THOUGHT PROVOKING ARTICLE
http://virsanghvi.com/vir-world-ArticleDetail.aspx?ID=236
Also, please read the comments on the blog... Makes for an interesting reading...
OUTSOURCED
Saw this movie tonight... Very nice movie... I like these types of movies which are easy on the brain and heart when u see it and not much to recall once the movie is done... But this movie, though easy on the brain when seeing it, leaves a lot to recall after its done... The reason being, I can connect to this movie...
Starting from the whole concept of outsourcing, where most of us have a distinct role to play to the country where the movie is based - India - there are a lot of things which we can relate to... Not all the aspects of India shown in the movie show India in good light, but we cannot deny that these aspects are true...
1 - Not all call centers have the best facilities setup...
2 - Indians do not find it important to respect personal boundaries of the people whom they care about...
3 - The view about how losing a job is such a small thing for call center employees though shocked me...
4 - Poverty can shock the hell out of visitors to India, but the fact that anyone can be happy even within those circumstances shocks them even more...
5 - Some people still consider INDIA = I'm Not Doing It Again...
Having said all that, this movie really touched me, especially the scene when the staff manages to meet their targets inspite of working on the terrace of a flooded building... Worth a watch definitely... Just dont expect anything special once the movie is over...
YEH DELHI HAI MERE YAAR!!!
Took a flight to Delhi to meet my sister... Was very excited to meet her and her family... Had met my parents and my in-laws when they visited us, but had not spent any time with sis / B-I-L and my nephew since the wedding... My nephew is 4 1/2 year old and i have not spent even 4 1/2 weeks with him since the time he was born...
So, to set it all right, S and I reached Delhi... Sis came to pick us up at the airport and after a hour long ride, we get to meet the family... My nephew thought that 4 1/2 years of silence was not enough and decided to stretch it for 1 more hour by sleeping all the time during the drive... And after reaching home, he decided stretch it a no more and eventually -- after accepting a bribe of bag full of toys and chocolates -- relented to "accept" his uncle and aunty...
Once, we got the approval, it was amazing fun after that... Every minute was fun for all of us... Those memories will linger in our memories for ever... Every time i miss my nephew, i just have to close my eyes and switch back to those days... Thats it... The golden moments just play themselves back as a youtube video...
Then came the most awaited part of any Delhi visit... Food!!! The foodie that i am, I could not wait to go out and freak out on that gorgeous food... Bro-in-law decided to see to test our apetite and took us to a place called "Punjabi by nature"... They decided to make sure that our apetite peaks by serving the food as late as possible... But boy, we failed miserably... Amongst 4 of us, we could not finish even half the food meant for 3 ppl...
Next day, sister took us to eat golgappa (pani-puri)... Though this pani-puri is not the best i have ever eaten (fyi, i am from mumbai and the pani-puri at my local gaadi is the best), it ranks right up there... And, the pani-puri did what it should do... It gave me a delhi belly...
Few more days of lots of fun with my nephew, great food cooked by my sis, yapping with bro-in-law and sis and driving a bullet-thunderbird and it was time to say alvida to Delhi...
More tears and more hugs and it was time to bid adieu to few more dear ones...
MUMBHAI!!!
So, after surviving the first round of shopping, i decided to go to my place... my city... Mumbai... After 1.45 hrs of airtime, I reached on a not-so-hot day on Feb 16th... It was hot and humid by any standards, other than Mumbai standards... Actually, a typical mumbai-ite would term it as a pleasant day... The moment I landed at the airport and the first drop of sweat tricked down my neck, I knew I was home...
There are a few things which characterize a Mumbai-ite... He loves heat and sweat... It doesnt bother him a bit... Secondly, if someone tries to act over-smart, knows how to bring the "shAAna" (over-smart fellow) down to earth... And I got to do that as soon as I landed out of the airport...
The auto-rickshaw driver tried to squeeze out a chota-Gandhi (100 rupee note) out of me for the ride to my place... When he started to act smart, the dormant-for-3-years mumbai-ite in me sprang up and gave it back so nicely that he did not even dare to ask anything extra for luggage...
Reached home at 3... Did not want mom and dad to come to the airport at 2 o clock in the afternoon... So had told them that i am scheduled to reach at 5... They were pleasantly surprised to see me early and then angry because I deprived them of 1 hour under the sun :-)...
Cups of tea followed with yap yap and yap... Then dad went and got the best sev-puri in the world... From the local gaadi... How funny that every one thinks that their shop serves the best delicacy... A bengali thinks that his halwai makes the best mishti... A mumbai-ite thinks that his galli has the best wada-pav... A londoner thinks that his lane has the best fish and chips... A new-yorker thinks that his local pizza place makes the best pizza... Funny, but true...
Relished the sev puri... followed by another round of tea...
Next day, went to Siddhivinayak temple... Try to be there every tuesday of my stay in Mumbai... Was there even 2 days before my sister's wedding... 1.5 hours in the queue and was not tired even a bit... Thats the amazing thing abt waiting in line at the Siddhivinayak temple... I have waited once for 7.5 hours and still had the strength to go and work the rest of the day in the office... After the temple, went and had amazing limbu-paani at a street side stall and then chaats again in the evening...
The remaining 2 days passed even quicker... Some gifts for family members and some for friends... Some more chaats... Lots of tea... More eating and eating and eating... Then wifey arrived...
Once wifey arrived, it was even more fun... Mom and dad were happier (even more happy than when i arrived)... First day, met college friends... It was the first time when Sneha met them... Met a very close friend with his wife and kid... Got to know that the other friend couple is expecting in June...
Next day, was even better... Relaxed the first half of the day... Second half, had to go to navi mumbai to meet cousins... Actually, the fact that it all fell in place was nothing less than a miracle... One cousin and his wife had to drive from Pune... The other one's wife had to work that weekend... The third one's kid had 10th standard examination going on... Eventually, after lots of planning and re-planning, the venue was decided...
Bombay traffic decided to show its ugly face today... 2.5 hours of wait and sweat in a non-ac cab were very difficult... Amazingly, not even 1 cool cab showed up on the way for us to switch over... Reached the venue 1 hour after the scheduled time...
But things switched after that... Next 4-5 hours were full of fun... Yapped Yapped and Yapped with cousins and their spouses and uncles and aunties... Amazing food in a restaurant (theme based on a mumbai local) with drinks... And a smooth ride in a MERU cab made the evening memorable...
Next day, more relatives, more delicacies to eat and more yapping and fun... Came home at 9 O clock after a long hard day... Thats when it hit me that in a few hours, I will be leaving Mumbai... Its all down hill from now... The crest is over, the downward slope begins now...
SHOPPING SHOPPING!!!
Wifey was given a license to go crazy on shopping in India... She had been a darling in the few months prior to the travel and deserved one such free license... But boy, did she use it like a Ferrari in the Catalunya Grand Prix...
The first pitstop was curtain shopping... The next one was the first amongst the many many ones for dresses... The next one (fastest lap so far) was for shoes... i have been promised by her that this is going to be he career best performance, so I better fasten my seatbelts for some serious damage!!!
Watch this space for more news and dont be surprised if this turns out to be the boost that Indian economy needed to get out of recession!!!
VISA, I WANT IN SIR...
Needed to get my visa stamped from the US embassy... The planning continued for more than a month... Umpteen documents, copies, statements, forms, certificates are being procured and arranged for this most important task of the visit... The entire visit was planned around the visa date so that the visa stamping is done upfront... The rest of the vacation is fun time...
Reached Chennai the day before the appointment... Checked in into the hotel, crashed immediately... But could not sleep for the whole night... Was checking the time every 3 minutes (really!!!) and by the time it was 5 am, was up like a spring... Ready in 22 minutes and could not be more nervous to go to the embassy...
Left 1 hr before the interview time and reached the embassy at 7 am... Hoping to be the first in the queue, but there were atleast 50 ppl already in the queue when we reached there... Then got to know that abt 50 odd were already in... Interviews were scheduled from 7 am in the morning, ppl reach the embassy at 6 am and the actual interviews do not start before 8 am...
This was my first ever visa interview and wifey had promised that it would be SOME EXPERIENCE... And u bet she was right... Waited in the queue... There were SO MANY ppl there, i felt that it was the queue to the gates of heaven... But wait, I think ppl do think that US is next to heaven, so may be i was really in the gates to heaven...
Then came the disappointing part... The way ppl (esp. students) were asking for their visa made me droop my head in shame... It was like going for a job interview without knowing that you do not qualify for the job and then begging for an opportunity...
Some of the funny QnA which i could not help but eavesdrop --
1 -
VO -- Why do u want to go the US?
CD -- Because the agriculture system in US is very developed...
VO -- What does agriculture have to do with ur degree?
CD -- Nothing, but i can learn agriculture after my MS.
REJECT
2 -
VO -- Why ABC university specifically?
CD -- Because this university does not need me to take a GRE and a TOEFL...
VO -- But why did u not take a GRE and a TOEFL...
CD -- Because this university does not need me to take a GRE and a TOEFL...
VO -- Did u apply to any other university?
CD -- No, because i did not like any other university which does not need a GRE or a TOEFL...
VO -- Do u know that GRE and TOEFL are a must for students interested in coming to the US?
CD -- But this university does not need me to take a GRE and a TOEFL...
REJECT
3 -
VO -- Why do u want to go to the US?
CD -- To learn to cook Biryani... (O???? YES!!!)
VO -- Why there? Why not here?
CD -- Because, the Biryani there is better...
REJECT
There are many many more funny instances of such interviews... But these actually made me sad... Is life so difficult in India that ppl are so desperate to go to the US?
Then came the most disappointing part (not that i really regret it, i would have this disappointment every time i go for any visa)... S and I were done with our interview in less than a minute with 1 Q each... The only Q for me -- how long have u been working for ur employer? the only Q for S -- Does ur husband have his own visa? Thats it...
We got the visa stamped and passport delivered next day at 10 am... After all the effort put in to create a stack of documents, only the first document on the top (the visa approval) was required...
Came back to the hotel, grabbed a bite and crashed again (to get over the sleepless night)... Woke up just in time for the flight... A 45 minute flight later, back in Namma Bengaluru... A crazy 2 hour ride in an ac cab later, home sweet home... Awesome meal and zzzz!!!
HOME SWEET HOME
For the first time in little more than 3 years, I was in a queue where no one could have stopped me from entering... I was in the immigration queue at the new Bangalore International Airport waiting to enter Indian soil... And I knew that there was no way that anyone could have stopped me from doing that... After all, it is MY COUNTRY, some place which i know that i belong... Something which I can call MINE... That feeling brought an instant smile which has lingered on ever since...
Since the first step (felt like the first step on the moon) after the immigration counter, I started thinking about everything that I could see and analyze it in my own way... Here is what I think at that instant...
