A BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY

"I have known that there are various ways for proposing love. The Tamil films show the N number of ways for proposing love. Through SMS, through phone, through letters, and in "Anniyan" film Vikram, proposes through application form sort of letter, and in some other film, an actor proposes love through mike in the library. I forgot who he is" – She went on speaking.

"Its Karthick"- I said.

She then continued, "I never had ever thought, that some one could propose through a story. I was just stunned to read the story. I really don't know what to say." The story I had written and given to her was still in her hands.

We were sitting opposite to each other in the electric train that travels from Chengalpattu to Chennai Beach. It was 6'0 clock in the evening, and outside was quite cool thanks to the slight drizzle. The scenic beauty outside was simply amazing in such a climate, and normally I would have been looking outside thinking poetically about the Nature's creations. Today however I was not looking outside as another beauty of nature's creation had my full attention now.

The train has just started moving from Vandalur station, and a young chap selling groundnuts got in the moving train quite dangerously. Her eyes which were following that chap, now turned towards me. I tried to find whether her magnetic eyes would reveal anything going inside her mind, but my mind reading skills had abandoned me in this crucial time. She didn't let me worry about her response for a long time.

"You have conveyed your feelings in such a fascinating way. I wish even I could do the same. But then I don't have such a talent. So this is all I could do" – saying she wrote "I too love you" in her beautiful handwriting below the story. I couldn't believe it. I never expected that she would accept it. If some one had said that I would get a girl friend one hour before, I would have probably laughed at them. In fact I met her just forty five minutes ago.

Forty Five Minutes Ago:

I was standing alone in the Paranur railway station. There would be big crowd normally during this time if it had been a week day. Today was a Saturday, and hence I had to travel with out my usual friends. I felt very bored and irritated. I didn't know what to do. I didn't have any book also in my hand. My watch revealed that it would take ten more minutes before the train would finally arrive, i.e. if the train came on time. I know standing alone in Paranur; it could be a very long ten more minutes.

"You are Subramani, right" – a sweet voice disturbed my thought.

"Ya I am" – I don't think my voice stumbled so much even when I attended the infy interview.

"I have read your stories in the bulletin board. They are too good" – her sweet voice continued.

I had received so many positive comments for my writings in the bulletin board itself. I had even received some mails praising my stories. And the friends I had got during the training in Mysore, but now in different IBUs have praised me, when ever they came across me in the food courts. A stranger praising me in the railway station is some thing I never expected would happen. I would have loved to talk to any person given my loneliness, and if that person is going to be a beautiful girl like her, I have no reason to complain. Life is so good.

"The last story where you wrote about the ……………." She went on speaking about my stories. I don't want to lie that my attention was only in her speech. If I am going to explain her beauty you may think of it has an exaggeration. The way she combed her hair with her beautiful fingers, whenever the gentle breeze disturbed her hair, the way she adjusted her 'Dhupatta', and the way in which she logically analyzed my stories, some thing within me said that "Subramani, She should be yours".

I never believed in Love at first sight. I had made fun of all those Tamil films where the hero falls for the heroine, just after seeing her. Now I know I am doing exactly the same. Some thing in her made me fall for her. Don't ask me the reasons. I won't be able to explain.

The train sound disturbed my thought. "Why the hell did the train come so soon"- I wondered. The ten long minutes I was talking about earlier flew like ten seconds. I was worried that she might get into the Ladies compartment. Nevertheless I said "You got to walk little back for the ladies compartment". "No probs. I would get in the general compartment with you. I need to talk a lot with you" – I don't know how I controlled myself from jumping up and down in the station.

Inside the train, I wanted to talk so much to her, but words failed me. All I could ask her was her name, which college she studied, and some other stupid questions, and some third persons looking at us might have thought I am conducting some interview. I felt so bad; I didn't know how to impress a girl. For some guys, it comes naturally, but then not for me.

"How long you take to write a story"- she saved me as when it comes to talking about the story, I can talk to any one.

"It depends" I said, "Sometimes it takes even 3 days, but some times I even finish it off in half an hour".

"Can you write a story for me now?"

"Sure" – I replied as though I am expecting such a request.

