How somethings change post marriage?

After the finals of the T-20 World Cup, I was thinking about how somethings change in life. I went into flashback and went straight to 2003. It was the World Cup and India had won an exciting match against Pakistan. I remember, me and my friends took out the bikes and we went to Tank Bund (Hyderabad). It was a festive atmosphere over there and there were people in thousands dancing on the roads. We danced for several hours, shouted all kinds of slogans against Pakistan and came back only in the morning!!!!!

I came out of the flashback and was thinking....today, India has won a World Cup.....beating Pakistan in the finals....much bigger achievement than the 2003 win.....but I am not on the streets!!! I am not bursting crackers!!! I am not even dancing!!!! So where am I?

I am here.... doing the dishes!!!!

Everyone contributed to the win....even my wife!!!!

India is yet to recover from the hangover of the T-20 World Cup win and understandably so as wins do not come every day. Everyone is busy singing praise for the Indian team. Dhoni's captaincy was exceptional, the stand out performances came from Yuvraj Singh and RP Singh but everyone clicked in one match or another and it was a total team effort.

BCCI is showering the team with prizes and cash rewards, the state cricket boards and state governments are coming forward to announce cash rewards for their players. But amidst all this, there is an unsung hero......or I should say heroin. And thats my wife.

During the tournament, I developed this superstition that whenever my wife watches the match, we start playing badly. In the first match against Pakistan, she went to sleep when India lost three quick wickets. After that India pulled off a victory. She was watching the New Zealand match and when India got into a miserable position, we went to watch a movie instead. She went to sleep in the match against England when they were cruising. India won. She was watching when Yuvraj hit six 6s.......Yuvraj must have played those shots doubly well. She did not watch the matches against South Africa and Australia. But she wanted to watch the finals!!!!!!!

She came from office a little late and till then we were playing pretty well. As soon as she entered, Yousuf Pathan was out!!!!! I gave her a dirty look and she did not watch the rest of the match!!! She wanted to but she did not. I would not have done that. Looking back, I feel bad about it since it was a stupid superstition. BCCI should give some cash reward to her also.

We are the World Champions!!!!

The T-20 World Cup win did come as a surprise. I would be honest in saying that I did not expect the Indian team to do so well in the championship as we lacked the experience. Going into the tournament, we had played just one T-20 match earlier!!!! But.......Dhoni and Co. surprised the opponents and more than a billion fans.

Each and every match was full of excitement. The first match against Scotland was washed out but the second match against Pakistan was as good as one can ask for. It had enough twists and turns to take me to the verge of a heart attack. India started off on a disastrous note with three wickets falling quickly but recovered well afterwards. They took quick wickets at the start of the Pakistan innings and had the match in their grip till Misbah-ul-Haq started to fight back. The match was very much in Pakistan's lap till Sreesanth bowled his last two deliveries. They were not unplayable but were tough to negotiate. Thankfully Misbah-ul-Haq crumbled under pressure and it resulted in a tie. That led to the first bowl-out!!!! It was great to see the excitement on the faces of the players. Bowl-out was a clean sweep for the Indians and they won the match.

After losing to New Zealand in the first match of the Super8 phase, Indian team played amazingly well to qualify for the semi-finals. India beat England in a nail-biter. The highlight of the match were the six 6s that Yuvraj Singh hit of Stuart Broad. That was breath taking stuff and me and my wife were jumping in our living room giving high fives to each other!!!!

India beat South Africa or I should say South Africa lost to India. They have this knack of choking in crucial matches and this match was no exception. India, surprisingly, beat the Australians pretty comfortably in the semi-finals. The match was heading for a close finish and the Aussies required just 30 off the last 3 overs, easily achievable in T-20. Harbhajan Singh came up with a deadly over conceding just 3 runs and he took a wicket too!!! RP Singh followed that up with another good over with only 5 runs coming from it. That left Aussies with 22 to get in the last over......but the bowl was in the hands of Joginder Sharma. Sharma bowled sensibly and India won by 15 runs!!!! That was no small achievement.

Then came the big one.....the big daddy of all battles......India vs. Pakistan....in a World Cup final. It simply does not get any better than that. Like the match against Pakistan in the league phase, India once again started off with a weak start. Wickets kept falling on regular intervals and India could manage a score that was far from a good score.

At the half way mark, the match looked totally in grasp of the Pakistanis. They were also off to a shaky start but Imran Nazir was blasting everything in near vicinity. Some good bowling and sharp fielding brought us back in the match. We were pretty much in control when Misbah-ul-Haq (once again!!!) started hitting everyone for sixes. Sohail Tanvir too hit couple of lusty blows to take Pakistan to the brink of victory. Pakistan needed 13 off the last over and the bowl was in the hands of Joginder Sharma!!!! Sharma had gone for some heavy duty beating and no one was sure about this decision. He started off with a wide, followed that with a near wide and then was hit for six. Once again, I was on the verge of a massive heart attack. But then, Misbah-ul-Haq tried a cheeky shot which did not come off as desired by him......and ball landed in the waiting hands of Sreesanth.....and then a billion people back home went berserk!!!!

After a long time!!!!

I am back after a long time. So much has happened in between and I missed out on so many opportunities to contribute to the world of blogs. India lost the ODI series against England, the much awaited Ram Gopal Verma ki Aag released and bombed....and India won the inaugural T-20 World Cup!!!! Work took away a few weeks of my life and I could not concentrate on anything else during that period. Now I cannot go back and write about the England series and other happenings during the past few weeks but I would definitely write about the T-20 World Cup. My blog won't be complete without it!!!!

Nothing to say about this picture. I like it.

Eklavya

I do not normally miss an Amitabh Bachchan movie but Eklavya was an exception. It was released during a time when me and my family was not going through the best of times. My father was to undergo a critical surgery and watching a movie was the last thing in our minds. I missed watching Eklavya in the theatre and for some reason I did not watch it till yesterday, almost 7 months after its release.

I had heard mixed opinion regarding the movie. Some people found it great, some found it boring since the pace was slow....some thought that its not worth watching in the theatre since it is a short movie (1.47 hrs).

I watched it yesterday and I found the movie simply great. (I do not think that my words are doing justice to my feelings). Amitabh Bachchan was simply superb. He had few dialogues in the movie yet he created an amazing impact with his expressions. When he was silent, his eyes did the talking. Every budding actor should see this movie to learn how to emote through the eyes.

Eklavya is a crisp film in which everyone has come up with good performances. Vidhu Vinod Chopra's direction is great as it always is. It is a simple short story and Vidhu Vinod Chopra has treated it beautifully. Not even a single scene or song that are there just for the heck of it. A small, simple story so a small, simple movie. We have to give the credit to the director for that. I don't think the other, more famous and successful Chopra would have taken up this subject but just in case he had, I am sure the duration of the movie would have been the usual three plus hours, with 14 songs!!!! I hope that Vidhu Chopra directs more movies from now on.

I would like to share a funny incident attached with the movie. Me and my wife were watching the movie on TV in our living room. There is a scene in which Amitabh Bachchan is going to hug Saif Ali Khan. It is an emotional scene since Amitabh Bachchan, inspite of being Saif's father has never hugged him. Several times in the movie, it is shown that Amitabh wants to hug his son but he could not. That made this scene pretty emotional and I was absolutely glued to the screen. But just when Amitabh steps forward to hug his son, I heard a strange voice in my living room. I was surprised and turned back to see what made that sound.....and there was my lovely wife, rubbing her eyes and yawning. The sound was actually the sound created by a huge yawn!!! I was like......how can you yawn in such an emotional scene!!!!!......but amidst all this...I missed the hug!!!!

