Stuff I wrote for my college campus newspaper - 6

Mother of all festivals

By Sanket ‘Fest Pest’ Kambli

Hey! This article isn’t about some famous college fest; it’s about an event which is being pegged as mother of all fests. This ten-day-long Mumbai Festival, which was postponed as a mark of respect to tsunami victims, originally scheduled to begin on January 7, would begin here from January 14 with a special programme at the Gateway of India, coinciding with Makar Sankranti. This fest is hoping to emulate the success of the Dubai Shopping Festival, a mix of consumerism, arts and entertainment which came to define Dubai and magnify its appeal. The Mumbai Festival will be spread across the city and split into different sections and events focusing on arts and crafts, music, food, heritage, youth and even a talent hunt. Both a big budget and big names have been roped in. Siddharth Kak from Surabhi will handle the crafts section, and walking good food guide Rashmi Uday Singh will travel the streets in a double-decker open-air bus to tickle the taste buds.Artist Sangita Jindal and star jazz performers like Ravi Colltrane, George Duke and Earl Kligh will also be part of the party.

• Food: A platter to please from Mohammed Ali Road to Khau Gali. Rashmi Uday Singh leads the way
• Crafts: Some of India’s best craftspeople will display their wares at reasonable rates at the Bandra Craft Mela
• Music: Jam with Almost Famous at Bandra Kurla or head for Gateway to hear the T Monk Institute of Jazz strike the right note
• Talent Hunt: The Limca Fresh Face hunt is on during the festival so keep that smile glowing
• Kids’ Corner: Indian Book House give kids a chance to relive those Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle comics with fun events
• Art Wall: The 60-ft art wall at Marine Drive will be a canvas for some of the city’s best artists

While maintaining the basic intent of celebrating the spirit of Mumbai, the Festival Committee has rededicated itself to create multiple platforms for the citizens of Mumbai to reach out to tsunami-affected people, the Committee said in a release here. Whatever be the case, make sure you are part of this party, as you will surely find me there.

(Fest Details--Courtesy: Central Chronicle, Bhopal; Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd)

Stuff I wrote for my college campus newspaper - 5

The city that ran

By Sanket ‘left breathless’ Kambli

A billboard screamed ‘Run Mumbai Run’ and the whole of Mumbai seem to have taken it very seriously, as a huge chunk of this city, turned up for this year’s edition of Mumbai Marathon. This year’s marathon had a similar format like the last one. It had dream run of 7km, half marathon of 21kms, and full marathon of 42kms. Dream run saw first timers sweat it out with pro’s, running the half and full marathon’s respectively. This marathon saw people from all walks of life say, celebrities(Sachin Tendulkar, Salman Khan), and stars to ‘dabbawalas’ and underprivileged kids, to women folk run together. The proceedings of this race are proposed to go to the tsunami relief fund. While the pro’s had only winning on their minds, the amateurs were just thinking of improving their time or stamina, whereas some were into it for charity purposes( for tsunami victims, HIV patients, anit-smoking, anit-piracy, tree conservation) so most of them walked more than they ran, and some were into it because of their peers. The full marathon saw the afro’s bag top honors in men’s event with Julius Sugut of Kenya leading them all, while the top two in women’s category were also from Africa, the third women was from Russia. But that didn’t mean the Indians disappointed the home crowd, as the half marathon saw Indians finish on the podium. In men’s category Deepchand (ASI, Pune) lead the home front, with Jagannath Lakde (ASI) and P Nagendra (Madras Regiment) following him, while in women’s Tegla Loroupe (Kenya), finished first followed by Madhuri Garnule (Maharashtra), Khamkumari Goswami (UP). The runners in spite of being tired were constantly cheered by just about everyone; along the whole distance, eventually many ended pushing their limits. This event will surely become a much anticipated event, and that is not just because of the celebrity factor. I hope to meet you in the next edition, as I have already started my preparations for it.

