expected a lot of good things in 2014, but this year has been anything but that. In the event to be powerful, we seemed to have lost the knack to think straight. Corruption and terrorism seem to be on the rise and people just have lost the basic meaning of what humanity is and what it means. In all of this, I still haven’t lost my hope and I pray and hope that somehow we develop the abilities to look beyond the dark clouds and see the sunshine that can change our lives……

 

A pinch of gratitude

Posted: January 19, 2014 in Time-out
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If someone has been kind, thank him or her today. Every once in a while, you should make it a habit on reflecting on the nice things that others have done for you that has changed your life in some aspect.

We cannot show gratitude without sharing it with someone. When you show your gratitude, do it with the intention of sharing your joy with that person. Even when you do something as simple as burning a candle to show gratitude to God, it sends a rippling message of joy with everyone who sees the flame of the candle. It strengthens their faith and reminds them to show their gratitude, too.

Make showing and sharing your gratitude a part of your life. If someone does something nice for you, share your happiness with that person. Send a card or make a phone call. If you believe that a prayer has been answered by God, share your gratitude with God. Tell someone, or thank God publicly at your worship service. If you have had a victory in your recovery, show your gratitude by sharing it with others in your group. Then share your gratitude with them for the help they’ve given,too.

Demonstrate gratitude in your actions every day. Gratitude is more than just a thought process and more than just a Friday – afternoon mosque or a Sunday-morning church activity. Demonstrate your gratitude through your compassion, and your tolerance. Gratitude strengthens and supports our relationships with God and with other people. Make a commitment to show your gratitude by sharing it with others whenever you have the opportunity.

We can show our gratitude for life in even our smallest actions. Find a way to demonstrate your gratitude to the universe. Feed the birds! Action gives life to ideas. When you open up your hearts and minds to look for ways to show your gratitude, you’ll find more and more to be grateful for.

The Auto-Rickshaw Experience

Posted: August 21, 2013 in Family, Travel
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Negotiating an auto-rickshaw in Hyderabad has become somewhat of a problem because there seems to be a monopoly in terms of what the rickshaw drivers say in terms of getting your service. Very few of them are going by the standard meter fare that they are supposed to oblige with. Even though I had been in Hyderabad, India a year and a half ago, I noticed a huge change in terms of how horrible the standard transportation model evolved into. The driving conditions supported with unbearable traffic that follows little or no rules and the heavy use of diesel trucks and vehicles (that I am sure don’t pass any levels of normal emission tests), breathing a clean air is a luxury. No wonder people here develop long-term allergies to dust and dirt over the course of their life.

The 11 days that I have been here, I think I used the auto-rickshaw 6-7 times only. The other times I either used the bike, scooter or the inter-city cabs, Digging even deeper into the 6-7 times that i had used the auto-rickshaw, I think it was just twice that the driver went by the meter box. Just to give you a perspective on how the meter box works or used to work is as follows:

– The meter starts off at a standard price. Over the years the base price increased astronomically. I remember it used to start at Rs 3. That increased to Rs 5. Then to Rs 7, then to Rs 10, followed by Rs 12 and finally to Rs 16, where the base meter fare stands at.

– The base price remains constant for around 1.8 kms of your journey, after which it starts to increase by an agreeable paise every 0.1 kms. Over the years, the paise rate increased as well. I remember, the paise fare increasing by 20 paise for every 0.3 kms. That now stands at an increase of 90 paise for every 0.1 kms. This translates to a fare of Rs 10 for every kilometer you travel in an auto-rickshaw.

auto1auto2

– Some meters are tampered with and they increase even before their distance condition is met. Even though, I have seen less of this happen ever since the meter box has digitized, I am sure some corrupted rickshaw drivers have found ways to modify the digital settings to their liking.

But even after all these things, foreigners and relatives of Indian residents still visit India. I visit India because of what it offers in terms of relaxation, the great culture and the fabulous food. After visiting a lot of countries in Europe, Asia, Middle East and North America, I can confidently say that this is the food capital of the Middle-East/Asia Pacific region. If you are willing to negotiate with the auto-rickshaw drivers, somehow stand the smoke, smog and dust in the air, and visit all the places that you have planned to visit and explore, then I suggest you take the next step to plan a “journey of a lifetime”.

My weird experience at a Chinese Supermarket

Posted: July 20, 2013 in On the side, Time-out
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It all started when we received heavy tornado warnings for Southern Ontario, especially for Toronto, its neighboring suburban areas and nearby cities yesterday. We live on the west end of the city, so before the rain started to pour heavy on us, we lost power. Thankfully, we were invited for iftar on the central-east side of the city and as per the weather reports, the east was supposed to be pretty dry. Not taking any chances, I decided to head to a nearby grocery on the corner of Warden Ave/Sheppard Ave. Fully knowing that its a Chinese supermarket and the chances of  getting candles and a lighter are pretty high in a supermarket than normal convenience stores, I started my quest to getting a couple of candles and a lighter, just in case we don’t get power restored back by the time we head home from our hosts’ place.

There are a bunch of Chinese supermarkets on the west end too, so I guess I kinda had some high expectations walking into this store. I was so wrong. Not one employee of the store knew where I could get a ‘candle’ and a ‘lighter’. In fact, when I asked them about a candle and a lighter, they gave me a very bizarre and a confused look. I never struggled with explaining something to someone before, but this was a unique experience, because I wasn’t even getting any closer to communicating with them what I want. I tried to make signs with my hands, but nothing seemed to work. Then I thought to myself, who let these people work here? They don’t speak the universal language of English, and cannot even help a customer out who wants very basic items. As I was strolling from aisle to aisle, I happened to bump into one customer who was Chinese and asked him to help me out communicating to these employees on the Chinese translation of a ‘candle’ and a ‘lighter’. He agreed to help me out and when he communicated the Chinese translation of what I wanted, I was told to check out Aisle 5. BINGO! I thought my strategy worked and that I would grab my items and make a dash for the checkout. Again, I was proven wrong! Aisle 5 contained stainless steel utensils and a lot of sandalwood. SANDALWOOD!!! Yes, you read that right! SANDALWOOD!! I never asked for a Sandalwood! All I asked was a candle and a lighter and aisle 5 was everything but that…!!!