1 - This new airport is beautiful... Hats off to the planners... I can not see any feasible aspect which makes this airport any way inferior than other airports I have seen till now... Obviously, there are a lot of other pieces which are out of our hands -- weather, dust etc... But, it is CLEAN (why is that even considered an achievement), nicely planned, nicely maintained so far...
There are some who find faults in this airport... But the easiest job in this world is that of a critic... Hail the successful and criticize everything else... If these same people were on the planning commission of the airport, then this would have been the best ever piece of architecture after the St. Paul's cathedral according to them...
Thats when I recall the not-so-famous lines of my friend Azzu... He says (unless, he has copied) -- Be the change you want to see in this world... These same people are the hypocrites who will throw trash right outside the bin and spit on the "DO NOT SPIT" board and park right under the "NO PARKING" board... So, they do not have any right to throw dirt that any fair effort of such magnitude...
2 - The approach road sucks though... The only road connecting the airport to the city goes through umpteen villages (or small towns) before hitting Bangalore right in the heart of the city from where one has to find the way to the destination... With the city traffic already in a terrible shape, this is one aspect where the planners have erred... There should have been something like a ring road around the entire city (with atleast 3 lanes on each side) which connects the airport... Later I learnt that the original plan was to create a high-speed train way (or a mono-rail or an expressway) around the entire city to connect the airport to the city and the access points of the train would allow multiple entry spots into the city. Brilliant idea except that the proposal turned out to be very expensive and there is more mulling going on. By the time, the green signal is received for this proposal and the dream turns out to be a reality, the solution will be too inadequate for the over bustling city...
3 - Traffic needs a blog of its own... Too much to finish in 2-3 lines...
4 - People -- The city has grown like crazy in the last 3 years... The new immigrants are no longer limited to the IT junta... Labourers from Andhra and Tamil Nadu are trying their luck in all the mega-construction projects being undertaken in the city or some mundane jobs elsewhere... There is a big chunk of ppl from the north-east india who can easily be recognized by their looks... These ppl usually find jobs in restaurants or showrooms or malls etc... Another set of immigrants are the parents of the kids who have settled here... The kids ask the parents to sell all their assets at their native place so that they can afford to buy a home in Bangalore... Naturally, the parents have no other place to live and have to come to stay in this city at a ripe old age... These elderly citizens can be seen taking walks in the parks (once abundant and now very few are left) in the early mornings or in the evenings...
5 - Family -- Most important... These are the people who are planning for our visit from months together... Utmost care has been taken to arrange for our favorite brands of cosmetics, favorite dishes, extra cell phone, power adapters (to enable US appliances to work at Indian voltage), bottled water and toilet paper... They will get up at 1 am in the morning, drive for 40+ kilometers (25+ miles) to reach the airport at 5 am, wait for us at the arrival gate without a cup of morning coffee just to catch a glimpse of their little ones... Choicest breakfast will be ready at home with hot water for bath... These arrangments will take them more than a few months, but all this will be done without the tiniest wrinkle on the forehead just with the anticipation of spending a few days with the people who matter the most to them...
6 - Helping staff -- The driver, the cleaning maid, the sweeper, the gardener, the cook... all the employees at home are waiting anxiously to see us after a long time... At the back of the mind, there is a sweet anxiety for "imported" chocolates and gifts... But they are very happy when they get to see that we have not changed even 1 bit in the last few years...
7 - India rocking -- In the numerous drive around the city, one cannot pretend to not notice that India is booming... The number of cars and two wheelers and cell phones have gone up like anything in the last 2 years... There is nothing that is not sold in india... American, Japanese and European cars... Latest cell phone handsets... You name it!!!
8 - Relatives -- The phone starts ringing over time with calls from the close relatives to enquire about our well being... All of them pretty much ask the same questions -- when did u land, how was the flight, what plans for the next few days and u have to spend atleast 1 evening with us... The affection behind each of those calls is very touching... In my case, there are a few more Qs -- Have u learnt Kannada by now? Atleast, can u understand the meaning? The moment I answer affirmative in Kannada, I get one more point towards the nomination for best son-in-law of the year...Close cousins leave work earlier than usual just to meet us... Neighbours drop in so do close friends who knew about our travel plans... Some ppl fret over less time allotted for them, and a tight vacation schedule leaves us in a difficult spot...
9 - Awesome food -- The choicest foods are waiting for us... We have decided not to hog street-side food until the visa appointment, so in the first 3 days, everything is limited to mother's kitchen (in my case, mother-in-law)...
The saga will continue...
LONDON CALLING
Spent 2 days in London en route to India... Beautiful city... Every nook and corner carries a big chunk of history within itself... Bone numbing chilly weather preceded by the worst snowfall in the last 18 years in London made things difficult, but still, once one is dressed appropriately, nothing should stop one from reveling in this town of amazing architecture...
S's cousin was sweet enough to accommodate us in their lavish London home during our visit and we had the most comfortable accommodation and the best home-cooked food in London... Their guidance helped us decode the maps and tricky London roads easily and left us using our brains only for sight-seeing...
Here are some points worth mentioning during the entire visit --
1 - Heathrow -- a mini-city within itself... Huge, clean and very organized... And the Indian diaspora just loves working at Heathrow... Reminds me of Russell Peters -- Indians can never think of bombing airports, because Indians love working at airports...
2 - Subway system -- very convenient and most-importantly, clean... I did not see even 1 trash bin (or litter-bin as it is called there)... Instead, there were message boards which said "Take your litter home with you"... Interesting concept, especially considering it works... Makes me wonder, is it so difficult to expect our transport system to be clean? I don't expect to do away with the trash bins, but is the effective usage of the trash bins too much to expect?
3 - Monuments -- Each of them stands apart in its own way... London Eye, Buckingham palace, Tower of London, River Thames, Lords cricket ground, London Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Trafalgar square... Each one of them are legend which blend perfectly into this extravaganza called London... Makes me wonder, if all the heritage that India had could have been harnessed, how many Londons could India have boasted of?
4 - Crazy Cold -- I was wearing a jacket which was meant for Antarctica and 4 layers of clothing underneath... Still was numb to the bone... Had to sip coffee (2 pounds a cup) to keep me warm... Pity the cricketers who have to play with 4 sweaters on...
5 - Expensive -- Train ticket from airport to paddington station at 34 pounds per head... Train ticket at 2$ per line per head... whoa!!! Thats First class fare in Mumbai for an entire month (ALL U CAN USE!!!)... The Indian in me doesnt stop converting currency...
6 - Accent -- After seeing the UK accent being made fun of in US (esp. Emily in Friends), it was kind of funny to actually talk to ppl talking that way... Had to try not to burst out laughing...
Having said all that, I repeat, London is a beautiful city with loads and loads of history... Visit that city for atleast a week in summer... Unforgettable experience for sure... And dont forget to load your pockets before u enter the city...
SATYAM EV JAYATE
Seeing the events of the day, this quote flashed in my mind. Hence the title to this blog.
Mr. Raju, once heralded in the US to be as dangerous as Osama (because Satyam was taking jobs away from US), has turned out to be Hero-to-Zero in a matter of a day.
To the IT-junta, this was never a revelation. "Window-dressing" as it is called in our industry, has been happening for some time now. The fiscal year in US and the fiscal year in India do not overlap. So, there are cold quarters in US where Indian companies have to show consistent revenues and vice-versa. So, some additional assets from previous quarters are adjusted towards missing assets from the current quarter or missing assets from current quarter are adjusted against more-than-expected assets from next quarter. All this is done with honest interests to provide a consistent revenue pattern and avoid wild fluctuations in the share prices. And it is fine as long as there is no carry-forward of the manipulations across fiscal years.
Sadly, it does not work that way. The ever-growing demand from shareholders makes the companies take that dangerous stride and inflate the numbers beyond the Lakshman-Rekha called as the fiscal year end. Then the Ramayana takes plane. More and more hot air is pumped into the balloon. This hot air makes the balloon fly higher, than it can do safely, making everyone happy. But, soon the hyper-inflated balloon is stretched beyond its capacity and a small pin (Maytas deal going sour) causes it to burst.
So, as RS puts it, its a discovery and not an invention. And it would have not been uncovered at all, had the MAYTAS deal not gone sour. Probably, a bruised ego and a stained reputation pushed Mr. Raju in doing this.
All said, the whole reason underneath this fiasco (and the potential many others still under the covers) is the greedy shareholder. They need to understand that IT companies cannot yield high revenues and huge dividends quarter after quarter and year after year. It is easy for a company to reach from 1 million to 10 million in 2 years, but it is not possible for the same company to reach from 1 billion to 10 billion in even 5 years. But under pressure from the shareholders and stake holders, such things had to happen and will continue to happen.
Once a high-paying sector where freshers were hired at 20 thousand rupees a month has now shrunk to a stage where getting 8 thousand a month is considered lucky. College passouts choose an employer purely based on the pay and not on career prospects. MBAs are made to work as clerks.
Not sure whom to blame here -- the hunter or the hunted? Because, while the hunter (shareholders) was enjoying chasing the prey (IT companies and employees), the prey itself was enjoying the luxuries during the chase. Rather, the prey itself allowed itself to be chased faster and faster.
The only truth is, the cup once thought to be made of crystal has now turned out to be made of brittle glass instead. And it has cracked.
INSANITY RESTORED
Few days back --
Thanksgiving --> Christmas --> Holidays --> New Year...
2 day weekends --> 3 day weekends --> 4 day weekends --> Whole week off...
Half empty office --> Just 20 team mates in the office --> Just 10 of them (all indians) in the office --> Working from home --> Not even 1 person in the office...
Semi-formal attire allowed --> Denims allowed in office for 2 weeks...
Today --
Formal dressing... Everyone back in office... Full House... Frantic calls to and from India... Managers and developers panicking for deliverables due this Friday... Escalated Client calls... Production issues (few pennies of interest being incorrectly credited to the account)... May have to work on Thursday night to support production install... What a crazy day to start the new year...
Feels like insanity has been restored after all!!!
Few days back --
Thanksgiving --> Christmas --> Holidays --> New Year...
2 day weekends --> 3 day weekends --> 4 day weekends --> Whole week off...
Half empty office --> Just 20 team mates in the office --> Just 10 of them (all indians) in the office --> Working from home --> Not even 1 person in the office...
Semi-formal attire allowed --> Denims allowed in office for 2 weeks...
Today --
Formal dressing... Everyone back in office... Full House... Frantic calls to and from India... Managers and developers panicking for deliverables due this Friday... Escalated Client calls... Production issues (few pennies of interest being incorrectly credited to the account)... May have to work on Thursday night to support production install... What a crazy day to start the new year...
Feels like insanity has been restored after all!!!
THE YEAR THAT WAS!!!
Naming this blog as a tribute to a favorite show during my childhood. This show made me fall into the habit ofdesperately look forward to a Friday evening. I have maintained that habit by the way ;-).
So, the year that just went by a few hours back gave me lots of memories, good and bad.
