Its all in the mind

(Pic courtesy: Toon Pool)

Nadal just lost in the US Open final. That is not particularly heart-breaking. You win some, You lose some. However, he lost once again to the Joker from Serbia. Now that's a worrying bit. 

Today's match was extremely close. Was stretched to the 5th set and either player could have crossed the finishing line. The first set did not have anything spectacular. They both played decent (read: Okay) tennis. Rafa managed to take the first set. In the next two sets and the first half of the fourth test, Djokovic completely dominated Rafa. Djokovic did play brilliant tennis but Rafa allowed himself to be dominated and that is another worrying bit. 

Rafa picked up his game brilliantly in the second half of the fourth set to take the set and he kept the momentum in the first half of the fifth set. Though Rafa did lose the fifth set (and as a result the match), there was nothing to be ashamed of the manner in which he played the fifth set. He played extremely well but so did the Joker. That's fine and acceptable.   

However, the consistency at which Novak Djokovic has been beating Rafael Nadal is amazing and disconcerting. The results of the recent and consistent losses to the Joker is showing on Rafa. The defeats seem to have created a mental block and Rafa has not been playing his normal game (for the most part) against Joker.

Rafa is a gifted athlete, who slowly but steadily wears down his opponents through long rallies. Plus the angles that he creates with his shots make the court much larger to cover for his opponents. Though he is still successfully doing that against most opponents, he has been unable to do that consistently against Joker. So what is so different? What has changed off late?

No matter how much I dislike the Joker, I cannot stop myself from admitting that his game has improved immensely in the last year and half. He has always been strong with his forehand as well as backhand but his forehand has suddenly become a lethal weapon. Not only it has become much faster, it has also become much more accurate. With an extremely effective forehand, a decent backhand, a good serve and a supremely fit body, he is definitely a package that is difficult to beat. If only he was not so irritating, he would have won some more fans. Not that he cares. He should be happy with the rankings, trophies and moolah!!

The sudden improvement in Joker's game caught everyone by surprise. From being a close 3rd, he suddenly got into top gear and overtook everyone else. He has been beating everyone, including Rafa. The first 1-2 losses seemed like 'Rafa was defeated by a better player on that day'. On those occasions (first few losses), there was not much wrong with Rafa's game. It was just that everything was absolutely flawless about Joker's game.

However, the defeats started affecting Rafa (that is my theory, Rafa has not told me that. Honestly!!!). Now, there seems to be a mental block. Quite often, he becomes a little too defensive against Joker. The shots become much shorter, the angles are usually missing and he tries to keep the ball in play rather than make Joker run around. As a result, Joker gets to show off the might of his supreme forehand. He makes Rafa run all around the court and he beats Rafa in long rallies!!! It may be an exaggeration but Nadal's defensive strategy is pretty similar to what Martina Hingis used to adopt or was made to adopt against Venus Williams!!! In that case, of course there was a huge difference in the abilities (as per my opinion....and the statistics). Yet Venus Williams, through her powerful game, was able to affect Hingis much more mentally than anything else. The same seems to be happening to Rafa against Joker.

Rafa should try to exploit the weaker backhand (weaker only compared to the forehand) of Joker ut he seldom manages to do that. Moreover, he seems to be trying to do a little extra with his first serve, which has so far not been a particularly successful ploy. He ends up making mistakes and the decreasing first serve percentages are an indication. That is not alarming though. This ploy does help Rafa win some easy points. It is just that when it does not click, the situation is worsened by an extremely defensive and weak second serve. His second serve is nothing but cannon fodder for Joker!!!  

It is not that Rafa lags behind through out the game. When he sees a window, he picks up his game and starts putting pressure. He did the same thing at the end of the fourth set and through out the fifth set. He played like usual....brilliantly. Yet, Joker won the fifth set as he played marginally better and he handled pressure a lot better.

There is nothing wrong with Rafa's game. It is not that he cannot beat Joker. However, he needs to overcome the mental block. He has to believe in himself like I and his millions of fans believe in him. If he plays his usual game against the Joker, he should be able to substantially decrease Joker's dominance on the outcome. Today's match was indeed an evenly-fought contest but that was probably because Rafa played his usual game only in patches. Had he been his usual self, the result could have been different. 

You must overcome the mental block Rafa and should not allow Joker to manipulate your game.  I know that you can do it Rafa!!! Vamos!!!

And ya, well played today (in patches)!!! 

That's a bird....That's a plane.....That's my Super Gal!!!

Cooking: Nasi & Ayam Kari

Yesterday, I had my first serious shot at cooking. So far, my cooking has been limited to ready-to-eat meals and  instant noodles. I have always believed that I can be good at cooking but a serious handicap has always prevented me from becoming a good cook.....laziness!!

Yesterday, under the able guidance of the head chef of my house, I made chicken curry and rice. And it was not too bad. In fact it was "Yang Tidak Dapat Dilupakan"!!!!

Nasi & Ayam Kari or Rice & Chicken Curry

Please note: I did not make Carlsberg

I wish and hope to continue cooking and learn some more dishes. Right now, I plan to just learn the basics and learn the style of the head chef. Later, I will add my special...secret ingredient in the dishes and make them lot lot L-O-T better. My secret ingredient is....Creativity.

