Thanks Orkut!!!

Unlike several people I know, I am not really crazy about Orkut. I do not use it for "making" new friends, however I find it pretty useful for locating old friends. I have located several friends from my school days. Today, I had another hit as I managed to locate my best pal from class 5th!!! It has been around 18 years since we last met and I had never imagined that I will ever be able to find him. I am really happy today.

For heaven's sake someone stop the "unstoppables" from losing

I am back to writing about cricket. With IPL going on, no one can escape the excitement and above all .....the discussions and analysis. Unlike most people, I do not have a favorite team in IPL. All the Indian cricket stars whom I like are scattered in different teams. I want Sachin to do well but have no attachment with the Mumbai team. I want Viru to do well but do not care about the Delhi team. But there is one team.....with whom I am bound to be a little attached. And that team is Hyderabad, aka Deccan Chargers!!!

When this team was picked, everyone (including yours truly) was of the opinion that it is one of the strongest teams. It has some great strokemakers, essential for the 20-20 format of the game. Deccan Chronicle spent crores for creating the team and a quick glance upon the squad suggested that we have a winner!!! And then the tournament started. Deccan Chargers have played three games till now and......hayeeelaaaa.....they have lost all three!!!!

The owners of the team probably did not realise that there is a cap on the number of foreign players playing in a game. There cannot be more than 4 foreign players in the playing eleven. That makes it very crucial that the remaining 7 Indian players are pretty good or atleast...up to the mark. That is where the Deccan Chargers are struggling. They have big names like Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Shahid Afridi, Herschelle Gibbs, Chaminda Vaas, Scott Styris, Nowan Zoysa and Chamara Silva but they can play only four of them. Apart from these big guns, Chargers have players like Venugopal Rao, VVS Laxman....and some legendary unknown fellas!!! I like Laxman's batting but in test matches. He should not even step on a cricket ground in colored uniform. 20-20 is a game about power-hitting, slogging, keeping the momentum going.....there is no place for "class". I could not even believe my eyes when in the first encounter Venugopal Rao opened with Gilchrist and then Laxman came on number 3!!!! The game was lost there itself!!!! The strategy was wrong and thankfully they tweaked it in the third game by dropping Rao. But it was not sufficient as Laxman promoted himself to the opening slot. Chargers will do their campaign a world of good by promoting Shahid Afridi to the opening slot. Look at the Delhi team. In the two matches that they have played so far, the number four batsman has not batted. In a 20-20 game, you have got to start with your best players and there should not be a need for your number 5 or 6 batsman to come to the crease.

Apart from making errors in the selection of the playing eleven, Laxman has also been far from impressive as a captain. In the first game against Kolkata, Laxman did not try to stop the singles. In a low scoring match, Laxman should have attacked the opposition. In the end, Kolkata trotted home quite easily. Then in the third match against Jaipur, Laxman made a blunder by giving the last over to Symonds. The opposition requires 19 runs off the last over and you hand over the ball to a bowler who had been taken for 28 runs off 2 overs. Moreover, Symonds's bowling had contributed to it's loss against Kolkata and he gave 30 runs in an over (Viru Zindabad) against Delhi!!!! Such historical events will make anyone apprehensive but not Laxman. Laxman was riding on complacency and that gave the Chargers the third loss in a row.

There is still a lot of cricket to be played in the tournament but if the Chargers have to do something worthwhile, they will have to sort out several things. Hopefully, they will be able to turn things around in time.

Night stay at Rangamati

Last week I visited my friend Ajit's village (Rangamati, Jharkhand). I was very excited about the trip as this was going to be my first visit to a village. The village is around 55 kms from Ranchi. The road to the village is mostly good. It was a nice ride to the village.

Everything about the place is so fresh. Fresh air, fresh water, fresh vegetable, fresh milk....everything. Moreover, the life is so simple (at least it appears that way). I had a great time over there and I didn't want to come back from the place at all.

Sarhul Festival at Ranchi

My trip to Ranchi coincided with the festival, Sarhul. It is a tribal festival in which tribals worship the Sal tree to seek the blessings of their spirits. The festival is marked by extensive dance and music programs. In Ranchi, groups from all parts of the city assemble at the Main Road area and from there the procession starts.

