Today, my parents, Roshni (my wife) and I watched the third day's play of the second test match between India and New Zealand. As expected it was a special experience. However, at the same time, it was pretty uncomfortable.

To start with, it was a pretty hot day. Not as hot as Hyderabad can get but still pretty hot to make sitting in the sun feel like a punishment. Uppal stadium has a very nice outfield and a large capacity. The Hyderabad Cricket Association has tried its best to give the city a world class stadium. However, the stadium lacks a basic thing.....roof!!! The cricket authorities in India owe it to fans like me and thousands of others, who brave the heat, hunger and thirst and come to watch cricket in stadiums. The authorities should try to make the experience a comfortable and enjoyable one. They depend on us and still behave as if they are doing us a great favor by letting us watch the match!!!

And I cannot figure out why they do not let people to carry food and water. I understand that items can be used as “missiles” but there can surely be a better alternative. Spectators were compelled to pay 120 rupees for chicken biryani, which technically was "hardly-any-chicken biryani". A 300 ml of coke costed 25 rupees. A glass of water was 15 rupees. I am not blaming the vendors as I am sure that they do not have a choice but to sell the food items in "black". I am sure that they would be paying a hefty sum to the authorities to let them put up a stall in the stadium. There is no harm in making money but do not keep the entire sum in the pocket. Put some back in the business of cricket. The authorities must provide proper facilities and amenities to the spectators.

Even the rule regarding not allowing cell phones is strange. If someone is coming to watch a day’s play of a test match, he/she will be spending at least 7 hrs in the stadium. As security checks take time, people come 1-2 hrs in advance. Being cut-off from the outside world from 8-9 hours must be a huge deterrent for several fans. And what is the use of this rule, anyways? My father was telling me that Israeli forces do not ban mobile phones as they do not consider the phones to be a threat. I know that bombs can be triggered through mobile phones but for that to happen, the bomb has to be present at the location!!! So check for bombs. So by not allowing cell phones, security men just send a message that they are not confident about the overall security arrangements. In any case, I noticed several girls/women carrying the cell phone. Females were not scanned. Moreover, there were no lady constables to check the ladies!!! That means that the cops have a hypothesis that only men can be terrorists!!!

Though there were some negatives and discomforts, it was a pretty enjoyable experience overall. Since it was a Sunday, it attracted a sizeable crowd. And like always, the crowd was extremely noisy!!! That can make any match pretty exciting. Then watching all the players from so close quarters was quite exciting as well. I would love to do it again.

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Midnight Dreams

It is pretty late in the night and I have to get up really early in the morning. But I am still not feeling sleepy!!! And that is because I am pretty excited. Tomorrow morning, I am going to watch the third day's play of the ongoing India-New Zealand test match!!! I will be in the stadium!!! Though I have watched a few live matches in the past, this experiences should be fun. This is the first time I will be watching an international test match!!!! And Sachin Tendulkar is on the crease. Everytime I close my eyes, I reach the buzzing stadium. Too excited....yippie!!!
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Maintain a healthy distance

There should be a distance in every relationship. It is especially true in relationships where the people involved are very different. I have always known this and to the extent possible, I try to maintain a distance in most of my relationships.

During my MBA days, one my best friends Vikas Khaitan always used to suggest that we should stay together. Both of us were sharing our flats with other people and he wanted me to move into his flat. Though I wanted to do that but I still refrained from doing so. The reason is that me and Vikas Khaitan and two very different people. He is an out and out extrovert and is very friendly with most people. I, on the other hand, am an introvert and take time in mixing up with people. Moreover, I have very strong likes-dislikes and also have a short temper. I did not want these differences in our personality to affect our friendship and so I never stayed with Khaitan.

I did not think twice before staying with Amit Upadhyay, who is another best friend of mine. Amit and I are extremely similar and have common likes and dislikes. I was sure that our friendship will not be affected by the odd differences in opinion, which are bound to crop up while staying together.

One should always try to maintain a healthy distance in all their relationships. Suppose there is a cousin, aunt, neighbour etc with whom you are really close/friendly. However, if you be with him/her all the time, some differences in opinion will definitely come-up. It is quite natural. Then, every person has a different way of reacting to situations. Some people handle things calmly whereas some people lose their cool. Such situations can affect the relationship of the people and this should be avoided to the extent possible.

