Black Friday

I am looking forward to watching 2 Hindi movies, the DVDs of which I have acquired recently. One is the movie called “Yahaan” based on issues in Kashmir, and the other is “Dansh” which is set in the backdrop of the north-eastern rebellion. The common underlying theme of both these movies is the fact that they deal with real issues which are contemporary in a sense. When it comes to Hindi movies, though I can watch any form of it and enjoy it too… be it a senseless comedy or a Hollywood-inspired thriller or a timepass ‘masala’ flick, there is nothing which gives me a bigger kick than off-beat ‘real’ cinema which brings to the fore factual events and their repercussions.

This is the reason why, when I aimlessly wondered ‘which was the best movie that I have seen this year’, only one name came to my mind - Black Friday. I guess many would not even have heard the name of this movie, since it has not yet seen the light of the day. Most people would not even know that this movie is a real-life peek into the plotting of the Mumbai Blasts in 1993 and the police investigations thereafter. It is the only movie which gives a blow-by-blow account of why and how the blasts took place and how the Mumbai police unearthed the entire plot.

All the movie does is portray the bare truth, in its most naked and pure form, not mincing any words, not adding any dramatization, not falling prey to any exaggeration, and not fearing any aftermath. It portrays every character with total honesty and candour, and does not even try to assign aliases to the actual names. So, in the movie Tiger Memon is called Tiger Memon and not “Panther” etc like most Hindi movies are prone to do. And Dawood Ibrahim is called Dawood Ibrahim and not some ‘Javedbhai’ or ‘Malikbhai’ like he would have been called in an average Hindi movie. This is just one of the many reasons which make Black Friday special. And, this precisely, is one of the main reasons for the film not having released yet, in spite of all its honesty and portrayal of truth.

This was supposed to be director Anurag Kashyap’s first movie. However, the talented director, who also wrote Satya and scripted Shool, has been labeled a ‘jinx’ since then, because his previous venture Paanch, also got stuck (with the censors for excessive violence) and subsequently Alvin Kaalicharan got stalled due to Anil Kapoor’s late withdrawal. I am already a huge fan of Kashyap, and hope that his bad days are numbered so that we get to see more of his films soon, including the under production ‘Gulal’

I had first heard about Black Friday when Indian Ocean came to our campus during our cul-fest ‘Unmaad’ and played the brilliant composition ‘Bandein’ from the movie’s soundtrack. The next thing I heard was that the release of the movie had been stayed by the High Court in response to an appeal by 36 under-trials of the case who had feared that the movie could prejudice the outcome of the case, which is underway in the TADA court. In around February, one of my best friends told me that he had seen this movie in a film festival in Pune, and praised it no ends. In Sydney, the movie is freely available at all Indian DVD stores, and it was in May that I had borrowed it from a colleague and watched it.

The movie is based on journalist S. Hussain Zaidi’s book, which accounts for the bomb-blast trials and investigations straight from the police record. The irony of the matter is the fact that the book has long been released uninterrupted and without any issue. However, when it came to the faster and far-reaching medium, the parties and the courts both reacted swiftly and did, what in my opinion, is a suppression of the constitutional right of freedom of speech. A movie narrated out of a book already in market, and which has facts straight out of the police records has no strong reason not to be released… and the reason given here is to supposedly protect the accused and charge-sheeted people who are responsible for causing a tragedy of massive proportions and who are supposed to be terrorists with established linkages to the ISI.

I realize that I belong to the lucky few who have had the privilege of watching this superb and passionate piece of cinema, and anyone who has seen it would agree that the film deserves to be shown to the larger audiences, and the government, instead of putting a restraint order on it should rather be making it tax-free so that the world can know about the plight that thousands of our countrymen were subject to in this incident, and the efficiency of the Mumbai police and the CBI in unearthing the plot. Some of the sequences in the movie are a revelation with respect to the working of the police and their hands-on approach and dedication.