KL Tower or Menara KL: Caught in Rain!!!

For my little bundle of joy

You make me upset,

when you cry,

I am not good at it,

but I try,

I make funny sounds,

I make funny faces,

when you smile,

the stress vanishes,

A chance to meet you,

makes me walk in the sun,

we look at each other,

play and have fun,

I may not have the best life,

do not enjoy what I do,

but I am happy,

because I have you.

No Rafa, No tennis?

I realized that I have not watched a tennis match in last several months!!! Is it because I have been too busy or is it because of the rise of the Joker? Whatever may be the reason, it is surprising!!! C'mon Rafa, you are the one who can bring me back to tennis.

Straight from the heart.........

Few comments after India's defeat against Australia in the Perth Test;

• Who says nothing positive came out of the test match. Dhoni has been banned from the Adelaide test due to slow over-rate. That increases India's chances of doing well in the fourth test manifolds. There would be a better captain for the match and a better test batsman would come in. That is a HUGE positive
• Dhoni indicated that after the series he would start thinking about a 'thoughtful' way of phasing out the seniors. Though I totally agree that the seniors should be phased out, I think Dhoni should also put some thoughts about his future in the test team. He has been bringing the team down and he should expedite his decision of giving up test cricket
• Social networking sites are full of comments about how the seniors should be 'kicked out' from the team. As I have mentioned, I agree that the seniors should be 'phased out'. And I think Sachin, inspite of playing decently in this series, should also think about puting a end date to his glorious career. A lot of people are calling for his head but strangely, I have noticed that a lot of those people are die-hard Ganguly fans!!! At least thats true with people in my friend list. Some of them would start jerking off in excitement if tomorrow Ganguly gets selected for the test side but for now, they want the 'seniors' to be 'kicked out'. Guys, please do not use offensive words against Sachin (or Mr. 100th 100 as some have been calling him on Facebook). He is a legend. Just because you have a bitter taste in your mouth and you want your favorite player to be not the only one to be 'kicked out' of the team, you should not say offensive things about Tendulkar. I respect Ganguly and I genuinely feel that he was mistreated. I think players of the stature of Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman deserve a decent farewell and I stand by it
• It is easy to blame the seniors for the humiliating performance. It is easy to say that okay these guys are 38-39 years old, they are 'not getting any younger' (as if everyone else is!!!), they are slow in the field etc. Good points but look at their records. No, do not open the history books. Look at their records in the past two years. Sachin and Dravid have been by far the best players in the Test team. Still, like most others, I want them to be phased out. I do not want them to be 'kicked out'. I am not blaming them for this disasterous tour and the last one. I just think that they deserve better and they are better off not playing for much longer
• Few months back, I had heard a Kapil Dev interview about how to phase out the seniors. He had suggested that in any test match, only 2 seniors should be included in the playing XI. That will help in giving exposure to an additional new talent. I think that was a brilliant idea. However, I think (or I hope) that there may not be a need for that. I hope Laxman announces that he would retire from all forms of cricket after the Adelaide test. That way, there could be farewell for him. He should not even dream of 'proving everyone wrong' or 'silencing his critics' as he is not likely to get that chance. This will help in testing another cricketer. Sachin and Dravid should continue for a 'little more time'. Till we are confident that we have a good enough team to field without them. However, in this period as well, they should skip matches. That will help in testing a new No.3 and 4 on a regular basis. In the next series, Laxman should definitely not be there and he should make that call himself. And Sachin and Dravid should play alternate games. They should help in building a team for the future and sign off 

Its mighty depressing...and humiliating

I cannot believe that I am letting it affect me so much. I had decided that I will not even check the proceedings after what happened yesterday but it was impossible. I can feel a strange heaviness on my chest. I am feeling depressed, disgusted and humiliated.

India is on the verge of another defeat in Tests away from home. I am not a man of numbers but I think it is seven in a row in as many test matches away from home. That is pathetic since in tests 'winning and losing is not everything'. You can draw a test match as well. 

For winning or drawing a test match, a team needs bowlers who can take 20 wickets and batsmen who can put decent runs on the board or give enough resistance to the opposition to bat out the sessions. India has neither the batsmen nor the bowlers. 

'India does not have the bowlers' should not come as a surprise as that has been a historic problem. Seldom has India boasted a bowling line-up that could consistently take 20 wickets in Test matches away from home. In India, these bowlers are 'kings'. You make a track that has uneven bounce, which starts to turn from the first session on Day 1 and then every bowler starts looking the best bowler in the world. Put these bowlers away from their 'comfort zone' and then you realize that they look as average as they truly are. 

Moreover, we pick bowlers based on their past performances. Not on the basis of what a bowler has been doing but what he did a zillion years ago. Before this test series, I was surprised that everyone was excited about what Ishant Sharma would do on Australian track. The reason for that excitement was his performance on the last tour to Australia. Come on people, wake up. Ishant Sharma has been a mediocre bowler ever since. The team management, for some reason, always defend him by making statements like 'Ishant bowled his heart out but was unlucky not to get a wicket'. If that is true then we need a luckier bowler. A good bowler would be 'unlucky' in 1-2 or 5 matches. If he is always unlucky then he should be unlucky in a domestic tournament. If you have to pick and send bowlers only on the basis of past performances then why not send Kapil Dev or Agarkar to Australia. They have bowled well in Australia in the past!!!

