Vinod Kambli on 'Sach Ka Saamna'

Recently watched Vinod Kambli on the show "Sach Ka Saamna". The particular episode was already making buzz due to the news that Kambli has said something against his best friend and the god of Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar. Well, I am not here to talk about that. Though I would say that I am relieved that the truth is out and now everyone knows that Kambli had not said anything bad about Sachin.

I just want to congratulate Vinod Kambli. There was a time when Kambli was my favorite cricketer. There used to be a wall in my room at Ranchi which was covered with paper cuttings about Kambli. I have fought with so many people while arguing that Kambli is better than most and is not getting his due. Now, he does not play anymore. His bank balance is nothing great....as revealed by him on the show. Kambli answered the questions with honesty, showed that he is truthful to his wife....and after winning 10 lakh rupees, he quit the show!!! Thats probably the first time that he demonstrated self-control!!!

I still love you Kambli. All the best!!!

Sach Ka Saamna: Lets Face It!!!

Just can't believe all the fuss about the show "Sach Ka Saamna". I agree that it is pretty bold. I had watched a few episodes of the american version (Moment of Truth) before the Indian version started. When I came to know that the Indian version is starting, I thought that the Indian audience may not be prepared for it. I thought that people wont participate. But to my surprise, people are not only participating, they are actually answering a lot of "awkward' questions. And, it is not the participants who are protesting. Its the "moral police" or the "guardians of Indian culture).....our politicians who are protesting. But why??

I personally do not have an issue with the show. Following are some of my reasons;

• If the participants are okay about answering the questions, who are we to stop them
• Participants are adults and they know what they are getting into. They are asked all these questions earlier and so they do get a flavor of things to follow. They still come and answer the questions. Its their call, isnt it?
• I don't think that the show will have a bad effect on the youngsters as the show comes at 10:30 pm. All kids should be in bed by that hour
• TRP is increasing. That means people are watching it, enjoying it but are pretending that they are not accepting it!!!
• If one finds the show offensive, vulgar etc......please do not watch. Change the channel. That's what the remotes are for
• There are several other shows and soaps which cause far more serious dent on our society. Why isn't anyone questioning them?
• I like the show. Its enjoyment at the cost of someone else. (What a cheapo I am??!!??) I personally would never participate in such a show as I have way too many secrets. And I would like to take the secrets with me to my cell in hell. Its just good to see that I wont be alone in hell!!!

The Gods Must Be Crazy!!!

I am a big time foodie (just look at me once and you will able to make that out yourself). I love having different kind of food. And I must admit that the kind of food I love won’t feature in any dietician’s recommended list. However, as I am facing zillions of health complications, I have been trying to find healthier alternatives. During this search, I have uncovered a huge flaw in god’s system!!!

God made this world. But why did he/she have to make a few things so complicated? Why is it that the kind of food one likes to have is always unhealthy? Burgers and pizzas are unhealthy but having raw garlic is good for health!!! God certainly has a sad sense of humour!!!

If you are confused whether a dish is good for your health or not, just rely on your taste buds. If you do not like the food......in all probability, it is good for you. (Note: Please do not have something like cow dung to prove my theory wrong). There are few things (the list is certainly not too long) which taste good and are also good for health. For example, corn flakes. But one cannot have corn flakes 3 times a day and 365 days a year!!!

You can imagine my frustration as I actually sat down and created a 2*2 metric (see below). One side has the “taste meter” and the other has “health meter”. As it goes with most metrics, the “place to be” is the extreme “north-east” corner. In other words, the items in the extreme NE are the best to have as they are yummy as well as healthy. But whats that!!! There is nothing in the extreme NE corner!!! That is the flaw in god’s system!!!

Open Letter to the Indian Army Chief

Good Evening General,

How are you Sir?

I am writing this letter to you as I have a request. Before jumping to the request, let me give you some background.

