Olympics: The greatest Event of Humanity

Olympics are no doubt the greatest sporting event on the planet. I am big fan of Olympics and I love watching them. In the Olympic events the whole world participates unlike other sports such as baseball or football or even hockey where handful of teams from different regions play against each other and call it a world cup or world series representing just a fraction of some regions, not exactly the whole world. I can never figure out why they call it a world series when a single nation's teams are competing against each other rather than other continents or countries.

Olympics in its true spirits is a world sporting event where the best athletes or teams compete and come out as world champions in a factual sense. Olympics represent pride, sportsmanship, competitiveness and friendship, as the finest unite and come under one roof to perform their best. Here every inch or even a nanosecond can cost them a second place or maybe even the last place. Olympics represent unity and peace. This is the only place you will see Israel walking with Palestine, South and North Korea under one roof or Iran hugging arch rival Iraq. Every nations true worth is measured by the number of medals won by their countrymen or women. In Olympics it doesn’t matter if a country is superior in warheads, economy and social status everything is equal at the same level until you see the finish line, where the real superior emerges often called the “winner”.

The Olympics teaches us that we must love, respect and believe in each other. It makes us believe that we can be one “global nation” or a global citizen rather than an American, or a black or a backward caste, inhibiting some of the wasteful notions which divides us. It shows us the real power of women, that women are no less than men and can be as competitive or even better than men in any sport. Here, there is only one language the language of winning, there is only one culture the culture of competition. Olympics also is mix of art, crafts, music and celebrations where people have an opportunity to enjoy, sing and dance together hand in hand shaking a leg to the tunes of friendship and love in togetherness.

It also teaches us some great skills like discipline, time management, team spirit, hard work, focus and good assertiveness. It teaches us to fail and then to improve upon our failures until we get that gold in our laps.

Olympics makes you realize that it is possible to live united as “One World” where there are no boundaries, no religions, no gender inequalities and no politics and where everything is a fair play. We need that kind of world now, if we can live 15 days united like this under one roof and still be happy we can live 150 years or maybe 1500 years.

Since birth we are told that we belong to this country, this religion and a superior caste, we buy our black children black dolls, we tell them that we are the best religion and must hate people who practices another one. In schools we are always taught about boundaries in geography, wars in history and that woman are inferior in biology. When we grow old we learn about greed in business we are taught to bribe since birth. We are trained to kill; we treat someone not born in our country as different. But we are never taught about "world unity"

In Olympics you can see people have similar traits everyone who fails cries, everyone who wins grins, every person has the same habits, similar reactions or emotions. But when we see outside the World of the Olympics we think them as different, we are not ready to accept them and accuse people having a western culture or orthodox eastern habits and seclude them as foreigners.

Olympics is not only a sporting event, it’s a great medium to commune unity. I wait for it every 2 years. Recently the winter Olympics were held in Vancouver. Although, I don’t play any sports that were held in the sporting event, I loved watching it. I learned about several strange countries, saw people with unusual names. I saw Wayne Gretzky carry a torch in the rain and drive down the street in the back of a Silverado. I felt bad for the Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili who died while practicing. I was upset when USA lost to Canada in the most nail biting finish, even though I am not a fan of Ice hockey. Olympics always gives me a character of oneness.

Canada did full justice hosting the games, they were a good host. They performed well in the games and came out winning 14 Golds, the maximum by a country. The city is beautiful. The venues were modern. The transportation was efficient. But this wasn’t about logistics. In the end it’s the people that power the movement mattered the most. The Canadian's pushed these games back from the brink of disaster and right off into history. They managed well the opening ceremony wasn’t as extravagant as the one in Beijing in 2008, but the winter Olympics ceremony was awesome I have never seen such a laser and lights show.

The United States set a new record for the highest total of medals won at a single Olympic Winter Games with 37. It has the maximum number of athletes sent by any country competing in almost all events. US pretty much dominated the games. The Chinese and Koreans emerged and gave tough fights although they are not popular in winter sports.