Let me list the bad ones first, so that I can end up on a good note --
1 - The worst one - Mumbai attacks. It left a permanent scar. I dont think i was more upset than on this day. And the fact that the torture continued for 3 days, ended lives of 300 including some good officers, made it worse.
2 - The global economy went from bad to worse. Every one step in the right direction was followed by two in the other direction. Feel bad for anyone and everyone who is impacted.
3 - Life in India for a common man is getting bad with every passing day. Politics is hitting new lows below the rock bottom (yes, it hit the rock long back). Safety has gone to the dogs. Caste and religion seems to be the only qualification. Scandals keep on mushrooming every now and then and just die a natural death. No one is convicted.
4 - Some sports (hockey, soccer, tennis (paes? bhupathi? sania?)) continued their nosedive and the politicians in charge of the respective sports associations are least bothered.
5 - Once again, I flattered to decieve on my promise to have breakfast daily.
And the good ones now --
1 - My first 5-wicket haul and a first-ever tournament victory.
2 - Joined a gym and am going their sincerely since then. Feel good about it.
3 - First time i had a hookah. Got that one struck off my all-time TO-DO list.
4 - Had my folks over and spent quality 3 months with them. A memory of a lifetime.
5 - India continued to do well in few sports (badminton, boxing and cricket with the olympics being the crowning glory).
6 - Indian economy is doing much better than others the credit of which goes to Mr. PM and Mr. FM. Along with Mr. MS Ahluwalia, these 2 continue to deliver the good stuff.
7 - My nephew created a new record in telephone conversation with me. Yes, 2 months ago we spoke for 7 long seconds when he asked me to get "Big Fiat Palio car" from here. Earlier our conversations never crossed 5 seconds. Hopefully, this year, we manage to get into double digits.
8 - Wifey continues to amaze with her culinary skills, apetite for bhel, addiction for cleaning and stamina to talk. Yes, she raised the bar even further this year.
9 - My father started to have breakfast and take vitamin tablets daily. He has been doing this sincerely since he restarted it last time.
So yes, the goods outnumber the bads, so all-in-all a better year. On this note, let me wish my (read-4) audience a very happy and a prosperous and a SAFE 2009. May all your wishes come true.
Naming this blog as a tribute to a favorite show during my childhood. This show made me fall into the habit ofdesperately look forward to a Friday evening. I have maintained that habit by the way ;-).
So, the year that just went by a few hours back gave me lots of memories, good and bad.
Let me list the bad ones first, so that I can end up on a good note --
1 - The worst one - Mumbai attacks. It left a permanent scar. I dont think i was more upset than on this day. And the fact that the torture continued for 3 days, ended lives of 300 including some good officers, made it worse.
2 - The global economy went from bad to worse. Every one step in the right direction was followed by two in the other direction. Feel bad for anyone and everyone who is impacted.
3 - Life in India for a common man is getting bad with every passing day. Politics is hitting new lows below the rock bottom (yes, it hit the rock long back). Safety has gone to the dogs. Caste and religion seems to be the only qualification. Scandals keep on mushrooming every now and then and just die a natural death. No one is convicted.
4 - Some sports (hockey, soccer, tennis (paes? bhupathi? sania?)) continued their nosedive and the politicians in charge of the respective sports associations are least bothered.
5 - Once again, I flattered to decieve on my promise to have breakfast daily.
And the good ones now --
1 - My first 5-wicket haul and a first-ever tournament victory.
2 - Joined a gym and am going their sincerely since then. Feel good about it.
3 - First time i had a hookah. Got that one struck off my all-time TO-DO list.
4 - Had my folks over and spent quality 3 months with them. A memory of a lifetime.
5 - India continued to do well in few sports (badminton, boxing and cricket with the olympics being the crowning glory).
6 - Indian economy is doing much better than others the credit of which goes to Mr. PM and Mr. FM. Along with Mr. MS Ahluwalia, these 2 continue to deliver the good stuff.
7 - My nephew created a new record in telephone conversation with me. Yes, 2 months ago we spoke for 7 long seconds when he asked me to get "Big Fiat Palio car" from here. Earlier our conversations never crossed 5 seconds. Hopefully, this year, we manage to get into double digits.
8 - Wifey continues to amaze with her culinary skills, apetite for bhel, addiction for cleaning and stamina to talk. Yes, she raised the bar even further this year.
9 - My father started to have breakfast and take vitamin tablets daily. He has been doing this sincerely since he restarted it last time.
So yes, the goods outnumber the bads, so all-in-all a better year. On this note, let me wish my (read-4) audience a very happy and a prosperous and a SAFE 2009. May all your wishes come true.
GHAJINI
Saw this movie FDFS (in our town) yesterday. The movie critic in me could not resist in writing a review. So here it goes.
Let me note the pros first --
1 - This movie is a remake of its Tamil namesake, so the story was well known. No surprises there. But still the storyline is a different from the routine ones.
2 - Asin plays the girl-next-door very well. She brings an instant smile. No nerves in her debut but with a nice filmography in the south, she is no newcomer either.
3 - Aamir displays the emotions, anguish and pain very well. At the same time, he portrays a corporate honcho and a sweet boyfriend so well. Especially, the switch between an MD and a average guy is handled very well by him.
4 - The romance between Asin and "Sachin" is handled very sensitively by the director. The part where he does not reveal his identity so that it does not influence her decision is superb.
4 - The director has managed the flow of story between the flashback and the present very well.
5 - The songs have been excellently picturized.
6 - Good comedy. Nice relief from the tension.
7 - Aamir the (ghost) director has shown his creativity and has dared to name the movie after the villain.
8 - And the happy ending makes the viewers leave the cinema halls on a happy note.
Now for the cons of the movie --
1 - Asin is charming in her debut but her persona does not create the impact that a Deepika Padukone did in her debut movie. This movie was ideally suited for her. Not sure how she can manage more demanding roles.
2 - Very graphic. But probably the storyline demands it.
3 - Support cast was a downer. Too many irrelevant characters. Jiah Khan can never play a medical student. A lot of characters could be done away with -- for e.g. the inspector.
4 - The villains were not up to the mark to say the least. A villain should be scary by their deeds and not by their appearance. The Rashid from Sarkaar was more scary by his stare than the villains here. Huge guys with crazy hairdo just are not scary.
5 - Common sense --
a - Total lack of CS and multiple instances of it. The villains go and kill anyone and everyone using guns. But in the climax, not even 1 of his guys have a gun.
b - Asin is in danger, but Aamir does not even think twice of calling the cops before rushing empty handed to her apartment.
c - The villain moves to his "fort" because he is safe there. But in the entire fight, less than 15 men confront Aamir. If he is a guy who can patronize a medical college, he better have more than 15 "troops" in his fort.
d - Guys way bigger than Ghazini are killed in one blow by Aamir. But, Ghazini can fight way longer than the rest combined.
6 - Too many and ill-timed songs. Probably, all but 1 (2 may be) could be done away with.
All said above, the movie has more good than bad. Especially, when you are not going anywhere in a 4-day long weekend. See it, unless u have better things to do.
MAHABHARAT -- a different view?
From the time I think I had the sense to analyze events, I realized one thing -- Victor writes the history. In any era, the victor survives to tell the tale from his point of view. Without a doubt, the loser is the villain.
Take any story from the legends -- there is a hero and a villain and the rest just take sides (for whatever reasons). The hero wins in the end -- or the survivor is the winner? The slain is the loser.
Check out any epic -- Ram-Ravan, Kaurava-Pandava, Shivaji-Aurangzeb, Hitler-Allies, Saddam-Bush, Steve Waugh-Ganguly, Ponting-Kumble.
For a moment, just think about a keenly contested India-Australia cricket match. An Indian sports writer and an Australian sports writer can come up with entirely different versions of the game.
That made me think, is Mahabharat the way it is (or the way Mr. B. R. Chopra presented it) really that way? Could there be another view to it?
Think -- Will any king ever name his sons as Duryodhan (Bad luck and wealth, It was Suyodhana) or Dusshasana (Bad ruler, it was Susshasana). Would any woman like to be termed herself as alms on the day of her swayamvara and shared among 5 brothers for the rest of her life? Can a prince who seems to know Dharma ever gamble on his wife? Weird!!!
Thats when I came across Prem Panicker's blog where Mahabharat is written from Bheem's point of view (okay, written by Prem thinking how Bheem would have written it).
link -- http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php (search tag = "Bhimsen")
And it gives an different view of the characters. Again note, Bheem was a Pandava, so Kauravas are going to be doomed as villains. But still, there is a entirely different version of himself (no doubt). A not-so-confident version of Arjun (worried about Karna). A very dark side of Yudhishtira (boring to be with, addicted to gambling, attracted to Draupadi) etc.
While this version is still a work-in-progress, it is very interesting. Makes me wonder if there was a version of Mahabharat from some survivor from the Kaurava side? Would make a very interesting read.
From the time I think I had the sense to analyze events, I realized one thing -- Victor writes the history. In any era, the victor survives to tell the tale from his point of view. Without a doubt, the loser is the villain.
Take any story from the legends -- there is a hero and a villain and the rest just take sides (for whatever reasons). The hero wins in the end -- or the survivor is the winner? The slain is the loser.
Check out any epic -- Ram-Ravan, Kaurava-Pandava, Shivaji-Aurangzeb, Hitler-Allies, Saddam-Bush, Steve Waugh-Ganguly, Ponting-Kumble.
For a moment, just think about a keenly contested India-Australia cricket match. An Indian sports writer and an Australian sports writer can come up with entirely different versions of the game.
That made me think, is Mahabharat the way it is (or the way Mr. B. R. Chopra presented it) really that way? Could there be another view to it?
Think -- Will any king ever name his sons as Duryodhan (Bad luck and wealth, It was Suyodhana) or Dusshasana (Bad ruler, it was Susshasana). Would any woman like to be termed herself as alms on the day of her swayamvara and shared among 5 brothers for the rest of her life? Can a prince who seems to know Dharma ever gamble on his wife? Weird!!!
Thats when I came across Prem Panicker's blog where Mahabharat is written from Bheem's point of view (okay, written by Prem thinking how Bheem would have written it).
link -- http://www.prempanicker.com/index.php (search tag = "Bhimsen")
And it gives an different view of the characters. Again note, Bheem was a Pandava, so Kauravas are going to be doomed as villains. But still, there is a entirely different version of himself (no doubt). A not-so-confident version of Arjun (worried about Karna). A very dark side of Yudhishtira (boring to be with, addicted to gambling, attracted to Draupadi) etc.
While this version is still a work-in-progress, it is very interesting. Makes me wonder if there was a version of Mahabharat from some survivor from the Kaurava side? Would make a very interesting read.
THE AFTERMATH
So, less than one week after all that happened in Mumbai, here are the steps taken by the government to improve the security situation in the country --
1 - Annual NSG budget was reduced from 118 crores to 117 crores. Annual VIP security budget was upped from 120 crores to 180 crores.
