Neha Uberoi

Bienvenido a Miami

May 19, 2012 Uncategorized

Last week I went home to Miami for a bit of work and a bit of R & R. I was almost done with all my school work so I took advantage of the time and explored my city like a tourist! I went jet skiing, explored new restaurants, attended a fashion show, and went to all of my favorite beaches in South Florida: Delray, Hollywood and South Beach. I even got to squeeze in some work outs and tennis with the Barry University Women’s team. It was a lot of fun playing in the hot Florida sun and I almost passed out after an hour. Luckily the beach was near by and I was able to cool off in the cool blue water. I love Miami, there are always so many new and excited places for me to discover in this city.

Princeton House Parties

May 12, 2012 Uncategorized 2 Comments

Last weekend was my last Princeton house parties as an undergraduate. Every spring, our eating clubs host three days of wining, dining and endless debauchery. I took my sister, Shikha as my date for all three days. We ate so much food and had fun getting dressed up.

Check out the pics!

Pondicherry Shop

May 11, 2012 Uncategorized 2 Comments

I love rocking Indian fashion but I have found that trying to incorporate a little bit of India in my every day style doesn’t always look as good as I think it does. I made a new friend, Anita Singh, whose store, Pondicherry Shop has found a way to elegantly incorporate India in to your wardrobe. Pondicherry Shop brings together the very best fusion designs from around the world (at affordable prices). Anita grew up in California and was very secluded from the Indian diaspora. She uses her passion for fashion to stay in touch with and maintain her Indian heritage.

When I visited the online store, I fell in love with the black swan sandals. They are perfect for dressing up summer shorts and skirts and will look really good with skinny jeans. The sandals are super comfortable. I wore them when I went to South Beach during the day and even went clubbing with them! I got a lot of compliments!

Check out Anita’s store www.pondicherryshop.com hurry because she is having a site wide sale for Mother’s Day!

About Anita (in her own words):

My most vivid memories are as a little girl during our summer visits to India. I can still feel the sand between my toes and the warm waves that slushed around my feet as I stood on the beaches of Kanyakumari, staring out at its green-gray whirlpools, a place where the waters and sands of three seas swirled and blended together. This is an apt allegory for what happened to Mother India during its storied 5000-year history, as different cultures visited, invaded, conquered, ruled, and eventually left India, each leaving vestiges of their traditions behind.

As I grew into adulthood in the U.S., I’ve noticed our Indian culture begin its slow, unavoidable fade as our new generation sips nonfat lattes, while constantly tethered to iPhones and iPads. While I enjoy these modern conveniences, I have wondered how to carry our ancient, religious, and cultural motifs into our daily modern lives to maintain a connection to an important past.

Pondicherry was conceived with this yearning to live in today’s world, while still carrying a unique piece of our history. Our vision was to create and curate products of contemporary design, sometimes quietly beautiful, or sometimes practical, with a touch of whimsy. We feature artists and designers inspired by India, as well as other countries in South Asia. Our company seeks to showcase the combination of contemporary design with an ancient heritage, to fuse the DNA of the East and West, and to interpret the ancient through the modern lens. As our customer, we sincerely hope you find that they resonate with your own identity and capture your imagination.

Pondicherry sources the very best in fusion design from all over the world and provides wearable products to its customers through the Internet and mobile commerce. Through its products, Pondicherry seeks to connect Indian diaspora, Indophiles, and fashion lovers with touchstones of Indian heritage and history.

Fiji in February

May 10, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

Bula Everyone!

I had the opportunity to go to Fiji in February. I was taking part Fiji Tennis Classic(http://fijitennisinvitationclassic.com/). It was an exhibition tournament for the underprivileged children, specifically the island’s young women, encouraging them to dream big and be active. It was a great cause and an amazing event.

