Senin, 22 Desember 2008
Sabtu, 13 Desember 2008
Mumbai gunman's confession sheds light on massacre
MUMBAI, India – The gunman captured in last month's Mumbai attacks had originally intended to seize hostages and outline demands in a series of dramatic calls to the media, according to his confession obtained Saturday by The Associated Press. Mohammed Ajmal Kasab said he and his partner, who massacred dozens of people in the city's main train station, had planned a rooftop standoff, but abandoned the plans because they couldn't find a suitable building, the statement to police says.
Kasab's seven-page confession, given to police over repeated interrogations, offers chilling new details of the three-day rampage through India's commercial center that left 164 people plus nine gunmen dead. He said the assault, which started Nov. 26, was initially set for Sept. 27, though he doesn't explain why it was delayed. The gunmen had been told by their handlers to carry out the attacks during rush hours when the station is teeming with commuters.
After reaching Mumbai, Kasab and his partner, Ismail Khan, the group's ringleader, headed to the train station by taxi. "Ismail and myself went to the common toilet, took out the weapons from our sacks, loaded them, came out of toilet and started firing indiscriminately toward the passengers," Kasab told police. As a police officer opened fire, the two militants retaliated with grenades before entering another part of the station and randomly shooting more commuters.
The men then searched for a building with a rooftop where they had been told to hold hostages and call a contact named Chacha, whom Kasab identified as Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the suspected mastermind behind the attacks. Chacha, which means "uncle" in Hindi, would supply phone numbers for media outlets and specify what demands the two should make. "This was the general strategy decided by our trainers," Kasab said. Taking heavy fire from police, the two had trouble finding a "suitable building" and stormed a hospital they mistook for an apartment building. There, they searched for hostages and traded more gunfire with security forces. It's unclear if they ever held hostages.
When they left, a police van pulled up and the two tried to take shelter behind a bush during the shootout. Kasab was hit in the hand as Khan returned fire. "They got injured and the firing from their side stopped," he said. Police have confirmed the van was carrying top police officials, including the head of the anti-terror squad who was killed.
In the confession, Kasab, 21, describes his conversion from an aspiring street criminal to a loyal soldier for Lashkar-e-Taiba, the terrorist group banned by Pakistan in 2002 and blamed by India in the attacks. He came to the organization last year while looking to buy guns to commit robberies after quitting a low-paying job at a catering business. The search led him to several Lashkar "stalls" at a bazaar in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi, he said.
Kasab went on to receive rigorous training in weapons handling and other skills, attending at least six Lashkar camps and visiting his parents twice during breaks, he said. Lashkar operatives even lectured recruits on India security and intelligence agencies, and taught them how to evade pursuing security forces.He said they were shown "clippings highlighting the atrocities on Muslims in India," images of Mumbai locations on Google Earth, and film footage of the train station. "We were instructed to carry out the firing at rush hour in the morning between 7 to 11 hours and between 7 and 11 hours in the evening," he said. The attacks ultimately started around 9:30 p.m.
After Kasab and nine others were picked among a group of 32 recruits, they headed to Karachi in September and practiced traveling on speed boats. On Nov. 23, the group was transported to a ship called the Al-Huseini far out at sea. Shortly after boarding, "each of us was given a sack containing 8 grenades, one AK47 rifle, 200 cartridges, two magazines and one cell phone for communication," he said. The Al-Huseini's crew, he said, later hijacked an Indian vessel, killing all but one crew member who was temporality kept alive and held at gunpoint to guide them into Mumbai's coastal waters. "When we were at some distance from the shore, Ismail and (another militant) killed the Indian seaman" before the group boarded a dinghy and came ashore "per the instructions received earlier."
Police said Saturday that Kasab, who's facing a criminal case in the attacks, has written to Pakistani officials to request legal help. In a letter written Thursday, he asked for "legal aid" from the Pakistani consulate and requested a meeting with a consular representative, said Rakesh Maria, Mumbai's chief investigator. The letter was forwarded to India's government to relay to Pakistani officials, but it was unclear whether it had been delivered, Maria said. Pakistani officials were not immediately available for comment. A number of Indian lawyers — including a prominent group of Mumbai attorneys — have refused to defend Kasab against criminal charges amid outrage over the attacks.