I was there and my friend suggested that we should take pictures of the procession. Now, I am always game for taking pictures but this time around I was a little apprehensive. I had heard several stories of people getting drunk and creating nuisance. During the festival, drinking heavy duty "haria", which is a local brew made of rice, is a common custom. I wanted to avoid any damage to myself and above all my camera. We decided to give the procession a miss. Just when we were about to leave, we saw the procession approaching. I got really excited and starting clicking. I was changing places to get good shots. Soon I realized that I was right in the middle of the procession and was drawing a lot of attention. There was this heavily drunk group which was staring at me and my camera. I started looking for a way to get out of trouble. Just then, one of them shouted "press wallah hai!!!" (He is from press!!!). Afterwards, the group posed for pictures and even made room for me to get into desired places to take shots. Having a big camera has its positives.

One interesting fact is that during the festival, women wear male cloths and gears and hunt for animals. The hunting process continues for entire day and they can kill any animal....wild or pet!!!

Finally....the numbers matched!!!

If you have ever bought a lottery ticket then you know the anxious moments one goes through while checking the winning number against the number on his/her lottery ticket. I have gone through such anxious moments quite a few times as my grandma used to buy lottery tickets for us. Needless to say that I never won as in that case, right now I would have been sitting on the Miami beach…watching babes get tanned. I would not have been here writing this stupid blog.

Hmmmph….anyways…the point is that the number on my ticket never matched with the winning number!!! I used to pray for the number to match but my prayers always went unheard….all that changed last Saturday!!!

I was anxiously looking above at the large digital board when it flashed the message. There was the number. I looked down at my ticket….and….it…MATCHED!!!

The ticket in my hand was my train reservation ticket and the message on the large display board said that my train had been postponed from 10:20 pm to 2:15 am!!!! I reconfirmed and the train numbers did match. Mr. God…I meant the lottery number and not just any number!!! But ya, that was a good one that you played on me. No hard feelings.

When two people have differences of opinion, it is not necessary that one of them is wrong. Both can be right. Do you agree?

Vizag Trip

After several weekends me and my wife were getting a weekend off. Neither of us were working on a "high-burn" project and so we decided that we will take off to some place outside Hyderabad. Since Hyderabad does not present many options for weekend trips, we picked the most commonly used option...Vizag.

I have been to the Vizag beach several times. It is a peaceful beach and is usually not very crowded. What I like most about the beach is the water is more violent compared to most other beaches I have been to. At Vizag we stayed at Palm Beach Resort. It was recommended by a few friends but since the tariff was not-so-high, I had my share of doubts. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. The resort is very nice and is right next to the beach. There are a couple of good restaurants over there. Moreover, it has a massage parlour and a swimming. Overall, the place has all the facilities that anyone would require to make the stay enjoyable.

There are quite a few places of tourist interest in and around Vizag (Borra Caves, Araku Valley, Kailash Hills etc). Since we were really tired after so many weeks of slogging in the office, we decided not to be too adventurous and spent most of our time either on the beach or in the resort (We did go to the Kursura submarine museum, which was pretty close to the resort). For a weekend trip, that was a sensible thing to do as we did not want to reach Hyderabad feeling even more tired. However, we would like to go back to the place if we get a 3-day weekend and then we would love to explore all the great places that Vizag offers. I would recommend Vizag and palm beach to all the weekend travellers.

They dont really care about us!!!

Yesterday, I saw a news item about the Indian cricket team…how they are made to work so hard round the year and BCCI does not even care!!! Nothing new about the story as everyone knows that and I am sure most feel sorry for the team. While watching the story and looking at the tonnes of statistics, I was thinking, "poor guys….they work so hard….they were either playing cricket or were on a tour for almost 300 days last year…they may be making millions but they are not getting much time with their family (just around 70 days last year)...WAIT.... that’s not so bad!!!!". They make good money, they can take their family on tours, they can afford great lifestyle and luxuries.......but what about me??? I spend my life in the office, work day and night, usually do not get weekends off, am scewing up my health, do not get to spend much time with my loved ones, do not have any time for my hobbies and……do not even get paid well!!! No one is feeling sorry for me. I am in a much worse situation….How come I am not a primetime story?!!?

