College life.. those were the days!

Thanks to my classmate Swaroop, for I wrote this after he wrote such a post in his blog :)

I was 15. Things weren't going as planned back then. I wanted to get into an IIT. But I had to struggle to complete my +2 syllabus in the first place. Without proper instruction at college, it wasn't easy to get through the exams. Despite the odds, I gave IIT-JEE my best shot. And prayed for the best to happen. It did happen after all.. I got a very good rank in the preliminary phase of the entrance exam. But I knew very well that the mains won't be so easy. I got through the +2 exams, and got ready for the mains of IIT-JEE. I put everything I had into it, but couldn't make it in the end.

"No problem", said my Dad, because we still had EAMCET. I know I can manage questions from the intermediate paper, but EAMCET? The very name of the exam sounded strange to me. 2 years of intermediate education, and I never bothered about the pace at which I answered. What seemed irrelevant to me for 2 years suddenly became utterly important. I practiced for a couple of weeks before the exam, guess it wasn't enough. I didn't have the time to recheck my answers during the exam, the invigilator snatched the papers on the dot. So I was back home, waiting for the key to be published in the daily magazine.

The key was one of the greatest disappointments in my life. According to the key, I scored so low, that I couldn't even think of getting into a good college. I believed that the key wasn't accurate, but the publishers believed that it was. So I kept my fingers crossed for the result to be announced. And in the end.. I was right. I scored way above what the key said I would. And I got into one of the most prestigious (yup, i mean it) universities in the country - Andhra University. Computers fascinated me ever since I was a kid. I always dreamed of becoming a computer expert myself. And so, Computer Science Engineering it was...

The first week wasn't a lot of fun on the campus. We had to get used to the college atmosphere, to the class, and to the very thought that we were no longer kids from junior college. While I was busy with these 3 things, I forgot one of the most important things on campus - SENIORS! I didn't expect a ragging-free education at college, but the first day of ragging didn't go the way I thought it would.

I was greeted by a senior (Civil Engg.) just outside our classroom with the most common question - "Are you a fresher?" When I said yes, that was the beginning. I was literally dragged into the classroom where most of the seniors were already doing the honors. I was interviewed about the trivial rules for freshers in college and I understood that I didn't know any of them. They teased me for a while, and when few guys started abusing me, I started crying! :( They continued the process till it was time for them to leave. And when they left, they took my pen and my watch. That watch was a b'day present from my dad!! How dare he?? I decided to complain to the principal about the whole thing, and I did complain.

The next day, my Dad and I met the principal, told the whole story with such intensity as if I was the only one ragged; as if mine was the worst case of ragging. We didn't give a written complaint though, even the principal discouraged it. The next day, seniors handed over my watch through my classmate. When I was leaving home that day, a senior met me on the way. I expected another round of ragging, but he was calm. He asked me why I complained to the principal, and I started the whole story over again. He talked to me for an hour and enlightened me about the senior-junior relationship. I wasn't really impressed by the talk, but I found this guy to be very friendly. From the next day, whenever seniors came, I was no longer afraid of them, I accepted it as a part of college life, I realized that I'm not something special compared to my classmates.

Time passed quicker than I thought. It was exam time, and I did fairly well. I was never the topper of the class though. 2nd year was a little fun. Seniors turned friendly and very helpful. I made some good friends and whenever we had the chance, we had a good time together. (I still wonder how such a thing ever happened, but I always made new friends in class every academic year, the introvert in me is to be blamed).

And that's when tragedy began in my life. My performance plunged from the 2nd semester of 2nd year. Everyone has personal problems, but I was terribly concerned about my own, which damaged my performance. I believed that 2-2 was my worst semester. So I was under the impression that I would be getting better by every semester, but I was getting worse. Anyway life is to enjoy to the fullest extent. I acquired quite a number of skills during my 3rd year, some of which I couldn't retain till today. I passed a lot of time with TT, cricket, video games, chatting etc. I knew campus interviews will be in the first few weeks of 4-1, so I made sure my skill set was in good shape by that time. A paper presentation, a programming contest and a puzzle contest came to the rescue. And by then, I turned into an ambivert.