Frustrated that I had been in the store for 15 minutes and not having any luck, I went to the customer service desk and asked them one last time. There were two chinese ladies at the counter and when they heard me say ‘candle’, they seemed confused and started to stare at one another speaking something in Chinese. So, I told them to forget about the candle and just give me a lighter and made a cigarette smoking type of a gesture. I think when I did that, the Thomas Edison light-bulb lit in their head and one of the ladies grabbed one lighter from one of her drawers in her desk. I paid for the lighter and left the store in a hurry because another minute of that mental torture and I perhaps would have smacked somebody in the head with an onion from their produce section! As I left, I did give them an advice – “Enroll yourself in an English as a Second Language (ESL) school so that you truly can mix in this multi-cultural environment that Canada offers! Be proud of your local heritage, but when you operate a business, you need to cater to everyone’s needs; and English is the best common language that you can converse with!” They nodded their head in acceptance when i said that, but from my experience at the supermarket, I doubt that these people understood a word I said….

This was the first time ever in my life that I went through this experience.. I have been to many Chinese stores downtown and a bunch of Chinese supermarkets in Brampton or Mississauga who employ Asian people; but their English communication skills and command over general customer understanding is just amazing that you would never have to spend 15 minutes to get a candle or a lighter.

 

As a person who has a moderate level of patience, let’s hope this was the first and the last experience ever!!

 

 

A flashback into a life-changing milestone….

Posted: June 28, 2013 in Family, Love, Time-out
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They say, you fall head over heals over someone just once. Well, so much for that as I broke that rule in 2010! A few minutes after 7 am in the morning on a warm Saturday morning, I came in close proximity with her. This was one relationship, where I smiled, stared, held her soft hands and even kissed her on her cheek and no one had the right to arrest me for any kind of harassment or weird behavior. Wrapped in a soft white blanket and completing a long 9 month journey was my daughter – as calm as ever, as beautiful as a rose petal and smelling much better than most expensive perfumes and colognes in the world. Even though she was tiny, I couldn’t get enough of her. Maybe it was because my brother and I didn’t have a sister and we really didn’t know how a sister or a daughter felt like. This milestone made me the proud daddy of a girl – daddy’s own little girl! When she was brought into our private ward, I still remember how she munched on her gums, and how irritated facial expressions she would make when someone spoke very close to her. Hey, after all – she had full right to get agitated! Throughout that day, she opened her eyes, looked at me in astonishment, smiled, frowned, held my pinky finger tight and even got frustrated (perhaps) that everytime she opened her eyes, there was always this big face looking at her.

In these years, my daughter has been a true patriot! I see a lot of affection for me in her eyes and her smile just kills every stress I have and just resets a bad day altogether! As she turns three tomorrow morning (yup, a few minutes after 7 am) as per the lunar calendar, I am forced into a reflection mode because this is when my life changed and it was 110% for the better! My son, who was just a few months under 3 yrs at the time when she was born, surprised me as well by not feeling isolated or left-out; and jumped into the celebrations as well. There was unexpectedly no sibling rivalry then and definitely no sibling rivalry now….

Tomorrow is what I have officially termed as a “TRIPLE-D” – Daughter-Daddy Day. Its unfortunate that she doesn’t know about this blog or this post, but I am sure when she grows up a bit, she will stumble upon this post, maybe even shed a happy tear or so as she captures the most vivid details her daddy has shared celebrating her arrival and his life-changing moment!

Happy Birthday Zaynab! We share a bond that no one can break, no one can touch and no one (except those parents with daughters) can imagine! I love your smile, adore your innocence and smile at your intellectual curiosity…!!

Cute Innocence…

Posted: June 25, 2013 in Family, Life
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Yesterday, was a long day. What I normally do is leave work around 3 pm or so to beat the traffic to get home; and then work remotely for a few more hours until the work is done. My daughter, who is a couple of months away from turning 3, understands how busy her daddy is and how much of a uninterrupted environment he needs to complete his work related commitments. I was so engrossed in my afternoon meeting and emails that I didn’t even notice when she came in the room. A few minutes later, she came by my desk and stood next to me holding something in her hands. Being so busy, I didn’t even turn to my side to see what she had. She stood idle for a few minutes staring at me and then started to rattle my chair a bit to perhaps get my attention. Totally oblivious to my work and considering that the rattling didn’t overly disturb me much, it didn’t even occur to me to turn to my side for a few seconds to see what she wanted.

However, when my meeting ended, I turned around to look at her and couldn’t stop myself from smiling. I saw a small girl holding a spoon and chocolate pudding in her hand, trying to tell me via her calm actions to open the cover of the pudding so that she can munch on it.  The look in her eyes said it all. She was being very cautious on not disturbing her daddy (she knows her daddy really well, what can I say!) . She was restless, yet patient at the same time. It seemed like she would have waited for hours and hours even if she had to get my 100% attention in opening the pudding cover, even if it meant that the end result would be a melted pudding !

I obviously smiled, let out a big awwwwww 🙂 and fed her the pudding. Later, I realized how mature daughters are, irrespective of age. She was very accommodating to my needs and took all measures to ensure that I wasn’t disturbed in my work. I also realized that I may have wrongly neglected her and later on made it up to her by having a daddy-daughter quality time together watching Minnie Mouse cartoons!!

Kids have their own ways of communicating and even between kids, there’s a lot of difference in how sons interact and how daughters interact with their parents. While I don’t favor my daughter over my son, I do admit that I have a soft corner for my baby doll! She is the apple of my eye and the one person whose big hug makes me forget every stress and tension of the day. My son is a bit aggressive in his behavior and while I adore him for his amazing sense of understanding, intellectual processing and curiosity, he means the world to my wife.

No wonder daughter’s are close to their daddy’s while the son’s are closer to their mommy’s. 

I See…Dumb People!

Posted: June 21, 2013 in News, On the side
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Not sure if I am the only one who feels this way, but there has been a rise in dumb people everywhere. While this is a global epidemic, most of these people are known to find shelter in the southern cities of the U.S. Take for instance, this news – where a woman kills her boyfriend with her shoe……

Now you see what I mean? I mean, who in the right frame of mind would even do this? And that too repeatedly with her shoe? Geez..!!! What on earth is happening to people’s common sense and basic human intelligence? While I don’t feel sorry for the culprit, I do sympathize with people like the deceased victim, who feel vulnerable to sweet talks by crazy women like Ana. Being single may not be fun, but I am sure at any given minute in the world, there’s at least one or two people who are single and enjoying their life to the fullest. I think it’s probably the desire to be with someone that forces single people to hook up with the first person they come across with in the hope that it will eliminate their boredom moments… If that is indeed what happened here, then look at the price Alf paid! Not only it cost him his life, it cost him a bright futuristic career in the United States as an academic scholar!