I am writing all this gyan as today I am getting this feeling that I am a difficult person to stay with. I am friendly with all my friends, relatives (with whom I am close with) but whenever I spend a lot of time with them, some issues come up. Sometimes I am wrong and sometimes I am not. But it takes me some time to overcome the situation and that makes the environment very ugly. I guess I will have to work on it, which I will. However, at the same time, I expect my close ones ti understand my limitations. They have spent a lot of time with me to understand my limitations. I feel bad when they dont. I am sure they also feel the same in such situations. We hardly get time to spend with each other and when such rare moments get spoilt, I feel extremely disappointed and frustrated. I feel like punishing myself.

Want to have chinese food: Go to Wonton

I am big time foodie (I am 125 kgs so there are certainly no points for guessing that) but I do not particularly enjoy Chinese cuisine. If we are eating out and I am asked to pick a place, I won't pick a chinese restaurant....unless it is "The Wonton" at Gachibowli, Hyderabad.

There are several, very famous restaurants in Hyderabad, which serve chinese food. There is Mainland China, Aromas of China, Shanghai Chef etc. I am not suggesting that those places are not good. I am sure that the people who enjoy chinese food must be frequenting those places. However, I feel that "The Wonton" is special as it attracts my "crazy-about-chinese-food" wife as well as me, who is not so crazy about chinese food.

The place is at Gachibowli, Hyderabad (on top of Dominos and close of ICICI and HDFC banks). I will not say that the ambience is out of this world but it is not a cheap, shady chinese restaurant as well. The place is nice and clean. It is the food that is simply great.

Whenever we go there, we order a standard selection.....Honey Crisp Chicken (it is for those who do not mind a little bit of sweetness in their food), Veg Chilly Garlic Noodles, another chicken dish (more often that not, we zero upon "Dragon Chicken" and Diet Coke. This order has become embarrassingly standard. So much that sometimes the waiters do not take our order at all. They come to our table, show the order-slip and confirm the order. Most often, they are correct!!! Usually I experiment a lot with my food but not at The Wonton. It is not that the other dishes are not good. It is just that we do not like to miss the opportunity of having Honey Crisp Chicken and Veg Chilly Garlic Noodles by ordering anything else!!!

There are three other reasons why I like the place. The first is that it has clean loos!!! Now that is something that several restaurants do not take care of. Another reason is that the staff is very friendly and responsive. And the value for money is pretty good as well. I won't say that the place is inexpensive but one does not mind shelling out something extra for decent ambience abd great food.

Now I would stop praising the restaurant as people may think that either I own the place or I am getting a commission from them to promote the place. Here, I would like to add one thing that I do not like about the place and that is the music they play. Not that they play loud, item songs. They play some chinese music and I find the selection extremely annoying. So guys, if you are listening, please change that CD.

Happy eating!!!

Note: If you are going to "The Wonton", please do not miss Honey Crisp Chicken. It is heavenly and believe me that you would thank me for suggesting the dish. 

For other recommended place, please visit:

http://squash2scotch.blogspot.com/2009/04/where-to-eat-and-what-to-eat.html

Mahatma Gandhi vs. Narendra Modi

I just returned from a two-day trip to Ahmedabad, which was my second visit to the city. The first trip was few hours long so I had not got much chance to look around the city. This time, I went there with plans to visit as many tourist places in the city as the time permits. After completing my meetings on Day 1, I asked the cab driver about the tourist places in the city. This is how the conversation went;

Me: To yahaan dekhne ki kaun kaun se jagah hain?

Cab Driver: Sir, Ahmedabad mein dekhne jaisa kucch nahi hai.

Me: Arre!!! Maine to suna tha kaafi kucch hai!!! Gandhiji ka ashram bhi to hai?

Cab Driver: Haan who to hai. Jisko Gandhiji mein vishwaas hai uske liye hi hai. Wahi log jaate hain wahaan

Me: To tumko Gandhiji mein vishwaas nahi hai?!!?

Cab Driver: Nahi

Me: To tumko kismein vishwaas hai?

Cab Driver: Mujhe to Sir…Narendra Modi mein vishwaas hai. Charkha chalaane se desh nahi chalta hai Sir. Hamaara bhala to Modi saab hi kar rahein hain.

Clearly in Ahmedabad, Narendra Modi is winning the popularity contest against Mahatma Gandhi!!!

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