I was selected for 2 good companies, my dummy project was going on well, so I stopped caring about the semester subjects for a while. This proved to me that one cannot relax at any moment in a professional course. I hit rock bottom in 4-1, with a mere 69.42% !! When I looked back, I saw a graph that dropped right from 2-2 to 4-1, without even a single rise in it. Now I wanted to set things right, but it was too late. I had only 1 semester left, my last chance. How would I do great in this semester when I spoiled the previous 4 semesters? I grew lazy by then, but managed a 77.5% in the final semester. That brought my aggregate to a not-bad 75%. My project (oops! sorry gang, it was our project :) ) was also a good one (it was at least a fresh idea). That way, I completed my precious B.Tech.

Those were the days! Just like I've read somewhere, it is probably the last place in your life where you have some truly unadulterated fun. I believe every one of our class has experiences which won't fit into a single post.



Even to this day, whenever I go to Vizag, no matter how busy my schedule is, I visit our college once. I just walk around in the campus. The benches on which we sat chit chatting for hours, the ground where we played tirelessly, the roads we walked just to pass time, the classrooms, the labs ... yes, they all seem like heaven to me now. Andhra University is one place which shaped me into a person I was going to be for the rest of my life. These are the memories I will carry in my heart till my last breath. If only I had a chance to get those days back.. hmmm.. what more could anyone ask for?

My first film!!

When did it all begin?

Long long ago
But not so long ago
Cannot say how long ago

I work for CA.. Computer Associates. Our office was in a campus called Vanenburg IT park, Madhapur. There were a dozen other offices sharing the same premises. CA started constructing its own campus at Gachibowli a few of years ago. I never knew at what pace the construction activity took place, but I should say there was a little delay in completion. And finally in September 2007, we decided to move in.

The HR guys conducted a few competitions on the occasion of the move, making a short film was one of them. The short film had to be based on the campus move. At first our team mates (buddies for short) and team lead ("lead" for short) decided to make a short film on the improved life @ workplace we as a team would have upon moving to our own premises. But later that idea was dropped, partly because we were either too lazy to get started or too busy with business; partly because another group had already started filming with a similar concept. We guys were so busy with our ongoing projects, that we hardly noticed the progress our peer film makers were making. And when the time came, we moved to the new campus. The management decided to move a few teams every weekend over the next few weeks, ours was among the first teams to be shifted.

I hit on an idea for short film on a fine day, which was approved by my buddies & lead. All we needed is a plan to shoot the film. It had nothing to do with the differences between old and new campuses, but centered around a experiences of a single employee during the campus move. I thought it was the best way to stick to the theme suggested by the judges. So, will me make it?

Of course, YES! We got a camera from our manager, and we started making plans. We knew that we were late, the deadline for short film submission was fast approaching. Now I started hunting for some acting talent. I felt like Spielberg! I was pretty sure that I would finalize the "cast & crew" for our film. It wasn't until I tried that I realized that I was terribly mistaken. People had all sorts of creative reasons to reject my offer. Some were camera shy, some were busy with projects and some were busy acting in the other short films! The Spielberg in me vanished into thin air. I managed to grab a handful of people to start off.

We had to get back to our old campus at Madhapur to shoot a major portion of the film. Transport courtesy: Our lead. We went there that afternoon and had to go back to campus by evening.. had some important work to do. I knew I had little time. And very little battery power for the camera. 3 days of sporadic planning couldn't remind us of verifying the status of the battery. I was low on resources, but high on hopes.

Every time I started a shot, the camera beeped violently, indicating low battery. For every 30 seconds of filming, I had to recharge the battery for a while. What's more interesting is the fact that I don't have a script ready in my hands. I had to plan for shots on the spot. I feared that I might make mistakes bigger than anticipated. I quickly shot scenes which I felt would be apt for the context.

That wasn't the end of all problems. I wanted an empty floor for the flashback of the film. A few teams were still working on that floor. So I had to shoot without any of them getting in the frame. I was director Akira Kurosawa for a while, using multiple filming techniques to get better footage. Also we had to move hardware in and out of cubicles to bring the effect of a transition. We improvised by getting props from our friends on the floor. But I wasn't satisfied yet. How do I establish the fact that the entire floor was empty?

I was forced to pack up earlier than I planned. We went back to campus, I began editing the raw footage. And by around 11:30 pm, I was back at the old campus with the camera. With different light settings, I guess I got the right output in the end. One guy was still on the floor, but I wasn't really bothered about him. It was a spacious floor after all.