Memo to Obama – Put this crazy lady to the most extreme of the capital punishments that the state of Texas carries with it!

Tonight’s the Night

Posted: June 20, 2013 in Time-out
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Yup, you read that right! Tonight’s the night! Tonight’s when the NBA champion will be crowned. After all, we have two of the best teams in the NBA – Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs battling for what promises to be an intense match up of how one handles pressure, maintains a calm composure, works through the physical and mental periods with brilliant intelligence and perseverance. Aren’t these the qualities championship teams and their players have, anyways? I know some people like to see Miami Heat repeat as the champions, but I want to see San Antonio come out victorious. It would be nice to see Tim Duncan walk away into retirement as a 5 time champion – all feats accomplished with just 1 team in his entire career.

If San Antonio had played a tight game on Tuesday night, then perhaps we may not even have had a final Game 7 tonight to determine the champion. But oh well, they have another crack at it tonight and probably are mentally prepared not to repeat the same mistakes again. Then again, knowing the Miami Heat very well, they know this is it! They have to put it down on the line and give it all, because after tonight, there’s not going to be another game within the NBA for a few months anyways. After all, they were the top team in the NBA and that stature itself comes with a lot of pressure to make it an all-out successful season. Oh, and considering the fact that the game’s going to be in Miami, they are sure going to do whatever it takes to see that a team from Texas does not party on their home court for the second time in 3 years.

As much as I sound excited to watch this game, I am also working on supporting my team complete their tasks tonight on a program initiative. But, I will try to at least get the last quarter of the game and hope that San Antonio emerges as champs!

Lets do this Spurssssss….! 

 

The Fear…

Posted: June 17, 2013 in Life
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Okay, so before I start my post, I do want to openly share the fact that even the macho’est of men get scared sometimes. Fear is a common element that is present in everyone – irrespective of age, height and gender.

There’s a reason behind this post that I’ll share with you. ZeeTV airs a “real-life” horror show called Fear Files. The show narrates two stories related to some kind of paranormal activity that may have happened in some state/city of India recently. Since the telecast is on a weekly basis, I always look forward to watching the hour long episode for this week. Having seen a bunch of these episodes already, I know what to expect so I tend to keep myself prepared from any level of goosebumps by either drinking water or keeping the lights turned on.

15 minutes into the viewing, there was a strong grip of hands from the back of the sofa on my neck. Shocked, I let out a little scream (no, it was in no way in resemblance to a girly scream..!) only to find my wife laughing in the corner. She knows very well that horror and I don’t get along that well, yet I watch the most daring and the horror-est shows. To add to my misery and give me elevated heart-beats, she turned off the lights as well. (Memo to myself: Watch these shows when the wifey isn’t around to surprise me with these panic-attacks).

Not too long ago, I also made a personal pledge never to watch Indian horror movies in the movie theatre. This is because when we watched “Ek thi Daayan” in the packed theatre a couple of months ago, I let out a little scream as well at one of the horror scenes. To save myself  the embarrassment of being the only dude to let out a scream at a horror scene (which many people would probably rate it as moderately horror on a three-point scale), I decided that I will watch any kind of horror movie/drama in the confines of my own home.

Anywho, goes to say that even the strongest of the men can be intimidated by the smallest of the horror scenes.

The Constant Ceiling Factor

Posted: June 14, 2013 in Life, Time-out, Uncategorized
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Over time, our human bodies are programmed to routinely adopt a certain lifestyle. While there is always deadlines, tight schedules and planned deliveries I have to meet everyday, the pattern is pretty much the same.

Pre-Work (morning) – Wake up around 6:45am, take a shower, go for a small morning jog around the neighborhood, come back home, have breakfast, get ready, drop my son to school and head to work.

At work (morning-afternoon) – Check emails from late last night, respond to morning emails, check my meetings for the day, attend meetings, complete tasks for the day, pick up my son from school and then head back home.

At home (evening)  – Freshen up, log into my work laptop and continue working from home, have dinner, help my son with his homework, play squash, shower and watch some TV before calling it a day around 11:45pm.

When I reflect back on the work week, a reflection that I usually have on Fridays, I cant help but stare at the ceiling thinking what could I have done differently that day and that week, in particular; and what can I do differently to spice things up in my regular routine. My usual whatevers have been my usual whatevers with nothing new and nothing different (except for when I mentor high school students and fresh graduates on their academic and career choices).

I noticed that when a person follows a routine, he/she slowly slips into the cracks into the realms of boredom and eventually depression. Luckily for me, boredom is finite and does not last anymore than a day. Plus, my body sends signals to my brain cells when the boredom state is progressing, but I always attempt to beat it by devising some alternative plan. So, if you ever feel the sluggish vibes that could potentially result in boredom, then always plan to do something different.

A hint: Sometimes a hot shower and a nice ride along the country roads with the moon-roof down helps. 🙂

 

 

Just smile…

Posted: June 13, 2013 in Entertainment, Humour
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See and Smile

lol

 

Courtesy: F.N, one of my Facebook friends.

Summer Cleaning..

Posted: June 12, 2013 in On the side, Time-out
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It’s never easy to clean the house, period! Especially, when it is part of the annual clean-up that involves throwing away the unwanted things that have been piling in various places since past winter. We have visitors coming over from overseas at the end of the month and this gave me an opportunity to do something I had not done for a long time. For the record, let me confess one thing: I dread cleaning the garage. It is not because its cluttered, but because it has always been the “dump” corner in our house since God knows when. This past weekend, I took the drive to ‘explore’ the contents in my garage that have been residing there and make an on-spot decision to either keep or throw the items. As I was going through the items, I realized that some of the boxes stored neatly in the far corner contained some items that I had not seen since 2007 and some since 2008. Naturally, seeing them after such a long time brought back some fond and some not-so-fond memories and I decided to just leave the boxes the way they were. After an hour of cleaning the garage, I was able to only throw away a handful of things and seemed content with what I had preserved.

Next stop was the cars…. 