My cousin brother recently left the Indian Army and did an MBA “crash course” from a prestigious institute. He never was too keen to join the army at the first place and certainly did not have the initention to serve the army for his whole life. He is not alone. Not that I need to tell you but each year, several officers leave the Indian Army and join a course in IIMs or XLRI to pursue a fat pay package in the corporate world. It is not that I look down upon them. Everyone has her/his priorities. And it’s good that the Indian Army is giving such options to its officers, who realize that they can make a better career outside.

Similarly, cannot we device a mechanism for a “reverse crossover”? What if there is a 29 year old sitting in a cubicle (read: me) in a private office who would like to leave everything and join the Indian Army? He may have a better pay package than army officers of the same age but he still wants to “swap” jobs. He may not be really physically fit to be in the army NOW but can’t he be considered? After all, it’s not that all your officers in the IIMs today are fit to be in the IIMs!!! And he promises to be fit for the army if given an opportunity.

Presently, when you are facing manpower shortage in the army, I would say that you should consider this "reverse crossover" mechanism. Nowadays, some people are joining the Indian Army as they want to serve for a while and then leave for a more glamorous career. Then there are some, who do not have much options. My feeling is that there are not many people who are joining the army as they are really motivated to wear that olive uniform and serve the army for their life. There is at least one such guy (the same 29 year old that I talked about earlier), who has that motivation. He would prefer being at Siachin than sitting in an AC office. Please consider him as he can truly be a role model.

Thanks and Regards,

The 29 year old

Fly Indigo

I am not a frequent flyer (however I might soon become one...thanks to my new job!!!) but I have done good amount of air travel. I have flown with most carriers and my experiences have never been too bad. Touchwood!!! In fact, I have seldom had very bad experience with Air Deccan (now Kingfisher Red) as well. So you would agree that I have been lucky.

However, till a month back, I had never taken an Indigo Airlines flight. I had heard a lot of stories regarding this airline, especially when it was newly launched. Stories about bad air hostesses (“the” most important criteria for selecting a carrier) and how they serve water in cheapest quality of disposable cups etc. So I used to always avoid this carrier. I had this impression that it the cheapest low cost carrier.

My present job requires me to frequently fly to Mumbai from Hyderabad and as a company policy, I “have” to pick low cost carriers only. On one such trip, I tried Indigo since there was no other carrier that fit my schedule. I must say that I was highly impressed. In fact, I reached the destination before schedule!!! There is nothing fancy about the airlines. They do not have entertainment facilities, no magazine or newspaper, no free food. But they ensure that people reach their destination on time.....more often than not. I think that is what the “day travellers” look for the most. Now I prefer taking Indigo only!!! Great going guys!!!

Beauty on the Road!!!

A few days back, my friend Amit and I were driving around on Hyderabad roads. On a traffic signal, we saw this amazing vehicle right infront of us. It was black and it was two-seater. Thats the two thing that I noticed first. Then I noticed the logo.....It was "Bentley"!!! I was amazed but at the same time, I was thinking that someone has probably spent some money on "modifying" his vehicle and has got a fake logo. Indian mentality!!!

When the lights became green....everyone started crawling. We decided that we will chase the vehicle for a while....just to have a better look!!! This actually continued for around 8-10 minutes. The "fake" Bentley was struggling in the traffic and this was giving us time for our "expert" analysis on the vehicle. Then "the" Bentley saw an opening........and it ROARED!!! Vhhhhhhrrrooooooooooooooom...it vanished.

Later, I came to know that it was a Bentley Continental GT Speed....a 7000cc monster. It was slightly busy traffic otherwise my Santro would have caught the vehicle. Had I met the owner, I would have asked the same two questions that Chris Gardener asks the Ferrari owner in the movie..."Pursuit of Happyness"....."What do you do.....and How do you do it?"

Uncle Tom

Let me try my hand at some fiction (yeah right!!!)

Once upon a time.....(Dude, this beginning sucks!!!). Okay, I will try again. There is this guy called "Tom Uncle". Not from "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and not even the Tom from the "Tom, Dick, Harry" trio. Ok, let me get serious as this is a serious story.

