The “Mongoose” Bat

There is a new cricket bat doing the rounds that is supposed to revolutionize the game. It is called the “Mongoose” Bat.

Cricket bats have looked roughly the same for at least a hundred years, but the “Mongoose” is a radically different animal. The “Mongoose” bat is the brainchild of inventor Marcus Codrington Fernandez, a former creative director at the advertising agency. His first conclusion was that, in the age of Twenty20 cricket, there is no point in having all that wood around the bat’s shoulders. The splice has no offensive capability in any case. So you might as well lengthen the handle, and make the blade shorter and heavier.

In other words, the “Mongoose” bat is a shorter, more rigid blade is teamed with a longer, more flexible handle to offer increased power, faster bat speed and better maneuverability. “Mongoose” bat has a 43 per cent longer handle and 33 per cent shorter blade but a bigger sweet spot than the conventional cricket bat. Since there is no splice, the sweet spot is increased by 120 per cent.

Former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden formally launched the evolutionary “Mongoose" bat by smacking Delhi Daredevils bowlers for a match-winning 93 in IPL 2010 edition. The burly southpaw demonstrated his ruthless "power hitting” with the “Mongoose” bat by hitting nine fours and seven sixes while batting for Chennai Super Kings against the Delhi Daredevils in 3rd IPL edition.

The “Mongoose” bat, named after the animal known for its ferocity, is said to be a "ball crusher". According to Aussie southpaw, the Mongoose has the potential to revolutionize cricket. Without changing your technique, the bat allows you to hit the ball harder and further.

The Mongoose is poised to rewrite record books in the same way that titanium-headed drivers and graphite rackets revolutionized golf and tennis. Because it can be lighter in weight while still offering great power, the Mongoose is ideal for players of all abilities and juniors.

Save Tiger - Saving the tiger means saving mankind……….

Save Tiger - Saving the tiger means saving mankind………

The tiger, one of the most magnificent animals in the world, is also one of the most endangered. A cat of beauty, strength, and majesty, the tiger is master of all and subject to none -- except humans. Their Latin name is Panthera Tigris. Tigers are on the threshold of extinction. According to WWF, tigers are amongst the ten most endangered species in the world. Over the last century more than 95% of the tiger population has been wiped out and of the eight original subspecies of tigers, three sub-species are already extinct within the last 60 years. There are five different kinds or subspecies of tiger alive in the world today. These tigers are called Siberian, South China, Indochinese, Bengal, and Sumatran. Less than 3500 tigers remain in the wild today with around 50% in India & their numbers are declining fast. There are less than 50 South China tigers left on this planet -- few, and possibly none, survive in the wild. Almost every day, one Indian tiger dies. If this rate of death is allowed to continue, all species of tigers throughout the world will be extinct very soon and our future generation may not able to see this majestic cat in the wild. At present, possibly, as few as 1,500 tigers are left in wild in India.

Nearly a century ago there were over forty thousand tigers in India. True many were hunted by Westerners and Indian Maharajahs decades ago but India still had thousands left at the time of its independence in 1947. Still they continued to be shot down by anybody who owned a rifle. Villagers grazing their herds through forests ensured that the natural prey of tiger starved to death and thus so did tigers. As a result, by early 1970's less than two thousand tigers remained in the jungles of India. Fortunately for the striped sufferer, the then Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, took action and founded ‘Project Tiger’ in early seventies, to save the country's most valued asset from total extinction. For the next two decades there was a lull and tigers flourished under renewed protection in designated reserves. As a result their numbers reportedly increased to four thousand. But that was all to change in the nineties. Tiger poaching picked up. Organized gangs took advantage and poaching continues unchecked owing to the laziness and negligence of underpaid, ill-equipped, outnumbered and unfit forest guards/rangers and officials. Laws protecting the wildlife are predominantly weak and there has been little enforcement action against Poachers and traders. As a result, tigers started disappearing. Some reserves like the famous 'Sariska' Reserve, just a couple of hours drive from the National Capital, New Delhi, protected by about three hundred rangers, was wiped clean of its dozens of tigers. Similarly tigers began vanishing from internationally renowned parks like Ranthambore and Kanha, visited by thousands of tourists yearly from around the world!