Duracell Ad

This video was shot when me and my friend Amit bought new cameras and were shooting all kinda crazy videos. This one is called the "Duracell Ad"

High time they start the use of technology

India won the second match against England and the series is now level at 1-1. The victory will give a boost to the Indian plans but the margin of victory was too narrow for comfort. India, after posting a total of 329 won by 9 runs. England started brilliantly with Matt Prior and Alistair Cook giving the English a dream start. Two quick dismissals led to a loss of momentum but the English never gave up the chase. They fought till the last over. Kudos to Dimitri Mascrenhas for a spirited performance in the end.

Earlier in the day, India started well with Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly looking in good nick. Later on, Sachin pressed the accelerator and came up with an innings that reminded us of the Sachin of late 90s. He was simply brilliant. He got out on 99.....once again due to a misjudgement by the umpire. Sachin missed out on a century twice in the recent series against South Africa, then he got out in the 90s in the second test against England and now he once again got out in the 90s in the last match. Though, at least couple of those dismissals were due to umpiring errors yet its very unlike Sachin. ICC should look into these matters and should bring in the usage of technology for controversial decisions. Like in tennis, players are given three calls for technology intervention in each set. Something of similar sorts shall be brought into cricket as well.

After Sachin's dismissal, Yuvraj and Dravid took control of the proceedings. Dravid came up with an uncharacteristic knock of 92 n.o off 63 balls!!!! Usually Dravid is technique personified but more often than not in his innings, he was cheeky. He was declared the Man of the Match and very rightly so.

Overall, it was a good win for us and it ensures that we are still in the series.

Prachi's Fall from Grace

The video was shot at Bheemeshwari Fishing camp when my friend Prachi was trying to lie down on a hammock.

Poor show by the Indian Team in the first One-Dayer

India is one down in the seven match ODI series against England and they have to sort out more than one thing if they want to come up with better showings in the remaining matches. Dravid elected to field first, which seemed a very good decision as the weather was overcast. We started well with the seamers bowling decent line but all the soon fizzled out. Apart from the three seamers, India had picked young Piyush Chawla as the spin option. Chawla is indeed a promising spinner; he flights the ball which certainly is a rarity these days, but he is short of experience. Plus the pitch had nothing for him. Ramesh Powar would have been a much better option but that's okay as picking Chawla was not a real bad decision. What India really missed was the fifth bowler. We relied upon Ganguly, Tendulkar and Yuvraj to do the job for us but there was nothing in the bloody pitch. It was a complete batting paradise and I think that Dravid made a wrong decision at the time of the toss. Agreed that we all thought that it was a good decision but hey......I am not as experienced as Dravid is. Plus if one has to make bad decisions and play the way Dravid did, then why am I not playing instead of him? I don't mind the job if it pays so well!!!!

If our bowling was bad, our fielding was pathetic (I have already used two adjectives, now I have to come up with another suitable one for our batting). We gave away two runs when the batsmen should have been restricted to a single. In one-dayers, that makes the difference between winning and losing.

After conceding 288, if was always going to be difficult for the Indians especially with the demons in their heads. We started off with a disaster. Can you imagine.....MONTY PANESAR....out of all the people, Monty Panesar ran Ganguly out. Panesar is an embarrassment on the field but he found his match or we should say he proved to be better than Ganguly!!!!

Sachin looked to be in good touch and was middling the ball pretty well but England did not let me to get off with some good field placements and fielding. India were soon trailing at 34/4.

After that, some senseless cricket followed. Not that there was much hope afterwards but the way Dravid and Dhoni played can not be explained. It seemed that they were trying to save the one-dayer and force a draw!!!!! When the asking rate was around 7, the "management" was scoring at 2-3 an over!!!

Dravid eventually top scored with 46 runs. If you look at the records, Dravid as top scored in many such games. It gives an impression that he was trying but he could not get support. At least I do not agree. In such matches, others get out trying but Dravid on the other hand keeps blocking and nudging. Ultimately he ends up with the highest score of the innings but what's the point of scoring at a strike rate of 50-60 when the asking rate is well above 6 an over? I have always maintained that Dravid is not the kind of player who can win us One-Day matches. He always needs someone to hit quick runs on the other end. Such matches expose Dravid but still get away with a "Captain's Innings" prize!!!!

Let us all hope that India comes up with better performances in the remaining games.

Lot of ho-hulla is going on about Indian Cricket League (ICL), termed as the "rebel cricket league". It is indeed rebel in the sense that it is a step away from the normal. Board of Control for Cricket in India has been managing the cricketing operations in the country and will continue to do so. In a cricket crazy nation, the board has easily managed to become the richest cricket boards in the world.....but what has it given back to the players, the fans and more importantly to the game?

The board may take pride in saying that India has the highest number of cricket stadiums in the world but what about the state of these stadiums. Whenever there is a match in India, majority of the seats are taken up by the members of the concerned cricket association or as go as passes to VIPs. A normal cricket fan has to either pay a fortune to get a decent seat or has to spend the day in the sun. I have not tried often but once I wanted to watch one day of a test match between India and Australia at Bangalore but I changed my mind since the tickets were for 1800 Rs for a day!!!!!

With the kind of bank balance that the board has, it should do something about the stadiums. The spectators should get value for money. Why can not we have good stadiums with good facilities, not only for the spectators but also other facilities like good pitches, big screens, good drainage systems, super-soakers, proper security etc. Why can't we have a good indoor stadium like Australia has? With the popularity of the test matches and the one-dayers going down, such acts will make watching a match an enjoyable experience for a spectator and will help in reviving the longer versions of the game.

Now, all that is something that the BCCI should do regarding the stadiums and the spectators. But with the state of affairs in the board, I don't see all that happening in a long long time.....if at all it ever happens. Apart from all this, BCCI owes a lot to the players as well as the game. The players should be properly remunerated and BCCI should do something to promote the game in India and to identify and groom new talent. Since BCCI was not doing it, ICL came into the picture. BCCI will continue to be "the" cricket body in India but ICL is coming up with formats "intended" towards identifying and grooming new talent. In a population of over a billion, we struggle to find talents like Tendulkar, Kumble, Muralidharan, Warne, Lara, Mcgrath etc. Indeed these are great players and it will be very difficult to find players like them but the fact is that the board is not doing enough to identify new talents.

Today, the criteria for selection in the national team is performance in the domestic cricket (well.....at least officially that is the criteria!!!!). Whenever a youngster is picked to play for the national team, more often than not he struggles to find a foothold on the international arena. The reason is the sub-standard level of domestic cricket. The pitches are far from international standards, they do not use the cricket balls used in International cricket, there is hardly any training provided to them and they are paid pretty badly. The remuneration in domestic cricket should be sufficient for a player to continue playing cricket and make a decent livelihood. That is not the case at present and that is exactly what ICL is "trying" to change.

ICL "intends" to make a pool of promising young cricket players, provide them adequate training and coaching, make them play and learn in company of International players and pay them much more than what they are getting in the BCCI raj. What more can a player ask for?