The Olympic torch has gone dark and games have ended but I am not done yet, I still have to tell you about the events and the people which made these winter Olympics a memorable event so watch out for more soon………

300 Mistakes and Counting..............

I Recently read Chetan Bhagat’s “The 3 mistakes of my life” a story about three down the street, regular out of college struggling young boys with different passions but similar motive, the motive to help a young boy succeed. In the story the characters have to deal with religious politics, earthquake, riots, unacceptable love and their own mistakes and the mistakes of others. The book has some real life events and the main premise revolve around those events. It is a good and engaging read right from the very beginning but in the end it becomes a little vague and feels like as if one is reading a movie script. I STRONGLY recommend “The Three Mistakes of my life”. It’s heartening and feel-good. Do give it a try if you’re down with a bad mood and I’m sure it’ll lift your spirits.

After reading the book, I kind of felt that it pointed out some mistakes within our theoretically diversified, yet single minded society, our complex system and us as individuals. This book made the youth wary of some things which we take for granted. I also felt that it made some points the country is, or was going through at the time the book was written:

1. Smaller town people Vs Big city miscreants
2. Conservative mentality of people
3. Extremism in politics and Religion
4. Prejudice towards agnostics and atheists
5. Poverty amongst the brighter lower-middle class
6. Money is power and power is success
7.Unprotected sex without worrying about the consequences
8.Offbeat ideas receive suppression
9. Lack of sports education/infra-structure in schools and colleges
10. Completely study oriented schools
11. Businesses are extremely risky
12. Swanky malls with poor construction designs
13. Drift between religions, castes and age groups
14. Conservative and Stereotyped mentality of parents
15. Hypocrisy among public, politicians, and everyone alike
16. Lack of awareness, foresight and ideas due to lack of quality education
17. Smaller schools lack funds and money in everything
18. Heavy mugger-friendly curriculum
19. People just want to earn, and passion for anything is dead
20.Prodigies and talented folks are mostly unrecognized and all that dies away as unharnessed potential
21. Male dominated society
22. Selfishness and greed
23. Blind love causing drifts
24. Giving too much importance to cricket trhan other sports
25. Blaming others for your failures
26. Harming innocent people for your self-interests
27. Moral wrongdoings

28.

29.

30.

Well, these were some 30 mistakes I could think of the 3 mistakes of my life had pointed out, there are plenty and I can go on; maybe write another book following this one but I personally believe that mistakes can be the most powerful teachers you will ever have. Success can be more gratifying, but it is often the mistakes that show you the need for new values and behaviors that will make the greatest difference in your life. Mistakes help you learn what works and what doesn’t work. The day you realize that you have committed a mistake that day is your first step of the process to success. For example Children will keep falling and getting up until they finally learn to walk. They are not afraid of falling, because their mistakes are part of the process. Make room in your life for mistakes and you will know the value of success and enjoy it when it comes to you.

I myself have committed mistakes all the time in all shapes and sizes of different shades and my count just not stops at 3, it’s probably 300 and counting………….

It's the 8th

Time has flown, it seemed like just yesterday I packed up and said goodbye to family and friends in India and hopped aboard united airlines, the last united flight from India, to make a new life in Amreeca. Well that was 9/11/2001. It’s been incredible eight years. I have grown since then, I have gained so much experience, made many friends and lost few. I have gained lot of knowledge both good and bad. I have learned a lot and have become wiser. It has been truly great so far but I will never forget 9/11.

To wind back 8 years ago on this day, US had been forever changed by a senseless act of terrorism. 8 years ago, the world around us changed in dramatic and unprecedented fashion and in ways we are still discovering. While our collective pain has become less, individual pain remains sharp and our collective consciousness remembers. Let us never forget the way it felt that day. We will be touched by September 11, 2001 for the rest of our lives in ways I cannot begin to fathom. I remember saying that everything had changed and everything looked different. Hardly a sublime statement, but true. I still remember that day when everything came to a standstill and can feel the pain of the people who lost their loved ones as those incidences I saw through my own eyes sickened me for quite a long time.