Kasab is being held on 12 offenses, including murder and waging war against the country, but has not yet been formally charged. Islamabad has refused to acknowledge Kasab's nationality, complaining that India has yet to furnish any evidence.
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Kamis, 11 Desember 2008
India is the new Australia: Akram
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's leadership has changed the face of Indian cricket, according to Pakistan's pace legend Wasim Akram who believes it is a matter of time before India upstages Australia as the number one team in the world.
Akram said Dhoni has completely transformed the team ever since he took over the mantle of captaincy and that Indian cricket was on the right track with a number of talented players in their ranks.
"Dhoni has changed the face of Indian cricket, there is no doubt about that. He leads from the front, he has charisma and players like him. You can't ask for anything more," Akram said in a telephonic interview.
"He has given the team the confidence. The players now believe that they can go and beat any team and it is this confidence that has helped India to bring about the desired results," the former Pakistan captain said.
Akram, regarded as one of the finest left-arm speedsters with 414 Test and 502 ODI wickets to his credit in a career spanning nearly 17 years, said Dhoni had also brought about a refreshing change in his attitude and approach to matches.
"It does not matter whether Sachin Tendulkar is resting or some other players are injured, the Indians are so confident that they go out and do the job. It was not the case about six or seven years ago, India did not have that confidence," he observed.
"If the captain leads from the front, half the job is done. That is what I like about Dhoni. He is cool, comes out with few quotes and gets the best out of his players," Akram said.
"Leading the Chennai team in the upcoming Champions League will be a good challenge for him since there will be a lot of international teams," he said.
Asked whether India would be able to topple Australia as the number one team in the near future, Akram said "India is the new Australia. I think they are on the right track to achieve that".
Akram also lavished praise on India's new pace sensation Ishant Sharma saying the Delhi youngster had improved by leaps and bounds in the last few months.
"Ishant has been a revelation. He has really improved in the last few months and I think he is a real asset to India," Akram said about the paceman who emerged as the man-of-the-series in the recent Test series against Australia.
"After the Australian tour late last year, his length was slightly short. But he has now rectified that and was simply brilliant in the recent series against Australia. The way he bowled, it seemed he had been around in Test cricket for five years or so," he said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator said Ishant will only get better with time but also cautioned that the youngster needed to be handled well to prolong his career.
"He (Ishant) will get quicker and better with time, there is no doubt about it. He just has to keep himself fit as fast bowling is hard work," Akram pointed out.
He said the Indian bowling line-up looked quite balanced at the moment and the presence of an in-form Zaheer Khan has provided a lot more sting.
"Zaheer has been fantastic. He has bowled the reverse swing well, got the ball to swing in and out... he has become a complete bowler now. He really provides that cutting edge to the attack," he said.
"India always had good spinners but I am happy to see these pacemen developing. They are winning matches for India", Akram said.
The ex-pacer said Harbhajan Singh was capable enough to shoulder the responsibility in the spin department following the retirement of champion leg spinner Anil Kumble.
"Harbhajan is a good spinner. It is now upto him to take upon the responsibility in the spin department. I think he is capable of doing it and also has the experience".
Akram also credited India's rise as a cricketing nation to the planning done by the BCCI over the last few years.
"Credit must also go the BCCI for India's rise in recent times. They have planned and implemented everything well. The results have started coming now," he added.
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Rabu, 03 Desember 2008
Jobless, yet busy
It was a cold winter morning. With heavy snowfall last evening, the roads in Rapid City were decorated with snow and it got worse when the roads started becoming slippery. My Nissan Altima with its front-wheel-drive merely could manage to get me to School. Before I get to School everyday I remind myself of the pile of work I need to wrap-up before it gets too late but once I am at School, I am sleepy! I had a class at 1, and then I had all the time in the world to play stickcricket.
I had been struggling to defeat Sri Lanka because of the huge target of over 500 in 20 overs. I could barely reach 470 in earlier attempts against this team. Today was 'the' day. Everything went on perfect- a perfect start, a perfect 368-run 1st wicket partnership, a whopping run-rate of over 28 runs an over, and lots of sixes! I was so elated to see just 15 runs required off the last over, that I knew I had made it. Every other time I needed over 70 runs off the last over! Anyways, I finished it off with a six, and with 2 balls to spare in the last over! (psst...)