Relentless poaching and clearing of habitat for agriculture have been the primary drivers of this decline. Demand for tiger skins and parts for "medicinal" purposes has become an increasingly important threat in recent years. Demands from across China and Southeast Asia for the skins, teeth and claws of tigers are endangering much of the great cats. Poachers are continuing to exterminate the world's remaining Tigers.

Why to save Tiger - Not only is tiger a beautiful animal but it is also the indicator of the forest's health. Tigers occupy the pinnacle of the food chain. Saving the tiger means we save the forest since tiger cannot live in places where trees have vanished and in turn secure food and water for all. If we make sure tigers live, we have to make sure that deer, antelope and all other animals that the tiger eats (its prey base) live. To make sure that these herbivores live, we must make sure that all the trees, grass and other plants that these prey animals need for food are protected. In this way, the whole forest gets saved! Saving the tiger means saving its entire forest kingdom with all the other animals in it. Also forests catch and help store rainwater and protect soils. In this way we protect our rivers and recharge groundwater sources. Areas with less trees lead to floods, killing people and destroying homes. It takes away the precious soil, leaving behind a wasteland. The soil jams up our lakes and dams, reducing their ability to store water. By destroying the tiger's home, we not only harm tigers, but also ourselves.

The tiger thus becomes the symbol for the protection of all species on our earth since it is at the top of the food chain. This is why we sometimes call the tiger, an apex predator, an indicator of our ecosystem's health.

However the news is not all bad as researches showed that if protected and given sufficient access to abundant prey, tiger populations can quickly stabilize. With India's large network of protected areas and continued funding from the Governments and conservation groups like the WWF, one hopes that tigers can avoid extinction in the wild. The Tiger Conservation programmes must reconcile the interests of people and tigers and a sustainable tiger conservation strategy cannot be achieved without the full participation and collective action of individual rural households whose livelihoods depend on rights of access and use of the forests where tigers live.

If we don't wake up now to save our most sublime asset, we may lose it forever in the blink of an eye. The lord of the jungle will continue to die silently from snares, pellets and poison in the forests where it once used to burn bright.

LIFE IS LIKE THAT !!!

Hmmmm….well, today I’ve completed the fourth phase of my life and moved into the fifth phase, I mean, I’ve completed 40 years of my life. First phase upto the age of 10 years…childhood…not much to say. I enjoyed it as all others did. Second phase of the life was upto the age of 20 years… childhood plus adolescent age in which one neither remains child nor becomes man to fight the cruel world. A lot of struggle to get good marks in studies to get admission in good college… luckily, I got admission in Bhagat Singh College as I was in Commerce Stream. During this phase, I also participated in lots of co-curricular activities, NCC, Scouts, etc. However, just as other students might have faced, there was a dark tunnel ahead in front of me and no light was visible at the other end. By the end of second phase, I started preparing for various competitive exams. By the grace of Almighty and with the blessings of my parents and all elders, I cracked various competitive exams by the beginning of my third phase of life and reached the other side of the dark tunnel. Sooner I also cleared the exam for the job in which I am working at present. Third phase saw a lot of hard work. It was the age when one is in a great dilemma as heart says you are still a teenager but mind says No! You have grown up and behave like a man. Somehow, I crossed this hurdle with not much difficulty. I should not forget to mention here that in this phase, like others, I too got married and my two sweet daughters were born during this period. Then entered into the fourth phase of life, which was the most crucial phase in my life. I worked very hard during this phase and finally got settled by the grace of god and with the blessings of all elders and achieved quite a lot professionally, socially and more important financially. However, there were many ups and downs in my life during this phase. Apart from achievements, very tragically, I lost my father, who fought with the cancer very bravely for about one and half year. This was the phase in which I saw life and death very closely. On two occasions during his cancer treatment, the doctors gave up their hands and stopped treating my father as they find no use of further treating him and helplessly, we could not do much but to plead the doctor to continue treat him. But the Almighty might have some different plans to grant some happy moments before taking him into his care and he survived on both the occasions due to his strong determination. During his treatment period, my younger brother’s daughter was born and anyone can saw the happiness on my fathers’ face at that time…. and thereafter, finally the fateful day came on 20th July 2007 when the Almighty took him into his care, the day which I can never ever forgot. I still try to follow on the path shown by my father. My father’s death taught me some hard realities of life and I also begin to see the life in a different perspective. My approach towards life changed radically and I started thinking on the lines of giving back to the society what I’ve gained from it. To start with, today I celebrated my birthday in a different manner with about 175 orphan and underprivileged children who are housed in an orphanage nearby my house and also distributed dinner and gifts to them. Now I’m entering into the fifth phase of my life and it might be a complete transformation from all the phases which I’ve already completed. I intend to do a lot of work for the society, underprivileged children, needy cancer patients, my Alma Mater and so on… and by the grace of the Almighty, I may able to cross this phase too successfully…… (Well...I’ll also try to lose a few extra pounds which I’ve gained during my fourth phase of life...).

