MANCHESTER UNITED IS MY RELIGION

Manchester United. Every time I hear those words I swell up with passion, with pride. But let me tell you, for me, they are not mere words. They are much more. Faith. Religion.This is a passion that has lasted for ten years and still grows on inside me.

Now, football for me has always had two names: England and Manchester United.My interest in football began with the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.I was 11 and i took immediate like to England's team. They got into the knock-out rounds, and faced Argentina in one of the most historic games in modern footballing history.

The game included Michael Owen's wonder goal, arguably one of the best goals ever. However this game gained notoriety for David Beckham's red card. Diego Simeone fouled Beckham and while picking himself up from the ground, he pinned the English player onto the ground with his hands. Beckham, in an instinctive reaction, flicked his leg at Simeone's. Simeone over-reacted and theatrically fell to the ground( and later admitted to do so) in order to get Beckham sent off. He was. England went on to lose the game on penalties.

It was sad. However since I wasn't a die-hard football fan then, I forgot all about it in a day or two.After that, well, a world cup failure(as in 2002 and 2006.) would result in me ruing over our mistakes for the next 4 years. Last year I even cried a wee bit. There I said it.

This cup was important for me as it was the seed behind my interest in Manchester United.Beckham, Scholes, Sheringham,Neville were some of the players I'd liked in the cup, were in the squad and when I started to watch the EPL, I naturally took a liking to Manchester United.

Here's a brief history of my journey with Manchester United-

1998-99

It seemed like a Midas touch.Yes I took the credit for the most successful season in English Club history. A perfect season.

It was the final day of the premiership season. Arsenal had just lost to Leeds. We needed a win against Tottenham to snatch the title from Highbury's hands which were almost touching it. United came from a goal down to win 2-1. The premiership was ours!

United then beat Newcastle 2-0 in the FA cup final at Wembley. One more cup to go.

At Nou Camp,in the final of the UEFA Champion's League, Manchester United squared off with a European powerhouse, Bayern Munich. 90 minutes. We were again trailing 0-1.Tears. Then, as I lost all hope, came the greatest comeback in footballing history. Two stoppage time goals from Sheringham and Solskjaer brought home the mother of all trophies, the European Cup.Tears. Tears of joy.

The next two years we repeated our Premiership success making it three premiere league titles in a row, but couldn't do the same in Europe. Ruud Van Nistelrooy,Juan Sebastian Veron and Fabien Barthez came to Old Trafford during this time.

The 2001-02 season was a disappointment. No cup wins, nothing. Jaap Stam was unceremoniously transferred, Steve Irwin left. The record transfer of Rio Ferdinand raised many questions.

In 2002-03 United once again won the Premier League. But Rio Ferdinand was banned for 8 months after failing a drug test.'03-04 was again not much to talk about with only the FA cup. Cristiano Ronaldo bedazzled the United team when they lost to Sporting Lisbon.

The next year saw Cristiano wearing a red jersey.

But this was one of the most difficult stages in recent United history. There was a storm over the transfer of David Beckham, arguably one of United's best midfielders ever, to Real Madrid. I hated Sir Alex Ferguson for this, and my anger increased with the team's dismal form in Europe and the league . It was painful to watch United go down on penalties to Arsenal, leaving us empty handed. A gleam of hope was seen in the signing of Wayne Rooney.

But the failure was repeated in the next season as well,but we managed to win the FA cup after defeating Milwall 3-0 in the final. Skipper Roy Keane had left after a huge row at the beginning of the season and soon this loss was followed by Nistelrooy's departure to Real Madrid. There was a huge mess after the Glazer's took over United, sparing the team with minimal money for transfers.

The last season had been a revolution of sorts.We returned to the 'United' style of attacking football of the 'golden era' in the 1990's. The Premiereship has finally come back to Old Trafford, according to me, where it belongs.
But we were outplayed by AC Milan in the Champion's League and were knocked out after a 0-3 drubbing at the San Siro Stadium. We failes to make it doubles after extra time loss against Chelsea. Damn Drogba.
But this season I am looking forward a Treble.
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It's been a long, exciting journey, tears of sadness, of happiness.

I missed the age of George Best, of Dennis Law, of Bobby Charlton. I missed watching Eric Cantona score some of the most stunning goals in history. I regret that.

But then,I belong to a different era of Manchester United. And I'm proud of it.

When Ole Gunnar Solksjaer poked the ball past Oliver Kahn at Nou Camp in 1999, I was there.

When United overturned a 3 goal deficit at half time to win 5-3 at Tottenham in 2001, I was there.

When United obliterated Newcastle 6-2 in 2003, I was there.
When Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick on debut versus Fenerbahce in 2004, I was there.
When United destroyed AS Roma 7-1 in 2007, damn right I was there.

When United lifted the Premier League title last season, I was there, and when United strangled Newcastle last week 6-0, I was still there.

Once a Red, always a Red. Manchester United for life.