Having said all that about ICL, I have my share of doubts. Firstly, the kind of International players that are coming up to join ICL are mostly the ones who have retired or are on the verge of retirement from International cricket. How much can they offer is questionable? Now, that can still be accepted as at the end of the day the youngsters will get a chance to be with and play in the company of these "former" greats. But the major concern is that the whole idea behind ICL is getting defeated. The intention of ICL should be to groom young talent so that they can play for the country in the future. ICL may have that vision but that depends upon BCCI as the selectors appointed by BCCI select the national team. If BCCI and ICL are on the loggerheads and if anyone joining the rebel league wont be getting any kind of benefits from the cricket board then it means that the "groomed" players of ICL will play only in ICL!!!! ICL will make money with these star studded cricket matches, BCCI will continue to make money with the International matches, spectators will get to see more cricket……only loser will be the Indian cricket.

Already a lot of domestic players have left their sides to sign contracts with ICL, putting a question mark on the future of domestic cricket. We can not blame them. If they were not making enough money and if they were feeling that with the present state of affairs, they hardly have a chance to play for the country then why not ICL!!!! Certainly not a bad decision by the players. But the quality (if there was any) of domestic cricket will go down. Moreover, if the players of ICL do not have a future in International Cricket then it is nothing put a money making mechanism for the players, the organizers and Subhash Chandra. ICL can not do anything about it…..BCCI has to realize that it is something that they should have thought about instead of the elections, players’ contracts and endorsements. BCCI will have to soften its stand and join hands with ICL. That is the only way Indian Cricket will be benefited.

Tricolor hoisted in England...just before Independence Day

It was an admirable performance by the Indian Cricket Team to defeat England in their backyard. Though I personally do not rate the English side very highly but the fact that Indians are not very good tourists and the English side had been having a good run at home makes the series win something to cheer about. Moreover, as the series win has come after a gap of 21 years, it is special.

The Indian team started poorly at Lords but the weather gods came to our rescue. Nothing to take away from a fine knock by Dhoni. But after the Lords performance, the Indian team recovered pretty well and dominated the last two test matches. At Trentbridge, the Indian batsmen came up with some fine performances, the english fielders came up with some childish performances and Simon Taufel came up with some forgetable decisions. But one man who was truly outstanding was Zaheer Khan. "Khan Dost" bolwed with his heart and was truly magnificent throughout the match.

In the third test, at The Oval, everyone in the much talked about Indian batting line up came good and that helped us post a mammoth total infront of the England team. Then India bowled well to be in a position to enforce a follow on.....which we did not!!! Dravid came under heavy criticism for that decision but for once......I am behind Dravid. Dravid did agree that if he would have been a spectator, he would have been disappointed about the decision. That is exactly what happened to most of us but later the decision made a lot of sense, at least to me. Agreed that we bowled pretty well to bowl out the english side cheaply in the first innings but there were no monsters in the pitch. What if we had enforced the follow on and one or two of the english batsmen had come up with long knocks? (They actually made decent runs in the fourth innings) What if England had taken a lead of 150....I am sure India would have been in deep trouble afterwards. Dravid may be saying that he thought that his bowlers are tired. I do not agree with that. Dravid simply played safe and there is nothing wrong with that. Isnt it common in football and hockey games that a side after taking a lead just keeps passing the ball among themselves to kill time? That's what Dravid was doing. We had the series in our pocket and Dravid was ensuring that it stays there. 20 years hence, no one will talk about whether we won 1-0 or 2-0.....but people will remember that we went to England and won a test series. Now thats not very common. Bravo Captain!!!

Another reason why this series was special is that everyone came good. After a long time, the Indian team "played together". Whenever that happens, it automatically becomes special.

Champ

The "A" on the top stands for Animesh. It is a picture of a bowling scorecard. I won it and its there for all to see. I am good...am telling you...I am good

Munnabhai in Jail

On 31st July 2007, after a wait of 13 years, the verdict was finally out on Sanjay Dutt. He was handed with a six-year jail term in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case by a special court in Mumbai. That led to mourning across the nation. My mom called me up, her voice choking with sorrow, to give me the news. I too felt very bad.

What followed was thousands of hours across channels on television, questioning the judgement. People have mixed opinion about the issue but majority is feeling bad. Now that is natural. If a person known to you is going to jail then you will always feel bad about that. I will not want it for anyone. After all depriving a human being from freedom is the worst punishment that one can give. The person in question over here is Sanjay Dutt. He is a public figure and everyone knows and loves him.

But I have two very different opinion about all this. I am usually bad with numbers but i think there were around 100 who were charged and 94 of them have been convicted. Do we know the story of all of them? No body is questioning the judgement against the rest 93 of them. I am not saying that we should set all of them free. They must have done something wrong but so had Sanjay Dutt. All of us are saying that Sanjay Dutt has learnt his lesson in last 13 years but what do we know about others. At the end of the day, the statue of justice is blindfolded and the justice should be the same for all. Now thats one way of looking at it. Going by that, at least I am okay with the judgement against Sanjat Dutt.

But there is another way to look at it. There was a sub-inspector (Vijay Patil) who was guilty of taking bribe and letting the arms get into Mumbai. These were the arms that were used in the Bombay blasts. I am not very sure but I think he got a lifer for that crime. Now compared to Sanjay Dutt's crime, the enormity of Patil's crime was much bigger. In my opinion, he deserved a capital punishment. Then, if you look at our beloved political leaders, they get away with scams worths hundreds and thousands of crores. Do we know of a single "national level" politician who has been convicted and put into jail? May be Shibu Soren is one but what happened to other cases/scams? Compared to all that, Sanjay Dutt's crime was just a mistake. Seems justice is not same for all!!!!

Federer manages to crawl home

Boy, what a match it was. Wimbledon 2007 Men's Final and the top two seeds battling it out for the crown. Federer the King of Grass and a 4 time champion against the "Spanish Stallion" and King of Clay, Rafael Nadal. They had met in the 2006 finals too but that looked more of a flash in the pan for Nadal. Nobody had given him much of a chance to reach the finals, including yours truly. But not only did he prove us wrong by galloping to the finals but nearly won the championship too!!!! Nadal displayed his allround game in the finals and gave the champion a run for his money. The match was a spectators delight with all the twists and turns one can ever ask for. Nadal did well to stretch Federer to 5 sets and in the fifth set, he had the championship in his pocket but full marks to Federer for not giving it up. Federer was constantly under pressure in the deciding set but as soon as he saw an opening, he went for it.....and won the championship. Everyone in the Nadal camp, including me was disappointed but now we know that Nadal has an allround game and he is not just a King of Clay. If he continues to play like this, he will win the Wimbledon pretty soon. As far as Federer is concerned, Congratulations for the fifth Wimbledon trophy mate.....now you have everything you want....no wait.....French Open is still missing. Oooops!!!!! Now that is gonna be tough for you. Anyways.....see ya next year at Paris Mr. Federer....if at all you feel like coming. Go Nadal Go!!!!!

Is everything alrite with the Indian Team

India played pretty well under pressure in the last two matches of the Future Cup against the South Africans. Indian team, 1-0 down after the first match, put up some great performances to win the series 2-1. Now the whole India is ecstatic. The team, the spectators and the fans, the media...everyone is going gaga. And they have reasons to do that as this series victory is first against the South Africans away from home. And the fact that it came after the World Cup debacle makes it even more sweet.