The movie starts predictably in a police custody cell on 9^th March 1993, when a bashed up Gul Mohammed spills the beans about the conspiracy to bomb major locations in Mumbai. However, the police make a mockery of his statements only to find their feet in their mouths 3 days later when it turns out to be true. What follows is a minute by minute account of the blasts, the supposed rationale behind them (which was to save the face of Islam in India) and the entire modus operandi which was carried out with near precision with 12 blasts occurring serially. Then follows a detailed version of the police investigation and the breakthroughs made by them.

Kay Kay Menon is quite impressive as Rakesh Maria, the officer who was behind the whole operation, and Aditya Srivastava as Badshah Khan has done a good job as well. These 2 actors are steadily becoming the stalwarts of parallel cinema, like Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah used to be in the old days. Anyways, here is hoping that Black Friday sees the end of the day, and that Anurag Kashyap gets what he deserves… which is, acclaim and applause from much more than just a handful of film-festival audiences.

Will sign off with the movie’s opening line, a quote by Mahatma Gandhi:
“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”

Update : On a different note, a request to all readers to please visit this, and do whatever they can for the Earthquake Victims.

The SCG... and Eden Gardens

Sunday, I made it to the Sydney Cricket Ground to watch Day 3 of the Super Test (which folded up yesterday, with the Aussies crushing an uncharacteristically abysmal World XI by over 200 runs). I tried to make the most of what was a chilly, dull, and dark day of cricket, and have to admit that despite the poor cricket and weather, it was an experience worth it. When me and another friend entered the stadium, we had remarked that it would be fun to watch a match here under lights. God heard us and ensured that the lights were on for the entire day! (the above picture was taken before the lights came on... you can see Ponting pushing the ball and calling Hayden for a quick single)

The only other ground where I have been to is the Eden Gardens in Calcutta, where I have watched a few matches, even the ones which were marred by crowd trouble (I was even thrown out of the stadium once, obviously, for no fault of mine!). Though in the last couple of years when I have been away from Calcutta, I have heard that the Eden has changed quite a bit, and for the better too.... But based on my prior experience, the 2 grounds have very little in common, apart from their greatness!

The areas where SCG scores over Eden would be the comfort with which you can enjoy a cricket match, and the lack of any hassle factor. While at the Eden you would have had to sit in cement benches covered with newspapers, with your elbows nudging your neighbour all the time, at the SCG you get a comfy cushion seat. There are no mile-long queues, no bullying security guards, no frequent checks at gates, no bad tempers flying around. There are multiple food shops and cafes (tho the only veggie stuff you can get is french fries, and being there for a day ensured that I had more than a week's quota of potatoes), and even bars which sell all drinks and everyone in the stands is practically drinking beer to glory (despite the chill)

The communication systems, are much better too, and there is constant commentary between overs, and the crowd is kept up to date with proceedings. The commentator also explains the new rules, etc, and gives frequent updates with regard to the light stoppages and the inspections. The screen is put to good use, and after every ball, you get to see a replay too (I have heard that there's a screen now at Eden too.. though I had thought that this is one thing which would never happen given the crowd volatility, which is the only 'grey' factor about the Eden). However, I was quite appalled at the lack of security at SCG. Only a 2-feet high billboard and a total of 16 guards manning the boundary lines separate the players from the crowd. Compare this with the 12-15 feet high fences and 5000-odd police guards in Calcutta, and you realize the difference in cricket in the 2 cities.

Having said that, and having listed out some of the minor advantages at the SCG, there is nothing which can compare to the atmosphere generated at the Eden Gardens. If sitting in a comfy chair, watching TV replays and listening to commentary was your idea of watching cricket at a stadium, you may be better off sitting on the couch watching the live telecast only. The idea of watching cricket from the stands is in being in the middle of the action, in being with people who love the game as much as you do and creating dhamaal alongwith them... cheering your team, shouting slogans, waving flags and posters, and knowing that YOU count, being in the stands!!

In all of this, the SCG falls far short of the Eden. Imagine around a hundred thousand people shouting "Green.. Green" in sync when a decision has been referred to the 3rd umpire... imagine the whole stadium erupting when a Sachin or a Dravid comes to the crease... imagine the crowd coordinating itself to form a mexican wave (there were feeble attempts at SCG, which failed), imagine the noise with every man shouting at the top of his voice cheering every run or every ball. People who have not watched cricket in India can only imagine this... because in all of this, Sydney fell short by the presence of 50000-odd people and the passion of a few million people!