I wanted to have another day for shooting, but people were busy with project work. Prioritizing things, I couldn't find my short film ahead of many other tasks. I had to adjust with whatever little footage I had. I used trial version of a video editing software, which was good enough for my movie. I shot the last couple of minutes in the film at our new campus. The security at campus were alarmed by the sight of a video camera capturing the surroundings. We toldthem that it was part of a competition within the campus & multiple films were already being shot within the premises.

Things started getting tougher when we hit the road for a scene. We were stalled by the traffic police because I forgot to bring my driving license. As if I hadn't had enough by then, the CM was visiting Gachibowli stadium for an international sports event and the police were worried about my camera! It took 30 minutes of talking to convince the inspector that we were innocent
and get out of there.

Everything was set by then. I believed whatever little footage I had should be enough. I knew I could make use of the stock of pictures I have on my machine. But I was really bothered about the dubbing part. I planned to have the entire film as a montage with a voice over. But it wasn't easy to record voices at office without disturbance. So I had to compromise with subtitles instead of voices. And I really hunted like crazy for background score. I wasn't against the idea of using music from hit movies, but at least part of the score should be unrelated to the cinema world. Out of hundreds of midi sequences I've heard on the web, I finally selected a few.

The editing took longer than I expected. I wasn't surprised. After all, an amateur film maker like me couldn't have done better than that. Staying back in office late nights for a few days.. I managed to finish off the film. It wasn't a masterpiece, but it did look fresh and nice. We submitted the short film to our judges and waited for the results. And as expected by the most of us, the short film regarding Improved life @ CA got the prize. They're short film had a touch of humor, mine had a touch of emotion.

And after the long journey through my short film making, I realize one thing. It is not just the actors on screen that should get credit. It is the people behind the screens who should be praised. When a movie becomes a hit, fans attribute the success entirely to the hero of the movie. It is OK to appreciate an actor for his contribution, but it is the on-the-set and post production staff's effort that make it a hit movie. Without them, no hero would ever become a hero...

Jumbled thoughts!

U r truly alone when u r not happy with urself.

LIFE IS A COMPROMISE
This is what people say when they r tired. You might not win, but never give up without putting up a decent fight.

WINNING IS NOT IMPORTANT IN LIFE, IT IS THE ONLY THING!
But there are a few things that are more real than winning. When u lose to something, don't curse yourself, be grateful that it has taught you one more lesson, that you should never give up.. You are not a hero when you win, but you are one when you can face a situation even when all the odds are stacked against you.

There might be a million reasons why you don't deserve to live, but one reason is sufficient to keep you alive.. Live life to the fullest extent, u never know when u r going to get the call to return. And always do ur best...

Even when you are pinned down, fight back.. you might not win, but you will eventually realize the fruits of perseverance...

LOVE
love is not an action, love is not something u give to someone. it is a feeling u experience, just as any other emotion like happiness or sorrow. u can make it enjoyable, u can make it painful, it is all ur free-will. there is nothing called "love-failure" in this world. love never fails, if a person thinks he has a "love-failure", it is he/she who failed to enjoy its beauty...

Easy money!

You think this is one more page where someone can help you become rich without working? Darn, things really get to peoples' heads at times. Where do you think you are? Not every website/blog is here to give illusions :)

Recently I've come across many websites with flashing banners, that promise to make you a millionare without much effort. I've seen many advertisements in a countless websites, each promising a different deal. But these advertisements seem to have evolved over time.

Work from home - earn Rs.2000/month
Work 3-4 hours a day - earn Rs.4000/month
Work 1 hour a day - earn Rs.7500/month
Work 1 hour per week - earn Rs. 20,000/month

But the big daddy of all these is...

Earn Rs.75,000 to 1,50,000 without working!!!

I was shocked to see such a huge salary offered without work. Who wouldn't like the idea of sitting idle all day and getting paid? As curious as I am, I ventured out to know what it is. And I've found what I thought I'd find.

I was greeted by a flash animation on the home page of that website. It has a beautiful movie that drives home their idea that "u can't enjoy life if you keep working at your job. So join us and make money without working, so that you can enjoy your life to the fullest extent". Sounded interesting. I proceeded to the website's next page, and what did I find here? Another animation, no different than the first. Oh yes, the colors and the background music did change a little bit, but it was the same message again - "earn without working". So I didn't waste any time and clicked the NEXT button. This time I found just what I've expected - another animation. Same crap. This was getting old. I had to skip another 4 animations before the website showed some pity on me and started showing something that made sense. For simplicity, let us call that business "MEOW".