I do not want to sound pessimistic but is everything alright with the Indian Team? I do not think so. All the three matches went down to the wire and they could have gone either way. One big problem that I can see is with the batting. Though a couple (Tendulkar and Yuvraj) came up with some good performances with the bat, others were found wanting. (I am not including the performances in the match against Ireland). Against the South African bowling attack, Ganguly and Gambhir struggled with the bat. Ganguly's front foot seemed nailed to the crease where as Gambhir did not apply himself enough.

I believe the biggest problem is with the captaincy. Dravid allowed the South Africans to trot to the target in the first game and in the last game, his bowling changes were not up to the mark. That helped the opposition to build a fighting total. His captaincy is lacking the aggression that is required in such crunch games. Though he scored 70 odd in the first game, his batting is also not what it used to be. He is not giving the full face of the bat to the bowl, instead he is looking to work the ball on the leg side. That is making him look very tentative and is affecting his strike rate too. Moreover, the way he has been getting out is also a concern. He was bowled in the first (there was a time when it was a rarity but now it has become a common phenomenon), he was caught and bowled in the second (he was neither on the front foot nor back foot while playing a rising delivery) and he was run out in a stupid manner in the last. The way he was run out in the last game reminded me of Virendra Sehwag's dismissal in the last game against the Lankans, before the World Cup. On that occassion Sehwag was heavily criticized. I wonder why is the media quiet this time around. This dismissal could have cost us the match.

Having said all that, I agree that Dravid is a great player. Infact, one of the best that India has ever produced. (Its a surprise that he was not included in the "All Time Indian Test Team", which was selected by a few former captains.) It is just that we have an important series against England ahead of us. We will require good form of Dravid the batsman and Dravid the captain in that series. All the best to Dravid and the Indian Team for the series.

For now, let us enjoy the moment of glory!!!

Am Happy!!!

Today I took some time out to look back at my life. Me and Roshni had just returned after some heavy duty shopping and I was thinking that how happy I am...at least on the personal front. I have someone who is more a friend than anything else. We enjoy so much together and the fact that our likings match, does help a lot. I know guys tend to run away from marriage thinking that it will bring too much responsibility. They think that their wings will be chopped off and there would be someone at home constantly telling to be systematic!!!

Well, thats not entirely wrong. My wife DOES tell me to be a little systematic at home but its not that my wings have been chopped off. Its just that my idea of fun has changed. Pub-hopping, biking...etc have been substituted with candle light dinners and shopping. But I am enjoying all this!!! I did not have to make any changes in my life style. It comes naturally, if at all you love the other person and want to make her happy.

But I nearly missed all this. I had said no to marriage and had decided that I will spend my life alone as that would be a different kinda fun and there wont be much responsibilities. Thank god that for once, I subordinated my preference to my parent's wishes. I had lost all hopes from my life but she changed everything. ".....saaqi ne phir se mera jaam bhar diya.....". Thank You. I am happy once again....we all are happy once again....Touchwood.

Sachin will definitely cherish this one.

My colleague Yoges is a big time fan of Saurav Ganguly. He simply can not listen anything against Ganguly. I know, at this stage what you are thinking. No, Yoges is not a bengali, infact he is a tamilian. When Ganguly was "rested" from the national side after WC 2007 for the one-dayers against Bangladesh, Yoges cried his heart out!!!! If Ganguly is criticized, he will say its politics and favorism; if any other player plays well then he will say the match was fixed....point is that he can come up with zillions of crappy and meaningless excuses to save his dada. And he hates Sachin Tendulkar. At least, he pretends that. I think he is one of the biggest critic of Sachin and that has caused several heated arguments between us. But after the second game against the South Africans in the Future Cup, this is what Yoges had to say:

"I really liked the way Sachin played yesterday. My wish is that he should continue to play in a similar aggressive fashion. Having said that Dada is not far behind. He may not be a gifted stroke player like Sachin. He might not have the same variety of stroke play like Sachin. But still he too is a great player. The fact that he did not compete with Sachin in scoring runs in yesterday's match and rather concentrated on building a partnership with Sachin shows his maturity as a player."

He started with prasing Sachin but ultimately ended-up defending Ganguly. In any case, Sachin should cherish this one all his life!!!!

Congrats Sachin!!!

Sachin Tendulkar is back in news. He is among runs and has become the first batsman in the history to score 15000 runs in One-day Cricket. What’s good is that he is back at scoring runs against good bowling attacks and in difficult batting conditions. In the last two outings, he scored 99 and 93 respectively against the South Africans.

Sachin was not his usual self in the first match against SA. Over the years he has "mellowed" down and now he tries to build his innings rather than stamping his authority on the bowling attack. May be age or his senior position in the team has brought this change. But the first innings was too slow and calm even for his new avtaar. He missed the century by a “few inches” and was run out on 99 (143 balls)!!!! India eventually lost the match and a number of people attributed Sachin's slow batting to the loss. I was not surprised at all as bashing Sachin has become India's favorite pass time. His strike rate was in the late 60s, may be 69. Dravid who scored 70 odd in that match had a strike rate of 73....now, was that a lot better? I do not think so. Saurav Ganguly who scored 60 odd against Ireland had a strike rate in early 70s in that match. Then how come only Sachin is being questioned. These days, no matter what Sachin does, it seems his innings leave more questions than answers!!!

The first match was pretty close and it could have gone either way. Chawla was the surprise package and I think India could have won the game with some aggressive field placements. Dravid is a great player but his captaincy lacks the aggression that is required in such games. India let the South Africans take singles at will and that took the match away from us.

The last match was a treat to watch. Though he missed out on a century again but Sachin did score 93 runs and in the process completed 15K runs in ODIs. More than the number of runs, the way they were scored was appealing. He seemed like the Sachin of yesteryears. Trademark square cuts and cover drives were flowing from his blade. At one point in the innings, Andrew Nel beat him a few times and then followed that with smiles and stares. Sachin’s response? Bang!!!! Andrew Nel was asked to shut up with a pull yielding the maximum!!!! He even danced down the track to hit young off-spinner Tshabalala for a straight six. The fact that his innings helped India win and level the series must have given extra satisfaction to him.

Congratulations Sachin. Keep going.

Canon: Customer Delight

It was just about two and half years back that I felt that I should buy a camera. Back then, I had limited knowledge of these equipments (I would like to believe that it has changed over the period!!!!) but I had a strong desire as photography had always intrigued me. I bought a Canon A75 camera as I had used my sister's Canon A70 and was pretty familiar with the functioning.

The camera was my soulmate for around two years but just when I got married, it decided to make way for the new soulmate. It developed some problem and it's LCD blacked out. I thought that I have lost my camera forever :(

Around 20 days back, I decided that I will try and get the camera repaired. I stepped out of my place to take the camera to a Canon Service Center but on locating a Canon dealer on the way, I took the camera him. The guy told me that the problem was with the CCD and it will take 21 days (nothing more and nothing less) and 3,500/-INR to get the camera repaired. I was like....WOW!!!.....I was thinking that it will cost me much more, if at all a repair was possible. The "21 days" timeline did surprise me. After all, we all are pretty used to hearing "time lagega, sir" in such cases. But I thought that Canon, being such a huge name in camera space, must have set time for various types of repair. I felt pretty bad to leave my beloved camera behind. I still did that thinking that it will be worth it as my camera will make a recovery and come back to me.

