Social Networking is the catch phrase of the hour. Everyone has one or more online presence. Twitter, Buzz, FriendFeed, Facebook, MySpace, Orkut, IM most of us use one or more of these services. I remember signing up for most or all of the services that I have listed above, when they came into existence.

But now, I just had a thought, are we creating a hype! Overusing social networking? Trying to find acceptance in the online world? Just pondering questions.

Why suddenly this concern? When I look up the magazine, ads, everywhere, now it reads, “We are on twitter, Follow Us!”. It is good thing that twitter helps business owners to reach out to people, market the products and help to connect people. But I really hate it when people use it like an IM. Checking for updates every 5 mins! Following people just for the sake that they follow back. I really felt bad when a person caught in fire in bangalore office was trying to send twitter updates instead of trying to save himself. Media was really showing his twitter updates. Crazy!

I remember my roommates telling me, “Next you will update that you went to take a leak!”. Any new invention or service is good. It is not the service that is bad, it is we the people, who have to ‘Use it wisely!’

There was this tweet from Mobands, “Most people live and die with their music still unplayed. They never dare to try.” today. Don’t know whose quote it is, but it is true.

Most people out there just live a life, they just want to pass away all their time, just like sitting in a bus and sleeping till the destination is reached, on the way to a beautiful hill station. There are lot of things to enjoy in the journey, sceneries, flora and people. The entire thing that renders the beauty of the landscape. 

Shall we call it Fear of Failure, that keeps one away from trying. Most of us want to lead a life, just like others. We forget, one is a individual, who can play a part in changing. I am reminded of Robert Frost’s, ‘The Road Not Taken’, poem. He concludes it by saying, “I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference…”. 

Play the music, Live life…

India – though not the land where Cricket was born; has unofficially become the capital of Cricket. This is the land where cricket is closely debated to religion. Cricket is one thing that brings all the people in India together. People here criticize, celebrate, worship cricket and cricketers. We have a lot of cricketing icons in India. I feel proud when my team wins; and I get upset when Team India loses. This is one feeling common to many people here in India, though we have some few people who love the game over the team.

A cricketer in India earns more money than any other in the world. ‘If Cricket is religion, then Sachin is God’, ‘Dada is the best’ are some slogans that keep reverberating in every nook and corner of India. Such is the status of a cricketer. They also suffer a lot in the hands of the public when they fail to deliver. Why not! when there is such a huge following, it is the duty of the leaders to deliver. And if the game is against India, then it is not a game; IT IS WAR.

Each cricketer endorses a brand and earn a lot. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is one of the largest money making boards in the World. To add to this craze, Indian Premiere League has been started. A move to have large corporations to run business with cricket.

It is more like the English county, but a lot bigger in terms of money. I like the idea of having county like cricket in India, and corporations involved in promoting the game further, but should it mean the players need to be auctioned? A price for the head and skill, won’t that spoil the spirit of the game? What would Gilchirst think about his talent? Is he not a better player than Dhoni or Symonds. Is it not creating inequality between members of the same team.

Why not pay everyone the same amount of money within the teams. Why not distinguish with  the prize money for the winning teams? Won’t that be a better solution to create better cricketers?  Just a thought!

26th January 2007 – India celebrated its 59th year of Republic. I was not in the city but in my town neyveli.

It is traditional in neyveli that during the independence day and republic days, the Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD) hoists the national flag at our stadium. Following this is accepts the parade honor. This is followed by felicitating people who made significant contributions to the growth of Neyveli Lignite Corporation. After this there are cultural events (drills – as we call it there) performed by school kids. With the announcement of the winner of the cultural events and the singing of the Tamil Thai Vazhthu, the programme is complete.

I went this year to the stadium after 5 years (all these 5 years i was in my college and last year i was in chennai) to attend the Republic day parade. It brought back old memories of my school days when i used to go with my friends. None of my friends turned up this year for that and i was all alone completely lost in thoughts. It was not quite interesting to watch the events as it used to be in my childhood. We used to fight over whose school will win the first prize and we boo and encourage each others school. That was missing. I have lost that childhood innocence.

When I came back home at 9 a.m., the republic day celebrations were being telecast on NDTV. I just spent the rest of the day  sitting before the TV and watching all the programmes being telecast.

NDTV Indian of the Year program was worth a watch.

Long live Indian Republic! Long live our Heros who got us it!