My wife and I own our own separate cars and the kids have the luxury (as I like to explicitly say it) to sit in both of them depending on what car we decide to take for short in-town or long cross-town trips. If you have kids, you can imagine the garbage that settles down in the cars especially since the kids love munching down on quick drive-thru eatable items. As I started cleaning the back seat of Car #1, I realized that I had underestimated the amount of cleaning that needs to take place. So, to make my life easy, I hop into the driver seat, and drive the car to an auto-detailing centre close-by. While I was there, I got the car totally cleaned – both from inside and outside. Impressed with their work on Car#1, I took Car#2 as well and got the same ‘treatment’ done on it with an addition of a full engine shampoo. The total service was just under 4 hours per car and needless to say, I walked out of the shop completely satisfied.

Being happy that at least the cars and the garage were handled properly, the next item on my list for the next weekend is the kids’ bedrooms. There is a lot of junk there that I personally want to clean and organize properly; and can work on this task only when the kids are not around or when they are sleeping. If they are awake when I do this, then…oh brother… I know I ain’t gonna get anything done.

This way we can get the house all prepped up for the summer and ensure that everything is just the way we like it to be………………at least for this year………………..!

A walk in the past…

Posted: June 11, 2013 in Career, Education
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As I woke up this morning, I got hit by a flashback memory. It was exactly 10 years ago today that I was preparing to walk into the UofT convocation hall at 31 Kings College Circle for my graduation ceremony. As a young naive graduate from one of the premier institutions in the world, I knew I had the upper edge in my professional career because of where I graduated from and what I learned in my 4 years of investment at UofT. But what I didn’t know was whether what I had heard from seniors and other graduates was true or not. The biggest questions on my mind that day were:

– So, what is next from here?

– Where do I go?

– What do I do?

– Do employers really prefer a UofT graduate over any other (as I had heard)? If so, then what is the basis of their selecting fresh graduates?

As I was pondering on those questions, I was brought back to reality when the convocation hall doors opened and the graduates were ushered into the magnificent hall that holds a rich history of graduates who walked that carpet to their seats. All dressed in black robes, it was a warming experience to see the graduates being applauded by the faculty, family members and visitors. It felt really good to be acknowledged that way because surviving at UofT is not an easy task. Depending on the program of undertaking, it could be a daunting task that needs full mental and physical commitment.

Seeing my parents seated in the veranda made me proud as well because my whole life flashed before my eyes. Right from the time I attended school for the first time in Saudi Arabia to graduating after completing my grade 10 from there and all the intermittent moments in between where I studied various subjects and learned a new thing or two every year. I owe my educational career to my parents and the sacrifices they made over the years to ensure that my brother and I get the finest education possible from the premier institution of the world.

I picked up my degree, shook hands with the dean and some of my professors and posed for a graduation picture with my newly cemented certificate. University education was expensive even back then, but in the end when you pick up your degree, you forget all what you had paid, you forget the frustration you went through the 4 years and you forget how bad you did in some courses. Because in the end, the degree is worth way way way more than what you had paid to achieve the status of a “University of Toronto graduate”.

After I picked up my degree, I went outside and hugged my parents. My dad saw my degree and his facial expression said it all. He was on cloud 9, and so was my mom. We posed for a few family pictures before heading out of the parking lot. As I left the parking lot, I turned back to look at the building, library and the garden (perhaps for the last time) where I spent 4 years of my best academic experiences with my fellow-graduates.

Over the course of the decade, I completed my Masters degree and worked through the ranks of acquiring several industry carving certifications in technology and management. But it was the time between September 1999 to June 2003 that shaped everything for me and paved way for a better life ahead, the benefits of which I am reaping even to this day!

Tim Hortons

Posted: May 11, 2013 in On the side
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People living in Canada can attest to the fact on how popular Tim Hortons is among the tea and the coffee lovers. Some people think its necessary to get their day going, while others think that a Tim’s cup in your hand is an indication of you blending into the Canadian culture. While I don’t consider myself to be a Timmy’s addict, I do believe that rushing into a Timmy’s coffee joint is more of a psychological programming of the brain more than anything else. I used to be one of of those folks who used to rush to Tim Hortons every morning to grab my English Breakfast Tea. However, I have since cut down on my tea or coffee intake and can’t complain about how positive my experience has been so far!

Some of my closest friends prefer other coffee joints like Starbucks, Second Cup and even McDonald’s. I have tried hot beverages from all these places and I feel Starbucks, while a little expensive for your wallet, offers the best varieties of what you can get. Although, it may be filled with tons of calories upfront, it’s the most popular choice of a lot of executives, from what I see personally.

With all said and done, just like Starbucks is the icon of the U.S, Tim Hortons seems to be the icon (as far as the coffee and donut culture is concerned) of Canada!

…. and of course its no surprise that a quite a few of these franchise chains are owned and operated by Sri Lankans and South Indians in the east end suburban city of Markham! Desi’s invest their money where there’s proven evidence of greater profit margins..

When its too good to be true…

Posted: September 17, 2012 in Routine
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Someone long ago coined something like “When something’s too good to be true, it probably is”. I am not sure under what circumstances this phrase was invented under, but I can’t help but think of this in a completely different way. To me, “if something’s too good to be true, there probably is some catch22 to it”. I have had practical applications of my modified phrase in various situations in my life – be it personal or professional.

Do you believe in the old adage that “if something’s too good to be true, then it probably is”?
OR
Do you believe in a reverted belief of that same statement?

When the inner you comes knocking….

Posted: September 4, 2012 in Life, Reflections
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Lately, I have been having various soul-searching moments where I get these sudden bursts of finding my true identity. Who am I? What am I doing? Where am I headed? Who is going to be my moral support? While some might consider these questions to be philosophical in nature, and they might be (I am not denying this fact); the answers to these questions will ensure you lead an accomplished life that is full of moments that you explore and cherish.

Most people tend to incline towards religion and faith when it comes to searching for these answers and that’s what I am doing too. It’s not easy, but its a positive step in the right direction and I hope that I am able to look at the variables around me and tangent these to my religion, my faith, my beliefs and my morals.

Do you face these kind of moments in your lives as well where you question/search for your identity and try to link it to the big universal solution that involves religion, family, faith, culture, beliefs and morals?

The year so far….

