Its him !!!

0400 hrs, Airport

Arjun threw the Tropicana pack into the dustbin. He detests the so-called soft drinks, and always prefers packed juice. Tropicana is his favourite. He was careful not to spill the left over juice on the dustbin because it looked so clean. He walked towards the row of check-in counters and found his airline counter. There was one old man and a woman talking to the cute looking airport staff at the counter. There were two counters for Information. He went to counter number 2, as it was manned by a beautiful female. He could see her name on the badge. He enquired about the delay in the scheduled flight. He was informed that the flight is delayed by an hour due to some technical snag. "Varsha, tell me something" he said. "Yes Sir". "Can't they do anything proper in this Goddamn country" he walked away from the counter.

He saw the old couple struggling with their handluggage. He felt sorry for them and walked towards them and helped them carrying their luggage. He took them to the check-in gate and had them seated.He took a seat near by to them.

"You are also waiting for the same flight?" the old woman asked with lot of love.

"Yes Mam" he replied.

She offered him a cookie. He took it and tasted it.

"Thanks for the cookie Mam it is very tasty."

"She always makes the best cookie" the old man told, which made the woman blush.

He kept his bag between his legs and took out a magazine and poured over it.

His attention was brought back to the real world by a child crying. He turned to see a small child was getting beaten by its mother. His fists clenched on seeing the lady's act and he immediately got off from his seat and went to the lady and stopped her act.

"Are you crazy? Such a lovely child" he took the crying child in his arms and kissed it.

The mother angrily took the child back from him gave him a cold stare and went to her seat.

"Crazy people" he shook his head and walked back tohis seat.

The announcement came that the flight was ready for boarding.

He saw people rushing to the boarding gate. He saw the old couple struggling. He helped them get in.

Everybody was seated. The child who was beaten by the lady was now smiling at him. The child had a toy in his hands. The doors shut and the flight started its course on the runway.

"Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen. This is the Pilot." the voice came through the internal speakers.

The flight took off without any issues. He sighed and unbuckled his seat belt. He felt uncomfortable wearing it. He walked towards the restroom.

The old lady smiled at him. He smiled back. He walked past the kid and gave a light pinch on its cheek. He looked at the mother of the child and said "Sorry."

He came to the restroom and closed the door. He washed his face, took the paper towel and dried his face. He could still smell the cookies in his hand. He smiled to himself. He removed his shirt. There was a flat plate attached to his stomach. It had a feather touch button with inscription "Press to blast".

He pressed.....

The Greatest Show on Earth

Widely touted as the Greatest Show on Earth, the FIFA Football World Cup 2006 got off to a cracking opening on Friday. Many feel that watching a UEFA Champions League would make for more interesting viewing, since the players gel more with their teammates at their respective clubs where they play throughout the calender, year after year than with their country teammates, with whom they play more often as rivals rather than mates. Though it a valid argument that should be accepted and also the teams are more equally balanced at the club level and the real action in the World Cup starts only after the first round of group matches get over, the sheer passion of the fans makes the WC special.

Few could have asked for a better match to kick off the WC, with Germany taking on Costa Rica. Costa Rica have traditionally been good competitors in the WC finals and here they gave Germans a lot to think about. Its a known fact that defense was Germany's weakest link, but inspite of winning 4-2, Friday's match clearly exposed them and they need to do a lot better if they dream of matching up against tougher opponents. England seem to have a much more balanced side, but even they were a bit unconvincing against Paraguay. But there is something in this English side that makes them a hot favourite for lifting the trophy a second time after 1966.

Brazil, France and Italy are yet to play, but call it anti-incumbency or whatever, I somehow have the gut feeling the Brazil would not be winning this time round. Italy especially would be the team to watch out for. The fact that they are ranked a lowly 13 makes them all the more dangerous, though they will be missing the services of the irreplaceable God of Italian football, Paulo Maldini. They missed out on penalties during 1994 and 1998 and were done in by the referee in 2002. This might just be Italy's WC. So if I am asked to pick a winner, it would be a tough call between Italy, Argentina and England. But who knows, the unpredictable nature of the sport might just pop up an unexpected winner. Lemme know your pick for the winner, and as they say, let the game be the winner :)).

Democracy??

The Government banned the screening of 'Da Vinci Code'. Can you see the wry smile on Mona Lisa's face??