I want to remember and pay homage to the victims who died on this day. I want to salute the people who sacrificed their lives to protect US, such as the heroes of United 93 and the firefighters, NYPD and enumerable volunteers.Today, I want to pay respect to those who had put down their lives while rescuing a stranger without selfishly thinking about themselves or their families. I want to remember all those who have given their lives since then, protecting us!. All These people teach us the lesson to believe in unity and integrity and above all God.

Lets hope for a united World and lets pray for those serving our country, lets remember those who perished that day and their families. And lets hope that God bless us, who remember that day.

It's been 8 long years and the Journey continues as I go remembering, discovering and progressing myself along with the memories of 9/11.

The Real Truth

This story is in continuation with “A true incident”, please read that before going on to this….

All my doubts were still on the dishwasher maintenance guy and I kept on convincing the landlord but due to lack of concrete evidences I couldn’t really prove it. I also called Dell and told them about the incident and as the product was registered with them they agreed to inform me if they notice any activities on my account. At first I had little hope of getting my belongings back but with time and as months passed the unpleasant incident started fading off my mind. I was also upset because there was a lot of personal data on my laptop and losing that meant losing all my previous years’ works. I lived in that studio for few months before moving out of the city due to professional reasons.

It had almost been nine months since the burglary incident happened. Now, I was working someplace else away from family and friends but I had made some new friends and got adjusted to the new place. My sister lived in another city and I visited her often. One time when I visited her she handed me a small package from Dell. I thought it was a laptop battery as one of those battery replacements Schemes by Dell were going on at that time; I was surprised because I never ordered one myself. I un-wrapped the package and found a laptop hard drive. It wasn’t of any use for me as I didn't want to replace my hard drive as my current hard drive was working just fine and moreover I had a lot of data stored on it, which I didn’t want to switch. I thought of selling it on EBay.

At home, as I was going through the package I noticed something very strange, I saw an unfamiliar name and phone no., below my name and address on the packaging slip. At first I thought it must be a glitch but the phone no. appeared to be the area code of the place I previously stayed, I was stunned. I immediately started linking all the pieces and figured out that this could be the person who has my laptop. I also noticed the asset tag number which is unique for each laptop and this one matched with my old laptop no.

I was thrilled that this could be the person who stole my laptop and might have ordered the hard drive and since Dell had the laptop registered under my name they sent it to my address instead. I was also angry at dell as I had reported the theft to them still they were communicating without verifying any details with me, the real owner. At first, I thought of calling the person but was a little scared, after making a decision to report this to the police and let them investigate, I called the local police station and provided them with all the details, to my surprise they claimed that they can’t take any actions or help me in this matter even though I have all the evidences. I was dumbstruck as if lightening has crossed over me, I thought police was here to protect you and help you out. I then called the detective agency but according to them the report had been archived and my case was closed as this was just a small theft. I was helpless, a little ray of hope I had of getting my precious laptop back was being darkened by the eclipses of immoral and unjust behaviors of the law authorities.

This is when I decided to take matters into my own hands even if it meant going against the law. Although I was a scared and didn’t know how to proceed, I decided to call the phone no. on the packaging slip. As the phone was ringing my mind was clouded with numerous negative thoughts, I thought that I might be dealing with a gang or mafia or a criminal as I had never ever communicated with any such people before. A boy answered my call. I asked him if I can talk to the person whose name was listed on the package. The boy told me that it was his mom and that she was at work at that moment. I then asked him if they own a dell laptop and whether they had ordered a hard drive replacement from dell. He thought that I was someone inquiring from Dell and answered all my questions. As soon as I got confirmed that they have my laptop, I told him that I am the original owner of the laptop they had stolen from my apartment. I threatened him that I will report this to the police if they didn’t return it back to me. The boy got scared and told me that he is just a high school kid and don’t do such things and his mom didn’t steal it, she bought the laptop from someone, he sounded very innocent but I was on fire and had no mercy for the kid or for his mother. I then told him that I will call up later to speak to his mom.

