What's this...

A wrestling show ;). All I can say is that it reminded me of junior school days when I used to play WWF cards with friends in school bus. Bret Heart Hitman, Shawn Michael, Yoo Ko Zuna, 123 Kid, Undertaker are some of the names that I can remember.

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City of Bath

I went to Bath in November, 2009 with an extremely special person in my life. Thought of posting some pics while I was thinking of the fun we had :)

Roman Bath Spa- As the name suggests!

The Royal Crescent - The architecture of this building looks impossible and is a photographer's delight. I took several pics and each pic had a different dimension to it, no wonder it's one of the most desired address in UK.

The Bath Abbey - you can't ignore 'The Abbey' when you are in Bath.

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Beware of me on roads now :D ;) :):):):)

Read the following chat for some information on how to get driving licence. These are two people sharing their experiences about UK and UAE.



JIT: Hi
me: Hey
JIT: why beware of u... i don't understand
7:15 PM me: Got license to drive in uk :D
7:16 PM JIT: wooooooooooooh ... great I too got license .. to drive in UAE..
and it's been more than two month now im on the road
me: Its damn difficult to get one here
7:17 PM JIT: even i can drive in UK with this licence
me: I was driving with indian one till now
JIT: same here.. i got it on my fifth attempt...hmmmm
me: I got it in one go
JIT: indian is valid there....lucky
7:18 PM me: Yeah only for one yr
JIT: k
me: Uk license is valid everywhere
JIT: dubai license is valid in 53 countries
me: Ok
JIT: yeah i know...lot of English guys get license here just showing a UK one... and v bloody .. f***** Indians are treated like slaves... u have to go through a long process
me: That's coz nobody follows rules there
7:21 PM JIT: true...true
me: Does it cost big money to get license in uae
JIT: first get admission in the driving school and it takes ages to get ur turn and then parking test this test that test and finally road test which is torture....yeah... I almost shell out Dhs 6k
7:23 PM after getting a license life is now pretty better...
me: How much is that in indian money
JIT: othewise it was very painful....may be around 80,000
7:24 PM me: hahaha
JIT: in that money i could got 100 license in india without going anywhere
me: That's a relief coz I thought I m the only indian going thru this torture
JIT: ha ha ha ha
7:25 PM me: I paid £300 approx
JIT: there are lots here.. going through this
ha ha ha
me: About 25000 rupees
7:26 PM JIT: still u have spend less than what I paid and it took 8 months
me: God...Urs was more difficult for sure
JIT: so which car u driving now...
7:27 PM me: Vw polo
JIT: hmmmm...i got civic basic....with cruise
me: Waah....Auto or manual?
7:31 PM JIT: Auto... I have license to drive only auto
me: Yeah mine is manual, I can drive both
7:34 PM JIT: Had I applied for manual ... I don't think i could gave got the license.. I still might be struggling
me: Y
7:36 PM JIT: It's a strange world... on my first attempt — road test — the guy who was the first to start almost drove it on pavement and he got license i got failed ...
7:38 PM me: I can very well imagine. Here its all about getting a good instructor and confidence.
I changed 3 instructors
7:40 PM JIT: Here it's a basically a business
i changed two instructors, it was so frustrating...
me: Its the same in uk, big business for brits
X-----X-----X


The fact of the matter is that I know why we struggle to get driving license outside our own country. Firstly, it is very expensive taking lessons and then the test fees. One pays and pays unless you actually pass the tests. The only hard work I did in India was to sign and get a photograph done, thanks to the connections my driving school had. I did not take theory or a practical test. Funniest bit back home was the last fifteen minutes of my lessons, where the instructor thought of enlightening me about reverse gear :D

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Are there only 3 idiots?

My response is that I am glad there are only three and that too limited to the film. '3 idiots' has all the reasons to pull crowds as it is directed by somebody who gave Gandhi a new life in 21st century and concepts like 'jadoo ki jhappi' started making sense. Aamir Khan's acting is clearly the icing on cake. I waited excitedly to watch this film and went to watch it on it's release, despite minus temperatures . I have to admit that the film was entertaining and I walked out of the theatre with an encouraging mood. It is a feel good film except for certain sequences which are difficult to forget ( digest) like delivering a baby on TT table with tools like vacuum cleaner and on the top of that a newly born baby actively responds to the concept of 'Aal is well'. ?????????

I do have a strong opinion about India's education system and believe firmly that it needs to be reformed urgently. Although after watching the film I realised that it was not dealt with at all. This film did not show institutes with outstanding reputation in fine light. The only message it delivers is that well accomplished teachers are frustrated and do not treat students right. However this is not reality, my own experience with teachers has been mixed but some of the teachers I have met really deserve the best.

Rancho (central character) can afford to sing 'Aal is well' as he is genius and blessed with intelligence, but the reality is that 'Aal is not well' with most of us. It is impossible for me to imagine all photographers, actors and journalists around me and no doctors and engineers. My best friend is a doctor and I know the struggle and hard work it takes to become one. Engineers go through bad ragging but do end up making flyovers and buildings for us. India does need people who are highly educated to bring changes and regrettably everybody has to grill through the existing education system to rise and grow, if not, we will all be idiots.

Time for resolutions...

Its time for resolutions and here is the list...

1. Car pooling
2. Connecting with people and don't get me wrong. I am not talking about Nokia's tag line but the connection with fellow human beings which are more important than machines.
3. Writing letters to close ones as they are better than emails...can't be deleted by just a click.
4. Save water and electricity
5. Last and most important...stop judging people and, love and respect them for what they are.

If you (reader) are thinking that the above list is coming from a modern age Saint then you should think again as my resolution is to encourage people to follow the above list ;)

At personal level I am glad 2009 is gone and gone forever.

Happy New Year 2010 to all :)

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