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IIT Roorkee-IIM Grads Launch Cricket Stock exchange

Students from IIT Roorkee and IIM Ahmedabad have attempted to fuse corporate and cricket worlds by launching www.cricstock.com – Cricket Stock Exchange – on this virtual stock exchange, shares of international cricketers can be bought and traded by cricket fans, and the stock prices of cricketers will reflect their recent performance and what fans feel about them.

"The idea is to capture the mood and sentiments of cricket fans and translate them into numbers which will be reflected by stock-prices" informed Rahul Roushan, final year student of postgraduate programme of IIMA and one of the developers of the website. Currently the website has issued IPO (Initial Public Offering) of all the international cricketers of test-playing countries. A person gets one million of virtual cash as soon as he registers with the website and he can use that money to buy shares of any number of these cricketers. He has to bid within a specified price range for buying the shares of different cricketers.

More about functioning of the website can be known from http://www.cricstock.com/faq.htm

The team comprises of Rahul Roushan, Karthik Laxman, Siddartha Murlidharan (all of them final year MBA students of IIM Ahmedabad), and Mitanshu Garg (3rd year student of IIT Roorkee). Kaushik M (computer science alumnus for BITS, Pilani, and currently working as a software professional) gave valuable inputs to professionalize the website.

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The Lady on the Train

She was beautiful. The way she moved uneasily with each cruel shock; the way she fidgeted with her bangles; the way she turned once in a while showing her bare nape.

My wife had warned this was going to be a long train journey. And she had prepared for it with a sleepless night. And I did not even realize when she fell asleep right beside me. But she was very much there… her presence showing up like a barbed wire between me and my adulterous thoughts.

“What am I doing?” I reprimanded myself, “I’m married for a year now and very happy with my wife. The thought of another woman would only mean cheating on her.” But this one looked so divine, so close.

I envied the book she held- that took up so much of her concentration; that gave out a soft moan with each caressing touch of her soft fingers as she turned the pages…

I was pulled off my train of thoughts with a cruel yawn of my wife. It was as if she knew each and every of my fantasies. I felt guilty again. But a brief move as she sided a strand of hair off her face ignited my volatile guilt into the fire of fantasy as I kept staring on an on…

Delhi came as a rude jerk. The people of the whole compartment started filing out. But she kept staring out of the window looking for someone- maybe her husband. I felt an inexplicable pang of jealousy. Her bare nape was still showing. As I and my wife were moving out she suddenly sat upright, her body barely an in inch from my arm. “Should I or shouldn’t I?” It was a moment of moral dilemma and then it all dissolved into a milky mix as I jerked my hand and brushed against her neck.

“What brings on that broad smile?” My dreary eyed wife asked on the platform.

“I just cheated on you!” Despite of her raised eyebrows I knew she would never believe that. “Now look after the luggage else it gets stolen”

I still could not stop smiling.

The twist in the tale

I was almost six months into the relationship; and I must say, we were going smooth. hours of talk, missing each other, sharing problems emotions. A lot of people would easily call this going smooth. But I was unhappy

I was good looking, had poise; and this made me expect something more out of my love life. maybe dancing around trees and tackling goons single handedly was too far fetched. But at least I could expect a chance to show some heroism that would send my heroine spiraling into my arms. Call it “bollywood effect” or just fantasy, I could never get out of the notion that a love story is incomplete until a hero wins his heroine!

And fate would not be generous enough to provide me with a fitting anti hero, I realized my responsibility of adorning my love story with one. So my endeavor began.

Now in needed someone I could trust and who would agree to tarnish his impression in front of a girl for my sake; and whom I could outsmart as a hero. In short I needed a dumbo.

After much persuasion my best friend (especially for this purpose)agreed to play the dark character.

The next problem came with the storyline. I had to be realistic enough and at the same time I could not be harsh to my love.finally we agreed upon a “kahani me twist” story-centered around a 2% drop in her result!!

So we fabricated a letter with emotion and dialogue of our relationship affecting her career and me not wanting to come in the way of her success and all those bits and pieces borrowed from bollywood Hollywood and some even my own!!

I was quite satisfied with the outcome.then came dumbo’s acting.

