Miss my country :(

Teri amrit bhari lehro ko kya maloom ganga maa,
Samundaar paar, viraane mein teri yaad aati hai,

Ke har ek khaali pade alind mein teri yaad aati hai,

Subah ke khwaab ke malind teri yaad aati hai,

Kahin dollar ke peeche chup gaye Bharat ke noton par…

Dikhe Gandhi ki jo moorat to teri yaad aati hai,  

Agar mausam ho manubhawan to teri yaad aati hai,  

Jhare meghon se jab saawan to teri yaad aati hai,  

"Hello-Hey-Hi" sun kar nahi aati magar humse ...

Koi kehta hai jab JAI HIND, teri yaad aati hai

Courtesy: Kumar Vishwas

Point to Ponder

In the next match, will BCCI allow the Australian cricket team's captain and team members to decide the rules of the game, where the Indian team will stay, what they will eat, who will play, who would not?

I guess they should. If N Srinivisan, BCCI president and owner of Chennai Superkings can decide the fate of other IPL franchisees, this should also be allowed!!!

Finally, I am off IPL.  

Project Management Tricks - II

Yesterday morning, just when I was stepping out of our home for the office, my wife handed me a big list of items that I was supposed to purchase on my way back home. I pointed (no, not 'protested'. I am not allowed to do that) that it will be an issue to carry all the items since it would become extremely heavy and I would also be carrying my office laptop (which, by the way, seems to have the same weight as me). My wife, being extremely reasonable, prioritized the list of items and indicated the ones that we absolutely needed. 

In the evening, she gave me a call and told me that she will come to my office and then we can together bring all the items. The plan sounded okay to me. 

In the evening, we met in the supermarket (which is pretty close to my office...and ten minutes walk from home) and finished our shopping. After the shopping, my wife chose the lightest shopping bag to carry. She of course carried our daughter but the way i see it, she had our daughter to entertain her on the way home. And me......I carried the remaining shopping bags. Easily a 15 Kg load. Plus the office laptop!!! 

For some reason, I felt slightly duped. However, I am happy that we had that sweet little outing.

So, she assigned the task, listened to the grievances, indicated that she understands the issues, suggested a smaller goal and then made me do EVERYTHING!!! And I am also looking at the positive side. Bang!!! Mission Accomplished!!! She has all the traits of a good Project Manager!!!    

These unpredictable buggers.....when you want them to win, they lose and keep losing. And today, when I wanted them to lose, they pulled off a win!!!

Thinking of donating myself for clinical research!!!

Conspiracy that backfired

It was a special day since chicken was in the dinner menu. Normally, it would have made me very excited but on that day, I was not really looking forward to it. The reason was that I was not going to be there for dinner and that is exactly why chicken was in the menu.

In our flat, on a weekly basis, people assumed the responsibility to run the expenses. We used to pool in the money (100 Rs each) at the beginning of each week. The money was then given to the person-in-command to run the show (only the kitchen) for a week. Then it was the person-in-command's responsibility to (a) decide the menu for the week (b) ensure that the expenses do not exceed the budget (c) ensure that people get good food. For any person-in-command, it was impossible to score heavily on all three criteria, especially in a budget of INR 700. Moreover, every person in the house (in total 7 regular occupants) had a different style of running the show and had different priorities. Except Amit and I, everyone usually focused on criteria (a) and (c). Both of us were particularly interested in meeting criteria (b)!!!

It was not surprising since both of us used to receive the smallest amounts from our respective families. I used to get between 3,000-3,500 every month. A good portion used to go in fixed expenses (rent, maintenance, electricity, maid, cook etc). I used to spend a sizable amount on telephone calls. For me, telephone calls used to always get higher priority than food. There was a phase during those MBA days when I used to skip meals in order to save money for calls!!! Enough of my sob story. 

Coming back to the incident...it was a Saturday night and I had plans for the evening. I was going to my cousin's place for the night. I had recently handed over the person-in-command's role. My week in command was pretty eventful as I was committed towards cutting down the expenses to the extent possible. I was short of money and the group had made some unnecessary expenses on luxuries (like good food!!) in the week before my command. I was determined to bring the monthly expenses back on track and in that pursuit I did not allow chicken to be included on any day during my command. This naturally attracted a lot of criticism.