2 - Home minister gets the long deserved kick on the back. The second-best Finance Minister has been replaced by the best Finance Minister India has had. The incumbent gets the thorny crown on Home ministry for keeping the economy healthy.
3 - One CM insults a slain commando's family and refuses to apologize. Bowing to public sentiment (read -- Afraid of losing votes), his party spokesman apologizes.
4 - Blame games continues amidst international diplomacy. US continue doing whatever it has been doing forever -- nothing.
5 - Dawood is most wanted, India asks for him and is denied. All this while nothing is done to demolish his empire in Mumbai.
6 - Masood Azhar is asked for and is denied. All this while he himself was released during the plane hijack episode. And at the same time, no sentence is served to Afzal Guru when he has accepted masterminding the attacks on the Parliament.
7 - Advani demands resignation from anyone and everyone in the government when his party did not resign after the plane hijack episode and after the parliament attacks and after Kargil. All these were intelligence failures which led to many people being dead and India being attacked.
8 - Maharashtra deputy CM writes the happenings of the last week as "Bade Bade shehron mein choti choti baatein tou hoti rehti hai" ala SRK in DDLJ.
9 - Maharashtra deputy CM gets a sudden bout of conscience (read -- is made to resign) due to public sentiment (read -- Afraid of losing votes) and then Sharad Pawar demands "one wicket" from his alliance partner in the government.
10 - Maharashtra CM visits Taj hotel with his actor son and a very famous director. Plays it down.
11 - Maharashtra CM then catches the conscience fever (read -- is made to resign) after seeing a massive rally near Gateway of India.
12 - Resignation submitted --> Resignation not accepted --> CM will change --> CM will not change --> Resignation accepted --> Mr. A will be the new CM --> Mr. S will be the new CM --> Mr. N will be the new CM --> No, Mr. S --> No, Mr. A --> CM will not change, resignation rejected --> Resignation accepted --> Mr. S --> Mr. A --> Mr. N is furious --> Mr. S goes to Bhutan --> Mr. S does not go to Bhutan --> Mr. S --> Mr. A. --> Madam will take the decision --> Mr. S --> Mr. A --> Madam will take the decision --> Mr. N is furious and opts out of the race which he was never in consideration --> Mr. S --> Mr. A. --> Mr. A.
13 - Shivsena, the sleeping tiger, suddenly wakes up demands everyone's resignation. Forgot that the city has a Mayor from their own party. She need not resign by the way.
14 - ATS is suddenly dormant. No one wants to take charge of that force. No body cares.
15 - Bomb which was accidentally left behind by the attackers was enjoying the hospitality of Railway police for a week and then was accidentally discovered by the police.
16 - 1 bomb from the 10 brough in last week is still missing.
17 - 14 terrorists have landed (along with the 10 from last week) in Gujarat. No idea where they are currently. And yes, Gujarat's chief minister Narendra Modi is still demanding everyone else's resignation. Not to forget, he never resigned when Akshardham temple was attacked.
18 - Probably, 1 or 2 terrorists smoothly escaped from Taj and Oberoi along with guests. No one has any idea about it.
19 - Lalit Modi still wants IPL and Champions League to go through.
20 - Absolutely nothing is done to improve the security anywhere in the country.
21 - Mumbai comes back to normal. The spirit of the city keeps it alive and kicking.
To put it in 2 words -- Jai Hind!!!
So, less than one week after all that happened in Mumbai, here are the steps taken by the government to improve the security situation in the country --
1 - Annual NSG budget was reduced from 118 crores to 117 crores. Annual VIP security budget was upped from 120 crores to 180 crores.
2 - Home minister gets the long deserved kick on the back. The second-best Finance Minister has been replaced by the best Finance Minister India has had. The incumbent gets the thorny crown on Home ministry for keeping the economy healthy.
3 - One CM insults a slain commando's family and refuses to apologize. Bowing to public sentiment (read -- Afraid of losing votes), his party spokesman apologizes.
4 - Blame games continues amidst international diplomacy. US continue doing whatever it has been doing forever -- nothing.
5 - Dawood is most wanted, India asks for him and is denied. All this while nothing is done to demolish his empire in Mumbai.
6 - Masood Azhar is asked for and is denied. All this while he himself was released during the plane hijack episode. And at the same time, no sentence is served to Afzal Guru when he has accepted masterminding the attacks on the Parliament.
7 - Advani demands resignation from anyone and everyone in the government when his party did not resign after the plane hijack episode and after the parliament attacks and after Kargil. All these were intelligence failures which led to many people being dead and India being attacked.
8 - Maharashtra deputy CM writes the happenings of the last week as "Bade Bade shehron mein choti choti baatein tou hoti rehti hai" ala SRK in DDLJ.
9 - Maharashtra deputy CM gets a sudden bout of conscience (read -- is made to resign) due to public sentiment (read -- Afraid of losing votes) and then Sharad Pawar demands "one wicket" from his alliance partner in the government.
10 - Maharashtra CM visits Taj hotel with his actor son and a very famous director. Plays it down.
11 - Maharashtra CM then catches the conscience fever (read -- is made to resign) after seeing a massive rally near Gateway of India.
12 - Resignation submitted --> Resignation not accepted --> CM will change --> CM will not change --> Resignation accepted --> Mr. A will be the new CM --> Mr. S will be the new CM --> Mr. N will be the new CM --> No, Mr. S --> No, Mr. A --> CM will not change, resignation rejected --> Resignation accepted --> Mr. S --> Mr. A --> Mr. N is furious --> Mr. S goes to Bhutan --> Mr. S does not go to Bhutan --> Mr. S --> Mr. A. --> Madam will take the decision --> Mr. S --> Mr. A --> Madam will take the decision --> Mr. N is furious and opts out of the race which he was never in consideration --> Mr. S --> Mr. A. --> Mr. A.
13 - Shivsena, the sleeping tiger, suddenly wakes up demands everyone's resignation. Forgot that the city has a Mayor from their own party. She need not resign by the way.
14 - ATS is suddenly dormant. No one wants to take charge of that force. No body cares.
15 - Bomb which was accidentally left behind by the attackers was enjoying the hospitality of Railway police for a week and then was accidentally discovered by the police.
16 - 1 bomb from the 10 brough in last week is still missing.
17 - 14 terrorists have landed (along with the 10 from last week) in Gujarat. No idea where they are currently. And yes, Gujarat's chief minister Narendra Modi is still demanding everyone else's resignation. Not to forget, he never resigned when Akshardham temple was attacked.
18 - Probably, 1 or 2 terrorists smoothly escaped from Taj and Oberoi along with guests. No one has any idea about it.
19 - Lalit Modi still wants IPL and Champions League to go through.
20 - Absolutely nothing is done to improve the security anywhere in the country.
21 - Mumbai comes back to normal. The spirit of the city keeps it alive and kicking.
To put it in 2 words -- Jai Hind!!!
RUMOR HAS IT!!!
This snapshot from http://www.timesofindia.com/ at around 4:22 pm EST on 4th December 2008.
The "breaking news" scrolling ticker says that firing has been reported in the New Delhi airport terminus and 6 terrorists have been shot dead and NSG commandos have been summoned and they have cordoned the area and blah...
And immediately below, it mentions that the Delhi airport is normal despite the shooting report. In that article, it even mentions that the shooting report should be blamed on the Delhi airport authorities and BBC who published the news.
Wow!!!
HOW LONG?
I have never felt so sad to be proven correct. Never!!! Ever!!!
Less than 2 weeks back, I posted a hardlined blog. I felt a bit remorseful after that. But today, I feel that my stance was fully justified.
Its high time we hit back. I repeat -- "Shoot dead anybody who is remotely associated or suspected of association with these terrorists." I mean it. And do that publicly. These bastards dont deserve anything less.
I promise, I swear to god, I will never repent this.
May those souls rest in peace. May god give strength to their families to recover from this death blow.
I have never felt so sad to be proven correct. Never!!! Ever!!!
Less than 2 weeks back, I posted a hardlined blog. I felt a bit remorseful after that. But today, I feel that my stance was fully justified.
Its high time we hit back. I repeat -- "Shoot dead anybody who is remotely associated or suspected of association with these terrorists." I mean it. And do that publicly. These bastards dont deserve anything less.
I promise, I swear to god, I will never repent this.
May those souls rest in peace. May god give strength to their families to recover from this death blow.
A WEDNESDAY
Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Assam, Malegaon. All these places were bombed in the last few months. Note, this is just the list of the MAJOR blasts in the past few months. The minor crude bombs found before they went off is even bigger. In each of these blasts, the official number of dead and injured is way lesser than the actual number.
With every such instance, frustration and helplessness due to the inaction and lack of concern by the government builds up. The home minister does nothing than display the variety of his wardrobe. The Prime Minister conveys his condolences and declares monetary help to the victim's kin. No one knows if the help ever reaches the intended recipient. Opposition leaders ask for government's resignation and fresh elections. The cops release sketches of suspected individuals and the sketches usually match 1 of every 5 ppl i know. Soon, everything is forgotten till another blast occurs.
And in the midst of all this, I happen to see a new movie -- A WEDNESDAY. Primarily this movie has 2 characters -- the commissioner (Anupam Kher) and the protagonist (Naseeruddin Shah). There are other characters around the plot like a few cops and a few jailed terrorists, this movie is really a ball game between the commissioner and the protagonist.
I will not get into the details of the plot. The movie is too good (I mean it, really awesome movie) to mention the spoilers here, just go and see it.
But realistically speaking, it may not be really possible for a commoner to do what Naseer does in the movie. Atleast I am not so smart and intelligent to mastermind such a thing. But I agree with what he did, no second thoughts.
Shoot dead anybody who is remotely associated or suspected of association with these terrorists. So what if few hundred people are shot dead. India's population is fast threatening to reach 1.2 billion (or has it already). We can easily afford to lose a few hundred (or a few thousand) who threaten the peaceful and safe existence of remaining 1.199 billion.
If anyone ever hijacks a plane with 100 passengers and demands release of 3 terrorists, line up 200 terrorists from the prison in front of the TV camera (with the 3 demanded terrorists at the start of the line-up) and reply back to the hijackers "For every 1 passenger from the plane you kill, 2 terrorists from your outfit will be killed. The 3 demanded terrorists will be the first one to die". This might sounds very harsh, but do this once and I bet, they will never even think twice of hijacking another plane.
There is no smoke without fire. Eliminate anyone who threatens to disturb the peace of our country. Its our country and no one should tell us how to take care of it.
Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Assam, Malegaon. All these places were bombed in the last few months. Note, this is just the list of the MAJOR blasts in the past few months. The minor crude bombs found before they went off is even bigger. In each of these blasts, the official number of dead and injured is way lesser than the actual number.