I called up later that night, this time the lady herself picked up the phone. I got her aware of the whole situation and told her that she has my laptop and if they don’t return it, they would go to jail, even though i knew that the police already refused to help me in this matter. She appealed that she didn’t steal the laptop instead she bought it for $250 from someone on the street. I told her to return my laptop as early as possible; otherwise she would be behind bars. She started pleading, for mercy, explaining that she has a family and a respectable job and that I should not report her to the police. She said that she will mail the laptop back to me in a package. First I agreed to it but then I thought she might break it and send it to me and blame the postal service for the damage. I immediately analyzed the situation and instructed her to deliver the laptop in-person. She herself got terrified by this and started insisting repeatedly to not to inform the police or get any cops along with me. We decided to meet at a crowded public place in the city. The time was fixed at around nine in the morning. I couldn't sleep the night before, may be because of the anticipation to get my laptop or fear or agony she might cause to me.

At 7 am I got a call from that lady, I was still in bed. I thought she might be cancelling the plans or maybe refusing to give back my laptop. Instead she had called to confirm the place and asked me again to not to get any cops I assured her that if she returned my laptop I will not take any actions. I got ready and went on to get my prized possession, almost nine months after it was taken away from me. I myself couldn’t believe that this was happening. Lot of mixed thoughts were going on in my mind I was scared, excited, angry and delighted all at the same time.

She called me again sharp at nine to let me know that she has reached the designated place. By now it was confirmed that she was more scared then me and she wanted to get done with this burden too. There was a lot of traffic and an hour fifteen minutes journey took me almost two hours, on my way i had a fear that she might have left the place as I was late by an hour. Finally I reached the spot, the only identification she gave me was that she will be standing near the subway gate and wearing a green outfit. I didn’t provide her with any identifications of mine and she didn’t ask for any.

As I was walking I saw an African American lady with green scrubs holding a small bag on her thin shoulders, she looked short and timid. She was nothing like the image of a person a thief would have. Well I approached her cautiously and pronounced her name very politely; I was not scared anymore and sounded confident. She hesitated a bit and responded shyly handing me the laptop, I grabbed it quickly without even looking if it was the right one or opening to see if it still works. I again asked how she got the laptop. She told me that she bought the laptop from someone on the street and that she paid for it in cash. I was surprised to hear that and thought she was making up stories to cover up for the thief maybe a gang, she didn’t seem like a affluent person carrying $200 in cash and paying for it on the road without even finding out if the laptop ever worked. She was wearing a scrub, so inquisitively I asked her where she worked she said that she is an assistant nurse in a hospital. We then parted our own ways. I just ran off from the scene to the nearest shop.

I immediately went to a café to check if it was working, everything was intact accept all my old data had been deleted, well I was content that at least I had my laptop on me. I came home all happy and triumphed as if I had won a long lost battle.

I have been fortunate throughout in a lot of situations where I have lost possessions and have got them back as twice I got my lost cell phone back, once I lost my wallet full of credit cards and cash and I got it after almost three weeks, with everything intact but that’s another story.

The person who stole my laptop is still a mystery, maybe the burglar was known to her and she was trying to cover up for him. She had no idea about my microwave oven. I still wonder why police refused bluntly to help me. I had already filed a report for my stolen laptop with Dell, they actually encourage you to call if you loose any items as with asset tags its easy to locate the laptops but she was communicating with Dell constantly. When the detective had the hand prints and the name and telephone no. he could have easily done a investigation and catch the real culprit, but I guess they were lazy. This is the best Law and order department and the most reputed brand of the world. I still can't figure these out.