After my week in command, I had handed over the responsibility to Bhaskar. It was during his week in command that I decided to go to my cousin's place on the Saturday. Saturdays used to be the Khichdi day so I was not going to miss much. However, as soon as Bhaskar came to know that I will not be around, he decided to include chicken in the dinner menu. Someone did point to him that I will not be around and he responded "so what"; loud enough to ensure that I hear it. Nothing wrong on his part as I had asked for this treatment. But I felt bad and angry. Bad because my friends did not understand and appreciate my situation and angry because I was going to miss chicken. It would have become 3 weeks without chicken; a little too much to handle!!!

I decided to sabotage their joy. Before I left for my cousin's place, I sent the cook to bring some stuff. The cook requested me to take care of the chicken, which was in the 'work-in-progress' stage. It was in the cooker and was almost ready. I took the container of red chilly powder and added a 'generous' (read: substantial) amount in the cooker. Then I left for the my cousin's place.

On my way to my cousin's place, I was feeling extremely happy about what I had done. The thought of the expression on their faces while eating the chicken and hopefully in the morning made me laugh. However soon I started to feel bad about what I had done. It was childish and naive on my part to do something like that. After all it was not their fault that I was having a financial crisis.

The next morning, after I returned to our flat, I casually asked about the chicken. It was as if I had asked a bunch of kids if they want ice cream. Everyone got excited and told me that the chicken was mind-blowing and the cook had done an exceptional job in making a really spicy and delicious dish!!! The cook was sitting in the corner, accepting all the admiration and adulation with a big grin!!! A mixed bag of emotions engulfed me. I was feeling stupid, angry but also a little relieved.

This was a conspiracy that clearly back fired!!! Thankfully!!!

But those were the days. Today, all of us do meet occasionally but a chicken dish or a beer bottle does not excite us like before. Those days were much better!!!

Kilkaariyaan

मैं कुछ कुछ रह गया था यहीं कहीं !

कुछ हँसी कुछ झगड़े

यहीं तो थे कहीं

कुछ रूठना कुछ मनाना

यहीं तो थे कहीं

किसी ने न जाना

मैंने खुद भी नहीं जाना

मैं कुछ कुछ रह गया था यहीं कहीं !

आँखों में घूम गए वो पल छुट्टियों के

जहाँ सभी खड़े होते थे मेरे इंतज़ार में

एक साथ छू लेने को तत्पर

सब अपनी अपनी कहना चाहते थे

बासंती रिश्तों की खुशबू

हमारे हर कमरे , आँगन में फैली होती थी

बेमानी ठहाके लगाते थे हम

हवाएँ भी रुक कर दांतों तले ऊँगली दबाती थीं !

..........

क्या यूँ उजड़ जाते हैं बीते पल

दरक जाती हैं दीवारें

फूलों की जगह उग आती हैं झाड़ियाँ .... !!

कुछ भी हो -

इस पल कोई पुकार मुझे सुनाई दे रही है

.....किसकी पुकार कहूँ इसे

सब तो एक साथ पुकार रहे हैं ...

....

कितनी अजीब बात है -

मैं आया हूँ अपने बेटे के साथ

पर कई अपने साथ हैं -

पापा, अम्मा , बहनें , पत्नी

और यह बेटा गोद में है ....

....

यह क्या अफरातफरी है

अचानक क्यूँ समय समाप्त की घोषणा है

मुझे बड़ी बेचैनी सी हो रही है ...

क्या आज यहाँ से चलने के पहले मुझे हिदायत नहीं मिलेगी

'ठीक से जाना '

!!!

जिसे सुनते 'ओह' ज़रूर कहता था

पर बड़ा सुकून था इस बात का

रोष होता था छुट्टियों के ख़त्म हो जाने का

तो ओह ' कहने का यही बहाना होता था !

..............

चलने से पहले कहता जाऊँ

घर वो घर भले न रहा हो

पर यादों की ईमारत इतनी बुलंद है

कि मैं फिर आना चाहूँगा

क्योंकि यहाँ की दीवारों में जज़्ब वो कहकहे

आज भी सुनाई देते हैं

और यकीनन जब जब हम आयेंगे - सुनाई देते रहेंगे

(Courtesy: Minni Bua)

After watching the remakes of Don and Agneepath, I have fully realized that there can be only one Don and Vijay Dinanath Chauhan....Amitabh Bachchan!!!