Stuff I wrote for my college campus newspaper - 4

Compiled By Sanket ‘Vroom Vroom’ Kambli

Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan

Born: January 14th 1977

Racing School: Elf Winfield Racing School, France

Education: Business Administration

Birthplace: Chennai, India

Ambition: To be the first Indian Formula One driver

Narain Karthikeyan, today the Indian face of formula 1, has so far faced a career studded with victories and disappointments. At 28, it has been a ‘great momentous day for him’ with his ambition being realized. It was a red lettered day for the nation as he embarks on a journey carrying the hopes of millions and millions of Indian fans in India and across the world. It all started with a podium finish on his debut race at Sri Perumpudur. He has never looked back since then. Returning to India from the ELF Winfield Racing School in France; he joined the Formula Maruti team in 1993. He moved on to Britain to participate in the Formula Vauxhall Junior championship in the same year. The next year saw Narain join the Formula Ford Zetec. He became the first Indian to win the British Formula Ford Winter series, one of his many firsts. In the support race to the Portuguese Grand Prix held at Estoril, he was on podium celebrating. Formula Asia beckoned. Though he participated in only four races, he was on fire. Finishing second in the race held at Shah Alam in Malaysia, Narain announced to the world that he had arrived.

1996 saw him win the Formula Asia championship with a host of records and firsts in his kitty. He now was the only Indian and also the only Asian to win the Formula Asia International series. Britain, the home of motor racing. The setting, the famous Donington Park circuit. The race started with Narain on pole. It ended just as it had started. Narain in front. He finished sixth in the overall points standings for the British Formula Opel Championship. Narain had just turned twenty. "The Formula 3 Championship is a must for any driver with his sights set on Formula 1. The best young racers in the world come to compete in what is certainly the toughest Formula 3 Championship in Europe. The television, plus daily, weekly and monthly publications cover the events extremely well and it is excellent for drivers, sponsors and spectators alike." - Jackie Stewart, Formula 1 World Champion, 1969, 1971 and 1973.Narain took part in eight races, finishing with two third place finishes at the Spa-Franco champs in Belgium, and at Silverstone, UK. This was in 1998. Driving in the Autosport British Formula 3 Championship, Narain took the podium 5 times. A few important highlights of that season were: Narain winning the Brands Hatch race twice (considered one of the most difficult racing circuits). He also had two pole positions and 3 fastest laps and 2 lap records. He finished sixth in the championship among 30 drivers from 15 nations. The same year, Narain also qualified in the sixth and finished the second leg of the Macau Grand Prix 1999 in the 6th place.2000 saw Narain build upon his experience for the big league of racing. Continuing his drive in the British F3 Championship for the year 2000, he ranked in fourth place overall. He was on a roll for most of the season, a lap record and a finish from pole at Macau Grand Prix. The Indian went into the history books and emulated his idol, the great late Ayrton Senna of Brazil and also many other current Formula 1 drivers like Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard etc., by winning the international F3 race at the Spa, Belgium and a world-beating victory in the Korea F3 Super Prix.2001 was a watershed year for Narain. He got behind the wheels of a Jaguar R1 car on June 14, thus becoming the first Indian to test a Formula One car. Impressed with his performance, he was asked to test drive the Benson & Hedges Jordan Honda EJ 11. Both test drives were at Silverstone, home of the British racing industry. Awed by his performance in the first test, Narain was asked to test for the second time with the Jordan time at the Mugello circuit in Italy.Narain also raced in the Formula Nippon Championship in Japan during 2001. Currently Narain is racing in the World Series by Nissan. In 2002 he finished the year as one of the fastest drivers in the highly competitive Telefonica World Series. He claimed one pole position and set a fastest time ever in the Interlagos circuit (other than F1). Year 2003 saw Narain finish fourth in the World Series by Nissan championship series with 5 podium finishes, having competed with 22 best drivers in the world representing 11 nations, some of them Ex-Formula 1 drivers and current Formula 1 test drivers. Solid finishes and a fourth place in the championship earned him a Test drive with the Formula 1 team Minardi. In 2004, he was again behind the wheels racing at the World Series by Nissan, while his aim was at making it to the Formula One - the pinnacle of motorsports. He won both the races at Valencia, Spain the 8th round of World Series by Nissan. He finished on top of the podium in the first race and second in the second race. World Series by Nissan is considered only next to Formula One. It is from these races that lots of new contenders arrive at the grid on F1. Narain is doing great guns with a win at the top of the podium at Magny Cours one of the toughest F1 venues. From his maiden win with Formula Maruti in 1993, Narain quickly moved into international racing and now is knocking on the doors of the pinnacle of motorsports, Formula One.

