Magic Moments

Sometimes in life you need just one moment of inspiration, magic, coincidence, stirring to change your life. One instant you are a nobody and the next instant are somebody because of such instances. History is written,greatness is achieved, destinies are changed forever. The game of football has changed the fortunes of many players, clubs and teams due to such moments. I would like to share some of the greatest moments in footballing history which have held me spellbound and left me enthralled.

THE LAST FINAL ASSAULT

No other English team had done it in the past- The treble of winning the English Premier League, FA Cup and the Champions' League. In fact both teams were winning for a treble of their own with Bayern Munich winning the German League Bundesliga and were finalists in the German Cup. United had already won the Premier League and the FA Cup. For a professional football player being part of a winning Champions' League is like a dream come true. The stage was set at the Nou Camp Stadium in Barcelona and 65000 supporters were present. However, disaster struck United in the starting minutes. Mario Basler, the German winger scored from a free kick in the 6th minute to give Bayern the lead. United played well in the first half but failed to create any clear cut chances. In the second half both teams played well but nobody could score. Time was running out for United. United players were pressing hard but were unable to clear cut chance. Sir Alex Ferguson (the greatest football manager ever \m/) made two substitutions Teddy Sheringham(61') and Ole Gunner Solskjaer(81') in a last-ditch attempt. But nothing was working in United's favour. The fourth official indicated an injury time of 3' after the stipulated time of 90'. United won a corner just into the injury time and the commentator Clive Tyldesley said,"Can United score, they always score"and in an extraordinary climax and a bizarre series of events David Beckham took the corner ,Dwight Yorke, the striker put the ball back towards the crowded area, and after the Bayern defence failed to clear sufficiently, the ball arrived at the feet of Ryan Giggs, the winger on the edge of the area whose weaker foot shot was poorly struck but luckily for United it went straight to the 61' minute substitute Teddy Sheringham who struck the ball in the bottom corner of the net. The goal was timed at 90:36. If that was not enough a blow to the title hopes of Bayern Munich, 30 seconds later United won another corner and Beckham again with his trademark corner, swung it in which was headed downwards by Sheringham, Ole Gunner Solskjær, the 81st minute substitute shot out a foot and poked the ball in the top corner of Bayern goal. The goal was timed at 92:17. The treble was looming large and with 30 seconds left Bayern could do little after facing such a disaster and after the second goal the Bayern defender Samuel Kuffour could not control his emotions and broke down in tears. The referee blew the final whistle and United were the Champions of Europe alongwith the champions of England and winners of FA Cup. After the incredible match Sir Alex commented,"Oh Football, Bloody Hell!!"

The last final assault completed with Solsjkaer poking the ball in the top corner

A TALE OF 2 HALVES

Arguably the best Champions' League final ever. Liverpool vs AC Milan, Istanbul-Turkey 2005. AC Milan, the Italian giants owned by Italy PM Silvio Berlusconi, pitted against the English giants Liverpool. Both clubs had tasted the Champions' League victory before but this one was the best of the lot. AC Milan boasted of the best players in the world like Kaka, Shevchenko, Maldini, Dida while Liverpool were peaking under their inspirational Midfield maestro captain Steven Gerrard and the manager Rafael Benitez who had not even completed one season at Liverpool. The match started and it was a dream start for Milan when their captain Paulo Maldini volleyed in a free kick from their dead ball expert Andrea Pirlo. The match regained balance and both teams had their chances. In the last 10 minutes Milan showed their class and first ina great display of counter attacking football Andriy Shevchenko, broke down the right flank and crossed in low for Hernan Crespo who tapped it in the goal from close in the 38th minute. In the 44th minute again Kaka who had been the most influential player in the game till now provided the assist for Crespo who chipped it past the Liverpool goalkeeper Jerzey Dudek. The halftime score read 3-0. Not even in the dreams any Liverpool might have thought of the scoreline at half time. Again the stage was set and 69500 people witnessed a miracle. First the Liverpool goalkeeper saved a tremendous free kick from Shevchenko. After 53 minutes Liverpool began their sensational comeback and got a lifeline when Steven Gerrard headed in a cross from John Arne Risse. Then the Milan Goalkeeper Dida fumbled and he could not block Vladimir Smicer's who was a substitute(again a substitute scoring) shot from the edge of the penalty box in 56th minute. At the mark of an hour Liverpool's recovery was complete when Genaro Gattuso the Italian Midfielder brought down Gerrard in the penalty area and earning Liverpool a penalty. Dida saved Xabi Alonso's spot-kick, but the Spanish midfield man followed up to score the rebound with Milan's defenders looking on in stunned disbelief.The scoreline read 3-3 in 60th minute from 3-0 in 52nd minute!! Astonishing! Amazing!! After that no team managed to score in the mandatory 90 minutes and in extra time as well. The match went into penalties and due to the heroics of their goalkeeper Dudek who made 2 great saves Liverpool won 3-2 on penalties. History was created. "You will never walk alone" is the quote on Liverpool's flag and that day Liverpool did gift their fans a memory to cherish forever.