Now with only about a fortnight remaining for the semester to end, I have the following tasks to complete. 5 assignments, a project, 2 final exams and research briefing. Yet another year is coming to an end, and I just keep reflecting upon myself how hard this year has been for me. Just so much alone with none by my side to walk hand-in-hand and share all the sad and the success stories. Guess that's what's life, and yeah, as some say, "grow up; life moves on!".
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Minggu, 02 November 2008
At my jobless best: part 2
Minggu, 26 Oktober 2008
At my jobless best
Rabu, 24 September 2008
Test series in India a big challenge: Brett Lee
Jaipur, Sept 23 (ANI): Australian cricket team's fast bowler, Brett Lee on Tuesday said that the upcoming Test Series in India would be a big challenge for the young Australian side. Addressing a news conference in Jaipur, where the Australian cricket team will be training for a week, Lee said that it would be good for the Australian side to face India. "The younger guys have to start somewhere and what better stage than to play here in India. It's a wonderful place to tour - the country, the people, the culture, the cricket's pretty hard work, so we have to make sure our plans are in place."
The Australian team will fly to Hyderabad for a four-day match against the Indian team from October 2. The team landed in Mumbai on Monday and then flew to Rajasthan. Brett Lee also added that All-rounder Andrew Symonds would be missed and added, "But we surely have other great players here who can hopefully almost step into Andrew's shoes." Andrew Symonds was dropped from the team for the one-day series with Bangladesh in Darwin earlier this month after he missed a team meeting and went fishing instead and was not included for the India series as well.
Australia will be counting on their pace attack, not spin, to beat India in the four-test series that begins next month, chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch had said on Friday. The Kiwis named the uncapped Doug Bollinger and Peter Siddle in their 15-man squad to provide back up to the front line trio of Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson for the series. Captain Ricky Ponting and opening batsman Matthew Hayden have been included after they returned home injured from West Indies tour. Ponting had surgery while Hayden underwent an extensive rehabilitation programme, with both missing the recent one-day series in Darwin.The first test begins in Bangalore on October 9, followed by matches in Mohali (October 17-21), Delhi (October 29-November 2) and in Nagpur (November 5-9). Hilditch said the series was becoming as important to Australia as the Ashes series with England.
Post URL: Here.
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Jumat, 19 September 2008
Indifferent
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Sabtu, 13 September 2008
Cry Me a River
Why is it that people who love each other so much have to be parted eventually? Is this some kind of a f*****’ rule? Why doesn’t love take precedence over social dogma? Makes me feel so sick! Isn’t it a f*****’ crime to keep two people who love away from each other physically and emotionally? But, life moves on! I had always thought that love knew no boundaries, love knew no distance, and love knew no obstacles, but I have learnt that that love is even beyond all this- love knows nothing!
I have had the better half of the waiting times to get some good moments in my life. Some moments which are easily the most beautiful didn’t come by as easily as they would have. I had to actually wait to win those moments, and when the moment arrived, it was inexpressible. I guess I have become used to such situations wherein the wait was worthwhile, while in this case the wait brought me immense pain and discomfort. I sometimes feel that I have lost the reason to live. The very penchant for life is missing. The worst part is the misunderstanding. I must confess, no relationship is genuine without some petty quarrels. And that’s what makes a relationship stronger than before. It must not be misunderstood or misrepresented as ‘the very sickening’ “break-up”! Please.
Is really everything that happens, happens for good? I do not know yet, but all I know is that whatever happens is practical and has never been anticipated earlier. Sometimes, never even thought of! Maybe that’s why it is convenient to hide the pain in the pretext of “happens for (f*****’) good!” And ya, you think life moves on? Ask me. These entire thoughts gush through my mind while I am far away from home sitting at Gate 52 of Terminal 1 of the London Heathrow Airport awaiting my connecting flight to Chicago and watching the news of hurricane Ike ripping across Texas. Feels like something has ripped through my heart, too. It’s not all about me, it’s about us.