Tom Uncle was younger than most among his circle of friends and relatives and thus was always treated as a kid. He was especially popular among kids. I liked him a lot (I decided to cast myself in this story. After all, it is my story. Do you have a problem with that?) and considered him more a friend than an "uncle".

Uncle Tom used to always sport a smile on his face. He had a miserable personal life but nobody cared to go beyond the smile on his face. Tom Uncle always ensured that everyone had fun. Everyone was happy and satisfied with that.

Tom Uncle always wanted to keep people around him happy. He used to go out of his way to help others. From time to time, he supported everyone in his circle emotionally and more importantly, financially. He gave money for the education of the kids of his friends/relatives, he once organized a grand party on the 25th anniversary of one his friends as the friend was, financially, not doing too well. He helped my father financially on multiple occasions as well. (If you have not noticed, I have included my father in my story!!! That’s the fun of writing a story). These are some of the examples of his good deeds. Overall, Uncle Tom came across as a great guy. Nobody knew what he is really going through in his personal life. Probably no one cared as everyone was happy partying with Tom Uncle.

People tend to take such characters for granted. Similar thing happened with Tom Uncle as well. Due to some incidents, Tom Uncle has become distant from some of his friends/relatives. He has become not-so-popular among the kids as well. His relation with the friend, whom he had helped the most, has become particularly estranged. He does not get along with that friend’s kids as well. Uncle Tom had supported the education of some of these kids!!! He had helped this friend on so many occasions. His friend is doing well now and the kids are well-settled as well. But now when Uncle Tom needs them, everyone is only “upset” with Uncle Tom. Everyone must have their reasons. Uncle Tom could have done something extremely bad, who knows!!!

Even I am not as close to Uncle Tom as I used to be. I have my reasons as well. As I have mentioned that I used to consider Uncle Tom more a friend than anything else, I used to share my feelings/problems with him. Once, I discovered that my feelings were being relayed to others. May be Uncle Tom did that to help me out. But I did not like it as I am not the kind of person who likes to be discussed by others over evening tea. Moreover, as my feelings/problems became public knowledge, it created more trouble for me. So I have my reasons.

Few days back, Uncle Tom sent me a message. His message read “you may be having many grievances with me but I have just one grievance.....”. He mentioned a past incident in which he had asked for my support. Not financial support. He had just asked me to be there with him but I had left him. I was 13 or 14 year old back then. I am not trying to trivialize the incident or his grievance by trying to suggest that I was only a kid. I would like to tell Uncle Tom that I still feel bad about the incident. I would like to also admit that I had not felt bad back then as I had not understood the situation. In any case, I was not in a situation to make that decision myself.

I do have my set of grievances with Uncle Tom. But I owe a lot to Uncle Tom. I can never forget that he has helped my father on so many occasions. Though we no longer share the same friendship, I owe a lot to you, Uncle Tom. My father means the most to me and I can never fortget a person who has helped my father. I will never turn my back on you.

That brings us to the end of this work of fiction. Resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. I know that this story sucks.....but so does life!!!

Blogging is strange

Cannot really comment on the blogging behaviour of other people but here is what I find strange about my blogging

1. Though I do not want others to read what I write, I still choose to write on a “free-for-all-to-read” kind of forum!!!
2. I write as I want to express my true feelings but I refrain from doing that and end up writing things that people would not mind reading. It is not that I lie in my blogs to make people happy. I, sometimes, don’t write a few things that I think will make people go crazy!!!