History in the making: Scoreline at the stroke of an hour

THE GAMBLE SELECTION

This moment is very special to me as it's the only one of the three which I witnessed LIVE. Sir Alex Ferguson has seen many great victories and triumphs in his career by his master moves but this one must have left even him baffled. In the title race Man United were given a stiff competition by their fiercest arch rivals Liverpool. Liverpool had won the previous day and were at the top of the table. United had to win the home game again Aston Villa to stay in the title race in the 2008-09 season. The date was 5th April 2009 and the season was getting intense with very few matches left to play. United did not play well in the whole match and with almost half of the team missing due to injuries and suspensions they were desperate for a victory. Luckily 2 goals from Christiano Ronaldo, the flamboyant Portuguese winger United were on course for a likely draw against Villa at the theatre of dreams- Old Trafford. But there's a silver lining in even the darkest clouds. And for United that silver lining was provided by an unfamiliar 17 year old teenager Federico 'Kiko 'Macheda who had never ever been previously involved in the first team squad. 3 hours before the match not many amongst the 75000 spectators had heard of his name. Sir Alex brought him as a substitute in the 61st minute for the Portuguese Winger Nani. With Kiko's arrival on the pitch the hope began transforming into promise and the promise was ultimately converted into salvation. At the mark of 70th minute United were trailing 2-1 but Ronaldo scored to level the scores 2-2. United were pressing hard but very not successful. The match went into injury time after the stipulated 90 min. In the 93rd minute stoppage time Kiko had his back to goal and taking a pass from Ryan Giggs, (a man almost twice his age)he first controlled the ball, turned sharply across defender Luke Young and hit a right-foot shot that curled beyond the grasp of Villa Goalkeeper Brad Friedel and into the far corner of the net. As United always score this time also they did score. And what a moment it was for the 17 year old teenager! An Exterrestrial Moment! I am sure even he would have laughed at the fact that he was going to play in the match let alone scoring a goal. But destiny had planned something else for him. No matter how far he reaches as a professional football player but he will never ever forget this life altering moment.

The kick of immortality: Kiko hammering the ball across defender Luke Young

Moral of the Story: Whatever happens, happens for the best. Never ever give up in life!! Keep fighting and even if the thought of giving up comes to your mind just remember these moments and I am sure another Champion will be crowned in real life.

all BY MYSELF

A stupid idea came to my mind. This might sound interesting to all music lovers. Keeping in mind the songs of your favorite band, frame random questions. The answer to the question should be or should contain the name of the song. I tried it with my favorite band: LINKIN PARK


Q. What do you so desperately want to say to unwanted guests but cannot say?
Ans: Please DONT STAY

Q. What part of the day you cannot see at night?
Ans: SHADOW OF THE DAY :P

Q. What do couples, Bajrang dal, Shiv Sena, MNS have in common?
Ans: VALENTINE'S DAY

Q. What question comes to our mind everytime we are confounded?
Ans: WHAT HAVE I DONE

Q. How should your hands be while doing Bhastrika Pranayama?
Ans: HANDS HELD HIGH (AOL people will understand this...Please dont hit me :P)

Q. On which side is the Short Circuit Test Performed?
Ans: HIGH VOLTAGE side
(Kahi to electrical engg ka "infinite gyaan" kam mein aya)

Q. What is Itchguard used for?
Ans: CURE FOR THE ITCH

Q. What is "buri bala"?
Ans: GREED

Q. Why did the Sardar have tire tread marks on his back?
Ans: Because he was CRAWLING when he read the sign don't walk

Q. Why I hate jogging?
Ans: Because it's EASIER TO RUN.

Q. How will you all be after reading all this stupid shit?
Ans: NUMB and FAINT

Q. What's your perception of me after reading this post?
Ans: He's ONE STEP CLOSER to insanity

Q. What is that you want to say to me?
Ans: DONT SAY a single word now because NOBODY'S LISTENING and if you are thinking where is that SOMEWHERE(that) I BELONG and I need A PLACE FOR MY HEAD then I should RUNAWAY to asylum and I'm not joking or LYING FROM YOU. I am sure you all have GIVEN UP IN BETWEEN and you might want to cut me down IN PIECES