This bowling attack lacks variety to dazzle an opponent like Australia. Zaheer is good and is clearly the spearhead. No issues with him. Umesh Yadav has managed to surprise everyone (at least me). He has shown that he does not only have the pace but also has decent variation. In spite of his inexperience, he adds a lot of value to the bowling attack. We lack a third quality seamer. Injury to Praveen Kumar did not help but injuries are common and we cannot blame them. Sreesanth is injured and moreover, he is one inconsistent performer. Aaron, thankfully injured himself or this tour would have been a bigger disaster (if there is any room left). We need experience and variation. Sadly, we do not have enough choices. We keep hearing names like Dhawal Kulkarni, Deepak Chahar, Sudeep Tyagi, Arvind etc but none of them have got enough exposure to be suddenly put to fight the tiger. Moreover, these bowlers have also been pretty inconsistent. I firmly believe that an Irrfan Pathan would have added a lot of value to our bowling attack in Australia. He has been bowling well and seems to have rediscovered his inswingers. He has the experience and he can also bat. Still, the selectors chose to overlook him. I guess the selector of the west zone ran out of his quota after getting Sachin, Zaheer, Rahane, Rohit Sharma selected in the squad. He clearly does not have as big a quota as the chairman of the selection committee.....Dravid, Laxman, Ashwin, Mithun, Vinay Kumar and Ojha....impressive!!! If Sachin, Dravid and Laxman retire now, my money is on Murali Vijay, Badrinath and Abhinav Mukund to come as replacements....unless the chief selector is replaced!!!

Coming to the batters, it has clearly been a disappointing performance. And it is not a single performance that I am talking about here. They have failed to cross 300 runs in an innings mark in many innings across last several test matches. So much for the so-called best batting line-up in the world. It is the batting performance that truly surprises me. It is not that these batsman lack technique, experience or class. Sachin, Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag are truly world class batsmen. Though I am not a big fan of Gambhir, he has a good record in test matches. Kohli has not been performing well in Test matches away from India but he is a good talent. He is a straight bat and certainly has a long future in Indian cricket. All of them have scored runs but collectively they have failed as a batting unit. That surprises me. What is so wrong? 

What I want is that Sachin should score his 100th hundred in this series (and by that I mean the last test match) and retire. There are already calls for dropping Laxman. Sachin and Dravid have played particularly  well in the last few seasons but they should not wait too long. They should leave as Gavaskar did. People were surprised and questioned why did he retire? Players should not wait for so long that people start questioning why dont they retire.

In my opinion, the biggest issue with India's performance in Test matches is our captain. I do not think he is fit to be a test player. It goes without saying that Dhoni is an asset in ODIs and T20s but he clearly is not a test batsman. He does not have the temperament. He bats lower in the order but has hardly batted successfully with the tail. That is a trait that one should learn from Laxman, who has done that successfully many a times. He tries to bulldoze his way out of pressure situations. As a captain, he has been equally mediocre. He tries to restrict batsmen in Test cricket!!! That is when there is hardly any shortage of overs available to a batsman and especially when he simply does not have the bowlers to maintain pressure. You do not give any runs for 5 balls and then bowl a boundary ball.....mission failed!!!

Some heads should definitely fall. This performance and India's past few performances abroad have been shameful. It calls for some major changes in the team. Issue is...what changes. If one wants to change the Captain, the other logical choice is Sehwag but he has been surprisingly inconsistent. However, I guess that is a change which is definitely required. However, I doubt that change will happen soon. Dhoni plays for Chennai Super Kings, which is owned by N. Srinivasan., who is a biggie in BCCI. Krishnamachari Srikanth, our chief selector is the ambassador (!!!) of Chennai Super Kings and his son plays for the side. It is a family drama out there. This association makes Srikanth one of the biggest fans of Dhoni and I doubt if he would go against the boss of his son. Conspiracy Theory? Probably.

The other changes that needs to be made are infusion of fresh talent and finding a good wicket-keeper batsman. We should give more opportunities to the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwara Pujara (I think he is pretty much in the scheme of things but is out due to injury), Manish Pandey, AT Rayudu while persisting with Kohli and Rohit Sharma. When the Big 3 retires, Yuvraj Singh should be included to provide stability to the middle order. 

Finding a wicket keeper batsman is going to be tough. Right now, the choices do not go beyond Parthiv Patel,  Dinesh Karthik and Wriddhiman Saha. Among these, Parthiv should be given the chances. Though, he is a mixed bag. He is neither a great wicket keeper nor a great batsman but he is decent at both. Karthik is a good wicket keeper but he is a unreliable batsman for the Tests format. Haven't seen much of Saha except IPL but have followed some of his scores in domestic cricket and there is nothing extraordinary about him. Or  we can try a new guy. No, I am not suggesting that we should make part time keepers like Rayudu or Utthapa to take up the gloves. It could be a fresh talent. I do not know how is Sreevats Goswami doing? All I am suggesting is we should make a change but keeping in mind the future.