Posted: August 19, 2012 in Life, On the side, Time-out
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I admit that I’ve been out of the spotlight for a few months now and largely its because of a few reasons:

1. My Masters degree thesis had started and the research was too time-consuming for me to even think about anything else.
2. Things at work were getting busy and hectic (as usual!)
3. I was getting my basement finished
4. I was publicly defending my thesis in the third week of June
5. The doctors found a few blockages in my dad’s arteries and he was to be scheduled for bypass surgery
6. My dad had bypass surgery
7. Ramadan came about

These seven items were just too much for me to focus on anything related to blogging, even though a true blogger might have a difference of opinion. Some people like to give minute-by-minute playback of the events happening in their lives. I wish I could do that too, but sometimes, the power of these events is too strong to think with a clear mind.

Hopefully, now that the first 6 items are done, and with Eid declared tomorrow, I am hoping that I’ll have some time to publish a post here and there….

Candidate Screening

Posted: February 21, 2012 in Work
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We all know the extent to which employers go to screen potential candidates for their job interviews. While, background checks to verify authenticity and a visit to the LinkedIn profiles are still common, there is one other means that has picked up storm.

Check it out:

Sneak peak at the Candidates’s Facebook profile! More and more recruiters are snooping on Facebook profiles to understand a candidate’s personality and assess whether he/she would be a perfect fit for the organization.

Is this time to go low-key and secular on our Facebook profile pages?

You tell me…. 

The Hyderabad Trip – Post Reflection

Posted: January 22, 2012 in Family, Food, Time-out, Travel
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Now that we are back from our holidays, the best part is reflecting on the trip and cherish the memories.

Our holidays started at the Grand Kakatiya Luxury Hotels, where we stayed for 4 days and 3 nights. Right from the time we checked in to the buffet breakfasts, everything was smooth. Infact, it was so smooth that we didn’t seem to notice the difference between Toronto and Hyderabad in terms of comfort. What made our stay more memorable was that Sanjay Dutt also happened to check into the same hotel with his entire family. Later on, I found out from the hotel staff that Sanjay Dutt’s inlaws are from Andhra Pradesh and so he usually comes down to Hyderabad to spend Christmas and New Years with them. Why he chose to stay at the Kakatiya was beyond my imagination. Even though we didnt get to see him in-person, just the fact that he was staying a few feet away from us, was a chilling experience on its own.

After our grand stay at the Kakatiya ended, we ended up staying close to Banjara Hills. If you want to see the lifestyle changes and the fashion trends in Hyderabad, then Banjara Hills is the place to be. With breathtaking malls like GVK, one can easily shop for their respective needs. Even though the planning of GVK Mall is a little retarded especially when it comes to the entrance and the exit of the mall, the interior landscaping of the mall makes you forget about the chaotic outer planning.

Every of the 4 weeks we were there, I believe we ended up going to Cafe Coffee Day! Cafe Coffee Day is a coffee chain just like Tim Hortons, albeit with a much nicer ambience. On one of our late night trips to Cafe Coffee Day, we ended up meeting Akbar bin Tabar (from the hit Hyderabadi flick Angrez). He looks exactly the same, and speaks pretty decent English (even though in the movies he starred in, he was relegated to weird roles requiring him to speak hardcore Hyderabadi urdu).

Our highlight was the trip to the famous Inorbit mall. This mall is very well constructed and has all the facilities for youngsters, adults and family members. Even though we ended up spending time at Fun City (the indoor Arcade arena inside the mall), the other floors of the mall looked pretty good as well. One notable thing to mention was the Food Court in this mall – it was exceptionally wicked! It catered to different types of cuisines – from Indian to Thai and Chinese.

As far as food was concerned, we made stop-overs at:
Hot and Chillies
KFC
ChicKing
McDonald’s
Pizza Hut
Paradise
Four Seasons

Even though I heard a lot about Barbeque Nation and the great food they offer, at the time there were reports of possible food poisoning. Since we were in no mood to take risks with our health, we decided to skip BBQ Nation.

In short, Hyderabad provides a great relaxing environment for those who wish to wind down and relax. Even though there is a lot of traffic and a lot of pollution, it still is a great place to go and spend some quality time with the family. In our case, we stayed there for 4 weeks and truly had the time of our lives!

Here’s a toast to the amazing month of fun-filled activities and heap loads of memories that we have locked down in our hearts!

Hyderabad Trip

Posted: December 27, 2011 in Travel
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For the past 2 years, taking December vacation trips has become the norm. So, in keeping up with the standards, this year we decided, as a family, to do things a little differently and take a vacation to Hyderabad, India. We flew Etihad Airways all the way from Toronto to Hyderabad. I must say, the Toronto to Abu Dhabi flight was pretty comfy and relaxing, contrary to the reviews I heard about the aircraft. However, our flight from Abu Dhabi to Hyderabad was the most uncomfortable and inconvenient flight I have ever taken in my life as the seats seemed to be so close and narrow. Living in Canada for a long time now, I am not used to the ‘stranger closeness’ physical-wise and I guess this added to my frustration. Since this was a short haul flight, I decided to just keep quiet and endure the pain of travelling in a short aircraft that makes a lot of noise.

Upon arriving at the Hyderabad airport, I found myself walking a lot to get to the immigration and customs desk. Since we did not have any other international flight arriving at the same time, there wasn’t much rush at the airport. We got all of our luggage on time, except the baby stroller. Not having the baby stroller on-time is a big pain because after completing a 20 hour journey (including transit time) the kids were getting restless and cranky. I can’ t blame them because by the time we had reached our destination, I was exhausted as hell.

But anyways, after 45 minutes of getting all of our check-in baggages, our stroller finally arrived and we hastily made our way out of the airport.  The Hyderabad breeze was cold and I loved it! I had my windows rolled down on the way home and I enjoyed every single bit of the early morning.

Even though I am still jet-lagged, it’s truly an experience that one likes to cherish for a long time. For someone like me, who came to Hyderabad after 4 years, the experience was well worth it!

November? or Movember?

Posted: December 1, 2011 in Life, News
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From every angle, November sounds much better than Movember! Maybe I am biased, because November is my birth month, but truly, even if I were to be unbiased in my opinion, I would still prefer November over Movember!

Frankly speaking, the Movember fever took its peak this year itself (at least from what I observed during my many years here in Canada). Then again, maybe it existed all this time, but I never paid attention to it as much as this year. To give you a little background, people grow their moustaches during the month of November and don’t shave it off until December 1st. Slight trimming is allowed, as long as it doesn’t mess up the symmetries of the moustache on your face. And since, this is the month of growing moustaches, people tend to acknowledge November as Movember!