With every such instance, frustration and helplessness due to the inaction and lack of concern by the government builds up. The home minister does nothing than display the variety of his wardrobe. The Prime Minister conveys his condolences and declares monetary help to the victim's kin. No one knows if the help ever reaches the intended recipient. Opposition leaders ask for government's resignation and fresh elections. The cops release sketches of suspected individuals and the sketches usually match 1 of every 5 ppl i know. Soon, everything is forgotten till another blast occurs.
And in the midst of all this, I happen to see a new movie -- A WEDNESDAY. Primarily this movie has 2 characters -- the commissioner (Anupam Kher) and the protagonist (Naseeruddin Shah). There are other characters around the plot like a few cops and a few jailed terrorists, this movie is really a ball game between the commissioner and the protagonist.
I will not get into the details of the plot. The movie is too good (I mean it, really awesome movie) to mention the spoilers here, just go and see it.
But realistically speaking, it may not be really possible for a commoner to do what Naseer does in the movie. Atleast I am not so smart and intelligent to mastermind such a thing. But I agree with what he did, no second thoughts.
Shoot dead anybody who is remotely associated or suspected of association with these terrorists. So what if few hundred people are shot dead. India's population is fast threatening to reach 1.2 billion (or has it already). We can easily afford to lose a few hundred (or a few thousand) who threaten the peaceful and safe existence of remaining 1.199 billion.
If anyone ever hijacks a plane with 100 passengers and demands release of 3 terrorists, line up 200 terrorists from the prison in front of the TV camera (with the 3 demanded terrorists at the start of the line-up) and reply back to the hijackers "For every 1 passenger from the plane you kill, 2 terrorists from your outfit will be killed. The 3 demanded terrorists will be the first one to die". This might sounds very harsh, but do this once and I bet, they will never even think twice of hijacking another plane.
There is no smoke without fire. Eliminate anyone who threatens to disturb the peace of our country. Its our country and no one should tell us how to take care of it.
PERFECT BLEND
S and I were in Boston over the Labor day weekend to attend a wedding. S's cousin G was getting married to J after knowing each other for more than 7 years. J is an American and G is an Indian (though an American by citizenship) and so, this wedding was going to be an Indo-American affair.
The wedding was a perfect blend of two individuals, two families, two cultures, two religions and two countries... I cannot stress more on the two words -- "perfect" and "blend" -- really i cannot... Changing the font to bold, italic, underline or some other color is not going to do enough justice... So, i just decided to use those words to name the blog... thats it...
Every aspect of the wedding was very well planned... Here are some salient features of the wedding --
1 - All the ladies (including the groom's immediate family and friends) were dressed in traditional Indian attire and got mehendi done on their hands... The couple's friends even danced to a hindi wedding song from a Karan Johar movie...
2 - The food for the mehendi ceremony was as versatily Indian as it could get and the food for the reception was as equally un-Indian as it could... There was champagne toast to punch bowl. There was fried shrimp as well as Indian Banarasi pan. There was chaat and pav bhaji and gobi manchurian. And then there was lasagna and garlic bread and stuffed turkey. Everyone ate their favorite food to glory.
3 - The groom was dressed in a traditional Kannada wedding attire including peta, dhoti, kurta and chappal... He chanted all the shlokas and mantras with the same fluency that a Kannadiga would... His parents were as interested and involved in the wedding ceremony as any Indian parents would be... Even they wore Indian attire and looked at ease.
4 - The bride walked down the aisle with bridesmaids (her cousins) like any american bride and she was escorted by her uncle (maternal uncle) like any Indian bride...
5 - After the traditional indian wedding was over, the bride and groom exchanged vows like an christian wedding and the head priest from Chinmaya mission administered the wedding oath. The groom's oath was one of the most touching ones I have ever heard.
6 - The reception was as christian as it gets... There was a beautiful cake, a champagne toast ceremony, the first kiss and the first dance... The toast from the "father of the bride" was very touching and if that toast brought everyone on the edge of breaking down into tears, the toast from the "sister of the bride" pushed them over the edge... There was hardly any soul in that wedding hall without a wet eye at the end of that toast...
7 - The dance after the toast ceremony started with a romantic tune and soon blasted into typical punjabi tunes... Almost everyone was on the dance floor and the newly wed bride and groom were perched atop shoulders of their friends...
The points mentioned above were just a glimpse of the entire wedding. Though everyone was looking forward to the wedding, the ceremony surpassed everyone's expectation. It was a memorable event for us too. For S and I, it was a trip down the memory lane to a unforgettable day, exactly 3 years before today. ;-)
S and I were in Boston over the Labor day weekend to attend a wedding. S's cousin G was getting married to J after knowing each other for more than 7 years. J is an American and G is an Indian (though an American by citizenship) and so, this wedding was going to be an Indo-American affair.
The wedding was a perfect blend of two individuals, two families, two cultures, two religions and two countries... I cannot stress more on the two words -- "perfect" and "blend" -- really i cannot... Changing the font to bold, italic, underline or some other color is not going to do enough justice... So, i just decided to use those words to name the blog... thats it...
Every aspect of the wedding was very well planned... Here are some salient features of the wedding --
1 - All the ladies (including the groom's immediate family and friends) were dressed in traditional Indian attire and got mehendi done on their hands... The couple's friends even danced to a hindi wedding song from a Karan Johar movie...
2 - The food for the mehendi ceremony was as versatily Indian as it could get and the food for the reception was as equally un-Indian as it could... There was champagne toast to punch bowl. There was fried shrimp as well as Indian Banarasi pan. There was chaat and pav bhaji and gobi manchurian. And then there was lasagna and garlic bread and stuffed turkey. Everyone ate their favorite food to glory.
3 - The groom was dressed in a traditional Kannada wedding attire including peta, dhoti, kurta and chappal... He chanted all the shlokas and mantras with the same fluency that a Kannadiga would... His parents were as interested and involved in the wedding ceremony as any Indian parents would be... Even they wore Indian attire and looked at ease.
4 - The bride walked down the aisle with bridesmaids (her cousins) like any american bride and she was escorted by her uncle (maternal uncle) like any Indian bride...
5 - After the traditional indian wedding was over, the bride and groom exchanged vows like an christian wedding and the head priest from Chinmaya mission administered the wedding oath. The groom's oath was one of the most touching ones I have ever heard.
6 - The reception was as christian as it gets... There was a beautiful cake, a champagne toast ceremony, the first kiss and the first dance... The toast from the "father of the bride" was very touching and if that toast brought everyone on the edge of breaking down into tears, the toast from the "sister of the bride" pushed them over the edge... There was hardly any soul in that wedding hall without a wet eye at the end of that toast...
7 - The dance after the toast ceremony started with a romantic tune and soon blasted into typical punjabi tunes... Almost everyone was on the dance floor and the newly wed bride and groom were perched atop shoulders of their friends...
The points mentioned above were just a glimpse of the entire wedding. Though everyone was looking forward to the wedding, the ceremony surpassed everyone's expectation. It was a memorable event for us too. For S and I, it was a trip down the memory lane to a unforgettable day, exactly 3 years before today. ;-)
FINALLY A BIG ONE
It took me 29 years and numerous attempts to achieve this. I cannot recall the total number of tournaments I might have played in but I can clearly remember that at least at 3 occasions, I faltered at the last step.
The first time, it happened in my first year of engineering. We had a chance to create history by being the first First Year class to win the college championship. We were overwhelmed by the occasion and lost the game miserably.
The second time, we could have defeated the reigning champions and won the Infy championship. We played very well in the first half, but were very tired and were overpowered by the other side.
The third time was last year in the local 20-20 tournament when one person's brutal innings kept us away from the trophy. Sheer brutal power from 1 person crashed our party.
But not this time. This time our team was undefeated in the tournament. We were not even challenged in any games, except the semi-finals (more about the SF below). All our games until the semis were clearly one-sided.
In the semi, we were pitted against a very strong KMCC team which had manhandled us in the regular season. Plus, this time they had imported a very good player just for this match. We started badly and had lost 5 wickets for less than 20 runs. 3 batsmen played very well to push us to 126. They started very well and were 80/3 in 10 overs. Needed 47 in 10 overs with 7 wickets in hand. We never gave up, fought very hard and choked them out. After needing 6 runs off 2 overs with 4 wickets in hand, we tied the game. Then there was a bowl-out (Yes!!!). And how can a Indian team lose to a Pakistan team in a bowl out. We kept the tradition alive ;-) and won the bowl out to go to the finals.
In the finals, we steamrolled a young (and a very good) NCSU team and emerged as the tournament champions. Our bowlers were challenged by each other. Our batsmen competed against one another. The targets was to better our previous best performance. No one could have said that we did not deserve to win.
This is the first tournament victory for me and the fact that wifey was there made it even special.
It took me 29 years and numerous attempts to achieve this. I cannot recall the total number of tournaments I might have played in but I can clearly remember that at least at 3 occasions, I faltered at the last step.
The first time, it happened in my first year of engineering. We had a chance to create history by being the first First Year class to win the college championship. We were overwhelmed by the occasion and lost the game miserably.
The second time, we could have defeated the reigning champions and won the Infy championship. We played very well in the first half, but were very tired and were overpowered by the other side.
The third time was last year in the local 20-20 tournament when one person's brutal innings kept us away from the trophy. Sheer brutal power from 1 person crashed our party.
But not this time. This time our team was undefeated in the tournament. We were not even challenged in any games, except the semi-finals (more about the SF below). All our games until the semis were clearly one-sided.
In the semi, we were pitted against a very strong KMCC team which had manhandled us in the regular season. Plus, this time they had imported a very good player just for this match. We started badly and had lost 5 wickets for less than 20 runs. 3 batsmen played very well to push us to 126. They started very well and were 80/3 in 10 overs. Needed 47 in 10 overs with 7 wickets in hand. We never gave up, fought very hard and choked them out. After needing 6 runs off 2 overs with 4 wickets in hand, we tied the game. Then there was a bowl-out (Yes!!!). And how can a Indian team lose to a Pakistan team in a bowl out. We kept the tradition alive ;-) and won the bowl out to go to the finals.
In the finals, we steamrolled a young (and a very good) NCSU team and emerged as the tournament champions. Our bowlers were challenged by each other. Our batsmen competed against one another. The targets was to better our previous best performance. No one could have said that we did not deserve to win.
This is the first tournament victory for me and the fact that wifey was there made it even special.
HALLOWEEN
This is one tradition which might get laughed at in Indian culture. If someone asks an Indian to dress himself/herself and his/her kids as monsters and take them door to door threatening with "trick-or-treat" to get candy, then one would be categorized as "crazy", "psycho" or even someone who practices witchcraft.
But strange are the ways of life in different lands and here in the land of uncle SAM, this tradition is celebrated as as festival and might be the kids favorite amongst all the festivals celebrated in the year. Parents relent to their kids as well as the kid within themselves and thoroughly revel in this festive atmosphere.