Statistical Source (the World Wide Web)

Stuff I wrote for my college campus newspaper -3

Michael Schumacher

By Sanket Kambli (with inputs from Christopher Hilton)

He never got an actual chance to test his nerve against the legends Aryton Senna or Alain Prost, but his lively zeal and swiftness make him the finest of the crop of today’s generation of F1 drivers. By triumphantly regaining the World Championship for the prancing horse at Ferrari, and standing now as the most winning Grand Prix pilot of all time, he has clearly joined the ranks of the Formula One immortals! Do I have to tell you who he is?

Name: Michael Schumacher

Nickname: Schumi or Schuey

Date of Birth: 3rd January 1969

Nationality: German

Place of Birth: Hürth-Hermülheim, Germany

Height: 1.74m

Weight: 68kg

Residency: Vufflens-le-Château, Switzerland

Status: Married to Corinna Betsch since Tuesday 1st August 1995

Children: Gina-Maria, daughter (DOB 19/01/97) and son Mick (DOB 22/03/99).

Family: Rolf, Father, Elizabeth, Mother and Ralf, Brother (DOB 30/6/75).

His Hobbies: Soccer, tennis, swimming, skiing.

His Manager: Michael’s manager since 1989 has been Willi Weber. Schumacher was to receive a free drive in his WTS team for three years; Weber in return receives 20% of all income Michael earns from motor races. The initial agreement was to last 10 years; however it was later extended for a further several years.

F1 Teams Driven for:

Year Team Teammates

1991 Jordan 1991-Andrea de Cesaris

1991-1995 Benetton 1991-Nelson Piquet

1992-Martin Brundle

1993-Riccardo Patrese

1994-Jos Verstappen/JJ Lehto/ Jonny Herbert

1995-Jonny Herbert

1996- Ferrari 1996-1999 Eddie Irvine

2000-Rubens Barrichello

Michael Schumacher's Career Profile:

Seasons Races Wins Poles Fastest Laps Points F1 Titles

11 162 53 43 44 801 4

Michael Schumacher started out his racing career in the same way as all the great drivers, in karting. At four years old his father built him a kart and soon after enrolled him in the local kart club Kerpen Horrom.

In 1989 Michael signed with Willi Weber, whose team WTS he would drive for during 1989 and 1990 in the Formula 3 Championship. Weber paid the costs for both seasons (approximately 1 million DM). In the 1989 season Karl Wendlinger was champion, with Michael finishing 3rd behind Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

During 1990 and 1991 Schumacher moved into sports car racing, instead of the more usual step up to Formula 3000. Many managers believed this would block his progression to Formula 1, but Weber believed that exposure to professional press conferences and dealing with the cars of 700bhp would be beneficial.

The Belgian Grand Prix of 1991 at Spa was Michael's debut in the world's top racing series. His lucky break came as a result of Bertrand Gachot being imprisoned for spraying CS gas into a London taxi driver's face. Qualifying 7th, he unfortunately retired on the first lap from this race with clutch failure of his Jordan-Ford. Although Eddie Jordan wished to sign Michael to the team, Schumacher was advised by Weber to act cautiously, as Jordan was to use factory Yamaha power the following year. They suspected this engine might prove to be second class and they were proved correct.

The 1996 season saw Michael move to Ferrari with a reported salary of $30 million He stated the need for a new challenge as his reasoning, it being to return Ferrari to the pinnacle of motorsport. Eddie Irvine moved from Jordan to become his team mate in the same year. The Ferrari F310 car had poor handling and it was a testament to Michael's ability that he managed to gain three wins. One of his wins, at the Spanish GP of that year was a wet race and is regarded as one of the best drives ever. His method of attaining time from the car resulted in somewhat flamboyant and uncharacteristic driving, with oversteering et al.