Read somewhere….

“The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways but narrower viewpoints. We spend more but have less, we buy more but enjoy less. We have bigger houses but smaller families, more conveniences but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge but less judgment, more experts yet more problems, more medicines but less wellness.

We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom and hate too often. We have learned how to make a living, but not a life. We have added years to life but not life to years. We have been all the way to moon and back but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We have conquered outer space but not inner space. We have done larger things but not better things.

We have cleaned up the air but polluted the soul. We have conquered the atom but not our prejudice. We write more but learn less. We plan more but accomplish less. We have learned to rush but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information and to produce more copies that ever but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast food and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses but broken homes. It is time when there is much in the showroom window but nothing in the stockroom.”

The writer, like a billion other Indians, knows the problem. Anyone who is not facing these “problems” is probably unemployed, a lazy bum or in coma!!! Point is that everyone knows this…consciously or subconsciously but is there anyone with a solution? I guess not. No one likes to screw his/her happiness but everyone has expectations to manage and constraints to play with. The writer wasted time in writing all this and probably made his/her life even more miserable. The readers wasted their time and are running behind the deadlines even harder to compensate the loss in momentum. I topped them all by reading it and then writing this nonsense!!!

Pssch!!!

When we started the journey, we were alone......then others joined us on the road....and soon there was a traffic jam!!!

(Happens to me every morning!!!)

Aaaaaa (Yawn)!!!

I think there is some conspiracy going on a global level. In the night when you go to sleep, in 15-20 minutes someone presses the "sunlight" switch and a new day starts!!! I feel that all the time. Don't you agree? And the guy is particularly harsh on Monday mornings. I guess we need a new janitor up there.

That is how I am feeling right now!!!

Supermodel in the pic: Subasizz Sahoo;

Photographer: Me (Roaring Applause)

Two of a kind

Looking back at the journey so far, I do not think I have made too many friends. A reason could be that I was too involved with my family and my priorities. Though I wanted to be a happening guy and mix up with a lot of people, my constraints and priorities prevented me from doing so. I remember one incident from MBA days. There were 7 of us staying in one flat at Hyderabad. Once we had this session when everyone had to talk about another person and bring out the negative qualities. Almost everyone was of the opinion that I am selfish. Not that it hurt me yet I thought that I am misunderstood. I had some constraints and I was living with them. Those constraints prevented me from doing all the things that others used to do and so I used to say "No" quite often. I did not have any options.

In the same discussion, another guy was branded as selfish. And he had similar reasons….I understood that. Amit (From the picture, don’t think that he is my domestic help) and me have a lot in common. To name a few, we are not outgoing types, both of us put the family first and we are very emotional.

Amit and me were class mates at college. We hardly talked during the college…we just knew that the other exists. I think we talked for the first time outside a movie hall. I was standing in the ticket queue and was fourth or fifth in the line. That is when Amit approached me and asked if I could buy two tickets for him and his friend. Having asked for a favor, for the sake of courtesy, he started talking to me. Then we came to know that both of us were interested in doing MBA and he had joined a coaching center. Before we could talk any further, the counter opened and inspite of being so close to the counter, I did not manage to get the tickets. Waiting for your chance in a queue is not really a bright idea at Ranchi.

Then I joined the same coaching center. Afterwards, we got the call from the same management institute….we travelled together for the interview….we stayed together at my cousin's place…both of us got the Hyderabad center and then we stayed together during MBA days. After an year of completing MBA, I moved to Bangalore. Amit's company brought him to Bangalore and we stayed together at Bangalore as well. Though we had spent a lot of time together before that, our stay at Bangalore really helped me understand this guy. He was with me when I was going through a very tough phase of my life and he was very supportive.

Amit is a gem of a person. He is a great friend to have and is very caring. We have shared a lot of memorable moments with each other. Though we do not have this melodramatic "yaari hai imaan…" kind of friendship, we still are very close. We know and understand each other's priorities/ contraints and respect them. I may not have many friends but with a friend like Amit around, I am definitely not complaining.

:)

Yesterday, after so many days, we talked to each other and we talked like old times.