Though, ideally, kids are supposed to be dressed as scary and spooky, some parents have taken the liberty to improvise this tradition and dress their kids as something creative. Most common being Animals, Cartoon characters and Superstars (esp, Elvis).
Wifey, being the kid she is, thoroughly enjoyed the day. Her day started with fabulous cup cakes in the office. These cup cakes had spooky ring as toppings. Then there was a goodies bag where all weird items like scary rings and buttons etc. Then, yours truly was dispatched (one day earlier) to buy a bag-full of assorted candy which was loaded on a attractive bowl. There was Diwali decoration on the outside of our home and that served as Halloween decoration for the kids. :-?
As soon as it started getting dark, kids started knocking on our door and demanding candy. A family friend's kids got the unique privilege of getting the goodie bag. A gang of elderly kids got the spooky rings and they were very happy about it. A lot of kids liked our house because our house was one of few ones where they had the freedom of taking all the candy that they could in one fist.
The creativity in the costumes and the make-up was very evident and overall, it was a scary and a enjoyable evening.
BOBO
Pets are a kid's best friend. Small kids learn a lot of good things and tend to be more responsible once they are made to look after pets. With this intention in mind, my sister and brother-in-law brought a puppy for my nephew. He was affectionately named "Bobo".
My nephew was very excited from the day Bobo entered the house. He used to finish his studies quickly just so that he can play with Bobo. He used to obey every instruction from his parents so that he gets permission to take Bobo out for 5 minutes. He used to have his food on time so that he can eat with Bobo. In short, things were going as planned.
Some of Bobo's pictures -- http://picasaweb.google.com/wagle.shivanand/BOBO?authkey=gxgK2LmDv4E
Then the vet gave an injection which was not supposed to be given until the puppy is atleast 50 days old. From that day, the pup was never the same. It lost its apetite, it lost its cheerfulness. No more jumping, no more fun. Soon it started bleeding from its mouth and in a matter of 2 days, Bobo was no more. Just like that.
I never had the chance to play with Bobo and saw the pictures just once. But still, it was a shock from which I am yet to recover. My sis and brother in law are still shocked and cry often. Nephew is very young to understand all this and has been told that Bobo was missing his parents so he has been sent back to his parents. But he asks my sis everyday about when he will be back.
Why did this have to happen? Cant find an answer to this Q.
HI-5
RS has tagged me to "Jot down 5 of your favorite quotes from the various books you’ve read. If you don’t have the books with you now, googling (Wikiquotes and the like) can be used to find them. Tag five people and acknowledge the person who tagged you"
So, here I go. My reading body-of-work does not really boast of wide variety. So, i am going to take the liberty of listing 5 best quotes from the books I have read and the movies that I have seen.
And here is my hi5 --
1 - "Its not personal. Its strictly business." - (Do i really need to mention the source here? Still, for the ones who dont know it yet) The Godfather by Mario Puzo.
2 - "No comebacks Sir, I have taken care of everything." -- From the book, "No comebacks" by Frederick Forsyth. Short story yet very impactful. Took me few days to get over with this story and move on to the next one.
3 - "Try telling this to my grandson" -- From the oscar nominated marathi movie "Shwaas" where the grandfather tries to argue with a doctor who is trying to convince him to proceed with an operation on his grandson. The 8 year old grandson would be blind for life after the operation.
4 - "Apne aangan ka lamp giving light to neighbours house" -- from the movie Swades. Every time I see this scene, my eyes become wet.
5 - "Sadly, this nation does not know its potential and will end up ruining itself." -- a book on India's pre-colonization history. The author is an englishman who travelled the length and breadth of the pre-british India. His analysis is coming true now.
Thanks to RS for giving me a chance to go down the memory lane to recall these (and many more) lines.
Am passing these on to my very few readers.
Harsha
Mithun
BEST PERFORMANCE AT OLYMPICS
Never mind the 53 athletes who came back empty handed... Never mind the 42 officials who went there without reasons to justify... Never mind the politicians and office-holders who will jump to take the credit of 3 individuals... Never mind that our population is more than 1 billion and only 3 individuals made it count when it mattered...
For now, lets salute the three heroes who made us proud on the world's biggest sporting stage... Lets bask in the glory of our best ever Olympic performance...
Jai Hind...
Never mind the 53 athletes who came back empty handed... Never mind the 42 officials who went there without reasons to justify... Never mind the politicians and office-holders who will jump to take the credit of 3 individuals... Never mind that our population is more than 1 billion and only 3 individuals made it count when it mattered...
For now, lets salute the three heroes who made us proud on the world's biggest sporting stage... Lets bask in the glory of our best ever Olympic performance...
Jai Hind...
2 WTF news from the last week...
1 - Ishmeet Singh gets state funeral...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Reality_show_star_Ishmeet_Singh_drowns_in_Maldives/articleshow/3303269.cms
What? What has he done to deserve a state funeral? State funeral is an honor reserved for someone who has done something special for the state or the country... Winning a singing talent competition by appealing for regional votes is absolutely not special and nor does it make a state or a country proud... The chief minister of Punjab attended the funeral...
A few days back when Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw died, none of the chief ministers or Central Ministers or PM or President or Leaders of Opposition or the Chief of Armed forces bothered to turn up... I dont even have to mention any of Sam Manekshaw's achievements here... But Ishmeet singh? WTF?
2 - 4 Indian Hockey coaches going to the Beijing Olympics...
http://www.rediff.com/sports/2008/jul/31hock.htm
Again, what? First of all, the Indian team has not qualified for the Olympics... Then all the officials remotely connected with Hockey start the finger pointing and blame game sessions... And now the same ppl go to the Olympics to "learn" the strategies implemented by the other teams... Can this not be done by seeing the games on TV? Is it required to spend money on tickets, hotel accomodation (when the prices are going to be at its peak) and other "personal" expenses?
WTF?
HUMDINGER
After losing 3 games in a row, our morales were at an all time low... The last thing we needed at this time was another loss which all but eliminates any chance of our team making it to the playoffs...
After losing 3 games in a row, our morales were at an all time low... The last thing we needed at this time was another loss which all but eliminates any chance of our team making it to the playoffs...
It was 3 weeks since the last game and all the time was spent in introspection and we had realized one thing in these 3 weeks -- fortune favors the brave... Play hard cricket and leave the rest to lady luck...
So, after 3 weeks of waiting and motivating ourselves, we reached the ground all geared up for the game... A hot and humid day awaited us with mercury promising to reach upper 90s... The other team had taken the victory for granted and for them, it was a not a matter of "will we win", it was a matter of "by how much will we win"...
We lost the toss, and the other team decided to bat first... Their plan was to bat us out of the game... Hit us hard when we are down... They sent 2 attacking openers first up...
First ball -- six... Next ball, single... Again six... Then four... One hard hit ball, saved by a fielder... Last ball -- OUT!!! The first over could not have been more dramatic... One down batsman had smelt blood already and came in ringing sixes and fours... Within 12 overs, they were 112 for 1...
We grouped during the break... We had 2 options -- go down or fight back... We knew what to do... First ball after the break, excellent catch... Next 5-6 overs, we played out of our skins and got ourselves back into the game... We didnt get any wickets but we had the batsmen frustrated with the lack of runs... Gradually, they buckled under the pressure and we had our wickets... One very good runout, 2 hard hit catches... Next 21 overs, they had scored only 110 runs with 4 wickets lost... The match was really up...
But, by then, heat had taken its toll... One of their batsman was dropped while on 0 and carnage ensued... He hit us for 47 runs in the last 2 overs... All our hard work in the last 20 overs was undone in these 2 overs... They reached a massive 268 in the allotted 35 overs...
We were devastated... No one felt like drinking even a drop of water in the break... We had hit the rock bottom of our season...
Thats when our captain's father came to us and said -- "Guys, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going... Its like the Gatorade ad... Do you have it in you?"
We got the push we needed... We went in the game with the intention of "not going down without a fight" and got the worst possible start... One opener run-out in the 2nd over for a duck... But we did not give up...
The other opener and 1-down blazed their way to glory... Within 10 overs, we were 100 odd... Then we changed our gears... Now it was a matter of taking it - one over at a time... Within 15 overs, we were 150 odd for 3 and the asking run rate was now just 6... All that was required was just common sense...
We could see it coming and it was just a matter of not cracking under pressure... The opener fought valiantly at one end and the others were giving him the support... At one time it was 36 runs needed of 36 balls with 5 wickets in hand...
Soon, a couple of bad umpiring decisions followed and the opposing team had their tails up... It was a matter of who blinks first... One fellow played sensibly and it was up to 25 of 24 balls... A good over and it changed to 10 of 18 balls with 3 wickets in hand...
A good catch made it 10 of 16 in 2 wickets... Another six... Now, 4 needed of 14 balls... 2 wickets in hand... We should have won it hands down...
Thats when we cracked... The fellow who had just hit a six, went for glory and hit a high ball which was caught well...
4 needed of 10 balls with 1 wicket in hand... One fellow was playing very sensibly and took a safe 2... 2 runs needed of 8 balls, 1 wicket in hand... if wicket falls, we lose... 1 run, its a tie... 2 runs and we win... Anything was possible...
The bowler bowled a wide... It was a tie now... We could not lose from this point forward... So, now it was a Q of whether we win or not... But, #11 was on strike and he played the 2 balls safely... Now, the set batsman had to score 1 run of 6 balls and we would have completed a memorable victory...
Thats when hell broke lose... The batsman just blanked out, swung out wildly and the ball went miles in the air... We prayed that the fielder drops it, but it was not to be our day... The fielder held his composure and took the catch... They celebrated and our shoulders drooped...
After chasing almost 8 runs an over, we flinched at the last step... It doesnt hit harder than this... No one slept that night... This nightmare will haunt us forever...
It was an humdinger alright, we almost won... we almost defeated them... But, you never "almost defeat" anyone... You never "almost win"... You either win or you do not win... and we did not...
TRUST VOTE?
Have been trying to catch the proceedings going on in the Lok Sabha for the past 2 days under the name of "trust vote"... It was surely a big shameful episode...
I am not talking about the whole "invention" of the cash-for-vote scandal... This really is not a "invention", it is a "discovery"... (By definition, invention is finding something which no-one thought existed and discovery is finding something which was thought to be existed but was never found till now)... Everyone knows that horse-trading is omnipresent, the only difference being, this time the frustration and helplessness in the opposition spilled over and it came out in the open...
The real shame is how fingers were pointed at one another... How someone of the stature of the PM was degraded... Manmohan Singh was taunted as a "Nikamma" (useless) and the weakest PM until now... He is such a respected economist all over the world and someone of the stature (?) of Advani stooping to such a low level was really shameful...
No one, except Lalu, was allowed to speak un-interrupted... Lalu was spared because he had the presence of mind to use humor as a weapon to hit where it hurts the most... Everyone else, talking for the government or against the government, were interrupted...