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Kamis, 21 Agustus 2008
Wo Hyderabad nahin raha..
Jaana tha maine jis shehar ko..
Wo shehar nahin raha,
Pyaar kiya tha maine jis ko..
Wo pyaar nahin raha..
Bahut dukh aur dard ki baat hai, ke..
Hyderabad wo Hyderabad nahin raha..
Kamis, 24 Juli 2008
Kamis, 10 Juli 2008
Senin, 30 Juni 2008
Goodbye to XP?
Wave goodbye to Windows XP, as the nearly seven year old operating system will finally be closing its doors because Microsoft has announced that it will no longer sell the operating system after June 30, according to reports.
Before you start having an aneurysm, there's a few key exceptions to allow you to get your XP fix beyond today. Versions of XP will still be on sale at smaller PC shops until the end of January and Microsoft will continue to produce a version of XP exclusively for low-end laptops like the Asus Eee. Dell and other PC manufacturers will also allow you to revert to XP when you buy high-end Vista systems.
Don't hold onto the XP past
Of course, you could always sign a petition, but really, what good will that do? The demise of XP is one that is long overdue and despite what the Windows faithful may think, there's other options out there. Apple's OS X has proved itself as a worthy contender and Linux is always waiting in the wings as a solid choice. And let's not forget about Vista.
Like that old and ratty teddy bear, it's time to hang up XP and move on. There's greener pastures out there, and they go by the name Vista, but the haze of years of bad publicity has made it hard to see.
Selasa, 20 Mei 2008
Karan Johar's next film

Karan Johar is busy working on Koffee With Karan, but he has been on a secret hush-hush mission to the States. Now one would think why is he in the USA? The reason is that he is meeting world leaders and ambassadors for a film on terrorism. Yes, I said it. Terrorism is the subject of Karan Johar’s next big directorial venture. It is a sensitive and topical global issue that requires a lot of research. “Unlike my other films, my next directorial venture goes into an area that I need to get completely right before going on the floors. I’m therefore in the US for three weeks meeting people from various religious, social and humanitarian organisations. None of my films so far have required me to go much beyond my imagination,” says Karan. He says it’s too early to elaborate on his project. “But it raises issues that concern us in an immediate way. We cannot turn away from them, because they stare into our faces and conscience every morning from the newspapers,” says Karan.
All he is ready to divulge now is that it will have Shah Rukh Khan in it for sure. But not only that, the film itself will be titled ‘Khan’. Karan Johar will keep the letter K, as he has for his last three films, and this time around it will be named after the star himself. No other actors have yet been cast, but insiders say that Karan has a script, and is doing the final touches to it.
One final hot news about the film, it will have no songs. This will be a first for Karan Johar, as his films rely on the popularity of its music, and sometimes the music tends to be better than the films themselves. ‘Khan’ will have soundtrack, similar to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black, but no songs as per normal in Bollywood. As a matter of fact, Karan was inspired by Bhansali, “You could say that,” says Karan. “I’ve always admired Sanjay’s work and made no bones about it. To go song-less in my next directorial venture is a decision dictated more by the theme than by any extraneous forces. I can’t see songs breaking into my next film’s narrative. But it isn’t as if there will be no songs! Though no one will sing, there will definitely be music and songs in the background.” Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are favourites to pen the score again.
On when he will make an official announcement, Karan says “I will soon announce my next film. I have not done it because I am so tied up with my new season of `Koffee With Karan’.”
Karan has not revealed the story to anyone, but a little about it is known. ‘Khan’ will see Shah Rukh Khan play a world renowned peace activist, who is kidnapped by ‘Islamic’ terrorists, and has to negotiate his own way out. The difference in this story is that ‘Khan’ will be more affectionate towards his kidnappers, and once out of captive, begins to work for the goal they are trying to achieve. He reaches his goal and makes peace where no one thought was possible. The film’s first part will be similar to Tom Cruise’s epic ‘The Last Samurai’. However, the second part will be totally inventive and fresh. Karan hopes to send out a global message to ‘terrorists’ and world leaders through this film. The film could release as early as Diwali 2008.