I had a very long flight to Fiji, coming from freezing New York. The minute I hit the island, I was in paradise. Greeted with the traditional BULA! the heat, the natural beauty and the happy people made me feel so welcome. It was a great break from the freezing snow and tumultuous studying at school.We played on the beautiful and luxurious Denarau Island. As you may know, there is a large Indian population in Fiji. They speak Hindi and Fijian Hindi so Shikha and I felt right at home.
The tennis was a lot of fun, but it was very hot! I got sun burnt (much to my surprise). I suffered heat stroke in one of my matches but I still enjoyed it. When I wasn’t playing, I got to sit with the local school girls and talk to them about their dreams and aspirations. Many of them wanted to be beauticians and nurses. Only one girl wanted to study abroad. When I asked them about athletics, being shy as they were, they giggled and responded that they only knew of Serena Williams. She is a popular icon there as well as Shah Rukh Khan and a slew of Bollywood actors.

Our event also had some Hollywood celebrities come and meet the children. Tatiana Ali (from Fresh Prince of Bellaire), Nia Long and Tyler James Williams (Everybody Hates Chris) added some glitz to the glamour. I was fortunate to explore Fiji for a few days. I took a day cruise to uninhabited islands with the South Sea Island and Whale’s Tale (my personal favorite) tours. The trip was breathtaking, so exotic, so remote truly like nothing I have ever scene. A small group of us had our own island for the day. The ship crew cooked us fresh fish and gave us a Kava ceremony, (Kava is a root and a mild narcotic, which made my tongue numb). We went snorkeling and fishing. I caught a fish!
I also took a boat tour with Sigatoka River Safari, www.sigatokariver.com, to learn about the history of Fiji and see real a Fijian Village. We had an amazing ‘captain’ Josua, who gave us an unforgettable experience. We had another very formal Kava ceremony. I made friends with the chief’s daughter Elasa (I’m guessing the spelling), she knew Hindi and kept telling Shikha and I “khao, khup khao”.

I also had the unique experience to make and see a rare clay pots. They are made out of clay from the banks of the Sigatoka river and glazed over with special tree sap found only in a certain areas on Denarau Island. It happened to be my birthday in Fiji and I got a real treat when the entire village sang happy birthday to me! We ate, danced, laughed and rejoiced with a real Fijian village. What an amazing experience!

My sweet sister, Shikha, also organized a day full of surprises for me including; an authentic spa treatment in my own private ‘hut’, a special cake made by celebrity chef Cook and the entire hotel wishing me a happy birthday! It was an incredible way to spend my 24th birthday!

The Fijian people are incredibly humble, hilarious and very friendly. I had an unforgettable time and I hope I was able to touch the lives of a few young women, the way they have touched me.

Enjoy the pictures!

Funny Story

May 10, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

I don’t mean to be rude or pretentious but this encounter made me laugh so hard. I was taking a summer class this summer (Institution’s name will be withheld). The school is humungous and even has its own salon and spa, not to mention a dry cleaners and sushi restaurant.

I was early for class one day and decided I’d get myself a pedicure. The young women sitting next to me was studying for a test.

I decided to make small talk:

Me: “Nice way to study for a test” I commented,

Women: “yeah, they don’t have this at your school”

Me:”No way”

Women: ”aw where do you go to school?”

Me:”Up north”

Women: “Well my friends at UF and USF have this”

Me: “A little farther north”

Women: “Where, which school”?

Me: “Princeton University”

Women (very puzzled): “Where is that”?

Me: “New Jersey”

Women: “Ah you poor thing, it must be a really small school. Enjoy your time here”

Me: “Yeah its really small, by the way what are you studying?”

Women: “Im going to be a teacher”

Me: In my head “Oh lordy lord, hope she never teaches my (potential) kids”

And yeah, I know my color is ugly, but its SHREK!

Las Vegas with the Girls

May 10, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

I went to Las Vegas for my very good friend’s 21^st Birthday. Imagine, 9 girls 3 days one big apartment, a blast! Don’t worry no stories that have to ‘stay in Vegas’.