I am not too close to my extended family. There is enough drama to inspire a telesoap...similar to the lines of the Ekta Kapoor serials (If you do not know about these serials then you are lucky. They can trigger brain haemorrhage). Having said that, I confess that I am no saint myself. I come with my own set of manufacturing defects. I can be a shade selfish at times....sometimes a little egoist...and eccentric. Moreover, I sometimes lose my cool (Ladies and Gentlemen, the award for the understatement of the millennium goes to....yours truly). Do not want it to sound like a sob story but some of the incidents in my personal life and in the lives of some of the people who really matter, have made me a little bitter towards people and life in general. I totally admit that I did my bit to cause the drift between us....but she played her role too. Looking into the history books, I think timing was the main issue. May be the behavior/actions were trivial but the timing could not have been any worse.

Normally, in such events, I shut all the doors/windows. Infact, I did just that but somewhere deep inside, I wanted the things to change. Though I was never too close to her but she is indeed one of the few whom I like. Though I wanted to bridge the gap but I was not sure how to go about it. I did try calling her up on the New Year's eve but was almost relieved when she did not pick up the phone. Afterwards, we exchanged a few messages but it did not really take us anywhere.

Yesterday, I was surprised to receive her call but I am glad that she called.

Trip to Nandi Hills

यह तो बड़ा अच्छा है!!!

I did not know that blogs can be written in hindi as well. पता नहीं की मैं कभी use करता की नहीं लेकिन चलो यह option तो है!!! Pretty cool. जय हिंद!!!

Wishing someone good luck for a new business/ endeavour can get a little tricky. My father-in-law recently added an "ICU" in his hospital!!! Now, for that endeavour to be financially successful, a lot of patients will have to require intensive care treatment!!!

I wished him all the best but I just hope it saves many lives. :)

Main na kahta tha!!!

I kept saying but no one was ready to hear. Then, Virender Sehwag had to intervene to give me some support!!!

We simply cannot afford to have a player of his calibre sit outside. We did that and may be paid the price for that. Opening partnerships or the lack of them hurt us pretty badly in the first two games and who know....Sehwag's inclusion could have changed all that. Anyways, thats history. I am happy that Sehwag is back with a bang. He helped us win a test match and draw one. Now he has to help us win the one day series. Cannot wait to see Tendulkar and Sehwag open the batting for us. Thats some mouth watering stuff....not for the bowlers though.

Star Appeasement at its best

Recently heard that Shahrukh Khan won the Best Actor award for his role in "Chak De India" at "Nokia Star Screen Awards". That is not a news as Shahrukh Khan has won several awards in his long illustrious career. What surprised me was that Aamir Khan was adjudged "Best Supporting Actor" for his performance in Taare Zameen Par. I do not know about others but I felt that it was pretty ridiculous. Was Aamir really a supporting actor in the movie? In that case, even SRK was a supporting actor in Chak De India since the movie was about the girls in the hockey team.

Taare Zameen Par (TZP) did revolve around the kid but that does not make Aamir a supporting actor. The kid was a victim and Aamir was the hero who saved the kid.

If the logic is that Chak De India was a movie about SRK's character; how he suffered and then used the Women's hockey team to find glory then going by that logic, Sanjeev Kumar was the real hero of Sholay. The movie revolved around Sanjeev Kumar's character and how he used two "supporting actors" to take revenge. The organisers can go to any extent for star appeasement!!! Funny!!!

"India's victory at Adelaide" has been added to your wishlist

- MightyLordOnlineShoppingNetwork

Quote of the day

"He is so laid back that I am surprised that he is so bald"

- Sunil Gavaskar on Virender Sehwag

Just to let you guys know....I had predicted on the second day of the Perth test that Sehwag's bowling will prove to be more than handy. Nawab saab did not let me down.

Jeet gaye bhai jeet gaye!!!

Not many would have expected this result on the "Devil's Track" at Perth. Indian team showed immense grit and determination to pull off a victory, which brought smiles on over a billion faces.

It was a fight for pride and we won.

New kid on the block

Ishant Sharma has stunned everyone with the growth and maturity he has displayed in the last two tests. He has been bowling exceptionally well. I do not know about others but at least I was not expecting such a performance from the Delhi lad.