Kamis, 15 Mei 2008
Blacksmithing at the School of Mines
NEWS FROM THE S.D. School of Mines
The project took root several years ago when materials and metallurgical engineering faculty encountered high school students that had developed an interest in blacksmithing. These students were unique in that they were interested in both the hands-on aspect of the craft and the engineering behind it. These encounters triggered discussions among the faculty as to how they could use blacksmithing as a tool to garner student interest and understanding in metallurgical engineering, physical science, and engineering as a whole.
During the summer of 2006, they worked with a number of summer camp students on metalworking, and the results were so encouraging that the concept was introduced to more than 200 School of Mines students in an introduction to engineering course. The interest garnered from these students led to the creation of an extracurricular program called the weekly Hammer-In. The Hammer-In is an open forge time every Friday afternoon that attracts an average of 15-20 students each week.
The interest shown by students wasn't the only positive, though--Medlin noticed in course discussions that those students with hands-on experience with blacksmithing techniques had a better grasp of many metallurgical engineering concepts.
"We wanted to use blacksmithing as a gateway to improve the undergraduate student understanding and application of fundamental structure/property relationships relevant to all materials," Medlin said. "Blacksmithing will give students more of a hands-on approach to learning these concepts early in their academic career and hopefully better comprehension and application of these concepts in the more advanced metallurgical engineering courses."
Sophomore through senior laboratories are being redesigned to include metalworking components with the thought that integrating the hands-on aspects of blacksmithing into the curriculum will lead to improved student understanding.
Another important aspect of the project is outreach. The outreach portion of the projects was implemented with the goal of increasing participation in engineering by females and minority students."We found that most middle school, high school, and even undergraduate students are not familiar with metallurgical engineering until their second or third year of college. Usually, this is too late to successfully recruit new students into the program," Medlin said. "Using blacksmithing as an outreach tool captures students' attention, even at the middle school level, and gives them a memorable hands-on blacksmithing experience that also introduces them to the basic concepts of metallurgical engineering."
These hands-on demonstrations will also occur with middle- and high-school students that are on campus for activities and summer camps, such as the Youth Engineering Adventure, Science Technology Engineering Preview Summer Camp for Girls, and Engineer's Week activities.
The power of blacksmithing allows the students to take something old and create something new. Back in Black uses that idea to transform traditional engineering into something exciting and dynamic, and shows the students that they can shape their education as readily as the metal they are working with.
Source: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology- News.
Read more news from the School of Mines.
Jumat, 09 Mei 2008
Volkswagen 1-Liter car in 2010?

To read more, follow these links: Link 1, Link 2.
Kamis, 08 Mei 2008
I'm with you
It was released as the album's third single in 2002 and 2003. It reached number one in Mexico, the top five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (Lavigne's third single to reach the top ten), the top ten in the United Kingdom and the top twenty in Canada. "I'm With You" received radio and television airplay in Australia, but it was not released there so that sales of the album Let Go would increase. It was used in the film Bruce Almighty. The single's music video, directed by renowned photographer David LaChapelle, involves Lavigne, who is seen alone, trying to find someone. Most of the video is in slow motion but Lavigne's mouth movements are in sync with the song's vocals. This was achieved by recording the footage while the song was played twice as fast. "I'm With You" was nominated for the 2004 Grammy Award for Song of the Year, and for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance but lost to Luther Vandross's "Dance with My Father" and Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" respectively.
And of course, it's one of my favorite tracks and videos of Avril.
Dedicated to my love. I am with you. Always.
Rabu, 02 April 2008
My Golden Miss: Revisited

I wish my Golden Miss remains the way she is and keeps the spirit of nature's solidarity alive and remain as beautiful as ever. Wish that the Almighty takes away her tears and give her all the love and affection she deserves. I wish to see my Golden Miss in all her glory and shine above all mortals in this world.
May your heart live as beautifully and gracefully as ever and continue to fill love in my heart and bring smiles to all the lovely people around you. Love u, my Golden Miss.
Minggu, 03 Februari 2008
When you're gone
Senin, 28 Januari 2008
We'll miss you, Gilly!