The basic idea of MEOW was to sell their CDs full of e-books, which is software according to MEOW. MEOW CDs as a package cost $997. CDs which would teach you all the secrets of business and let you surpass Bill Gates in it. Now let us say I always wanted to get richer than Bill Gates. So, I buy those CDs from a MEOW distributor. That makes me his referral. Now, if I were to make money, I've got to sell those CDs to someone. But my first 2 customers would become my predecesor's referrals, not mine. That would mean I'll start getting my paycheck from my 3rd sale. But how can I make people buy MEOW CDs from me? No problemo, MEOW offers me a helping hand. It makes all the sales for me, with a commission of $200 per sale. Effectively, I need not move a finger and I keep getting money every month. Sounds interesting, isn't it?

But mind you, this is one big mirage. There's no money coming out of nowhere. It is your money going to the one who referred you and your referral's money coming to you. Hence, money flows upward in the pyramid of sales. The bottom row in the sales network gets no commission. MEOW is merely blinding you from the truth that there can never be an infinite potential for their product.

Same is the case with every multilevel marketing company. Why would anyone buy a product? We buy something because we want to use it. If I don't use a product, there's no way I'm going to buy it. Most of the multilevel marketing products are useless or outclassed by the leading manufacturers of the same stuff. Then how does a company make a customer buy its product? Simple, go to the customer and tell him/her, "Buy my product, subsequently you can make a lot of money selling the same product". Customers who fall for this become multilevel marketers.

I remember the days when my father was part of a multilevel marketing firm. He wasn't an active partner, he wasn't really interested in it, but he had to buy some stupid products because his colleague was pressing it on him everyday. He wanted to make money by selling some products to my father, but he would say "Join us and earn a lot of money!". This particular company also manufactured a lot of foods which they claimed were nutritious. My grandmother was having a few health problems (very few for her age, I'd say). Then one day this marketer lady showed up and started talking to my grandma about her new nutri powder stuff. All she said was "Amma, I've used this powder and it changed my life. I recovered from a bed-ridden state to the energitic person in front of you now. Have faith in me, take this powder and it'll take you 40 years back in time". Both she and my grandma knew very well that this time travel theory wouldn't work. But that's what marketing is all about! What that lady didn't know was that my grandma knows medicine better than half of the doctors in town. Grandma was wise enough to say "Sure, I'll use that powder" and send her away.

All these businesses work on one principle. Show the customer wonderland before they get in. After they get in, they'll see the reality for themselves. But then it would be too late and there would be nothing he/she could do. The customer already would've spent a great deal, hence left with no choice but to get that money back by selling the same product to others. This chain goes on and on, until either someone throws enough light on the business to keep people out of it.. or till the government intervenes and smacks down such illegal business models.

I almost forgot, I got a message in orkut, some guy wants to show me how to
* earn Rs.2000 to 1,50,000 per week
* educate myself and my family sitting at home
* become a leader
* show what I am to the world

I've sent him a message asking for more details. What if this guy is not a multilevel marketer and has some ultimate concept that can change my life forever? Oh man, I don't wanna take any chances.. waiting for his reply :)

The interview

It was the year 2006 (last year, isn't it?). I was still very much new to my job, trying to get accustomed to the various protocols at office. Most of my friends were already placed in various multi-national companies, with handsome compensation packages. Few of them were still hunting for jobs, and almost all of them were trying to get a job in Hyderabad.

One of my friends wanted to attend a walk-in interview at some software company(call it Babloo Inc. for simplicity), and as it was on a weekend, I thought accompanying my friend would be a good idea, afterall I had nothing to do on that day. I've visited the website of Babloo last week, so by this point of time, I got the silly idea of taking the test myself. Not because I wanted to jump to Babloo if I get selected, but sitting idle for hours together didn't seem to be a good passtime. So we took off that morning (Babloo was far from the places we lived), hoping that it would turn out to be a good day for both of us. We were wrong.

It was a hot and sunny day, it was terrible driving under the scorching sun. What makes it worse is the the city traffic; it is the toughest thing to deal with. It is like you are one among a hundred rats running in a maze. I don't remember when I made a journey without abrupt braking on these roads. And this day was no different. I almost hit a few of cars, narrowly missed a couple of pedestrians (these are the ones walking in the middle of the road), before safely arriving at our destination.