Q. Why is this the last question?
Ans: Because it's IN THE END. :P

Difference Makers

APOGEE2K10 is into its fourth day. Its just getting better and better. The TED talks initiative has been the hallmark of APOGEE2K10 for me. Different speakers, different fields, different ideas- all in one day and at one place! However two of talks in particular inspired me to write this post. One was by Kartick Satyanarayan, a wildlife guardian (More at: link) and other by Vishal Talreja, a social entrepreneur(More at: link). During both these talks there was a person sitting in front of me who was cheering,clapping, whistling, exhorting and showing a great enthu every time the speaker told a success story. I found this a bit irritating and a thought came to my mind, "Yeh to aise react kar raha hai ki talk ke baad apna ek NGO hi shuru karne wala". And the next moment another thought crossed my mind. Why am I getting so irritated? What am I going to do after hearing all the very inspiring and motivating success stories related to environment protection, child abuse, drug abuse etc told by the speakers? The answer to this question(partly) was given by Mr Vishal Talreja himself. Concluding his talk he said, "When you walk out of this door thank a person whom you have ignored till now, persons whom we don't notice like a waiter in a restaurant, the security guard who gurards our house, the sweeper. Appreciate them for their work and see the difference that makes in you." I thought that's not difficult, is that? And then I pondered over and came up with some very simple things that we can do to really make a difference to the society and to the nature. I call them difference makers. You already know them; might even be implementing them but still I would like to point them out.

1. Switch off all the lights, fans when not in use. Save electricity. Imagine a situation where all of us are using electricity only to the extent we need it. How much electricity we will be able to save? (A Thesis can be done on this topic)

2. Car Pool. Whenever possible share vehicles or use public transport. I know that's difficult but small steps do lead to big things!

3. Stop using polythene as much as possible. You know the reason- its nonbiodegradable.

4. Visit an NGO or an orphanage or a shelter home once in a while. Volunteer there. It's a great feeling!

5. Donate Blood. It might save someone's life. It's healthy too.

6. Whenever you come across a fact worth knowing, a story worth telling, a NGO doing some good work inform as many people as you can. We are involved in gossiping rite so why not involve ourselves in some informational and useful gossiping?

7. Buy ecofriendly products and use recycled paper.

All these are not difficult to apply. I know it's not possible for everyone to start an NGO or be a social entrepreneur. But small things like these can have a massive effect on your own life too. When I was interning in ST Microelectronics my manager once told me a funda. He said consider that you have two concentric circles. One is your circle of influenece and the other is the circle of concerns, worries. Now always our circle of concern is bigger than our circle of influence. That means we are able to influence only those people with whom we are concerned. But imagine a situation when our circle of influence is bigger than the circle of concern. Then we not only affect the people with whom we are concerned but also people outside our concerns. This is one of the fundas to be highly effective. So are you willing to increase the radius of your circle of influence and be effective- a difference maker?? The choice is completely yours.

PS: If you have any other difference makers then please do mention them in your comments.

Anyone has any answers??

Candidate No: 59XXX Quant Score XX/150, DI Score XX/150, Verbal Score XX/150 Overall XX/450 Percentile: XX.XX

No need to tell you all what result Im talking about here. The CAT-2009 results declared yesterday have baffled each one of us I guess. For the people who got good scores it was a manifestation of their hard work mostly but even they must be thanking their stars after the drama (and derision) that the CAT exam has had this year. Congratulations to all of them. They deserve it. For the people who did not get good scores were still left wondering what went wrong. But was that the only question lingering in their minds after the results?? The answer is definitely a Big NO. Now whenever a test results are declared the ones who score good are quite happy with the scheme of events and the ones who don’t score good always find infinite reasons why didn’t they do well. Am I writing this article only because I didn’t score well- May be Yes because I expected to get a better percentile. But considering the result as only me screwing up on the test day isn’t the only excuse that I can think of. At this juncture a question that lurks in my mind is that if I try harder next year will I be assured that my hard work will pay off considering the fiasco that CAT 2009 has been through. I think that’s a very difficult question to answer not only for me but in general everyone. So what exactly went wrong in this year’s CAT exam? According to me following are the fronts where CAT failed miserably and the scenarios where IIMs are questionable.

