North campus , Delhi University

As someone who has spent 13 years in bombay , 4 years in bangalore and 4 years in manipal , the very thought of a place like delhi offering something new was unlikely.

Chole kulche , aloo tikki and the metro proved me wrong.

Three months have passed since I have taken refuge in the comfort of north campus , delhi university.

The place for one is serene. Lots of trees , no traffic , brilliant roads.

My impression of delhi being a crowded , hustle-bustle type of a place had been defied ; atleast by north campus (although places like Chandni chowk , chawri bazaar have stood out in its own pristine glory)

There are lots of things thats there to be said about north campus.

Firstly , the aura of being right here in DU .

People that I have come across here have taken serious pride of being a part of this university. There are many who consider this the mecca for learning. I still haven't learnt the nuances of being a DU'ite , but people have vouched for the fact that with time , I would have DU-liq flowing in my blood.

As someone who has just finished his engineering from a college which spread 160 acres , the very thought of being in a place , as small as the one that DSE has to offer , was somewhat hard to digest. But it dint take me long to figure out the 'intensity' of this place.

A Professional PG course did take its toll in the last 3 months. the pressure , the agony , the frustration , the reading up on things so on and so forth.

As I figured out in due time , north campus had an answer to this , especially for a hostelier like me. A walk down north campus late at night proved to be 'the' thing for me.

Since NC is an area thats cut off from traffic , come night , it is only me and the road. The beauty thats there to witness is unparalled. Such is the pleasure , that one wouldn't mind admiring the place for a good couple of hours. As winter starts to set in , I can very well fathom what the place would be like.

As lights torch mansarowar in the dead of the night in lieu of diwali , here's hoping that north campus continues to be the place that it is for times to come.

Haka | Kapa o pango!

The first time I saw it , it sent a shiver down my spine!

The next time I saw it , it gave me goosebumps!

Before I realized , I was in awe of maori culture!



Seldom has something captivated me the way haka has! Argubly , The greatest sporting spectacle of all time.

The haka is known to millions courtesy the 'all blacks' , but most people mistake it for a war cry. The haka , infact, is more of a traditional dance genre of the maoris' (a tribe in new zealand)

The interpretation of the lyrics differ (from whats performed on the field to its original meaning); its usually taken at face value as a 'cry of war' when the all blacks perform the same.

My tryst with rugby started with haka. I remember those days when I used to look up the schedule of TOI just to mark out any rugby fixtures featuring the all blacks.

The joy of watching the all blacks perform the haka was next to none. The Icing on the cake was when carlos spencer did the honours.

Before I realized it , I found myself supporting the all blacks , cherishing every win of theirs and mourning each of their losses.

In the fall of 2005 , the all blacks re-defined intimidation through 'kapa o pango'. south africans were the first to witness it. Tana umaga did the honours.



Come to think of it , it still hurts me that I couldn't catch the game live and had the watch the same on youtube

The kapa o pango was definately the bigger brother among the two with its typical cut-throat ending hogging the limelight.

With times , the haka has changed , but the intensity remains unmatched.you'd still be feeling the goosebumps , immaterial of the no. of times you see the same being performed.

Never would a sporting spectacle be able to generate such passion , intensity , emotions as these two dance genres have! ( keane leading his team out of the tunnel at OT would come a not-so-distant second ;) )

Haka and kapa o pango certainly have etched their names on heaven's lining!

Nothing has , and nothing will , ever , match the intensity of these two great sporting spectacles!

Sir Heath Ledger

Fantabulous would be a grand understatement when it comes to describing ledger's performance in dark knight!

My sincerest thanks to 'one comment' which 'forced' me to go see this movie.

Now , I would be the last person people would associate to go see a batman movie! One fine day as I was surfing , there was this article on dark knight which caught my eye! Fair enough , lets check it out I thought!

That was about the time when i realized the 'significance' of this film regards heath ledger! ( get the drift? read on!)

The person in question opined that if ledger dint get an oscar for his performance , the next best thing would be to boyott the oscars.

Darn! Now it really would have been some performance on heath's part for the writer to be coming out with such an audacious statement (or some balls on the writer's part to be as assertive as this!)

Now come hell or high, I wanted to see the movie! I dint care who in the blue hell the knight was , all I wanted was to see joker . I wanted to see the movie only for ledger!

What followed suit was one of the finest performances one could ever witness on a 72 mm screen! captivating , breath-taking , phenomenal , ledger's performance had it all!

It would have taken some effort on whomsoever's part to drift away from the conventionality that joker was known for to this psycopatic , deranged maniac! Had ledger not got it right , brand batman would very well have been ridiculed!

Harvey complimented joker well , but this film rode on joker!

A performance that bludgeoned the very existance of other characters! An execution so perfect , that you could see the movie a thousand times and not get bored.

A master-performance that would surely be remembered for years to come.

Sir heath had well and truly nailed it!

Sir Roy Keane

It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field. Pounding over every blade of grass, competing if he would rather die of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him. I felt it was an honour to be associated with such a player - SAF on Keane's Semi final perfomance against juventus in '99

The above lines can be read a thousand times but the intensity of which would never be dimmed!

Roy maurice Keane epitomized leadership. 'Happiness is not being afraid' , these words sure described the way keano played the game all these years. It was sheer pleasure to see the great man in action, for he changed the way football was played in the midfield.

Roy's influence on the field changed the way I went about things , and I can vouch for the fact that it would have influenced thousands all over! His dedication on the field was exemplary , his passion , unmatched! I felt priveleged to be sitting in front of the tv watching the great man do what he did for it is players like him that inspired people like me.

Today , times have changed , the devils have marched on to new territories , but keano's contribution remain etched in the minds of all!Fail to prepare , prepare to fail , these words by roy have always shattered the tranquility of any doubts that I ever had about myself .

Although 18-11-05 witnessed the departure of one of the greatest players ever to have graced the lawns of Old Trafford , the 12 years that he spent at OT would be remembered for years to come!

Today , As I see united battle it out , one thing is for certain , Today is good , and these guys are definately good , but there are no Roy Keanes!