What next Fedex?

An hour or so ago, history was created at Wimbledon when Roger Federer lost to Thomas Berdych in the Quarter Finals. Fedex has reached the finals evertime since 2003 at SW19 and hence this comes as a surprise. What happens next to Federer.

Lets see what happened to Fedex since the time he lost to Nadal at Wimbledon in 2008. That marathon match was considered the best ever Wimbledon match. And while it demoralised Fed, it boosted Nadal and he won Olympic Gold and Fedex was forced to vacate the top spot. As expected everyone started plotting the demise of the greatest champion of Tennis.What happened next? He won the US Open and again the whole world came n support of him. And the next year proved to be one of the best. First French Open and 15 Grand Slam titles. Back as World No 1. and lost very narrowly in the Finals of the Us Open. FEDEX was officially back and was expected to be at his best forever. Add to that this years Australian Open and his status as the greatest player of all time was almost sealed.

But in all these was forgotten that the exploits of Roger in the last 2 years did not come at the expense of Nadal but at his absence. He still had a losing record to Nadal and he has not beaten Nadal in a Slam final after Wimbledon 2007. So when Nadal was back at his imperious best, people expected Roger to have a better answer. But still he didnt. He lost to Nadal again in the Madrid Masters.

Another new aspect of Fedex this year has been his rare immodesty. Its becoming too apparent these days. Though he failed to reach the semifinal of a Grand Slam at the French Open this year , he looked so confident of his grass court chances. He promptly lost in the finals of his warm up event. Now comes his Wimbledon defeat.

What next? One of several things may happen. One, he may be back again this hard court season with a few titles and the Us Open and again will be expected to be at his best. Two, if he loses again in the US open before the Semis then the final days have started. Here one of two things may happen, like an Agassi or Schumacher, his last days wont be his best and he ll retire as a player ranked around 7 or 8 in the world . Otherwise, this is what I expect the most, he may have a last flourish left in him and may win Yet another Grand Slam and then retire. You see, I am a fan of Pete Sampras.

Roger Federer needs a great farewell, of a kind no sport has heard of. Bettter than Schumacher, Bradman Michael Jordon or any others. . Doesn't he?

But there is another curly haired guy from India who has reserved the Greatest Farewell of all time. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

The Most Memorable and the Happiest Day In My Life

The most memorable and happiest day in my life answered the question I posed in the previous blog.

This happened on the day of my sister's marriage. I mean my friend who I consider my sister. This may seem strange to some. But thats the way it is. She is my sister.

Some background info before I start. She is the one who loved me as much as my mother possibly could have. The four plus years I have spent with her will remain the best I have had. Her father was a little weak in heart. He has high blood pressure and is a diabetic. Naturally he was excited a lot by his only daughter's marriage. But a little too excited it turned out to be.

The bride was in Chennai, the bridegroom in Mumbai and the bride's brother in Malaysia. So the huge burden of organizing the marriage(you know how Indian marriages are!!!) fell on both parents. And both proved equal to the task running hither and tither , doing everything needed. All set for marriage. But Providence had other ideas. He had a mild heart attack on the Tuesday before Saturday's marriage. And was admitted to the ICU in a reputed heart specialty hospital .This was not informed to the Bride or the Groom's family. But still he could not keep himself out of the preparations and excitement. AGAINST DOCTOR'S ADVICE he wanted to get discharged from the hospital and he forced his family to do so.

But the family members were wise enough not to allow him work anymore. On Thursday , after his daughter came ,a little too excited again, he had another attack,this time a bit stronger. The celebration mood came to a standstill. Its a matter of life and death. Doctors naturally were angry with him and the family. He was ordered not to think even of moving out of the ICU for a week . His ECG showed his life was at stake and he had to undergo a Bypass surgery as soon as possible. He should forget attending his own daughter's marriage. You have to see him and hear him speak how much he likes her. MISSING OWN DAUGHTER'S MARRIAGE?. Can you just imagine missing your daughter's marriage?

Prayers started to flow. His wife was with him in hospital throughout. He missed the Engagement Function held on Friday. The groom's family provided valuable support once they were informed. He was asked not to get tense. Doesn't it seem absurd? Your only daughter is going to be married. And you wont be attending it. And you should not get tense. nervous , excited or emotional.

Discussions were held with the doctors who strongly advised against getting out of bed for 5 minutes even. What was everyone supposed to do?