On the 17th day, I gave the dealer a call to enquire whether I will be getting back my camera on the 21st day. I was pretty excited about getting my camera back. To my surprise I got the answer that I had expected initially..."time lagega, sir". I was told that it would take at least ten more days and in some cases it takes three months also!!!! Now, if I say that I was pretty pissed on this answer then it will be a huge understatement!!! I had plans to use the camera on a vacation in July. I asked for the owner and questioned him that how come I was not communicated. He did not have an answer to that but he simply said that in such cases, it takes time. Dude, if it takes time, you should at least let the customer know. May be I would not have given the camera for repair at all!!!!

I made up my mind that I will file a case in the consumer forum....supreme court....take the matter to the media...the President....American President and anyone who can help. But I started with filing a complaint on the Canon website. While doing that I noticed a customer service call center number. I gave them a call and explained them my problem. I was immediately asked to have a talk with the India Customer Service Head and the Andhra Pradesh Customer Service Manager (I stay at Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh). I had a talk with the AP Manager and I was told that in half an hour I will be given the status. To my surprise, in 10 minutes the dealer (!!!) called up and said that he will deliver the camera on the next day (a good three days short of the initially communicated delivery date)!!!! Post that, I received a call from the AP Manager and some other official too and they apologized for the mishap. They suggested that for any customer service related issues or repairs, one should reach out to Canon Service Center. I was very happy with the quick response from Canon. But it did not end there. They delighted me by telling me that I would not be charged anything for the service and the dealer will bear the expenses!!!!

I saved 3,500 Rupees and got my camera in time simply because I dont have the "chalta hai" attitude. A lot of people would not have made all that effort and would have accepted the dealer's bullshit. But in the process, I came to know that Canon not only makes super cool cameras but also provides super cool service to its customers. Kudos to Canon!!!!

Confession

Okk, I confess I have been watching cricket!!!! After the World Cup debacle, I had made up my mind that I will never watch cricket and will never write about it too. But I simply can not stay away from cricket.

It does not stop here. If you have been following this blog then you will make out that I was a huge fan of Sachin Tendulkar and considered him the GOD. I was very disappointed by India's disastrous showing and Sachin's performance at the WC and I wrote that it was "Death of a Devotee". I confess that it was rash behavior on my part and it was not true at all. This behavior reminds me of one of my cousins. He is a religious person and keeps a picture of the Hindu god "Hanuman" with him. He prays in front of the picture everyday......but whenever things are not going his way, he takes the picture and puts it outside his room!!!! He gets angry with the GOD!!!!! I used to find that pretty hilarious but my behavior was similar. I badly wanted Sachin to score as many runs as possible and guide India to its second WC victory. When that did not happen, for some time I lost my sanity and wrote what I wrote.

I confess that pretty much like the pre-world cup 2007 era, I have watched each and every game that Sachin played after the WC. I can not stop worshipping the man (read: The GOD) who has served Indian Cricket for so long. He is still the best in the world though he needs to get a little more consistent so that he consistently slaps his critics. Sachin, I still love you and I owe you an apology.

Beggars

If you are staying in India, you are familiar with the sight of beggars "attacking" a vehicle on a crossing. Children, men, women, old people...all kinds of people are there, begging on Indian streets. Even if you feel the urge to give something to a beggar, you stop yourself thinking that may be the beggar is part of the "begging industry" and there is a begging "mafia" running the show. It is thanks of the "realistic" cinema (Madhur Bhandarkar types) that we are aware of such unfortunate truths of our times. Such movies show the true picture of our society and they are indeed very helpful in forming an opinion.

Everyday I encounter at least 50 beggars but I dont feel like giving something to each of them. Its the old ones who move me. Many a times I have stopped myself thinking about the "industry" but I have felt sorry after driving past the signal. What if the old man on your car window is not part of an industry and really needs food? May be 9 out of the 10 times you end up funding the industry but for me, that one occassion is worth it.

Know what, one day I want to give a 100 Rs note to an old beggar woman, just to see the reaction. And if it brings a smile or any expression of joy on her face, I will be glad all my life.

Planning to buy a camera

" Look, I am not an intellectual - I just take pictures"

-Helmut Newton

(German Photographer, 1920-2004)

I am very fond of photography. The hobby was always there...even when my parents had the basic "Hotshot" analog camera!!! Camera rolls used to be costly so taking the camera everywhere and taking as many pictures as I wanted was a problem. But whenever my parents used to get film rolls, I used to be in charge of the camera.

I did not have a good camera till I became 25. At that time, my sister bought a digital camera, Canon A70. That was the first time that I used a digicam and was exposed to its great functionalities. The biggest benefit is that you can take as many pictures you want not worrying about exhausting camera rolls. I borrowed my sister's camera for a trip and used that extensively to understand its functionalities. That helped me make my mind and I bought a canon A75. That was a major investment (I don't think I got a good deal on the camera) but it was worth it. The camera remained with me, everyday for almost two and half years. I used to take that camera everywhere. Couple of months back, the camera developed some problem and now I have sent it for servicing. It is really funny that when I was leaving my camera behind at the service center, I was feeling really bad. I had kept that camera like a baby and now I was leaving it behind, in the hands of the technicians. :(

I have used several cameras..Canon A70, Canon A75, Sony DSC-L1, Canon IXUS 65...but I found the a75 most user friendly. It is a little heavy but I have this opinion that cameras should be a little heavy, otherwise your hand will shake while taking a picture. Though I still love my camera and I will always keep it with me, I have decided to graduate to a more advanced camera.

My colleague Balaji Bondili*, who like me loves photography, recently had bought a Canon EOS 350D. I got the opportunity to use it once and I was amazed by the power of the camera. It is a Digi SLR camera and it helps solve the problem which I find most irritating in normal digicams or compact cameras.....and that is the lag time. A normal digicam has a lag time and you can not take a picture exactly when you want it. Unless you have a great timing and you are extremely lucky, you wont be able to take a picture of a bird as it is preparing to take off. But a Digi SLR has no such problems. I really really want to buy that camera but I still decided that I wont!!!! At least, not now.

Canon 350D is an expensive camera. The usual price in the Indian market is around 45k (You can get it much cheaper if you buy online or get it from US) but it would require a lot more investment. If you are really keen about photography, you will have to buy additional lenses which will cost another 25K for the basic one!!!! Now that's too much an investment for me. I will have to risk my marriage if I plan to buy that camera as my wife is against such an investment. On a serious note, I don't think I have enough knowledge of photography and lenses to best use a DSLR. So what should I do now? I have to buy a camera!!!

So I decided to consult a few professional photographers and some experts. I even consulted the Editor of the "Better Photography" magazine. What I am looking for in a camera is option to attach external flash/lenses, zero lag time, decent mega pixels and kick-ass zoom. Most of the experts were of the opinion that I should go for "Canon S3IS". That's a camera which is available for around 25K in the Indian market but will cost half that price if you are getting it from US. It has 6 mega pixels and a killer...12X optical zoom and 48x digital zoom!!!! Though it does not solve the lag time problem but its still good enough for me!!!! Now a word of caution for anyone planning to buy this camera.......buy it only if you are really serious about photography. It is a bulky equipment and you wont be able to lug it everywhere. Consider buying it only if you have another camera for the day-to-day use. If you want a camera with more mega pixels then you can buy the Canon S5IS. It has 8 mega pixels but it is not yet available in the Indian market. So you will have to wait for a while.