1. Online CAT-2009: The IIMs opted for computerized CAT 2009 to enhance the quality of test including providing a more conducive environment for testing as compared to paper and pencil test. This is the statement released by IIMs on December 17^th. Now CAT had to go online at some point of time considering the fact that the number of people taking CAT has increased dramatically over the years. But conducting an online exam in this manner is not acceptable at all. CAT was conducted over a period of 10 days with candidates having absolutely no idea about the paper pattern at all. So the guys who took the test on the first day had utterly no clue about the paper pattern, the number of questions leave aside the marking scheme-that is not clear until now. Earlier the focus of CAT candidates was more on accuracy by attempting lesser selected questions while this year since the level of difficulty was less as compared to earlier years some of my friends attempted 57-58 questions out of 60. People who took the test on the first day had no clue about the level of difficulty at all and hence were very sceptical and choosy in attempting questios. In CAT 2008 the expected cutoff in quant was 30-32 out of 100 (verify: http://neeshu.com/Articles/cat-2008-question-paper-and-solutions-cat-2008-cut-off-marks.html)i.e. 32 % while this year inspite of getting almost 50%(score 71/150) in Quant my percentile was 86. This proves that people on the first few days had a very big disadvantage. According to this http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_cat-2009-results-baffle-candidates_1353677 score of a student depended on the day he took the test. The students who took the test the same day have scored similar marks. On the other hand, students of the same caliber who appeared on another date had scored very differently.

2. Mismanagement: If the non-uniformity was not conducive enough then there was another problem in the waiting- the disaster of server failure. I can only quote a prof JP Mishra from BITS, “But even the dumbest of people would verify the capacity of servers before using them. It would be surprising if the organisers did not even check the capacity of the servers to be used.” (Verify: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091201/jsp/frontpage/story_11806691.jsp Who is to be blamed for this debacle? Prometric-the agency responsible for conducting CAT 2009 (smoothly, I suppose) or the IIMs – for not hiring an agency capable enough of handling an exam of the magnitude of CAT. After hearing about all the drama I was just wondering if candidates were writing the test for getting into Indian Institute Of (Mis)management. Heights of frustration for everyone: Computer glitches continued to dog CAT-2009 even after results were declared. The results website shut down for three hours on Sunday afternoon, because of traffic overload.

3. Marking Scheme: CAT is supposed to be one of the toughest exams in the world and it is known for its surprise element in terms of varying paper patterns and marking scheme every year. They were able to maintain that surprise element this year also but the only problem this year was that they extended the surprise a bit longer this year. Even after the results people are guessing the marking scheme. Almost everyone predicted that the marking scheme is going to be (correct*3 +incorrect*(-1)) but IIMs surpassed everyone’s expectations and came up with a brilliant and novel marking scheme of evaluating out of 450. Now I tried to figure out the marking scheme in which I guessed (correct*7.5+incorrect*(-2.5)) but according to this some people should score in decimals as well. But atleast I have not heard anyone whose score is in decimals. So this scheme is also ruled out. Another marking scheme can be (10*10+5*10)/150(no idea about the negative marking scheme) since each section had 20 questions. If it’s correct then IIMs have made a complete mess of it. CAT is all about taking calculated risks and selecting the proper set of questions to answer. Even if each question had a different weightage why weren’t the students informed of this very important factor prior to the test.

4. Second Note on the CAT score card: The scores reported are the scaled scores arrived at by establishing psychometric equivalences to adjust for any variation in difficulty levels across the tests. WTH is a psychometric evaluation?? Im sure many of the candidates have heard of this term for the first time in their life. I googled for this term and tried to interpret the theory though its very difficult and complex to interpret. The first basic question in a psychometric evaluation is , ”Does the instrument measure the same construct across groups?” to test whether the instrument is an equally valid measure of targeted construct in each population group- in this case candidate’ marks. The second question arises can the item/scale scores be directly and meaningfully compared across population groups? Its a very big question of debate and controversy. Pyscometric analysis stands when software put question from the earlier stabilized question bank, and adjust according to your intellect. Candidates appeared for the tests in totally different (according to IIMs conducive) environments. Some people who took re-test had an added advantage. They knew the paper pattern, the type of questions, and the level of difficulty. These (special) candidates had one whole month to prepare for the test. Was this factor taken into consideration while doing this psychometric evaluation?? All these questions are still unanswered.

5. The GUI Interface: We all criticise Microsoft for all the popup messages and warnings that arise when we perform various file operations. However, I think no one would have criticised Prometric if they would have provided a confirmation message popup while ending the test. Some people’s tests ended before scheduled time just because they clicked on the end button unknowingly. Even the End Review Button ended the tests-Heights of carelessness by Prometric !! Some people even complained that the sample GUI Interface was different than the actual test interface though Im not sure about this.