Michael is Ferrari's most successful driver ever, ahead of Niki Lauda

Formula One History:

Year Position Points Championship

1991 12th (=) 0 F1 World Championship

1992 3^rd 53 F1 World Championship

1993 4th 52 F1 World Championship

1994 1^st 92 F1 World Championship

1995 1^st 102 F1 World Championship

1996 3rd 59 F1 World Championship

1997 2nd (DQ) - F1 World Championship

1998 2nd 86 F1 World Championship

1999 5^th 44 F1 World Championship

2000 1^st 108 F1 World Championship

2001 1^st 123 F1 World Championship

2002 1^st 144 F1 World Championship

2003 1^st 93 F1 World Championship

2004 1^st 110 F1 World Championship

Stuff I wrote for my college campus newspaper - 2

Crossover

Sanket ‘slow local’ Kambli

No I am not talking about any crossover movies, hell! I am not even talking about movies. I am talking about something which we encounter almost every day. Here I am dealing with issue of ‘crossing the railway tracks’. Now don’t move on to the next article, saying it doesn’t concern me, because in some way or at some time you may have to deal with it. So I will attempt to paint a picture for you. Railway tracks were made only for the trains to ply on, and nothing else. So any human has absolutely no business being on a railway track, whether a train is passing or not. But it’s a way too common a scene of humans on the track outnumbering the number of trains on them. If we had this track crossing dare in some ‘who dares win’ kind of a global show, we would beat every other foreigner hands down. But jokes apart, if probe into this habit we will see a thread tying all reasons together, it is time. ‘I would be late’ ‘It was the last train’ are the most common refrains, and any body who has spent at least a penny worth of time on time management practices, knows such situations are avoidable, it is just a matter of application of a bit of discipline. Because it makes we wonder whether we Mumbaiker’s are the only people in the whole world who are always late every where or is it that we are really busy, well just leave it here since it is not a point of discussion here. Some go on a record saying ‘I wasn’t late, but the thrill of crossing a track is awesome’, while some are victims of peer pressure, some say it saves time than using FOB (Foot Over Bridge, Hey! That is what railways call it). And after we try to analyze all these expert reasons for using the tracks as an access route, we can surely come to a conclusion that there are far safer alternatives to it. But the question still remains, how can one stop this blatantly executed dangerous activity, well even I am clueless like the railways

(Hope you have a solution, if so do reply), and with them I am praying to whomever it concerns, to put some sense into these fearless dude’s crossing over, till then the crossover saga continues.

Stuff I wrote for my college campus newspaper - 2

Crossover

Sanket ‘slow local’ Kambli

No I am not talking about any crossover movies, hell! I am not even talking about movies. I am talking about something which we encounter almost every day. Here I am dealing with issue of ‘crossing the railway tracks’. Now don’t move on to the next article, saying it doesn’t concern me, because in some way or at some time you may have to deal with it. So I will attempt to paint a picture for you. Railway tracks were made only for the trains to ply on, and nothing else. So any human has absolutely no business being on a railway track, whether a train is passing or not. But it’s a way too common a scene of humans on the track outnumbering the number of trains on them. If we had this track crossing dare in some ‘who dares win’ kind of a global show, we would beat every other foreigner hands down. But jokes apart, if probe into this habit we will see a thread tying all reasons together, it is time. ‘I would be late’ ‘It was the last train’ are the most common refrains, and any body who has spent at least a penny worth of time on time management practices, knows such situations are avoidable, it is just a matter of application of a bit of discipline. Because it makes we wonder whether we Mumbaiker’s are the only people in the whole world who are always late every where or is it that we are really busy, well just leave it here since it is not a point of discussion here. Some go on a record saying ‘I wasn’t late, but the thrill of crossing a track is awesome’, while some are victims of peer pressure, some say it saves time than using FOB (Foot Over Bridge, Hey! That is what railways call it). And after we try to analyze all these expert reasons for using the tracks as an access route, we can surely come to a conclusion that there are far safer alternatives to it. But the question still remains, how can one stop this blatantly executed dangerous activity, well even I am clueless like the railways

(Hope you have a solution, if so do reply), and with them I am praying to whomever it concerns, to put some sense into these fearless dude’s crossing over, till then the crossover saga continues.