I had a chance to see a small clip of Rahul Gandhi's speech and his humility and the concern in his speech made me admire him... I am not saying that he deserves to be the next PM or whatever... I am not even suggesting that he should be given a chance... I am just saying that he conducted himself today in a way which should be set as an example for the rest...
Seeing the whole horse-trading episode, I feel that the following laws should be brought into rule ASAP --
1 - India should be a 2 alliance democracy... These alliances should be formed before the election and the alliances cannot be tweaked... If some party wants to break the alliance, then all the MPs from that party should resign and get reelected...
2 - For every seat, there has to be an option of "None-Of-the-candidates-standing-for-the-election"... If a voter is not happy with any of the candidates standing for the election, then he/she can vote for the "none" option... If more than 33% votes go to the "none" option, then the election should be declared null and void... All the candidates should be debarred from contesting an election for next 5 years... Even their immediate family members (brothers, sisters, wives, kids, in-laws) should be debarred from contesting...
3 - If during the election in a constituency, less than 50% voting happens, then the election should be declared null and void... There has to be a re-election... The 50% voting can include the "none" option because, clause 2 above can take care...
Unless such stringent laws are made, such school-classroom episodes will continue... And as it happened today, someone will win the vote, but trust will be lost, once again...
SARKAAR RAJ
But the best part of the movie was that it met the high expectations (atleast mine)... It would be unfair to compare this to the first one because the first one had the surprise element whereas this one had the bar already set to match... This one had the additional burden of reviving RGV from the disaster of "RGV ki Aag"... This one was the first flick starring Abhi and Ash after the wedding and everyone wanted to check out their chemistry...
The movie was pretty much on expected lines and expected (high) standards... Abhishek cruised through his role with a lot of intensity... Amitabh showed the same "Angry Old Man", the glimpse of which was seen in Agneepath...
But, I was disappointed by the film in a few aspects... Biggest disappointment, not to mention shock, was to see Abhishek die and Amitabh take over... I would have rather loved seeing Amitabh die and Abhishek pounce back in revenge... Adds more melodrama to the plot... But, then this way, RGV can bring all the 3 characters back in the next flick...
Also, what was mrs bachchan nee rai doing in the whole movie? why have 3 comedians-cum-villains when only 1 was enough? And what with the stupid assassin with gloves? Had all these unnecessary characters been cut off, the movie would have been more hard-hitting... Intense movies like these need to be relentlessly numbing the brain... A minute of an irrelevant subplot can kill the momentum...
Lots of similarities with the original movie... The real villain was pulling the strings from behind the curtain and its entirely different puppets on the screen... The real villain is not killed in the climax, but is defeated and defeated badly enough to not be able to rise again... The end of the movie leaves enough room for the next episode... Abhi get 2 divas in both the movies...
The movie completely enthralled the 500 odd ppl in the theater that day (including me)...
Eagerly awaiting the announcement of part 3...
THIS IS AMAZING...
I am stunned... Hard to believe that this kid learnt everything on the road... Touched by his last line...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-URtZfIgKAU&feature=related
ps -- read this on my friend Harsha's blog.
HILARIOUS!!!
if this can happen
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2996063.cms
then i dont see why this
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Karuna_to_give_away_30_lakh_TVs/articleshow/3016805.cms
can not lead to this
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/05/news/companies/consumer_electronics/index.htm?section=money_topstories
Comments welcome!!!
if this can happen
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2996063.cms
then i dont see why this
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Karuna_to_give_away_30_lakh_TVs/articleshow/3016805.cms
can not lead to this
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/05/news/companies/consumer_electronics/index.htm?section=money_topstories
Comments welcome!!!
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN!!!
So, after a good start to season with a win, our cricket team had to take on the might of PACC (Pakistan Association Cricket Club) at home. PACC is a very good team and it is very tough to beat them - home or away.
Luckily for us, all our "star" players returned back to action and we fielded a very strong team. With our current availabilities, this was probably the best team we can field and only 1-2 positions in the line-up were debatable. All of us were keenly awaiting this evenly poised contest.
Sadly, weather again decided to play a spoilsport and the overnight rain ruined the pitch enough to delay the start of the game by an hour. All the stores ran out of saw-dust and we had to use mulch and pine strauss to dry the wet patches in the vicinity of the pitch. After a long patch-up project, the game started at 11 am.
We lost the toss (again) and had to bowl (again). PACC had a strong batting line up consisting of very attacking batsmen up to number 8 and we had to make sure that they do not get the headstart very early.
First over went very well, but we dropped a catch in the gully region. Luckily, it did not prove very costly as I could get the opener caught behind in my first over. But that did not dent the batting team by much. They got on with their job slowly and steadily. Their 1-down batsman got a lucky life when the umpire failed to notice a clear nick brilliantly taken by our keeper. But he did not make much of the life as he was caught to a excellently judged catch on the boundary in the next over. Their number 4 batsman (and their captain) came in and was dropped in the first over he faced. Again, he was brilliantly caught in the next over and did not get the opportunity to make us pay a lot for our mistakes.
The other opener was riding on his luck that day. He did not play even 1 convincing shot, nor was he dropped even once, but still he made 47 before his luck ran out. Most of his shots landed in no man's land or just evaded the fielders by a few metres.
But then on, PACC proved why it is rated so highly in the league. Their batsmen put their heads down, cut down on all the flamboyancy and continued milking our bowling for 1s and 2s. At the 2ND break, they were a very healthy 117/3 in 24 overs. 11 overs remained and we were bracing ourselves for a pasting in those 11 overs.
Another twist in the turn though - we came up trumps in this session. Good catching and quick fielding ensured that we kept this famed batting line up on a tight leash and we got them all out for 175. The last wicket was an excellent pick-up and direct hit -- an apt testament to our fielding effort for the day. Pretty much everyone contributed in the game by a catch or a wicket. I got 4 wickets in this game, making it 9 in 2 games.
We were chasing only 176 in 35 overs -- about 5 an over. But our one opener started as if we were chasing 10 an over... First 4 overs had at least 1 sixer -- each bigger than the previous one... In 5 overs, we were 42 for no loss with one opener at 34 and 8 extras. The other opener was playing a good foil to the big hitting by keeping the other end silent. By 10 overs we were 80 odd for the loss of 1 wicket and all of us were thinking of going home early.
But we were dreaming too early i guess. Opener tried to hit one more out of the park and the ball took the leading edge to go in the entirely opposite direction for a nice catch. Captain hit a brilliant cover-drive for the boundary but after that, he got out for a half-played shot. A faster one got another batsman castled and stupid calling got our most stable batsman back in the calling after being run-out.
Suddenly, we were 114 for 5 with 14 more overs to go... It was evenly poised for both the teams. We needed 60 off runs in 14 odd overs -- not a big ask by any measure... They needed 5 wickets with the better batsmen from our team already back in the tent... It was any one's game to win...
The weather gods decided to take control of the match at this point. It poured and poured well enough for the umpires to call off the game. Both the teams were left wondering of what could have happened.
There were no Fuddruckers this time, instead we relished a good biryani and nice Raita in the shelter at the ground. Not sure whether we were celebrating not losing the game or ruing the chance of not winning the game. Whatever the reason was, the biryani was awesome. :-))
This week, we take on the winners of the 2007 season in their home ground at Charlotte. Keep watching this space for the updates on that game. And yes, wish us good luck!!!
FIRST 5-fer EVER!!!
New cricket season... Lots of hope... Lots of anticipation...
Here begins the 2008 season for our team... Quite a few of our players opted out due to reasons varying from injury to sick kids to angry wives to pursuing MBA's... So, 6 out of the 11 from our last game were not playing today... A relatively new-look team was fielded...
Our first game was scheduled for 6th April, but rain-gods decided to make us wait longer to get the wheels rolling... Luckily, skippy could get everything in place to reschedule the game for the immediate weekend and our first game for the season was scheduled for 04/13... This was a road game (abt 2 hrs away from home) and it is not ideal to start the season with a 2 hr journey and with a totally new-look side... But we decided to focus on the positive aspect of the game...
One +ve for this game though was that everyone reached on time... One distinctive feature of our team is that we work according to IST, always 30 minutes behind the clock... But, today, we all arrived on time and started driving at 8.45 sharp... Crazy driving ensured that we reach the ground on time...
It turned out to be a wonderful day for cricket... Weather was sunny and warm with mercury clocking upper 60's to lower 70's... Green outfield and a nice even pitch made it even more inviting...
Skippy lost the toss (Dhoni anyone?) and we were forced to bowl... Since, we may need a couple of new ball bowlers during the season, skippy had entrusted the responsibility of opening the bowling from one end on my shoulders (literally)...
I took my run-up and i was stunned to see the opening batsman... He had batted at number 11 in the previous game... This was ridiculous!!! No 11 in the last game and opener in this one? In this shock, I bowled 2 wides first up... First legitimate delivery and he was caught at mid-on... Superb catch by a veteran team-mate... Soon, i got into my groove... Last ball of the over, I got another batsman out caught behind...
Soon, I got into a groove and next 3 overs were superb... There was 1 catch drop (tough one though) and the batsmen played and missed so many times that everyone lost track of the number... Banana-swingers frustrated the batsmen to no end... At the other end, the other opening bowler was keeping it very tight...
Soon, the batsmen too got into a rhythm... Initial movement was gone and the pitch became easier to bat on... We dropped a few catches (i dropped 2 of em) and soon, the batting team reached 80 odd for 2 in 20 odd overs...
After the break, we regrouped and started choking every run out of the field... Bowling slower and slower by every delivery, skippy and a debutant offie literally strangled the batting team... And, the batsmen complemented by committing the mistakes... Soon, they start losing important wickets...
Their key batsmen committed hara-kiri and our stand-in-keeper did an awesome job of taking 3 catches and 1 stumping... I was then brought back to finish my quota...
For the first time, I could control the line and length and got the remaining 3 batsmen clean bowled in less than 2 overs... My first ever 5-fer after 2 years of league cricket... The batting team was all out for 112, 85 of which were made in the partnership for the 3rd wicket...
As our skippy puts it "we played according to the target"... Chasing 113 off 35 overs, we got to an awesome (?) start of 16/3 off 9 overs... Then skippy and keeper saved the day for us with a smart partnership of 90 odd runs... Keeper got out after a safe 25 odd... Skippy stayed till the end to round a good day...
So, nice start to a new season... Skippy get the MoM for 46 runs with the bat and bowling figures of 7-1-16-4 with one awesome caught-and-bowled... I get to keep the match ball for my 5-fer... It will get a place of honor in my showcase...
On the way back, hot veggie burger with spicy fries at Foodruckers (recommended by wifey) made it a day worth remembering for a long long time...
Till our next game (04/20), cheers and ciao!!! Wish us luck!!!
DOMBIVALI FAST
This blog gets its title from a Marathi movie I happened to see over the weekend... This movie has been remade as "Evano Oruvan" in Tamil... Madhavan has acted in the Tamil version...