As far as bowlers are concerned, the biggest issue is the lack of a quality spinner. What will make a big difference is the presence of a good leggie or a left arm spinner. Ojha is decent but inexperienced. Leggies like Mishra and Chawla have been disappointing. I like Rahul Sharma and I think if we persist with him, he could be a winner. We definitely need to find a good spinner and quickly.  

And we need to find a replacement of Zaheer pretty quickly as none of the others look good enough to fill those shoes. After Zaheer, PK is likely to spearhead the attack but he needs to avoid injuries. Early days but Umesh Yadav could be a choice. We need to find 1-2 good seamers.

So, there is a need for improvement and change in all the departments. No wonder we are performing so badly!!!

(Photograph Courtesy: FirstPost)        

       

Mind Your Language

Few days back, a colleague in my office walked to me and asked me if I could translate a Hindi sentence for him. He is Malaysian. I gladly agreed. Here is how it went;


Colleague: "Main Shaayar To Nahi"?
Me: Its a song!!!
Colleague: I know....but what does it mean???
Me: I am not a poet
Colleague: ....ok....hmmm...I will use Google Translate


I kept wondering why did he say that. Why did he want to use Google Translate when the human version is right in front of him. Only later I realized that he may have thought that I am telling him that I wont do it as 'I am not a poet'!!! 


I mailed him the translation of the entire song, along with the link to the video!!! 

4 baj gaye....magar party abhi baaki hai!!!!

Resolutions and To-Do for 2012

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Gum Sum Gum, Gum Sum Ho Kyun Tum??

This is what happens when you do not watch the match and follow the proceedings by reading the commentary on a web site. In my last post, I mentioned that Ishant Sharma was pretty ordinary in the first test match. Just saw the highlights and realized that he actually bowled really well. Its just that he was not lucky enough to bag more wickets!!! 

I was harsh and take my words back. Unless we find a luckier bowler, Ishant should play. In fact the entire bowling attack should stay. Ashwin could have been better but was decent. And he is a much better batsman than Pragyan Ojha and anyone else in the bowling department and probably..the wicket keeper!!! :P

Ideally, we should be adding a fifth bowler but that means weakening an already weak (can't really figure out the reason why) batting line-up. An All-rounder would be great but there are none. Can Irrfan Pathan still be summoned???

Nowhere to Go

Another tour in Australia and another defeat. This is the fifth straight defeat in as many test matches outside India and that is something extremely worrying. More worrying is the fact that the mighty Indian battling line-up has seldom been able to cross the 300+ figure in a test innings since their tour to West Indies.

India was indeed able to give a fight to Australia and won a few sessions as well. Indian team may do better in the remaining three test matches on this tour but there is a big issue.....what shall be changed from the present approach? Of course there has to be more application on the part of our batsmen but can we change anyone in the squad who did not contribute much?

I think Ishant Sharma, Kohli, Laxman, Gambhir and Dhoni had pretty ordinary outing. However, out of these, the only player who may be changed is Kohli and the team management may include Sharma. I do not think that will make much of a difference. Not that I consider both of them equally bad....I consider both of them equally good. I think Kohli had a bad match but if we persist with him, he may turn out to be a better option. Of course there is no need to change Gambhir and Laxman on the basis of one bad test match. Both of them select themselves.

I am not a big fan of Ishant Sharma, however I do not think we have anyone in the squad who can replace him. Ideally I would have wanted to see Irrfan Pathan instead of Ishant Sharma but that is not possible. So, there is no choice over there.

Another person whom I do not want to see in the playing XI but would definitely play, is MS Dhoni. I do not consider him a test batsman at all. He does not have the temperament. He tries to apply 'violent tactics' to come out of tricky situations. Such tactics work in the shorter version of the games. In test matches, one has to know which balls to play and which balls to leave. Look at the way he has been getting out. Trying to slog when the team is 4-5 wickets down. Trying to drive on the up and away from the body when the situation demands cautious play. But again, I cannot even hope for an injury or upset stomach for Dhoni as I think Wriddhiman Saha is equally useless. Pappu (Parthiv Patel) would have been a much better option but I know I may be the only person in India/world/universe who holds such an opinion!!! So even that is not going to happen.

So the bottom line is that we cannot change much but only hope that the current playing XI comes up with a much better show in the remaining matches.  

Thanks to Live Streaming!!!

New Entertainment System!!!

Laptop + LCD TV + 1 TB hard disk + 850 GB movies + HDMI cable + Wireless Mouse = My New Entertainment System

We are FAMILY!!!

Red Alert

Daddy & Daddy's Girl

Hidden Charges = Short Term Strategy

I simply hate it when sales guys explain a deal that sounds very attractive, however later one finds himself duped because of all the hidden costs. Of course, they are sales guys and they would try to sell but I believe that such strategies are short-sighted. If I take a deal but later feel cheated, I will always think before using the services of the company in future. Moreover, whenever I speak to anyone about my experience, I won't have good things to say about the company. 