Vegas is like Disneyworld for adults, on crack. Something in the air makes people lose all inhibitions. We had such a fun time, dressing up, taking a million pictures, dancing, eating, pointing at people, swimming, we partied all day and all night. I think I slept a total of 7 hours the whole trip.

I prepped by watching the hangover 4 times in a row and got so excited when I saw a group of 4 guys on the flight. Unfortunately, none of them was wearing a satchel. We spotted Pamela Anderson, Paul Peirce and Andrew Firestone all in the same day.

The trip was amazing, and Im so grateful for good people and good friends!

We took about abijillion pics. Here are a few:

Skype with Venus Williams

May 10, 2012 Uncategorized 2 Comments

Recently my journalism class professor and Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim, gave us the opportunity to do a Skype interview with Venus Williams.

Here is my analysis and comments from the interview.

Venus Williams, is currently ranked number four on the WTA tour, has 22 Grand Slam titles, is an author, fashion designer, student, philanthropist and icon, but sitting there on her living room chair with her hair pulled back wearing no make up and a plain white t-shirt, you would never know. She was recently named one of the World’s Most Powerful Women by Forbes Magazine, a list she claims is “always inflated.”

Having already met her a few times, during my time playing on the WTA tour, I was eager to hear her speak as I was now on the other side of the lens. Off the court, Venus had always been a delightfully friendly person, humorous and giggly. She was like an old soul that is comfortable anywhere and in any situation.

Venus was at home and out for the rest of the season due to a knee injury and agreed to do an interview with 15 Princeton University students via skype. I started the questions by asking her if she remembered me. She giggled, nodded her head and said “yes, your hair is so long”. The response was diplomatic and at the same time honest; a trend that carried on for the whole interview. At 29 years old and in the later stages of her career, her responses tended to be more introspective and uncontroversial giving insight in to her perspectives, lessons of life, her goals and future aspirations. When asked about how she imagined her life in ten years, she responded with “that always changes…I love design, I’ll definitely being doing that because I love it just the same way I love tennis…and of course I’m giving back to tennis in some way…I’ll probably be fairly quiet”. One could tell, Venus is still figuring it all out.

Listening to her responses to questions about gender equality in sports, being an ambassador to the US and philanthropic work, one could tell Venus is very aware of the power and responsibility bestowed on her because of her athletic achievements. “For me, its great to be in women’s tennis at the premier level…really giving an example to women and…all people around the world…trying to be leaders and trying to give back…” It was refreshing to hear an athlete taking initiative and using her fame and wealth constructively “being a role model is even more rewarding than winning a tournament” she concluded. Furthermore she was very aware of the fact that many athletes abuse this power given to them “you have to stay true to yourself and be responsible and not every athlete is and that’s definitely a shame…”

Venus has done thousands of interviews that have probably covered many of the same questions we asked her but she never gave us stock answers, they seemed genuine, Through her giggles and big smiles she offered nuances and humor about her imperfections and insecurities such as her love for junk food, going off tangent in interviews, her inability to correctly spell women vs. woman and forgetting lessons she has learned through life. One would expect her to be a lot more boastful but she was the complete opposite and almost self deprecating.

Although she was fun, relaxed and welcoming Venus definitely kept a lot of private information from us. She is a very “low key” person in contrast to her sister, Serena and did not divulge information about her personal life. However she did share her strong views on how her religion and family has helped her reach such great heights stating that “I think that’s [faith] been the main difference between Serena and I and our contemporaries and the reason why we are still here…having a good family I think [also] helps a ton.”

Venus has accomplished so many amazing things in her life; becoming the first African-American to be ranked world number 1, win 3 Olympic Gold medals, start a charitable foundation, create her own clothing line, model, author a book and recently, become a part owner of the Miami Dolphins. When asked how she finds inspiration and creativity to manage it all she quoted her sister, “[Serena] said if you take your opportunities, more will come. Just by us… trying to be positive, trying to be good people, trying to be role models, trying to be innovative…more opportunities came.”