In the 2004 movie, The Day After Tomorrow ,besides all the crazy destruction, I remember one scene vividly.3 Researchers are stuck in a terrible storm, with their generator about to fail. The doomed scientists pull out a bottle of 12 year old scotch.They raise their final toasts-

Simon: Gentlemen[toasting].To England!

Terry Rapson: To mankind!

Dennis: To Manchester United!

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Oh it's a grand old team to play for,

Oh it's a grand old team to see,

And if, you know, your history,

It's enough to make your heart go woh, oh, oh,oh...

We don't care what the City fans say,

What, the fuck do we care,

For we only know, that there's gonna be a show,

And the famous Man United will be there.

Glory Manchester United!

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Be Right Back!!!

Well haven't I just been the lazy one not blogging since September. Right now, like most of you, I'm preparing for a semester end holidays and a date with all the loved and dear ones. I think I bit off more than I can chew with this one. It's like a wedding that just grows and grows. but with help from the family, I think we're all going to have a very fun time.
My eldest cousin sister, Karishma, is just going through a rough patch and i m waitin to be back at home with her.

I'm getting ready to write a book named "Uncertainty Principle" which should be released next year, if it does work out. Its about four friends... Arindam (AD), Rishi (RM), Akash (AC), and Manish (MK); and their journeys through childhood and then at MIT where these four meet up for the first time... They manage to do well and have decent GPA's... and then a holiday drive to Goa which puts their life in jeopardy....

Navneet, Animesh, Raghav, Nabarun and I are about to start working (hopefully!!) on our bots to be ready for techfest, IIT bombay, Jan 24th....
I hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas. Check back soon.

Another day ends!!!!

I suppose it's fine if no one ever reads the blog here. I didn't make an announcement, but I did place a link on orkut. So, I can only assume that anyone who recieves the new update feed there may have possibly come here. I don't know who else might come here, and I don't know if random people go reading random blogger pages, but when I write it will only be because I want to put my thoughts somewhere so that the ideas will not all be forgotten.



Lately I've been a mess. This is what the stress of college does to me. I even worry about the stress. I worry about my health, my future, my relationships, my personality.. everything. I'm stressed, and just a bit more anxious overall. I don't call it depression because that's the word I use when I think someone is unhappy and really doesn't have a good reason why. This is mostly what teenagers and menopausal mothers get to be. And when the later pushes you to your limits, convinced it's her fault because you're still having the same problems with the way she treats you, as she did when you were three. I haven't done everything perfectly. I was a bit slow and irratable with her on Sunday. The lower my blood sugar dropped, the less able I was to find myself something to eat. I think she knows this by now, but she just got angry about it. I was angry at the hurtful things she said and demeaning way she continues to talk to me. I hate further that she does it with a sweetness to her voice, and always defends that she wasn't doing the things I say she was, and she most certainly was in a good mood. In short, I'm not complaining about my imperfect family. But the pshychological games she's played with me all this time, although she clearly doesn't seem to see it herself, it keeps me trapped coming back for more. Friends used to always tell me that my mom was so nice. They seemed jealous even. I couldn't really put my finger on a good adjective to describe her. Maybe that's because I sensed a superficial level to her. I hated that her tone never changed as I got older. She still talked to me as she would to a child.... Or something like it.

Anyway, I don't need to rant here. I do it too often becauase I'm trying to work something out in my head. And I do it more when things are jumbled in my life.

I don't want to be a complainer, I want to be bright and cheery or just not say anything. I don't want to be a procrastinator. I want to feel passionate again about life. Not just in short bursts that don't become anything. I want to be able to roll with my impulses. I've quit smoking successfully, and now I just need to remain there sucessfully. That means next week, next month, and the one after.. next year, and 50 years from now. I need to remember permanently that I do not really want to pick that up again, and it really is worth it to not smoke. And then the other stuff.. I think I need to learn how to only do it when I can afford to spend some hours relaxing somewhere suitable.

I need to do work now, and I'm running out of time already, but I've not been able to concentrate at all, and then was just too tired and finally fell asleep. Now I need to just write what I can for this assigment. I wish I could reach a point of productivity in prioritizing my homework. No one is there to help me, and I keep thing to help myself. It twice and frightening to know that I've pretty much failed at the schedule that i had made and exams knocking in a weeks time. I can only count on myself, and I'm not sure it's enough.

(this piece of thing was written at 2:29 AM.... hence may contain some mistakes.... but these were the pieces of thought at the end of a tiring day..... so its justr time to sleep..... Good Night..... Ahem!!!)

Sport in India is just another hobby....

“Life is a slippery wicket…”, and as the saying goes. Isn’t it dicey to compare our precious life with a game or have we made our life a game. That’s all we have to discuss tonight.

To start with let’s go to our roots. In ancient India games like ‘satranj’ were played for recreation purposes. During those time archery wasn’t categorized as games… because man was still dependent on hunting and it was necessary for its basic survival. ‘Satranj’, although

competitive, was played just as time-pass. Fast forward to this century; Times have changed. Primeval man has become gentleman. He longer needs bows and arrows for his lifestyle. But as an ant who never forget the route to its nest we have to keep our instinct alive and hence we find people playing it in indoor stadiums.