Being at the SCG made me quite nostalgic about the Eden. I have quite a few fond memories associated with the Eden Gardens, the prime among them being India's win against the Aussies after following-on in 2001, where Laxman and Dravid played out the entire day without losing a wicket and where Bhajji took India's first and only hat-trick in Tests till now. One of the other few memories (vague) is the Hero Cup victory in the semi finals against South Africa where Sachin bowled the brilliant last over.

Back in the good old days, my entire shebang of friends would team up to visit the Eden... In a test match, we would be there on all 5 days... crying our throats hoarse, doing all sorts of crazy stuff like dress-codes, etc, engaging in a helluva lot of merry-making. As they say.... "(Sigh) Those were the days!"

Why Victory is Important

Life teaches you to prepare for the worst case scenario, but in this ongoing saga, the worst case is very scary. This is why the worst case needs to be avoided, because it would put a gag on all of us and stifle the fundamental right to freedom of speech. If we do not win this battle, this is what we may be facing in the future:
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Ghai sues blogger for Rs. 300 Crores

May 17, 2006 : Last week, Durbhash Ghai had reportedly sued a blogger, Saurav Bansal, for Rs. 300 Crores, for allegedly releasing totally false articles about his movie Yaaden on his blog in 2001, with proven deliberate and fraudulent intentions to harm the image of the movie. Saurav, in one of his articles which reviewed Yaaden, called it ‘the worst Hindi movie ever’. Ghai has refuted this allegation as baseless contending that this baton would surely go to Gaizad Kustad’s Broom, and in any case he never believed in rankings.

Ghai’s lawyer, A Saxena from Saxena Suitings & Shittings, who specializes in blog-suits since 2005, has sent out the legal notice to the blogger which said that even though the damage caused could not be calculated, the filing would involve an immediate damage claim of Rs. 300 Crores. This is based on conservative assumptions that if the article had not been published, the movie would have run in cinemas all over for 5 years till now, it would have been watched at least twice by every movie-goer, would have sold multiple prints, and would have had a higher sale value for TV Channels.

This does not end here, Saxena has even approached the movie’s main sponsor Paas-Paas, of whom Saurav is the biggest customer, asking them to pressurize the blogger to take the article off the site, else they would put up the old posters all over the country reminding the whole world of their association with the movie. Paas-Paas obviously had no other option but to threaten the blogger that the supply of their product to him would be ceased.

It was reported that Saurav had made an announcement that he would stand by his review and would even give up his favourite food Paas Paas. However, when he was reminded of a similar incident last year, he turned his decision around and decided to give in to the movie maker’s demands. He took off the old article and agreed to the demand that he would write one ‘good’ post about Yaaden everyday on his blog for 100 days. On the third day, Saurav could take it no more and he committed suicide. May God bless him…
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Ganguly slams Shastri with Rs. 420 Crore suit.

October 14, 2008 : Saxena Suitings and Shittings, representing the erstwhile Indian cricket captain Gourav Ganguly, have slammed a defamation suit on ex-captain and commentator Rabbi Shastri, alleging him of causing unfathomable damage to the reputation of their client and causing mental trauma and anguish to Ganguly.

Shastri, during the course of one of the matches against Bermuda, in which Ganguly has scored a 24-ball duck, had remarked that Gourav’s batting form was ‘ridiculous and unacceptable’. Prior to this, in one of his newspaper articles, Shastri had given his opinion on Ganguly’s captaincy, stating that it was time for him to move on, and eventually he lost the captaincy about 3 years back. Ganguly’s first class career seems to have finished yesterday when the Bengal selectors refused to pick him for the match against Tripura.