Gilchrist looks forward to playing in IPL
Melbourne: After his surprise announcement to retire from international cricket, Australia's wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist today said he was looking forward to his trip to India for playing in the Indian Premier League.Gilchrist dropped curtains on a glorious career with the fourth and final Test against India today and the entertaining wicketkeeper-batsman would quit from one-dayers after the forthcoming tri-series featuring Australia, India and Sri Lanka.Having lent his name to the Indian Premier League (IPL), BCCI's cash-rich Twenty20 extravaganza scheduled to start in April, Gilchrist said he would be travelling to India to enthral the spectators again."I enjoyed my time there and post-retirement, I'm looking forward to spending some time in India," Gilchrist said after the match.Arguably the best wicketkeeper-batsman the game has ever seen, Gilchrist said the decision to quit was not an easy one but now that he has taken the call, he was looking forward to a new life."It was a big decision, a tough one. A lot of thought has gone into it and I consulted my family and close friends before calling it quits.""I was quite upset and overwhelmed. It happens when the true realisation comes of what you are about to do," he said."Anyway, I'm really comfortable now looking forward to reflect on life. I thank everyone who has been associated with the game and hope you enjoyed," Gilchrist said.
© Copyright 2007 PTI. All rights reserved.
We shall really miss you, Gilly! You've been an excellent sportsperson and an electrifying batsman. Gilchrist has changed the way cricket is played today yet he is so humble. He says, ".. not a single person is responsible for the change the modern cricket has undergone." His departure from the Test Cricket arena was just perfect because of Australia's controversy-filled Test Series victory over the visiting Indians.
What a fitting finale to such a great entertainer! Cheers Gilly!
Sabtu, 19 Januari 2008
Diwali 2007 Bloopers at SDSMT
We had fun in the making of Diwali. Hope u enjoy watching it.
Please feel free to comment!
Rabu, 16 Januari 2008
Living for whom? : Revisited
real life
Living.. started living..
not knowing of this world
came here-- follow rules
living on..

who is calling?
where to go?
want love-- to be loved..
life for whom?
living for whom?
why uncodified darkness>>
with dress of bright princess
take in arms and fly high>>
drop u down and break ur neck..

living for whom.. where the **** is life?
leaving all border cordoned..
amidst suffering and displeasure
disguised in fate and luck
we are here sent with-- life package
survive or die
clear map or get shot
what's aim? know anyone?
know?
know?
no?
living for whom, whom?
Older post: Click here.
Sabtu, 12 Januari 2008
Avril Lavigne- Innocence
The first time in my life and now it's so great
Slowing down I look around and I am so amazed
I think about the little things that make life great
I wouldn't change a thing about it
This is the best feeling
This innocence is brilliant, I hope that it will stay
This moment is perfect, please don't go away, I need you now
And I'll hold on to it, don't you let it pass you by
I found a place so safe, not a single tear
The first time in my life and now it's so clear
Feel calm I belong, I'm so happy here
It's so strong and now I let myself be sincere
I wouldn't change a thing about it
This is the best feeling
This innocence is brilliant, I hope that it will stay
This moment is perfect, please don't go away, I need you now
And I'll hold on to it, don't you let it pass you by
It's the state of bliss you think you're dreaming
It's the happiness inside that you're feeling
It's so beautiful it makes you wanna cry
It's the state of bliss you think you're dreaming
It's the happiness inside that you're feeling
It's so beautiful it makes you wanna cry
It's so beautiful it makes you want to cry
This innocence is brilliant, it makes you want to cry
This innocence is brilliance, please don't go away
Cause I need you now
And I'll hold on to it, don't you let it pass you by
This innocence is brilliant, I hope that it will stay
This moment is perfect, please don't go away, I need you now
And I'll hold on to it, don't you let it pass you by...
Jumat, 11 Januari 2008
Life Blues 3: I am dying
I know I am not completely wrong. I know I have hurt her. I know. But my love isn't a lie. I truly love her. Then why does she not believe in me? These thoughts haunt me every moment.. I am dying every moment..
The days are dull. The clouds and the wind share an uncommon trend with me. They are moving on.. The wind doesn't wait for anyone. The sun is alone... They move, always. They keep moving. I can't. I am human. I am mortal. I have a heart. I am alone. I am dying.
I am dying to live again.. Please come back to me... Please..