Games are added in every school’s time-table. Not because it would help students to take it seriously. On the contrary it is added to add relaxation in the hectic life of the students.

Jobs are becoming less as the population rises. Hence we see humans taking diversion from the usual trend. In various countries, sport has become one of the choices for earning a living. Unfortunately, in India the condition for the same is pathetic.

While we were talking about population lets compare our nation with its closest rival: China. There are five major sports schools in China which start training individual around the age of eight and produce nearly hundred and twenty individuals for every Olympics. In India, the absence of training makes sure that we do not get many trained professionals. Hence we end up looking to recruit people from the army to represent our country in the Olympics. How can we then say that sport is a serious career option?

The conservative background of India means that commoners do not get any awareness about training camps, if they do occur once in a blue moon. There is no encouragement from the families where children are looked upon as bread earners for the family. This lack of support by the family for any kind of games have also been shown in movies such as ‘Iqbal’ where a poor boy is made to fight to pursue his interest for the most popular game in India. Hence, sportsmen hail from rich families where there isn’t a pressure to earn money from the age of ten or of any kind. Others are those who have genuine talent and have the courage to struggle to any level to pursuit there interest. Petty politics in India doesn’t help the situation. If you happen to be the first cousin of the chief minister, you happen to be in the national team, while this doesn’t only discourage potential players but also diminishes the status of the team and of the game. As a game loses its popularity it also loses it funding and sponsorship. Popular games such as cricket do not have funding, sponsorships and viewers at domestic level. Many Ranji matches end up occurring in empty stadiums.

Tendulkars’ are not born everyday, but they can certainly be made. The infrastructure to groom young talent is nil in the country. Youth camps to indentify young talent are very few. In them also you need ‘contacts’ to get noticed.

The national cricket board made a mockery of itself when it was to choose a coach for the national team! The popularity of cricket means that they get a foreign coach on demand and manage to get knocked out in the group stages of the world cup, while there isn’t a proper coach for Sania Mirza, who is ranked In 30’s in the world rankings. The Salt Lake stadium which has the capacity to hold 1,20,000 viewers has a average attendance of 3,000 per match. In the festival time, it is given to organizers to hold fairs. Eden Gardens, one of the biggest grounds in the world, doesn’t have a care taker since the last six months.

Everyone in India wants to become a doctor or an engineer and wants to be a part of making India a developed nation. No problem in doing that, but that means that sports as a career option can take a back seat. Plus it is commonly assumed that a person enter the field of sport only when he is not good at studies.

People look for a career that provides handsome salary and job security, plus some assurance in old age. In India, money is only there in cricket, that too as long as you play. We often read that one time famous cricketer or hockey player dying of illness with the national board just looking on. The board itself is in debt, how do you expect them to pay for an ex-player’s surgery!!! In sports your career end at the age of 40. There isn’t a job guarantee after that. The government does nothing to help those who once represented our country. You are only recognized if you win an award, and that popularity also dies down with time.

With such pathetic conditions neither I nor you would be risking our life in sports. After all, life is not a game, remember!!!

So as a tree that can never leave it roots, India too for the time being has decided to stick to its roots. Sport still is for recreational purposes only.

Ode to CS- by Quiksilver

I look to the left and then to the right.
Hold my gun up and strafe from side to side.
In the distance, past the double doors,
lying face down on the floor -
A teammate, dead as can be
I take a peek to try and see
the terrorist who gunned him down.
Nothing there! I start to frown.

I run in there as fast as I can;
behind me was one from the Tharki clan
My blood runs cold, I feel him near;
I scream to my mates, "They're here! They're here!"
Aloud rings a Deagle shot,
the gun I now wish I had bought!
To the left I quickly duck-jump
and a shotgun shell into him I pump.






Flashbang, how I trust thee!
I throw one, then turn to flee.
He was too slow - now blind as a bat
Now he's the mouse and I'm the cat.
Pick up my dead friend's Kreig
and perforate him in the head.
My fingers are getting numb and sore,
but can't stop now - one more to go...

A teammate was killed across the map
and I'm getting tired of this old crap
Switch to my knife and run like hell,
something is wrong - I can tell..
Bomb planted, the message flashes
And my attack plans turn to ashes.
I yell out, "Storm the front!"
But realise I'm alone, then I grunt.

Reach the site and take a quick scan;
I hear the bomb but can't see my man.
I checked left and right, up and down
but he's nowhere to be found..
But suddenly - what's this I see?
A barrel sticking out in front of me!
I sneak up and lunge for his head
he still hasn't noticed me yet.















I plunged a knife into his face
then hurried back to base.
Sat down to defuse the bomb,
which was steadily counting down.
The bar crept along at an agonising pace,
but finally it was clear I would win the race.
I laughed, I cheered, then reeled in horror
As I read those words - Net Sendpacket Error!!