When Ishant arrived on the international scene (Test match against Bangladesh in 2007), he gave the impression that he is not quite ready for the grind. That was expected as the guy was just 18 years old!!! Honestly, I was disappointed at his inclusion in the team for the Australian tour. I thought someone like Agarkar would have been a better bet. But I am glad that he proved me wrong. The deliveries he produced to dismiss Ricky Ponting in both the innings of the Perth test were outstanding. Infact the entire spell he bowled in the second innings (in which he eventually gor Ponting out) had the touch of brilliance. He troubled Ponting all through the spell.

The conversation between him and Kumble was classic. Pretty similar to Raj Singh Dungarpur and Md. Azharuddin conversation ("Miyaan captaani karogey?").

After he had bowled 7 overs on a trot, Kumble thought of giving Ishant a break. Sehwag suggested that Ishant should bowl another over as Ponting was on strike. Kumble asked Ishant "Ek daalega?". Ishant replied "Haan daalunga". And he got punter out the very next ball!!!

My biggest stress buster....Calvin and Hobbes!!!

Jumboooo....Jumbo Haa Haa Ha

When one thinks of spin bowling, the two names that immediately come to mind are Shane Warne and Muthiah Muralidharan. They have conquered such great heights that no third name comes in mind. But there is another man, who has quietly been filling his bag. The man is Anil Kumble.

Jumbo recently bagged his 600th wicket!!! Not many would have expected that he will cross even 500. When the whole world was busy looking at Murali and Warne, Anil was covering milestones after milestones with stealthy footsteps. He is a quiet person, he has been far from controversies (unlike Murali) and he is anything but a showman (Unlike Warne). There is no glamour attached to his personality and so not many noticed his approach towards the milestone.

He comes across as a person with a strong mind and high determination. Nobody can forget the sight of Kumble bowling in West Indies with a broken jaw. Probably, captaincy came to him pretty late in the day. He is a man of few words but he is definitely a character whom young cricketers can look upto.

In the press conference after the second test match at Sydney, Kumble showed the world that he is a no-nonsense person. In his deep voice he said "Only one team played in the spirit of the game". That was unlike the Kumble that we have all known but that is what the situation demanded....and like always in his illustrious 17 year career, he stood up to the situation. Thats the way to go Jumbo!!!

Bold decision or "Bowled" decision

So much was being said about the pitch at Perth. It was being called the "Devil's Track". It is green and has plenty of bounce. All the experts were of the opinion that the team winning the toss should bowl first.....but surprise surprise, India won the toss and has elected to bat first (I think Anil Kumble holds some personal grudge against Sehwag or Jaffer). There is something that the Indian team management knows about the pitch that the experts do not know about. Whatever it is, I hope it makes sense and pays off. Jeetega Bhai Jeetega, India Jeetega!!!

Knock Knock

2-0 down in a four test match series, the Indian team management must have been looking for some divine intervention. The "ever-formidable-on-paper" Indian batting line up has so far failed to hold together. Moreover, unlike the previous tour, the opening partnerships are nothing worth writing home about.

Just when the situation was looking pretty grim, Virender Sehwag knocked on the door....or should I say.....ripped the door apart!!!

With a 73 ball century, Sehwag has strongly put forward his claim for an inclusion in the playing XI. That must have surely eased out the pressure a little for the team management. Sehwag must be singing "kiska hai yeh tumko intezaar....main hoon na".

He should have been opening the batting from the first game. He is too good a player to be left out. Moreover, you can never bring down the Aussies with defensive play. It requires a knock out punch and the Nawab of Najafgarh can surely pack a punch. C'mon Sehwag, beat the shit out of the kangaroos!!!

Aamir Rocks!!!

I recently watched the movie "Taare Zameen Par". Being a huge Aamir Khan fan, I was eagerly waiting for this movie and wanted it to do well.

You seldom like a movie that you are excited about or eagerly waiting for. At least it happens to me more often than not. That is because "I create" so high expectations that the end product rarely satisfies me. For instance, it happened to me when I watched "Guru". Before its release, I was very excited about the movie and really wanted it to do well. I was a touch disappointed when I watched it for the first time. The whole movie hall was applauding but I was quiet. I was thinking that "kucch kam hai". Since then I have watched the movie several times and I love the movie now. I own the DVD as well!!! Its just that my expectations had killed the experience the first time around.