Blair Witch Project - Part 2

Weekend is over :(

Someone stole my 4-day weekend!!! :(

(Courtesy: www.time.com)

Weekend full of movies

List of movies/shows I watched this weekend and their ratings (on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the highest):

Agneepath: 1 point

I have heard that the movie is doing pretty well in India but I did not find anything special about the movie. To be very honest, I had not particularly loved the original (and I am not talking about Scarface here) except the personality of Amitabh Bachchan in it. They took that out and hence I did not like it. Simple

Ladies vs Ricky Behl: 3.5

This was pretty watchable. Liked the concept. Though it has a pretty obvious ending but it was still a good time pass

Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyun Aata Hai: 2

A movie that has Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi and also Om Puri. I always wanted to watch this movie as I am a Naseeruddin Shah fan. Needless to say that the actors were brilliant and they made me feel their But honestly, I did not find anything special about the movie. Moreover, I found the end pretty abrupt. I enjoy parallel cinema and my wife is a commercial cinema fan. So imagine the expression on her face when the credits started to come

Survivor India - Episodes 10 and 11: 5

I am really hooked to the show. I have never enjoyed the international series but probably due to the connect, I am really enjoying this show

Shor in the City: 3

It was pretty enjoyable inspite of Tusshar Kapoor in it. It has a fresh story and decent performances

Challo Dilli: 3

I do not know who was the person who discouraged me from watching this movie when it came out. I wont say that this is a brilliant movie but for a lazy Sunday afternoon, it was a good time pass

Don 2: 1

So now the Don has become a thief!!! Brilliant. In any ways, there is only Don and he went underground in 1978

Tanu Weds Manu: 4

Have watched the movie in bits and parts earlier and watched the full movie today. It is a sweet movie, inspite of Kangna Ranaut!!! Really liked the performances of most of the actors

Our Idiot Brother: 2

This movie stars Paul Rudd and has an interesting storyline but lets just say that it could have been a lot better. There was nothing too wrong with the guy. He may not have been street smart, he may have been sensitive, he may have been innocent but he was not an idiot!!!

Russel Peters - Green Card Tour: 2

It was enjoyable but it gets a 2 because it was just about okay by Russel Peter standards

Desi Boyz: 2

It was enjoyable in parts but those parts were few and far between

India-Australia 1st ODI: 1

Same old story, no new twists. They keep serving the same dish!!! Something tells me that I should stay away from the sequels

Long journey ahead with only one pit stop!!! :(

Today is the last day of a 3 +1 day weekend. I say 3+1 as the last day of any weekend/holiday is spent in (a) looking at the watch at regular intervals (b) mourning in advance for the dying weekend (c) making to-do list for the days to follow.

Though I enjoyed the break, I personally do not prefer such long breaks. Before you start thinking (assuming I have readers) that I have lost my mind or lead a depressing life away from work, let me clarify that point. Since we do not have a car and we have a little bundle of joy, we cannot really plan trips in and around the city. Though Ananya has been most understanding on most of our shopping trips, it could be a trap!!! We may be pushing our luck too far if we plan a day-long or longer trip. So, we spend such breaks sitting at home for the most part. And...HENCE...instead of 4 day weekends, I would prefer Tuesday/Wednesday and Thursday off!!!

Today is all the more depressing since I know there is only one public holiday between now and August!!! That is a long long long journey with only one pit stop!!!

Hey, where did my tattoo go?!!?

Dear Ananya,

On 4th February 2012, you had your first fall. You fell from the bed. Off late, you have become very active but it was not your fault. I was supposed to check if you are okay and I did not do that. I am extremely sorry about that.

You cried a lot and so did I. I took you to the balcony and showed you buildings, trees, birds and all kinds of meaningless things to distract you. I said sorry to you several times.

After a while, you looked at me and smiled. That made me cry once again. You probably do not remember it anymore but I do not think I can ever forget how you were lying on the floor with a shocked expression on your face and then started crying. It was my fault and I will never be able to forgive myself for that.

I am glad that you are alright. I would try to be a better father.

Love you....always,

Daddy

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!!!