Obviously, we were late by half an hour. But Babloo Inc. hasn't started it's business day yet. We had to wait outside the office for a good one and a half hour, before being let in. We waited near the reception, along with dozens of others, waiting eagerly for the 1st part of the selection process - the written test. But the Babloo staff had something in store for us. It was an introduction kind of thing for those who wanted to join Babloo. I would've called it orientation, but only if I hadn't attented it.

We were led into a small lab, which reminded me of the small internet cafe at the end of our street. We were told that we would be taking the written exam right there after the introduction. I thought it would be a computer adaptive test, but someone told me that it was a paper based test. After 10 minutes, a young lady (a few years our senior, I guess) entered the lab. She started talking about what Babloo is all about, Babloo's mission statement, Babloo's history, blah blah blah. I was wondering if she would ever tell us what their requirement was. She then put out the most important fact in front of us.

"There will be a written test & an interview, if you clear both, you will be put in a training program at Babloo. For 6 months, Babloo will teach you the latest technologies and real-time industry-standard project-oriented stuff. This will be unlike anything you've ever seen in your life, so tough and so hard, but you have to be committed towards it. After the training, you will be given placement assistance..."

Bingo. So Babloo Inc. is not where the shortlisted guys are going to work. Then why would Babloo train people, only to give them away to other companies? The answer came as I was still thinking, but it was not framed in a way I had anticipated.

"...and since Babloo has to make sure you take this training seriouly, Babloo charges 50,000 INR for every candidate it trains".

Very clever indeed. And why did I expect her to say something as stupid as "You'll have to pay 50,000 bucks as training fee"

She continued.. ".. Even TCS, Wipro make employees sign bonds for thousands of rupees, so it is what almost every other company does"

"Is Babloo really on par with TCS? Moreover, those companies pay back the bond money", I thought. Unfortunately, I said this aloud. The lady gave me an icy stare.

"Of course we are on par with TCS, but we are charging money because we spend lot of resources on each candidate's training"

I wasn't satisfied with that answer. "Babloo might be training people, but so does TCS", I said.

"Babloo is charging money only because the standard of Babloo training is very high".

I didn't ask her if Babloo standards were higher than those set by TCS, because by now I had a feeling that they weren't.

So she went on for another 10 minutes explaining how all their previous employees (or students, to be more precise) got placed in million & billion $ companies. She left the lab saying that she would be back with the question papers for written test. I could say from the look on her face that she didn't like me.

We were expecting her to return, but another girl came into lab, she moved in so quickly that I thought she was in some trouble. Of course, she wasn't in any right then, she was only in a hurry. She greeted everyone with a big smile and introduced herself (why don't we call her suhasini.. she was smiling more than anyone else in that office). Now I recognized her face, she was talking to someone at the reception earlier. But she wasn't wearing any identification tag at the reception, and she was wearing one now.

Suhasini told us that she was from the previous batch and she is part of some good firm now (flashing her tag at us). She talked for 15 minutes - in what she might've believed was an inspiring tone, but it was rather boring.

"Even I was worried about my future before I joined Babloo. I was sitting in this very lab, struggling to become what I am now. So tomorrow, you'll be in my place, and you'll all get great jobs.I guess you are all fresh out of college, and this training will be a great help for you". I was yawning at this point. Everyone was calm, some of them even nervous. Guess the Babloo hype got to their heads and they were worring about the difficulty level of the written test. I've decided to ease their discomfort, so I started a conversation with suhasini(her beautiful smile, remember?) , on everyone's behalf.

"Do you really think Babloo training will help us get jobs? All of us here are not 2006 passouts".

"Oh, that really doesn't matter. Babloo training is the best in the industry, so even a 2005 passout can get a job immediately after Babloo training.. and..."

"What about 2004 passouts?", I interrupted.

"I guess 2004 passouts might have a difficult time because that would mean they were jobless for 2 years"

"I am a 2004 passout, what are my chances?" cried out someone from the last row.

"Um.. uh.. you see, 2004 passout, you say? ok, no problem, Babloo can help you out, the year of passing isn't really important"

I refrained myself from asking if Babloo can help year 2000 passed out freshers. I continued asking suhasini various other questions, and I observed her smile slowly fading away. I heard giggles from the rear of the lab during the conversation. She finally asked me why I was at Babloo that day. I instantaneously made up a story .. "One of my friends joined a company like Babloo, and after training, she was placed in CA. I thought Babloo can get me placed in a similar company".