The chances of getting back my laptop were almost one in a million, and I still think this was an impossible situation, rather a miracle. I will call it destiny or luck or may be a desire of hope. This incident made me realize that one should never give up and always keep trying. This also taught me to deal with a tough situation. It has been three years since this incident took place but being my real true story, it is still fresh in my THOUGHTS and whenever I think of this incident I always believe that “When you really want something the whole universe conspires to help you achieve it”

A true Incident

In this long and tough journey called life, several interesting good or bad incidents happen some of which you will always cherish and remember others you would just like to forget like a bad dream. There are also some incidences which makes you believe in hope, optimism and destiny. A very interesting but unbelievable event happened with me where there was loss, grief, belief, hope, poise, quick thinking, prowess, joy and triumph.

Since the time I had known that it exists, I had always admired its sleekness, the usability, the convenience it provided and always wanted to posses one, but somehow never had a chance to own it, until my graduation. I was very happy to get it; it was a graduation gift from my parents and was a very prized possession for me. It was my first laptop I had ever owned. I could do anything with it anywhere. I felt free; it had made my life easier. I was obsessed with my laptop so much that I took it everywhere I went. Suddenly everything seemed to be working in my favor and I got my first job, out of college and since I started earning I moved to my own rented studio apartment.

It had just been ten days since I moved into my new place and I was still trying to unpack and settle-in. Life was going easy but busy. I was in a regular nine to five job. I always left early and came back tired as I was new and getting used to the workplace.

It was like any other bright morning and I left early to get to work. It was a Friday, I was exhausted with a whole week of grilling activities and just wanted to get over, go back home to relax and spend some time with friends over the weekend. As I finished my work my tired body hurried straight to my apartment. As I reached my apartment building I rushed through the door into my studio. I went in and changed from my office gear, relaxed a bit and ate a left over meal from previous night. I was happy to be back home. I was so tired that as soon as I lied on my bed I drifted off to sleep. Suddenly, I woke up with a thud sound, it was my neighbors playing their heavy metal, I cursed them and tried to get back to sleep but couldn’t so I decided to do something else.

I thought of checking my emails and looked around for my laptop. I realized my laptop wasn’t at the place I last left it. I looked around patiently, but couldn't find it anywhere. I had no clue how my laptop just disappeared. I thought my friend who I had left a spare key to my apartment, might have taken it. As I was calling him I noticed another thing, the microwave oven over my kitchen counter was missing too. Now I got worried and looked around for other things, everything else my clothes, shoes even my new vacuum cleaner were untouched and intact at the right place. I checked each and every window and door if there was a break-in through any of those, but to my surprise there wasn’t even a scratch I couldn’t figure out how someone could get into the apartment and take all that heavy stuff without breaking into those doors or windows. Even, some haunted stories started churning into my confused mind.

I decided to call the police immediately and file a report of stolen goods. The funny thing was since I had moved in ten days back and my renters insurance was supposed to start two days later, I couldn’t even claim anything for insurance. The cop arrived, did some routine checks, asked me few questions and made a report and as he was examining my apartment I noticed some hand impressions of grease on my kitchen counter table. I started assuming that this could be some maintenance guy, as being a rented apartment I had requested my landlord to repair the dysfunctional dishwasher. It was almost midnight and I wanted to sleep but couldn't, it was such a dreadful night.

Next morning first thing I called the landlord, they didn’t care much and it felt like that burglary is a routine word to them and it happens regularly in that place. Well, nobody had still figured out how the burglar got in without breaking anything, as I was at my apartment front door I saw a small slit between the door panel and the door frame, if you put a thin knife or object between that and push it hard against the lock you could easily open the door. Now I figured how it all must have happened, the burglar opened the door got in, took the stuff out, pushed the door lock back in place and closed the door behind him all this in the middle of the day on a very busy street. I immediately called a locksmith to fix my door and change locks.