In today's competitive environment, companies do not only want to have a new customer but they remain more interested in repeat businesses. As repeat businesses prove to be less costlier. You are selling the product/offering to a customer who is already sold to the idea. However, if your new customer feels cheated about the experience, he/she is unlikely to come back unless your product/offering is head and shoulders above the next available option. Moreover, the customer is likely to spead negative publicity and no company wants that.

I will share an experience that I had a few days back. We brought some stuff from India to Kuala Lumpur and used MASKargo for that. MASKargo is a logistics company that is managed by Malaysia Airlines. Now, if you are carrying any extra baggage in the flight, Malaysia Airlines charges INR 600 per KG. I learnt it the hard way when I came to Kuala Lumpur. If you have too much luggage to bring in the flight along with you or if you are looking for cheaper options, they give you another option i.e., MASKargo. When my wife was coming from India, she had 85 KGs extra baggage!!! Now that would have costed around INR 51,000 if she had tried checking in the baggage with her in the flight. We were suggested MASKargo and were informed that it will cost INR 106 per KG. It would have costed us INR 9010, much lower than the first option. We happily took the MASKargo option. 

While submitting the consignment, we were informed about the taxes. It increased the total figure by INR 5000!!! Unexpected expense but still much better than INR 51,000. We were also told that we can collect the consignment after landing in the usual manner. Later, we found that the baggage cannot be collected immediately and were told about all the extensive paperwork, that of course we had not planned for. Moreover, if you do not collect the baggage on time from their facility, it attracts storage charges.

After sending the consignement from New Delhi, we were informed by MASKargo representatives in Kuala Lumpur that there would be handling and other charges of around RM 170 and then delivery charges of RM 180. I can understand the delivery charges as that was something extra that we were asking for. However, I could not understand the handling charges and why we were not told about these additional 'hidden' charges in the first place. 

Overall, there were huge savings and I am happy about that. However, the amount of confusion that was created in the whole process and the hidden charges would make me look for another option next time around. As I mentioned earlier, if there is a huge cost differential and if MASKargo is a much much and much better option than the next player, I would still use it. But the point is that, they are allowing me to look for another option. Had they been transparent about the whole things and informed me about ALL the charges beforehand, I would have still paid the same amount but would have been a 'happy customer'. Common sense!!! 

Something to look forward to

Yesterday, for the first time during my stay in Kuala Lumpur, I had something to look forward to while walking back home. I knew that I won't have to use the keys to open the door (which I eventually did....to surprise Roshni and Ananya). I am so happy that they are here. As Paul Walker said in Eight Below..."Almost Perfect"!!!

And there is something else to look forward to. Home-cooked food. Yesterday, we had Rice and Chicken!!! That was heavenly!!! Though we did not have all the required ingredients, Roshni was able to prepare a great Chicken Curry. I was not feeling too well in the evening and went to bed around 8 PM without having dinner. But I got up at 12AM as I did not want to miss that dish.

Ananya has been chirpy as always. She wakes up just when I get ready to leave for office and then makes me late!!! :) She makes me forget a lot of things that usually worry me.

I am happy.

Princess is here!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen....she has ARRIVED!!! 

She has become even more cute. Touchwood!!!

And in less than 15 hours, she has made me smile, laugh and.....cry!!! In the afternoon, she started crying uncontrollably and I was clueless about the reason. Her discomfort and tears were enough to make me cry!!! 

In the morning, she was friendly but was not sure about who I am. But now, she seems to understand. I took a quick nap in the late afternoon and when I woke up, I noticed that she was next to me and was looking at me intently. When she saw my open eyes, she gave me a biiiiiiiiiiiiiig smile, which seemed to say...."lets play"!!!!

Night out at KLIA - 4

Thanks KLIA for the support. Thanks for the free WiFi, the massage chairs, clean loos, 24 hour restaurants, allowing people to wait for the arrival of their friends/family inside the airport and all the transport options.  Thanks for valuing not only the passengers but also the people who come to receive their family/friends. The night was not all that difficult with all the facilities. :)

Night out at KLIA - 3

Night out at KLIA -2

Someone has joined few chairs and is sleeping, someone is looking for something, someone is talking to a friend thousands of miles away, someone is crying (an African woman....do not know why), someone is going through the flight schedule, someone is blogging (yours truly), someone is trying to find a place to lie down, someone is running to reach somewhere.......Thats the world around me.

Night out at KLIA

I am sitting at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). I am here to receive my wife and daughter, who are coming from India. Their flight is scheduled to arrive after 3 hours and 40 minutes!!! And I have already been sitting here since last 1.5 hours!!!

Basically, I reached the airport before their flight took off from New Delhi. It becomes difficult to get a cab after 12 am. One has to book in advance and that turns out to be much costlier, especially in the early morning (12-6 am). Moreover, I did not want to take a chance and wanted to be here much before they land in order to ensure that things are properly lined up.

Hence, this long long vigil at KLIA. Insane!!!