He missed Engagement on Friday. Friday's report of his health was not encouraging. All lost hope of him attending the marriage. All looked up at the supposed Supreme Power and exclaimed "What the hell are you doing about the miseries happening here? " and then " Do you really exist?"

I was there for marriage on Friday to help what I could. There was no excitement at all. No celebration mood. So after doing some petty work I was late to the Church. The bride and the groom had walked to the dias. I had some space to stand only at the last. One of my friends( I have a crush on her!!) who was standing at the front, called me.

What I saw will remain etched in my memory for eons to come. There he was sitting upright, with a serene face. His wife and brother were near beside him. That image flooded my eyes with tears. Even this moment when I am trying to put these thoughts into words( miserably so) , I am getting emotional. That is THE most memorable moment in my life.

That moment made me look up into the sky and exclaim " Oh My GOD, You have done it. Thanks "

Whatever be the medical explanation that the doctors may give, I don't care. Its some Super power that made this happen. That Super power may be his Wife who stood with him throughout, may be the doctors who are going to cure him or the prayers and hopes of the well wishers. Anyways I consider it a miracle.

And seeing my sister hand in hand with her soul mate made it the happiest day in my life.

And today his Bypass surgery is over and he is doing fine.

In a lighter vein, here is my epilogue.

My roommates, Gaje, Mani, Viji and Vinoth( I wont tell his nickname) want me to add their names in my post just like authors dedicate their books to someone special to them.

So here it is. Thanks guys and I dedicate this post to you all.

What is God?

One of the most mysterious issues modern mankind(probably our forefathers too) loves to debate and fight over is GOD.

So, now , I too am plunging into this dirty, already overcrowded pond.

Now that this argument can become too aggressive for some, here is my disclaimer.

All the issues dealt with in this post and my blog are my views. If it offends someone, I am not to be blamed.

Let me start.

There are three kinds of people in this world. Those who devoutly beleive in God, those who deny its existence and the rest. I wont call the 'rest' as agnostic for the reason , the rest include the whole lot of people whose minds waver with respect to their views of God.

All these 3 kinds of people dont have answers when probed too much on their stance.

The pious keep giving explanations like "He is formless, colorless, cant be comprehended by lowly souls like humans , blah blah blah..". But when rationality is brought in and we explain how acts once attributed to God are now being explained by Science and ask them to be more precise (2+2 = 4 anytime everywhere) and question them further they ought to get stumped though the fanatically devout wont accept it. That they will introspect later is altogether a different matter. These people killed Galileo and created many heretics out of scientists, refused to accept scientific explanations for hitherto inexplicable behaviours and attributed diseases to act of Devil.

The non-beleivers (the so-called rationalists) pride themselves in the fact that they dont beleive in God. They say explanations are available in Science for everything and will be available for the unexplained. But when asked some serious questions like "what happened before the Big Bang?" their stand wavers. And when things get too emotional like death of one's parents , the heavenly ( I have to use this word though these people do not believe in a heaven or hell) bliss we feel when we are treated to nature's best features, the coincidences we find in nature that Science cannot explain or when you sincerely hope(the beleivers call this prayer) things will work out right after an interview which decides your life they start thinking about an unknown power that may influence the world.

The other group includes all the others. They need not be probed too much to disturb their stance. They readily accept or reject His presence.

Where do I stand? Undoubtedly in the third set.

Let me try to put my thoughts in writing. It will look extremely fuzzy that you will stop midway and think "What the hell does he want?"

In the earliest of times deers knew by instinct and experience that chatting with a tiger is certain death and chatting with the opposite sex means an offspring. Similar thoughts like these developed over time and reached greater heights with the chimpanzees who scientists attest are brilliant relative to other animals. Many of these knowledge transferred through several species and generations and reached mankind, when he finally evolved. People belonging to this school of thought debate if Devil came first or God came first. My opinion is that both compliment each other. As earliest man attributed his diseases to a Devil, he definitely would have thanked his God for the good things happening to him. And fearing his God many desert him he started offering sacrifices to God as we did see in "Apocalypto". This God does more harm than good to this world.

Lets look at it another way. There is archeological evidence of David ruling Jerusalem, of the Trojan War and of the Kurukshetra War. These stories actually form the foundation of religion and God. Homer sang Iliad and Odyssey to the descendants of the victors from the Trojan War. In order to get praised and rewarded, he slowly exaggerated their heroics . Over centuries these exaggerations multiplied exponentially resulting to the present form.