I am glad that the same did not happen when I watched Taare Zameen Par. It is a beautiful movie and it totally surpassed my expectations. It is not glamorous, there is no masala, no item song, no raj malhotra, no bauji....in fact it is very emotional, deals with a complex subject and has a strong message...yet everyone is loving it!!! That is coz the story has been packaged in an interesting manner and everyone in the movie has given splendid performance. Yet, the two performances that clearly stand out are those of Darsheel....and Aamir (I am not biased, I did not like him in Fanaa).

Kudos to Aamir's direction (please excuse me if you think that I am going out of the way...actually I somewhat agree. he he he) as he has brilliantly treated the story. Without proper treatment, the movie could have easily fallen into the category of "parallel cinema". It is a must watch for all the parents and the people who would become parents at some point (ahhaaaan.....that actually means almost everyone....I guess I should get something for promoting the movie. If at all people were visiting my blog.......).

Whats unusual about the Australian team's behavior?

Whats the fuss all about? Why are we talking so much about the behavior of the Australian cricket team? What is unusual? Australian team has always been an arrogant and rude bunch on the field. They have a long and colorful history of sledging and misbehaving. So whats new?

We should only be complaining about the umpriring decisions and the judgement of the match referee. The umpires took the match away from us. Wrong decisions helped the Aussies and costed us dearly. Australia would not have managed a big score in the first innings, had some decisions gone in our favor. Even after that, we could have managed a draw but Bucknor and Benson did not allow that. The dismissal of Ganguly was classic. Benson could have gone to the third umpire but decided to give his arms some rest. I would not blame Michael Clarke for claiming the catch as sometimes it is difficult to make out such catches. In similar circumstances, Dhoni had claimed a catch on the last tour of England. It is not the fault of the player but the umpire should have gone to technology. Instead he decided to take the help of the lord....Ricky Ponting!!!

I wont even blame Australians for excessive appealing. We do not have the right as we are the industry leaders. Australians were desperate for a record equalizing win and it showed. I don't think there is anything wrong with that as everyone does it.

The icing on the cake was the Harbhajan Singh trial. I do not have much faith on the judicial system in India and so I think that Mike Procter can be an excellent judge. He said on camera that the umpires did not hear anything. He decided to ignore Sachin Tendulkar's statement and decided in favor of the Australians. I do not know whether Harbhajan said something or not....though he does come across as a character who can do that. Point is that there was not enough evidence. How did Mike Procter reach that decision totally beats me.

It is good to see BCCI backing the players....for once....for whatever reasons. That is a rarity. BCCI and the Indian team should put its foot down on the Harbhajan Singh issue and ensure that his ban is lifted.

Couple of people who will be relieved are Yuvraj Singh, Wasim Jaffer and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Their abysmal performance in the series so far is not being talked about at all. If I were Anil Kumble, I would be mentally preparing Sehwag, Pathan and Karthik for the third test.

Boss kaun hai maalum hai na!!!

Finally....it came!!!

I was on the verge of a heart attack during the entire time he was in the 90s.

2007 was jinxed, now we hope that 2008 will make up for that!!!

Thats how the world looks like from the top of a Yak....or should I say a very angry Yak carrying more than 100kg weight!!!

Baba Harbhajan's Mandir

Around 60 kms away from Gangtok, near the Nathula pass, there is a mandir of Baba Harbhajan Singh. He was a soldier with Punjab regiment of the Indian army. The legend goes that Baba Harbhajan Singh was declared a deserter after he mysteriously disappeared in Oct 1968. There is a belief that he appeared in the dreams of the commanding officer of his unit and told the exact location where his body and rifle can be found.

His body and rifle were recovered from the exact location. Baba Harbhajan Singh had slipped and drowned in a fast moving stream. Later, his unit constructed the mandir, which is frequented by army personnels as well as civilians.

Trip to Darjeeling

Last December, we went to Darjeeling for a short trip. We had heard so much about the place and were pretty excited about the trip. I would say that we returned from Darjeeling a touch disappointed. That may be because we went over there after a trip to Gangtok and so the benchmarks were high. Another reason could be because we did not spend much time at Darjeeling so may be we missed out on the real beauty. Moreover, we reached Darjeeling on a Thursday, which happens to be the day on which the markets remain closed. Whatever may be the reason, we did not enjoy the trip as much as we had expected.