GF9: Blast from the Past

From left to right: Navneet (Sardar), Anutosh (Anu or Banku), Me (Handsome Hunk), Vikash (Dedh Futiya), Sanjay Bhaiya, Shailesh, Amit and Shailesh's Legs

When Anutosh (Anu or Banku) and I came up with this plan over a couple of drinks, it sounded more like wishful thinking. After all, calling 5 working people from across the country in a room at a short notice was always going to difficult. Then Anu and his deep pockets stepped in!!! Anu offered to sponsor the travel!!! That was very generous of him. Then we started making calls and asked people to come to Hyderabad after 6 days. We planned a reunion of the “GF9” flat mates. Those of you who do not follow the lives of the rich and famous….GF9 was the name/number of our flat when we were doing MBA….ok…PGDBA. There were 8 of us staying together in the three bedroom flat. 3 of them are at Hyderabad (including me), 3 at Mumbai, 1 at Meerut and 1 at Ranchi. For the locals (Hyderabad gang), it was not difficult as we just had to come to GF9 (Anu owns the flat now). Others had to manage their calendars as well as “WAGs” and travel to Hyderabad. To our surprise, everyone agreed at once. This shows that everyone wanted to meet but no one was making a plan!!!

The six day wait seemed like six years. Okk, that was pretty filmy line….but that’s true. We spent the six days making plans for the weekend as well as in planning the logistics.

On 3rd July, we met. Bhaskar could not come as he had to attend some stupid training. Navneet (Sardar) could not reach on 3rd….thanks to Vijay Mallya. No, don’t think that Sardar had too many beers and he missed his flight. Kingfisher flight got delayed and he missed his connecting flight. So he came on 4th morning. He managed his busy schedule and life-threatening gas problems to be here with us. We appreciate that Sardar!!!

The meeting took us to 2001-03 days. We travelled back in time. Everyone was nostalgic…some of us (including me) were getting emotional…and some of us (Read: Amit Kumar Upadhyay) were really high (thanks to the bartender…that’s me). Friday night was submerged in Old Monk, Royal Challenge, Blender’s Pride, Kingfisher Strong and Smirnoff. We had loads of snacks and old memories to give us company. We also went and sat on the Ameerpet Chaurasta. We used to do that all the time.

Saturday morning, we got up early (thanks to the early bird….me again) and decided that we will go and pick Sardar from the Airport. 5 of us went to the airport in Anu’s car…wearing shorts…..pretty interesting ones too!!!! We reached early so we spent the time roaming around Shamshabad Airport. There, we came to know about Anu’s childhood dream of sitting/lying on the road. He did that!!! Shailesh did not miss a chance of getting pregnant…..he puked again….and again. The reunion could not have been complete without this historic event.

After picking up Sardar, we went back to GF9 and had breakfast. First idly, sambar and chutney (real spicy one), to bring everyone to Hyderabad in true sense. It was followed by Jalebi and Samosa. Afterwards, we got ready and went to the newly opened “GVK One” mall. We went to “Scary House” over there. 7 grown-ups (some of them…over-grown-ups) almost shitting in their pants was quite a sight. From there, we went to Hussain Sagar to relive a day from the past. Once, during our “PGDBA” days, we had gone to Hussain Sagar wearing Kurta-Pyjama. We had planned to do the same thing in this reunion. However, some of us did not have Kurta-Pyjama. Anyways, the point is that we did go there again….all of us (ya, Bhaskar was not there) and that’s what matters.

Overall, it was a very exciting and emotional reunion. All of us were under the same roof…probably for the last time. People will get busier and priorities will change. I am glad that everyone managed to come for the reunion. Thanks a lot guys!!! It was truly special.

I am sorry Sports God!!!

I must have done something to irritate the "sports god". These days, whomsoever I want to win, loses. And the people, whom I want to fail, are doing well!!! Here is the list;

1. Nadal lost at Roland Garros
2. Federer won his first French Open title
3. India was knocked-out from the T-20 WC
4. Nadal pulled out from Wimbledon
5. Roddick lost, Federer won the Wimbledon title
6. Paes lost in the finals of the Wimbledon Mixed Doubles
7. Ricky Ponting scored a century and came closer to Tendulkar's record

I hope the list does not get bigger.

There should be a ban on naming public projects, places etc on the name of a person of any political party. There should also be a ban on putting statues of political leaders. A statue of Mahatma Gandhi is okay as he is a legend and known across the globe. But statues of Rajiv Gandhi, NT Rama Rao, Mayawati (for heaven's sake!!!) etc should not be encouraged.