Similarly the Ramayana and Mahabaratha were exaggerated over centuries to its current form.

Later came Buddha, Mahavira , Jesus and the Prophet. I view them as extremely ideal people who preached people. They did something unheard of those days in real life. Soon they became Sons of the Supreme Power. But for the advent of Science and mankind's increased rationality, Gandhi and Vivekanandha would also be considered so. As a famous author once said, "Had Gandhi been born 3000 years ago, his birth would have been in myths, his youth in miracles and he would have been worshipped as God".This kind of god would do more good than harm to this world.

What will happen if one says "All the best" to you before you appear for an importan exam? In absolute terms, nothing. I equate this with prayers. Nothing happens but that feel good factor will do a lot of good. doesnt it? The concept of God helps here.

A feeling that God looks after us and will punish us in case we do harm is absolutely necessary in today's world.

And there is this symbolism part. Most beliefs inherent in any religion symbolizes something. As an example we can cite Muslims wearing Purdah. This started because they had to save their skin from scorching sun in the Middle East where it all started.

In my view, at some point of time in everyone's life looks up ( God supposedly resides there) and says " Who are you? What the hell are you doing about the miseries happening here? " and finally " Do you really exist?"

I got a answer to these last week. That comes next

My Two Days in Singapore

Procrastination is the thief of time. It seems I like this particular thief a lot or perhaps it would be more apt to say it likes me a lot or even lives with me. Anyways, for now, I have shrugged it off my shoulders and am writing this.

Singapore, in a nut shell, can be considered the world's largest mall plus theme park where people live too.. Such is the magnitude of commercialisation of the city.

Indians, when they visit Singapore, find superlative adjectives insufficient to describe their thoughts of the city. Our airports lose out miserably to the Changi Intl. Airport there. the Metro Rail is just incredible. Amazing.

We reached Changi Airport around 5 in the morn and took the MRT to our hostel at Little India. The city has 4 routes and several junctions. But not for an instant do we get confused inside the MRT. The trains are fabulous. Its incredible that every other MRT station itself is a mall.

Throughout this post, I ll find it difficult to express my wonder completely.

We reached our hostel around 6 and discovered that we could not check- in before 2 PM.So we started out to Sentosa Island, yet another wonder in the city. We did luge ride, sky ride, cable car and saw a 3-D film and dolphins playing. Unbeleivable creatures they are. Never miss a chance to see them.

We returned to our hostel around 5 that evening. Little India is a small part of the city which has Indians(no surprise that) predominantly Tamils. We started out again, did some shopping, boating and saw bungee jumping.Shopping was cheap in Bugis St, a lively and happening part of the city. We returned to our hostel at 10 and the next moment were asleep.

Next morn, we got up late(procrastination again) so had to skip the famous Singapore Zoo. We visited a nearby mall touted as the best in Singapore. The Mustafa Centre is huge and extends on both sides of a main road. After that started our great walk.We walked around 7 kms that evening covering all the tourist spots in that area, the Esplanade, Merlion, China Town, City Hall, the former Supreme Court complex, the War Memorial , Singapore Flyer and another boating.

Apart from these, about singapore, I could not find soil anywhere and equally difficult to find vegetarian food. Of course I could get some good vegetarian food but then they were Indian. I was searching for non-indian food. The roads were perfect. One could not be mistaken if he/she assumes horns are banned in Singapore. Such is the traffic discipline htere. Another trivial , makes-me-envy info : the average life expectancy at birth is 82.

For a city that was almost non-existent 100 years back and badly bruised in the war, this is great going which could not have been acheived but for the dedication and will power of all those involved. Citizens and politicians comprising malay, chinese and tamil population.

I ll be back with my experiences in Malaysia and Cambodia soon, Procrastination permitting.

The 100 Country Club - Our journey starts

Finally it has happened...

After a lot of deliberations and failed plans, My brother and I are ready to embark on a trip to Singapore, Malaysia and Combodia. We in our family are used to making a lot of travel plans of which, I have to admit, very few see the light of the day. So , we are used to making plans sometimes knowing well that they wont be realised. This too started like this, or so I thought.