Its the time to....TESCO

For the first time in my life, I went to a 'Tesco' today (Tesco is not there in India...not yet). It was huuuuuuge. In terms of the size, it is slightly bigger than the 'Hypercity' in Hyderabad. However, in terms of choices, it is much.....much bigger!!! Having said that, I would like to add that Hypercity looks much more organized and Tesco lacks breathing space and is much more chaotic. (BTW, I went to Tesco Extra, which are bigger than usual Tesco stores)

There is a problem with such places. If you do not go there with a fixed agenda, you will get lost. Or let me put it this way.....either go there with a list of things that you want to buy or go there with a plan that you will buy if you like anything, else you would just enjoy. You need to go to such places with a list like....I need detergent, tooth brush, bread, chips and beer. Full Stop. You buy all that and leave. If you go there with a list like...I need a baby bath tub and 'lets see what else I need' (that was my plan today), you will feel lost. Aisles after aisles.....going back and forth......you will never enjoy.  

But I know that I will enjoy my future trips to Tesco. As I will be going there with my wife. She goes to such places with a list and takes care of the 'planned shopping'. I roam around and enjoy myself. I buy the 'extra' stuff and more often than not, that proves to be costlier than the planned shopping for the month. For example, I have bought DVD player, recliner chair, refrigerator (extra one for stocking beer!!!), foot massager etc without any plans on such weekly shopping trips. 

With sections for electronics, hardware and camping gear, something tells me that I am going to love Tesco.....and Tesco is going to love me!!!      

Caught Red Handed!!!

Have you ever been 'caught' doing something that you were not doing? Have you been into a situation in which you suddenly find someone looking at you suspiciously and when you look at  yourself, you feel that, "of course!!! anyone would be suspicious!!!" I do not know why but suddenly I recalled a past incident, in which I was in a similar situation.

This was during my Deloitte days. It was year 2006. I was new in Deloitte and so were most of the people in my team. It was a new team that was set up in Hyderabad. There were some expats, who had come from US to do some hand-holding, help with cultural sensitization and make everyone feel part of the system.

Initial days in Deloitte used to be fun. It was more about getting to know the people, the practices and the Deloitte way. Consulting was an absolutely new environment for me. One thing that used to fascinate me the most was the ease with which people used to network with each other. Everyone mixed up with each other with ease, something which I was and to some extent still am not too good at. But I wanted to learn all that. 

The incident took place on a day when we were planning some 'fun' activity and we needed some pictures. Like always, I was carrying a camera and became the photographer. We clicked some pictures and then were finding a way to transfer them to my laptop. No one had a transfer cable. Someone suggested that W. Cecyl Hobbs must be having one. Cecyl was a manager, who had come from Deloitte US. He was with the same industry vertical in which I was working but I did not know him that well. 

I went looking for him and found him in a conference room with the senior leadership. Being new in the system, I felt a little awkward walking into the room and asking for a camera cable!!! Basically, I could not muster enough courage to walk into the room. So I went back to the discussion room in which my team was sitting. One of my colleagues Balaji, a senior member in the team, asked me about the cable and I told him that Cecyl is busy so I will ask him later. Balaji probably sensed my hesitation and asked me to go and ask Cecyl right away. When I did not jump out of my chair, he gave me another option. An option that sounded much better since I was feeling uncomfortable walking into that conference room. Balaji suggested that I check if Cecyl's camera bag is in his workstation and if it is there, take the cable and let Cecyl know later. Sounded much much better. 

However, when I reached Ceycl's workstation and found a red and grey bag, which looked like a camera bag, I started hesitating again. How can I just pick up someone's bag and check if there is a cable inside!!! This is not right. But just then........my desire to overcome such 'shyness' kicked in and I started thinking that I should be like everyone else in the team....mix up with people with ease. And for some reason I thought this would be a good way to start in that direction!!! After all, I am not stealing anything. I will take the cable, use it and when Cecyl comes out of the meeting, I will let him know and return the cable to him. Cool!!! And that way, I will introduce myself to Cecyl as well. Sounded like a plan to me.

I moved forward and picked the bag. Just then I noticed someone standing behind me. It was Cecyl. He did not say anything. He looked at me.....I looked at him and smiled. Then he looked at the bag in my hand, with a suspicious look on his face. Then I looked at my hand and I got the same feeling that I described in the beginning. Of getting caught doing something which I was not doing!!! I blabbered something...I do not remember what....but I tried to explain my presence in his workstation. He did not seem much interested in what I was saying and continued to give me that look. I can understand his reaction as I would not have believed myself. 

Turned out that he did not have the cable. I do not even know whether it was a camera bag or not. I came out of his workstation and asked myself...... "WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!"

It is one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. Continues to haunt me.        

I love Susu!!!

Just had Chocoloate 'Susu'!!!!

Susu means Milk in Malaysia!!! C'mon guys....SUSU!!??!! Yuck!!!

Some experiments with the photo editor on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

Cricket's 'DUMBASS" award should go to the West Indies Cricket Board!!! Chris Gayle hit another century in T20 (Big Bash). How can they not play a player like him!!!

