In search of ghosts !

Well the post exam rides have been quite a thriller for me and this incident is specially worth the mention.

One night after the exams, the likes of Mandeep, Raj, Neha, Rahul and Mannan (names changed to protect their identities ;) )decide to go to the deserted Changi Hospital - supposedly a 'haunted house' on an adventure trip to get the thrill and excitement of being near ghosts. As I am the only one left to go home in Hall 10, they were kind enough to ask me to come along and since my new found best friend Mannan was also there, I decided it was worth the time...
Its 2 am and somehow Raj manages to stuff 6 people into his Subaru.... Till now I had only heard tales of his capabilities as a race driver but that night I was lucky to experience the thrill of travelling in a stuffed car at 170-180 kmph on a smooth singaporean road , praying that I would reach home safely ... ;)

After a long drive from the other end of the island we finally reach this spooky place which is also famous for the so called 'he-she's' (quoting Raj) . Weve already been warned not to stare at them cause apparently they are on the lookout for fights and we definitely were not in the position to handle one - Neha and Rahul had to leave for home the following morning....

So we enter this deserted place .... Instructions are thrown around that we arent supposed to touch anything , not the staircase railing, the glass lying around, broken wires...... and all 0ther stuff that one could imagine in a deserted hospital. There are blood stains on the floor , Graffiti is visible across the building with people trying to make the mark that they were amongst the fearless who have happened to visit the place which till now was pretty scary...
Not until long......

Holding each other's hands and expecting a ghost to pop up from anywhere we manage to reach the 5th floor of the building. Manan has been providing us with entertainment all along.. He is drunk (well its not so usual these days ;) and Raj has caught him by the neck to stop him from touching all sorts of things and pulling them down. He had shown us a place where the ceiling had given way and we definitely did not want to start our holiday in such a wreck.......

Call it coincidence or a simple intution , Raj somehow remembers that this place is out of bounds for the public and we were actually trespassing into someone else's property - which actually is a serious offence under Singaporean law (and we all have heard how strict the law can be in Singapore)... So he advises us to look out for police and look for cover if someone sees them coming.... and bingo.. no points for guessing ... moments later Manan points out to a police car .... sirens turned off ...

GOD ....... we are shit scared....... we run trying to make the least noise and go and hide in a room nearby........ There is broken glass all over the floor and imagine sitting down there with our flashlights turned off... the room barely visible in the moonlight...... We are sitting down there for about half an hour or so just to realise that the two other groups that were exploring the place like us have been caught.. Now this smells trouble cause Rahul and Neha have to leave for the airport in like 3 hrs time and here we are kneeling down in a small room in one deserted hospital with no idea what would happen if we also happened to get caught. Weve totally forgotten about all the ghosts and just want to get out of the place. After all who would want to be blacklisted by the police for some harmless fun....

Raj's NS finally comes to our rescue and we who had originally come on the lookout for ghosts are ghost walking down the building in the hope that we would finally make it..... At last we did manage to come out ..... with due thanks to Raj without whom we would never have managed to do it... especially since Neha and Rahul had decided to go to the police and tell them everything so that would have pity on us and let them go catch their flight... In hindsight... that would have been a disaster....

We roamed around the streets of Changi village for some more time ....... remembering our experiences.. running not from ghosts ... but from the police... loll :D Now I know how it feels like to be a fugitive .. atleast in part....

Thanks to Mandeep(for holding my hand so tight that I almost felt it would break.... just kidding ;).... Manan (for all the drunkard entertainment...) Neha and Rahul (for the good time...) and especially Raj without whom this trip would not have been possible.....

It was one wonderful night and I would probably remember it as one of my most memorable experiences in singapore which happens to be quite a dull place as far as adventure is concerned....

Had a pleasant flight back home... was sufferring from an entire lack of sleep for the last three days..... but the sight of the Airbus A380 at the IGI airport really did something to get me all excited... Now am back home... sleeping away to glory.. trying to forget low moments from college ... trying to get over certain issues I cannot blog about.... loving the presence of mum and dad... waiting for my sister to arrive... oh I could give thousands of reasons but I think you might just never return to read another post... ;)

Cheers people

Sparsh

PS : Do you actually believe all that I just made up ??? ;)

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows

Hi people

Finally the wait is almost over... July 21 is the date when the most awaited book of all time (all Harry Potter books seem to breaking this record ) is going to be released.
The cover page has been released and it seems quite interesting to me.