Before the title of the blog starts to confuse my (very very few) readers, let me explain it...
The town of Dombivali is a suburb of Mumbai and it takes abt 1.5-2 hrs by train to reach Dombivali from the heart of the Mumbai City...
Hundreds of Thousands of ppl travel daily from Dombivali to Mumbai and they spend abt 3-3.5 hrs every day commuting in the train(to and fro)... These commuters prefer Fast trains (which skip smaller railway stations and stop only on important ones) to the Slow trains (which stop at all the railway stations) to save abt 20-30 minutes every day... No wonder the trains are jam packed and getting a place to stand in this train is difficult... So, getting a place to sit in the train is like a luxury and a window seat is an achievement... The nomenclature followed for such trains is "#DESTINATION#-#SLOW/FAST#
Travelling in one such Dombivali Fast local is the protagonist of this movie...
This person is someone who believes very strongly in his principles and is very staunch about not compromising with them, at any cost... At every crossroad of his life, he has to undergo lot of emotional turmoil due to his beliefs but he refuses to bend... He stands firm for his moral values inspite of all the problems he has to face...
Slowly, his whole world turns against him... check out each of the scenarios...
1 -- His wife is not happy because she has to stay in a rented apartment... They have booked an apartment, but cannot move in yet because he is not ready to pay ridiculous amount to the builder for the upgrade options in the booked apartment... his wife questions his sanity for this act...
2 -- His son has failed in 3 subjects... The teacher asks his son to join special tuitions and promises to clear him in those subjects... But, he is not ready to pay for special tuitions as he considers this as a bribe... the son ridicules him for this act...
3 -- His daughter cannot get admitted to a good school because he refuses to pay Rs. 35,000 towards donations to the School Development Fund... the principal of the school calls him insane for this act...
4 -- He works as a loan officer in a bank and his manager is cross with him because he is not ready to pass a huge loan to an applicant who has submitted false documents... The applicant is one of the biggest account holder in that branch and the manager is very well aware that the loan will certainly default... But the applicant has promised handsome "rewards" for everyone who will help him to get the loan cleared and this irks the protagonist to the core... his entire bank staff makes fun of him... The applicant gets his loan and everyone in the bank staff gets a hefty Diwali gift...
5 -- The company which provides water to his apartment complex sends a water tanker everyday and the tanker guy does not release water until someone pays him Rs. 100 (over the stipulated pre-paid water charges)... When he questions the tanker guy, everyone else his in apartment complex asks him to mind his own business because his act is causing unnecessary delays...
Eventually, at every point in his life, he turns out to be a loser... Everyone makes fun of him and no one thinks, even for a moment, that he is doing the right thing... His frustration builds up every passing day, hour and minute...
One day, the volcano errupts (over 2 rupees at a col-drink stall) and he takes on the entire system head-on... Seeing that his sincere pleas are not making any effect, he resorts to violence... Anything and everything that does not meet the true ethical standards he has set for himself is destroyed... Cops, Doctors, Drug peddlers, politicians, the tanker guy -- one and all feel the brunt of his ire...
Soon, the ever-hungry media takes note of his activities and he is termed as a psycho, a maniac and a lunatic by one and by all... Since he has exposed political leaders, the government is at task... Since the government is scared of losing their power, the Police Commissioner is threatened of a transfer out of Mumbai... Since the Commissioner's position is at stake, he asks his cops to "Encounter" the man...
The only person who can understand him is this police inspector who has been assigned to his case... He questions everyone who questions this man... He asks everyone about the protagonist's crime... The cop has the right intention -- to arrest the protagonist, counsel him and release him as a free and an innocent human being...
But, by then, the protagonist has lost faith in everyone and is unable to visualize the good guy in the cop... The cop, even though he approves of the protagonist's actions, is helpless and has to shoot the protagonist... He is shot through the heart in the encounter killing...
The protagonist's last wish -- to have a window seat in his last journey in the Dombivali Fast train -- is fulfilled by the cop...
The movie shook me to the core... What was his fault? Just that he was ethical and was not ready to succumb to the monetary desires of this world? And that he tried swimming against the current? How many times have we compromised and done something that we know is unethical? And, how many times have we forced someone else to do something unethical...
How many times have we travelled in Dombivali Fast?
My 2 pence worth...
About the monkey-gate scandal... And about the Sydney test which India lost in the last 5 minutes... And about all the bad decisions made by the umpires in the test series...
I do not know if Bhajji really taunted Symonds, but I know one thing for sure -- Sachin will not lie... not to the extent where the Indian team takes a stance of pulling out from a tour... He is a cricketer of integrity, and for him, this integrity will be much more important than saving Bhajji from a being termed a racist... If Bhajji had indeed passed a racial slur, then there is no way that Sachin would have been so adamant and supported him at the cost of his values, his dignity...
I am not saying that Symonds or the other Aussies are liers... No way... They are great sportsmen and men with great talent and performance... They too live and swear by a set of ethics and values... "It" might have happened...
But - in some scenarios, it is important to give that due respect to the senior player... I remember one test match recently in West Indies... Dhoni was going berserk by hitting a WI spinner (Dave Mohammed?) for 5 consecutive sixes... the next ball was a dubious decision with the fielder (Darren Ganga) having taken the catch just on the boundary... No one, including the third umpires, were sure... But Dhoni just took Lara's word and walked away... Dhoni did not believe the fielder, the umpires never declared him OUT and there was really no conclusive evidence to prove that he was OUT... But, one has to give that respect to the player of stature of Lara... The aussies should have done that to Sachin...
Such moments make a player out of you... Statistics will never tell everything about the player -- but these moments will... These moments are never mentioned in any website, these are etched on everyone's hearts...
It doesnt matter whether the game is won or not, whether the series is won or not or whether the team wins the world cup or not... What matters is, whether the respect is earned or not... Thats of prime importance...
Today, Dhoni has earned Lara's respect for life... Lara will never hate Dhoni for hitting 5 sixers in a row, never... And, if Bhajji has lied, he can never go and greet Symonds by looking at him in the eye... If Symonds has lied, he has lost all the respect that Sachin had for him -- and with that everything is lost...
Same applies to the umpires... The amount of guilt one feels after giving a incorrect decision cannot be described... A couple of months ago, Sangakkara was playing an innings of his lifetime in Australia and umpire Rudi Koertzen gave him out incorrectly and robbed him from realizing something improbable... The first thing that Rudi did as soon as he came off the ground was to apologize to Sangakkara... I dont think Rudi could have done anything else, because speaking any other word other than "Sorry" would have meant that Rudi has lost any right to talk to Sanga for a long long time...
Another such instance -- In August last year, we were playing a local team and it was really a very close game... we were defending a decent total and the captain of the opposing team was going great... a couple of overs more and the game would have gone from our hands... One of our senior players took a great one-handed catch, but just on the boundary... No one, other than the player himself, was sure abt the catch... Even though his entire team did not like it, their captain took the word of our captain, purely as a gesture of respect towards the word of a senior player and walked away... They lost the match, we won... But their captain (Siddharth) won our respect... Even today, whenever he meets us, we think about that day and admire his act... (For more details abt this incident -- http://durhamcricketclub.net/match11_2007.aspx)
Let me give another non-cricket instance here... Recently, assembly elections were held in Gujarat... During the campaign, Rahul Gandhi and Lal Kishen Advani met, by chance, at the Ahmedabad airport... During that meeting, LKA proposed to RG that -- lets contest like political adversaries and not like personal enemies... lets not get down to a cheap level where individuals and their private lives are attacked... -- RG agreed to it and gave his word... In 15 minutes, RG said to the reporters -- "Its his view and his prerogative and I am not obliged to follow it..." A clear snub to an assurance given a few minutes ago... Now, if RG meets LKA in the near future, where does he have the face to meet him?
If you have lost your respect with the opponents, pretty much, everything is lost... A gallant performance in the field cannot win it back... An apology can limit the damage, but a tarnished image is like a broken glass artifact -- its broken... it may be repaired, but its still broken...
And even after that, there is the biggest test of all -- when one sees oneself in the mirror at the end of all of it, one knows that he/she has cheated... That guilt can kill... One will not be penalized for it, but still, the guilt is worse than any fine, any ban or any penalty... How can one overcome it?
Everyone knows it very well... But still this whole affair happened... And many similar instances take place in everyday life...
Only one question intrigues me more than anything... What can be more important than one's self respect... How will one face himself in the mirror?
HISTORY MADE... ALMOST!!!
The Patriots slipped at the last lap... After playing (nearly) flawless football for the whole year, they faltered at the last hurdle... They had a chance to create history -- to be the first team to go undefeated in the entire year... The Giants played party pooper and ended victorious via back door entry...
Its just a game - one team has to win and the other has to lose... To be fair to the Giants, they were the better team on the night... They deserved to win the game...
But this blog is not abt the worthy-winners Giants or the unlucky-losers Pats... This is about the perception of Pats in the average Fan...
But I was kind of disappointed by what I heard from a few friends / colleagues abt the game... Few said "I want the Pats to lose... I am tired of seeing them win..." Others said "Its too boring to see the Pats run over the other teams... They should lose now..." Some even went to the extent of "I hate the Pats... Their domination is bad for the game... They should lose..."
A few of these detractors changed their view -- they said "When they were losing the game, i felt bad for them... They should have won..." But others were still adamant and were happy that the Pats lost... This mindset disappointed me... Not because I am a Patriots fan... But because of the sadistic mentality...
It is fine if you support some other team... For eg -- the last time any team went undefeated for the whole year was the Miami Dolphins in 1972... This time, the Miami fans wanted the Pats to lose so that the Miami record remains unbroken... This is still acceptable...
But, if one starts hating a team / player only because the team / player is just too good compared to the peers, then the hatred should be unwarranted... Its just not fair... Don't pull down a good entity just because others are just not good enough... Raise your bar to the level set by good ones, dont pull the bar down to your level... Thats not what sports are all about...
The Greek empire invented the Olympics to decide the best race amongst all using the meter of sports... They understood, rightly so, that wars are not the correct way of finding the better race... Sports were a non-violent way to find the stronger, powerful and superior race amongst the different kingdoms and empires...
But, they never wanted that the better race - the better people - to lower their performance just to make the Olympics interesting or competitive... But, today's fans exactly want this to happen...
The Pats are not the only ones subject to this hatred... All the winners might be subjected to such mindsets... Roger Federer, Michael Schumacher, the Australian cricket team -- are on the receiving end of such feelings due to the virtue of their immortality...
Tennis is boring because of Fed-Ex's swiss charming tennis... Formula One was so boring until Schumi retired... So many ppl were happy when 5 of the Aussie invincibles retired in one year...
Why are fans and ppl so sadistic? Is the prospect of a game of 2 equals better than the chance of a fabulous sportsperson performing at his best? Is being too good so bad? Is immortality a sin?
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