"Sorry for asking an Instant story, like an instant coffee. If you have some other work, please feel free to say it. I don't mind" she said.

"I don't have any other work" – I had already started writing the story in few A4 sheets I had.

She did not disturb me. She seems to have understood that the only thing the person wants while writing a story is loneliness. I don't like people peeping into my stories before I finish it, and thank God she didn't. When I was about to finish the story, She asked "What sort of story it is?"

"Love story" – I replied.

"You had never written a love story before- at least you had never written it in the bulletin board before"

"Ya, this is my first love story. I just wanted to try something different"

I finished off the story and gave it to her. She arranged the papers in her hand and started reading the story.

PS: Are you wondering, what story I wrote and gave, that made her accept my love. Are you wondering how did I propose my love in that story? Do you want to read that story? If your answer is Yes, if you badly want to read that story which made me propose my love indirectly, if you want to read that story that made her accept my love, then READ THIS STORY AGAIN.

25 Hidden Applications in Windows XP...Useful Applications

I have compiled a list of all the hidden applications available in Windows XP. Many of them are quite common and are known by many.
Remember, to ruu these applications, all you need to do is go to Start > Run and type any of the following commands:

1) Character Map = charmap.exe (very useful for finding unusual characters)

2) Disk Cleanup = cleanmgr.exe

3) Clipboard Viewer = clipbrd.exe (views contents of Windows clipboard)

4) Dr Watson = drwtsn32.exe (Troubleshooting tool)

5) DirectX diagnosis = dxdiag.exe (Diagnose & test DirectX, video & sound cards)

6) Private character editor = eudcedit.exe (allows creation or modification of characters)

7) IExpress Wizard = iexpress.exe (Create self-extracting / self-installing package)

8) Microsoft Synchronization Manager = mobsync.exe (appears to allow synchronization of files on the network for when working offline. Apparently undocumented).

9) Windows Media Player 5.1 = mplay32.exe (Retro version of Media Player, very basic).

10) ODBC Data Source Administrator = odbcad32.exe (something to do with databases)

11) Object Packager = packager.exe (to do with packaging objects for insertion in files, appears to have comprehensive help files).

12) System Monitor = perfmon.exe (very useful, highly configurable tool, tells you everything you ever wanted to know about any aspect of PC performance, for uber-geeks only )

13) Program Manager = progman.exe (Legacy Windows 3.x desktop shell).

14) Remote Access phone book = rasphone.exe (documentation is virtually non-existant).

15) Registry Editor = regedt32.exe [also regedit.exe] (for hacking the Windows Registry).

16) Network shared folder wizard = shrpubw.exe (creates shared folders on network).

17) File siganture verification tool = sigverif.exe

18) Volume Contro = sndvol32.exe (I've included this for those people that lose it from the System Notification area).

19) System Configuration Editor = sysedit.exe (modify System.ini & Win.ini just like in Win98! ).

20) Syskey = syskey.exe (Secures XP Account database - use with care, it's virtually undocumented but it appears to encrypt all passwords, I'm not sure of the full implications).

21) Microsoft Telnet Client = telnet.exe

22) Driver Verifier Manager = verifier.exe (seems to be a utility for monitoring the actions of drivers, might be useful for people having driver problems. Undocumented).

23) Windows for Workgroups Chat = winchat.exe (appears to be an old NT utility to allow chat sessions over a LAN, help files available).

24) System configuration = msconfig.exe (can use to control starup programs)

25) gpedit.msc used to manage group policies, and permissions

LINUX VS WINDOWS--LINUX ROCKS

1.Reduces the risk of carpal tunnel syndrome
When linux is properly installed, there no longer a need to use the mouse. Chances of you using a mouse is close to zero.

2.Use the extra cash for rewards
Linux is 100% free while Windows Vista Ultimate costs $398.99 at the time of writing. Companies that pay a licensing annually could have used the money for other things like buying an additional server to reduce the load or even give a bigger bonus to its loyal employees.