In my case, I dont think mega pixels matter much. Since other functionalities in S5IS are same as the S3IS, I have decided to buy the Canon S3IS. Say Cheese!!!!

* (http://www.flickr.com/photos/atheistbishop)

You can judge the output of the S3IS camera by looking at some of the pictures in www.flickr.com/photos/nehavish. The pictures were taken by Neha Vishwanathan, a friend of my colleague and she uses the Canon S2IS. So S3IS will only be better. But ya, do not start thinking that you will be able to take pictures as good as the ones in the link. Neha is a damn cool photographer and those pictures say a lot about her skills than just the camera she uses.

Want to hide somewhere

For some reason, feeling pretty low today. Why is it that when I am working hard to achieve something, things go wrong at the worst time possible and ruin my chances. Like a mirage, the destination disappears. This has been the sad story of my life. I dont believe in astrology but I was once told that I will have such problems in my life.......shall I start believing in astrology now?....coz thats what has been happening.......

Nothing is clear yet...may be I am getting unnecessarily concerned....may be not....may be things will be alright tomorrow....may be there wont be a tomorrow......This uncertainty is killing me....I know I have worked hard and deserve what I am expecting....yet, I do not know whats in store.....I know I need to fight to protect my chances but not today....may be tomorrow...today I just cant feel the strength inside me....Today, I just want to hide somewhere and prepare myself for the battle tomorrow.

Rafael Nadal: The King of Clay

I was pretty nervous when the French Open started. The reason being, I am a huge fan of Rafael Nadal and he lost to Roger Federer in the finals of the Hamburg Open, the tournament before the start of the French Open. You may ask why did I get nervous after just one defeat but this defeat mattered a lot as it came on clay. Moreoever, the defeat broke Nadal's record winning streak on clay. Federer is an artist on a tennis court. If the surface is fast, he is almost impossible to defeat. So for Nadal, clay is the best chance to win tournaments and French the best chance to win a Grand Slam. With a win at Hamburg, Federer made his intentions pretty clear.

But, Nadal once again proved that he is pretty tough to beat on clay. He met some pretty strong players in route to the finals, including his idol and mentor Carlos Moya. The final was pretty exciting with Federer giving a tough competition to Nadal. Moreover, Nadal's nerves did not help him in the initial part of the match. But once he settled down and started going for his shots, he was a sight to watch!!!! Man, did he crush Federer's confidence and dreams to win the French.

Federer is a champion player. He is so good that a lot of people are losing interest in tennis tournaments as they know the outcome!!!! But.....for some reason, he finds Nadal pretty tough to handle. Nadal has an envious 8-4 record against Federer and if we include the exhibition match on the half grass-half clay court, its 9-4 in Nadal's favor (Being a great Nadal fan, I would definitely include that). Now that record says everything regarding the way Nadal has dominated Federer over the years.

Unfortunately, in all likelihood my party will be over soon as Wimbledon is starting from the coming monday. Now, thats a surface where Federer is God. But I will be keeping my fingers crossed as Nadal, very surprisingly, did manage to reach the finals of Wimbledon last year. Though he did lose to Federer but he managed to take a set away!!!! Now thats a rare accompalishment against Federer on grass. So I will definitely be praying for a better performance this time around. Go Nadal Go!!!!

Alankrita: Nice Getaway from Hyderabad

If you are at Hyderabad, I am sure every weekend you wonder what to do and where to go. Hyderabad is a nice city (Infact, I consider it the best in India to stay at) with nice infrastructure. There are several shopping centers and a few multiplexes but still shopping and watching movies is not what you want to do every weekend.

I have been staying at Hyderabad since almost 6 years. I am a person who has travelled quite a bit and I like to go to new places. For a while, I have stayed at Bangalore too. Now, Bangalore is a place with quite a few malls, shopping centers and multiplexes but infrastructure and traffic is a huge concern over there. You think several times before leaving home. And on the weekends, whole Bangalore comes to Forum. But unlike Hyderabad, Bangalore has many tourist places close by where you can go on the weekends. During my stay at Bangalore, I visited several places to quench my thirst of travelling and photography. Bangalore gave me that bad habit and now at Hyderabad, I keep looking for such places outside the city...but there are hardly any. There is Srisailam and Nagarjuna Dam but there is hardly anything over there to excite me enuff to drive 160kms.....one way!!!!

Last month, after getting tired of looking for places, me and my begum decided that we will go to Alankrita Resort, which is on the outskirts of the city. We decided to spend a day over there just to get out of the "routine". We did not make a mistake. Its a nice place with lush green lawns, a swimming pool, lot of recreation facilities like table tennis, badminton, billiards, etc. Moreover, there are three restaurants over there out of which, I found one of them (the main restaurant) pretty good. Another one is a veg restaurant and so we did not even step in and the third is an open restaurant called the "Well Side" or something like that. I did not like the food over there.

There are several kinds of rooms...from normal rooms to cottages and are suitable for any kind of budget. The basic room (Standard) is also good but I would recommend the Deluxe Cottage to everyone. I have been to Alankrita twice now and have stayed in both Standard room and the Deluxe Cottage. Though the charges are a little higher for the Deluxe Cottage but believe you me, its worth it. Having said that, I would like to caution anyone who is planning a trip to the resort that I have noticed that the room sizes and the facilities differ from one room to another...even if they fall in the same category. It means that one Deluxe Cottage can be different from another Deluxe Cottage!!!!

But overall, Alankrita is a nice getaway from the city......to spend one day, not more than that.

Trip to the National Defence Academy

In May end, I went to Pune for my cousin's passing out from NDA. I always wanted to go to NDA, its another thing that I would have preferred going over there as a cadet. Nevertheless, it was an amazing experience. Like all defence entities, NDA has been kept pretty well. Its a beautiful place and roaming around in the academy was an enjoyable experience. Moreover, the fact that my father also passed out from the academy made me even more excited about having a look around and taking pictures.

I reached Pune on 29th May...pretty late in the night, thanks to Indian Airlines. From Hyderabad there are not many options in terms of flights but I chose Indian Airlines as I wanted to reach over there on time. That was not to be and I reached Pune three hours late!!! As advised by my cousin, from the airport I went to the railway station as there were buses waiting to transport the parents/friends/relatives to the academy. Late in the night, I was concerned whether I will be able to get a bus. Much to my relief, there was a bus at the station.

It took almost an hour and half to reach the academy where in I got down at the Hunter Squadron where in the arrangement for my stay was made. I had to share my room with one of cousin's pal. My worst fear came true when the guy did not open the door even when occupants of the several near by rooms came out cursing, due to my banging on the door!!! Ultimately, I had to go to my Bua's room to sleep.

On 30th May, there was a convocation for the passing out cadets to mark the completion of their graduation. The ceremony had to go on for couple of hours and the scene was that nobody was supposed to get out of the hall before the completion. That was too much for me and I, along with my other relatives decided to give the ceremony a miss. I caught up with some much needed sleep.