We found Darjeeling pretty commercialized. If you land up there with no reservations/bookings, you are in for major trouble. Not that getting a hotel will be a problem but you will have to deal with zillions of agents. So we did not find Darjeeling very "user-friendly".

At Darjeeling, you would like to take a ride on the famous toy train. Please keep in mind that the trains run only in the first half. Almost all of them start between 9-10 am and if you miss them, you will have to wait for another day. There is a train at 12 or 1 pm but for some reason it is reserved for the VIPs!!! George Bush should have a toy train ride in his itinerary for his next India visit as there is a VIP train!!!!

Another attraction, much to the agony of my wife, is the sunrise at the Tiger Hill. In December, you have to start at 4 am to watch the sunrise at around 6:15 am!!! Not that the hill is pretty far off....you have to be there early to get a decent seat!!! Actually on the top of the hill, there is a big house. They sell tickets for each floor. The top floor obviously commands the highest rate. If you plan to go over there, ensure that the you get the tickets for the top floor in advance as it usually runs out of stock pretty quickly. We reached Tiger Hill at around 4:45 and the sunrise was expected at 6:15. It was already crowded when we reached there. Sleepy souls were waiting for the sun to show up. The main reason people go over there is because Kunchenjunga (or Khandchengzonga) range falls towards the western side of the hill. So when sun comes up, the range turns into golden in color which is quite a sight. But to watch that sight, you have to pray for a clear sky.

Around 6:15, when the sun reluctantly came out, it was welcomed by a huge applause....the kind of roar that you hear when Sachin Tendulkar steps out of the dressing room to bat!!! People were cheering the sun!!! I took several pictures and was pretty excited about the beautiful landscape. Then around 7 am I turned around, with a big victorious smile on my face, to check where my wife is.....and there she was....standing in a corner with an expression on her face which said, "NOW, can we return to the guest house?". I did not take any more chances and like an obedient kid, I quietly went and sat in our cab.

While taking a walk in Darjeeling, we saw St.Paul's high school. That was the place where the movie, "Main Hoon Na" was shot.

Apart from that there is not much to do at Darjeeling. Tea gardens are good sight but I do not think anyone would like to spend a day looking at the tea leafs. Of course, we did not get to explore the town much. It would have been a lot better had we managed to get a bike.

Locals suggested us not to have food outside as the water can create a lot of problem for the tummy. Moreover, we were suggested not to do any shopping at Darjeeling as the same products can be bought at much cheaper rates at the market in Siliguri, which is pretty close to the nearest railway station (New Jalpaiguri) and airport (Baghdogra).

Having said all that, I would still admit that Darjeeling is pretty beautiful. Its just that the heavy commercialization has made the town portion a little dirty. The authorities should do something about the place as it has huge tourism potential.

A monk is playing cricket at the Rumtek Monastery at Gangtok. This shows the popularity of cricket in India.

I miss Veeru

India lost the first test match on the Australian tour. The last time around, we had done pretty well and had come pretty close to winning the series. I would be surprised if something like that happens this time around. The team does not look quite the same. The big guns are still there and Sachin, Sourav and Laxman are in good form. Yet, something is missing.

Looking back at the batting performance on the previous tour, two things stood out....Rahul Dravid's performance and the opening partnerships. Both look shaky on this tour. Dravid, for reasons unknown, is not his usual self. He is opening the batting and clearly not enjoying it. For me, Dravid is the backbone of the Indian test batting line-up and losing him early in the innings means being on the backfoot from the start.

We had done well on the previous tour because of steady starts given by Sehwag and one Mr Akash Chopra. The guy got a raw deal. Though the guy never went on to hit a century on the tour but he used to ensure that we do not lose wickets early on. That used to give confidence to the other batsmen. Anyways, thats past. On this tour, we are trying the combination of a Jaffer and Dravid. To me, both have pretty similar batting styles. Jaffer does go for his shots but still they are not the kind of batsmen who can dominate the Australian bowling attack. And in Australia, if you go on a defensive, you are digging your grave.