3.Formats are free, freedom is preserved
Linux file formats can be accessed in a variety of ways because they are free. Windows on the other hand makes you lock your own data in secret formats that can only be accessed with tools leased to you at the vendor's price. "What we will get with Microsoft is a three-year lease on a health record we need to keep for 100 years"

4.Zero risk in violating license agreements
Linux is open source so you are unlikely to violate any license agreement. All the software is happily yours. With MS Windows you likely already violate all kinds of licenses and you could be pronounced a computer pirate if only a smart lawyer was after you. The worldwide PC software piracy rate for 2004 is at 35%. Which means that 3 out of 10 people are likely to get into real trouble.

5.Transparent vs Proprietary
MS Windows is based on DOS, Linux is based on UNIX. MS Windows Graphical User Interface (GUI) is based on Microsoft-own marketing-driven specifications. Linux GUI is based on industry-standard network-transparent X-Windows.

6.Better network, processing capabilities
Linux beats Windows hands down on network features, as a development platform, in data processing capabilities, and as a scientific workstation. MS Windows desktop has a more polished appearance, simple general business applications, and many more games for kids (less intellectual games compared to linux's).

7.Customizable
Linux is customizable in a way that Windows is not. For example, NASlite is a version of Linux that runs off a single floppy disk and converts an old computer into a file server. This ultra small edition of Linux is capable of networking, file sharing and being a web server.

8.Flexibility
Windows must boot from a primary partition. Linux can boot from either a primary partition or a logical partition inside an extended partition. Windows must boot from the first hard disk. Linux can boot from any hard disk in the computer.

9.Mobility
Windows allows programs to store user information (files and settings) anywhere. This makes it impossibly hard to backup user data files and settings and to switch to a new computer. In contrast, Linux stores all user data in the home directory making it much easier to migrate from an old computer to a new one. If home directories are segregated in their own partition, you can even upgrade from one version of Linux to another without having to migrate user data and settings.

10.Proven Security
Why isn't Linux affected by viruses? Simply because its code has been open source for more than a decade, tested by people all around the world, and not by a single development team like in the case of Windows. This leads to a lightning fast finding and fixing for exploitable holes in Linux. So that my friends, proves Linux as having an extremely enhanced security and lesser chances of exploits compared to Windows.

Ten best performances by Indian cricketers in 2008

Tendulkar crossing Lara and getting to 12,000:
It was another special year for Sachin Tendulkar. Crossing some notable landmarks made it a significant period for him even as he entered his 20th year in international cricket. He is still hungry for success, still retains his boyish enthusiasm for the game as symbolized by a joyous leap in the air as he completed his hundred and was there at the finish when India chased an unlikely target of 387 to beat England at Chennai. That hundred was among four that he hit – most by an Indian - as he crossed the 1000-run mark in a calendar year for the fifth time. The other three hundreds were all against Australia. Statistically though his biggest achievement was passing Brian Lara as the highest run-getter in Tests and then becoming the first to cross the 12,000-run mark. He stretched his record number of centuries to 41, his career average hovered around the 55 mark and he became the second most capped player (along with Allan Border) with 156 Tests. 2009 should see him overhaul Steve Waugh’s record of 168 Tests – just another feather in Tendulkar’s much decorated cap.

Virender Sehwag, 319 India vs South Africa, Chennai:
A feat that put Virender Sehwag alongside Don Bradman and Brian Lara has to be the batting performance of the year. A triple century in a Test is an outstanding feat underlined by the fact that it has been done only 22 times in 1900 matches spread over 131 years. Going into the Chennai Test against South Africa in March Sehwag was India’s only triple centurion. Now against all expectations the Nawab of Najafgarh not only got a second 300-plus score but bettered his old mark of 309 by hammering 319 off just 304 balls with 42 fours and five sixes. He dominated a first wicket partnership of 213 runs with Wasim Jaffer and then put Rahul Dravid in the shade during their second wicket association of 268. It mattered least to Sehwag that South Africa had led off with a first innings total of 527. By the time he was second out at 481 he had made sure that this score would be passed with ease. The bowling line-up wasn’t a bad one – Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini and Jacques Kallis – but Sehwag treated all of them with disdain in running up the highest score of the year in his inimitable swashbuckling style.