Gradualy,things started to settle down and there were no more break-ins or burglaries. Meanwhile I bought a new laptop and a microwave. I moved on with a normal life as days, weeks and months passed and this dreadful true incident started fading of my THOUGHTS, but sometimes I used to remember that laptop as it was one of my most prized possessions, I had owned......to be continued

Well, this story isn’t over yet there is more interesting truth to it, I will publish the rest of it next weekend until then I will let you the reader guess, of what happened next.

Whether the landlord claimed responsibility?

Was it the maintenance guy?

What happened to the police report and did the detective find something?

Was it someone I knew, who knew about all my stuff and location?

Did I get the laptop and my microwave back?

Or just nothing happened and I moved on….

Believe me the story gets more interesting from here

An Incident which made me think

There are a few incidents in your life which seem like normal and you let them pass on with your everyday busy life, but if you give them a thought they leave a lasting impression and could change the way you perceive things.

Something like that happened with me a few days back. It was a hot summer busy day I was going to volunteer at a community hospital to help poor patients. I was infuriated because of the heat, so I thought of getting myself some energy drink, I looked around and saw a Jamba Juice shop a few feet away. I licked my lips and swamped over the NYC crowd to get to the other side of the road. I was acting as if I just came from a desert.

Just as I was about to order, a middle aged man came to me begging for some money. This was the last thing I wanted and I looked over to the other side completely ignoring his scruffy appearance and torn clothes. I was least interested in this person at this time and moved forward to order my sunshine delight.

What I saw next completely took me by surprise. There was this young teenager who gave his drink to that man without the beggar even asking that young teen for any help. I felt ashamed of myself and thought, what’s the use of me going to volunteer and help a few hundred people when I can’t help this one person. It was too late now and I drank over my guilt with my sunshine delight.

Well, I know it is hard to help each and everyone, but lend a hand when you can and where you can and pride yourself in helping others. Make it a point to do some good deed every day, or make someone smile because that smile will make your life worth living, try! And come back here and share it with others. And if you have a story which left a lasting impression on you or made you think please share it too.

My PACE Story

Last Month I was chosen to write an article about my self in my University's Alumni monthly newsletter " PACE Alumni E-connect"

My Pace Story

Rahul Aran ‟09

When I was a young boy, I wanted to be an airline pilot or navigator so I could travel the world. Coming from a family of healthcare professionals where my father is a cardiologist and my mother is a nutritionist, I have watched the delivery of healthcare very closely and constantly felt that patient care in todays hospital environment goes beyond the clinical aspects of not just treating patients but also giving emphasis to a more holistic experience. Therefore, I decided to pursue a career as a regulator of healthcare policies.

I am passionate about helping people and want to create a foundation of which to build a healthy community. I desire to be a driving force in designing and implementing an efficient and cost effective management solution in the healthcare delivery system.

In my mind, NYC was where I wanted to be to continue developing my knowledge base and skills in healthcare. Also, I believed NYC held many advantages with its rich diverse population and multiple opportunities. Upon my arrival in the city, I immediately started my search for a University that would offer me an advanced degree in healthcare. Only two institutions satisfied my needs, NYU and PACE. In my attempt to gather information from NYU, I got as far as their Admissions Office. Even though NYU is a notable institution, my decision to attend PACE rested on three things: a personal recommendation, an open communication with faculty and a flexible program schedule.

My first contact with Pace was through my friend he suggested that I give Pace a try. I found that there were no barriers between Pace faculty and my inquiries. At the time of my search, Dr. Brian Nickerson was the director of the MPA program at Pace. I truly appreciated the opportunity to speak with him prior to making any decisions.

A few short weeks ago, I received my MPA graduate degree from Pace University. It was a very proud moment for my family. My parents flew in from far east and other family members who live in New Jersey attended.