Being an Indian and growing up in Saudi Arabia, where there are a lot of South Asians, it was not uncommon to see desi people with just moustaches as their choice of facial hair. However, when Chinese, and White people start growing moustaches, it looks pretty funny and awkward. If you are one of those people like me, who likes to talk to people face-to-face, then it’s hard to keep a straight concentration without getting distracted by that person’s ‘new’ facial hair (which does not seem to be all that dense and complete any way).

Moustaches don’t suit a lot of people. I look like a Mexican drug-dealer if I were to just keep one. Hence, for me its either a complete set of moustache and a beard; or a Gillette clean-shaven appearance. But for those people who feel comfortable and look pretty okay in this kind of look, I just have one thing to say: Bring on the DABANGG fever! After all, Chulbul Pandey is an international icon! 

 I must say one thing though: Being December 1st, it was sure nice to see some people revert back to their regular self today!

Were you one of those people sucked into the Movember trend as well?

Pakistani singers dominating Bollywood

Posted: November 14, 2011 in Entertainment
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Isn’t it about time? I am glad that the pakistani singers are getting recognized in Bollywood. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan started the trend by lending his voice in some films from the 90’s and then Atif Aslam picked up the steam with his catchy voice and some good hits. But recently, the entire industry is humming to the lyrics sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan in hit films like Dabangg, Body Guard, Mausam and most recently, Miley Na Miley Tum. I must admit, I am addicted as well. This guy’s got a deep voice that just mesmerizes the listener.

To see Rahat F.A. Khan’s latest hit, click here. Let me know your feedback..!

I remember sometime back, Abhijeet criticizing Atif Aslam stating that he didn’t know how to sing and his songs are altered with the aid of computerized software to make it appeasing to the human ear. I wonder what he would have to say to Rahat’s songs. Clearly, this dude’s the most sought out singer in Bollywood after having delivered some outstanding hits in the past year.

….and that day isn’t far when the Filmfare black lady for the Best Playback Singer (Male) will be bagged by a Pakistani singer…!!!!  

My Experience at the Indian Consulate in Toronto

Posted: October 17, 2011 in News, Travel
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I tell you, the folks at the Indian Consulate in Toronto are just total rip-offs.  My adventure with the Indian Consulate started when a friend told me in passing that if you have a valid Canadian passport, then you have to surrender your Indian one. Failure to do so results in hefty fines imposed by the consulate. So, to avoid all the crazy drama, I had gone there last week to surrender my wife’s Indian passport.

The consulate opens at 8am EST. I thought to myself that 8am was too early and that if I made it at the consulate by 9am, I should be fine because Indian people never wake up that early to get their work done. I was horribly wrong!!!! As I entered the premises, a gush of warm air greeted me at the sliding doors and I had to take a number. Once I took the number and got my documents checked by another officer (to ensure everything is in place), I made my way inside only to realize that the entire hall was full of people. I immediately looked at the display monitors to see what number was currently being served. It was B116. My number was B225. I was surprised because I really didn’t expect these many people to be at the consulate within one hour of its opening.

Anyways, I went ahead and took my seat. It was really hot that day and to make it worse, the consulate did not even turn on the fan or A/C. People were fanning themselves and after an hour passed by, I started to see sweat dripping off many foreheads. This smell gave me nausea and I decided to step outside and get some fresh air.

After multiple in-and-out movements from the consulate and checking the display monitors often, my number gets called at 1:30pm EST. When I reached the service counter, I was in no mood to strike a friendly conversation with the attendant because I was way past my tolerance threshold. That lady sensed my frustration and processed my paper work quickly, gave me a tracking number and I was done!

What pisses me off that the consulate knows that a lot of Indians live in this city and there is always someone travelling to India in any given month, but they only have 4 attendants working to service 300+ clients! Somewhere the math doesn’t add up properly (as it should) and the entire arrangement is just full of crap and insanely stupid. I was so glad to have surrendered my wife’s Indian passport because it’s an embarrassment to all Indians to see the way they operate. May be its time they learn some ABC’s of providing excellent customer service from Passport Canada or even the U.S Consulate office.

The lack of discipline and disrespect for people’s time is what makes Indian people stand out from the rest of the nationalities. Not sure when ‘our‘ people will learn to behave and appreciate everyone’s time, but if it happens within my lifetime, I pledge to distribute 10 pounds of sweets to all the clients at the Indian Consulate office one day!!!

You might be wondering at my bold pledge, but I know Indian people at the consulate very well. Even if you give them 50 years, they won’t sudharo-fy!!!

Desi Grocery Shopping – Oh my…

Posted: October 2, 2011 in Food, Routine
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Grocery shopping, regardless of its attribute and purpose, is a very consumable task and requires a lot of patience and a sincere commitment to stick to your schedule. I have no problems or issues with heading to a local food mart and picking up things for me, however when you see that your desi store in your vicinity has some good sales on certain things, then you have to head down there to ‘save some money’ (even if its $0.10). So, this is exactly what I did.

Now, when it comes to supporting herbs and some vegetables, I have a lot of confusion, because to me they all look the same.

For instance, consider the following:
Arvi and Aaloo
Methi, Kothmir, Pudina and Hara Masala

There is so much confusion between these and this boggles my mind when I am down at this grocery section because frankly, I look like a mad person trying to differentiate between these. I don’t understand why there had to be this much confusion and us, desis, have to cook such foods that require these items to be present in them. I am all up for eliminating confusion and uncertainties and this one just puzzles me further.

In the past, I ended up not getting these items because I hate to get these and then have to go back and return them because they weren’t the right ones to begin with. So, this time, I tried to ask the grocery clerk for some advice and this is what she tells me:

“You can take them all and put it in your food. If it tastes bad, then stop eating that dish completely”. At that point, I knew that she was just trying to smooth-talk her way into me buying these items without an understanding of whether I need some of the others or not.

Anyways, I just got them all with the intention that there would probably be some desi dish that might use a combination of these herbs and/or vegetables together to create an explosive fusion! 🙂

As they say, when in doubt, do it all! 

When Professors are in just for the $$

Posted: September 5, 2011 in Career, Education
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As I was busy preparing for probably one of my toughest graduate level university exams (yes, it was extremely tough because there were only 10 multiple choice questions worth 10 marks each), I could not help go into a flashback mode of my undergraduate university days where I had the unfortunate experience of being in a course with a professor who did not understand a thing. At least my graduate level professor was nice and knew her stuff inside out. She inspired, motivated and helped the entire class understand and implement the course material in our daily lives.