She is a superstar that doesn’t require superfluous accessories. Her self confidence and stately demeanor were apparent even in the simplest of settings; sitting at home with a knee injury babysitting her dogs. The best piece of advice she gave us was “believe in yourself”.

Neha Aggarwal- India’s Table Tennis Champ

May 10, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

Neha Aggarwal is an Indian Table Tennis Champion and recently competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She is currently in her 3rd year at St.Stephen’s College, Delhi University completing her BA degree.

I thought it would be interesting to do an interview with her since we share the same name and play similar sports.
Full name – Neha Aggarwal
Date of Birth – 11 jan 1990
Residence – New Delhi, India

Career Highlights – Participated in 2008 Beijing Olympics. Gold medal in 2008 Commonwealth youth games. Bronze medal in 2009 Commonwealth championships in Glasgow. 4 times Junior National Champion. Bronze medal in 2006 asian championship. Highest world rank- 18 in U-18 girls.

Style of play: Right handed, attacking

Neha U.Whats it like being a female athlete in India?

Neha A. Since girls are not encouraged to take up sports as a career in india, its quiet a challenge for a girl to be an athlete in this country. The society has its own orthodox views and parents want their daughters to live indoors. We need to change our mindsets. I am fortunate enough to have parents who encouraged me to play tt (table tennis) and all I am today is because of their efforts. Now we see the trend is changing, more girls are coming up and its a very positive sign. I hope every girl who wants to be an athlete gets full support by her family.
Neha U. What is the best part of being a tt player?

Neha A. I think being a tt player itself is the best thing that happened to me and its my passion. I consider every single aspect of being a tt player the best it could be!

Neha U. Whats the worst part of being a tt player?

Neha A. I think tt does not get tht recognition and glamour which it must get. Its only about cricket in india. Our efforts have not been recognized. Also, we lack sponsors which is the biggest hurdle for any player.

Neha U. How do you cope after a match loss?

Neha A. After a lose a match, its important for me to not be dejected and be positive and keep the confidence alive. I immediatley do an analysis(if possible video analysis) of my match, figure out my mistakes and make sure I work on them in my next training session.

Neha U. What is your hope for Indian sports?

Neha A. I think its a boom period for Indian sports. Our medals in the Commonwealth Games are an example. India has proved its mettle to the world. The day is not far when we will win medals in bigger events like the Olympics, Asians and World championships. We already have world champions in sports like shooting, archery, boxing and wrestling and we also won medals in youth olympics which shows that the young generation is capable and has a bright future. Even the lesser known sports have been doing well. I’m very optimistic about the future of India in sports and we will definately improve our standards even further.

Neha U. What is your message to young women who want to follow their dreams?

Neha A. My message to young women is that you must work hard towards your goal fearlessly, there might be obstacles in the path, but you must have the courage to overcome them. Hard work always pays.

Neha U. What is your honest opinion about Bollywood and the how women are portrayed in Indian cinema?

Neha A. I think in the past few years Bollywood has contributed some fantastic movies which were also been nominated in the oscars. Its a great achievement. we can obviously boast about our beautiful actresses. Indian cinema has been in recent times taking up social issues as the main theme in their movies which have had a great impact and have shown that women are at par with men and are not the weaker sex. Movies like fashion, corporate, raajneeti have potrayed women in power.

Neha U. Whats it like having the name Neha?

Neha A. Well, Ilove my name because its short and sweet and specially its meaning-’loving’. I dont like the fact that its such a common name in India but at the same time its good because there are so many who can relate to each other!

Neha U. What has been the worst mispronunciation of your name?

Neha A. Chinese call me Ne-Hao!!!

Neha U. Whats your favorite book/movie/song right now?

Neha A. Book-Irecently read Andre Agassi’s autobiography ‘Open’

Movie- Danbangg

Song- Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd is my all time favorite.