Virender Sehwag 201 not out vs Sri Lanka:
Anything is possible when Virender Sehwag is around. Even a strike rate of almost 86 during a year when he scored 1462 runs – next only to Graeme Smith - at an average of 56 with 22 sixes the most hit by any batsmen during the year. But carrying his bat? Now that was the one feat clearly beyond even Sehwag. His buccaneering batting style meant it was Mission Impossible. It certainly was beyond such pioneers in the swashbuckling approach like Mushtaq Ali and Kris Srikkanth. But Sehwag who has carried the art and science of breezy batting and big hits to a new realm broke new ground against Sri Lanka at Galle. He and Gautam Gambhir were associated in an opening partnership of 167 runs only for wickets to fall in a heap. From the uncertainty of 178 for four Sehwag and VVS Laxman took the score to a healthier 278 when the latter fell. Again wickets fell in a heap as Murali and Mendis chipped away at the batting. Nothing however could disturb Sehwag's equanimity or run production. Finally last man Ishant Sharma was out and the innings terminated at 329. But out of that modest total Sehwag had hit 201 and what’s more remained unbeaten after having negotiated 231 balls and hitting 22 fours and four sixes. Oh, and by the way India won by 170 runs.

India successfully chasing 387 vs England at Chennai:
The fact that the highest winning total in the fourth innings in India before this was 256 for eight illustrates the greatness of the feat. Few gave India any chance of successfully chasing such an imposing target when they commenced their task after Kevin Pietersen declared on the fourth evening. But Virender Sehwag’s buccaneering batting that saw him get 83 off just 68 balls with 11 fours and four sixes was just the tonic the Indians required. Still, to get 256 runs with nine wickets in hand on the last day wasn’t going to be an easy task and it was still anybody’s match. Dravid’s early fall tilted the balance in England’s favour but Gautam Gambhir and VVS Laxman made valuable contributions in partnership with Sachin Tendulkar. The match was evenly poised when Yuvraj Singh joined Tendulkar at 224 for four. But the master’s calm presence inspired Yuvraj to display his brilliance and ere long India were coasting along towards victory which
came without the fall of any more wickets, the two batsmen sharing an unbroken partnership of 163 in 42 overs. Tendulkar capped a memorable finish by hitting the winning boundary which took him to his 41st Test century while Yuvraj remained not out with 85. It was the fourth highest run chase in Test history which was pushed to fifth place a week later by South Africa’s memorable 414 for four against Australia at Melbourne.

Yuvraj Singh’s two successive hundreds against England:
By the end of the year Yuvraj Singh had at last made sure of his place in the Test side but in ODIs his record as a match winner remained second to none. Symbolizing this was his back-to-back hundreds against England at Rajkot and Indore. Little wonder then that Kevin Pietersen when asked on the eve of the next match as to what he thought would be a safe score for England replied tongue in cheek "the way Yuvraj is batting, 450!" The England attack manned by Anderson, Harmison, Flintoff, Broad and Collingwood was by no means ordinary but they were made to look ordinary by Yuvraj’s brilliance. The left- hander tore into the bowling hitting an unbeaten 138 off just 78 balls with 16 fours and six sixes at Rajkot to help his team reach an unconquerable total of 387 for five. Not unexpectedly India romped to victory by 158 runs. Yuvraj had not finished `Operation Demolition’ yet. At Indore three days later came another master class – 118 off 122 balls with 15 fours and two sixes. In a way this was the more valuable knock for while he came in at 153 for two at Rajkot this time the score was 29 for three when he walked in. After a sedate start he did pretty much what he liked with the bowling. This time England went down by 54 runs with Yuvraj the bowler doing most damage with four for 28.

The graduation of Gautam Gambhir:
At the start of the year Gautam Gambhir was not a regular in the Indian ODI side. By the end of the year he had established himself in the team and was no longer the small boy among the big men. From being in and out of the team he was now a permanent fixture – as permanent as the superstars. It was the 27-year-old left handed opening batsman who most unexpectedly was the highest run getter in ODIs. His remarkable consistency saw him finish as the year’s leading run-getter with 1119 runs at an average of 46.62 from 27 innings at an impressive strike rate of 90.5 with three hundreds and seven half centuries. He may not be a big hitter in the league of Virender Sehwag or Shahid Afridi but as many as 124 fours hit during the year underscored his timing and the ability to find the gaps. Gambhir’s success story started during the CB series 'Down Under' when he finished as the leading run-getter and with two classy hundreds played a leading role in India’s maiden triumph in the competition. Thereafter he was a key player being particularly effective in the Asia Cup and remained a model of consistency against England towards the end of the year. Of course for good measure he made remarkable progress in Tests too.