Local politicians use such antics to please their bosses in Delhi. When a state government comes up with a scheme or project, they name it in such a manner that people can attach a party name to the project. For example, Rajiv Arogyasri Scheme in Andhra Pradesh. It is a pretty good scheme that provides health insurance coverage to people in rural areas. As the name is "Rajiv" Arogyasri, anyone can make out that the congress led state government in AP has initiated the scheme. Now, if a new party takes over in the next election, they may either change the name of the scheme or they might not promote it at all. So, even though the scheme is good, it might get into troubled waters in future. The solution to such problems is that no projects, schemes, places etc should be named after politicians/political parties. We have other "true" legends to look up to. If at all we have to name projects on individuals, why not Bhagat Singh, Mother Teresa, Jhansi ki Rani, Vikram Batra, Arun Khetarpal, Sam Maneckshaw etc.

Trip to Bidar

As I have mentioned/complained a zillion times in my blog, there are not many places worth visiting around Hyderabad. Weekends can get really boring. Among the handful of places around Hyderabad where one can go do, Bidar is one place. I have been staying at Hyderabad since last 7 years but I had never been to Bidar. Thanks to the mixed reviews. Some people say that the old fort is amazing and so is the drive but many others suggest that the place is not worth going!!! As I was out of options anyways, I made up my mind that I will go over there…as soon as the weather gods permit. Around two weeks back, I woke up on a Saturday morning to a cloudy day outside. We were immediately on the road.

Bidar is a small town close to Hyderabad. Though it is just 150 kms away from Hyderabad, it falls in Karnataka. The drive was great…the roads are not too bad and there is not much traffic. The weather was good that day. There are plenty of road side dhabas on the way, if one wants to stop for a tea or kaapi. However, don’t expect anything too great or a neat and clean dhaba. They are what they are….road-side dhabas.

The fort is big but there is nothing much to do over there. For the shutterbugs like me, the walls and the huge doors present good opportunities to click a picture or two but again….there is not much. There is a small museum there as well…..but its SMALL

Apart from the fort, there is a famous Gurudwara. We had a hard time locating the place. When we reached there, we did not know what to do. Me and my wife had never been to a Gurudwara before and were confused. So we left quickly.

There is another temple in Bidar. I guess it is in a cave and for reaching the place, one has to cross a “underground pond” (that’s how it was explained to me), which is filled with cockroaches. Moreover, there are bats in the cave!!! Bats…..I don’t like bats. So we gave the temple a miss. In any case, swimming through a pond filled with cockroaches was not too exciting as well.

On the way back, we stopped at an AP Tourism restaurant… “Haritha”. It was pretty decent.

We went to Bidar and came back in 6 hours. Not a bad option at all on a rainy/cloudy day.

Numbered!!!

I never knew what "Tag" means and how does it work. Then suddenly my sister Bompy "tagged" me and asked me to fill my responses. She asked me to write the significance of the numbers 0-10 in my life. It could also be any memory that the numbers bring to the mind. Believe me, it was not easy. I took me a few months to complete it....hummmph!!! Here are my responses;

Zero is what I got in my first accountancy unit test in class 11th. And in second one too!!
One. The number of chance that I want from God to relive my life and to change a few mistakes

Two. The number of cell phone that I carry

Three. The number of digital cameras that I have; soon I will add one more

Four. The number of companies that I have worked in, so far

Five. That’s how much I scored out of 25 in my first English test in class 3. It was my first day in that class (I had joined late) and they took a test!!! I remember the teacher had locked me and a few other low scorers in the class and had threatened that she won’t let us go home!!! After school, I did not know what to do with the test paper. So I hid it in my school bag…..out of all the places. I could have thrown it but I chose to hide it in my school bag. The same school bag that my grandmother used to organize every evening!!! You do not want to know what happened afterwards. Actually I do not want to revisit that memory lane!!!

