Happy New Year

As 2009 draws to an end and 2010 begins, here's wishing everyone a very Happy and Prosperous New Year where everyone's wishes come true...cheers

A Rainy Day in New York

This Saturday, I was going to New York and was planning to meet Tanay, Tanu, Teju, Sriram and Kashmira there. So we were meeting after a long time. And of course, we were planning to do some sight seeing. But as is the usual case when I am in New York, the heavens opened up. So in this cold and damp weather when the best thing to do is to eat Kanda Bhaji and garam chai, we still decided to brave our souls and venture out. Over the next few hours, we ended up visiting Rockefeller Center, Apple Store near Central Park and Times Square.

The weather was bad, but the spirit and the fun of the occasion just more than made it up. It was really fun chatting at the coffee shop near Rockefeller Center as well as the McDonalds at Times Square. And so a wet and horrible day in New York was made wonderful by my cousins. I really had a great time. Thanks a lot...

The snow storm

I returned back from Badminton on Friday and got to know about the snow storm that was supposed to happen on Saturday. Immediately checked weather.com and found the snow storm heading towards South East Pennsylvania. There was prediction of 4-6 inches of snow on Saturday. Well, just stocked up the larder for Saturday and went of to sleep. Got up on Saturday morning to see a nice layer of white snow everywhere. And suddenly, it just started snowing cats and dogs (well, not really cats and dogs, but almost). Went to the front door and was just lost in the amazing spread of snow everywhere. Went out and walked in foot deep snow. It was really amazing to see the foot go deep down into the fresh snow. You actually feel you are walking on desert sand, such soft is the fresh snow. We put a coffee cup onto the snow and it just went six inches inside. Saw the emergency vehicles trying to keep the roads clear of snow for safe driving conditions. But when the snow falls at the rate of 3 inches an hour, its very difficult to make the roads snow free. Finally, the snow fall stopped on Sunday morning. By this time, it had snowed almost two feet. Snow everywhere was a sight to cherish. It literally felt as if the clouds were resting on the earth's surface, such was the mesmerizing effect of it.

Best Indian Sporting moments in the last two decades

I was seeing the special episode commemorating 21 years of NDTV. The show was called Best Indian sporting moments since 1988. Thinking about it got me started on compiling the best Indian sporting moments in the last two decades. So here is my list.
1. Abhinav Bindra winning India's first individual gold medal at Beijing Olympics in 2008.
2. Indian hockey team winning the gold medal at the Asian Games in 1998 after 32 years.
3. Vishwanathan Anand winning the World Championship in chess.
4. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi reaching the finals at all the grandslams in 1999 winning the French Open and Wimbledon.
5. Sachin single handedly winning the Coca-cola Cup at Sharjah in 1998 beating the Aussies with Operation Twin centuries.
6. India coming back from the dead to win the Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in 2001.
7. Saina Nehwal reaching the top 10 in womens badminton.
8. Rajyavardhan Rathore winning the silver medal at Athens in 2004.
9. Anju Bobby George winning the first and so far only medal at World Athletics Championships in 2003.
10. India qualifying for 2011 Asian Cup in football.