My brother and I have been thinking for quite sometime about going on a foreign tour to watch a sports event. The feasible options we had were Dubai (Tennis) , Bahrain, Singapore and Malaysia (F1 GP) . We also had a European trip in mind but didnt think it would be possible in the next few years atleast. But suddenly my bro started planning seriously about going to Europe to watch Tour de France and the German GP . His plans soon became bigger and bigger and soon became infeasible. He wanted to visit areas in the vicinity of few hours from Berlin and Paris and that extended to Copenhagen which was near Oslo near Stockholm near Helsinki near Petersburg near Moscow and Europe was over. You now realise why our plans became impossible.

So , with a bruised heart he started plans for a far cheaper and far nearer Singapore and Malaysia. And to add a extra adventurous element to the trip , we decided on Combodia which is not a tourism option for most Indians.

2 days in Singapore , Malaysia and Combodia conclude our trip. Staying in the World's Largest Hotel, visiting Angkor Wat temple Complex which is bigger than modern day Los Angeles, a trip to Pol Pot's torturous places excite me the most.

There is one thing we are afraid of, though. Weather. I find that the only reason that air fares are at their lowest. Hope it is not so bad that we are forced to stay indoors.If we have to stay indoors there is always Vamanan and Harry Potter 6 to watch in Singapore and Malaysia. Plus the Apsara dance and khmer massage. No matter what we are gonna have fun.

fine.. I ll be updating my adventures almost everyday this week along with some pics . Watch out.

Happy Journey to me and my brother.

THE 5 BEST BOOKS I HAVE READ

I am back after a hiatus. This is going to be my first post in months. When I thought of writing on the best book I have read I could not get hold of one single book. So here are 5 of the best books I have read, in no particular order.

HARRY POTTER SERIES

J.K. Rowling is now the richest woman in Britain. Just few years back she was a single mother who had no takers for her eccentric story. When she did, she captivated the whole world with her amazing creativity.
One thing every Potter fan wondered about, once he completed reading the series, was “How the hell did she think about this intricate storyline full of labyrinthine twists and turns when she started with the first part itself?”

Her characterization was impeccable. The Surprise element was unbelievable. I am proud to have been born in the Harry Potter era.

PONNIYIN SELVAN (TAMIL)- KALKI. KRISHNAMOORTHY

Kalki mesmerized the whole of Tamil Nadu in the 1950s with his mind-blowing magnum opus “Ponniyin Selvan”. The detailed depiction of the historic chola heartland hypnotized every reader. The book, with the greatest Tamil ruler Raja Raja Chozhan as its protagonist, is based on history. It actually fills up the mystery surrounding the death of a Prince , Aaditha Karikalan , in the 12th century. The characters Vanthiya Thevan , Vaanathi and Nandhini are now eternal here. The fact that the book has Third generation fanatics stands testimony to its greatness.


ATLAS SHRUGGED

This is the greatest creation of Ayn Rand based on her philosophy of objectivism. She depicts how an ideal world should exist by demonstrating the problem with the world as it really is. This is not a book on action, comedy, horror, thriller, sex, romance nor is it fast paced . To know what exactly it is, one has to experience the world rather than just read it. The following two excerpts aptly sum the core of the book. “JOHN GALT is Prometheus who changed his mind. After centuries of being torn by vultures in payment for having brought to men the fire of gods, he broke his chain and he withdrew his fire until the day when men withdraw their vultures.” “I swear by my name and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for me”.

FOUNTAIN HEAD

This is the first masterpiece from Ayn Rand. If Atlas Shrugged was about the ideal world, this was about the ideal man, in the form of the eternal character Howard Roark. Here, the whole world conspires against the hero. The ordeals faced by him as he overcomes the world are told in typical Ayn Rand style.



ITS NOT ABOUT THE BIKE, ITS ABOUT THE JOURNEY OF MY LIFE- LANCE ARMSTRONG

Speak of resilience and determination, its Lance Armstrong everyone thinks of. Such is his grit and resolve. The modesty with which he has narrated his story in a matter-of-fact tone is admirable. Diagnosed with testicular cancer, he rose through his unimaginable willpower to win the 2000+ km Tour de France, through the tedious mountainous terrain not once or twice but an astonishing seven consecutive times. Three years after retiring from cycling, he is raring to go once again. He is truly my most inspiring role model.