She gave a wide grin .. "Oh yeah, CA. that's a very good company. You know, if you join Babloo and work really really hard, you can also get into CA".

Great. This girl wants to help me get into the company I am already working for.

She finally said her best-of-luck & goodbye and left the lab, leaving behind a group of guys & girls eager to become Babloo-ians.

In came the first lady (the lady who spoke to us first), with question papers. She announced that we are supposed to answer 20 questions in 20 minutes, and we won't be given extra time. I took one, and I was actually looking forward to taking the test. How hard can such a test be? She made it appear as if it was going to be a tough exam. I have already come to the conclusion that Babloo is trying to make money, so I was expecting an easy paper. But when I looked at the very first question, I was stunned. It was nothing like I've ever seen. The first question itself was a shock for everyone.

If you have Rs.400, and you give your friend 25% of that, how much will you be left with?"


A. Rs. 100

B. Rs. 200

C. Rs. 300

D. Rs. 350


What did I do to deserve this? The remaining questions were no tougher than this. With all effort, I made up my mind to answer atleast 15 incorrectly. I too wanted to have some fun. I was surprised to see that some of the guys were actually happy to see such a paper. God save them.

After the test, we waited outside for the results. I didn't see suhasini at the reception. After 15 minutes, the results were announced. All of us were selected! Now I knew the cutoff for this exam. The cutoff was fifty thousand bucks. I was wondering what questions the interviewers would ask. "What is capital of India?".. or "How many thousands are there in a million?", perhaps.

Once the interviews started, I noticed that each interview wasn't for more than 5 minutes. The others were asked to fill in personal information in a sheet in the meantime. Though it was only 5 minutes, Fun is always fun. I wanted that interview. I always watched funny interviews in movies and I wanted to see it for real. My friend was interviewed first, only to be back in 2 minutes.

"What kind of interview was that? You just walked in and walked out"

"No questions pal, just asked me to consult with my parents and talk to them about paying the cash and joining Babloo"

I no longer wanted that interview. Afterall, what kind of interview was it without questions? We left before I was interviewed. I didn't worry about those people calling me up and asking to attend that so-called interview, because I gave my name as Konidela Siva Sankara Vara Prasad (Mega Star's real name) and phone number as 98480 22338 (Sivamani phone number)

We had lunch at a nearby restaraunt. That day was a funny experience for both of us. To this day I can't forget the expression on one of the girls' face, when she came out of the interview and asked her brother "They want me to pay 50 thousand bucks and join. Can I, brother?". She was literally jumping on her way back in after her brother said YES.

Babloo's head office is in Australia, and they opened their only branch in India in 2005. I scanned the entire website of Babloo the next day, but there was no mention of such a training program in it. Babloo is basically like every other product development company. Then why are the staff here conducting such apparently false training programs? I leave it to your imagination. To this day, Babloo Inc., Hyderabad, India continues its activities unperturbed.

Any Babloo-ians out there?

I haven't written a new post after my cricket article. please bear with my language or punctuation, because this is one post that i want people to read and realize what is going on around the world. or to be more precise, what they are doing in this world. i am not going to rephrase any of my words while typing. time is 5:15 am (yes, i haven't slept all night), but now, i don't think i can either.

in my stupid habit of browsing the web at nights, i came across a news article in some unknown website. god knows why i came to that webpage, but it almost made me scream aloud in anger, all i feared was if i would disturb the people who are sleeping.. my neighbours.

go through this llink yourself, you'll feel more or less the same emotion.

http://www.aina.org/news/20070425181603.htm

i don't know if this article will be available by the time any of u are trying to access this link, so i am posting the content over here.

***************

Mosul, Iraq -- According to the Kurdish website Jebar.info up to 1000 men from the Yezidi Kurdish community of Mosul killed a teenager who's only crime was running away to marry a Muslim man whom she loved and converting to his religion.

For four months the girl had been given shelter by a local Muslim Sheik. It was reported that in the last few days her family persuaded her to return home, convincing her that she had been forgiven by her parents and relatives for her mistake.

In a short mobile video clip which appears to have been taken by locals at seen of the murder, the girl is seen being ambushed on her way home by a group of up to 1000 men who were waiting for her to return; the men killed her in the most brutal way possible, by throwing large stones on her head. The following clips show that while she is alive and crying for help she is taunted and kicked in her stomach until someone finishes her off by throwing a large stone on her face.