Read the complete story at IBN Live.
Waiting eagerly to get my hands on that one..
Cheers
Sparsh

One billion hopes in the drain ..

Hi ..

first of all lemme tell u guys that i have just returned from a tut room watching the match on a big screen and its six in the morning and am really not in the best of moods.. i mean what a disgusting performance..

moving on.... the indian team has once again.. yes ...yet once again failed us... made us watch them with all our hopes.... leave all important work...... assignments.. labs (you'll be sick of them if you are a Comp Science/Eng student at NTU.. trust me) .. and for waht ... get out in the first round .. losing to pathetic teams such as Bangladesh... what a disgust...

i am pissed.. and am sure a billion people out there back in my motherland are pissed ... we are angry ... unfortunately political parties exist .... houses will be burnt down ... there will be serious repercussions (i hate damage to public property.. am not advocating it) ..... why am i writing this.. dunno... but seriously those f****** are not paid in crores for such a show. what a shame..

my favourite ... my GOD till date.... Sachin.. you failed once again.. my advice - PLEASE RETIRE FROM ONE DAY INTERNATIONALS...its a heartbreak to see you get bowled.. seriously it is.... please man.... same goes out to dravid and ganguly...your time is over guys... let the team get some fresh air.
and as for Mr. Chappell.. you tried hard.. but hard luck.. go back and coach someone else.. we are better off without you.. go die if you wish...... (sorry no offence meant to Mr. Woolmer... he was a great man and I respect him.. Chappell is different)...

folks...I am seriously considering never watching cricket again.. but I know that wont happen..go ahead and comment.. want to hear from all you guys as well..

its a sad day..
signing off...
Sparsh

Please throw out Sehwag

Hi people

First of all I am really really disappointed.

Am sure all of you are upset by the upsets (especially India's) that were created yesterday in the World Cup.
There are some serious decisions which India needs to make to ensure a place in the Super 8 - which by no means is out of bounds yet, but of course another dismal performance would lead the pre-tournament favorites back to India.
I think most of you would agree with me on the fact that having Sehwag open the innings is like opening the game with one wicket down...
Why was he taken is no mystery.. Our good for nothing captain had full faith in him (not that we have faith in our captain either.. it was a pathetic show by him). But now since he has repeatedly failed it makes no sense for India to continue with Sehwag in the game against Bermuda since India will have to defeat them by a big margin if they are even thinking of entering the Super 8 - which I again repeat is still achievable.

So fellas, lets hope Sehwag doesn't play in the match tomorrow, I am looking forward to a fantastic performance .Lets wait and watch.

More cricket on the World Cup Cricket Blog.

cheers
Sparsh

West Indies thrash Pakistan......

Hey people...
So my first prediction regarding the world cup has come true. (See I was unbiased... sarcastic smile...lol :D) So West Indies finished off the game in style. Honestly speaking it was a dismal performance by the Pakis , I had expected a better show. West Indies on the other hand... brilliant team performance..... (Thats why I put all my money on themmm.... lol .. but wait a minute .. i did not bet ... ) Sorry folks for my weird style of writing today ..... Its been induced by my early morning hangover.... got up at 730.. shit.. .computer engineering can take a toll on ones life... (wait a minute.. this is not my personal blog.. all that on http://sparshpolly.blogspot.com (Vivek am sure you'll pardon me for advertising here.... hehe ) today Aussies take on the Scottish... I feel sorry for them (the Scottish ofcourse)..... Although I am an ardent opposer of the Aussie team (what does Ponting think of himself.... am referring to the Gavaskar controversy) but still I am sure they are going to slaughter themm... sorry Scotts.... i deeply sympathise...

