The White House on the Sky

Times Of India today reported that Vijay Mallya's future home is under construction and it is known as the White House. He is not only a successful businessman but flamboyant too and with this latest venture he will join a very select group of people who take pride in building a residence which becomes a showpiece.

As common people, there is nothing much we can say about it apart from wondering how captivating the house would be when completed. Perhaps few of us would question the timing of it. Is this the house in making of a businessman whose empire is marching ahead or is this the house of a stuttering empire? Will his liquor business make up for the losses in other areas or has he lost the plot? Is investing in the English premier league another avenue which he would like to explore? Also, is it time our super rich honchos give a deeper thought on giving back something to the society by establishing foundations/charities? Nevertheless, one thing which can be taken for granted that Vijay Mallya's new abode would surely compete with the recently concluded Antilla.

Sit back and get ready to witness another famous address on Bangalore's streets!

Liverpool FC - Walking down the memory lane!

A brief rewind to how it all started ahead of the weekend clash

It all started back in 1998. France 98 was underway. I was excited about watching England against Argentina. During the Euro 96, i heard from Dad that lot of english fans jumped into the English channel following their defeat to Germany. I was supporting Argentina(I have always been their fan). That night England went out in a painful way, something which has become synonymous with them in every major tournament since then. I was ecstatic with Argentina's progress but that was short lived as they lost to Holland subsequently. That night another very important event took place. The emergence of 18 year old prodigy Micheal Owen. I was in awe of his goal against Argentina. Following the World Cup, the football fever died down. Those days, the premier league was nowhere as famous like today. But, France 98 ignited my passion for the game. Luckily for me, that was the time when a lot of my school mates switched from playing cricket to football. I started playing and off the field started following the game. Micheal Owen led me to Liverpool Football club. Thanks to my decent knowledge about countries, i knew where the city was situated. I saw 'Carlsberg' written on their shirt and on the first few occasions, i used to search for Micheal Own whenever their matches was shown. I find it a bit naive to concentrate on individuals rather than a team but growing up in an era when Sachin Tendulkar was another name for Indian cricket team, it was difficult to develop a different mindset. But with each passing game, i started following the club more. I started learning about the other players. The french manager(Gerrard Houllier) with his scarf around his neck attracted my attention. I started understanding that this guy can decide whether to play my idol Micheal Owen or not. He calls the shot.He is the manager.Slowly but surely, Liverpool football club became larger than Owen. When he finally left for Real Madrid, the pain was evident but the understanding that LFC is an institution and it can survive and make many such Micheal Owens acted as a pain killer.

Fast forward to 2011. A lot has happened since those early days. I can possibly write a book expressing all my thoughts about this journey of being a Liverpool fan! Tomorrow Liverpool meet their biggest rivals again. I would not like to mention United too much but keeping aside all our rivalries, it has to be said that they are setting the benchmark of English football at present.

As expected, the build up to this game is always huge. I start searching for articles in UK sport websites a week prior to this fixture. This time it has been no different. Blogs,forums experience a lot of activity leading up to the game. Once can easily feel the excitement around. A lot has changed from those early years. Presence of supporter's group in all leading cities, screening of matches in major pubs, getting to know fellow fans etc all add up to the spice. I like reading a lot of articles by well known sport journalists.The press conferences, the player interviews, expert comments and loads of discussions just magnifies the importance of this game. The day before the game, i keep thinking about it. In the middle of my work, a sudden realization of the match looming large makes me feel excited. Its like one of those moments which you would be desperately looking forward to. On the morning of the matchday, the moment i wake up the thought of watching the match crosses my mind. I tell myself that its a special day. I frequently engage in short and crisp discussion with God, almost negotiating with him for a LFC victory. Finally when the match starts, its all high voltage action from then on. 90 minutes of pure emotion,passion and excitement follows.

The match tomorrow is as important as ever.If we win tomorrow, we will be only 3 points apart from the league leaders and with United meeting Manchester City next week, we can hope to close that gap further. A loss on the other hand would be deflating but as they say, winning is a mentality and when that sets in, there is no room for defeat. Hoping for a 3-1 win tomorrow !! YNWA!

A drive through the Western Ghats

Geography used to be one of my favorite subjects back in school. The countries and their capitals, the mountain ranges, the grasslands etc used to fascinate me. Reading about them was always incomplete without actually me dreaming about ex-

-periencing the wonders in reality. One such amazing creation of nature are the Western Ghats.

India as we all know is bestowed with natural beauty in abundance and the Western Ghats epitomizes that. During the recently concluded monsoon season here in Pune, I went on two long trips to places on the other side of the ghats. As expected, the majority of the route was through the highlands cutting across one hill after another. Before we started our journey, we were hoping to see some of the most amazing greenery and innumerable falls along the way. We were not dissapointed.

It all started with a wake up call early in the morning. The sun was yet to rise, the birds were yet to come out, I found myself in a hurry to get ready and start by the break of dawn. A 450KM long journey via the smooth and silky Pune-Bangalore expressway and then the breathtaking hills awaited. After all the preparations we were on our way hitting the highway in about 30 minutes. Just on the outskirts of Pune, Katraj ghat awaited us. The approach to the hill was just a prelude to what we would be experiencing at numerous other places later. Fresh air,greenery all around, lush green plains looking as if mother nature has painted them green. Combined with the morning breeze, the experience was simply breathtaking. After crossing the ghat, we were on the highway. I stepped on the accelerator and in no time we were galloping our way towards our destination. The Western Ghats beckoned.

Any journey is incomplete without a midway halt for food and it becomes even more exciting if the food is home made. Since we had no problem with the availability of what we were going to eat, my idea was to stop at such a place where eating would be a new experience and we did find such a place. It was a picturesque site. The place was on the foothills of the first ghat we were suppose to cross. The road was surrounded with identical trees on both sides. On the left side, there was a small stream which was flowing. The sound of the water gushing down was exhilarating. This was the perfect place to stop. The beauty of the place was magnificent and it got better when a light drizzle started. The fog around added to the charm. We finished just in time to resume our journey.

As moved closer to the hills, the temperature began to drop, the breeze became cooler, a villager wrapped in a shawl walking on one side of the road with his cattle and the picturesque backdrop was soothing to our eyes tired of urban chaos. The zig zag of the mountains started and the sharp bends and slopes demanded careful attention while driving. Stretches covered with dense blanket of trees to sudden appearance of majestic waterfalls made the journey awe inspiring. I have been to hills stations before and enjoyed the hilly roads but this was something different. Driving through the roads, experiencing the beauty and at the same time watching out for the terrain in monsoon a midst frequent rain and foggy weather was a unreal. The climb up to some of the mountains were steep and owing to the monsoons, the road condition was tricky. Due to the fog, all vehicles travelling hadtheir headlights on. All these made the journey even more thrilling. There were numerous spots where the travelling tourists halted to get a glimpse of either a waterfall or the majestic view of unknown valleys. Monkeys,tea stalls and a chilling

weather were making things even better. One such amazing spot was a hill top from where group of hills could be seen. This was one of the defining moments of the entire journey. I had never seen trees swirling around in such a fashion. Their movement was identical to a group dance being performed by nature's creation. It was unique.

Some journeys are worth remembering. Some make you cherish the moments forever. To me, the trip through the mightly western ghats would surely fall into one such category. As we made our way back to Pune, the breeze, the serenity, the charm of the hills which we left back seemed to call us back. Another excursion to the mystic and divine ghats awaits!