She is beautiful !

She has captured my heart. Her photo has been occupying my desktop for the past few days. I am longing to meet her again and hold her and kiss her.
She is my cousin's daughter, Dhriti. I haven't seen anything more tender than this.

Found this somewhere on the net.


American sports fans kind of pride themselves on following their own sports that no one else in the world really cares about. The people who follow soccer (as it's known over there) are generally not "Sports fans" as such (or of South American descent). Basketball and Hockey may be big in other parts of the world, but US fans don't care about anything but the NBA and NHL - the various World Cup and Olympics apperances of USA teams in these sports are mere blips on the radar compared to Super Bowls, World Series and NEXTEL Cups.

In short, the only way F1 is going to break big in the states is if it becoms unpopular in the rest of the world. That's just how it is.

A year old !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Exactly a year ago I started an unsure journey as a blogger. One year on, I look back at what I ve been writing and what I’ve got out of this activity. My posts have been a mixture of personal incidents and general issues and of course, Formula One. I have deliberately not given a definite shape to this blog. I guess this somewhat reflects my personality. I am a bit of everything. Sometimes shy, sometimes bold. Sometimes naughty, sometimes serious. Sometimes proactive, sometimes inactive! Since I myself seem to be a confused soul, you can expect something similar from my blog too. Moving forward, you can expect to find an assortment of articles relating to whatever comes to my convoluted mind.

Looking at what I’ve gained from blogging, the least I’ve gained is that my writing has improved. Just as it is important to keep reading and speaking to improve one’s language, I’ve realised that writing something from time to time can also be a big help (especially since the only other writing I seem to do is once every three months during my exams). When I read through some of the old posts, I realised that I was storing my thoughts and my ideas though this blog. Now of course I am not an Einstein or a Gandhi whose ideas are of relevance to anyone. But somehow, I feel good when I look back at my thoughts. It is almost like travelling through time and revisiting certain moments. One more thing that I derive out of blogging is of course the gratification derived from the knowledge that what I write is being read by quite a few people. But this was not the reason I gave myself for starting a blog, not is this the reason I give myself to continue blogging.

At this milestone I have some resolutions. I hope to be more regular in my postings from now on. I take this opportunity to thank all those poor souls who were unlucky enough to visit this blog and senseless enough to go through my posts!! And if any of these poor souls intend to return, then I assure them that I will try and keep improving my writing and will try and make their reading a little more fun.

The Verdict

Sanjay Dutt was charge-sheeted by the CBI for possession of weapons which included three AK 56 rifles, hand grenades and ammunition. These weapons were allegedly meant to be used in the 1993 Mumbai blasts. Last week a special TADA court gave its final verdict in which Dutt was convicted under the Arms act and not under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act.

The full verdict of the case is not yet available to the public. But I must say that I am bewildered and disappointed with the verdict. Dutt’s argument had been that he had the weapons for self defence and that he was not a terrorist. Hence he should not be convicted under the TADA. Now, the judge has said in his verdict that Dutt did possess weapons illegally. But he also said that he buys Dutt’s contention that the weapons could have been for self defence. He also said that there was not enough evidence to prove that Dutt was a terrorist. But apparently there was enough evidence to prove that Dutt was in illegal possession of weapons and hence the conviction under the Arms act. Now, can any sensible person justify the possession of AK 56 rifles and grenades for self defence? Isn’t that ridiculous?

Among the co accused in the case were those who allegedly delivered the Arms to Dutt and those who tried to destroy the evidence by melting the rifles. Both of these men were convicted under TADA. But Dutt was seemingly just an innocent person caught in the middle guilty of simply possessing illegal weapons!!

I am sure that money, power and politics had their role to play in this case, as is common in such cases in this country. The fact that his sister is a MP of the ruling congress party and Dutt himself is a Bollywood celebrity should have been indication enough that one couldn’t expect a fair verdict. I have tried to gauge people’s opinion on the verdict. The responses ranged from disappointment to indifference. And then there were some whose thinking was something on these lines:

‘C’mon, he may have stored the weapons for some reason or pressure or whatever… but for sure, this guy is not a terrorist! He is a good actor. He may have been misguided in the past but now he is a reformed man trying to live a decent life. Whatever happened in the past is past. He is now trying to live a peaceful life. Why do you want to punish him now?’

Now what can I say about this. It is true that the objective of punishment is to reform a person. But there is another very important objective. The act of punishing a guilty man serves as an example to the society and shows that the laws of the land are functioning. This deters potential criminals from indulging in such activities. If the punished is a celebrity or an important person, the example is that much stronger. In the end it is the society which is benefited.

Sanjay Dutt, his family and his fans are happy that he escaped the TADA conviction. Of course they believe that this guy is a transformed man. Maybe they are true. But this verdict is one more nail in the coffin in which lies the nation’s legal system.