Cheers people

Sparsh

The Week that wasn't

hey ppl

this is certainly my favourite show on Indian television... cheers to you Cyrus... Here is the latest episode.. ( this one is full of world cup action ... cant stop laughing :) )

Cricket World Cup 2007: The moment is here

Cricket World Cup 2007: The moment is here

Cricket World Cup 2007: Fans await Tendulkar Magic

Cricket World Cup 2007: Fans await Tendulkar Magic

Satisfaction Guaranteed ... !

Well people all of us wonder whether the people at Pizza Hut actually mean it, when they proclaim free pizzas for unsatisfactory service..
Thanks to my friend Shekhar, I have experienced this not once, not twice but three times in a row ... and that too in the same outlet at Jurong Point :D
Shekhar must be thanking his stars cause the people at Pizza Hut just do not seem to get his order right..... Once they missed the capsicum .... once they gave us a regular for a large one and today they removed the tomatoes instead of the mushrooms.....lol ....(the event that inspires me to write this post.... though am struck with a hangover ... well its understandable.... its 4 am ..)
It was our first time in a PH here in Singapore... it was Sulabh's bday treat (yes "MR." Sulabh I am mentioning you here...)
Shekhar was telling us how he used to have free pizzas back in good old India for small faults of theirs' and most of us including me were thinking he was just bragging... we were proved wrong however ... and it dint take too long either.....
It was a hillarious scene for all those who were present there. we seemed to have realised that our family size pizza was missing its Capsicum .... and that was something cause we had already eaten half .. yes half of the God-damned family size pizza before we actually realised.... and everyone obviously turned to Shekhar to prove his point...
fortunately for us... Shekhar gathered the guts and called on the staff to explain.... it was kind of a scene that was created... the manager came in and apologized for the mistake (am sure he was quite pissed.. we had eaten half of the wonderful thing... Lol :D ) .... we got a full Family Size Pizza in return and we were all quite thankful to Shekhar while enjoying the extra slices.... none of us had really thought something similar would happen the next time we would step into the same PH.....

To cut a long story short the next they gave us a regular pizza and this time we realised their mistake almost instantly. but since we were in a hurry (we had to be on time to view Eklavya... refer to last post... ) we requested them to give us another regular asap... and thankfully again.. it was with best complements from our beloved... Pizza Hut.... :D

The third time (this also happens to be my third time in it along with Shekhar... )that is today.... we really customised our Pizzas and Shekhar was in the hope that they would miss something.. and once again... OMG.... once again .... they removed the tomatoes along with the mushrooms and this time again Shekhar realised it only half way through his pizza (unfortunately it was a personal size this time... lol ) ... and trust me even the pizza that they got in return dint have it alright.... They dint remove the mushrooms ... hahahahahahahahahahahaha

Well I dont know why.. but the humane part got the better of us and we made a really sad face to the attending person from PH and told him that look its really against Shekhar to eat Mushrooms (lol) but since we dont have so much time ( we had already waited an extra 20 mins for the new replacement pizza) we were going to somehow manage...... how nice... lol :D

I dont know how Shekhar does it... but man... he surely is very_very lucky at the Pizza Hut.. So next time you want to have a slice of your favourite pizza .. dont forget to take Shekhar along....

Cheers
Sparsh

Here is a pic that comes straight from the man himself.... lol :D

PS : Dont go on his innocent looks... lol :D

Eklavya , esplanade , fest , music , bowling...... hmmm its been an interesting weekend

The last three days have really been the most exciting of my stay here in Singapore...
My friends and me decided to start the two week vacation (well its almost two weeks ....only 2 days of classes in the middle....) by watching Eklavya at Jade..... it was a nice movie though some dint like it but what was really amazing was the walk down what is truly the landmark in Singapore .... the Esplanade ... sitting beside the merlion , shekhar , siddhant , raghul and me chatted away for hours finally walking by the Fullerton .... down till the Parliament area and then back to NTU ... (hehe ... we din walk down to NTU.. God! that would have been a feat.... )