Anyways, getting back to my point on this horrendous undergraduate professor – Tanweer Haroon. He used to randomly give marks based on:

1. How well you behave with him inside and outside of the lecture halls
2. How comforting you were in assisting him with his Canadian citizenship test (At the time when he was teaching us, he was preparing for his Canadian citizenship exam and he always reached out to Canadian citizens to help him understand the material)
3. How well you interact with him socially (and by this I mean – chilling at his home, helping him update his website for other courses, and ensuring you stick around for dinner)

The moment you try to show your smartness – BAM! He just smacks you down with a low mark without any justification!

Professors usually enforce strict plagiarism rules and this guy virtually broke the rules himself. A few of his assignments were direct copies from other U.S universities. In the day and age of Internet and Google (may God bless this search engine), anything can be exposed and Tanweer Haroon’s plagiarism habits were caught by a lot of students. When confronted, he couldn’t defend himself.  However, he just wouldn’t let it go at that point. He would perform a background investigation on your name is and ensure that you get a random mark less than 70.

I am not sure why this unqualified professor came into my thoughts today (8 years after graduating with my Bachelors degree). If he’s still employed as a professor, I am sure he must be destroying a lot of students’ academic careers with his politics.

On that note, I would like to meet him in person once, because one fine evening in 2001, he told me after an evening lecture class that he didnt think I would succeed in the working world.  8 years have gone by since my graduation and I currently hold a prestigious management post with one of Canada’s top financial institutions !!!

Take that Tanweer Haroon!!!!

Tanweer Haroon – If you ever come across this post (thanks to some search engine), then you should know how horrible you were and probably still are!!!!

Ramadan Fast – The Inaugural

Posted: August 2, 2011 in Health, Life
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For the last few days of the month of Sha’abaan, I was stressed out. And it was not because of work or studies. It was because of the most awaited Islamic month that was to arrive on the onset of moon sighting – Ramadan!

Last year, I missed a few fasts because I got dehydrated and then fell sick to the extreme that I needed a 10-day antibiotic course to get myself back up to speed. Repeated flashbacks of last year kept haunting my mind and caused me to worry because I don’t want to experience the same Ramadan as last year, where I had to miss a few fasts unintentionally. Heading into Day 1 of fasts today, I was very determined to get the cart rolling. Being well prepared helped me in setting a few key checkpoints along the way and I made sure I was closely monitoring my pre-fast checklist.

Drinking a lot of water during sehri was definitely one of them. I think I drank a total of 1.75 litres of water at sehri alone. Being well aware that I wouldn’t have the luxury of consuming water during the day at work, I had to somehow keep my kidneys running smoothly and help them do their job. Frequent washroom breaks did not seem to matter to me at all, because somewhere at the back of my mind, a little receptive cell was telling me that my kidneys are doing their job without feeling any kind of strain on them.

Having a light iftaar is another. After more than 15 hours of empty stomach, you just cant let yourself loose at iftaar. Maintaining controlled portions was my key because I knew that within another 6 hours I need to get up yet again for sehri and if my stomach feels full, then it’s hard to survive another 14.98 hours on previous day’s stocked supply.

Third key to survival of the fasts is to remember the almighty and just let yourself free in prayers. The more you keep your mind occupied, the better the chances of experiencing a smooth day. Making a deal with your manager to work 2 days from home is a blessing as well, which I hope to avail this month.

So far, Day 1 seemed to be good and is almost under the wraps. Here’s hoping for similar success for the other days!

Amen!

The Power of Women

Posted: July 17, 2011 in Entertainment
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Being an avid soccer fan myself, I don’t think I ever saw an exciting World Cup final game as the one today between U.S.A and Japan. U.S.A entered the tournament as the favourites to win the cup while Japan was not even supposed to come this far in their campaign. But in the end it was the resilience and the determination of the hungry team to bag the most covered award in an athlete’s career – the sparkling golden trophy.

U.S.A had a star-studded team with some of the players who had been chasing for the first championship trophy. Japan, on the other hand was the first Asian team ever to appear in a World Cup final. Playing 120+ minutes and then heading into penalty shoot-outs is not an easy task for any player, but when the stage is as big as this one – then it makes it more tougher to perform because of the high expectations people have of you!

You could easily sense the pressure United States was in from the moment their players came to take the penalty kicks. Even their goal tender – who was easily the best goal tender throughout the tournament felt the pressure. Had two out of the first three penalty shots made it at the back of the net, I think the outcome could have been much much different.

When it comes to competitive sports, the mass audience seems to think that women cannot keep their stamina up for the entire 90+ minutes of the game. However, I think the times have changed and the game today is an indication of how women can compare themselves with men and match their levels of intensity and play-making abilities.

With the next World Cup for women stated to be in Canada in 2015, lets see how the world performs once again on the game’s biggest stage ever.

Maybe the respective men’s international soccer team should learn a lesson or two from the ladies on how to play with determination and confidence…!

 

Say whaaaa?

Posted: July 15, 2011 in Life, News
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It’s official. The tabloids have touted Toronto to be the most expensive city to live in Canada. We have officially overtaken Vancouver in this category as well and if you ask any Torontonian and they would probably say that Toronto has been rising up the charts since the last 5 years or so.

Toronto has been my home for the last decade and a half and I truly enjoy the life the city has to offer. While some recent immigrants from the Middle East and India prefer their respective lifestyles from those countries, they tend to appreciate the calmness and the opportunities you have at your disposal – provided you take advantage of the situation!

While living  in the “New York City of Canada” puts you amongst the elite, it also puts the city into a tough spot. As is, we have got tons of homeless people wandering on the streets and this news does nothing good for them. Infact, what we will probably see in a few years time is an increase in crime since some people will have no choice but to resort to that kind of behavior to just get by on a day-to-day basis. 

The media and the entertainment sector has been doing its part in bringing Toronto out in the open. Recent IIFA awards in Toronto got a surplus of cash into the city with fans and media keeping the immigration lines at the Toronto Pearson airport busy all day long. Now, if we manage to somehow put a plan to win either the summer or the winter Olympics, it would just give nitrogen boost to the overall economy and will probably put Toronto as the most ‘wannabe‘ destination on the tourist map.

No wonder Toronto is the number 1 choice of immigrants arriving into Canada!