“see! I made him believe that all this is for your own good” he said handing over the letter “otherwise he would never have agreed. But the truth is that I am more concerned about him. he is wasting a lot of time and I have seen his academics suffer. So I think I don’t have to tell who is responsible?”

He must have acted well; for she stood aghast, rooted. Then followed an eerie silence from her for a couple of days. then suddenly I spotted her in the café with another guy!

I stalked him to find out all I could. He needed some timepass and female company is never refused. Nothing more. I had sleepless nights. What went wrong with a perfectly crafted twist? I never expected this!

After a week of distress I finally steeled myself to call her up.

‘Nalini?’

‘Yes!’

‘This is Sumit’

‘O hi buddy! How’s life’ was it a wrong number?

‘I wanted to talk to you about the guy you are going out with.’

‘Well sumit! I suppose you yourself straightened out things for me. You didn’t want to be with me and I needed company. So I looked elsewhere. Isn’t it straight enough?’

‘Well I…’

‘Isnt that straight enough sumit?’

‘I’m sorry Nalini!’I quietened down.there was a long pause as if she was regaining her composure.

‘Good! So when do we meet then?’

‘Nalini you…’

‘Never mind! I got the story from your friend’s girlfriend. Women are good at getting secrets out of men you see! So at the cafeteria at five thirty?’

I had never felt sillier in my life

I Want To Breathe

It is surprising how,

I get lost in my loneliness

In the milling crowd

I’m shoved, I’m dashed,

Carried to the corner; and stashed

Searching myself in the dark

I am kicked back

In the middle, right in the middle of the sea of people.

And this sea

Flows and churns, tosses and turns,

Until I’m choking, grasping for breath

But I can’t.

‘Cause somebody has been strangling me all the while.

I don’t even know who.

He has no face, no soul, no name,

Only a pair of hands holding my throat.

And I am powerless and down on my knees,

The faces around me blurring; fading away.

I want to fight, but my limbs won’t move.

My body defeated, long before I give up…

It is surprising to know how,

Standing on the shore

I get lost in my loneliness

And trying to find myself

Die a new death

Every day.

My World

Disclaimer: The following post is of purely personal naturegiving some insight deep into me for people who have been that deep. For those who havent, you have nothing to understand and are advised to skip the post.

The world around me appears so strange these days! As I walk through the street each day I see strange people making strange faces at me; telling me strange things. All trying to make me understand things I dont want to know... trying to make me do things I do not want to do.

This is the real world they say.... I say! But if reality is this, I better stay in dreams.

"What is the matter?" I ask, "This place is fast, interesting, exciting. The way you have always wanted it to be. What more do you want? What are you looking for?"

And I reply "Beauty!"
And do I see this beautiful world of mine only in dreams? No my friend. I have a world tucked away safely in a corner of my heart away from hte prying eyes of the world. A world where everything was so beautiful, so pure. A world they say i have outgrown. And they wont let me go back there.
They speak prickly words of wisdom; bind me with chains. But one day I will go back to my beautiful world... where I belong!

Mein Ausdruck

I’m a bad talker. I accept that. And hence I try to keep my trap shut. Well… but that is not always possible you see. And talking is fun. It is spontaneous…unadulterated. You hardly get time to really much before you speak. And you feel good after you have spoken…even if it lands you in trouble. And that is how real expression should be.

I have tried writing too. But it’s never the same. When you write something you have a purpose; an audience. And so you make yourself a barbed wire fence. Then it does not remain fun anymore.

Something else I absolutely desist is typing out my work. I always write with an ink pen or a pencil on a piece of white paper. It’s good to see the instrument form the beautiful letters as they dance on the pearl white dance floor shaping your creation right in front of your eyes; not some surrogate machine doing the magic for you.

I sometimes try to get myself to write all that I want to…convincing myself that it is not meant for public viewing. I do the editing when I have to make a soft copy (Yes! Even I have to. It’s an evil world my friend!). Editing a piece of writing is more like trimming your favorite plant. It might come out better …but you never stop loving the original one. And perhaps that is the reason I still preserve the first drafts of all my pieces.