Speaking on behalf of Ganguly, Saxena said that Shastri’s remarks were deliberate and fraudulent attempts at finishing the career of the ex-captain, and had widely influenced public opinion about Ganguly, which resulted in his demotivation and subsequent decline. He reiterated that Rs. 420 Crores was only an immediate claim and took into account Ganguly’s loss of match fees, endorsements and man of the match awards for the next 10 years, and also the opportunity cost of his future career as an aspiring actor, which has now been just limited to comic roles ever since Shastri called him ‘ridiculous’

Adding more fuel to the fire, Ganguly’s supporters (mostly students of his cricket academy) have threatened to set fire to all Audi 100s (a car which Shastri had won as the Champion of Champions in 1984) in front of Shastri’s residence. However, when they could not find a single Audi in Kolkata, they decided to use the hand-rickshaws which have been now banned in Kolkata. Also, when they realized that Shastri’s residence is in Mumbai, they decided to shift the venue to Ganguly’s residence instead. Eventually, Shastri had to cave in and issue a public apology and also make Ganguly the captain of the All-time Great XI picked by him.
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Blogging on a downtrend in India

October 21, 2008: Blogging in India is on a major downtrend, and the number of active bloggers has reduced by over 45% in the last 3 years. Legal issues and threats from various parties are major reasons behind this. “There is no use of blogging if we have to think several times before writing anything, seek legal advice before posting and also mention no names”, said one of the bloggers, obviously on the conditions of anonymity.

One of the major thorns in the bloggers’ flesh has been the cyber lawsuit specialists Saxena Suitings and Shittings, who have slapped around 540 bloggers with legal notices seeking claims of hundreds of crores, all of which have been accompanied by cheap pressure tactics on the blogger. Mr. Saxena has a huge clientele, and he owes his success to his mentor Mr. Chowdhury. Mr. Saxena is an educated lawyer with BA, MA, LLB, LLM and PhD from the International Institute of Planning and Management, which has gone global now, and is in the news for its huge posters all over the world urging people to ‘Dare and think beyond Harvard, Stanford and Yale!’
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I sincerely hope that none of this actually happens (not even ganguly not coming back into form). This is precisely why this small battle needs to be won. May God bless Gaurav, Rashmi, Varna and others with courage (which they don’t need anyway) and luck (which they may need)

Disclaimer : All characters are obviously fictional!

The Lord of the Wrongs

Situation: It is the land of Mordor. Sauron, the Great, who barely survived the fellowship, is once again preparing his army of Orcs to take over the world of men. This time he decides to go under a disguise and employ guerilla (or gorilla) means to launch his attack on the foundations of the human race - their education system. He needs a captain for his troops, a manager who can lead his army to spread evil and vile all over the world which has seen too much of good. He lands in the job market to find the most equipped and talented ‘manager’. Inspired by the practices of management, Sauron decides to take a case-based interview to choose his able general.

The 2 main contenders are - Gandalf, and The Guru, short for ‘The Management Guru’. Here is how the process goes…

Sauron: Here is the 1^st question: You are the head of the marketing department at a private management institute. You need to find a positioning for your institute. What would you do?

Gandalf: Well, I would ensure that the quality of the education offered is upto speed with what everyone else is offering, and then I would add more value to it and keep the price below or at par with competition, and position it as ‘value-based’ education, comparable to the best in the world.

The Guru: Value-based, my foot!!! It is very simple… we need to hit the weak nerve of these men. There are about dozen excellent institutes in the country and a dozen more good institutes, and only a handful of the hundreds of thousands of people who aspire for them manage to get in. We should target the people who do not get into the excellent institutes and are thinking of which good institute to go into. We should fool them, baffle them with jazzy ads and portray ourselves as even better than even the excellent institutes, but only for those people who have ‘dum’…. for those who dare to think beyond the excellent institutes!!! And of course, since it is a premium offering, we will charge more than anyone else!

Gandalf: But that is a blatant lie… Will people not see through this?? They will not fall for it.

The Guru: Ah you bet they will. After all, we need just a handful of them, and there are over a hundred thousand to fool. Even by the most conservative estimates, we will get them!

Sauron: Hmm… Question 2: How will you publicize this institute?

Gandalf: With all due respects, Lord Sauron, I don’t think advertising for education is a good idea. It is said that when something like education is advertised, it would seem desperate and people will smell something fishy.

