25 Things About Me (You May Not Know)

One of my closest friends once tagged me in a note on Facebook revealing some of the shocking secrets. The idea was to write an equal number of random things about myself and tag all the other people I wanted, to read these 25 things about me. And so it finally comes into shape today! (In this Facebook age, the better-suited title would have been "25 Things On My Mind".)

Here’s my story (barely random and significantly long - I spent more than an hour listing them all):

1. I love reading. I read absolutely anything that comes in handy. Of all, my favorite book is “Indian Muslims – Where Have They Gone Wrong?” by Dr. Rafiq Zakaria. With that in place, I feel my vocabulary is limited to a very small set of words.
2. I have full faith in the Indian government, its initiatives, and its efforts. I know the future is even brighter.
3. I sometimes feel people (/Indians) not living in India should not be allowed to crib about issues in India. (If you can’t see the brighter side, be equally blind to the darker one.)
4. I wish India and Pakistan were never separated. I would’ve loved supporting a cricket team with opening batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar and opening bowlers like Wasim Akram. (And Sania Mirza could marry Shoaib Malik with peace - without making any political news. Shashi Tharoor could also mind his own business.)
5. I hope Indians do equally great in other sports (than Cricket) in the future; in Hockey to start with. We are better than China in many ways. Why not in the Olympics then?
6. I love Banana milkshakes. Any day, any time.
7. The cook at my parents’ place is just great. But I especially go home, just so that I can wake up to the tea my Mom prepares.
8. Believe it or not, I’m quite shy. And I don’t lie, as far as possible. With the spread of the world wide web and people’s momentous presence online (Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, etc), I feel it's practically impossible to lie about anything. Nobody but Rajinikanth can hide from Google's Search Engine spiders.
9. My family is my life and my friends are my life support. No wonder I’ve survived not-so-pleasant phases of my life quite effortlessly.
10. I’m quite selfish (and self-centered?) compared to my friends. I guess my friends know that too. They still love me!
11. I owe my financial and social independence to my teachers (trainers) and my employer. (My parents are my teachers. My sister is like my mother.)
12. I’m not a foodie. I can barely differentiate tastes. I’m just not into junk food and given a choice, I can live with all-boiled, no-spice food (saatvik aahar) for the rest of my life.
13. Something’s wrong with the way I talk. Somehow, at first, most people feel I’m arrogant or have an attitude problem.
14. My likes in a profession are pretty unrealistic. It's a mix of some random things I’m good at, including updating HTML pages.
15. I love writing with fountain pens. (It’s one of many other things I try and copy from my Father.)
16. I am not superstitious. But there’s certainly some magic in the shooting stars.
17. I like to believe I have an OCD for hygiene – especially in toilets, the kitchen, and the dining area. I guess I also have acrophobia. I most certainly have acarophobia.
18. I prefer Facebook over Orkut, Tea over Coffee, Pune over Bombay/Bangalore/Surat.., Windows over Linux, Red Wine over White, Test-match over ODI/T20, Vada-pav over Burger, Scotch over Vodka/Rum/Beer, Animated over SciFi/Action flicks, House over Hip-hop music and Sambuca over Tequila.
19. I believe in Karma and the ‘Karmic Law’.
20. I hate cooking. I hate it more when people expect me to cook. (I'm aware 'hate' is a strong word and must be used for the highest degree of disgust.)
21. It surprises me that some people are still stuck to hard cash, and worse, they believe that plastic money/cheques are bad.
22. The Internet (on the Mobile phone) is the best invention ever. Swimming is the best exercise ever.
23. I do play Tabla and Harmonium. I’m formally trained in Indian Classical Music (vocal) and my personal favorites are Raag Kaafi and Bhairavi. I’ve turned to Western music now. Starting with Saxophone.
24. I sincerely feel people should wear helmets/seatbelts without any exceptions. We’ve lost some precious lives in the past due to this ignorance, and I hope everyone understands that their life is much more important than they think.
25. I can’t compromise with my ‘space’. I get quite upset (and annoyed) if the entropy of my house changes. I love my freedom at my new ‘home’. But I do feel quite lonely at times.
26. In my free time, I like making random changes to my website. I’ll always be obliged to Pritesh (and Dharmesh-Bhai) for this great gift!
27. I always over-do things, like I couldn’t limit it to ‘25’ (or '15' in Quick 15 Books)