The Girl Next Door

I moved ever so slightly, casting a seemingly oblivious glance at my surroundings. For a fraction of second, our eyes met; and I immediately retracted them to admire the beauty of my fading shoe polish. But resisting all my attempts my eyeballs again moved towards the corner of my eyes and I caught a glimpse of her. “Oh my God! She’s coming towards me?” All kinds of scary thoughts crept into my mind. I could feel her coming towards me with an angry look asking “Hey mister! Who do you think you are staring at?” and then…

“Excuse me!” said a soft voice from behind, “Do you know which bus to take for Chandni Chowk?” I did not know! But I was desperately searching for words. All those witty remarks so carefully scrutinized and crafted into my vocabulary during my formative years suddenly seemed to evaporate.
“N...no! I do not know.” I stammered back.

I immediately regretted the statement; for, she turned with an “Oh!” and started; perhaps in search of a wittier person. But even as a halfwit I couldn’t let her go. I had fantasized myself in such a situation. I could not let this dream turn into a nightmare. I just had to do…

“You do sing really well!” The words came out of my mouth but the voice was definitely not mine. As if my throat had grown a mind of its own. “Do you take music classes?” I could not believe I was asking her that. “Shut up! Just shut up” I was telling myself. She turned with an amused look on her face.

“I don’t think you ever heard me singing? Did you?”

Ok. No more speech. I’m dumb.

“Didn’t you sing at Sheila auntie’s party?”

I really am dumb.

I imagined my face turning redder than a tomato. I wanted to run, to hide behind one of those buses; get lost in the labyrinths of shops. Why was I talking? I could just shut up let her go. And perhaps I would confront her some other day with better dialogues; and better nerves.

“You didn’t attend Sheila auntie’s kitty party?” She had an amused look. But she had turned fully towards me again. I felt stupid.

“You know…I kind of…. I was just passing by and heard it by chance.”

“And how much of it?” I was unsure of the look.

“Well! Sort of… You know…Full.” I replied meekly.

Both of us started laughing aloud. She had a deep sounding laughter somehow sedimented all my fears. We laughed for a long time I guess. At least it appeared so. When we stopped, she asked smiling “So did you really like it?”

“Yes! It was lovely.”

“What was lovely?” she asked mischievously.

“Well! The song of course!” I felt stupid again.

“Thanks!” She said softly.

A deep rumble indicated the arrival of another bus. “Oh! My bus is here. Can we talk sometime later?”

“Sure!” I said.

“Call me! Byeee!” she said rushing to her bus. I kept staring till the bus disappeared round the corner. It was then it struck me.

She knew which bus to take after all.

I Want To Breathe

It is surprising how,
I get lost in my loneliness
In the milling crowd

I’m shoved, I’m dashed,
Carried to the corner; and stashed
Searching myself in the dark
I am kicked back
In the middle, right in the middle of the sea of people.
And this sea
Flows and churns, tosses and turns,
Until I’m choking, grasping for breath
But I can’t.
‘Cause somebody has been strangling me all the while.
I don’t even know who.
He has no face, no soul, no name,
Only a pair of hands holding my throat.
And I am powerless and down on my knees,
The faces around me blurring; fading away.
I want to fight, but my limbs won’t move.
My body defeated, long before I give up…

It is surprising to know how,
Standing on the shore
I get lost in my loneliness
And trying to find myself
Die a new death
Every day.

What are the different emotions you have finished a book with.Amazement! Thrill? Sadness?
Difficult to catalog. Eh! Yes it is a whole spectrum merging into one another through indistinct boundaries.

Last night, I finished reading "The Financial Expert" by RK Narayan. The book is typical of his style. No twists and turns, no suspense, and nothing you can call a climax. It is a flat narration of the story of a man from rags to riches to rags. A story of brilliance of a man coupled with his rustic mentality. The thoughts, life and wrongdoings of a man.

Sounds boring doesn't it??

But the way Narayan puts it on paper is sheer brilliance. His honest and straightforward style of writing makes the story flow so smoothly that you do not dare disrupt it. The writing is so natural and close to your heart that you could actually smell the earth of malgudi in it.
In all! A beautiful book!