The Guru (Scornfully): What do you know?? Since the product that I am planning to offer is far below quality, I would need to make up for it through advertising. We should spend the most on advertising and nothing on faculty, amenities, books, etc. We should portray ourselves as better than the best, and say that we have the best amenities (including a swimming pool) and that we give personal laptops which are a must in our wi-fi networked campus, and say that we have the world’s best faculty. We would get some school drop-outs from Nepal and Bangladesh and call them ‘international’ faculty. I will get a coloured-printout of a graphically designed fancy degree for myself and proclaim myself to be “THE GURU”… (adds grinning) though I have not even graduated at first attempt!!!!

Gandalf (Shocked): But this is a whole lot of lies… what if and when people find out?? What about legal repercussions?

The Guru : What do you think about me, eh? Don’t you think I would have already thought of the legal issues? My office will have a bathtub and a jacuzzi for my personal use, which we will show as our swimming pool. We will give people laptops, but we will double their fees and also earn there, because I have negotiated with Damru from chorbazar who will supply us with the laptops without any hard-disk, memory or applications (we never promised those!). Also, we will apply for a wi-fi and we will say that it will be there soon.

Sauron : That seems like some plan. What else can we do The Great Guru to ensure that the plan is infallible?

The Guru : With your blessings Lord Sauron, we will also create a hep and trendy image of our institute. I will also make a movie (after all, I used to make all those obscene skits in school) and this would add to the dimensions of The Guru and add more hype to our institute.

Sauron : But how do you propose that we protect these secret lies? What if some student turns to be an insider?

The Guru : Ha… that, my lord, is impossible. Because when the men would come to know about the truth, they will feel like fools, and would be too embarrassed and ashamed to go out to the world and publicize their stupidity. We will brainwash them and turn them into Orcs so that we can use them against the enemy

Sauron: I am impressed, The Guru… you are recruited as the captain of the orcs. But what will you do if Aragorn and his army of blog-men raise a battle-cry against us?

The Guru : By the time they come to know about this, we will have trained our army of orcs, who we will unleash on the blogospehere. They will attack the most dangerous and most respected of the blog-men with their abuses and dirty mud-slinging. In any case, the blog-men are too divided and spread out to be able to take a united stance. We will further disintegrate them… we will single out some of the most influential of the blog-men and launch a massive attack on them. (Evil smile) We will make their life hell… ha ha ha….

Gandalf (still shocked) : Lord Sauron… I pray before thee… Do not let this happen. This only has short term benefits.

The Guru : Even the most revered economist JM Keynes has said… “In the long run, we are all dead”… so why worry about the long-run.

Sauron : Gandalf, you have disappointed me… the need of the hour is for us to unite and be-fall this education system of men. But you are a traitor… (raising his staff)… you shall not live!!!

Gandalf (gasping): Sauron… mark my words… the blog-world will rise to the occasion and destroy your ill-wills …

The End!!

Disclaimer : Any resemblance to any character, living or dead, is purely intentional!

Ok agreed... this is quite dramatized and exaggerated and totally fictional... even quite mean at times... to some people, this may appear to be high-handed and elitist. After typing this out, when I read this post to myself, it seemed to be full of vented anguish against the students, faculty and management of a particular institute... however, that was not my intention (though I may have gone overboard) So, apologies if it rubs someone the wrong way... but I do feel strongly about whatever has been happening right now and the way the matter is being dealt with, and I hope that the message goes across in that spirit.

In case you are wondering what all this is about, it means that you are not a regular in blogdom!! Please go here and here to catch the hottest story in the blogosphere, and also visit Desipundit which is trying to unite the voices of hundreds of bloggers.

Happy Birthday to the God!!

Today, the biggest superstar of Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan turns 63. I have been a HUGE fan of Mr. Bachchan ever since I was a kid, and have watched some of his movies like Sholay, Deewar, Trishul, Anand, etc scores of times. The Big B has been featured on my blog prior to this as well, and my guess is that he would continue to be. And I guess I do not need words to describe why the man is so great and why he is the most superior actor of all times. I know that this claim of mine will be contested from several quarters, some of whom back Dilip Kumar as the best actor of all times, some are fans of Kamal Hasan, some think no one comes close to Rajnikant, some hail Aamir as the best, while some think Shahrukh is the king of all times (can you believe it!)