Christmas

Festival atmosphere out here. Christmas has not been anything more than a holiday for me but here, it engulfs you. The place is full of nicely and brightly decorated shops, people who are busy buying all they need and much more....smiles all around. 

Though I do sometimes feel jealous but overall, the atmosphere makes me feel happy. However, unlike everyone else, my Christmas is on 26th.  

Today I got my first haircut in Kuala Lumpur. The saloon is run by a Tamilian and it costed me 15 Ringgits. That is much costlier that India but way cheaper than some of the other options available in the area in which I work/stay.

And the guy was pretty friendly. Though he did not know Hindi and his English was not too good as well, he tried hard to have a conversation. He was saying random things....."Lokpal bill will not come", "Malaysia is better than India, good roads, no road in India....politicians.....", "Vajpayee's time was good, there was development.....". Though I wanted to have a conversation, I remained busy trying to link the various statements. It is not that he was excited to see an Indian as this area is full of Indians. Yet, he was excited about having a conversation with an Indian and that is what I really liked. Could sense a bond.

Skype Escape

Skype has been helping me in remaining connected with my family. In last month and half, it has helped me in looking at my daughter through video calls when she is thousands of kilometers away. 

Today, Ananya left Ranchi. I wanted to talk to my parents but there is no balance in my phone. Moreover, calling me is turning out to be a pretty costly proposition for them (INR 14 per minute!!!). And there is some issue with their desktop.

So, I took a Skype subscription. Now, I can call from my laptop directly to their phone!!! And it is pretty inexpensive!!! Skype has again come to my rescue.  

Trip to Port Blair and Havelock Island

I went to Andamans in December 2006. Since then, I have changed a lot and so would have Andamans. However, I think there are some basic pointers that can be shared with people who would like to go to Andamans.

Reaching there: Let me start by saying that do not even think about taking a ship. One can take a ship to Port Blair from Kolkata or Chennai. However, I have been told that the journey is not very comfortable. These are not luxury cruises, they are normal passenger ships and there is nothing out of the world about the journey. You may not be sea sick but others may have that problem!!! Not worth it.

By the best of my knowledge, the only airport in Andamans is in Port Blair and there are direct flights from Chennai and Kolkata. Several airlines connect Port Blair with other major cities through flights via Chennai/Kolkata.

Port Blair: If you are going to Andamans, do not plan for more than two days (at max) in Port Blair. There is not much to do over there. You can go to the Cellular Jail in late afternoon and can watch the Sound and Light show in the evening. It is a good experience.

Port Blair has a 100 metre beach. That is the only beach in Port Blair and it is nothing great. The water there is pretty muddy. Moreover, all the people who come to Andamans without proper planning and with a long stay planned in Port Blair, try to make the most of it by spending time on the beach. It remains crowded and overall it is not a great experience. Moreover, it is a little far from the city.

One can take half/full day tours to islands nearby. We went to Viper Island, which is pretty close. Again, do not spend a lot of time doing all that.

Staying in Port Blair: The city offers several options for all budgets. If you have a friend/relative working in State Bank of India or in Army, do leverage the connection. Not only can you get a place that is insanely inexpensive, those guest houses have great location.

Where to go in Andamans: Ok, I have been discouraging people about spending too much time in Port Blair. Does that mean Andaman has nothing to offer? Not really, one of the most beautiful beaches in India (it was also voted at the best beach in South East Asia in 2004) is in Havelock Island. Radhanangar Beach. That is a place that you do not want to miss. 

Havelock is 2.5 hours away from Port Blair and one has to take a ferry. Though there are several resorts in Havelock and it attracts a lot of tourists, it still is pretty much a virgin island. It offers several options for staying. The best option and probably the costliest one is Barefoot Resort, right on Radhanagar Beach. This resort also has scuba diving training facilities.

Other options are Wild Orchid (though I did not personally like the place. Ya, food is great over there) and Dolphin Resort. Dolphin is a government resort and has aweful service. But it is cheap. If you are not staying at Barefoot, stay at Dolphin and have food at Wild Orchid, which is next door.

(Please note that all this information is for 2006. There may be several other better options now)

What to do in Havelock: Relax and enjoy on Radhanagar Beach and go for snorkeling on Elephanta Beach. Elephanta beach is not connected by road and one has to hire a boat to get to Elephanta Beach. That is a 30-45 minutes boat ride.

Weather: It is never cold in Andamans. However, due to all the greenery, nights can be cold especially if you are riding two-wheelers.

Something to be careful about: Sea around Havelock has some unfriendly creatures....Salt Water Crocodiles. People die or get injured but it is hardly reported as it may affect the only industry in Havelock...tourism!!! I know it is dangerous but do not get too far in the water and you would be okay. If I am not mistaken, this danger is only on Radhanagar beach. Elephanta is safe. Thats what I was told by the boat man. Use your own judgement.

Do not miss a trip to Havelock. You wont regret it!!!

Ananya is coming on Monday....pretty excited about that. But at the same time, I knew that papa-ma will be extremely sad that she is going. I knew that will happen. 

Ananya is leaving Ranchi today and ma was crying yesterday. Cannot describe the emotions that I was having. That is why it is important that all of us stay together and I need to make that happen.