Warning: the following videos (RealPlayer) show graphic and disturbing images:

video 1
video 2
video 3
video 4
video 5
video 6

From the clips it appears that the girl was first stripped naked to symbolize that she had dishonored her family and her Yezidi religion. She is lying on the road naked while her smashed face is covered with blood and still breathing.

According to the website and footage from the clip a number of armed local police officers were present who in fact helped the crowd to kill the woman rather than preventing the crime. Sometime later the Iraqi army arrived at the scene and refused anyone entry, including the press.

Killing women for reasons of honor, shame and religion does happens in regions of Kurdistan and Iraq. The above incidents are not uncommon in some of the deeply religious and traditional communities. For long violence against women has been commonly used as a political and religious weapon and as a means of social control.

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yes, i've watched all 6 videos. and what do we have here? a herd of bloody bull-like idiots killing a helpless girl for no reason? oh yeah, there is a reason. "LOVE"

what are these people upto ??? one hell of a community where a person cannot decide whom she can marry. it is the bunch of morons who decide whom she should marry. morons who have absolutely nothing to do with her life. if she gets into any sort of trouble, none of those scoundrels would even show up. everybody wants to lead a peaceful life left undisturbed by the problems of others. but when it comes to a group activity like stoning innocents to death, they are there!! materializing from no where to kill girls like her in a jiffy.

every mythology, every religion asserts that all the people are created by GOD. no darn community ever sprang from the stars and landed on the earth. it is all a convenient form of social evolution, in other words, people trying to satisfy their urge for power. now what's the problem if there ever is a marriage across races??? especially if both girl & boy are very much human??? there's no telling where this evolution would lead to.

Jesus did not save a woman from stoning for no reason. no damn human on this planet is perfect. but an imperfection to this scale is a threat to humanity itself. i know most of the people who u can think of won't stone girls / boys to death. but there are torturers out there, waiting like vultures to grab on to the very first opportunity and humiliate the so called "SINNERS" and drive them crazy. no idiot stranger is going to be so altruistic to take your side at the cost of his own welfare, but these bloody buggers will be standing like wolves just waiting to pounce upon and devour you. remember, if a person has nothing to do with your well-being, then don't let him interfere with your business, don't let him control your destiny, chuck him the heck out of your personal life.

Cricket world cup!!!

time for another bout between the world's most talented cricketing teams. entertainment, excitement, joy, everything put together. the ICC world cup 2007! west indies is definitely a gud venue for such an event. they have the best grounds in the world. but sometimes u wish the boundary line were a little closer(hitting a six is too difficult here!).

india is in the race for the trophy, with other big shots like aussies & south africa. england, srilanka, kiwis, every other team also seems to be in a gud form. with sachin, ganguly, kumble & dravid being the only players with seniority, our team seems to be relatively inexperienced. but we r not playing with a handicap here. we have pathan & zaheer to make the bowling act. probably this is kumble's last ODI series, sachin's last world cup. india must win this world cup.

cricket is a religion in india, cricketers are worshipped here. but we have had bitter experiences in the last few years. people here are too impatient to watch their team lose. they can't digest the fact that there are better people out there playing better than us. as if our team is full of super humans. it is simple. u win the match, people worship u. u lose, people curse u & burn ur effigies. fans are literally mad about winning, because that's what most people define for themselves as entertainment. they enjoy if their team wins, but if their team loses, they simply rule out the entire enjoyment they had for hours, no matter how dramatic the end result is. is cricket really winning in india?

looking at the other nations where cricket is played, their fans really support the players. no matter how many matches they win, fans always stand by their side. even if their team loses a match, they don't call them losers, they wait for a comeback. but here? if india loses a match with poor performance, they say india is the worst team. and if india loses despite the heroic efforts of a single player, critics target that single hero and make him a selfish villian.