However, in my humble opinion, there is no one who comes close to the great man when it comes to acting, evolving as an actor, and challenging oneself as an actor. His persona and screen presence cannot be matched by anyone else, and his eloquence and humility is something to swear by. He is only guy who has managed to capture the imagination of a whole nation for such a long period of time, and hopefully, he will continue to do so!!

PS : Have just come to know that Amitabh has cancelled his birthday bash in view of the earthquake and the devastation caused by it.
PPS : To my testimony, if you go to Google and type "Amitabh Superfan since childhood" and hit the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button, it would bring you straight to this space!!

The Conquest of the World

Yesterday was one of the rare days (rather, the only day) when I returned home early from work, at around 6:20 PM... and the reason - I was all enthu to watch the Super Series match between the Aussies and the World XI. This was the match that I nearly flew down to Melbourne to watch. Everything was set, but at the last moment, the package deal fell through and other colleagues who were supposed to go with me backed out, since the proposition was too costly.

Looking back, I don't really regret the whole plan having fallen through. The only regret is that I could have seen Melbourne, but since it was raining there too, it isn't so much of a disappointment. What was disappointing though, was the way the series has gone so far. The much accliamed best of the world has looked to be no match for the Aussies in any way. Its been said that the recent Ashes defeat has been a dampener for the Super Series, because it has now dented the prior formidability of the Aussies and has defeated the whole purpose of the series...

The puspose was for the best men in the world to come together and use their skills, experience and pride to overhaul the almost invincible mighties who have dominated world cricket in the recent past. However, the loss to England in the Ashes and the inconceivable loss to Bangladesh in a one dayer has ensured that the indomitables were converted to a team fighting back to regain their lost pride and honour, and this spirit could never be matched by 14 talented individuals having not much but records to play for.

Also, the two losses prove beyond a doubt that cricket is a team sport and is not a game where individual brilliance can supercede teamwork. It requires the team members to know each other inside out, to know each one's strengths and weaknesses, to know who is fit to play which part... they need a strong motivating factor (like playing for lost pride, or playing for your nation), and least of all, you need camaraderie and team spirit... and most of this is absent in the World Team.

Anyways, I guess I haven't missed much, and in any case, I will be going to watch the Super Test in Sydney for one of the days, unless something more important comes along. Lets hope at least that would be a treat...

The Race to Fitness (A Hurdles Race)

Last Saturday, after a lot of procrastination, I finally took the step I had been contemplating for a long time. Yes, I stepped into the gym. What is a norm for most people is a landmark event for me, because I have never ever been a gym or a fitness enthusiast. Even till today, the total number of times that I have been to the gym has not reached double figures! And, till last June, I had never ever stepped into a gym ever!

In my adolescence and early adulthood, while I was in Calcutta, I had never seen the face of a gymnasium. It was partly to do with the fact that, being my skinny self, I had no reason to go to the gym! Also, if it comes to a sport (say cricket) I could bring myself to wake up at 5:00 AM, but not for pumping iron and lifting weights for no good reason.

Going to the Gym - Round I
It was in June 2004, when I first stepped into a gym. There is a story behind that 'first step' as well. I had spent April and May in Mumbai undergoing my summers and most of the free time was spent getting together with batch-mates over beer. Tito's Garage, The Sports Bar, Hawaiian Shack, Starters and More, etc etc... we covered all these places. The final nail in the coffin was driven when one of my fellow-interns (from another campus) brought back 7 crates of left-over beer from their alumni meet to our company acco. From then, beer was an able substitute for water, and the end result was a beer belly which had started to bulge out in an ugly fashion!

So, when I got back to campus, I joined in my enthusiastic block-mates who had resolved to get into shape too. I started with jogging and some weights, and this developed into a routine, which was tiring, but gave this feel-good feeling. However, the routine lasted precisely for a week, after which most us gave up, me included!