Balls!!!

During my days with Symphony Services, we used to spend a lot of our free time in the office playing Table Tennis. Once, late in the evening, our Manager Ramani, my team lead Aparna, my colleagues Subhasish and Yamijala Murlidhar (a.k.a Yam) and I went to play TT.

The TT table was in the roof-top cafeteria. Ramani, Aparna, Subhasish and I went to the cafeteria and were waiting for Yam to come. He had gone to collect TT rackets/bats and balls, which used to be in possession of the security guard on the floor below. 

It must have been around 9 PM in the night but even at that hour, there was a decent crowd in the cafeteria. Since Yam was taking too long to come back, we decided to get something to drink and went to a refreshments counter. 

Just then Yam arrived in the cafeteria. Since we were a little far from him, he shouted at the top of his voice..."We cannot play TT.....the security guard does not have balls!!!". 

It took couple of minutes for the laughter to subside!!!

21 December 2011 just started here in Malaysia.....so now we have exactly 1 year left before the world comes to an end!!! Huhahaha!!!......Wait!!!!....which is the relevant time zone? 

Start of 21st December in Japan is still 20th December in Malaysia....start of 21st December in Malaysia is still 20th December in India.....Start of 21st December in India is still 20th December in United States...........how will we know? Damn It!!!! 

Summer of GF9

THOSE WERE THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE!!!....SUMMER OF GF9!!!

Two of my favorite GF9 memories:

• Dancing Witch. One day, I woke up to loud thumping sound coming from the living room. It was still pretty early in the morning, so I tried to ignore it. However, the thumping continued and got louder. Irritated, I got out of bed and rubbing my eyes, opened the door of my room....and I got the biggest scare of my life. A female figure, with her long hair open, was jumping in the living room!!! Being a person who has always been scared of ghosts, I saw my worst nightmare coming true. I almost shouted. Then I noticed that the witch was wearing a vest, shorts (which were pulled up to her chest) and strangely, she had a beard!!! It was Navneet Singh Gandhi, doing his morning PT!!!
• Milked!!! It was a Sunday. We had a lazy start to the day. At 10 am, all of us were sitting idly in one of the bedrooms. Some were sipping tea and Navneet was drinking milk. As usual, Bhaskar was still sleeping. He had returned in the morning after spending a night with a cyber cafe owner (he spent the night chatting online in a cyber cafe. What were you thinking??!!!). We talked for hours....our usual routine on Sundays. In the evening, we were doing the same thing....lots of discussions, gossips and tea (milk in Navneet's case). Then, everyone decided to have another round of tea. It must have been around 3-4 PM. Just when Sanjay Ji, our cook, started making tea, Bhaskar jumped from the bed and shouted....."dhoodh mat peena, maine subah ek billi ko uss bartan se doodh peete dekha tha!!!!" (Dont drink that milk, I saw a cat drinking milk from the pan in the morning!!!). You should have looked at the expression on Navneet's face, who was standing in a corner looking at the empty glass in his hands!!!! That has to be the funniest expression that I have ever seen!!! Apparently, Bhaskar had seen a cat drinking milk from the pan but he could not inform anyone since everyone was still asleep, when he walked in after his night-out. So, he removed the pan from the top shelf and put it in the shelf below that!!! We, foolish creatures, did not understand this obvious message and used the milk!!! That day I thanked god that I do not drink milk or tea!!! 

That's Banku aka Bangali (Anutosh Chatterjee) and Dedh Futiya (Vikash Kumar Singh)

Waiting for....................

Options

People always look for multiple options to choose from. You want to watch a movie, you need options. You want to buy a shirt, you look for options. But is having multiple options always better?

In some cases, when there are two options, people usually start treating one of them as the 'option of choice' and the other one has 'option to fall back upon'. In such cases, people put all their attention on the former and neglect the latter. All their energy goes into making the first option work. However, the second option remains at the back of their mind and they use it as a 'support' to try and make the first option even more attractive!!! But they do that without really assessing whether the fall back option is worth it or is it an option at all. People think that they will look at the second option if the first one does not work out. "If the first one does not work out, I have the other option with me".

More often than not, when we are spoilt for choice, we do not critically analyze all our options. And when the 'favorite' option does not work out, one moves to the other option without giving much thought to it. That is when people get into trouble. One should either assess all their options or have more than 2 options with them!!!

What was I thinking?

Just received the statement for my Maxis USB internet device. RM 100!!! That when I have hardly used it!!!

It is not their fault. That is the monthly rental that I signed up for. However, I am thinking why did I take the connection in the first place!!! I have a high-speed broadband connection at my home, I cannot use it on my Samsung Galaxy Tab outside home, I do not need it when I am in the office and most of the shops/eateries over here have free WiFi!!!

It was an emotional decision at the time when I came to know that the installation of the broadband connection will take some time. I thought that I must have internet connection to talk to my daughter. What I did not realize that I was entering into a 6 month contract!!! Now I hardly use the device so 600 Ringgits have gone down the drain.

Though now I prefer not to get into that calculation but I cannot avoid calculating that it is around INR 9600!!! :(