Before the convocation, we went to the mess in anticipation of a royal breakfast....but it was pretty sad!!!

In the afternoon, we decided to go for "NDA Darshan". It was pretty enjoyable and we took a lot of pictures, one of the reasons for my travelling to the academy. We were shown the stables, the small planes used for flight trainings, the stadium, the lake used for navy training, Sudan Bhavan, the library, golmarket.......etc etc

After the sightseeing trip, we were supposed to have lunch at the mess but going by the experience in the morning, we decided to have lunch in the canteen. Boy, did we make a mistake. We had half cooked chicken curry with not-at-all cooked rice!!!! But the gulaab jamun were good. Before the lunch, we were laughing at the sight of cadets having around 10-15 gulaab jamun each but after having the lunch we could easily make out the reason. Probably, gulaab jamun was the best thing to have at the academy. Food was pretty disappointing though my father tells that it was not the case during his stay at the academy.

In the evening, there was a "Tatoo show" in which the cadets were showcasing the trainings that they receive at the academy. Now, "Tatoo" was not very clear so I asked my cousin the agenda of the show. He told me that they will be doing yoga and showing "dhaava". Dhaava can mean a lot of things and it did not excite me much. So, all of us decided not to go. Half an hour after the scheduled start of the Tatoo Show, we were rocked by the loud sound of a blast. Then, much to my agony, my cousin told me that its part of the "dhaava" in which cadets were showing simulated attack on a battlefield!!!!! That left me pretty disappointed about missing the show.

30th evening was the dinner night. We reached the mess, neatly dressed up. We were seated close to the main tables where the Chief Guest, Fali Homi Major (Chief of Air Staff) had to sit. The dinner night was a short ceremony and I must say that I did not really enjoy it. May be I was expecting too much, and I am not talking about just the food!!!!

31st May was the day for the passing out parade. The parade had to start around 6 in the morning. We reached the parade ground at least an hour before the scheduled start as we wanted to get the best seats. There was a lot of confusion over there regarding the reserved seats and the first termers were having a difficult time managing the over-enthusiastic parents!!!

The parade started as per the schedule. The cadets were smartly dressed up in whites. First the various squadrons lined up followed by a prize distribution ceremony. Then the Air Chief inspected the squadrons. It was followed by the parade. We had a tough time locating my cousin since he is a short fellow and everyone had the same hairstyle!!!!! Yet, we managed to take some good snaps. The parade was followed by "Dheemi Chaal" which marks the passing out from the academy. The fly past by the Jaguars and Sukhoi was a sight to watch.

Post the passing out parade, the cadets celebrated the occassion with fellow cadets and families. It was a pretty festive atmosphere and their joy was electrifying. Post that the cadets bid adieu to the academy, their home for three years and left with friends and family.

Overall, I am glad that I went to the academy or else I would have missed this memorable experience. Now I am looking forward to a trip to the Indian Military Academy in 2008

Back to blogging

I am back after a long time. Just got too busy with things. Blogging is a stress reliever...at least I use it to refresh myself and get away from the maddening tensions. But now a days, India has found another passtime and thats ....Orkut. Whatever time I used to get out of my schedule, I devoted it in making new friends and searching old pals. And it has been pretty effective!!! I have travelled alot and have studied in various schools, thanks to my father's transferable job. Retaining friends was always a problem but thanks to orkut, I have been successful in locating a lot of old pals.

But I did not make too many friends in my school days as I was quite an introvert. So now when I have located almost all my friends, I am back to blogging. And for the zillionth time, I am back with a resolution to be regular.

I wish to keep my wishlist!!!

Is my wishlist getting bigger? ...hmmm....not really. I want to buy a lot of things, go to a lot of places, do a lot of things.....all that is there in my wishlist. But as far as I can remember, my wishlist has not changed in last many years now. It was the same when I was in school/college!!! So, that essentially means that I have not been achieving what I really want to. I may have been effective in taking care of my necessities and those of people around me, yet that "over and above" factor is missing. I want to buy a Digi SLR camera, I want to own a Royal Enfield bike, I want to go to Egypt with my family (especially my dad)......I have been dreaming about all those things since.......777 B.C.(it surely feel like that long), yet I have not been able to do any of that. And if I look closely, with every passing day, my wishlist is getting further away from me and soon it will disappear in the horizon. Life has become too busy in managing the needs. Pssch

Thanks Dhinakar

Me and my wife Roshni went to Andamans in December 2006 on our honeymoon. I had a hard time selecting the destination as I really wanted to make it special. Andamans came to my mind as I always wanted to go there. That was strange as I hardly knew about the place. I wanted to see the jail but thats not typically the kind of place you go on your honeymoon. All the research I did suggested that Andamans is a peaceful place and lots of elderly people visit the islands. I personally like such places but I was apprehensive as I did not know whether Roshni would like it. I was confused and started considering other options like Lakshadweep and Colombo. Then one day, I gave Roshni the options but told her that I wanted to go to Andamans. She did not say no but she did not say "YESSSS" either. That added to my dilemma. Then the next day, Roshni told me that she has done some research on the place and she would like to go there as even she likes peaceful places. So thats how I got rid of the confusion but there was still a lot to be planned and taken care of.

Andaman is a small place and that too away from the mainland. When you are going for a trip to such a place then you have to be very sure about the arrangements. You can not just reach a place like that and expect to make arrangements over there. I checked for hotels and package tours on the internet but did not find any good one. There is no 5 Star hotel at Andamans and only one 4 star hotel. Through the various sites and blogs, I came to know that there are several good guest houses over there and they are much better than the hotels, at least in terms of location and value of money. Through my dad, I got an accomodation at one of the Ministry of Defence guest house (Believe me, it was a real good one). I got air tickets from Kolkata to Port Blair and back. But still there was lot to be arranged for. Then I recalled Sanjay Upendram (the head of the my team at Deloitte) telling us about his visit to Andamans and a guy who can be a great help in making arrangements over there. I asked sanjay and he gave me the number of Dhinakaran (Extreme left in the pic). I talked to Dhinakar and explained him my requirements. I asked for a trip to a couple of islands and to arrange a bike. Dhinakar told me about Havelock island and made arrangements for a two day trip over there. Before that I had never heard of the place and later I came to know that the beach at Havelock was rated as the best beach in Asia in 2004, by Time Magazine. Dhinakar was very responsive and he assured me that he will make all arrangements. I was still skeptical.

When we reached Port Blair, I was surprised to see Dhinakar in his big car waiting for us on the Airport (that was not the part of the deal)!!! He dropped us to our guest house, told me about the place, dos and donts, places I shall visit etc., and left. The next day he sent a brand new bike for us!!!! On the third day of the trip, when we were leaving for Havelock Island, he picked us up early in the morning and dropped us to the jetty. He had taken tickets for us for the 2 hrs 15 minutes boat ride to Havelock Island. He talked to the captain of the boat and got us the VIP cabin, something one can not book!!!! He had made all the arrangements at Havelock too. We had a booking at a resort and a car with a driver.