Six is the present age of my career

Seven is the highest number of pizzas (pan pizzas) I have had at one go (It was a bet!!!)

Eight. I was in class 8 when I committed the biggest mistake of my life

Nine. The number of shooters that I had in my bachelor’s party

Ten ten ten ten ten ten ten ten…..chhutti!!! Finally!!!

What is the ICC upto?

Heard that ICC is thinking about reducing test matches to 4-days affair!!! Twenty-20 has already affected the popularity of one-day cricket and now it seems, that the best form of cricket would also get "corrupted". Test cricket is the ultimate form of cricket as it is the real test of the skills of the players. It tests the cricketing skills as well as the physical and mental strength of the players. The crowd in the stadiums will always be low as people cannot watch matches in the stadiums on weekdays. Moreover, women typically do not follow test cricket so that segment is also not there. But people follow it on TV or at least keep a check on live scores on various web sites. ICC and the various country associations should find ways to market the "product" effectively and to make it more interesting. Night test matches is an interesting idea that is being proposed. But reducing the duration will take away the real fun of test matches. I understand that reduction in the duration will make the game faster...more shots will be played...more risks will be taken and there would be more results. But cricket is not all about going "slam-bang". In any case, one gets to see a lot of that in Twenty-20 and ODIs. A scenario where a team has to bat for one and half days on a turning track to save a test match is also interesting. Isn't it?

Test cricket is like parallel cinema....or "art" film as we call it in India. One dayers are like normal commercial movies and Twenty-20 is like item songs. It seems that more people are liking the item songs and they want to have only item songs. Think about people like me, who still like parallel cinema.

First Clean Your Own Mess, Mate!!!

The attacks on Indians in Australia are shameful and my heart goes out to those who have suffered the violence. The news of the various incidents is there on every news channel and the Indian government is pressurizing the Australian government to take quick and prompt action. In the past month, I must have watched at least 100 debates on multiple news channels about how we treat our guests with respect and how the happenings in Australia are shameful. India is creating a buzz across the globe regarding the incidents. But do we really have the right to point fingers at the Australians? Am not saying that what is happening to Indians in Australia is justified and normal. As I said in the very beginning, the incidents are indeed shameful and unfortunate. But at the same time, I also feel that we do not really have the right to point fingers at anybody.

The Aussies are pissed as we are encroaching into their country. Every year hundreds and thousands of students get into Australian universities. I am not really sure how the system works over there but my guess is that some Australians will be missing out on seats in good colleges…as now Indians are taking them. Same goes for employment opportunities. I have two friends who have moved to Australia. Like them, there would be several others. This scenario must be affecting the employment opportunities of the locals. So they are pissed….anyone would be. But does that make their actions justified? Not at all. I will again emphasize that I am not trying to justify the actions of those Australians who are behind the violent incidents in Australia. I am just saying that we do not really have a right to point fingers. And that’s because we are culprits as well.

Don’t we know about the violence in Maharashtra against North Indians (especially against people from Bihar and UP)? Don’t we know about the growing hostility towards “outsiders” in Bangalore? Don’t we know about the attacks on Bihari laborers in Assam? Don’t we know about the divide between Bengali porters and Bihari porters in Kolkata? When people in India travel to another place within India for better employment opportunities, the “locals” get hostile towards the “outsiders”. There is nothing that can be more shameful. After all, everyone has a right to look for better opportunities. What do people in states like Bihar have? The state has high population, highest poverty, highest corruption…and lowest employment opportunities. Now, if a poor Bihari goes to Maharashtra to drive a taxi or to clean the toilets, he has a right to do that. But “locals” get angry. They beat the poor Bihari and burn his taxi. Is that fair? Not at all. But we let that happen in our own country. So when a poor Indian goes to Australia to drive a taxi or to clean the toilets and gets beaten up……we should not be questioning that.

Jab kisi se koi gila rakhna,
Saamne apne aaina rakhna.