On Sunday we had this really cool Indian fest called Tarang and people from SMU and NUS had also come down to NTU to take part in the fun..... The Quiz was a disaster.... i kept singing... "yeh kahaan aa gaye humm" ...lol .... the singing was induced by a hangover due to the really late night practice that we had on Saturday for the band performance.... ) .... wait a minute.. .did i say Band performance.... that was the most exciting part of the evening..... we had solo singing before that where i sang Such Keh Raha Hai Deewana from RHTDM ............ The band performance was really really really ...... cooooooooooool.... We people did 4 numbers which were falwless (atleast according to the band )... haha ... well I was personally expecting (or to put it honestly fearing )that the SMU people would throw stuff at us... lol :D there were a lot of technical snags during their performance and there was a lot of booing going on.. so we expected something back in return..... fortunately nothing of that sort happened... and for this thanks to the SMU people... I really was sympathetic with your band... (my buddies from SGC ... nitish and Rishabh were in the SMU band ).....Though we dint win (I dint win in the solos either... ) , I think that the crowd had a fairly nice time.....
A special mention here to the NUS Indian band which was amazing ... the violins were absolutely fantastic.. I do not have a video of that ... it was really professional... it seemed to me that I was attending some sort of an international concert... it was that good.. Hats off to you people.... :D
Had a nice time meeting my pals Nitish and Mishti at the event..... It was a bit frustrating though that were really interested in seeing the entire thing (even i was) and we dint get enough time to talk .. will catch them sometime later.... its sad sometimes being in the same city we hardly get time to meet each other..... man NTU is so isolated from the rest of Singapore... (in a way its good as well.... A university best functions in a sub urban campus......... )

Overall its been an amazing weekend.... Will never forget it ..... now its time to cover up lagging work... and trust me there is loads of it..... Website Designing competitions have a bad tendency of giving headaches and I have threeeee of them simultaneously to deal with ..uffffffffffffff...

anyways people ... wishing you a Happy Chinese New Year.. (haha am sure most of you reading this blog wont even know that such a thing exists... unless you are studying in Singapore..... )
Cheers
Sparsh

PS : Check out the videos of my performance in Tarang in my orkut profile.. that is if you have the time.... lol :D

India Poised

Hey people

This is a really interesting video from the website http://www.indiapoised.com ... DO have a look..

India Poised

Lets take India forward.
Cheers
Sparsh

NTU Model UN 2007

Hey people....
The last week certainly has been one of the most hectic days at NTU for me. It was great fun though.
This was my second Model United Nations conference so I had a decent idea about the proceedings of the councils and decided to do something different. So I took part as a member of the Press Corps - the Fox News Team . It was a tough job, staying awake almost the entire night compiling the articles together ... We made some great newsletters for the delegates and though we did not win , it was a great experience working with some wonderful people (this goes out especially to Dei and Ketki ) . The pressure of working under fixed deadlines was tremendous but at the end of the day, it was a huge learning experience. Though it really hurt in the end on not being mentioned during the vote of thanks for the effort on making the event's website (every other member of the organising committee was mentioned. :(
Here are the pdf's of the newsletters that we had made for the MUN . Hope you find them interesting. I would really appreciate any feedback.

Cheers
Sparsh

A new dawn !

Hi people....
First things first. A very Happy New Year . Hope you had a great time celebrating the arrival of yet another year, so full of hope; awaiting great things that you always craved for.

2006 has been one of the best years' of my life. I finally graduated from High School to enter a university in league with the best in the world. My sister got married to her dream guy (and yes the wedding was no less than a dream wedding.) I attended this fabulous conference in the US, met some awesome people, made some great friends and saw some of the most amazing places (the Federal Reserve Bank, White House, UN Headquarters to name a few :) . There were times full of tension and loads of confusion as well but looking back, 2006 has truly been one of the most defining years of my life.


The time has passed by and now we enter into another new year. A new year which brings new hope and increased energy to pursue our goals with greater intent. Time flies by and there are times when we look back to realise that had we worked a little harder; things would have certainly been better.

So I take a resolve this new year - not to let any opportunity go past , so that I do not turn back , just to wish that I should have worked harder; and so I hope for all of you.

I wish you a Happy and Successful 2007 .
May it be the most defining year of your life.

Cheers
Sparsh