Virender Sehwag’s amazing strike rate:
Virender Sehwag bats the same way be it Tests or ODIs or Twenty20. He enjoys a fearsome reputation in all forms of the game and during the year he enhanced it further as the figures will readily confirm. In 18 ODIs he scored 893 runs at an average approaching 50 with a hundred and eight half centuries. Not unexpectedly he hit 22 sixes (more than anyone else) and 121 fours. But perhaps most astonishingly the runs were hammered at a strike rate of 120 which was the highest among those who scored more than 300 runs. Starting off with a modest record in the CB Series `Down Under’ he struck form in the Asia Cup and wound up the year getting four half centuries in five matches against England. His 119 off 95 balls with 12 fours and five sixes against Pakistan in the Asia Cup match at Karachi was one of the most sparkling knocks seen during the year. His pyrotechnics saw India successfully chase a target of 300 with 7.5 overs to spare.

Dhoni's excellent run with the bat:
For Mahendra Singh Dhoni 2008 was another triumphant year as captain, batsmen and wicket keeper. The charismatic cricketer could do no wrong particularly in ODIs where besides leading the Indians to notable triumphs in the CB Series, in Sri Lanka and a sweep against England he also struck good form with the bat. In 26 innings he scored 1097 runs at a highly impressive average of 57.73 and a par strike rate of 82.29 with one hundred and eight half centuries. As many as 74 fours and 14 sixes indicated that he was adept at timing the ball and finding the gaps even as his reputation as a big hitter did not suffer any damage. Captaincy was hardly a burden for Dhoni who batted with the same fluency that has been his trademark for some years now. But he was more consistent as the scores indicate as also the fact that he was second to Gautam Gambhir among the run- getters. This was possible because he remained among the runs throughout the year – the CB Series, in Sri Lanka, in the Asia Cup and against England.

Tendulkar's back to back knocks vs Australia in CB series:
Even as Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly followed VVS Laxman out of the one day squad there was considerable speculation whether Sachin Tendulkar deserved a place particularly in the wake of the Twenty20 World Cup triumph having been achieved without the presence of the senior players. The accent as 2008 dawned was on youth but it was difficult to omit Tendulkar on his class, skill, experience – and results. The CB Series triumph 'Down Under' was one of the significant achievements of the year and Tendulkar played a notable part in it particularly with his sterling back-to-back knocks in the two finals against Australia. In the first match at Sydney he played the anchor role to perfection as the Indians successfully chased down a target of 240 with six wickets and 4.1 overs to spare.Tendulkar was there at the finish unbeaten with 117 in 120 balls with ten hits to the fence. Two days later at Brisbane against tighter bowling Tendulkar again played the anchor role admirably hitting 91 off 121 balls with seven fours before being fourth out at 205 in the 40th over. His knock enabled the Indians to set the Aussies a target of 259. The home side could only get 249 before being all out in the last over. The closeness of the result underscored the importance of Tendulkar’s contribution.

CB Series triumph:
In five previous attempts while participating in this prestigious competition the Indians had made an early exit twice and had lost in the final of the triangular tournament three times. Not unexpectedly oft crowned champions Australia were again the favourites and it only remained to be seen which team among India and Sri Lanka would be their opponents in the final. The Indian campaign got off to a rather rocky start with two no results and then three of the next five games being lost. But with Sri Lanka not faring much better India remained in the hunt and clinched a place in the final with a seven-wicket win over the island nation. And in the best of three finals India raised the level of their game to surprise the hosts by six wickets and nine runs to win the trophy for the first time. It was a significant triumph made possible by the batting of Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar and the captain MS Dhoni with useful contributions from Rohit Sharma. Gambhir with 440 runs was the top run-getter in the tournament hitting two hundreds while Tendulkar with 399 runs with a century and two half centuries was not far behind. The bowlers, notably the experienced Harbhajan Singh, the fast rising Ishant Sharma and the unheralded Praveen Kumar too performed admirably.