Now the ultimate question that arises is- Is IIM going to answer all the questions? IIMs are known for their humility and accepting any mistakes on thei r behalf. Though IIMs are government entities I always considered IIMs as an exception to the normal government organisations and the babugiri. But after this year’s fiasco I think all they care about is just whether the seats are filled or not, thoughtless of the fact whether they are able to get the best brains and most worthy people in the country. Shouldn’t the CAT system be more transparent given the fact that it’s online now and candidates are definitely tested under different conditions? CAT is not GRE where your score may be 1400 or 1600- you have a good chance of getting into Stanford or any other good university provided you have a good trackrecord. Inspite of having good academic and extracurricular records when performing exceptional in CAT is absolutely essential then all these factors should be seriously considered. Considering the bigger picture, none of the IIMs are in the top 100 rankings of the world. If IIMs have a vision of getting into the top 100 Bschools then no matter how hard they try I doubt if they can even challenge for the top 100 bschools. I thought one aspect of management also teaches you to satisfy and take care of your client and customer in the best possible manner. Extending this analogy to CAT I think IIMs-the managers have utterly failed in the objective to satisfy their clients-the candidates. People dream and aspire of getting into IIMs; some are even obssessed but after all this drama I guess IIMs have made themselves more repulsive. On a funnier note I guess people will prefer soul searching and go to Himalayas rather than getting into the Mohmaya of MBA and the prestigious IIMs!

What's your SM?

Whats the first thing that you do after logging into your Gtalk Account? Its Obbb ra...You check everyone's status message. In short we call them 'SM'. Different People, Different Status. Sometimes even Different People, same status. (:P I'll come back to that story later)
According to me the best feature in Gtalk is the "Custom Message" option. Such is the versitality of the SM's that sometimes a person's status of mind can be gauged from his SM. Screwed up a paper and people put up SM's as "Worst paper in my Bitsian Life"or "Screwed..." or "F****d up Completely...." or ''not in a mood to talk" or "frustrated...n fed up!!" or "utterly hopeless". Want to inform people about some important meeting then people have sm's as "NSS excomm meet @ 5:30"or "Snap Session@Sac" or "Tr8 @ Cnnot"(This one's my favorite one :D).
Some other SM's are situational. For instance, say on independence day about 80% of the people will have their SM's as "Happy Independence Day". Another way to show affection for your friends on their Birthdays: the "Happy Bday ____" SM. Concluded an event (with reference to Mandal) successfully the SM's are "Mandal Rocks..." or "Cheers to Maharashtra Mandal..." or "satisfied" or "We rocked...". Some are desperate SMs like "My roomie needs a date" or "Single n ready to mingle" or "Searching for someone..." . Then there are some SMs(like my friend Aditya Belsare always has) which have link to some interesting n fundoo sites.
But the one that I find the most interesting are the ones which convey a message or has a fund behind it. I remember one SM that read "My GF asked me to be more affectionate.Hence now I have two GFs". Others of that kind I find nice are of the type"Common sense in uncommon in common people" or "The road to success... is always under construction "
Coming back to the topic that I left in the initial part of the blog about the "Different People, same SM" fund. This is my wing's favorite fund to play prank on someone especially our beloved (bakra) Abhishek Modani. Just 5 days before we did such a thing. The whole BITS was gripped with presidential re-election fever. Smart and shrewd as we are('We' as in me n wingies harshad n jaggu) got an (evil) idea. We put up our SM's as "Abhishek Modani for PREZ: Nomination filed". You wont believe that in no time about 40 people had the same SMs as ours. The next day was even more fun. The whole BITS was asking Abhishek"Are Modani, tu prez ke liye jaa raha hai?? " :D We enjoyed the scene so much that I cant express the joy in words.
Thanks to Gtalk that it has provided such an wonderful option apart from the boring "Available","Busy" and "Idle" SMs. So next time dont leave your SM any one of the default boring ones. You may be lucky and someone might like your SM and in turn you...

My First Blog (yipeeeeeeee!!!)

So finally I have started blogging. Thanks to my friend Swapnil who gave me the idea 4 months back. (:P)But everytime I sat to write something the words just didnt come to my mind. I fell short of ideas. I was very frustrated. Then what prompted me to write my very first blog?? The answer to it is "Ankur". (For all the Non-Mandalites and Non-BITSIANS Ankur is an annual magazine of Maharashtra Mandal BITS-Pilani- an organisation of all the Maharashtrians studying in Pilani). My Batchmates and other juniors and seniors have written such wonderful articles in it that I really felt sorry for myself that I didnt write anything in it. But anyways what to regret for the things that have already passed. So now I have decided to write all my good and bad experiences, observations, my opinions about various issues in the form of blogs.
So watch out for my upcoming blogs....