Neha U. What your favorite city in the world?

Neha A. New York.

ATP 500 Series Basel, SUI Final Djokovic vs. Federer review

May 10, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

I recently watched the final of the ATP in Basel on ESPN 3. It was an interesting match, especially the third set. You don’t see lapses like that often with top 5 players.

Here is my take on Novak and third sets in general. Let me know your thoughts!

Serbian tennis champ Novak Djokovic lost in three sets to Swiss ace Roger Federer in the Finals of the ATP 500 in Basel, Switzerland this past weekend. The quick indoor surface gave both the Serb, (ranked number three in the world) and Swiss, (2) many break point opportunities; Novak went down 15-40 in the opening game of the match and had a break point on Roger’s first service game. But Federer ran off with a 4-1 lead in the first set before closing it at 6-4. Djokovic came back with a vengeance in the second, playing crisp tennis to go up 3-0 and then win the set 6-3.

After gaining so much momentum and positive energy in second set, I was surprised to see Novak lose so unemphatically (1-6) in the third. His body slumped resembling a Zombie walking from one side of the court to the other. Within minutes Federer was up 4-1, Djokovic fell apart faster than the former Yugoslavia.

What happened to Novak?

In tennis, the third set is the decider. It’s judgment day. The last frontier. It’s where players shine or crumble. That being said, each set in tennis is supposed to be a new beginning that is unrelated to the previous, for both the player in the lead and the one trailing behind. We know this is never the case as emotions and thoughts are the major variables in competitive tennis.

The psychology behind the third set is one of intangibles unlike any other time in a tennis match. It can be mentally and physically tougher than a tiebreaker because of its length and the many ways it can be mentally approached. In preparation for a third set, having won the first set is often times easier than having won the second The player who has won the first and lost the second has dispelled less mental and physical energy and is now ready to raise his game. In fact it is rumored that Jimmy Connor’s used secret strategy that agrees with this idea. He would tank the set (in a five set match) if he knew he was going to lose it to save energy for the fourth and fifth sets. While his opponent scrapped and fought for every point, he banked mental and physical stamina for the deciding set. However, the first set winner could fall prey to negative thoughts about dropping the second set which can be difficult to recover from. Obviously Federer’s mental calm protects him (the majority of the time) from these inhibiting thoughts.

Then there is the situation of coming back. It takes a great deal more mental and physical energy to tie a match after trailing by one set to love. Expending that energy can make it hard to maintain and raise the level of focus and urgency needed to prevail in the final test. Novak himself explained his poor performance on lack of focus, “I lost a little bit of balance and a little bit of focus and in a split second I was already 5-1 down and there was no way back.” Novak is 0-3 in three set victories against top ten players this year. In all three matches, he has dropped the first set, won the second and lost the third.

There are a whole host of variables that could have prevented Novak from winning the third set; from playing against Roger in his hometown to fatigue to choking. Third set performances like Djokovic’s are common in tennis. However, if Novak wants to continue to wins a Slams, where even higher levels of concentration are required, winning the third set after losing the first is an important statistic to overcome.

End India’s Corruption

May 10, 2012 Uncategorized No comments

I love India. It is my parents motherland and is a big part of my identity. India is a great nation suffering from a horrible and crippling disease. That disease is corruption and it effects every sector of India’s growth. Luckily, we have an honorable man, Anna Hazare who has been serving his country with Gandhian ethics.

Anna Hazare is on a hunger strike until death to end corruption. He is advocating the Lok Pal Bill that will make corrupt politicians and bureaucrats accountable for their corrupt deeds. Wether you are Indian or not it doesn’t matter. Fight for peoples rights and support justice. Please support him in his hunger strike by liking this facebook page http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=198421130191214 , spreading the word, rallying or fasting whatever meal you comfortably can. All of your favorite Bollywood actors and actresses are in support. I’m fasting a meal. Please help India fight this evil disease.