Blissfully Ignorant

Posted: July 14, 2011 in Bothersome and Irritating, News
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Since when did a mosque become a means to spread extremism?

At least this is what the prospective Republican Candidate Herman Cain (from Tennessee) thinks! It is the narrow-minded thinking of these people that has resulted in Islam being the target in the United States.

Even though one might say that he has got his own views and opinions, I think that in this case – he has gone a little too far and beyond in what he believes and thinks of Islam, Muslims and their place of worship.

If I stoop down to his level, then I can perhaps give a taunting reply to his theories on this site by stating that, “Sure, go ahead and believe a black man who himself was the target of oppression many many decades ago!“.

All I know is that he is the one with extremist values and may god forbid – if he wins the Republican seat and also goes to win the head-to-head match-up with Obama for the next election, then life for Muslims in U.S.A is going to be very tough. He would initially call out for shutting down mosques, Islamic centres and private Islamic schools stating that they are detrimental to the American laws and the pillars of freedom built by America; and that they are nothing but a chain of Al-Qaeda facilities.

It’s too bad I don’t live in the United States. But for all of those who are Muslims and are eligible to vote in the upcoming U.S election, please cast your vote and make sure this ignorant man does not win the Republican seat in the first place!

It is for your future…for our future…and for the freedom of our next generations!

So, are you ready?

Chilling Conversation…

Posted: July 12, 2011 in Humour, Love
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Disclaimer: This post is not intended to make fun of any religious group or people. This post is to be taken in pure humour based on the graphical situation below.

If a Hyderabadi Urdu conversation were to happen between the bearded man and his wife (see the pic below), then I suspect it would happen something like this:

Woman: Tum mereku paani main kayku dhakley?
Man: Aray… kya muthlab kayku dhaklaa? Itni garmi hai bahar aur upar se tum poore dhakey hue hain… thoda thanda feel karna bolke paani main dhaklaa… Sahi kara na?
Woman: Chee… Battameez kahin ke! Baazu waale ke bacche kya bolinge? Aunty coma main se uthke paani main aagaye nahaane..!!! Chee..!!!!
Man: Inki unki fikr nakko karo gulshan-e-bahaar…. Sirf mereku dekhte raho….
Woman: Ajeeb dikhra mereku… logaan paani main aise kapde pehenke nahi utartey
Man: Abaaaaaaah! Phir se parwah karrein aap logon ki….
Woman: Public place hai ye, samjhe? Parwah karna padhta… Aapka private swimming pool nahi hai ye!
Man: Accha wo sab chodo, thande paani main aaye toh thanda dimagh karlena….
Woman: Kya hai ki kya nayi ki
Man: Accha ye bolo, aapka seedha haat itna akdaa kyun hai? Paani itna thanda bhi nahi hai ki akad jaarein…
Woman: Bas karte ye wo poochna…. Main hich pagal dikhryun beech paani main aise kapdoun main…. Mere peeche waala toh shirtless hai… Salman Khan samajhra apne aap ku shayad…. 
Man: Aapki nazar idhar udhar kayku mandraari? Mere taraf dekho na… Main hoon aapka Salman Khan
Woman: Kya? Aap hai Salman Khan? Body dekhe apni? Uske six-pack hai…aapka ek bada sa family pack hai…. Salman Khan kathe…!!
Man: Dekho…ghusse main nakko laao mereku….
Woman: Kya karlete aap? Paani se nikal jaate?
Man: Hum kuch bhi karsakte… aadmi ka dimagh pehle se hich garam rehta...
Woman: Isiliye mard-jaat haule haule kaamaan karte rehti… Ab dekho na…mereku paani main daal ne waala bhi ek mard hi hai
Man: Abaaaaaaaah!!! Poora romantic mood kharab kardete aap…..
Woman: Ajeeee!! Kaun bola paani main daalo bolke? Aur ye kya chichorapan hai? Romantic mood? Baazu bacche hain so nahi dikhra kya? Unka baap bhi hai na baazu main….sharam toh karo!
Man: Bahut hogaya…. main nikalroun paani main se…
Woman: Mereku bhi nikaal ke le jaao… mere kapde paani absorb karliye aur wazan ho gaye..
Man: Khudh niklo..itne bade bade baataan karrein na… Ab khudh niklo…
Woman: Ajeeee!! Khairiyat? Nikaalo mereku paani main se… doob ke marjaaongi kahin…
Man: Accha hai….! Mood kharab kare mera toh wo hich sazaa milna… 
Woman: Dekho..agar tum mereku nahi nikaale na, toh main cheekhoongi aur chillaoongi: BACHAAO BACHAAO… wo peeche waala shirtless aadmi aake bachaaye toh phir nahi bolna….
Man: AAAARGH!!! Haat do apna… aur burqe ke peeche se flirting karna bandh karo…. 
Woman (smiles): Mera Lalloo…!! 🙂

Delhi Belly and Chocolate Brownie Sundae

Posted: July 11, 2011 in Entertainment, Time-out
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This weekend I got a chance to catch ‘Delhi Belly’, a bollywood movie – originally scripted and dialogued in English, but dubbed in Hindi for mature Indian audiences. On the surface, when I saw the casting, I thought to myself, “Aamir is a true scorer. What a starcast“. But as the movie progressed, the vulgarity in the dialogues made me ponder if Aamir was in his right mind. How did he manage to get the censor clearance on this movie? Most of the dialogues had some sort of swear word associated to it.

I guess after the universal flops of Peepli Live and Dhobi Ghat, he is slowly losing his mind…

In short – if you are going to watch Delhi Belly, make sure your parents, kids and/or any elder isnt around! It’s not a movie for the mass audience. The comedy was just about average in the sense that it was easy to predict the next dialogue scenes…

It has become a customary ritual to catch movies with a bag of popcorn. If you walk into the movie theatre empty-handed, there are some folks who literally give you “the look”. And I am not joking..!! Popcorn is something that has long been very addictive to me. So, to break from that addiction, I decided to try something else this time around and voila…I found the explosive combination to enjoy the movie experience – Dark Chocolate Brownie Sundae!!! If I had just one word to describe the taste and the feeling right from the time the taste touched my salivary glands, it was pure YUMMY!!!! Some people argue that an ice-cream is just an ice-cream, but I beg to differ! This is not just your regular ice-cream! It’s dark chocolate and its got brownie pieces in it..!! HEAVEN!!!

Why don’t you try it out too?

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