u r right, i am talking about the maestro, sachin tendulkar. people always count on him. if he hits a half century, they expect him to hit a ton. if he does a ton, they expect even more. what do they want? should sachin score the entire target for the team? when will they realize that cricket is a team game? it is not just the ton hitter who matters, even the tail ender who scores 1 run matters, coz that 1 run makes the difference between winning & losing. so if sachins scores 100 & gets out, why do people blame him for not staying at crease till the end? why do people call him selfish? isn't he adding to the team score? he has even played with critical injuries, that could've lamed the rest of his career. he played even when he suffered the biggest possible loss in anyone's life. his father's death. he sure has done his part. that's what i want people to understand. he is not scoring for his career, because he is already beyond the reach of most of his contemporary players. he is indeed playing for the team. just look at this picture of sachin. i could've chosen a flashy sixer pic, but this one made more sense. this is when he took a wicket, he is really enjoying it. but bowling is not his main act, then why is he so excited? he is excited because he helped the team move closer to victory. this man is not the type who cares about himself, he cares about his team. his nation's pride. sir donald bradman, the don of cricket did not appreciate sachin for his figures or records, but for his talent. it is just the way he plays the game. that's why people all around the world agree upon one thing. if cricket is religion, then sachin is god.

another important person for the team, ganguly. he is the player with the worst fate in the entire ICC list of players. not because he did something wrong, but because someone did not like him.

chapell is definitely not a good coach. i didn't say this because he threw ganguly out of the team, but because of his ways of training. he made the indian cricket team take military kind of training, was it really necessary? he said he was doing this to increase fitness for the players. this is something like giving typing classes for a programmer to make him a better coder. there are other things to improve. how many times have we witnessed the deadly aim of an australian fielder? 9 out of 10 throws will be direct hits, the runners between the wickets don't take the risk when ball is in the hands of the australian fielder.

and why was ganguly dropped? because the board felt he didn't play well. it is a fact that ganguly had major problems sustaining his form, people made jokes on ganguly (the most famous one being the 2 minute noodles joke, u start noodles when ganguly goes to the crease, u finish noodles by the time he returns). but every other player had problems with form. they were all given a chance. but why did it take so long in ganguly's case? kiran more (enemy of half of kolkata) even stated that ganguly will never make it to the team again. but ganguly was determined. he fought back & proved that the team needed his services. dada is back! now he is playing consistently, scoring well in almost every match.

i chose the above pic for ganguly, because i feel that is the most important thing for a captain to do, acknowledge the effort of his team. and ganguly did that well. he was a good batsman, a good captain (also a good bowler at times). we don't need hunt for newbies for the team. what we need is experience. and that's ganguly brought to the team with him. welcome back dada!

india might win or lose at the world cup, but let's enjoy the game. we enjoy the football world cup even if india is not a part of it. let's do the same with cricket. let the runs flow.. let the wickets fall. i'm sure we'll see many flashy sixes & flying catches. experts in cricket from all over the world gathered to entertain us. it is a festive season for all cricket fans. and above all, let the spirit of cricket win!

Hiiii blogspot!!!

technically speaking, this is my first blog. that's right, i created a few blogs before, but i forgot all their names. ever since i saw some of my buddies' blogs, i wondered why they wrote hundreds(no, thousands) of lines. do they really get something out of it? thinking over this, i got a few "yes" & a few "no" responses in my mind. but as u can see, the creation of this blog is the result of one such "yes".

since this is my blog, i can write a lot about myself here (please bear with me!!)

I believe in GOD. probably that's the first thing u'll notice about me(or probably that's what i want to be the first thing to be noticed).

i'm an average guy, average in almost everything i've started to do on my own. studies, sports, communication, everything. though i happen to be a computer science student, i'm no master of computers. as u read through my posts, u can very well understand that i'm no master of words either. i'm one of those regular chaps who loves his family. mom dad & brother. to me, they're a world.

i'm currently part of a bigggggg multi national company. the g's don't tell the company's size, i just wanted to tell u how small i feel compared to the company as a whole, it's pure relativity. however, i feel important. i like the way i am treated there. ironically, office is probably the only place where i ever was given a kind of importance in my entire life(obviously, my family is an exception here).

the past few years in my life are very significant. they brought a lot of things into my life. not because i mostly lived away from the cozy warmth of my family, but because i've had many experiences i thought i would never see in my entire lifetime. and these are the experiences that are going to shape the "person" in me.

i'm not a mr. nice guy. i'm not a handsome boy. i'm not a famous personality. but i am what i want to be. and i am happy about it. i talk a lot. good or bad. and about almost everything i know. but i don't talk to everyone i know. i believe that a little sense of humor can make u a good speaker. at times, humor can make a lot of things work for you. i read a lot, i only wish i could read computer science books alone, but what i read generally doesn't have anything to do with computers. novels, religion, news, politics, biology, physics, astronomy, astrology, etc.

well, i have just begun. i really hope from now on that i can post something useful here :)