My Tryst with Reliance Communications Broadband+ Connection

Recently I purchased the Reliance Broadband+ connection after seeing the lot of advertisements that Reliance Communications has introduced Seamless Broadband service in 35 select cities with the speed of 3.1 MBPS and coverage in more than 4.5 lac villages across the country. Soon after its purchase, my bad dreams started. First of all, I could get it activated only after 3-4 days. Even after its activation, due to one reason or other I could not able to use it as the connectivity broke down number of times due to connection error or bad connectivity (during this period connectivity never touched 3.1 MBPS as much publicized by R Com).

Inspite of telephonic and personal complaints, no one from R. Com was bothered in attending my complaint and to rub salt on my wounds, a bill amounting to Rs. 294/- was sent to me for the facility which I could never utilized due to faulty service. Probably, this is one of the ways of enhancing their balance sheet by fleecing the helpless customers.

After exhausting all possible channels to get remedial measures and being fed up with the services of Reliance Boradband+, I asked for the termination of my Reliance Broadband+ connection with refund of money. In all, I helplessly waited for almost 20 days for Reliance Boradband+ connectivity but of no avail.

I thought it fit to share my above woeful experience with all of you. If the Reliance Communications fails to give connectivity just 100 meters away from its tower and that too in the capital city of the country, then what to talk of giving connectivity in 4.5 lac villages across the country. In case anyone is interested in procuring the Reliance Broadband+ connection, first of all, he/she should get the connectivity checked personally and not to get lured by the false and misleading promises/ assurances made by the executives of R. Com.

some funny jokes

The man approached a very beautiful woman in a large supermarket and asked, "You know, I've lost my wife here in the supermarket. Can you talk to me for a couple of minutes?"
"Why?" she asks.
"Because every time I talk to a beautiful woman, my wife appears out of nowhere."




At the cocktail party, one woman said to another, "Aren't you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?" The other replied, "Yes, I am, I married the wrong man."




A wife, one evening, drew her husband's attention to the couple next door and said, "Do you see that couple? How devoted they are ? He kisses her every time they meet. Why don't you do that?"
"I would love to do that," replied the husband, "but the problem is -- she won't allow me".

Women Are Such Complex Creatures

Women Are Such Complex Creatures


If you kiss her, you are not a gentleman,

If you don't you are not a man.


If you praise her, she thinks you are lying,

If you don't, you are good for nothing.


If you agree to all her likes, you are a wimp,

If you don't you are not understanding.


If you visit her often, you are boring,

If you don't she accuses you of double crossing.


If you are well dressed, she says you are a playboy,

If you don't, she says you are a dull guy.


If you are a minute late, she complains it's hard to wait,

If she is late, she says it is a girls way.


If you kiss her once in a while, she professes you are cold,

If you kiss her often, she yells you are taking advantage.


If you talk, she wants you to listen,

If you listen, she wants you to talk.


IN SHORT...

So simple, yet so complex,

So weak, yet so powerful,

So confusing, yet so desirable,

So damming, yet so wonderful... WOMEN !!!

Manzilein

Manzilein
Kuch manzilon ke !
Raaste nahin hote !!
Manzil ko paane ke liye !
Raaste banane padte hain. !!

Kuch manzilon ke !
Raaste kathin hote hain !!
Manzil ko paane ke liye !
Kathinaiyon ka saamna karma padta hai !!

Kuch manzilon ke !
Raaston mein mod hote hain !!
Manzil ko paane ke liye !
Sahi raaste ko chunna padta hai !!