I have held several jobs from an analyst to a researcher with both large and small companies. Each job experience has enriched my network of professional and personal contacts. I am thankful for the innumerable support and opportunities both at the academic and professional levels received at Pace University. I look forward to a lifelong connection with my alma mater. If you are interested in discussing healthcare policies, visit my blog at www.kingcorp.blogspot.com

Remembering 9/11

9/11, a day which will never be forgotten. A day which bought the World's most developed country and superpower on it's knees for a moment. A day which will be remembered by many lovers, wives, sons, husbands and mothers who lost their loved ones. 9/11 will be remembered as a day when many firefighters, volunteers, policemen and United 93 hero's sacrificed their lives for strangers.
This day also holds a very special significance in my life. This was my first day in United States of America. This is the day I will never forget for the rest of my life. I will always remember, what I and people around me had gone through. I can never forget this day as it changed the world around me forever. Although it has been seven long years, the scenes of 9/11 are still fresh in my mind as if it was just yesterday. The day still sends chills down my spine. The horrifying scenes of smoke and bodies still make me depressed.Whenever I look back and remember 9/11 I tremble remembering those images I had witnessed and the world around me which changed forever. And this was reality and not the "land of dreams" making 9/11 the first day and the worst day in US and the most memorable day ever in my life.

Phelpsomania

Phelps needs no introduction.He is not only the greatest swimmer but the greatest Olympians of all times. His winning streak of eight gold medals was a treat to watch and got me hooked to the TV set no matter what. He not only won all of his races but broke world records ex pet in 100m butterfly, his best event where he broke the Olympic record, but still he was unstoppable.
Irony is that he was diagnosed with ADHD at an early age and that's when he started swimming and learned to stay focus.His motto for the Olympics was eat, sleep and race. One can only achieve such a fate if they stay focused on their goal and nobody can even think that he had ADHD. I hope he continues in the same style in 2012 but still it's too early to predict. For now lets enjoy the Olympics 2008

61st India Day Parade NYC

The Indian American community celebrated India’s 61st Independence Day with official flag hoistings at the Indian Consulate, cultural meets and a grand parade in Manhattan, New York.At the India Day parade in Manhattan, which is the largest parade held outside India, thousands of people lined up across the street and waved Indian flags.Deepika Padukone was the Grand Marshal of the parade, which began at 1:30 p.m. from the 41st street on Madison Avenue.There were more than 10,000 Indians gathered for the parade. It was like a herd of people bumping into each other. There was lot of Indian food and promotional stalls from various businesses targeting the Indian community.
It was a day to show your support for the motherland but to a lot of people it was just another fair where they could eat some Indian food ( which was of the lowest grade).
I was in charge of one of the stalls to distribute some promotional materials for a cable channel. I was thrilled to be a part of such a celebration and to meet fellow Indians. Well, it turned out to be a nightmare for me and some of my friends. I believe that we all are ambassadors of our country and we represent India.We at our stall were giving out free stuff as a goodwill gesture and the trouble started their, the crowd simply flocked and jumped on us just to get some free stuff. The crowd was like a bunch of hooligans. It was sheer madness all around. There was no respect or discipline i could hear people cursing and howling like wolves. Even the educated people were misbehaving. The way they were acting could leave a very bad image of India and loosing the respect Indian community is credited for as Indians are considered to be the most educated and well mannered community and also one of the highest earning minority group in America. I was upset to see such a picture being displayed by those people and wondered "mera baharat kahan"

Amazing Shawn

Shawn Johnson is an amazing gymnast. Although she is second to Nastia but her charisma, her sportsmen spirit and her amazing acrobatics styles put her at the top.You could always see her smiling. Outside the floor she is just a normal sixteen year old kid but when she is competing she is like a tigress. Unlike most elite gymnasts who train approximately 40 hours a week and have private tutors, Johnson trains 20-25 hours a week and attends a public high school where she is currently on the “A” Honor Roll and takes part in numerous extra-curricular activities. A well all rounder. She believes her parents as her greatest fans and why nit they mortgaged their house twice just to help Shawn live her dreams and her dedication paid off with one gold and three silver. Simply amazing!

SHAWN JOHNSON