I think that India should have gone with Sehwag as one of the openers. He is indeed short of match practice but still Veeru is the kind of batsman who, on his day, can dominate any bowling attack. We need such a batsman in the side. I am surprised that he did not make it to the playing eleven even for the second test. His batting technique (technique!!! can we use that word for Sehwag's batting style?) was questioned on the last tour as well. He answered all doubts with a breezy 195. Thats the kind of innings that we need.

My opinion is that India should go with Jaffer and Sehwag as openers and Yuvi should sit out. I really dont think that Yuvi is the right choice for Australian conditions (he can prove me wrong at Sydney as the pitch usually is pretty flat over there....I will be more than glad if he does that). If the team management is adamant at playing Yuvi, then they can as well try the combination of Sehwag and Dravid on the top. If Sehwag clicks, that will atleast take the pressure off Dravid.

I seriously do not think that we have a chance in this series but like always, I will be praying for a miracle.

Gangtok: Burrry Burrry Cold!!!

Am back from a trip to Gangtok and Darjeeling. We had been planning for a "year end special" vacation since last several months and had considered several locations, including Mauritius, Malaysia, Lakshadweep and Kerala. Finally, we zeroed upon Gangtok and Darjeeling as we really wanted to go to the eastern part of India.

For the people who bunked the geography classes, Gangtok is in Sikkim. Fans of Indian football (endangered species) would know the place as Baichung Bhutia comes from there.

If you are planning to visit Gangtok, do not go over there with expectations of a happening holiday. It is a quiet place but is a must if you want to get away from the noise of the bigger cities. It is a small town but very neat and clean. The best thing about Gangtok are the people. They are very friendly and respectful (another endangered species). For the shutter bugs, Gangtok is a paradise as it presents a breathtaking landscape.

Interesting places at Gangtok are Rumtek monastery, Hanumantak, Tsomgo lake (pronounced as Changu lake), Nathula pass and Baba Harbhajan ka mandir.

Now to tally the balance sheet, let us talk aout the liabilities (weak points). You should have the legs and more importantly the lungs to really enjoy Gangtok. Everywhere you go, you will have to hike or climb stairs!!! People pay money to test the tolerance limit of their lungs!!! I must have climbed a billion stairs over there.

Getting a vehicle is not difficult but getting a motorbike or a vehicle sans a driver is not possible. Now, that is a big limitation. You cannot enjoy Gangtok from the passenger seat of a Taxi. You must have your own vehicle so that you can stop wherever you want to and take pictures or simply enjoy the beauty.

Another problem is that Gangtok is not connected with other cities through rail or flights. The nearest airport is Baghdogra, which is 124 kms away and it takes close to 4.5 hrs to reach Gangtok. Nearest railway station is New Jalpaiguri which is equally far.

If you do not manage to get a vehicle for yourself (without a driver), two days are sufficient at Gangtok. You can cover a "10 point" tour which includes a few monasteries, a botanical garden, couple of temples and a ropeway ride. On the second day, you can go to Nathula pass which is around 56 kms from Gangtok but is much colder since it is 14,400 ft above the sea level. It is the India-China border. Nothing much to do over there bit it still is worth a visit as the landscape is beautiful and the journey is amazing. You can see the Chinese post and the roads, which are much better in shape. On the same day you can go to Baba Harbhajan's mandir and Tsomgo lake. At this time of the year, the Lake remains frozen. We also enjoyed the Yak ride near the lake. Quite understandably, my yak was not in a very good mood as my weight must have been close to his!!!

You can spend another day at Gangtok to pick some souvenirs from the market but you will get bored if you spend anything more than three days over there. But ya, if I would have got a bike, I could have spent a month over there!!!

Please note that Gangtok remains very cold in December and January. A few small pegs (huhahahaha) of vodka really helps. Needless to say that the more the better!!!

Happy New Year 2008

I am writing a blog after a long time. We had run out of sponsors!!!

Seriously, I was missing writing blogs. So much was happening and I wanted to express so many things but was really tied up.

I chose a good day to return as this is the first day of 2008 and is also my birthday (That was to remind you guys that you owe me some gifts).

I wish all my readers (Man, I am seriously losing it!!!) a very happy new year.

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.