Stuff I wrote for my college campus newspaper

Chill Out!!!!!!

Sanket ‘Serve Chilled’ Kambli

As I sit in the voices cabin staring at the PC screen, thinking what to write (type), while the powerful A/C behind me is busy, trying to freeze me. I eventually decided to write about the thing on mind ‘COLD’, No! Not about the! EVIL A/C! bent on freezing me, but the drop in temperatures in our city. We all must have experienced the unusual dip in temperatures, leading to cool nights, and shivering mornings. Well, the fact that I don’t see snow anywhere, except in my old (No! Defrost) freezer, is proof that things aren’t worse here. But what the heck, we Mumbaiker’s need only a tiny reason to flaunt, so out come all the woolies; sweaters, jackets(esp. leather ones), and other assorted winter wear falling short of gloves. Students with early morning classes feel the brunt, as mornings tend to be chilly. And in classrooms, the person who wants the fan turned on gets looks, as if he has colored his hair green. Our reliably non reliable Meteorological Dept. attributes this climate to ‘some’ pressure in ‘some’ zone due to ‘some’ winds blowing in ‘some’ abnormal way; here ‘some’ refers to things we had heard in out geography text books. You know what I like about these nippy winters? Not only does the temperature fall but even my electric bill sees a rare drop, thanks to almost no usage of the A/C. Well this winter sure brings some mixed responses, mostly negative. But it seems like everyone is slowly adjusting to this new cool climate, and all the complaints are subsiding. And with winter nearing its end (OK it’s not so near!), some want to enjoy the cooling effect of this climate, as long as it lasts. Well have fun, as I cannot wait here any longer, so I sign off, ADIOS.

This is what I am going to do, check it out!

I have decided to put up all the articlles that I had written for my college campus newspaer - VOICES, and I am also thinking of adding my poems ASAP, so lets begin

My second baby step in this world of weblog

OK enough of jokes this is my 2^nd blog. And let us see what stuff should be placed in here, I like cycling. I 1^st rode a bicycle when I was 8 year old, I used to ride bicycles earlier but they were not mine. I got a bicycle called roadster and liked racing it, against just about any vehicle. Since my neighborhood was residential, the vehicles maintained a minimum speed, and with the help of this and the speed breakers, I could manage to overtake most of them, overtaking and maintaining lead was my only objective while riding my bicycle. I didn’t care about the pleasures of slow riding. But one thing which I kept in mind was never race against motorbikes, whether they are 100cc or 250cc, they are damn swift. Fellow cycle riders never posed any challenge and except one, no rider has ever managed to go faster than me, Ok the roadster was a small bike, after three years, I got myself a mountain terrain bicycle, it had no gear system, well there were only two models of geared bikes available, and one was a racing bike and other was very heavy, it was always recommended to own a terrain bike, because my city had certain roads which were very bad. The new bike was called Cannon Barrel, design wise it was fresh, and I got a lot of turning heads. I still like riding, but now I prefer long distances, riding on highways is amazing, but now the racing is toned down, now its all about cruising along on a long winding road, cycling as a sport is not much supported or promoted in my country, or else surely, one day I would have been gunning for Tour de France. Well that was my bicycle story, next time I will feature the accidents I have encountered on my bike rides, till then …

YO! Here We GO! -- 1st Blog -- Its gonna stink! HA !

OK .. I will make sure it doesn't suck , but i m here without any pointers , as to what this BLOG thing is all about, so i m still figuring out where to begin. Should I begin with..ouch..... shit...this is the second mosquito which has bitten me in this week ,ha ha ha its dead now, i smashed it...i m evil.......man! this probably the most mosquito infested time of my life, can you believe it I had never seen a single mosquito(mosqi) anywhere in my house, and now i feel they have swelled in number ok its a hyperbole(hyperbleee) , and there is only one person to blame for this the builder of my appartment thanks to his delayed construction of additional floors, acculmulation of construction stuff has invited the mosqi's for a party, but they cant escape the wrath,,, the wrath of sankoobaba, damn !!! got to go complete my assignment for tomorrow , and its not something i dig doin'' its called calculus.