On returning back from Havelock, one day we decided to go for a ride. It was pretty late in the night (by Port Blair standards). Port Blair is a very peaceful and clean place and there is hardly any traffic on the road so driving.riding is a very enjoyable experience. We did not have the clue about the directions, yet we were roaming around in the town checking out all the roads. Then, in one lonely part of the town, the tyre of the bike got punctured and we were stranded at least 15 kms away from our guest house at around 11 pm!!!! I was cursing myself for being so adventurous. The nearest place where I could get the tyre repaired was around 7-8 kms away and in all probability, that too would have been closed at that hour. When I could think of nothing else, I gave Dhinakaran a call. In 20 mins, two guys came with a tyre. They replaced the punctured tyre and took it with them. We were surprised and delighted!!!!

Then the next day I came to know that the Dhinakaran, whom I was considering just a tour operator, has a few supermarkets at Port Blair, a travel agency, a cable network, his family owned a restaurant, a hotel and a TVS bike showroom!!!! He is a huge name at Port Blair but more than being a top businessman he is a very nice and helpful person. He helped in making our trip a memorable one. We owe it to you Dhinakar. Thanks a lot!!!!

(I suggest anyone planning a visit to Andamans to contact Dhinakaran (09434281417). He can be of immense help and he does not charge much too.)

US Air Force Pilots vs Maintenance Crews

Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by US Air Force pilots and the replies from the maintenance crews:

Problem: "Left inside main tyre almost needs replacement."
Solution: "Almost replaced left inside main tyre."

Problem: "Test flight OK, except autoland very rough."
Solution: "Autoland not installed on this aircraft."

Problem: "The autopilot doesn't."
Signed off: "IT DOES NOW."

Problem: "Something loose in cockpit."
Solution: "Something tightened in cockpit."

Problem: "Evidence of hydraulic leak on right main landing gear."
Solution: "Evidence removed."

Problem: "DME volume unbelievably loud."
Solution: "Volume set to more believable level."

Problem: "Dead bugs on windshield."
Solution: "Live bugs on order."

Problem: "Autopilot in altitude hold mode produces a 200 fpm descent."
Solution: "Cannot reproduce problem on ground."

Problem: "IFF inoperative."
Solution: "IFF inoperative in OFF mode."

Problem: "Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick."
Solution: "That's what they're there for."

Problem: "Number three engine missing."
Solution: "Engine found on right wing after brief search."

No More Cricket Talks!!!

Okay, It did take some time to digest but now I have accepted it. We are a poor cricketing nation and our team did not deserve to be in the Super 8. Everyone is talking about the future of the senrior cricketers, renewal of the contract, companies removing cricket players from their commercials, who was the culprit....etc etc. But whats the bloody point? We are out of the world cup and next one is four years away. And if the present state of affairs continue, we do not stand a chance in the next one too....and the one after that...and the one after.....

Now, I am moving on with my life and wont be talking about cricket anymore (No promises though!!!).

Fair Comment....I second that opinion.

Ajay Jadeja on NDTV, "You give your best player the slot he wants, and he does the job for you. Sachin was never performing in middle order and when he was not, as you say, PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY THERE, you gave him the opening slot and rest is history. He still dislikes middle order and enjoys opening, but just to accomodate all other players you want in the team, you ask your best player to change his batting position.. this is unfair..."

Death of a devotee.

I had never thought that I will ever be writing anything like this. Just to give you a background, I am a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar. I have fought for him each time he was criticised, I have cried for him on several occassions. In India, Cricket is considered a religion and Sachin is the GOD. To me, he was always bigger than the game. But today, I feel let down as there is something bigger than him too and thats...... the nation. Sachin Tendulkar owed me a World Cup win. He is undoubtedly a great cricketer....one of the all time best but still he could not get us the coveted trophy. I totally understand that its a game and players can falter but this time he faltered when it mattered the most.

And now Sachin, what are you waiting for. You may have a few years of cricket still left in you but what will you give back to the nation...may be a series win against Bangladesh...a few more centuries....Is that all we expect from you? I think, its time to hang your boots...at least from the shorter version of the game. You may want to sign off in style but you have just missed that opportunity.

Having said all that, I will still respect you for all that you have done. I will still fight for you as you are the greatest that Indian Cricket has ever seen.

State of my Mind!!!!

(Pic Taken in July 2006 at ICRISAT, Hyderabad with Bond's Canon EOS 340D Digital)

Aaya waapas India!!!!

The Indian challenge in ICC World Cup 2007 is over!!!!! We could not even get past the league phase of the tournament. The league phase, at the most, was designed to give a morale boost to the upcoming cricketing nations and the real WC was supposed to start in the second phase, with the 8 strongest teams. Now the Super 8 will be played sans Pakistan and India!!!! India has no one but themselves to blame. They were uncertain and scared in their match against Bangladesh and they let go a fairly simple opportunity against Srilanka. Indians bowled well to restrict the lankans to 254 though they did let go the leash in the end overs. And then the mighty Indian batting line up put a strong display.....of its weakness. Utthapa played positively but inexperience got the better of him. Ganguly, after playing two innings for regaining his captaincy, played an unnecessary and rash shot. He was among the runs in the two previous matches but he was not playing for the team. Runs never flowed from his bat. All he needed to do was to rotate strike. Tendulkar disappointed by getting bowled by an incoming delivery, a long time problem. Yuvraj Singh, who was in supreme touch in both the previous matches, ran himself out and Dhoni got out in the ugliest of fashion. The match did expose Rahul Dravid. He may be a man for crisis as he clutches on to one end but he is certainly not a match winner in the shorter version of the game. I have always maintained that Rahul Dravid cannot pull off a victory by himself when the asking rate is climbing on top of him. He always needs a stroke player at the other end. In the match, when the asking rate was hovering around 7 runs an over, "The Wall" was busy taking singles and giving strike to Ajit Agarkar!!! Well played Captain!!!

Now, the whole of India....the media...the politicians...ex-cricketers...selectors...BCCI..everyone will start playing a blame game. Greg Chappel will be on top of the hit list. People will talk that the "senior" cricketers should have made for youngsters. But isnt that exactly what Greg Chappel asked for? We never gave the man a freehand. He was always under the scanner and constant media pressure. I do not have any grudges against the man. Its our team who has let us down. Its unbelievably painful. :-(

I am Hungry!!!!

(Pic Taken at Mitra Samaj Restaurant at Udupi. This Dosa is called "Outlook Masala Dosa"

Movie Review: "The Pursuit of Happyness"

When I was going to watch this movie, I was really apprehensive. I could sense that its going to be a good movie as Will Smith was nominated for the Academy Award for the movie. Yet I was apprehensive coz of the setup. It was an official team outing and that too after a whole day of listening boring presentations. In a group, you like to watch a fun-filled movie and not a serious one. I was wrong. It is one of the few movies in which I have seen the audience clap!!!

It is a very inspiring movie about a man's struggle to make the ends meet and make a future for himself. He has a 5 year old son and a job as a salesman of medical bone density scanners(!!!!), a product that has limited demand. He is unable to meet his expenses with his job and then one day, he decides to take a risk....He tries and struggles his way to an internship program in a strockbroking firm. The internship is very competitive and does not pay a dime!!!! With his determination, he finally clears the exam and becomes a stockbroker. Will Smith has given a very intense performance in the role of the man, Chris Gardner (The movie is inspired by a true story). You would laugh and cry with him throughout the movie. It is not at all a sob story. Believe me, you will enjoy the movie and come out with tears of joy and bunch of dreams. A "Must Watch" for everyone.