Going to the Gym - Round II
The reason behind the launch of Round II is not because I have suddenly turned into a fitness enthusiast. Also, its not that I have grown excessively fat and desperately want to lose weight. It's also not because I think I am physically unfit (which I know I am, but that’s not enough motivation). The motivating factor was a statement made by one of my friends here after we had just finished a heavy delicious meal at his place, and I had said how I was so full that my buckle was hurting me. And he had said "Maybe you will soon need new clothes". That was it... my jaw dropped and I started sweating... I don’t mind putting on a little weight, but if it meant going to the malls and shopping... no way! Let’s go to the gym baby!

The first day in the gym was quite an experience too. There is a fitness centre in the apartment that I have been living in for the last 6 months, equipped with a swimming pool, spa and sauna, but I had never been to it before. So, last Saturday, I stepped into the gym in my track pants and sports shoes. Not very sure of what to do and how to use the equipment at my disposal, I wondered where to start. I had been told that the treadmill is the best bet to lose extra fat... I see a female jogging away on one of them, her i-Pod glued to her ears... hmmm... too complicated to start off with... so I turned to one of the empty cycles, and perched myself on it, and started pedaling furiously, when the Chinese (or Japanese or Korean... ok.. Oriental) lady on the other bicycle remarked...
"You may want to set the weight and load."
I smiled sheepishly and said, "Yes of course, how silly of me"
Somehow struggled with the system but managed to set the weight and load... started cycling again...
"Don't you want to reset the height of the seat? There was a kid here before you"
"Oh yeah... I was wondering why I was feeling so low today... he he”... tried to shoo away the embarrassment through humour, but your sense of humour also ditches you when you need it the most.

The rest of the cycle journey went on safely, till I had cycled about 7 kms at various speeds for some 20-25 minutes, and had got both tired and bored. So I turned to the treadmills, where the i-Pod female was still going strong. I climbed on to the other treadmill, and pushed the start button, and it suddenly sprung into action at a steady speed jerking me off it. Apparently, someone had just paused it, and I had resumed the program. Embarrassed, I looked around at the smiling and trying-not-to-laugh faces and smiled back... It was then that a guy came around and offered to help me set the treadmill program... God bless him!

I could survive on the treadmill for no longer than 15 minutes, and 2.5 kms, mostly running and some walking... It was indeed quite tough. Having had enough for the day, I just capped it off with light weights training... here and there, and the next day, I upped the ante bit too. Those two days, I felt so good about myself and resolved to make it to the gym everyday and get back to prime fitness.

However, other commitments, more important tasks, and pressing issues came formidably in the way of my path to supreme fitness and managed to break my resolve. So much, that for the whole of the week, I could not stay true to my promise... Here is how it went:

Monday - I get free from office at 8:30 PM and decide to head for the gym after changing. My colleagues make up this plan of going to a desi restaurant to have good food. I am compelled to follow them after a brief evaluation of my priorities!
Tuesday - I get free at 8:00 PM and come home and change into pajamas and t-shirt for the gym. Just then, I receive a call from a friend telling me that he had bought tickets for the 8:30 PM show of "The Dukes of Hazzard" (which by the way is a lousy comedy).
Wednesday - I get free from office at 10:00 PM, have a subway for dinner and announce that I am going to the gym, when I am reminded that there should be a gap of at least an hour after dinner, and the gym closes at 11:00 PM
Thursday - I get free at 10:00 PM and decide to go to the gym before dinner. I come home and seat myself on the couch for a couple of minutes, and the next thing I know is that I wake up with a start at around 4:00 AM!
Friday - Am about to get free at 7:00 and am happy that today I will finally make it, but some work comes up and I have to stay back a couple of hours. By then I have already received half a dozen calls from a colleague who is cooking dinner for us asking me to speed up.
Saturday - As I write this, I have just returned from a short wine-tasting tour of the Hunter Valley, and have driven some 100 kms (2 others drove roughly the same distance), but am still enthu to make it, just to prove a point to myself and my friends who have made a joke of it:)

Anyways, it’s a long weekend in Australia with Monday a holiday too, and I hope to make the most of it!