A layman's view of the US SUBPRIME CRISIS

Warren Buffet, the legendary investor, remarked in 2003 that providing reckless housing loans is going to be the biggest weapon of financial mass destruction. It has come true.

The real estate boom, which is now the real estate bubble since it has burst, has led to the biggest financial crisis the world has seen since the Great Depression of the 1930's. One thing is certain. This is not an American problem. It is yet to show its full strength. The avalanche is far from over.

First, lets clarify a few things. What does the term sub-prime mean? What does prime mean? Simply put, prime is the ability of the borrower to repay his loans. Sub prime are those who may not be able to repay their loans.

How do banks usually give loans? They would check if the borrower will be able to repay his loan based on certain criteria and documents like salary slips, bank acounts, collaterals( some assets which can be sold by the bank if you do not repay the loan) and sureties.
Now, let me try to explain what exactly happened in the US Sub-Prime crisis.


Fine. I am really sorry for the pathetic daigram I have drawn. I hope its legible atleast to the point of deciphering what is written.

Where did it all start?

Sub prime loans. The real estate boom started around 2001 and lasted till 2006 when it burst. Everyone wanted to be a part of the party. Banks for their part were ready to lend money to those who were sub prime too. That is, people who didnt have salary slips, bank accounts, sureties or collaterals. However, they wont actually own the house till they pay the money back to the banks. These banks are the housing mortgage banks like Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Indy Mac all of which are no more. Why did they take this risk of Sub-prime loans? The biggest reason is that real estate was booming. They could sell the houses if the loans are not paid. The other reasons are they could impose higher interest rates and they had to deal with acute competition.

To get a clear understanding, please look into the diagram that I painfully drew.

After the apparent house owner requests for a loan and the loan is granted, the money is paid to the house developer. Where do these banks get their money from? Here is where the Investments Banks, self-proclaimed Masters of the Universe till weeks before, come into the picture. They provide the money to the mortgage banks like Freddie Mac. Lets know the distinction between normal Banks and Investment Banks. IBs generally do not give out loans to anyone. They give out loans only when the borrowers are big companies or in general, when the borrowers borrow really lots of money. Those who invest in IBs are not assured of returns. They may get higher or lower returns. Its a risky business.

IBs have provided the loans to the mortgage banks which has reached the developer. Now, where do the IBs get their money from? Now come the relatively unknown Debt Funds. The Banks in this scheme of things are Washington Mutual which tanked few days back, Citibank, HSBC, our own ICICI and hundreds of companies all over the world. Thats why I said that this problem is not pertinent to the Americans. This problem was created by the Americans and it is going to affect the whole world. Where do these Debt Funs get their money from? From the common man. These include the EPF(Employee Provident Fund), PPF( Public Provident Fund) etc.

All seems to be fine.

Where did the problem start? There would not been any problems if all the people who borrowed repaid. These Sub-prime borrowers naturally defaulted in their payments. They literally packed their bags and left overnight without repaying the money. Now lets see how prices of commodities increase or decrease. It all depends on the supply-demand ratio. If you have a pen and many people ask for it, you ll sell it to the one who pays most(Supply <>

Now, since the borrowers did not repay their money, these banks tried to auction their houses which further increased the supply lessening the price. So, an house mortgaged for 1 crore could be auctioned or sold for only 10 lacs, a 90% loss. So the mortgage banks could not repay the investment banks who inturn could not repay their debts to the debt funds.

So, first, the mortgage banks fell followed by IBs, Lehmann Brothers, Bear Sterns, Meryll lynch etc. Where does AIG come into the picture? It is the American International Group, the largest insurer in the US, and once the 18th largest company in the world. All these IBs had insured with AIG. So AIG had to compensate a lot of companies with billions of dollars. Overnight, it accrued debts of $60billion, which translates to over 240000 crore Rupees. Feel the magnitude?

Next, the Debt Funds which are also banks have started to full, the most notable being Washington Mutual. Many more companies have invested here and the picture will become clearer and worser in the days to come.

So, who are the people insulated from the crisis? The housing developers and those people like Warren Buffet who quit the scene when they sensed danger.

A lot of mistakes have been committed. Can these banks and their CEOs held responsible? Sadly not. Because that is what limited company means. When there is the word limited in the name of the company, it means that the management cannot be held responsible for their actions.

Thats it. I have tried to tell you as clearly as I can of what little I knew. You are free to comment and criticise. Bye